The International Cessna 170 Association

Hi everyone. New member here. Future 170 owner. Trying to soak it all in!

Welcome bgiesbrecht! Soaking it ALL in may take a while. Where are you from?

Born and raised up in northern Canada, but living in southern california, 10 mins from KSNA (John Wayne airport). Been here for over 15 years now!

Welcome! Watch the FlyPaper for SoCal fly-ins. Duane Shockey down in San Diego stays pretty busy planning activities in the area.

Born and raised up in northern Canada

Whitehorse?
Welcome lots of great 170 owners in Ca.

Nope - near Thompson, Manitoba - and then Vancouver for the last bit of it. Pops flew Otter/Beaver/185 amphib/skiis back in the day. He used to own a few different Stinsons (got his 108's wood prop in my living room!) and a 150 at some point. He's always wanted a 170, and the moment I get one he will be jealous and proud all at the same time.

I'm near SNA. Are there any members here based there? I know Daniel Wotring (used to be at Fullerton) has a nice 170 at Cable.

Well - to update this thread, only didn't mention it at the beginning since things were still "in progress"...but I bought Mr. Heflin's gorgeous 170B (see trademart post) N1977C. I'm super excited! I'm already learning a lot here and can't wait to be more involved.

c170b53 wrote:

Born and raised up in northern Canada

Whitehorse?
Welcome lots of great 170 owners in Ca.

I just noticed you're up in Vancouver area. I grew up there from about 3rd grade through high school and most of my family is there. I first trained / solo'ed etc with Coastal Pacific out of YXX. My uncle keeps a 172 there as well. I'll be flying up to BC, hopefully several times a year, or at least up to BLI where my brother can pick me up. I'm not sure I can fly into Canada, I don't have the big N-numbers.

You can buy vinyl 12" N numbers fairly reasonably and put them on your aircraft yourself. They aren't permanent and can also be removed should you later decide to do so.

bgiesbrecht wrote: I'm not sure I can fly into Canada, I don't have the big N-numbers.

Large numbers are not required unless you are crossing an ADIZ. Is there an ADIZ where you plan to cross?

Keith is correct, you do not need 12” N-numbers to fly to Canada. If you are concerned, carry a roll of black duct tape and if a zealot agent claims you have to have 12” N-numbers, get out your duct tape and make some. I bought a C185 in Toronto one time with Canadian numbers. I painted over the Canadian numbers and painted the new N-numbers on with a rattle can before I brought it back to the U.S. to be repainted. Ugly but legal.

CanPass is easy and Canadian Customs is “usually” great to work with. If you stay away from large ports of entry (PoE), you will easily clear on the phone at your first stop/PoE in Canada and most likely will not see an agent. Large PoE agents might look like special ops SWAT teams with guns and bullet-proof vests trying to be intimaditing and may not be friendly. The first words out of the agents in Regina on my LAST TRIP EVER into there were, I’m going to try to find a way to keep you out of Canada, not can I see your passport or welcome to Canada like every other Canadian agent I have ever cleared with. Don’t take any guns into Canada without researching exactly what is needed.

U.S. Customs is another story all together. You are required to use the eAPIS system and until you get used to it, it is very confusing. Get registered, practice using it by creating lots of Notices of Departure and Arrival and get used to using it. Once used to it, eAPIS is very easy to use and it takes little time to enter the data into the system. It requires internet access but manifests can be made in advance before the trip. Typical government bureaucracy.

Bellingham Customs is probably the best PoE I have used, they process a very large volume of traffic and if you have everything in order you’ll clear in a breeze.

Don’t hesitate to fly into Canada, learn both systems and get used to using them and you’ll have some great trips.

It’s fairly easy to cross the border once you’ve come up to speed with eAPIS. Even if there was a requirement for big letters likely no one would notice or care. Most would just be gobsmacked with your round tail. We are a diminishing breed.

More info for cross border ops https://www.tc.gc.ca/en/services/aviati ... -know.html
There’s also a manual available on line for Copa or Aopa members

c170b53 wrote:It’s fairly easy to cross the border once you’ve come up to speed with eAPIS. Even if there was a requirement for big letters likely no one would notice or care. Most would just be gobsmacked with your round tail. We are a diminishing breed.

Probably true Jim, I was in my C180 and hop-scotched across Canada last October from Alaska to Washington state with a guy in a C195 with NO N-numbers whatsoever on the plane! Don’t know what happened to him after Prince George but I bet he got an education when he entered back into the U.S.!

The two gotchas; you need to have liability insurance and the basic medical licence is not yet recognized in Canada.
What a beauty Richard, Thks for the pic.