Check out the website at: http://www.crosscanadaflight.com/

Where updates are posted daily - BLOGS, VIDEOS, and PHOTOS.  Excellent job.

Lynn is embarking on a historic coast to coast flight with his Seastar SP, along with 122 other aircraft (230 pilots total) leaving Boundary Bay, BC on July 17/09 and arriving in Baddeck, Nova Scotia on July 28 to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the first flight ever to take place in Canada.

Click here for further information.

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July 13 - Kelowna, BC

Taking float plane endorsement - 2 hour ground school in a.m. Too windy to fly in the afternoon. Flew 1 1/2 hours after supper - wind came up. Had to set down on opposite side of lake and taxi plane back - should get my "sailboat endorsement" for that one.

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July 14 - Kelowna,BC

Perfect day for float plane flying. Flew 2 1/2 hrs this morning, same in the afternoon, and should finish up the last hour tomorrow morning, then 5 solo takeoff/landings and I'm done. The rest of tomorrow is a day off then I'm back in my Seastar and headed to Boundary Bay on Thursday morning.

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July 15 - Kelowna, BC

Finished one last circuit with instructor then solo takeoff/landings - PASSED!!! Spent the afternoon on Okanagan Lake then flew Seastar to LaCasa and tied up to dock ready for early morning departure.

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July 16 - Boundary Bay, BC

Seastar was waiting for me in the morning - lake was calm. Departed for Boundary Bay. Great weather, no wind, good visibility. Landed at Boundary Bay around 9:30 a.m. There were 4 planes waiting to depart - took them almost an hour. Departure tomorrow is 7am for Group A - "OAKS" named after bush pilot H.A. Oaks; 8am for Group B - "DICKINS" for C.H. Dickins; and 9am for Group C - "MAY" for W.R. "Wop" May (my group). Considering heading out around 6 am before things get congested and be at (Kamloops) when the airport opens to refuel. This afternoon was pilots meeting & registration @ 4, then social & opening ceremonies and some serious hanger flying.

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July 17 - Springbank, AB

Departed Boundary Bay at 5 am before the big rush. There were approx. 80+ planes tied down this morning. Flew out over the Pacific Ocean on takeoff - quite a sight, then headed for Alberta. Stopped in Kamloops for refueling. There were 4 planes there already by the time I took off. Cuising over the mtns thru 9600' temp was 47 deg (F), about 9 deg C, compared to 30C on the ground. Had a small problem with radios and had to circle outside Springbank control area til I figured it out. Ground crew was ready for the Century Flight planes, as well as incoming planes for the COPA (Cdn Owners & Pilots Assoc) convention that was going on at Springbank also. Met up with Jan & Laura. Walked around planes on display. Hanger Hoedown (supper & music), then airshow. Hilite of the night was aerial fireworks from both wings of two Harmon Rockets done to music in the dark.

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July 18 - Springbank, AB

Another day at the COPA convention in Calgary. Waited in the a.m. for refueling - tanks are locked so have to be there for the fuel truck. By 3:00 I was still 20th in line (about 4 hrs) so went to Cdn Tire and bought jerry cans, stopped at the gas station, and did the refueling myself. Bonus to that was at the banquet/dinner theatre later tonight the tables were selected to go dish up based on anyone at the table with "Cdn Tire" money - Jan was a hero. Who says shopping doesn't pay!! Parked the supervan back at Springbank for an early morning departure for Brandon, MB.

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July 19 - Brandon, MB

Checked the laptop for current weather - forecasting high winds and thunder storms coming from the NW - I should be able to stay ahead of them even at 100 mph. I had pre-filed all my flight plans for the 12 days before I left home to take the load off flight services when all 122 pilots report in every morning. Talked to flight services and opened my flight plan. Refueled in Medicine Hat, and again at Pense, SK. Winds weren't as high as forecast - actually had a slight tailwind. Finally my ground speed was higher than my airspeed. 8 hours total time in the air today - a long day. Landed at Brandon at 3:00 - there were over 1000 people waiting to greet us. Toured the Commonwealth Air museum. Lots of towering clouds in the west.

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July 20 - Kenora, ON

Scheduled for 2 days in Brandon, but will fly to Kenora or further today to break up the trip. Clear air & tailwind. Flew around Winnipeg over Steinbeck. The fields turned to bush & swamp 5 mi E of Steinbeck, then bush turned to lakes close to Kenora. Fields south of Winnipeg are all flooded - most had dikes around the homesites. Stopped in Kenora due to rough air & gusty winds.

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July 21 - Ignace, ON

Left Kenora early & ran into fog 15 min. out. Landed on a lake with a small beach and tried fishing. Had coffee with a camper (the only one there). Took off and made it to Ignace before clouds met the ground. Landed at Ignace Seaport and hung out for the afternoon... and so did the rain. Will try to make it to Marathon in the morning.

Received an e-mail from the "campers" Lynn had coffee with - after the initial shock of his arrival they had a great visit. They sent along this photo.

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July 22 - Sault Ste. Marie, ON

Out of Ignace by 6 over broken cloud and fog and flew in rain to Marathon (2.3 hrs). Got in just as other planes were leaving. Fueled up and refiled flight plan to Sault Ste Marie via Wawa. Rain stopped but still hazy. I'm getting tired of looking at bush - flew along the coast for a while. Arrived at Sault Ste Marie. Took bus to Bushplane museum downtown and was back to the airport by 7. I'm camping at the airport tonight.

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July 23 - Sault Ste. Marie, ON

The weather is not improving. There is a band of low pressure pushing NE from the US producing "marginal VFR (visual flight) and below" cloud ceilings. The weather around Toronto is still IFR (instrument flying only). More storms are predicted around 2 p.m. The Century Flight aircrafts are getting spread out waiting for the weather to break. At last count there were 65 in Sault Ste. Marie, 2 in Brandon, 8 in Thunder Bay, 3 in Dryden and the rest at various smaller airports. Banquet and talent night planned for 6 tonight.

This is the image on the computer screen from my SPOT satellite tracker. When it's in the tracking mode, it leaves a waypoint (#49 & #50 on this page) every 10 minutes, and if you slide the mouse over the waypoint it displays the time and GPS location. This snapshot is at half the magnification. When fully magnified you can even tell if the plane is on the runway. taxiing, or beside the strip.

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July 24 - Brampton, ON !!!

Fog didn't burn off until 10, in the air by 11:30. Flew down the east coast of Georgian Bay to the south end where it clouded in -ceiling was down to 3-400'. Jumped over to the east where it was clearer and continued south. Fueled up in Muskoka (between showers) and then direct to Brampton. Lots of people to welcome us, big chicken supper, live entertainment, and a shuttle to the hotel (and a real BED!). The flying club is cooking us breakfast at 7 tomorrow morning.

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July 25 - Montmagny, QC

Headed for Fredericton - intended to refuel in Riviere-Ouelle (along the St. Lawrence, NE of Quebec City), but hit 30 mph headwind for the last 50 miles. Got weathered in at Montmagny. Several other Century planes here also. Refueled and waited for weather to clear. I'll check the weather tonight and see if Fredericton is clear. Doing the tent under the wing thing.

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July 26 - Montmagny, QC - again

Still 200' ceiling. None of the planes were able to take off. The rest of the Century Flight planes were in Fredericton last night and tonight, and they're off to Sydney Mon. afternoon. IF.... the weather clears I hope to be out of here sometime tomorrow. Probably won't make Sydney or Baddeck. Have been trying to make connections with family in Fredericton so hope to stop and see them tomorrow if the weather clears. Camping last night was cold and damp so it's off to a motel tonight. Sorry no photos lately - my computer training needs a refresher course - badly.

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July 27 - THE SEASTAR HAS LANDED!!! Weather cleared JUST enough about 8 am and I was at the airport waiting. 4 other crews were waiting for my weather report from 30 miles out but by the time I called back to let them know that they could get through the sky had opened up and they were in the middle of a downpour.  They never made it out of Montmagny. Headed NE staying on the Canadian side of Maine (can't go into US airspace with this homebuilt yet), and made it to Edmunston. Stopped for 1/2 hour to let the fog clear. Refueled in Moncton and the ceiling was JUST high enough to keep going. Rough flying with thunderstorms all around - made for a bumpy ride. Seemed like it took forever to travel the last 100 miles. Made it to Sydney and was seated at the big lobster supper at 10 to 8!! How's that for cutting it close. Glad to be here. It seems like a long time ago that I left Boundary Bay. Makes you appreciate just how big Canada is. Thanks for sharing my adventure with me. Lynn. C-GFUD