Montreal?

[Peter MacPherson]

Anybody flown into CYUL(Dorval) lately? Thinking about heading up there for
the long weekend.
Any advice on FBO's and anything else would be appreciated. I'll be
departing from the Boston area.

TIA,
Pete

[Michelle P]

Peter,
Montreal is quite doable from the US!

Go to St. Huber across the river. Dorval is not that GA friendly.
St. Huber is quite friendly and has Customs on site.

Michelle

Peter MacPherson wrote:

>Anybody flown into CYUL(Dorval) lately? Thinking about heading up there for
>the long weekend.
>Any advice on FBO's and anything else would be appreciated. I'll be
>departing from the Boston area.
>
>TIA,
>Pete
>
>
>
>

--

Michelle P ATP-ASEL, CP-AMEL, and AMT-A&P

"Elisabeth" a Maule M-7-235B (no two are alike)

Volunteer Pilot, Angel Flight Mid-Atlantic

Volunteer Builder, Habitat for Humanity

[Peter MacPherson]

Thanks Michelle. How far is it to downtown Montreal? Are their cabs at St.
Hubert?
Which FBO do you recommend?

Thanks,
Pete


"Michelle P" > wrote in message
hlink.net...
> Peter,
> Montreal is quite doable from the US!
>
> Go to St. Huber across the river. Dorval is not that GA friendly.
> St. Huber is quite friendly and has Customs on site.
>
> Michelle
>
> Peter MacPherson wrote:
>
> >Anybody flown into CYUL(Dorval) lately? Thinking about heading up there
for
> >the long weekend.
> >Any advice on FBO's and anything else would be appreciated. I'll be
> >departing from the Boston area.
> >
> >TIA,
> >Pete
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
> --
>
> Michelle P ATP-ASEL, CP-AMEL, and AMT-A&P
>
> "Elisabeth" a Maule M-7-235B (no two are alike)
>
> Volunteer Pilot, Angel Flight Mid-Atlantic
>
> Volunteer Builder, Habitat for Humanity
>

[David Megginson]

Peter MacPherson wrote:

> Anybody flown into CYUL(Dorval) lately? Thinking about heading up there for
> the long weekend.
> Any advice on FBO's and anything else would be appreciated. I'll be
> departing from the Boston area.

I flew there a few weeks ago (and have gone there a few times in the past)
but I went directly to an avionics shop located at Propaire and didn't deal
with an FBO. Dorval (now named "Pierre Trudeau", but most of us choke on
that because Trudeau built Mirabel to try to replace Dorval) has no landing
fee and deals well with mixed airliner and GA traffic. There have been
frequent runway closings recently -- I'm not sure if they're repaving -- so
spend a little more time than usual with the NOTAMs. If you have to go over
to the main passenger terminal, make sure that you don't take a cab back to
the FBO: there's a minimum charge of CAD 15 or so for cabs leaving from the
main terminal, even if it's a 5-minute drive.

You might also want to consider St. Hubert instead of Dorval: it has a tower
and an ILS, it's closer (coming from Boston), and it's outside of the main
Dorval traffic flow, so you're not likely to be vectored around. The FBO I
used was quite friendly and you're about the same distance from downtown
Montreal (if I recall correctly). Traffic at St. Hubert is mainly bizjets
and light aircraft.


All the best,


David

[Michelle P]

Peter,
I went to the Exxon affiliated FBO. I cannot remember their name..
(sorry kinda in a hurry)
We rented a car. Downtown is about 10 Km away. Cabs are available not
sure of the cost.
If i have time I will look up the name of the FBO They were quite helpful.
Michelle


Peter MacPherson wrote:

>Thanks Michelle. How far is it to downtown Montreal? Are their cabs at St.
>Hubert?
>Which FBO do you recommend?
>
>Thanks,
>Pete
>
>
>"Michelle P" > wrote in message
hlink.net...
>
>
>>Peter,
>>Montreal is quite doable from the US!
>>
>>Go to St. Huber across the river. Dorval is not that GA friendly.
>>St. Huber is quite friendly and has Customs on site.
>>
>>Michelle
>>
>>Peter MacPherson wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>>Anybody flown into CYUL(Dorval) lately? Thinking about heading up there
>>>
>>>
>for
>
>
>>>the long weekend.
>>>Any advice on FBO's and anything else would be appreciated. I'll be
>>>departing from the Boston area.
>>>
>>>TIA,
>>>Pete
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>--
>>
>>Michelle P ATP-ASEL, CP-AMEL, and AMT-A&P
>>
>>"Elisabeth" a Maule M-7-235B (no two are alike)
>>
>>Volunteer Pilot, Angel Flight Mid-Atlantic
>>
>>Volunteer Builder, Habitat for Humanity
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
>

--

Michelle P ATP-ASEL, CP-AMEL, and AMT-A&P

"Elisabeth" a Maule M-7-235B (no two are alike)

Volunteer Pilot, Angel Flight Mid-Atlantic

Volunteer Builder, Habitat for Humanity

[David Megginson]

Michelle P wrote:

> Go to St. Huber across the river. Dorval is not that GA friendly.
> St. Huber is quite friendly and has Customs on site.

I agree that St. Hubert is a much better choice for visiting Montreal, but
how have you found Dorval not GA-friendly? Was it a bad FBO? I've had good
experiences there with ATC, including terminal, tower, ground, and clearance
-- they are quite accomodating, and even let me drop in once for a
touch-and-go without any fuss. It's much more relaxed than one would expect
from a major international airport.


All the best,


David

[Michelle P]

David,
Yes I had a "bad" experience with the FBO's at Dorval. They were all Biz
jet oriented and expensive. St. Hubert (sorry) is much more low key and
lower cost. I had excellent service from Canadian ATC.
Michelle

David Megginson wrote:

> Michelle P wrote:
>
>> Go to St. Huber across the river. Dorval is not that GA friendly.
>> St. Huber is quite friendly and has Customs on site.
>
>
> I agree that St. Hubert is a much better choice for visiting Montreal,
> but how have you found Dorval not GA-friendly? Was it a bad FBO?
> I've had good experiences there with ATC, including terminal, tower,
> ground, and clearance -- they are quite accomodating, and even let me
> drop in once for a touch-and-go without any fuss. It's much more
> relaxed than one would expect from a major international airport.
>
>
> All the best,
>
>
> David


--

Michelle P ATP-ASEL, CP-AMEL, and AMT-A&P

"Elisabeth" a Maule M-7-235B (no two are alike)

Volunteer Pilot, Angel Flight Mid-Atlantic

Volunteer Builder, Habitat for Humanity

[Bob Chilcoat]

I would heartily second the recommendation to use St. Hubert. We took the
Archer up there for Thanksgiving, and found it very easy. We used the FBO
next door to the Esso (Exxon?) sign, but found them a bit disorganised. The
main FBO seems to be the one with the fuel sign. They came over to where
were and fueled us anyway. It might have been more convenient had we parked
with them. The only problem we had (apart from the snowstorm that blew
through between arrival and departure a few days later) was that CanPass
told us to go inside the Customs (RCMP) hanger when we arrived and call
them. When I did that, I got (mildly) chewed out for arriving outside of
Customs hours. When I explained that CanPass had told me what to do, and
knew when I was planning on arriving, they simply said "don't do it again",
gave me my code, and told me to have a good visit. They never even saw the
plane. You probably should ask CanPass when you call them before departure
what the Customs hours are at St. Hubert, and if you can arrive outside
normal manned hours. The AOPA website has a section on flying to Canada
that has a lot of good information.

--
Bob (Chief Pilot, White Knuckle Airways)

I don't have to like Bush and Cheney (Or Kerry, for that matter) to love
America

"Peter MacPherson" > wrote in message
news:qbntc.8549$Ly.5185@attbi_s01...
> Anybody flown into CYUL(Dorval) lately? Thinking about heading up there
for
> the long weekend.
> Any advice on FBO's and anything else would be appreciated. I'll be
> departing from the Boston area.
>
> TIA,
> Pete
>
>

[Journeyman]

In article <qbntc.8549$Ly.5185@attbi_s01>, Peter MacPherson wrote:
> Anybody flown into CYUL(Dorval) lately? Thinking about heading up there for
> the long weekend.
> Any advice on FBO's and anything else would be appreciated. I'll be
> departing from the Boston area.

Dang! I'm sorry I missed your post. By coincidence, I did go to
Montreal last weekend. Parked at SkyService (aka Esso Avitat)
(Esso is the Canadian name for Exxon--S.O. get it?).

Everything went smoothly. I had flight following from Burlington, VT
Approach and they handed me off to Montreal Terminal. The Terminal
controller asked if I was familiar with Montreal, and I told them
I was heading to the Mercier Bridge and he said, "good.". Long before
I could see the bridge, I could see the narrowing between Lac St.
Louis and the downtown area. The runway on the GA side of the airport
was half-closed for construction but they had 4000 feet available.
Cleared customs over the phone. SkyService had a rental car waiting
for me since I'd called ahead before leaving. They're in the middle of
renovations, so it's a bit messy. They waived their overnight parking
fee because I filled the tank. Leaving, they were very nice. Let me
make a couple of long distance phone calls to straighten out a customs
snafu.

The airport was pretty quiet. I heard the controllers talking in
French to some local training flights, something about asking them
when they were coming back and telling them to keep their squawk code.

I've driven out to St. Hubert. Dorval, er Pierre Elliot Trudeau
International is way more convenient.

Looks like Hemisph-Aire where I started my initial training is gone.
In fact, it didn't look like there were any little planes left,
except for transients.


Morris