The visibility was very low (2-3 M) due to forest fires in the area.  Tail winds of 30 knots increased drastically the speed of planes.  The Cessna 172 was now reading 130 knots ground speed! 

Our early arrival in Red Lake took the organizers by surprise however, it wasn’t long before everyone was accomodated.  The pilots walked around the Norseman festival enjoying the sight of Norseman planes flying in. Some went fishing.  Finally the closing ceremony took place at the Heritage Center.  The pilots great achievement and competence was aknowledged.

The winners of the longest most remote ever Air Rally Challenge 2008 Governor General’s Cup; Mackenzie River Challenge are: BONNIE AND PAUL BOEDECKER from Minnesota, USA!!!

Bonnie and Paul greatly deserved the award but we were all winners in this difficult but unique flying experience.

We are pleased to present the first contributors to the Aviation Connection Pilot Mentor fund:

Wood Buffalo Municipality, AB
Hay River, NWT
Inuvik, NWT
Red Lake, ONT
Bombardier
International Air Rally

The contributions made to the fund will make the Pilot Mentor program 2009 launch possible and the program will be put into effect during the Canada Centennial Flight celebration.

Thank you for following the adventure and sorry for late updates as internet conection was not always possible!

Preparing montage of Red Lake finals to be posted soon…

see the photos at
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=qUwaCQUbCnc

Visit Paul and Bonnie’s blog:
 http://airrally2008.blogspot.com/

The flight to Lynn Lake was a 4-5 hour flight for the smaller planes. refuelling was set in Thompson. 
The team of Bonnie and Paul from Minnesota was ahead in the competition.  The couple was handling the challenge with great spirit, hability and facility; amazing to see pilots from south of the border being so at ease in such remote, unknown regions!  So were John and Dave, Warren and Don on board Mooneys and Mark, Robyn and Bob from Ohio. 

Lynn Lake was the place to fish ! Warren, John, Dave as well as most of the participants were organised for the fishing trip to take place after supper at the Legion.  The mayor invited a few to join him on his boat.  We spent a great time catching Pike and Walleye until 10 o’clock at night!

Lynn Lake organization of our visit was very well handled thanks to Helen and her volunteers.  They made every effort to get us to the airport early in order to secure an early arrival in Red Lake for the finals.

The flight was short, the community of Fort Chipewyan received the pilots.  The community supper was organized by the Athabasca Lake.  The setting and the view of  the lake were outstanding.

We enjoyed traditional dances performed by the community youth dressed in beautiful native costumes.  The Air Rally participants took part in traditional games.  We were honored by the presence of Chief Ovide Mercredi, long time Canadian First Nation Grand Chief, highly respected by First Nation people and high Canadian officials.

Chief Mercredi made a speech to greet and thank the Air Rally for visiting the communities since 2003 and invited us to include his community in one of the rallies.

Fort Chipewyan is a beautiful place  to enjoy nature.  The people of Fort Chipewyan are very hospitable and open to visitors.   

Some planes stayed in Norman Wells and were met by those who had been delayed to enjoy a sunny afternoon and a wonderful dinner together.

Those who arrived in Inuvik were received by mayor Lindsay; celebrating the 50th anniversary.  They joined the festivities including a community dinner, an art festival and the closing ceremonies.  In the evening they were invited to a private mayor reception at the hotel. The participants were honored to be greeted by the North West Territories Lieutenant Governor Anthony W. J. Whitford.

The next morning, the Cirrus and the Comanche landed, still anticipating four planes in Inuvik.  We celebrated the airport’s 50th anniversary.  Inuvik was full of visitors coming from many provinces and communities. 

Celebrating the Inuvik 50th anniversary was the ultimate goal of the Air Rally.  Being above the Arctic Circle gave us a unique feeling of achievement.  

Due to lack of accomodations, and thanks to the canadian forces, a few of us were admitted at the military barrack by the airport.    The experience was unique!  The second day, the Citation jet flew into Nome, the Pilatus and Learjet stayed in Inuvik.

A big celebration took place at the airport to celebrate its anniversary.

On july 22nd, the weather cleared allowing small planes including the Cessna 172 (young team) to fly over the Mackenzie Delta, Aklavik and Tuktoyaktuk.  The young team ( Martin, Michaëlle and Camil Jr.) invited on board the grandson of Mike Zubko, the first pilot to fly into Inuvik.  Tne town of Inuvik named the airport in his honor.  

In Ft. Simpson, while waiting for the next forecast, Aurel Dan, from the Pilatus PC- 12, decided to set up a picnic.  As every year we sat around the table by his plane and enjoyed the delicacies brought from Switzerland.  We looked for the shade since the temperature was 27 °C (81 F).  The point of this stop was also to check on the young team of Michaëlle and Martin who arrived pratically at the same time.  A few teams gathered at Ft. Simpson until the conditions cleared at our next destination.

The Cirrus, piloted by Paul Boedecker, was the first to land.  The other members of the rally continued to arrive at regular intervals.  Warren Wright, North-Wright Air, had arranged transportation as well as an impressive riverside BBQ at his seaplane base. 

While enjoying the great food, we enjoyed the Pilatus Porter and the Twin Otter demonstrating a low approach and impressive landing.        

The participants made the 6 o’clock news, and the next morning, a full page on the Brandon local news paper : The Brandon Sun as well as radio interviews.

July 16th, 1st day of the Air Rally.
Early start at the airport for weather briefing, questionnaires and flight plan filling ! Unfortunately, the weather was not on the VFR pilots side. Though IFR pilots could have moved on, they decided to stay together until it was possible for everyone to move on. A game of pool, a pizza treat and a lot of jocking around made the time fly. Finally it was a GO ! Thanks to Aurel; the Pilatus captain  from Switzerland and Dave; the Lear Jet captain, Mark Homer on board a Piper Comanche, the VFR teams got regular weather briefing ahead and indications to make their flight safe all the way to The Pas. 

Arriving at the Pas later did not stop Warren, Dave (Rogers) and John from going for the big Fish ! Unfortunately, one of the teams, turned around and back to Brandon.

We are now 4 teams short.We expect them in the Pas tomorrow.