Has anyone cleared customs in Skagway before? I am coming up from WI next week and if I have blue bird weather I want to clear customs in Skagway coming from Whitehorse? Has anyone done this before? I really want to come up the coast rather than going through Northway.

Yes, skagway is a "port of entry" into the US. All the rules apply about notification and so on. The border station is about 15 miles from the airport so it takes them a few minutes to get there.

I don't think there is any fuel available there anymore but there is fuel in Haines. It is only a few miles away.

What are you flying? Do rocks make you nervous? Skagway is no problem to land in but depending on the wind direction you either come in right over the water or right down the canyon.

From up country (Whitehorse) landing would either be straight in or a left pattern to come over the water and not overfly town.
From down country landing would either be straight in over the water or a RIGHT pattern into the canyon.

If you get into Haines give me a call and I will try to stop and say HI. phone is 907-314-0943

Shane

Skagway and any other border crossing: HAVE YOUR STUFF IN ORDER. I was fined by DHS for CBP's mistake. They fined me $5000 for my landing at Roche Harbor in Washington after they diverted me there from Friday Harbor. The violation was based on their misinformation and escalated by a moronic little donkey man of an officer needing to do a little more work than he wanted to. After I wrote exactly the circumstances to them, they said that even though it was their problem, the best they could do was drop it to the very minimum fine of $500. If those officers want to violate you, which they are sometimes eager to do, they aim to nail you to the wall. I couldn't hire a lawyer for $500, so I was forced to suck it up. The culture that has been created in the world of DHS could go to some other island as far as I'm concerned.

It really is a shame...and they are suppossed to be working for us, our taxes pay their salaries and this is how they treat us. I have had some interesting encounters with threats of seizing the the aircraft, etc. I was just making a routine return to the U.S. from Canada. I am always courteous and have proper documentation. It baffles me

I did it a few years back, no problems at all. What a great flight from Watson lake. I still remember that approach down the valley. Can't wait to do it again.

I even got there an hour earlier than I told them. Really nice guy that I apologized to over the phone when he said "your early". He just gave me a quick look and I was on my way down to Juneau.

The people at the airline terminals were A holes though.

Scolopax- man I am sorry to hear what you went through.
$500 is not easy to part with for such a crap reason.
Maybe it is my under developed sense of maturity, but I would be inclined to remember who the little miserable midget was... and maybe meet him in an alley some time. Brief, quick, and then on my way.
He would never know specifically which U.S. Citizen he pissed off with outrageous and unfair application of his badge powers... but it might give him pause the next time he screws with a stranger.

And what President do we have to thank for all this home land security BS. I think I may have voted for him. DOH!

I politely got in the faces of Customs and Border Patrol over the EAPIS at Oshkosh. They don't give a shit what you or I think and they let me know it. The MFs can't keep terrorist or illegals out but they do a bang up job harassing regular Americans.

G'Day

flightlogic wrote:Scolopax- man I am sorry to hear what you went through.
$500 is not easy to part with for such a crap reason.
Maybe it is my under developed sense of maturity, but I would be inclined to remember who the little miserable midget was... and maybe meet him in an alley some time. Brief, quick, and then on my way.
He would never know specifically which U.S. Citizen he pissed off with outrageous and unfair application of his badge powers... but it might give him pause the next time he screws with a stranger.

Yeah, the situation is pretty frustrating. Libertarian policies are the only real solution to all of this. It's impossible to prevent people who are suicidal from malicious acts without operating under the assumption that everyone is always guilty. Our country has a pretty grim future if we are going to operate this way.