Day around Yellowknife, NT Canada
When we parked the 5intheSky AirVan at Yellowknife Airport the previous evening, we did our nightly tie-down ritual which includes a gust lock on the control column (to stop strong wind gusts from moving the control surfaces about and damaging them), parking brakes set, covers on the pitot tube and engine cowl openings, tie down ropes attached to the wings (and when available the tail) and a full cover over the airplane (mostly to keep out sun and keep any remaining contents out of sight) and we can now get the process completed in a matter of 3-4 minutes.
In Yellowknife, we took a much needed break from flying and had a rest day around town, where we caught up on laundry and walked around the city. The laundry room at the Super 8 by Wyndham, though not exceptional, did the job! After a late Tim Hortons breakfast, we got a taxi from the hotel down to Yellowknife’s Old Town, which is known as one of the most diverse, historic and intriguing Old Town’s in Canada. We walked down by the waters of Great Slave Lake, around the area where the Bush Pilot’s Monument is located. Back when Yellowknife was still young, travel between communities and camps was long and dangerous. Bush planes were a vital resource for transporting supplies, food, medicine and people. This monument is dedicated to those pilots and engineers whose lives were lost as they flew the wild skies of the Northwest Territories. But it also serves a practical purpose: When the light atop the tower is flashing, residents and visitors are warned that floatplanes or skiplanes are active on nearby Yellowknife Bay. (link https://spectacularnwt.com/attraction/bush-pilots-monument)
We stopped in at Ahmic Air, a flightseeing tour operator based out of Yellowknife, to see some of their fleet. Check out their website for more info on their charters!
After enjoying a delicious lunch at ‘The Wildcat Cafe’, an iconic log-cabin structured eatery in Old Town, we headed back to the airport to put some fuel in the plane before the service hours had ended.
Non-Pilot Tip: At lots of airports, there are designated service hours wherein there is no extra cost to fueling up your aircraft. These hours are generally listed in the CFS (Canada Flight Supplement) and are in Zulu Time (ex: 1100-2230Z would mean 11AM to 10:30PM Zulu). If you want to fuel up outside of these hours listed in the CFS you can generally do so but there will be a call out charge issued, meaning you would have to pay extra money on top of the money you are already paying for fuel. This is not an issue at airports where there are ‘card-lock’ systems in place and you can essentially self-serve your fuel at your discretion and at any hour of the day.
Overall a great rest day in Yellowknife!