Thanks to Alfio for the following story:

What to do on a cold -28C morning…. why not fly two Vans RV7 and one RV9 to Sept-Iles QC from Ottawa ON, a 500 nautical mile leg and bring back some dogs for Pilots N Paws Canada.  We had 7 pups and two adults of which they thought one might be pregnant. Just beautiful dogs melting your heart away. Tried to sneak one in my coat, but I got caught every time.

We left at 7 AM and returned back to Ottawa at around 7 PM. The twelve hour trip had 8 hours of flight time and over 1000 nautical miles round trip.

The plan was to fuel the planes at our departure airport, however they were having fuel distribution problems, so we quickly adjusted the flight plan and flew to  Smiths Falls (CYSH) about a dozen minutes away. The flight after that was just over 3 hours for a straight run to Sept-Iles.

Either Matt or Dave had a minor emergency requiring a pit stop. They diverted to Chicoutimi (CYRC) while we continued on. They have the faster RV, so they could catch up to us. That’s what happens when you down a smoothie on the way to the airport.

Crossing the Saguenay river.  If you look closely, the Saguenay river seems to have an ice road plowed. Hmmm, might be good for an emergency landing. Upon further inspection it’s revealed an ice breaker is operating in the area…. OK, note to self not to try and land there.

Matt/Dave’s plane and ours ready for refuelling. What a nightmare trying to remove the fuel caps. There was no elasticity left in the o-rings.  We needed to use a screwdriver to pry the caps open. There was paint damage to surrounding area, but what can you do.

John’s plane getting refueled. Once we managed to pry open our fuel caps with a screwdriver, we all ran inside away from the cold and blustering wind and let the fuel guy do his thing.

Now this is where the real fun begins…

Lucie, part of the ground crew of PnP in Sept-Iles. Thanks.

Our passenger with plenty of warm blankets to huddle in.

Matt and Dave’s passenger ready for a snooze.

Group selfie at 4,500 feet.

Our flight engineer barking out orders.

Pit stop in Chicoutimi CYRC. Fuel and stretching legs.

Arrival at Lachute, with all dogs safe and sound. Another 40 minute flight and we were back at Carp airport CYRP.

Subaru and Petmate are proud sponsors of Pilots N Paws.