PnP mission Ottawa - Sept-Iles and back
 

What to do on a cold -28C morning.... why not fly two RV7 and one RV9 to Sept-Iles QC from Ottawa ON, a 500 nm leg and bring back some dogs for PnPC.
We had 7 pups and two adults of which they thought one might be pregnant. Just beautiful dogs melting your heart away. Tried to sneak one in my coat, but got caught every time.

Left at 7 AM and returned back to Ottawa at around 7 PM. Twelve hour trip, with about 8 hours of air time, over 1000 nm round trip.

Plan was to fuel the planes at our departure airport, however they were having fuel distribution problems, so we quickly adjusted the flight plan and flew to
Smiths Falls CYSH about a dozen minutes away. The flight after that was just over 3 hours for a straight 500 nm to Sept-Iles.

Either Matt or Dave had a minor emergency requiring a pit stop. They diverted to Chicoutimi CYRC while we continued on. They have the faster RV so they
could catch up to us. That’s what happens when you down a smoothie on the way to the airport.

Matt and Dave in the black RV7, John in the orange one.

[apologies for the different size photos, as they come from different sources]



While checking for cylinder temps during engine preheat, the Dynon D10A EFIS did not even want to power up while the D100 was complaining it was cold and
density altitude was close to a mile below ground. The temp sensor later stabilized at -28C and the D10A was up and running about 5 minutes into our flight.



Crossing the Saguenay river.



If you look closely, the Saguenay river seems to have an ice road plowed. Hmmm, might be good for an emergency landing. Further inspection
reveals an ice breaker operating in the area.... OK, note to self not to try and land there.






John caught us doing an eclipse of the sun. He felt the chill but still managed to grab his camera for this shot.



I tried to reciprocate, but this photo of him looks quite ordinary.

part 2
 

Sept-Iles Airport - CYZV





Matt/Dave's plane and ours ready for refuelling. What a nightmare trying to remove the fuel caps. No elasticity left in the o-rings.
Needed to use a screwdriver to pry the caps open. Paint damage to surrounding area, but what can you do.



John's plane getting refueled. Once we managed to pry open our fuel caps with a screwdriver, we all ran inside away from the cold and blustering wind and let the fuel guy do his thing.


Now this is where the real fun begins...



I though I could get away with sneaking one out. What do we call that in transportation.... spoilage! My cats warned me ahead of time though, no dogs allowed.
We're just lucky our cats let us live with them, and clean up and feed them.



John has found a new friend.

part 3
 

Lucie, part of the ground crew of PnP in Sept-Iles. Thanks.



Our passenger with plenty of warm blankets to huddle in.




Matt and Dave's passenger ready for a snooze.



I believe this might be Baie Comeau. In any case, there are not many airports in that neck of the woods.




Group selfie at 4,500 feet.



Our flight engineer barking out orders.

part 4
 

Pit stop in Chicoutimi CYRC. Fuel and stretching legs.






Some nice weather on departure from Sept-Iles, however some light snow was encountered on our way to Lachute CSE3.



Arrival at Lachute, with all dogs safe and sound. Another 40 minute flight and we were back at Carp airport CYRP.

Great job! I really enjoyed reading about your mission.
Thanks for sharing in all the fun.

Whoo Hoo!
 

Alfio and crew - great job in the cold!

Great write-up, Alfio. I was thinking of you Saturday morning as that trip would have broken my own safety limit of -20C. Wasn't sure you guys dispatched, glad to hear you dd and that all went well.

If there were a "Pick Your Favorite Photo" portion to this post, I have to say I'm struggling to pick a winner between the two front-runners; Alfio with contraband in his coveralls, or your Flight Engineer keeping a close eye on those engine temps!

headset on the dog
 

While the photo is quite funny in itself, the real purpose of the hat and spare headset was that we were trying to muffle the engine and wind noise from our dog's ears.

Cold I can handle, but the wind was what really 'stung'.

Awesome as usual! You guys do have a talent of presenters I've seen that flight suit before. Great job!

Great write up.
Great cause - such beautiful dogs that have so much love to give, and receive.