{"id":3191,"date":"2023-07-11T15:55:09","date_gmt":"2023-07-11T15:55:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mclements.net\/blogWP\/?p=3191"},"modified":"2023-10-18T20:02:01","modified_gmt":"2023-10-18T20:02:01","slug":"flying-vfr-international","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/mclements.net\/blogWP\/index.php\/2023\/07\/11\/flying-vfr-international\/","title":{"rendered":"Flying VFR International"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I fly to Canada occasionally and I haven&#8217;t gotten fined or arrested, nor even admonished, so I must not have done anything too terribly wrong. This isn&#8217;t covered in private pilot training, so I figured it might be helpful to share my checklists. Note: this is for VFR.<\/p>\n<p>Planning (weeks ahead)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">Passports for every person on board<\/li>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">Buy US Customs sticker and apply on pilot side airplane door\n<ul>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\"><a class=\"link link--external\" href=\"https:\/\/dtops.cbp.dhs.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow ugc noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/dtops.cbp.dhs.gov<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">Create an EAPIS account\n<ul>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\"><a class=\"link link--external\" href=\"https:\/\/eapis.cbp.dhs.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow ugc noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/eapis.cbp.dhs.gov<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">Have a 3rd or higher class medical (BasicMed not allowed in Canada)<\/li>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">Proof of airplane insurance (required in Canada)<\/li>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">Radio station &amp; operator license (legally required but nobody ever asks for it)<\/li>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">Get Canadian CFS (their AFD book) and charts\n<ul>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\"><a class=\"link link--external\" href=\"http:\/\/products.navcanada.ca\/shop-vfr\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow ugc noopener noreferrer\">http:\/\/products.navcanada.ca\/shop-vfr\/<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">Proof of COVID vaccination for every person on board\n<ul>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">COVID tests not required as of March 2022<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Pre-Flight (1-2 days ahead)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">File EAPIS including all people on board, print and bring the email confirmation<\/li>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">Pick an Airport of entry for your first landing after crossing the border<\/li>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">Figure out where Customs is at your airport of entry (airport diagram, etc.)<\/li>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">Call customs at your airport of entry 2-48 hours before landing<\/li>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">File international flight plan in the country you&#8217;re departing<\/li>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">If in Canada returning to the US, call Flight Service an hour before your flight to get your border crossing squawk code<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In-Flight<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">Before crossing border, ensure your international flight plan is activated and you are squawking a discrete border crossing code\n<ul>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">In USA, when in-flight radio flight service 122.2 or nearby RCO to activate<\/li>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">In Canada, call flight service 1 hour before departing to file plan &amp; get squawk<\/li>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">Don&#8217;t cross a border squawking VFR<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">Fly the plan to your destination airport of entry<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Flying into Canada<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">Before entering Canada, contact Canadian approach or terminal\n<ul>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">for example Victoria Terminal 127.8<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">In all Canadian radio communications, emphasize the &#8220;N&#8221; at the start of your tail number<\/li>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">After landing, taxi to Customs, stay inside your airplane and call Canada customs<\/li>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">They will usually clear you over the phone without an in-person visit<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>After flying in Canada, they will mail you a bill for ATC services. The bill has a flat calendar quarterly rate for every quarter in which you fly in Canadian airspace. For example in 2023 I flew to Canada twice, in July and August, and both trips happened to fall in the same quarter. I got a bill for $24.09.<\/p>\n<p>Canada aviation regulations and procedures are similar to the US, though here are a few key differences that will help keep you out of trouble:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">VFR flight plan required for all flights &gt; 25 nm\n<ul>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">Call to file before flight<\/li>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">Plan automatically activates at filed start time \u2013 no need to activate after takeoff<\/li>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">Must call to close plan upon landing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">At busy airports, call clearance delivery before calling ground (even for VFR), to get your taxi\/takeoff clearance and squawk code, if applicable.<\/li>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">Altitude: 10,000 \u2013 13,000 limited to 30 mins without oxygen<\/li>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">VFR over the top is restricted<\/li>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">VFR night is restricted<\/li>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">MF: mandatory frequency; like CTAF<\/li>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">Class \u201cE\u201d airports (untowered) have mandatory reporting before entering their airspace<\/li>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">Monitor 126.7 continuously, en route, and make occasional position reports in the blind. Also monitored by FSS.<\/li>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">Contacts\n<ul>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">Nav Canada: 1-866-992-7433\n<ul>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">866 541-4101 (Canada &amp; USA)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">Canada Customs: 1-888-226-7277\n<ul>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\">1-905-679-2073 outside Canada<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\"><a class=\"link link--external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flightplanning.navcanada.ca\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow ugc noopener noreferrer\">http:\/\/www.flightplanning.navcanada.ca<\/a><\/li>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\"><a class=\"link link--external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.navcanada.ca\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow ugc noopener noreferrer\">http:\/\/www.navcanada.ca<\/a><\/li>\n<li data-xf-list-type=\"ul\"><a class=\"link link--external\" href=\"https:\/\/fileflightplan.navcanada.ca\/userguide.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow ugc noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/fileflightplan.navcanada.ca\/userguide.html<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I fly to Canada occasionally and I haven&#8217;t gotten fined or arrested, nor even admonished, so I must not have done anything too terribly wrong. This isn&#8217;t covered in private pilot training, so I figured it might be helpful to share my checklists. Note: this is for VFR. Planning (weeks ahead) Passports for every person &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/mclements.net\/blogWP\/index.php\/2023\/07\/11\/flying-vfr-international\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Flying VFR International<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-flying"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/mclements.net\/blogWP\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/mclements.net\/blogWP\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/mclements.net\/blogWP\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mclements.net\/blogWP\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mclements.net\/blogWP\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3191"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/mclements.net\/blogWP\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3191\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3284,"href":"http:\/\/mclements.net\/blogWP\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3191\/revisions\/3284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/mclements.net\/blogWP\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mclements.net\/blogWP\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mclements.net\/blogWP\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}