(Precedent story: the « Amalgam Chief » military exercise: B-52 bombers in northern Canada).
This story is about a 1990 winter day where very bad weather conditions prevailed in Iqaluit, on Baffin Island, Canada. Bad as it was, the weather still allowed for takeoffs. Two airline companies, respectively owning a Boeing 727 and 737 had completed the boarding and expected to be airborne shortly. The weather deteriorating even more, the Transport Canada flight service specialists (FSS) had to tell the pilots that they could not proceed with the takeoff as the airport was now under the minimum visibility criteria.
The aircrafts were ready, the engines running and the pilots could not takeoff. There was a bit of tension in the air and the pilots finally decided that they would take a chance and takeoff under unacceptable conditions. The two captains were reminded by the FSS that if they tried to takeoff in the prevailing visibility, which was under legal minimums, an occurrence report would be filed against them.
The flight service specialist naturally received a reply in line with the pilot’s impatience. Nevertheless, the pilots took a second look at the weather and, thinking of a possible occurrence report, decided to delay both takeoffs.
In being so impatient to complete their flight, those captains were neglecting that there is always the possibility of an engine failure or other major emergency on takeoff. If they had lost an engine just after being airborne, it would have been impossible to return back to Iqaluit due to the extremely low visibility; they would have been forced to fly a very long distance with one less engine to get to their alternate airport, increasing the risks for the safety of the passengers.
The threat of a potential occurrence report, which has always been the prerogative of air traffic services, forced the pilots to wait for appropriate weather conditions.
(Next story: the lady who was robbed before my eyes)
(Precedent story: Iqaluit and the old American military base (Frobisher Bay)
In October 1989, Stacey Campbell wrote an article in News North that she titled: “Military Jets Fill the Arctic Skies”. She explained that NORAD (North American Air Defence) regularly held exercises aimed at testing the capacity of Canada’s new radar defense system to detect potential enemies approaching from the north.
The interviewed military officer told Stacey that CF-18 fighter jets, tankers and B-52 bombers, among other types, would be part of the operation. The CF-18’s would temporarily be stationed in Iqaluit, on Baffin Island, and Inuvik for the duration of the exercise. Other types of aircrafts were also involved in that annual test, like the F-15, T-33 and possibly the AWAC although the latter did not land in Iqaluit.
The local Transport Canada flight service specialists (FSS) had to deal with the tight operating schedule provided by a military officer as well as integrate the daily arrivals and departures of private and commercial aircrafts.
At the time, the most useful taxiway, one which was located near the end of runway 35, could not be used since the terrain was too soft. All the aircrafts using runway 35 were forced to backtrack that runway before it could be cleared for other incoming or departing aircrafts. The additional time required for that procedure sometimes gave headaches to the military officer sitting by our side.
I remember that the military officer in charge of the mission told us: “If the jets cannot takeoff within the next minute, the mission will be aborted”. It just happened that during the tight window within which the CF-18’s had to be airborne that day, there were many commercial aircrafts like the Avro 748, Twin Otter, Boeing 727 and 737 and other executive aircrafts operating around Iqaluit. There was always a way to please everybody and the military exercise ended the way it was initially planned.
This was a period much appreciated by the flight service specialists (FSS) since, for one week during the year, our operations changed radically: we had to respect the imperative needs related to the military exercise as well as continue to provide regular air traffic services.
It was brought to our attention, for having discussed with many pilots involved in the exercise that military forces were kind enough to offer, through our Transport Canada manager, few posters signed by pilots of squadrons involved in the “Amalgam Chief” exercise. Although the manager never deemed necessary to show his staff even one of those posters, I appreciated the gesture from the pilots.
(Next story: two airline captains forced to delay their departure from Iqaluit)
(Precedent story: carrying a .357 Magnum to Iqaluit)
Before retelling some of the events that happened while I was working at the Transport Canada flight service station in Iqaluit, in the Nunavut (1989-1991), it is mandatory to present few important dates that will allow the reader to understand why the airport was initially an American military base.
1938. Hitler’s ambitions are such that Roosevelt deemed necessary to announce the following: “I give you assurance that the people of the United States will not stand idly by if domination of Canadian soil is threatened by any other empire ».
1939. Beginning of discussions between Canada and United States with regards to joint defense of the North American continent.
1940. Great-Britain was at risk of losing the war against a Germany that was progressing rapidly in its conquest of the European soil. When Denmark was defeated in autumn 1940, fear grew that the Germans would progress westward and establish operational military bases on the newly acquired territories.
Greenland belonging to a defeated Denmark, Germans would be using it to get closer to Canada. At the time, Greenland was the sole commercial source of cryolite, an essential component of aluminum used in aircraft production.
There was also a province which was not part of Canada in 1940 and which presented a strategic interest for an enemy in its war against Canada and United States: Newfoundland and Labrador.
In order for the war not to be fought directly on the North American territory, one had to keep the Germans busy in Europe. It therefore meant that Great-Britain must not be defeated.
1941. Ships carrying short range fighting aircrafts from America to Europe were regularly attacked and sunk by U-boats. It was imperative to change the route. Canadians and Americans were looking for the best sites that could accommodate the construction of runways allowing short range military aircrafts to fly up to Prestwick, Scotland.
This new route was called “Crimson Route” and the stopovers were Goose Bay in Labrador, Fort Chimo (Kuujjuaq) in Quebec, Frobisher Bay (Iqaluit), on Baffin Island in the Nunavut as well as three sites in Greenland (Narsarsuaq, Angmagssalik and Sondre Stromfjord (Kangerlussuaq). The Frobisher Bay coded name became “Crystal Two” base.
1941-42. Germans established the first inhabited weather bases on the Greenland coast in order to facilitate U-Boats operations across the North Atlantic. When those sites were discovered, they were destroyed by American commandos.
1942. U-Boats entered the St-Lawrence seaway and sank Canadian ships.
1942. The site initially chosen to establish the Frobisher Bay airport (the Crystal Two base) was Cromwell Island, located 20 miles south-west of today’s actual site for Iqaluit. This was until a new site was discovered (today’s site) that favored the construction of longer runways and allowed the beaching of flatboats loaded with cargo during the summer period.
A ships convoy carrying thousands of tons of cargo planned for the construction of the Frobisher Bay base arrived at destination. This convoy was nonetheless attacked by the U-517 U-Boat and the cargo-ship Chatham, carrying 6000 tons of material destined for Crystal One and Crystal Two bases was sank.
1943. An German automated weather station was built at Martin Bay, in Labrador, to facilitate the U-Boats operations. This weather station is now in permanent exhibition at the war museum in Ottawa. Pictures have been found were we can see smiling but armed German soldiers taking the pose near the automated weather station. Canada accidently learned about the existence of that weather station in 1980.
Many German officers and soldiers who were captured in Europe were sent abroad while waiting for the end of the war. My grandparents, who owned a farm in St-Ignace, Quebec, became responsible, over time, for one German officer and two soldiers. They had only good comments on the behavior and desire of the prisoners to help on the farm.
1943. Both Frobisher Bay runways were now operational, although without being totally completed. The engineers did not have the knowledge of the Russians when it came to maintaining airport runways in the Arctic. Damages caused by permafrost were significant and the runways necessitated a lot of maintenance. The water present under the runways would sometimes surface suddenly and create five meter deep holes. Those runways needed a constant effort to remain usable.
The first runway to be built was eventually abandoned due to a wrong evaluation of the prevailing winds and the dangers associated with the surrounding elevated terrain. Today only remains the runway that we know in Iqaluit, although extended to 9000 feet. The year 1943 recorded 323 aircraft arrivals, of which only a small number made the complete trip to Europe.
1944. War took a new turn. The newly developed long range radars, allied to advanced technology in the detection and attack of submarines, radically diminished the U-Boats threat in North Atlantic. The “Crimson Route” airports were suddenly losing their pertinence. The Canadian government, worried about the massive presence of Americans in the Canadian Arctic, bought the airports from the American government.
1950. Canadians officially took control of the Frobisher Bay airport, but authorized an American presence since this airport had a new strategic importance in the cold war that followed Second World War. The weather station and runway maintenance were taken care of by American forces.
1951-53. A radar station was built on a hill northeast of runway 17-35. This station completed what was then known as the Pinetree line. This line was made of several long range surveillance radar stations; it covered all of southern Canada and gradually curved towards the north to end up in Frobisher Bay. All those stations were inhabited and could order interceptions at all times against potential enemy forces, by means of jet aircrafts.
1955. Americans received the authorization from Canada to build a SAC [Strategic Air Command] military base where numerous KC-97 tankers were stationed in support of B-47 bombers operations carrying nuclear armament. The base was built in 1958 and, until the end of its operations in 1963, parking space was occupied by at least seven KC-97. The SAC base was not needed anymore after the new Boeing B-52 bombers and KC-135 tankers were developed.
A French-Canadian military from Quebec at work in Frobisher Bay
My uncle Gaston Gagnon was part of the French-Canadian military staff who was in service in Frobisher Bay. He volunteered for service during the Second World War (1939-1945).
He worked in the communication field during the Cold War and, after he died in 2016, I received some pictures that were taken in 1955 in Frobisher Bay. Those photos also witness of the American presence in Frobisher Bay.
1960. The runway was extended from 6000 to 9000 feet.
1961. The Frobisher Bay radar station, part of the Pinetree line, was closed but the Polevault station remained in activity.
1963. Americans left Frobisher Bay and gave control of the Polevault station to the DOT [Department of Transport], an older designation of Transport Canada.
1964. The radio operator, and later flight service specialist (FSS) Georges McDougall, arrived in Frobisher Bay. All the village inhabitants eventually got to know Georges since he provided air traffic services there for at least thirty-seven years, seven days a week, on shifts work. He progressively became a privileged witness of all the unusual events to happen in the village and at the airport.
Below is a picture of the old DOT hangar and tower.
1987. Frobisher Bay was renamed Iqaluit.
1989. Stacey Campbell wrote an article in News North that she titled: “Military Jets Fill the Arctic Skies”. She explained that NORAD (North American Air Defence) regularly held exercises aimed at testing the capacity of Canada’s new radar defense system to detect potential enemies approaching from the north.
The interviewed military officer told Stacey that CF-18 fighter jets, tankers and B-52 bombers, among other types, would be part of the operation. The CF-18’s would temporarily be stationed in Iqaluit, on Baffin Island, and Inuvik for the duration of the exercise. Other types of aircrafts were also involved in that annual test, like the F-15, T-33 and possibly the AWAC although the latter did not land in Iqaluit.
The local Transport Canada flight service specialists (FSS) had to deal with the tight operating schedule provided by a military officer as well as integrate the daily arrivals and departures of private and commercial aircrafts.
At the time, the most useful taxiway, one which was located near the end of runway 35, could not be used since the terrain was too soft. All the aircrafts using runway 35 were forced to backtrack that runway before it could be cleared for other incoming or departing aircrafts. The additional time required for that procedure sometimes gave headaches to the military officer sitting by our side.
I remember that the military officer in charge of the mission told us: “If the jets cannot takeoff within the next minute, the mission will be aborted”. It just happened that during the tight window within which the CF-18’s had to be airborne that day, there were many commercial aircrafts like the Avro 748, Twin Otter, Boeing 727 and 737 and other executive aircrafts operating around Iqaluit. There was always a way to please everybody and the military exercise ended the way it was initially planned.
This was a period much appreciated by the flight service specialists (FSS) since, for one week during the year, our operations changed radically: we had to respect the imperative needs related to the military exercise as well as continue to provide regular air traffic services.
It was brought to our attention, for having discussed with many pilots involved in the exercise that military forces were kind enough to offer, through our Transport Canada manager, few posters signed by pilots of squadrons involved in the “Amalgam Chief” exercise. Although the manager never deemed necessary to show his staff even one of those posters, I appreciated the gesture from the pilots.
1993. In order to replace a DEW line that had become obsolete, Canadians and Americans jointly built a new base that would now be used for logistical support for the new North Warning System.
2006. Extreme cold tests were held in Iqaluit by Airbus for the A-380, the biggest passenger aircraft in the world.
2014. Extreme cold tests were held by Airbus for its new A-350 XWB.
2015. Canada was the host of the Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting in Iqaluit. The Council is composed of the following countries: Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia and United States. Joining the meeting were senior representatives of indigenous organisations holding the status of permanent participants.
Dassault completes several cold-soak trials in Iqaluit for its Falcon 6X
Pope Francis visits Iqaluit during his Canadian trip aimed at healing and reconciliation with Indigenous groups and residential school survivors.
2024. An Air France Boeing 797-900 makes an emergency landing in Iqaluit due to a burning smell reported by passengers.
(Next story: The military exercise “Amalgam Chief”: B-52 bombers in northern Canada)
(Precedent document: Aviation photography: Rouyn-Noranda aircraft photos during 1986-1988 (Part three of three)
In 1988, I left Rouyn-Noranda for the Transport Canada flight service station, on Baffin Island. Iqaluit is Nunavut’s Capital and a designated port of entry to Canada for international air and marine transportation. Located at the crossroads of both polar and high North Atlantic air routes, Iqaluit airport can handle any type of aircraft.
I had to learn new tasks linked to ICAO responsibilities toward international air traffic crossing the Atlantic Ocean, as well as continue to act as a flight service specialist (FSS) and provide air traffic services.
The departure would be made from the Montreal Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau international airport. I decided to bring my .357 Magnum revolver with which I had been training for several years. Official papers authorized me to carry the gun from my home to the Montreal airport. Once there, I headed to a counter where an agent gave me another document allowing me to carry the revolver in the Nordair Boeing 737 leaving for Iqaluit.
There was no stipulation that the gun had to be left in the cockpit. I went through the security zone. The .357 Magnum was in a small case, in an Adidas sport bag. The bag was put on a moving strap, like any other hand luggage, in order to be checked by a security agent. The bag was not open by the agent; he looked at the screen, saw what was in the bag and that was it. I thought at the time that he might have received special instructions that I knew nothing about.
I was a bit surprised at the easiness with which I could carry a gun, but having never tried it before, since I was not a policeman, I concluded that it was the way things were done when all the papers and requests had been filed accordingly. The screening process being completed, I went outside and walked towards the Boeing 737.
A female flight attendant was greeting all the passengers. I presented her my airplane ticket just as I was ready to board the plane and she immediately asked me if the gun was in the bag I was carrying, and if it was loaded. My answers being acceptable, she invited me to go to my seat.
Once comfortably seated, I placed my Adidas bag under the front passenger’s seat instead of the elevated compartments along the aisles. I wanted to be able to see the bag at all times. The airplane took-off and it was a smooth flight to Iqaluit.
Three years passed and came the time to be transferred at the Transport Canada flight service station in Québec City (CYQB). The world had certainly changed during those three years isolated up in the Arctic. In 1989, Marc Lépine got known for the massacre, with a firearm, of fourteen women studying at the Montreal Polytechnic School.
I headed to the Iqaluit RCMP office in order to fill the appropriate documents that would allow me to carry the gun back to Québec City, a gun that would be sold few months after my arrival at destination. The police officer signed the papers and told me that the revolver would be kept in the Boeing 737’s cockpit.
I asked him, in case it was still allowed, if I had the liberty to carry it in my bag and put it under the front passenger’s seat, like I did for the inbound flight. He looked at me and clearly did not believe a word I had just said. But that did not matter. The gun would travel in the cockpit with the pilots and I would claim it once at destination.
When I think again about this story, almost thirty years later, I realize how the world has dramatically changed. There was a time where I could head to the Montreal international airport with my family to watch the landings and takeoffs from an exterior elevated walkway opened to the general public. From this same walkway, chimney smokers would negligently throw away their still smoking cigarette butts in an area where fuel trucks were operating.
The airport’s management eventually forbid the access to the outside walkway after having received too many complaints from passengers who rightfully claimed that their suitcases had been damaged by cigarette butts thrown from the walkway…
(Next story: Iqaluit and the old American military base)
Here is the third group of aircraft photos taken at the Rouyn-Noranda airport (CYUY) during 1986-1988, while I was working as a flight service specialist (FSS). Those are not fancy pictures but they nonetheless provide a representative sample of what was flying over the Abitibi region during those years. As such, they are part of the Quebec Province aviation history. You have possibly discovered some company names and colours already in the last two aviation photography documents published on June 29th and July 11 th 2015.
I took those photos with an old Pentax KX, using Kodachrome film. Many types and categories of aircrafts and helicopters are included: private, commercial, corporate, government, etc. I am convinced that some pictures will bring back memories to older pilots.
In this third and final group of photos, you will find: Québecair Convair, Noranda Mines Lear 25 C-GZIM, Propair Hugues 500D C-GDFF, Mitsubishi MU-2 C-GAUR, Transport Canada DHC-8-102 C-GCFJ, Government of Canada CP-140 Aurora, Cessna C-425 Conquest 1 C-GLAD, Hugues 300 C-GBUM, Cessna C-210 C-GVYD, Inter-Canadien Fokker F-28-1000 C-GQBR, Viking Bell 212 C-GFQN, Air Creebec C-402, Hélico Mont-Laurier Enstrom C-GNUZ, Kelner Airways C028B Caravan 1 C-FKAL, Cessna C-172 C-GUCU, Nordic Bell 206l C-FARV, Cessna C-172 C-FBOI, Cessna C-175 C-FKVE, Scout Chief C-FXGS, Noranda Mines Beech 300 C-GPKP, Québec Aviation Commander 840 C-GPVE, Piper PA-32-300 C-GBRZ, Piper Cherokee 140E C-FTVV.
For more real life stories on the Rouyn-Noranda flight service station and flight service specialists, click here:
Here is the second group of aircraft photos taken at the Rouyn-Noranda airport (CYUY) during 1986-1988, while I was working as a flight service specialist (FSS). Those are not fancy pictures but they nonetheless provide a representative sample of what was flying over the Abitibi region during those years. As such, they are part of the Quebec Province aviation history. You have possibly discovered some company names and colours already in part 1 of 3, published on June 29th 2015.
I took those photos with an old Pentax KX, using Kodachrome film. Many types and categories of aircrafts and helicopters are included: private, commercial, corporate, government, etc. I am convinced that some pictures will bring back memories to older pilots.
In this second part, you will find the following: Ailes de Charlevoix Commander 500S C-GAYR, Propair C-310 C-GAFO, Voyageur Airways BE-10 C-GISH, Skycharter FA-20 C-GSKQ, SEBJ Convair 580, Québecair SA226-TC-MetroII C-GKFS, Nordair-Metro CV-580, Noranda Mines Gulfstream 1 C-FNOR, Government of Canada Challenger 601 for VIP, Cessna C-150 C-FRGC, Canadian Pacific B737-200 C-GNDM, Government of Québec FA-27 C-FPQI, Government of Canada GRC C-208 Caravan 1 C-FMPB, Normick-Perron helicopter Bell 206B C-GAKN, Beech Sierra BE-24 C-FZYD, Astar 350 Écureuil and Dighem, Air Dorval Westwind, Air Charters PA-31 C-GBMX, Air Canada DC-9.
For more real life stories on the Rouyn-Noranda flight service station and flight service specialists, click here:
1986. It was a beautiful summer afternoon at the Rouyn-Noranda airport (CYUY). The Transport Canada flight service station employees knew that a cold front was approaching and would soon sweep the airport. Until then, it was still a perfect day. Blue sky, light winds. At the time, the flight service specialists (FSS) did not have access to radar images or satellite pictures.
To get an idea of what was coming from the west, we were normally using an Environment Canada aviation weather forecast and the actual weather observations of two flight service stations in Ontario, Earlton FSS and Timmins FSS. Their last weather observation mentioned a wind shift and an isolated thunderstorm. But Timmins was far away and could only provide us with a rough estimate of the situation.
As I was working the evening shift on that day, I checked the wind speed indicator, as a reflex developed throughout the years. What I saw was kind of unreal. The speed indicator’s needle suddenly went from showing few knots to 20 knots, and then 40 knots, hesitated a little then went up to 60 knots and, in a final correction, reached 72 knots, which was about 134 km/h.
Everything was so peaceful around the flight service station. I looked through the window to detect any moving object. At that very moment, the wooden shed normally used by the fuel man passed in front of the station. That wooden structure must certainly have weighted few hundred kilos. The fact that it was moving at a good speed was a clear indication that the instruments were working properly. A squall line was associated with the cold front progression.
Everything that was not properly fixed to the ground started moving. In the next hour, strong thunderstorms going eastward moved in over Rouyn-Noranda. The Val-d’Or airport (CYVO) being located sixty miles east, it was clear that it would be hit directly in about two hours. I called the Val-d’Or control tower so that everyone got prepared for the squall line. That gave them enough time to tie everything correctly and damages were limited.
One hour later, everything was back to normal in Rouyn-Noranda and we profited from an ideal summer night.
For more real life stories on the Rouyn-Noranda flight service station and flight service specialists, click here:
In 1986, the Propair Company’s hangar was located very close from our flight service station in Rouyn-Noranda. There were frequent exchanges between their staff and our FSS’s. One day, one of their employees told us that two American pilots had just come to the airport to take delivery of a Caribou DHC-4 cargo aircraft that had been sold by Propair.
The aircraft would be exported. The DHC-4 is known to be a very practical aircraft as it can carry heavy loads and manage to takeoff or land on an extremely short distance.The pilots took-off with their used Caribou and we did not hear any more from them until the world Medias started to talk about the Irangate affair. I can talk about it today as it is a public affair: details can be found on the internet.
The Rouyn-Noranda Propair Company had in fact sold not one but two used DHC-4 Caribous to a consultant working for a panamean company. One of the DHC-4 was later registered in El Salvador. One of the two Caribous experienced an engine failure over the mountains, enroute towards El Salvador. In order to stay in the air, and considering the extreme outside moisture and air temperature, the crew had no other choice than to get rid of some weight. Spare parts in the cargo bay, including a brand new engine still in its crate, were pushed outside the plane, falling in the jungle below. But the plane had eventually no other choice than to land before arriving to its initially planned destination, Ilopango.
All this was linked to the Contras who were engaged in warfare operations against the Nicaraguan leftist government of Daniel Ortega. In order to finance the covert operations, a secret budget was necessary: some Americans were selling arms to Iran, even if there was an official ban, and the money received was financing warfare operations. A journalist who had followed this story closely and made important discoveries was found dead. He had apparently committed suicide by shooting himself twice in the head…
One of the pilots who departed Rouyn-Noranda with a DHC-4 was named Sawyer. This man would later fly, covert operations organized by the CIA, a C123 cargo type aircraft that was shot down in southern Nicaragua. The pilot and co-pilot were killed but a passenger, Eugene Hasenfus, parachuted out knowing the aircraft would soon crash. He was interrogated and revealed the details that allowed the discovery of the secret deal with Iran.
The Oliver North’s testimony in front of the Congress kept that story alive for a long time. Eventually, like everything, this story was progressively forgotten. Thirty years later, I still remember the numerous phone calls that the flight service station received from the Medias about this affair.
A book published in 2013 and titled “Raymond Boulanger, le pilote mercenaire” adds several details to this story, since Mr Boulanger was himself a pilot hired by the CIA.
For more real life stories on the Rouyn-Noranda flight service station and flight service specialists, click here:
October 1984. It was time for the annual holidays. Florida was the destination. What made the trip more interesting was that the Challenger space shuttle would be launched while we would be there, and that the Canadian astronautMarc Garneau would be on board. He was the first Canadian astronaut to have the opportunity to go in space.
The plane’s tickets were bought and one morning of the whole trip was reserved for the shuttle’s takeoff. I was planning to take a picture of the launch from Cocoa Beach. The shuttle would be airborne before daylight, while it was still quite dark.
I had a very basic Pentax camera at the time and all the settings had to be done manually. The aperture and speed were adjusted to ensure a well-balanced picture. But I never expected that the gas combustion would illuminate the sky in such a radical way. I believed, like many people, that the thundering noise from the engines would be the first sign that the launch had just happened.
But the speed of light being way faster that the speed of sound, we suddenly experienced a radical change in the ambient light. I had barely enough time to modify the settings before the shuttle entered the clouds. But I still managed to bring back a little souvenir from that day…
I had just seen something spectacular. I knew that on board were pilots with exceptional talent.
But two months before, while I was working as a flight service specialist (FSS) at the Transport Canada flight service station in Rouyn-Noranda (CYUY), I witnessed a different kind of performance. One day that I was listening on a frequency that is not normally used for communications between pilots and air traffic service units, I heard two pilots exchange the questions and answers found on airline pilot license written exams. The pilot’s comments gave me the feeling that they would be very lucky to succeed at such a written exam.
I took the microphone and, without announcing myself, intervened as a third party in the discussion. I asked them to repeat the questions and answers that they just gave each other since I did not have time to copy everything.
The pilots were stunned to realize that other people were listening while they were exchanging the data on the air. One of them said: “Did you hear that?” They immediately ended the radio communication. The simple fact of using radio frequencies for such activities told a lot about the quality of their judgment. And judgment is an essential quality of every performing pilot…
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Here are some screen captures taken shortly after I bought FlyTampa Toronto. I am using FSX for those pictures.
In order to increase the virtual flight realism, the CumulusX program was used, in addition with REX, a software that generates clouds. Cumulus X is mostly used by virtual gliding enthousiasts but one of its strong side is that it creates shadows on the ground, like in the picture above.
FlyTampa is the company which, up to now, has done the best work representing virtually the Toronto international airport (CYYZ). There are high quality 3D objects, moving people, smoke that comes out of the surrounding buildings. Even the roof’s fan blades can be activated through a control panel that allows the modification of settings according to the configuration of your computer. Three seasons are modelized in order to enhance the virtual flight experience.
For more articles on flight simulation on my web site, click on the following link : Flight simulation