karmic rebound

Sunday turned out to be a great flying day. A new friend with a
Cardinal decided he wanted to experience the complexities of crossing
the border into Canada and flying in the bilingual environment of
Montreal Terminal airspace.

He, his wife, and I were wheels up around 9:30, cleared customs around
noon. Canada customs actually met us at the airplane, but there are
one of two explanations. Either because his wife is a Spanish citizen
and they wanted to check papers, or one of the agents might have been
a trainee and was getting practical on-the-job experience. No biggie
either way.

The flight was VFR all the way, but I wouldn't've made it as a VFR-only
or IR-but-rusty pilot. We were On Top for most of the way to Burlington
before finding a hole and decending to a still-comfortable 2500'.
Someone on the other side Burlington Approche's airspace said he was
looking for a hole, but his backup plan was to go all the way back to
HPN. Below the clouds had to dodge a few areas of reduced visibility
but I spotted the Mercier Bridge from about 20 miles out. Spotted
Montreal downtown first, found the Champlain Bridge, looked farther
West and there it was, right where it was supposed to be.

The Terminal controller slowed his speech down to baby talk when we
expressed some confusion about needing to be "cleared" into Montreal's
class C. I thought it worked like U.S. class B.

We rented a car and I suggested the choice of My Favorite Deli or My
Favorite Rotisserie Chicken Place. The receptionist at the FBO also
suggested My Second-Favorite Steak Place. After lunch, we bought
some Montreal bagels, then spent the afternoon kicking around the
Old Port before returning to the FBO around 6pm.

It was a great day. The weather improved steadily during the day and
the nighttime return trip was with an surprisingly bright full moon.
I've said it before... The GPS is soooo cheating. :-)

It took about 20 minutes on hold to get a NavCanada FSS briefer (who
says privitization doesn't pay?) and then we called U.S. Customs at
Burlington (my preference is to stop an clear customs as early as
possible). Oops, they require 3 hours prior notice, not 1 as listed
in the AOPA directory. So, we called HPN. The customs person there
was delighted to hear from us and told us to call her supervisor
(at Newark) to aprove the overtime. The overtime was declined and the
supervisor suggested landing at Newark (customs open 24 hrs.). They
generally waive prior notice unless they're swamped. We elected to
wait out the time and land at Burlington, which turned the evening
return trip into a night flight.

The customs officer wasn't excessively slow, but he was meticulous
and he actualy poked around inside the baggage compartment. He was
certainly polite and friendly enough, almost apologetic for making us
wait the 3 hours.

All in all, the customs experience particularly unpleasant, but it
meant getting home to bed much later than planned. I'm sure it's
because I went non-linear with Sporty's over their idiotic shipping
error.


Morris (Life Out Of Balance)

Hi,

"journeyman" wrote:

He, his wife, and I were wheels up around 9:30, cleared customs around
noon. Canada customs actually met us at the airplane, but there are
one of two explanations. Either because his wife is a Spanish citizen
and they wanted to check papers, or one of the agents might have been
a trainee and was getting practical on-the-job experience. No biggie
either way.

My flights into Canada were also met by 2 customs agents. It seems to be
S.O.P.

The Terminal controller slowed his speech down to baby talk when we
expressed some confusion about needing to be "cleared" into Montreal's
class C. I thought it worked like U.S. class B.

I think that would depend on several factors, but in my flights, I had to
pass through Toronto's B anyway. Controllers kept with me until I was near
the airports of destination, then passed clearance off to those airports.
Again, seems to be S.O.P.

Neil

On Mon, 14 Jul 2003 11:25:51 -0500, Neil Gould wrote:

My flights into Canada were also met by 2 customs agents. It seems to be
S.O.P.

My last flight up was spring last year, into Victoria BC. That time,
I just called CANPASS on landing and got a confirmation number over
the phone.

They have always reserved the right to inspect arriving aircraft, but
I always thought it was more of a spotcheck kinda thing. Probably has
something to do with how busy they are.


Morris

5 trips into Canada in the last 12 months, 5 inspections. 2 inspectors each
time. Same thing happended on the West Coast, Vancouver, and East Coast,
Toronto, (Pearson and City Centre). Maybe it's just me, but it seems more
than random.

jerry

"journeyman" wrote in message
u.com...
On Mon, 14 Jul 2003 11:25:51 -0500, Neil Gould wrote:

My flights into Canada were also met by 2 customs agents. It seems to be
S.O.P.

My last flight up was spring last year, into Victoria BC. That time,
I just called CANPASS on landing and got a confirmation number over
the phone.

They have always reserved the right to inspect arriving aircraft, but
I always thought it was more of a spotcheck kinda thing. Probably has
something to do with how busy they are.


Morris

"JerryK" writes:

5 trips into Canada in the last 12 months, 5 inspections. 2 inspectors each
time. Same thing happended on the West Coast, Vancouver, and East Coast,
Toronto, (Pearson and City Centre). Maybe it's just me, but it seems more
than random.

It depends on whether you have registered for the CANPASS program or
not, I think. That said, I was met by only one inspector at CYOW when
I returned from the U.S. a few weeks ago. Maybe when they are going
to an isolated airport, the inspectors don't want to go alone.

The U.S. always needs two, as far as I know, since Customs and INS are
separate.


All the best,


David

--
David Megginson, , http://www.megginson.com/

David Megginson writes:

"JerryK" writes:

5 trips into Canada in the last 12 months, 5 inspections. 2 inspectors each
time. Same thing happended on the West Coast, Vancouver, and East Coast,
Toronto, (Pearson and City Centre). Maybe it's just me, but it seems more
than random.

It depends on whether you have registered for the CANPASS program or
not, I think. That said, I was met by only one inspector at CYOW when
I returned from the U.S. a few weeks ago. Maybe when they are going
to an isolated airport, the inspectors don't want to go alone.

An isolated airport ... like CYYZ or CYTZ. Maybe I should read a
little better next time.


All the best,


David

--
David Megginson, , http://www.megginson.com/

On Wed, 16 Jul 2003 13:02:19 GMT, David Megginson wrote:

The U.S. always needs two, as far as I know, since Customs and INS are
separate.

We only met one on Sunday on the return trip. And whenever crossing
by car, there's only one at the booth. Mostly, you can tell whether
it's customs or immigration by the questions they ask. :-)


Morris

On Wed, 16 Jul 2003 04:36:04 GMT, JerryK wrote:
5 trips into Canada in the last 12 months, 5 inspections. 2 inspectors each
time. Same thing happended on the West Coast, Vancouver, and East Coast,
Toronto, (Pearson and City Centre). Maybe it's just me, but it seems more
than random.

Agreed. I'm planning to fly in to Montreal again in a couple of weeks
(weather permitting). Works out to be a good distance for the
commercial 300 NM solo x-country requirement. We'll see if it's more
than spot-checking. :-)

Morris