Can someone give me the straight dope on flying from Washington State to Alaska, if you fly from Seattle to Ketchican over BC but do not land in BC do you have to do anything with customs? Or is there any other legal hoops you have to jump through?

The reason I ask is when I go to AK I want to bring guns with me, and I know they are a big no-no in Canada unless you feel like going through a big headache paperwork wise.

Overflying does not require anything from customs. File a flight plan. VFR advisories or IFR are a bit better only because you can show you were nonstop if there is ever a question.
If you have an emergency and have to land, throw the guns into the water. Or ship them UPS or FedEx.

The best thing to do is to contact customs and ask what they require.
It is not all that bad.

akflyer2001 wrote:The best thing to do is to contact customs and ask what they require.
It is not all that bad.

X2. Simple forms and a little $. Last I looked $50 CDN.

The direct Ketchikan route is breathtaking if EVERYTHING works perfectly with wx and airplane, but a world of shit if it doesn't.

Gump

GumpAir wrote:

akflyer2001 wrote:The best thing to do is to contact customs and ask what they require.
It is not all that bad.

X2. Simple forms and a little $. Last I looked $50 CDN.

The direct Ketchikan route is breathtaking if EVERYTHING works perfectly with wx and airplane, but a world of shit if it doesn't.

Gump

It is certainly what I would consider beyond my skill level right now, I can imagine a guy could get souped in pretty easy.

I was thinking however if I was going to do it I'd fly out of Friday Harbor in Washington to Ketchikan, it is 522 NM or so, in a 182 not correcting for wind that should work out to about 3:45, with long range fuel that would still leave 2 hours of reserve fuel on board, I would think it is doable.

What challenges am I missing here?

What challenges am I missing here?

Oh, little things like engine hiccups with no place to land, a real chance to go IFR a whole lot, needing a pee break with no place to land.

Cary

There's a couple of us on here who know that country. I have property on the north end of the Dean Channel in British Columbia. It's some of the most beautiful scenery on the planet.



But in the 30+ years I've been flying that northwest corner of BC and into southeast Alaska, I still don't know where I'm gonna go when the engine quits. It's a vertical world. Straight up and down rock, and lots and lots of deep, cold water. Options are extremely limited.

Not to say don't fly it, in fact just the opposite. It's an awesome playground for GA, and everyone who loves flying backcountry should consider trips into that part of the world.

Just saying that when you do the WA to AK trip direct, even with long range fuel, you are cutting your options for Plan B down to a very bare IFR minimum. Especially in something slow and not de-iced like a C182. WX shuts down, you're forced to turn right and climb east into interior BC. And that's over big rock with low freezing levels, even in the summer. Engine quits and you're going swimming, unless the tides are out and you have a few hours of beach to use.

And, if something does go wrong, there you sit in Canada with your firearms, dealing with Customs with no preparation. Think it was four or five years ago a guy in a Comanche 260 lost an engine by Nanaimo, and stuffed it into a logging strip while flying non-stop from PAKT to KBLI. He had rifles and pistols with him, and Canada made him out to be an international terrorist with nukes, all because he didn't have the right paperwork (and $$$$ fees paid). It was ugly.

I'm not usually a Negative Nancy for flying, but that route single-engine is one I tell all but the most experienced not to do. Besides, the interior routes are too much fun to miss.

Gump

Gump, you must be getting soft...

FWIW, I would say he has pretty much sugar coated everything .... On the coast the Wx can and does frequently make unforecasted changes fast than a jet can make the trek. Most of it has little options in the event of Wx or Mx issues.

It is doable and is done by folks regularly tho, but IMHO the reason you a making the choice doesn't warrant the added risk.

I take guns through CA routinely. It is always easier going to Canada than returning. Although that's never been a huge hassle either... Gump is correct on the registry cost, $50 Can. I keep last. Years in my 'travel folder' and it helps streamline the thought process for the customs guys.

As a general rule I don't 'relish' run ins with any legal types, but my experience with border crossings is that they really are not a big deal if you just do your homework and do them right...


Take care, Rob

GumpAir wrote: It's some of the most beautiful scenery on the planet.

Dammit, don't be tellin'/showin' everybody! We'll have to deal with traffic!!
Tell 'em how nice it is in Nevada!

GumpAir wrote:There's a couple of us on here who know that country. I have property on the north end of the Dean Channel in British Columbia. It's some of the most beautiful scenery on the planet.



But in the 30+ years I've been flying that northwest corner of BC and into southeast Alaska, I still don't know where I'm gonna go when the engine quits. It's a vertical world. Straight up and down rock, and lots and lots of deep, cold water. Options are extremely limited.

Not to say don't fly it, in fact just the opposite. It's an awesome playground for GA, and everyone who loves flying backcountry should consider trips into that part of the world.

Just saying that when you do the WA to AK trip direct, even with long range fuel, you are cutting your options for Plan B down to a very bare IFR minimum. Especially in something slow and not de-iced like a C182. WX shuts down, you're forced to turn right and climb east into interior BC. And that's over big rock with low freezing levels, even in the summer. Engine quits and you're going swimming, unless the tides are out and you have a few hours of beach to use.

And, if something does go wrong, there you sit in Canada with your firearms, dealing with Customs with no preparation. Think it was four or five years ago a guy in a Comanche 260 lost an engine by Nanaimo, and stuffed it into a logging strip while flying non-stop from PAKT to KBLI. He had rifles and pistols with him, and Canada made him out to be an international terrorist with nukes, all because he didn't have the right paperwork (and $$$$ fees paid). It was ugly.

I'm not usually a Negative Nancy for flying, but that route single-engine is one I tell all but the most experienced not to do. Besides, the interior routes are too much fun to miss.

Gump

Why you got to stick something that pretty in front of me then tell me not to do it?

Lots of good food for thought, I think If I were to start running that trip I may be better off doing it with floats rather than wheels on. Guess it is one more reason on the pile to get my float rating after I get my IFR.

On floats.... Whole different story.

Gump

NimpoCub wrote:Dammit, don't be tellin'/showin' everybody! We'll have to deal with traffic!!
Tell 'em how nice it is in Nevada!

Nevada is an ugly, barren desert wasteland. Nothing to see here, so just keep moving along.

Gump

GumpAir wrote:On floats.... Whole different story.

Gump

This is what has been tickling my day dreaming fancy lately. This with the 350hp swap is exactly what I want.

BigNickMontana wrote:

GumpAir wrote:On floats.... Whole different story.

Gump

This is what has been tickling my day dreaming fancy lately. This with the 350hp swap is exactly what I want.

Personally, I'm not so sure I'd like it any better on floats.
I guess those floats will serve well in shedding energy when you realize stuffing it into the trees is going to be easier than trying it out on 35' freezing swells which is what you will be faced with if Wx is what commits you to landing... Might pan out ok if MX forces you to stop, but then what? Scramble up a cliffside and stick your thumb out?

Besides, places like the trench become a total playground when your on floats... Heck a trip like that and you might lose track of why you were even going to Alaska

Rob wrote:

BigNickMontana wrote:

GumpAir wrote:On floats.... Whole different story.

Gump

This is what has been tickling my day dreaming fancy lately. This with the 350hp swap is exactly what I want.

Personally, I'm not so sure I'd like it any better on floats.
I guess those floats will serve well in shedding energy when you realize stuffing it into the trees is going to be easier than trying it out on 35' freezing swells which is what you will be faced with if Wx is what commits you to landing... Might pan out ok if MX forces you to stop, but then what? Scramble up a cliffside and stick your thumb out?

/that is all

I used to run my T-Cart on Edo 1320's in and out of there. In the summer, on nice days it's funner than shit and absolutely endless in places to explore. You just gotta know what villages to stay away from so you don't get scalped.

But like Rob says, when the wind's up, that inside passage water turns UGLY in seconds and you might as well land on the rock. You'll die nicer.

Gump

GumpAir wrote:

NimpoCub wrote:Dammit, don't be tellin'/showin' everybody! We'll have to deal with traffic!!
Tell 'em how nice it is in Nevada!

Nevada is an ugly, barren desert wasteland. Nothing to see here, so just keep moving along.

Gump

I heard Nevada has some pretty long runways to land on if you run out of fuel

But yeah....... Total crap hole!! Who the hell would even think of living and exploring there?

206 with long range tanks will have about 45 min of fuel left if everything goes right.

The guys that do it a lot who I know climb to 10K, stay over the blue part on the Garmin screen and don't worry too much about looking at the scenery. It would be unusual not to encounter IMC somewhere along the way most of the time.

My advice is to go take Alaska Airlines and hire a pro to fly you out somewhere when you get here. If the experience of flying yourself up here is what you're after, go inland and follow the road. Send your gun ahead in the mail if your doing a hunting trip, if not then leave it home.

gb

Always went inland over the highway. It surprised me too, that everybody from the states was in a big hurry to get to Alaska. The Canadian portion is just as pretty, if not better.
Those windsocks along the road, miles from any airport are a clue. Just stop and have some coffee.
Great trip, and if you really want to visit the cold water without floats... you could drop into Skagway via Whitehorse and the rail pass. Short trip and give you a taste of Southeast along the way.

This is what we did last July. Was a complete non-issue when we did the below. Found it in my e-mail from our trip planning

"Firearms into Canada:
We need to fill out page 3 of this form and copy it twice so you have a total of 3 copies (in triplicate): http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cfp-pcaf/form ... fs/909.pdf
I had to set my print settings to 78% to get the form to fit on an 8.5x11 piece of paper.
No side arms (hand guns) and no ammunition in the firearm while crossing the boarder.
We will also need the sales receipt with the serial number of the firearm from when we purchased the gun to get it back into the United States."

I was never asked for the sales reciept.

Alaska is great, but BC was amazing! Coming back, I flew down the east side of the coastal ranges and it was spectacular. I plan to go back to BC.