Let’s Go Across the Border?

Have you flown across the Northern or Southern Boarder of the USA Lately? I have! I’ve done it 12 times. Always a GREAT ADVENTURE! Going was easy. Really easy. I went North to Canada. I took the corporate airplane up to get painted and some other new items installed and upgrades done. There’s a 25-28% dollar savings.

Friday Oct. 20 Getting there was the easy part. Coming back into the US in an auto with a Canadian driver was really interesting. It seems the Border Guards don’t understand us Pilots. Big question was how did I get there (Canada) and not get my passport stamped by customs. Couldn’t figure out how I just cleared by a phone call. I have to educate them every time. Once thru and done with the 10 th degree of questions and they figured out I wasn’t a threat to the USA, they let me back in.

The (eAPIS)Electronic Advance Passenger Information System

Let me back up a bit. First thing I did was to get on the eAPIS web site. I then went over the procedures. It’s easy a but requires some reading. As the terms may be a little foreign. NOTE: You MUST let CBP know you are leaving and coming back into the USA. You MUST let Canadians know you are coming into their country Via a Flight Plan with US FSS and CanPass.

You need to get a eAPIS authorization code and that’s easy. It will stay with you as your code forever. But here’s one thing that always gets me. I had to get a new code because my other one was so old it went to the big dark hole in the sky.

In that code, they give you a bunch of letters and a maybe a couple numbers. But the 0 and O look alike. They know that and phonically spell out the Code they give you. APGA0RFK (Alpha Papa Gulf Alpha ZERO Romeo Foxtrot Kilo). I didn’t pick up on the ZERO. So, it took a few times to log on until I caught my mistake. I thought the phonic program that was beside the code they gave me was kind of weird. Now I know why they put it there.

But it’s not really that difficult. So, go to the web site and read and fill out the paper work. You will notice that they want a manifest. If you are the only person on the flight its easy. But if you’re not, then you’re going to need everyone’s passport information. So, have their information with you. Or have them on the phone when you fill out the form. In my case it might be a little more confusing as I am not the owner of the plane my wife Kathy is. I am the “Pilot”. So, read real close. If you ferry airplanes to Alaska this will come into play — being the Pilot and not the Pilot/Owner.

Once all the paper work is done and electronically submitted you will get a “Cleared to Go” message in your e-mail. It will come immediately. You can do all this at one hour before but I got up early and did it because I read slow, being I talk slow.

The next step is to get on the phone to flight service 800-WX BRIEF. You will need to inform FSS that you are going to Canada. You will need to file a flight plan. Have all your flight plan information all written out it will speed things up in filing. Then they will tell you to open your flight plan when airborne on a frequency like 122.55. At the time of opening the flight plan they will give you a Squawk Code to use if you are not talking to the Approach Control Facility like Victoria Radar. I like to land at Abbotsford and clear Canadian Customs. So, if you can’t talk to Approach Control and get a code from them then squawk the code they give you when you open your flight Plan with FSS. Got all that?

Then there is another phone call you have to make to let the Canadians know you are coming. It is called CANPASS. Really easy straight forward. They will want to know when and where you are departing from and landing in Canada and your destination in Canada. Somewhere in there they want to know when you expect to cross the border.

All these phone numbers are in the information on the eAPIS Web Site.

Then off you go. I departed from Port Townsend because I like to eat breakfast there. After I departed OS9, I called FSS and opened my flight plan and he gave me a squawk code; I would use this code to cross the Canadian border. I read the code back and away I went. I contacted Whidbey Approach and he gave me a squawk code and I proceeded north to Canada. That lead to a hand off to Victoria Radar. They didn’t want to talk to me really. He handed me off to Bellingham Tower. So, I contacted Tower and because I wasn’t talking to Victoria Radar and they had terminated radar service when they told me to contact Bellingham Tower. I put in the discrete code from FSS for the border crossing. Simple. A little busy, but fun.

I landed at Abbotsford after a couple circuit changes, from a left downwind to a right downwind. Here’s the great part. The tower is so nice and helpful. They gave me progressive taxi to the Shell FBO (big sign) and there’s a phone outside on the wall and a big CUSTOMS sign with arrows to make sure you see that. Shut down the plane, get out and call in your arrival to Customs. The tower has already closed your flight Plan. Customs will ask you a few questions. Make sure you have your passport with you because they ask for the passport number. They then give you a number, copy it down and keep it with you. YOUR IN!!! Yea! Now what?

Call Flight Service and file flight plans everywhere you go. It’s required. It’s the law. You are a guest in their country. If you going further north, for instance, to Alaska, you’d better be prepared for just about anything. Airports are far away from town. Not only that, they are far away from each other. Don’t arrive so late you can’t get dinner or a ride to the hotel. There is NO VFR at NIGHT in Canada. Don’t even try. You can land after dark, but when the sun goes down the IFR program comes out.

Please remember that gas stops are few and far between in the NORTH. So, fill up at every stop. Remember, two hours out and the weather comes down you have to fly two hours back. If you think you’re going to go around a snow squall, think again. You fly the mountain passes in the Canadian Rockies. You follow the ALCAN highway. The highway takes the lowest route and it’s beautiful. It is by far the safest route to Alaska. Please don’t go IFR. You will miss everything and truly the mountains are too high. I encourage everyone to get in your planes an go to Alaska. It’s so fun. If that is too far then just get in and go to Abbotsford. Go up to Pentictin in the Okanoghan.

Maps. Ya, get some maps. Even though you have a great GPS, get the maps. The highway map is a good one. WAC charts are great. You can most of the time pick up a Canadian Supplement in some operations room that is out of date but still good to have.

I got a little off the “just going to Canada.” But once you get across the Canadian/US border you may just want to keep on going. If you do, the US Customs in Alaska is a Phone Clear Program also.

Gas price? Who cares? You can’t buy that much fun for any less. It’s the same as it is here. In Alaska it’s cheaper in Anchorage. But in Port Alsworth, AK it’s 8.00 a gallon. Bettels, AK, the same. But guess what? It’s been that price for 10 years plus. I’m going up (I hope) this next summer. Anyone who wants to tag along is welcome.

We have a great Holiday Season coming up! Get those reservations in for the Christmas Party.

Mike Radford