Has anyone done this yet??
I just spent over 2 hours getting the permission of our great country to fly to AK thru Canada??
Now in the morning I'll call canpass and spend 3 minutes with them and my arrival will be ready
I am not the most advanced computer mind out there but the site the HLS has come up with is so very cumbersome it is awful!!
The only good thing about the site is that it keeps telling you , you screwed it up again , and it tells you what it is you need to do?!?!
I received my ok to leave and I received my ok to get back in AK.
I think as long as I don't miss the times by more than 15 minutes they won't fine me the $5000 for the first offense ( I think it could cost me 15K if i miss it both departing and on arrival )

If they catch me at Northway I'll have to give them the 195 and walk
I sure hope it is easier next time!

Any comments from anyone else.
GT

I signed up for e-apis this winter but will just be using it for the first time in a couple of weeks. Where are the problem areas you encountered? I also hope that someone else who has done this will throw out some thoughts. Steve

My son is flying the 172 up next month as is having the same headache.
He said the problem is finding a computer at some out of the way airport.
Said he would probably call his wife and have her long in and do it for him.
The kicker is N. Korea and some other country I forget is tracking or not
letting their people leave the country.

I did IT
I put in both departure and arrival last night
This morning I had both permission slips from the teacher to go to the bathroom
All I had to do was down load it and then print it so that I will have a hard copy when I get there???
The other part of this is that I did not register and apply for my customs decal until a week ago??
Whole nother story, but I think it takes less time than the epis. I have the emailed confirmation and the credit card electronic receipt that I paid and when I phoned to make sure it would happen, it takes 7-10 working days for the application to go thru and then it gets mailed to you?? Anyway the person in the phone told me that most border crossings will accept that and not put you in JAIL.
This stuff is so much BSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS that it makes you want to do something stupid!!
No wonder the guy that ran out of gas trying to fly from Juneau didn't go thru canada, he didn't have a credit card or a computer??
All I can say is start early with the electronic stuff!!
And I was worried if I had enough survival gear?
GT

I asked the CBP officer in Ketchikan the other day about the eAPIS. I came across Canada a few days before it became mandatory. I inquired about delays due to WX, etc. He said it won't be a problem as long as you give a call to the office where you are supposed to cross.

The website looks similar to the paperwork that you have to fill out for Customs anyway. It is a bit different for sure, but I don't think it will be a show stopper once everyone gets used to it. Still though, it is a bit silly, when you consider how easy CANPASS is.

gb

I'm waiting for an eAPIS iPhone app

Hello, I am from the government and here to help (protect) you.

Run, run, run, as fast as you can!!!

Homeland Security is something out of Orwell's novel. Maybe the present administration has the balls to break back down into manageable parts.

TomD wrote: Maybe the present administration has the balls to break back down into manageable parts.

Tom,
I'll wager you a cup of Starbucks best, that the present administration shall do not but add bureaucracy, regulation and cost to aviation!
Steve

Once a bureaucracy is created there is a huge impetus from the employees, vendors, and management to leave it in place; no matter how bad it is.

I did the online training.
My understanding is that you can file both and departure and an arrival on line before you leave.
Then, if your times change enroute, you simply radio FSS and ask them to notify customs by telephone
of the change in times and why they changed (weather, whatever).
I'd think that would be the easiest way, rather than hoping that you will absolutely be able to get
internet access prior to departure.
Just my thoughts.
Hopefully I'll never have to use the damn thing!
Doc

The piece of the puzzle that I have not heard a definitive answer for is the following:

I file both ways into a remote airport in Canada. I am almost certain to miss my departure time. You need to give them two hours before departure, but they tell you that you can amend in the air. Not sure how this is supposed to work. Also,has NavCanada signed on for this and will they notify the brown shirts that you have amended your departure? If Nav Canada drops the ball....$5k fine.

Float plane pilots are really screwed as far as I can tell.

Unless the Einsteins at HLS can give a satisfactory explanation, the safe way is to land at a Canadian airport w/ phone and/or internet file your amendment and have a walk while you kill two hours, that's assuming the weather is not closing in or the destination customs port is not closing, and you don't mind paying the extra fuel to divert to the aforementioned airport.

I have Nexus, Canpass, and a couple of other clearances but that does not mean squat to the nimrods in Washington, DC

Here is a web site for the training for any that are wondering.

Ya ridicules, It would almost be worth it to have some build an airport on the border and have people just tow there plane across

I used eAPIS last weekend for a fishing trip to a remote area in NW Ontario. I filed both my outbound flights and inbound flight on Wednesday evening. My flight out was planned for Friday morning, and planned return was Sunday afternoon. Being it was Wednesday I was obviously estimating both flight times since they were 2 and 5 days out. I had both my approvals back in less than 1 hour. I was within 1 hour of my estimated time both out and in. I asked the US Customs agent what I should do it weather delayed my return by a day or two - if I should try to contact customs on my sat phone. She told me she really wasn't worried about a call saying I would be late. This was at Crane Lake MN US Customs, which kind of has its own way of doing things, and deal with aircraft exculsively on floats and coming and going from remote locations. So they understand that things don't always work out. Other customs stations may not be so understanding. Honestly, I found the website easy to use, and now that I've done it once I think I could file the plan in about 5 minutes. The theory behind the whole system is a joke, but at least I thought the procedure wasn't too hard to follow. I wish they would fine tune the website and allow you save or memorize your manifest, so you don't have to type in all the same stuff for the return flight.

Just be thankfull you ain't gettin all the govmint yur payin for I foretell that it will get much worse before it gets any better, homeland stupidity was a poorly thought out knee jerk reaction and once created will be like the Hydra to kill

Between my wife and I, we have used the eAPIS system three times in the last six weeks on flights between Alaska and the lower 48. We started using it in April, to get familiar with it (and because the customs folks wanted to get familiar as well). The important thing seems to be to get it filed electronically, and then adjust as necessary by telephone. While I must say I wish we didn't have the system, we have had zero problems with it. We cleared customs inbound at the Northway Airport, the Moses Lake Airport, and on the border at the Northway border crossing.

I'll be flying to Alaska from the lower 48 in the next week or two. I've signed up for eAPIS, watched the tutorials, and it appears to be straightforward except for one thing..... I can't figure out where I should sit down at a computer and do it. I expect that leaving the lower 48 and crossing into Canada I'll be stopping at a FBO with internet access, sending my passenger manifest, waiting for the reply, and being on my way.

It's the leg from Canada into Alaska that I'm not sure of. I'm not sure how much time I'll spend getting through Canada so am hesitant to file for that border crossing several days in advance. Is there internet access (with a printer for the confirmation) in Whitehorse?

Where have you guys been sending the manifest from?

Some of the posts above refer to a crossing into Canada, a stay at a remote lake, and then returning to the same border crossing. What do you do if you are transiting Canada up the highway? Do you submit manifests for both border crossings at the same time from the lower 48 and hope you make the entry into Alaska on time?

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks, Keith

TrevDog suggested:

Ya ridicules, It would almost be worth it to have some build an airport on the border and have people just tow there plane across

Here tis. Laurier washington, 69S. Zoom in on the runway and you can see the north end is in the great white north. There is a customs station on the highway next to the airstrip.

http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=48.99837 ... 599%20(69S)

KG - I would say you could still estimate time, and then change by phone (or sat phone) if necessary. Before the rule was changed to allow filing inbound and outbound legs from home before you leave - meaning you needed to file the return leg from a remote place - I had actually looked into getting a small notebook computer for about $250, and hooking to my Iridium sat phone. Iridium sells the computer hook up kit for about $100. Glad it didn't come to that, but if you already have the phone and the notebook or laptop, for an extra $100 you are internet ready from anywhere.

At this point, there is no provision to delete or modify a filed e-APIS notification. We filed our outbound from Alaska and in-bound to Oroville, WA at the same time. We never made Oroville, and were way off on time, but just updated by telephone. We were told that was just fine.

You can also forget the idea that you can land at one of the airports that lies on the border, and taxi across, to get around using the eAPIS system. I attended a session that had a US Customs officer in charge of all aircraft crossings on Minnesota's northern border as a guest speaker - and he said that whether or not the plane crosses the border in the air or on land or water, you still must use eAPIS. Several US Customs stations on MN northern border are on lakes that are half in Canada, and half in the US. Pilots asked if they could land on the Canadian side and taxi across the lake to the US side and not be required to use eAPIS. This customs officer said absolutely positively not. An airplane is an airplane whether it is flying, taxiing, or being towed.