C-GDET, Cirrus SR-20, takes off from a Sand bar on the Thelo

On August 12th. a Cirrus SR-20 (C-GDET, serial 1180, the first imported into Canada) was taking part in the 2007 Great Klondike tour, flying 6000 miles from Toronto to the Yukon and back. Half way between BakerLake and Yellowknife, 220 miles from the nearest settlement /landing strip, it was forced to make an emergency landing out on the barrens. The Pilots, Eric and Tim Harpell did a brilliant job, landing it on a mile long Sand bar on the Thelon River in Canada's North West Territories. The exact location was N 63-46-91, W 104-15-45 which is 220 nm from CYBL and 282nm from CYZF.

As part owner/pilot of C-GOPX, serial 1188, the second Cirrus imported into Canada, I and seven other planes were flying as a group with GDET when the emergency landing took place. As you can imagine we have been keenly following the recover effort for the last month.
Initially, with the engine oil issue fixed, the soft sand would not allow for a take off. We have flown the cirrus SR-20 from gravel runways and grass, but a sand bar? A variety of ideas were suggested, ranging from putting on oversized tires ( even tundra tires), to using toboggans as skids.

On Sept 11, 2007, with the engine oil issue resolved, and the soft sand frozen solid with an early frost, Bob Ambrose flew it out. No modifications were required. Just goes to show you timing is everything.

Still pictures of GDET on the sand bar, and other pictures of our amazing journey into Canada's booming North can be found here:

http://bfc.magneticsky.com/index.php?q=gallery&g2_itemId=2552&g2_page=1

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• cirrus
• Cirrus
• flying
• aviation
• CIRRUS
• sr20
• GDET
• GOPX
• Eric
• Haprell
• Thelon
• River
• North
• West
• Territories
• bush
• pilot

[astroid911]

how long would a full tank of fuel last?

[PlasticRocket]

If you run lean of peak, the max "with 30 min reserve" is 5 hours. The longest I normally fly is about 4 hours 30 minutes, after that the low fuel light will start to come on, and passengers typically get disturbed by this.

The longest I have done under normal conditions is 4 hours 45 minutes... I landed with 10 gallons in the tanks.

[astroid911]

one more question: how long did you have to attend aviation school?

[PlasticRocket]

You can get you Private license in as little as six months if you want, but you really need an IFR rating and about 500 hours of flying experience under various conditions before you start flying up north. This normally takes at least 3 years. The best approach is to go thru an aviation program such as the one run by Seneca at my home Airport of Buttonville. Its a three year program.

[PlasticRocket]

Good eyes! Part of the Emergency landing procedure is to unlatch (but not force open) the door. As this take-off qualifies as the flip-side of that dangerous event, it's a good idea to unlatch the door for easy access by a potential rescuer. It's a pain to re-close the cirrus door in flight, (in cruise it takes about 5 knots off) but it's a good thing to do under these conditions.

[jdustinstone]

definitely a favorite. excellent video, so glad to see it taking off as safely as it must have landed. THANKS for posting this! nice proximity too!

[PlasticRocket]

Thanks for the support!

[lestat8181]

first lesson ... take-off in the wind

not rear/cross wind like in this video!

[zimtower]

@novsierra It's also possible to take college classes in Alaska for extremely cheap.

[novsierra]

@PlasticRocket well you can do the accelerated program, and get it in a couple of weeks, but in my opinion, thats a disaster waiting to happen.

[sanforce]

ya, you could definitely tell that it was struggling to get up there

[astroid911]

cool I want to get one of these single engine propeller airplanes and learn how to fly. Thanks for posting.

[MetaView7]

(in cruise it takes about 5 knots off)

amazing !

no wonder these smooth-bodied Cirrus performs so well compared to the aluminum skinned planes.