Canadian Xpress September Fly-In – Equipment Delivery

In August, 1949, Joey Smallwood, Premier of Newfoundland, had the opportunity to see Churchill Falls for the first time and it became his obsession to develop the hydroelectric potential of the falls. After years of planning, the project was officially started on July 17, 1967. The machine hall of the power facility at Churchill Falls was hollowed out of solid rock, close to 1,000 ft (300 m) underground. Its final proportions are huge: in height it equals a 15-storey building, its length is three times that of a Canadian football field. When completed, it housed 11 generating units, with a combined capacity of 5,428 MW (7,279,000 hp). Water is contained by a reservoir created not by a single large dam, but by a series of 88 dikes that have a total length of 64 km (40 mi). At the time, the project was the largest civil engineering project ever undertaken in North America.

This month we are adding a bit of a twist as the event is not only a fly-in, it’s got a challenge feeling as well. The power station is getting ready for fall maintenance work now that the hot summer weather has passed and electricity demand is at its lowest point of the year. So for this month’s fly-in will be using cargo aircraft to ship supplies from Quebec City.

Canadian Xpress would like to invite all pilots & virtual airlines to join us on Saturday, September 20^th at 10h00edt (14h00z) and 20h00edt (24h00z) for our September 2014 fly-in where we will travel from Québec (CYQB) to Church Falls (CZUM). Due to the size of the airport at Churchill Falls, the C130 or HS748 are recommended, but you can fly any cargo aircraft that is smaller than the C-130. Since these aircraft are limited on their navigational equipment, it’s going to be a test of your navigation skills as well.

This is an open invitation to all pilots no matter what your flying experience to attend this Canadian Xpress sponsored event that will be flown on the VATSIM network.

More information regarding this event including operational details, charts, optional add-on scenery and the Canadian Xpress vPilot Model Set or Canadian Xpress SquawkBox Model Set can be viewed by visiting http://canadianxpress.ca/ or by directly downloading our Fly-In document here.

See you all on Saturday the 20^th!