Association celebrates 25 years and Jensen
Doug Ashbury
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Mar 28/01) - David Collenette could be listening to some Northern aviation stories next week in Yellowknife.
The federal Transport minister is scheduled to give a presentation next Monday at the annual Northern Air Transport Association meeting.
The event also marks the association's 25th anniversary annual general meeting.
"Founding members will talk about aviation over the years," said Teri Arychuk, the association's president who is part-owner of Air Tindi.
Don Douglas, executive director of the association, will lead the discussion.
The association also plans a memorial for pilot Bob Jensen who recently passed away.
Arychuk said Northern operators are facing a hike in airport fees April 1.
She also added the recent announcement of new radar at the Yellowknife airport was a positive development.
Radar upgrade
NavCanada is currently completing a new hi-tech radar site in Yellowknife.
The new $6-million system, which will enhance service to planes flying over the North Pole, is expected to be operational this summer.
The new Yellowknife radar site will "extend our radar capabilities in the North," said Paul Hornbeck, NavCanada media relations manager.
The system, known as Independent Secondary Surveillance Radar, will also mean more effective coverage for flights arriving and departing Yellowknife airport. NavCanada said it is the first company to install this new technology.
According to NavCanada, this means reduced flying times in the area and "substantial" savings in airline operating costs.
"The expanded radar surveillance will help us provide increased safety and better efficiency for existing traffic, including overflights between North America and Europe/Asia, as well as domestic flights in the North," NavCanada president John Crichton said in a statement.
"Enhancing radar surveillance in Canada's North will also support our efforts to launch polar routes to destinations in Asia."
As well as Yellowknife, NavCanada is completing a new radar site in Kuujjuaq, Que., and will also install the new radar at sites in Iqaluit and Saskatchewan.
With the opening up of Russian airspace, planes flying between North America to Asia can now get to their destinations faster and cheaper by going over the North Pole.
Last week, NavCanada tracked a Continental Airlines flight from the Canada-U.S. border to about 100 kilometres from the North Pole and into Russian airspace.
The flight departed from New Jersey and was headed for Hong Kong. The flight was tracked using what NavCanada calls its future air navigation system. NavCanada likened the system to e-mailing between the controller and the pilot. The system permits tracking of aircraft that are beyond line-of-sight radar systems.
Next week NavCanada, a private company set up five years ago, will host its annual general meeting in Yellowknife. This will be the first time the corporation has held its AGM, which is set for April 3 at the Explorer Hotel, in Yellowknife.
