Dornier 328 Jet in the Canadian Arctic (pics)
Acest TR l-am scris pentru Airliners.net, dar il pun si aici...
It has been a while since I contributed to this website with a proper trip report. I wanted to wait so I can do something that’s rather unique or at the
very least…not so common. (As good as they are) I have seen way too many B747, A380 or some other A320/B737 LCC reports from one big hub to the other.
That aside, trips such as Infodesk’s helicopter trip in the Swiss Alps makes me come back time after time to this forum to enjoy some out of the ordinary
machines, destinations and scenery.
This trip report will cover a trip from Rankin Inlet, Nunavut to Winnipeg, Manitoba. Like many communities in the Canadian arctic, especially Nunavut,
Rankin Inlet is an isolated town accessible by air (and sea) only. It has neither road nor rail access. As you can imagine, access via boat/ ship is slow
and limited to summer months when the water is not frozen. For the majority of the year, flying into the community is the only way.
There aren’t that many companies that fly scheduled service into YRT (Rankin Inlet); Calm Air and First Air being some of the ones I know of. Others offer
charts, etc. Recently, Calm Air has leased a Dornier 328 Jet (including the crew) from Ultimate Jet Charters in Ohio.
So what brought me the Canadian Arctic? My co-worker and I brought a King Air 200 from Winnipeg to Rankin, the night prior to this trip. I will not focus
on that part of the trip, since I only took a handful of pictures.
Somephotos from our ferry flight of a King Air 200: Winnipeg to Rankin Inlet
Airline: Calm Air #538 (Operated by Ultimate Jet Charters)
Origin: Ranking Inlet, Nunavut, Canada (YRT)
Destination: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Aircraft: Dornier 328-310 Jet
Reg: N407FJ
Dep. YRT: 3:40pm (2h 01m late, due to weather)
Arr. YWG: 5:17pm (1h 24m late)
After spending the night in Rankin, I headed over to the airport to catch the earliest flight. Originally, I was supposed to fly back to Winnipeg on Calm Air
’s ATR 42, via Arviat and Churchill, but to my “luck” that flight was cancelled and I was moved over to the afternoon (direct) flight on the new JET. I was
actually quite excited. I have never flown on a D328J before and I was really looking forward to it.
I spent most of the time taking in some of the local sights, having a $16 breakfast (very modest), hanging out in the terminal, watching movies on my iPhone
or reading. The incoming flight from YWG was quite late since the plane had to divert to Churchill, Manitoba due to poor weather. After the conditions
improved the aircraft returned to YRT and this time it made it in without a hitch.
Rankin Inlet:
The terminal in YRT
I ran into our bird that we brought here the night before. It was to leave on a charter shortly after this photo was taken.
My iPhone showing the D328J diverted to Churchill (YYQ)
Some local airplanes:
After along weather delay, our D328J lands on RWY 13.
The aircraft is actually smaller than the ATR. I think it looks awesome.
After the plane was fueled, we started our boarding. There were only 11 passenger on today’s flight, so not very full…
Beautiful cockpit:
After a quick delay waiting for IFR clearance, we backtracked on rwy 13 and the aircraft started rolling. After take-off we climbed for 5 – 10 sec and we
entered cloud. The last METAR I read was 500 ft visibility, but I can’t remember the exact number. It was fairly low anyway. Low enough that I was only
able to snap 2 – 3 pictures.
A hot meal was served shortly after we reached our cruise altitude. Yes folks, a hot meal, which we did not have to pay for. That’s unheard of it nowadays in North America…
I must say the aircraft was very clean, including the bathroom. A lovely little airplane with an amazing crew.
We started our descent into Winnipeg flying from the North to the East of the city and eventually turning right and landing on runway 31 in Winnipeg.
I was also very excited to see the newly opened terminal at Winnipeg International Airport. It feels very much like being at YYZ. The terminal only opened
this past Sunday
The D328J parked near the Calm Air maintenance hangar at Winnipeg Airport.
I hope you enjoyed my little trip report. I let the pictures do most of the talking. Overall, I must say I am very impressed with the Dornier 328 Jet and
today’s flight crew was nothing short of fantastic, especially the flight attendant who was kind, helpful, friendly and quite the looker. I’m sure Calm Air
will like this jet and even though today’s load factor wasn’t the greatest, they will be able to fill that plane to capacity (31 seats I believe)
Comments are much appreciated.Regards
Vio
Acasa 
