Cross Border Flying – A comprehensive breakdown.

The following are all of the resources, links, phone numbers, my check lists, as well as detailed notes and other pertinent info as a companion to my Cross Border Flying vlog (link to watch above).

I’ll update / edit this as needed!.
Happy international general aviation flying!

Important Links & Telephone Numbers
U.S. Customs Decal: https://dtops.cbp.dhs.gov/home
eAPIS: https://eapis.cbp.dhs.gov/eapis/auth
CBSA / CanPass: 1-888-CanPass (1-888-226-7277), and/or 1-905-679-2073

Canadian Airports of Entry: https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/do-rb/services/aoecan-eng.html

Optional:
Register for CanPass: https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/prog/canpass/privateair-eng.html

I obviously highly recommend FlashPass. Use the code:

chops90

for an extended 90 day trial:

Available at the iOS App Store or a manual install for Android.

Regarding the NAV Canada ATC Fee for N-Registered (USA) aircraft: Foreign aircraft are charged a $20 flat fee per quarter (as defined by NavCanada, not every 90 days) regardless of the number of times you enter/exit Canada. Full details can be found in this PDF from NavCanada. Note:

Northern Border (USA/Canada)
With regard to the Northern border, in either case of arrival to U.S. or Canada, you can plan to fly as “deep” into the country as you want to clear customs… BUT you need to understand that diverting would be problematic. To avoid stress, I have planned to clear reasonably close to the border so that I am free to modify my route as I head to my final destination.

Southern Border (USA/Mexico/Caribbean/South America)
Normally you are supposed to clear USA customs at the nearest airport of entry (AOE) in the USA if flying over the Northern Border. However, you can get an exemption:

Overflight Exemption Process – Simplified:
A border overflight exemption allows general aviation aircraft to overfly the first designated Airport of Entry (AOE) when arriving into the U.S. from below the 30th parallel in the eastern U.S., and below the 33rd parallel in the western U.S. This covers all flights from the Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America, and French Polynesia. More details on how to apply for this exemption can be found from APOA – Overflight Exemption Process- Simplified.

Don’t Have Your DTOPS Sticker Yet?
As long as you can provide the CBP officer proof of purchase you should be ok. Be sure to show them a print-out of DTOPS order.

TIP: As a place-holder type the following number in Flashpass (Aircraft Section/Decal): yy000000 (where “yy” is the last two digits of the current year, followed by six zeros). Make sure you type the correct decal number when available.
TIP: Your new decal number can be found on your DTOPS account a few weeks after purchase.

Departure Manifest
The reason for the Departure Report is that the CBP reserves the right to inspect your aircraft before you leave the country. This manifest must be filed at least 60 minutes prior to departure. You can, however, depart from any airport in the United States. It does not have to be an AOE or offer CBP services (even a remote/grass airstrip).

To file a Departure Manifest in FlashPass from a non-CBP airport:

• Open Flashpass on iPhone
• Select More
• Select Useful Links
• Select Departing a NON CBP Airport.

Flight Plans
Open and activate a flight plan (VFR or IFR) as it is is required for all border crossings. When flying VFR it is a good idea to get a squawk code before crossing from ATC or a FSS.  For example. When crossing from from Mexico to the US, I call SAN ANGELO RADIO:
“San Angelo Radio, this is N94GL on a VFR flight plan from MMAN to KMFE requesting a SQUAWK code for border crossing”.
“N94GL squawk 1201 before crossing the border and close flight plan on arrival.” Getting a discrete squawk code for crossing the border is not required when flying IFR (as you will probably already be assigned one).

Airport Fact Sheets
The CBP website has got a lot better over the years they are slowly adding all the GA fact sheets online. These fact sheets contain information such as the correct number to call for landing rights, hours of operation, etc..

More Information On Crossing The Northern Border
Check out the Pilot Nerds episode: Transborder Crossing in GA Aircraft. You can also read Blake’s blog post: How To Fly to the USA from Canada.

Dedication
This video is dedicated to Arturo Jr.
His story was shared by the Air Safety Institute

Flight Chops Border Crossing Check Lists

Both the arrival and departure checklists are available as a PDF. Feel free to copy/paste them into your own checklist or print off as is.

A note from anther pilot friend Jim, who flys cross border a lot:
I carry a package that is similar to what you would have. If you’re driving your car. Police officer pulls you over and asks for three things: drivers license, registration, and insurance. The only difference with aircraft is there’s three licenses involved, but it’s the same concept and by having it in a folder I just leave the copies in the aircraft. It’s labeled trans-border documents. I kept a copy of my CANPASS receipt in there as well.

I noticed you mentioned the flyover permission in your processes list. This is excellent because your US viewers should know that that’s available and they also changed the process of how you apply for one. You used to be able to get your local CBP agent to accept your letter of interest and process your permission letter, however, that whole process has changed now and it goes through official channels. Nonetheless, it saves a lot of hassle. If you have the range to make it to your home airport when approaching the border from the south.

The post Cross Border Flying appeared first on Flight Chops.

RAW 3rd multi engine lesson:

RAW 1st Px in the Harvard:

Raw IFR steam to glass panel transition lesson:

Raw Harmonic vibration test talk with a prop engineer from Hartzell:

RAW 1st helicopter lesson inkling successful hover

RAW RV-8 Sportsman sequence coached from the ground:

The post Exclusives for previous FlightChops Supporters appeared first on Flight Chops.

I Never Regret Filing IFR, This Is Why! I’m #Flying #Singlepilot #IFR to reposition the RV-14 from Toronto to Windsor where the museum I fly with is based.

It’s a beautiful day (although a bit bumpy) and I took the opportunity to file IFR to get some solid practice working with the automation in the Garmin glass panel; It went well for the most part, but I felt I captured some learning moments worth sharing. I owe a great deal to long time mentor Dennis for getting me through many phases of my flight training, including transitioning to the panel in this airplane.

Check out his company Next Level Flight Training: https://www.nlft.ca

Jason Miller is an other great CFI that I’ve learned a lot from. He’s doing some great this with The Ground School App.

I am proud to be a member of the Canadian Aviation Museum (formerly CH2A). They are a not-for-profit organization that anybody can visit, and (almost) any pilot can join and fly the planes. Please consider sharing their link, visiting the museum in Windsor, and/or sending a small donation to help them keep our historic warbirds flying! https://www.canadianaviationmuseum.ca/

The post 3 Reasons to Fly IFR on a Nice Day + Glass Panel Walkthrough & Procedures appeared first on Flight Chops.

In this episode of Flight Chops, we’re #Flying #IFR in the RV-14 to visit Sporty’s and see the latest in #FlightSim tech! (We face some challenging weather along the way, but do what general aviation pilots do, and adapt the plan to execute the mission!

The Yawman Arrow used in the video is a 3D printed pre-production model that is used for testing, but is 100% representative of the final design and all the controller’s features. Sporty’s is going to be the exclusive distributor in North America (and they’ll have better international shipping rates).
You’ll be able to buy in two places:  https://www.Yawmanflight.com and Sporty’s https://www.sportys.com/yawman-arrow-…

Infinite Flight is a mobile flight simulator designed for iOS and Android, letting pilots and flight sim enthusiasts get their flying fix on the go. Combined with the new Yawman Arrow gaming controller, Infinite Flight lets you can take your simulator setup to the next level, anywhere.
Learn more at https://www.infiniteflight.com and download Infinite Flight in the App Store or Google Play.

FlightSimExpo is North America’s community-driven flight simulation conference. The next event takes place on June 23-25, 2023 in Houston, Texas. I’ll be there with the RV-14 displayed across from Microsoft with the panel powered up so you can check out out – stop by for a fist bump and a sticker!
Learn more at https://www.flightsimexpo.com

The post Had to DIVERT – Flying to test the FUTURE of Flight Sim appeared first on Flight Chops.

In this episode, Jason shoots some great B-Roll of what was honestly not planned to be an episode. I took Chris (an American instrument rated commercial pilot) for his first exposure to Spins (and initial #Aerobatics).

In Canada, our initial training covers spins (I actually did spins in a glider before going solo).

We captured some great stuff and decided to share from Chris’ point of view.

Jason does Digital Marketing for longtime supporters of the channel, Infinite Flight. He uses Infinite Flight and ForeFlight to brief trips like this one, especially when there will be a high workload into a new place. On this trip, we visited Sporty’s Pilot Shop to meet up with Jon Ostrower and Thomas and Dwight Nield of Yawman Flight. Yawman is coming to market this year with their gamepad specifically designed for flight simulators, the Arrow. The Yawman crew demoed the Arrow using Infinite Flight, X-Plane, and MSFS2020. Future episodes will cover the IFR #Flying to get there, and show more of the Yawman Arrow.

The post Why don’t American Pilots do Spin training? appeared first on Flight Chops.

Definitive Garmin Autopilot Guide From THE Automation Experts.

In this episode I’m intercutting the first ever time I filed IFR in the RV-14, with the 16 hour in person Garmin avionics training course I attended a month later. We’re focusing on the GTN 750 navigator, G3X Touch PFD, and GFC 500 Digital Autopilot. It’s ~26 minutes of action packed tips tricks and best practices for automation management. See below for the “Table of Contents” if you want to skip to, or review particulate sections.

Garmin Training:

Visit: fly.garmin.com/fly-garmin/training/

They have added the following two online courses since I visited last March:

GFC 500 = https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/pn/AVN…  

G3X Touch = https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/pn/AVN…  

Additionally, the team is putting together an in-person course dedicated specifically to G3X Touch in experimental aircraft. What I attended was a mix between certified and experimental aircraft.

Table of Contents:

00:00 Introduction (Setting the scene and meeting the main instructor Steve W.)

07:10 Entering a complex flight plan (With departure, airway, and arrival procedures)

11:25 Data Link Weather (If too far for ATIS, or there’s none available)

12:42 Enhanced Descent VNAV (How to step down from cruise and transition to an approach)

17:18 Load/Activate Approach (Best Practices; why you don’t need to press “Activate”)

19:30 APR mode on the Auto Pilot (What exactly does it do?)

20:05 More Context re: ACTIVATE Approach (Why would you NOT want to “Activate”?)

21:54 “Fast Find” (Handy workflow Tip I didn’t know)

22:17 “Parallel Track” (Quick tip / What it is)

22:32 Parallel Track Scenario (Active weather Scenario)

23:57 Meet the Students (A wide variety of experience levels here!)

The post Avionics Tips & Tricks You Don’t Know…Probably (from 16 hr Garmin training course) appeared first on Flight Chops.

Flying Below Stall Speed, a FIVE turn spin, and more great training!

In this episode I flip the “fun switch” and Luke gets me familiarized with the nuances of flying the full envelope of the RV-14, and we learn how to recover from #Mistakes when pushing the limits. This airplane checks off a lot of boxes – it is a great IFR platform, but also being capable of #aerobatics, and #tailwheel configured was a bit part of the appeal.

I am proud to be a member of the Canadian Aviation Museum (formerly CH2A). They are a not-for-profit organization that anybody can visit, and (almost) any pilot can join and fly the planes. Please consider sharing their link, visiting the museum in Windsor, and/or sending a small donation to help them keep our historic warbirds flying! https://www.canadianaviationmuseum.ca/

To learn more about #Flying with Luke, visit: https://www.harvsairinverted.com/ And here’s the play list to some of the best content I’ve produced with Luke: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ…

For more information about my favourite debriefing tool, CloudAhoy, and to see their latest blog post, visit: http://blog.cloudahoy.com/2022/12/13/…

The post Surprising Spin Recovery | NOTHING Like A Cessna appeared first on Flight Chops.

Max 6G Pull + Acro Restriction Removal process!

In this episode we unlock the full potential of the RV-14; Sharing the process of removing the #aerobatic restriction, which was a part of the initial certificate of airworthiness. This airplane checks off a lot of boxes – it is a great IFR platform, but also being capable of aerobatics, and #tailwheel configured was a bit part of the appeal.

I am proud to be a member of the Canadian Aviation Museum (formerly CH2A). They are a not-for-profit organization that anybody can visit, and (almost) any pilot can join and fly the planes.

Please consider sharing their link, visiting the museum in Windsor, and/or sending a small donation to help them keep our historic warbirds flying!
https://www.canadianaviationmuseum.ca/

To learn more about #Flying with Luke, visit: https://www.harvsairinverted.com/

And here’s the play list to some of the best content I’ve produced with Luke: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ…

Here’s some additional context from Luke, about exactly what we are doing, and why we are doing it: In Canada, Transport Canada requires an amateur built aircraft to undergo what is known as a “simplified one-off aerobatic demonstration”. Since the airworthiness of an amateur built airplane is entirely dependant on the standards left to the builder. TC provides a straightforward check of items to be completed first to obtain a special flight permit which allows a specifically qualified individual to carry out the aerobatic demonstration flight. The guidance provided is found in Airworthiness Manual Advisory (AMA) No. 549.101A. It should be noted that this process is specific to Canada. Although not required in the USA, it is highly recommended that a properly qualified aerobatic pilot perform a similar validation flight of the full envelope characteristics of an amateur built airplane.

For more information about my favourite debriefing tool, CloudAhoy, and to see their latest blog post, visit: http://blog.cloudahoy.com/2022/12/13/…

The post Let’s make this an Aerobatic Airplane! appeared first on Flight Chops.

Behind the scenes at Hartzell Learning WAY more than expected about props! This episode covers both Static and Dynamic balancing the #propeller, as well as a solid all access tour of the 3 main manufacturing facilities at Hartzell. The episode covering the #IFR #flight here is coming soon.

For more info about Hartzell products, and the services they offer, visit:
Hartzell Propeller, Inc. www.hartzellprop.com
Hartzell Engine Technologies www.hartzell.aero
Tanis Aircraft www.tanisaircraft.com
Aerospace Welding and Manufacturing www.awi-ami.com
Quality Aircraft Accessories www.qaa.com
Acorn Welding www.acornwelding.com

Huge thanks to all the Supporters on Patreon!
Two raw / uncut scenes from this one are already available to supporters here:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/63607634
https://www.patreon.com/posts/had-no-…

The post Prop balanced to within the weight of a Dollar Bill! – Hartzell Factory All Access! appeared first on Flight Chops.

#IFR training with with Dennis preparing for my proficiency check. This episode covers IFR training with Dennis and Justin; we execute several approaches and go arounds using the automation of the new Garmin Avionics in the Van’s Aircraft RV-14.

At the time of this training, I was recently out of IFR currency; due for my IPC Instrument Proficiency Check, which is basically a check ride we have to do here every 2 years. I knew I’d be flying the much more complex and capable avionics, so I arranged to fly the IPC in this airplane BUT needed to get training to do so. At that point I had ~50 hours VFR flying (use iPhone shots of flying it to ZBA solo?) and had a basic understanding of the autopilot, but had not been doing any advanced programming of the avionics, etc…

Dennis’ Disclaimer:

• Flying IFR in actual IFR can be dangerous stuff.
• There is no substitute for proper training in your own equipment.
• The consequences are just too dire. Find a good instructor, learn your equipment.
• TAKE IT SERIUOUSLY.
• Take it on with caution and respect.
• Don’t jump into the deep water right away;
• And get recurrent training once in a while.

Having been working closely with Dennis for over a decade, I am proud to be able to recommend his services to anyone that wants to take their flying to the next level. Our relationship started when I was a rusty VFR pilot needing to get recurrent… that led to Dennis introducing me to tailwheel flying which changed everything about where I was headed as an aviator. Then came multi engine and IFR flying. It’s been awesome to have Dennis as a mentor all these years!

Here’s the link to “episode one” of this training if you missed it: Insane capability – IFR Transition from Old to New Avionics! https://youtu.be/zeGI91Dc2Es

Next Level Flight Training (https://nlft.ca) provides personalized and professional #flighttraining for serious #generalaviation pilots. We’ll help you fly with more confidence and precision to get more out of your investment. Be a better, safer pilot with Next Level Flight Training. 

The post Instrument Flight Test #2 PASSED! – Flying IFR with FULL Automation appeared first on Flight Chops.