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Canada?

Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2009 5:09 pm
by LOYAL Rescue
Will any pilot fly to Ontario? Are there different rules/restrictions to do so? I regularly take dogs from KY and OH by ground transport weekly but occasionally the dog is not suited for 2 days of car travel and to fly would be ideal.

Thanks,

Brenda
LOYAL Rescue
www.loyalrescue.com

Re: Canada?

Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2009 9:53 am
by admin
LOYAL Rescue wrote:Will any pilot fly to Ontario? Are there different rules/restrictions to do so? I regularly take dogs from KY and OH by ground transport weekly but occasionally the dog is not suited for 2 days of car travel and to fly would be ideal.Thanks,Brenda
LOYAL Rescue
http://www.loyalrescue.com
Hi Brenda, good question and I hope the pilots jump in and reply! I was told yesterday that there are very few general aviation pilots who can fly into Canada. You have to have a special system installed on your plane for permission to fly across the border. Hopefully, one of the pilots will explain exactly how this works..

Debi

Re: Canada?

Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 1:11 pm
by chaero
Hi Brenda, Debi

I'm a PnP pilot based in Canada and although I have not flown any animals across the border so far, I regularly fly into the US and back for other reasons. Last such flight was two weeks ago, and the only change I saw was the (now mandatory) eAPIS filing with DHS/CBP in addition to the usual telephone advisory to customs.

The 406 MHz ELT issue, which had been expected to become law this Spring and which would have placed serious restrictions on aircraft without such devices, has been put on hold; there doesn't appear to be any indication right now when it may become a requirement.

I wouldn't hesitate to bring an animal into Canada with my aircraft provided the regulatory requirements, be they flight or veterinary, are complied with but of course every pilot would have to make their own decision.

Chris Hansen
Comox, BC

Re: Canada?

Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 4:49 pm
by bfrey
Hello everyone:

Being a US based pilot, and gone to Canada a few times, I'll offer my take on everything. (Granted I've never done this with animals).

Chris hit the biggest parts of crossing the border, with the new eAPIS filing requirements for all passengers/crew aboard a plane. This is basically advanced notice of immigration declaration and allows everything to be checked prior to departure/arrival. This needs to be filed for BOTH legs of the trip (departing USA, and arriving back into USA). AOPA Air Safety Foundation has a great tutorial about eAPIS and how to use it, register it, etc: AOPA ASF Tutorial

USA pilots need to have a passport, airman's certificate, valid medical, and a Restricted Radiotelephone Operators Permit (issued by the USA FCC). To be perfectly honest, I've never been asked for the radio permit, and I've never heard anyone who has, but I wouldn't suggest crossing the border without it just in case a USA CBP Officer isn't in a great mood. :-) Passengers need to have a passport.

Aircraft need to have a *permanent* registration, no pink slips here. All the normal requirements apply (POH, W&B, etc...). Older planes might have an issue if your tail number (N-Number) is smaller than 12" in height. At the club I rent from, this has limited 2 of the planes as we still have the old 3" markings on them. Also you need a Mode-S transponder (shouldn't be an issue for most pilots here). The requirements for LSA & Experimental aircraft are different, and I don't fly either, so I wont try to guess.

USA CBP requires that incoming aircraft have a User-Fee Decal attached to the plane. Each one is $27.50 and is good for a year.

Landing Requirements: You must land at an Airport Of Entry both in Canada and in the US. I've flown into Windsor, ON (CYQG) in Canada, and came back into Midway Intl, IL (KMDW). Canada CBSA (link) is super nice, and they don't really give you much grief. You call them before you depart, and right when you land. They typically just clear you over the phone. USA CBP is a bit different, (link). Landing at a User Fee Airport is hella-expensive, which is why we've gone into MDW (international airports have USA CBP on-staff). The officers range from nice to annoying-power-trip, just as if you go through normal immigration/customs... Again, they need notice before you leave (be accurate with ETA!).

As far as customs go, both countries have been a non-issue (it's always just been me, a few buddies, and a backpack). I'd check all the requirements for dogs though with Canada's Food Inspection Agency (CFIA Link) (they cover pet imports).

Additionally, make sure you're on a VFR ADIZ/IFR flight plan before crossing the border. Don't want another scare with the jets being scrambled like what happened to that kid a few months back. :-P

By the way, be prepared for a little bill from Canada with User Fee's. ;-) Even the 10 nm it takes to go from Detroit to Windsor, I've gotten a bill for like $20. :-P

Everything I've gone over can be found on AOPA's excellent guide: International Flying - AOPA Don't take my word for it, go visit them!

Hope that helps.
-Brent F.
Chicago, IL

Re: Canada?

Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 6:33 pm
by admin
Brent,

Excellent tutorial, thank you for taking the time to share this with everyone!

Debi

Re: Canada?

Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 4:01 am
by Marion
Just wanted to say thank you to Chris for being the only pilot I could find in British Columbia involved with PnP. We need more pilots who are willing to transport rescues so they can find their forever homes (which are not always in the country in which they were born). :D

Re: Canada?

Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 8:34 am
by admin
Marion wrote:Just wanted to say thank you to Chris for being the only pilot I could find in British Columbia involved with PnP. We need more pilots who are willing to transport rescues so they can find their forever homes (which are not always in the country in which they were born). :D
Hi Marion and thank you for helping this rescue. Canada does not have a Pilots N Paws program, though happy to see Chris volunteering up there! I keep prompting folks from Canada who contact me to start a PNP Chapter but so far, no one has stepped up to organize this. We are more then willing to guide folks in other countrys who would like to start a PNP program, it just takes work and dedication to make it happen though it is easier then starting from scratch! Glad you found transport, no anyone willing to take on the task of PNP Canada?? :D

Debi

Re: Canada?

Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 10:31 am
by Steve Foley
I just wanted to add that one big reason there are no or few PNP pilots in Canada is because the airport database does not contain Canadian airports, and the zipcode database does not contain Canadian postal codes.

The sources for both databases were free. Expanding them to Canada would be a major undertaking.

Re: Canada?

Posted: Wed Jul 28, 2010 12:10 am
by chaero
Marion, thank you for your kind words!

Re. Canadian participation, I am sure there are some valid reasons (don't have the big picture), but right now I can't see the need for or benefit from setting up a separate country program or chapters. Virtually every flight request that includes a Canadian segment originates in the US, therefore it seems to me that we should try to make the border as transparent as possible.

When I joined, I sent an email to Steve Foley to have my home airport with its non-US coding added to the map. Don't know how onerous a task this is but in my case he did it very quickly. Assuming a trickle and not a flood of requests from north of the border, would it not be possible to keep adding such map data manually? If I can help with this please let me know but not being computer literate, would need training.

I understand the zip codes in a request generates the map tracks but again, in my view, as a pilot based in Canada, they are not pertinent. I scan the request messages daily looking for the start and destination location by name only and would expect a requester to contact me directly as well if they feel I could assist; to this end the pilots' map is probably the best tool. Should add that the recent feature that generates an email notification if a request falls within a set range seems to work OK for me, but of course if that is tied to zip codes it would be ineffective in the case where the destination was in Canada.

There is a nice little recruiting poster available on the home page. I carry a supply of these in my flight bag and have printed an extra line at the top "We Need Canadian Pilots!". All pilots lounges have bulletin boards, so if one is not already there it is a simple matter to tack up a poster. Rescuers and others might do the same in and around their own local airports.

I'm certainly willing to help in whatever small way I can to get more Canadian PNP pilots on board. One way to increase visibility that came to mind would be to imbed a PNP tag line or link into 'my' email signature line. Pilots talk (email) to other pilots a lot and forward messages all the time so these little links should spread fast. I don't know the technical terms here but Steve probably knows what I'm referring to.

Chris

Re: Canada?

Posted: Wed Jul 28, 2010 10:33 am
by admin
Chris, your post was very informative, thank you! And yes, adding our website typed out, http://www.pilotsnpaws.org to your auto sig line so it goes out on every email really does help to spread the word. I have it on mine :D

Perhaps Canada doesn't need a PNP Chapter, however if one was created, you might see and increase of Canadian rescues needing to move animals to other areas withint your country as well. Presently, they don't have the option other then ground. I do know that rescues from Canada have contacted me privately, asking if we have Canadian pilot volunteers who could assist them with moving dogs to other provinces. So I do think the need is there, it just hasn't been tapped into yet.

I do not know if Canada has the equivalent of a 501c3 charitable status, perhaps they do, and this would help the pilots offset their cost. To my knowledge, you cannot use our U.S. based 501c3? Just a side note and I realize our outstanding pilot volunteers don't make these flights for the donation, they do it for the animals, but it can make a difference for some pilots.

As I stated earlier, if a rescue group, or a pilot, would like to set up a PNP Canada, the offer still stands from us to guide you with that procedure. Meanwhile, thanks for flying over the border!!

Debi