February 1990 in Iqaluit, on Baffin Island, Canada. Activities have slowed down a bit today. A temperature of -43C combined with 35 mph north-west winds means that the wind chill factor has gone down to -85C (NOAA Wind Chill Chart). We see far fewer pedestrians and even less motor vehicles on the city’s few roads. Many engines refuse to start and the motor oil has almost the consistency of maple taffy.
A special day indeed as, from the Transport Canada flight service station (FSS) tower, we can watch a very interesting performance. Huge ravens have picked that very windy day to have fun, regardless of the temperature. Flying under the wind near the FSS cab, they benefit from the venturi effect. There is no need flapping their wings. They just glide while occasionally correcting the angle of attack to adjust for the gusting wind.
The wind chill factor affecting living organisms, I find it quite spectacular to see those huge black birds having fun while we would expect that, with a -85C factor, ravens which must not absolutely fly would stay under cover until the weather improves a bit.
We can clearly hear the noise made by the wind on the wings of a huge raven when it glides over us. One day, I was walking near the Apex village under total silence. Suddenly I heard a raven glide low over my head. He was possibly checking if there was anything eatable out of that deformed shape transformed by multiple layers of winter clothing. There was only the rustling of the wind on its large open wings and no other sound. That was a very special experience.
On a summer day of 1989, a DC-8-63F took-off from Iqaluit airport’s runway 36, on Baffin Island, heading towards Los Angeles. In order to do the flight without any stopovers, the tanks had been topped. The combined fuel, passengers and cargo weight required an extremely long ground run before the wheels could leave the runway.
Viewed from the Transport Canada flight service station tower, it seemed to us that the pilot had waited until the last moment to pull on the stick. Once airborne, the aircraft flew horizontally and stayed very low over the flat terrain to profit from the ground effect.
However, few kilometers from the threshold of runway 18, the terrain started to rise enough to request a positive climb rate. The pilot slightly pulled on the stick but avoided any turn to maximize lift.
Using binoculars, the flight service specialists (FSS) watched the aircraft as it should have made a left turn a long time ago. When the turn was finally attempted, the aircraft started to sink and lose much of the altitude precedently gained. We could follow the changes of altitude through the long trails of dark smoke left behind the aircraft.
Realizing the airplane was not ready to turn yet as it was going down, the pilot had started to fly it horizontally again. Moments later, the pilot tried again and the aircraft made a five to ten degree bank before starting to climb very gently. The aircraft would not have handled anything more.
It was the first time that we were considering pressing the red button used to alert airport emergency services. But this would not have been very useful since very little help could have been provided quickly enough, taking into account the position of the aircraft, its enormous amount of fuel on board and the total absence of roads in that isolated Arctic region.
N795AL DC-8-63 Trans Ocean airborne runway 18 in Iqaluit in 1990
In 1990, Stacey Campbell, a News North journalist, wrote an article that she titled: “Iqaluit Drug Haven”. She wrote that the Iqaluit airport was the main point of arrival for the entire drug being used all over the Baffin Island region, in the Nunavut. Mail was also another tool used by drug trafficker. It was quite easy to find marijuana, hashish and cocaine.
On the top floor of the eight stories building in which I lived, there were an increasing number of drug users. While only a year ago the place was relatively quiet, it was not the case anymore. From my small apartment, I could hear the shouting in the corridor or in the neighbouring rooms and the “OPEN THE DOOR!” ordered by the RCMP police officers.
There were cases of domestic violence, fights, people which I had to step over to walk in the corridor as they were lying down on the floor in their vomit, totally intoxicated. Near where I lived, somebody was thrown out of an apartment in a rather radical way: the door and its fittings were now missing and there was blood on the wall. The place is far less peaceful than last year.
At the center of the picture, a high rise building inhabited by single people in Iqaluit in 1988.
In a nearby room, several drug users met, mostly on Friday nights. Quite often, tension rose between card games. The place had become unsuitable for somebody trying to rest while on a seven days a week shift work providing air traffic services at the local Transport Canada flight service station.
I remember one time when somebody started to kick on my door while I was studying quietly in my room. I could hear him shout: “I am going to kick your ass!” Since I had no idea of what was going on and as it seemed that I was directly concerned, I opened the door.
I then recognized a person whom I politely asked, at least six months ago, to try to lower the noise level. All those months went by and tonight, in an altered state, he suddenly remembered that request. He visibly took my request as a personal insult. He was now under the influence of an unknown substance and was angry.
He was standing in the corridor. Any moderate reaction on my part seemed useless, considering his situation. It appeared that only a quick and radical move would bear some success.
I tried to slowly close the door but he blocked it with his hand. The situation was getting worse. I waited few seconds and tried again, calmly and without a word. In few seconds, if nothing was working, there would only be one solution left. I gently pressed on the door and he totally surprised me by letting go so that in about twenty seconds, the door was closed again.
All this was done in total silence. In my room, I stood few feet away from the door, expecting it to be slammed open but nothing happened. Only that silence all around. After few minutes of having stood still, waiting for the next logical step, I realized that everything was over. What a weird night! This would not have ended the same way in a big city down South.
I can really say that in 1990, Iqaluit was in fact a drug heaven. Moreover, the floor where I had my room was no exception. I was eventually able to move to another floor where there were people with a more balanced lifestyle and the need to sleep once in a while…
In 1982, Air UK ceased its charter flight operation. But five years later, the company was back in that business, under the name of Air UK Leisure. It started its operation by using three Boeing 737-200s but soon realized more aircrafts would be needed. In 1988, Air UK Leisure ordered seven new 737-400s, the first of their type in Europe.
Those 737-400s, built at Boeing Field in Seattle, had to fly to Europe by passing over northern Canada. The aircrafts could not do that long trip without stopping for fuel. They landed at the Iqaluit airport, on Baffin Island, in the Nunavut.
Air UK G-UKLB Boeing B737 arriving in Iqaluit
In the unique aviation photography above, taken from the local Transport Canada flight service station (FSS), you can see one of those new Boeings, a B737-4YO, G-UKLB.
During the same period, many companies having recently acquired some B737-400s and 500s did the same trip from Seattle to Europe by stopping in Iqaluit. Among those, Aer Lingus and Hapag-Lloyd.
Aer Lingus B-737 on final in Iqaluit in 1990
A new Hapag-LLoyd (D-AHLL) Boeing B-737 has just arrived from Boeing Field in Seattle. Next destination: Germany.
The Iqaluit airport, on Baffin Island in the Nunavut, is a popular stopover for short and mid-range aircrafts needing to refuel when overflying the Canadian Arctic. Its 8,600 feet runway can accommodate all types of aircrafts. Airbus aircrafts like the A380, the A350-XWB and the A330-200F were tested there during several days to evaluate their performance under extreme cold temperatures.
Airbus A330-200F arriving in Iqaluit for extreme cold tests. (PHOTO by CHRIS WINDEYER)
Well-known actors, princes and princesses (among them some members of the British Monarchy) and many political personalities stopped in Iqaluit throughout the years. Even Nelson Mandela stopped by Iqaluit on his return trip from United States.
Elder Alacie Joamie and Prince Albert II of Monaco in Iqaluit in 2012
Around 1989-1990, the Sultan of Brunei and his suite also stopped in Iqaluit. The flight service specialists (FSS) were surprised to see that a Boeing 727 was not enough to accommodate the Sultan as two Gulfstream American business jets also landed few minutes before the 727.
Once the three aircrafts were parked on the apron, the Boeing 727’s front door was opened, a stairway was lowered and staff members rolled out a long red carpet. Two women got out of the airplane and started sweeping the whole carpet and, few minutes later, the Sultan stepped out for a walk and a breath of fresh air.
In less than an hour, the refueling was completed and everyone got back onboard their respective aircraft and left for Europe. It was the first time I was witnessing such a deployment of resources to carry a monarch.
But I had seen nothing yet. Few years later, I was transferred to the Transport Canada flight service station in Quebec City, which would later become the Quebec Flight Information Center (FIC) under Nav Canada. There, I could witness, with other air traffic services staff members, the frenzy surrounding the arrival of the President of the United States, Georges W. Bush, for the 2001 Summit of the Americas. That was certainly beyond measure…
1989 was a problematic year for the Transport Canada flight service specialists (FSS) in Iqaluit as we had problems communicating by means of HF frequencies with airliners crossing the North Atlantic.
As usual, we tried to get position reports at 60, 70 and 80 degree west in order to ensure that the Montreal, Gander, Winnipeg and Edmonton area control centers could provide accurate air traffic services by maintaining ten minutes or eighty nautical miles between each aircraft. We had to note the route, the actual and next position of the aircrafts, the different time, speed and altitude, this while we relayed ATC clearances.
Flight service specialists at work at the Iqaluit flight service station in 1989
But for many weeks in February and March, the radio communications were blocked by a solar storm that was strong enough to cause problems to the Hydro-Québec electrical network. The entire province of Quebec suffered an electrical power blackout that lasted nine hours on March 13th.
During a major solar storm, the full spectrum of HF frequencies can become useless for frequent periods varying from ten minutes to an hour.
I remember several problematic cases, among which one where an area control center controller asked us to contact an airliner to know if the pilot could climb to 37,000 feet once at 70 degree west. The question was transmitted to the pilot and he immediately replied: “Roger, we are climbing 370”. He had not received any clearance to change his altitude but he was nonetheless starting to climb where there was no adequate separation between him and other aircrafts.
We replied multiple times: “Negative, this is a question, this is not a clearance, do not climb to flight level 370”, but the pilot never replied back due to the poor quality of HF communications. The control center was quickly called back and advised of the situation.
For the remaining period of the solar storm, the flight service specialists were asked about the actual quality of the HF communications before any punctual requests was sent on radio in order to avoid problems.
The Transport Canada flight service specialists (FSS) in Iqaluit were sometimes amazed by the type of clothing chosen by pilots who were ferrying aircrafts from Europe to America.
Small and mid-size aircrafts required a flight plan including a stopover in Iqaluit, on Baffin Island, since refueling was necessary. One would think that pilots would have prepared themselves for unexpected situations and plan according to the extreme weather conditions prevailing at some of the airports along their route to America.
The FSS staff witnessed, on numerous occasions, small jets experience serious problems while refueling under very cold temperature. While the tanks were being filled up, the tires were deflating progressively.
Hapag Lloyd D-AHLO B737-4K5 in its delivery flight in 1989, from Boeing Field (KBFI) to Iqaluit, and then towards Germany. It is being refueled during difficult weather conditions. This type of aircraft did not experience much problem with the cold weather, but it was not the case with smaller business jets
A small delay in the operations and the engines did not start anymore. The pilots got out of their aircraft, wearing only a thin leather jacket and summer shoes. Trying to protect themselves from the bitter cold, they gesticulated while talking with the fuel man who, himself, was wearing a thick Arctic suit that protected him from head to toes.
A thin leather jacket and summer shoes were certainly appropriate for Southern Europe but far from being useful on the apron of an airport where the wind chill factor often varied between -50C and -65C. The aircraft sometimes had to be towed in a hangar in order to be warmed up for hours, if not the night, and the transit fees grew exponentially.
I suppose that a pilot who lived such an experience remembers it today as clearly as the FSS staff, but not for the same reasons. And it is almost certain that he prepared accordingly for the next ferry flight.
Mountains around Iqaluit, during a nice day when there is still ice in the bay. The blue tones are absolutely magnificent.
Colors of the sky during nightime. Summer 1988, Iqaluit.
Around 1989-1990, there was in Iqaluit, on Baffin Island, a very quiet Inuit living in the same eight floor building as I did. He spent his free time reading while walking, lost in his thoughts like a priest. When we crossed each other on the street, we always exchanged polite greetings.
One evening, as I was about to leave my apartment to go to work the night shift at the Transport Canada flight service station (FSS), I saw in the corridor a man who was really going through an anger crisis, shouting and using all his determination to destroy a wall with a hammer. He was really going at it and the work was moving ahead very well…
I recognized that person that I was greeting almost on a daily basis and I was now facing a problem: To go work at the FSS station, I had to walk very close to him, since there was no other issue out of the building. Was he in such a crisis that he would not remember me?
I got closer and took the chance to pass just behind him. He suddenly stopped hitting the wall, turned around with the hammer in his hand and looked at me. Then he calmly said, like the gentlemen that he usually was: “Good evening!” I replied then walked about ten meters toward the exit before I heard him shout and hit the wall again.
The least I can say is that, some nights, you could witness the most bizarre situations. And when that was preceding a night shift, in an isolated Arctic post, you sometimes had the feeling to be living in a surreal world.
I do not know how the story ended. The next morning, back from the night shift, I entered a building where everything was peaceful. The only trace left by the man in crisis was a damaged wall. Very soon, somebody would come and repair the wall and that event would rapidly be erased from memories.
(Precedent story: Iqaluit FSS and the Persian Gulf War)
Book and message sent by a Saab-Scania pilot to the Iqaluit flight service specialists
I still have fond memories of a pilot who came up to visit the flight service specialists (FSS) at the Transport Canada flight service station in Iqaluit, in1990, during an icy Christmas evening. This Saab-Scania pilot had arrived from United States and he intended to cross the Atlantic toward Europe.
But the extreme cold prevailing in Iqaluit, on Baffin Island, had complicated the ground operations. The pilot’s tight schedule as well as the reduced services in effect for the Christmas holidays had given him all sorts of problems. Through his entire ordeal, he kept a professional attitude and we did everything possible to get him out of trouble.
Just before he left the flight service station, he asked us our name and mailing address in Iqaluit. Finally, once all his problems had been taken care of, he took-off from Canada towards his next stopover. Weeks went by and one day, my colleague and I each received a package from Sweden. It was a book about the Saab-Scania story and, inside, there was this little note: “With thanks for the help at Christmas”!
(Next story: A freelance demolition worker in Iqaluit)
On October 22nd 2015, in Ottawa, a ceremonial service commemorated the anniversary of the attacks that killed two Canadian soldiers in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu and Ottawa: Warrant officer Patrick Vincent and Corporal Nathan Cirillo. Both families were present at the ceremony.
Policemen on motorcycles in Ottawa, on October 22nd 2015, ahead of the ceremony honoring Corporal Nathan Cirillo and Warrant officer Patrick Vincent
As one could expected, major security measures were put in place. View of the ceremony was partly blocked by all kind of obstacles and the crowd was held at a good distance by fences and an army of policemen.
Part of the crowd standing near the National War Memorial in Ottawa on October 22nd 2015
I was nonetheless lucky enough to find one of the few spots that provided a direct view on the ceremony and the dignitaries.
Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau and Stephen Harper shake hands during the ceremony in honor of Nathan Cirillo and Patrick Vincent held at the National War Memorial in Ottawa on October 22nd 2015
Using a Canon 70-200mm f2.8L II USM equipped with an extender, and benefiting from an ideal random positioning of the multiple secret service agents, policemen, soldiers and officers of all kinds, few other photos were made possible.
A first handshake was visible between Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau and the incumbent Prime Minister Stephen Harper, under the eyes of Justin Trudeau’s wife Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau.
First handshake between the new Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau and the incumbent Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the National War Memorial of Canada in Ottawa on October 22nd 2015
Few dignitaries who were present at the ceremony: The Ottawa mayor, Jim Watson, Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau, Justin Trudeau, Laureen and Stephen Harper.
Jim Watson, Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau and Justin Trudeau, Laureen and Stephen Harper at the National War Memorial in Ottawa in 2015
On several occasions, Justin Trudeau and Laureen Harper were able to exchange a few words.
The new Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau and Laureen Harper in Ottawa, October 22nd 2015
Four CF-18s flew over the crowd, at good speed. I was lucky enough to take a picture of one of them. For those photographers who could be interested, the camera speed was 1/8000 sec, the focal length 400mm and aperture 5.6.
One of four F-18s over the National War Memorial in Ottawa on October 22nd 2015
Justin Trudeau and Stephen Harper then raised and walk toward the National War Memorial in order to lay a wreath on behalf of the people of Canada.
Justin Trudeau and Stephen Harper at the National War Memorial in Ottawa on October 22nd 2015
On the left of the picture below, it is possible to see some of the Corporal Nathan Cirillo’s family members.
Nathan Cirillo family members are sitting behind Justin Trudeau and Stephen Harper in Ottawa, October 22nd 2015
A second handshake, more assertive this time, was exchanged between Justin Trudeau and Stephen Harper.
Second handshake between the new Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau and the incumbent Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the National War Memorial in Ottawa on October 2015
Comforting words were pronounced by a few people, among them the Governor General of Canada and the military chaplain.
The military chaplain at the National War Memorial in Ottawa on October 22nd 2015
The Governor General of Canada, David Johnston, and his wife are shown leaving at the end of the ceremony.
The Governor General of Canada, David Johnston, and his wife at the National War Memorial in Ottawa on October 22nd 2015
A serious handshake was exchanged between the Ottawa Mayor, Jim Watson, and the Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau. Justin Trudeau’s both hands covering Jim Watson’s was certainly a sign that real cooperation could be expected.
Ottawa mayor Jim Watson and Justin Trudeau in Ottawa 2015
Soldiers of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, of which Nathan Cirillo belonged, did a march- about under high protection. A commemorative plaque was unveiled at the National War Memorial in honor of Cpl Nathan Cirillo and the same will be done next year for Warrant officer Patrick Vincent.
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Parade in Ottawa, October 22nd 2015
Unveiling a commemorative plaque in honor of Cpl Nathan Cirillo in Ottawa on October 22nd 2015
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