Well, dear Reader, you don't really want another report about flying those newfangled jets to exotic foreign locations, do you? . . . .   Oh. Oh well. But now that you're here, why not stick around and head back into the good old days, actually last Friday and Sunday, of walking out along the Dorval tarmac to the plane, climbing the stairs, hitting your head on the top of the door frame as you go in, trundling out to the runway, and buzzing off into the wild blue yonder... In other words, some notes on a trip to Fredericton for a conference.

22.03.02 YUL-YFC

AC 8872 (op. Air Nova), Dash 8-100, C-FTON, sched. 13:35-16:05

Click for large version

Photo © Felix Sieder

Arrived at the airport long-term parking lot soon after 11:00, to face the following choices: park close to the terminal but in deep snow, or farther away in a totally clear section and walk in dodging the water and slush. So, post 94 and a long walk in to the check-in counter. A lot of time left, which was spent in wandering back and forth through and in front of the terminal, and finally heading up to the lounge overlooking Rwy 10/28. Not much action: Comair and NW commuter jets arrived on 28, as did various ACR Dash'es and a BAe 146; later the NW headed out again. Then, around 13:00, down to the AIF counter to pay the $15.00 (ouch!) fee, and through security. Nice and quick, save that Win 95 takes forever to fire up and shut down on the laptop. Down the stairs to Gate 12A, where the waiting area was quite full – flights to Quebec City and Saint John were leaving at roughly the same time as us, from 12B and 12C respectively. They boarded first, then it was our turn to walk out to the plane, climb the stairs, forget to duck sufficiently and hit our heads on the door frame. Well, my turn to do so  The flight was about 2/3 full; I was in 7D, the gentleman next me moved to the free 6A/B row, so I had plenty of room. The seat was comfortable enough, with enough legroom (i'm 5'10"). Props fired up at 13:32, safety briefings followed, then a slight pushback, at 13:37. Off to Rwy 28 on taxiway A; announced flight time 74 minutes, at an altitude of 25,000 feet.

We were a few planes back in the line, so a bit of waiting, with the props (and plane) surging and buzzing and vibrating. The more poetical amongst you may like to think that the plane simply wanted to get up and off the ground... Anyways, our turn came, with rotation at 13:47, followed by a long climbing turn south and eastwards into a mostly clear, light blue sky. A bit of chop, but nothing to really write home about. But, I can see why people think turboprops are noisy! For the whole climb, quite a bit of noise and and buzzing and vibration running rhythmically through the cabin! Seatbelt sign off at 13:52. Noticeably quieter and vibration-free ride at cruising altitude, though. Snack service started about 20 minutes in, got to me about 27 minutes in, and after the usual o.j., bag of pretzels, and half of the baguette I'd bought at the airport, noticed that half the flight was over! Another pass through the cabin if anyone wanted seconds, and then at 14:46, one last pass with a tray of hard candies. By now, we'd been slowly descending for some time; seatbelt sign came back on, and we headed ever closer to the cloud layer over NB. Broken clouds, but much more than at YUL, and we spent a fair bit of time in them during the descent. Thus, light chop, a good jolt or two, clear air and a view of the ground, then repeat. Finally, a view of the airport in the distance, and the downwind, base, and final legs, with a bit more jostling. Touched down at 15:00 (16:00 local time) on Rwy 33, in an extremely smooth landing, for a flight time of 73 minutes. At the terminal 2 minutes later, and not long afterwards, after hitting my head *again* on the doorframe on the way out, in a rental car headed for the hotel. A very small airport, but neat and tidy.

24.03.02 YFC-YUL

AC 8741 (op. Air Nova), Dash 8-100, C-GANK, sched. 11:25 - 12:05


Click for large version

Photo © Pierre Lacombe


After an excellent conference, time to head back. Misjudged the amount of time needed to get from the Comfort Inn to the airport, but luckily, no need to be there 60 minutes in advance... as by the time I'd parked the rental and got to the checkin line, it was 45 minutes in advance. The 11:35 to YYZ was checking-in at the same time, so a bit of a wait, but through in about 10 minutes. Then, drop off the rental keys, and join the next line, to go through security. More thorough here than YUL, rummaging through the whole bag and even taking off the lens-caps from the lenses and camera. Then, into the very small and crowded waiting area. Our plane was going to be late due to strong headwinds on the way in from YHZ and YQM, not arriving until 11:25. The YYZ flight boarded before us, than our plane came in, and boarding started at 11:30. This flight was full; I didn't see any empty seats. Also, I managed not to hit my head this time, proving that old dogs can learn new tricks. Anyways, props fired up at 11:37, then the safety announcements, the departure roar of the YYZ F-28, and next our turn to move out to the runway. Announced flight time of 117 minutes, at an altitude of 14,000 feet.

Out to the end of Rwy 27, a bit of a wait, and then we're off, rotating at 11:46. Overall, a much smoother, quieter taxi, roll, and climb than on the way out; different personality for the plane, or simply different style on the controls? Not to say there was no noise, buzzing, or vibration, just much less of it. A few bumps as we went through a thin cloud layer, then a very smooth ride the rest of the way. Seatbelt sign off at 11:46, and there we were, cruising along just above the tops of the clouds. Lots of clear air though, too, so a good view of the ground for the whole trip. Snow, ice, and trees, in varying combinations -- no change from the trip out. Snack service began at 12:15; this time had the carrot muffin with my o.j. Well, it was breakfast! Actually, the muffin was rather good. Another pass through for seconds, and that was that. Seatbelts back on at 13:23, slow descent for a straight in approach to Rwy 24L. Touchdown at 13:33 (12:33 local time) after a long while just floating above the runway, for a flight time of 107 minutes. Another exceedingly smooth landing; could barely even notice it, just one minute the wheels weren't turning, and a little later they were so we must have landed! At the gate at 12:35. The baggage took a long while to arrive, and when it did, the only problem of the entire trip.

Somewhere between handing it over at YFC and picking it up at YUL, someone had broken into my suitcase   The (sturdy) lock was missing, and the contents obviously repacked, ie., this was not the result of the lock somehow falling off or things shifting during the journey. Luckily, the only thing stolen/destroyed was the lock; clearly the clothes and empty slide carousels and toilet kit were not very attractive to the culprit(s)! I suppose the Pearl Jam live CD's could have been marketable, only I was using the sleeves to hold other CD's – Benny Goodman, Astor Piazzola, The Fall, John Foxx, Echo & the Bunnymen, all probably unknown names to whoever it was. In any case, a grumpy letter is about to head off to AC about this aspect of the trip.

Otherwise, two excellent flights. AC bashing seems to be popular nowadays, but here on ACR I had the same experiences as on AC mainline: clean planes, efficient service, friendly crews, safe arrivals. And so I'll keep on with AC for most of my flights. This was my first time on the DH1's, after a trip on an SAS Dash 8-400Q last summer. Much smaller, of course, and admittedly noisier, but I'll certainly look for a chance to fly them again.

Cheers,

John