Montreal?

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Ryan2

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Ryan2
Hi All,

Long time lurker, first time poster.

Planning a trip to the Great (white?) North of Canada in about 10 days. Montreal, to be exact. Hoping for a few suggestions for where to fly in? And maybe some suggestions on an FBO at said airport?

Original plan had been CYHU but seems not-so GA friendly. Info on fees seems to be a bit hidden. FBOs at CYHU seem pricey for fuel, and pricey for ramp/tie down. Would Mirabel (CYMX) or Les Cedres (CSS3) be better?

We will need to clear customs as well ....

Thanks for your thoughts!
 
CYHU is very GA friendly. In fact, that is basically all they do. Now, CYUL might not be as friendly, but there are piston GA guys who go there too. CYHU is a big training airport as well as having customs. Most recent published price for 100LL at CYHU is $1.74 a liter - which is actually pretty good for AvGas - $4.91 USD a gallon.

Forget about CYMX. It is pretty dead now, mostly seeing stuff from Bombardier or cargo. I think they even closed the tower. It is also an a terrible location, which is why it never worked out as Montreal's airport.

Look into getting Canpass private or whatever they call it. That way, you can land at more POEs and just make a phone call 99% of the time. Remember to get your DHS sticker and file an eAPIS both ways.
 
N1120A said:
CYHU is very GA friendly. In fact, that is basically all they do. Now, CYUL might not be as friendly, but there are piston GA guys who go there too. CYHU is a big training airport as well as having customs. Most recent published price for 100LL at CYHU is $1.74 a liter - which is actually pretty good for AvGas - $4.91 USD a gallon.

Forget about CYMX. It is pretty dead now, mostly seeing stuff from Bombardier or cargo. I think they even closed the tower. It is also an a terrible location, which is why it never worked out as Montreal's airport.

Look into getting Canpass private or whatever they call it. That way, you can land at more POEs and just make a phone call 99% of the time. Remember to get your DHS sticker and file an eAPIS both ways.
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Thanks, appreciate the advice. Would you happen to have a reasonable FBO recommendation at CYHU? Would need 2 overnights, usually I'm successful in being able to take some fuel and waive a night or two of parking.
 
Ryan2 said:
Thanks, appreciate the advice. Would you happen to have a reasonable FBO recommendation at CYHU? Would need 2 overnights, usually I'm successful in being able to take some fuel and waive a night or two of parking.
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FltPlan.com shows the FBOs.
 
N1120A said:
FltPlan.com shows the FBOs.
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Yeah, I found the FBOs. That wasn't the question. Was wondering if anyone had recommendations on which on is better - there are about 4 of them.

I already took the time to email each of them, 1 doesn't want piston traffic anyway.
 
Ryan2 said:
...I already took the time to email each of them, 1 doesn't want piston traffic anyway.
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Ya, some of them only want to deal with the high rolling jet set :D

 
whereisrandall - yes, my understanding is eAPIS is required on both the outbound and the inbound; any time a border crossing is involved. You also call CANPASS on the outbound and give them basically the same information over the phone; once you land, they decide if they want to inspect you or not (last time I did this they did not inspect me).

No, I did not pose the question on FB. Was there a thread about Montreal?
 
whereisrandall said:
Wait, eAPIS on the outbound, too? Suggested, or required? Also, @Ryan2, did you and I meet over this same question on the Facebook?
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That's my understanding.

The top of Page 1 from the CBP guide has the requirements:

https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/CBP Private Air Guide 3 0 (Jan 2015).pdf

I. APIS Manifest Requirements

Pilots of all private aircraft arriving in the U.S. from a foreign port or place, or departing the U.S. for a foreign port or place are required to submit APIS manifest information electronically to CBP for each individual traveling onboard the aircraft.
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Hey all-

Successful flight in today. Thanks for the suggestions.

Question on the return flight. I had planned to stop at Massena on the way back to clear customs. One of my passengers asked about flying back to KBUF and clearing customs there instead. It would be more convenient, to be sure.

So my question is: do I have to stop and clear customs at the first AOE or can I continue to any AOE? Tried to google this but didn’t find a clear answer.....
 
Coming from Canada, you can use any US airport of entry. You do not need to use the closest one. That restriction applies to entries across the southern border or from the Bahamas.
Jon
 
4CornerFlyer said:
Coming from Canada, you can use any US airport of entry. You do not need to use the closest one. That restriction applies to entries across the southern border or from the Bahamas.
Jon
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Thanks Jon - seems like that should be a standardized thing ...

Appreciate the response though!
 
Absolutely. I had actually intended to follow up, but I forgot. Thanks for reminding me.

I used Pascan. I was very much unimpressed with them. First off, there was a miscommunication about the rental car, and they gave me a much smaller car than what I thought I had reserved. Part of that may have been on me, but their chosen rental agency didn't answer the phone and never returned my call. We made do.

Second, I returned to the airport for my departure to find one of my gas caps off and sitting on the wing in a rain storm. I subsequently drained a prodigious amount of water from my fuel tank.

Third, they charge you for each and every day you are present. It is not like it is everywhere else, where you generally pay for the overnights. So for instance, arriving on a Friday, even late afternoon or evening, and staying until Sunday morning, would result in three days of tie-down fees. Most US FBOs would charge you for two overnights in that same situation.

In addition, be aware of all the fees. I believe they did waive one night for my fuel purchase, and one night because of the snafu with the fuel tank. I paid for one night, and relatively expensive gas. Also got my quarterly assessment from NavCanada as well as a landing fee from the airport, now two months later.

So bottom line, I would try a different FBO if I returned to the airport. Also, for as friendly as Canada is supposed to be, they're not very GA friendly. But the flight was good, the airport is about 30 minutes from the main downtown area, and it served our purpose.
 
Has anyone here flown into CYUL in a little airplane? I have to go up there for training in March, and I was going to fly the Bonanza up. The training center (centre?) is right next to YUL, but I would imagine it is a lot more expensive than CYHU.
 
Groundpounder said:
Has anyone here flown into CYUL in a little airplane? I have to go up there for training in March, and I was going to fly the Bonanza up. The training center (centre?) is right next to YUL, but I would imagine it is a lot more expensive than CYHU.
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I did it quite a bit, pretty easy, and those are some impressive controllers, very busy airspace two languages and completely on top of it.

Now if they switch runways and you have to taxi to the other end, pack a lunch lol

4-E7-F2174-A2-EE-4-E76-83-AF-98373500762-F.jpg


I’d go with signature, price wise for a major airport like MTL its not bad $$ wise.
 
James331 said:
I did it quite a bit, pretty easy, and those are some impressive controllers, very busy airspace two languages and completely on top of it.

Now if they switch runways and you have to taxi to the other end, pack a lunch lol



I’d go with signature, price wise for a major airport like MTL its not bad $$ wise.
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Did you consider YHU, and if so, why didn't you go there?
 
James331 said:
Price wise it wasn’t enough of a difference and my place was closer to Yul
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Gotcha. PASCAN at YHU is $20/day, both Signature and Shell at YUL are $80, plus airport landing fees. But, there are no Customs at YHU on the weekends, and I have to arrive on a Sunday, so looks like I may end up at YUL after all, unless I leave super early on Monday.
 
Groundpounder said:
Gotcha. PASCAN at YHU is $20/day, both Signature and Shell at YUL are $80, plus airport landing fees. But, there are no Customs at YHU on the weekends, and I have to arrive on a Sunday, so looks like I may end up at YUL after all, unless I leave super early on Monday.
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It’s been a while but I don’t remember it being that much
 
Ryan2 said:
Hey all-

Successful flight in today. Thanks for the suggestions.

Question on the return flight. I had planned to stop at Massena on the way back to clear customs. One of my passengers asked about flying back to KBUF and clearing customs there instead. It would be more convenient, to be sure.

So my question is: do I have to stop and clear customs at the first AOE or can I continue to any AOE? Tried to google this but didn’t find a clear answer.....
Click to expand...

That said Massena is very easy, couple customs folks will drive over in a car, easy peasy. One of their customs officers is pretty hot too
 
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