Nestled off the coast of Vancouver Island, just 18nm south east of Port Hardy, across from Port McNeil, and just 2 hours flight direct from Vancouver, lies a jewel in the most spectacular setting of North Island beauty and hospitality. Anyone with a pilots licence shouldn’t miss this great getaway.

Home of the Killer Whale – www.alertbay.com

Flying direct to the Powell River NDB from Pitt Meadows airport, will give you a bearing direct to Alert Bay, and avoids all of the restricted airspaces around Comox. It also gives you a course through the beautiful Salmon Valley, instead of dodging around Newcastle Ridge This is the safest, most scenic and direct route.
About 1 hour into the flight you’ll be near Campbell River so you can get a weather update from flight services.

When approaching the Island from the south, it’s easy to see which way the wind is going, and you can join down wind as necessary. The runway is 2900 ft., and will always have a wind going up or down the straight. It would be very rare to have a cross wind, but if there was, the trees would clean it up before you get into the flare.

The thing to be aware of is that the runway is 240 ft above sea level, and severe downdrafts may be encountered on approach or departure, especially on 09 when the winds are 25 kts or more from the SE, due to the steeper cliffs on that end.

My first approach was on rwy 27, late in the evening, landing into the setting sun, with the winds better then 25 kts. Everything was going ok, although I was cursing the fact that wasn’t wearing my favourite ball cap to help as a sun visor. I had one hand blocking the sun over my eyes, and the other on the yoke. I like to keep one hand on the throttle, but the sun was too bright. We had perfect approach speed and angle, but I noticed that our sink rate rapidly increased. We were experiencing a downwash. I just squinted, concentrated on the threshold, and hit the throttle to raise me back to my proper approach angle. When we cleared the threshold, we were right on the numbers, and we were stopped in about 450 ft. Talk about a short field!

You can park on the north end tie downs, or just stay on the grass on the south side as you’ll be closer to the Oceanview cabins.

Mrs. Joyce Langille
390 Poplar road
P.O. Box 470
Alert Bay, BC, V0N1A0

Oceanview Cabins
Ph. (250)974-5457
Fax (250)974-2275

Other accommodations can be found at Alert Bay Lodging and Accomodations.

We spent the day just exploring around the town, and found few restaurants worth trying. The worlds largest totem pole can be found on the north side of the island, Be sure to read up on the history of Cormorant Island as it will make your visit much more enjoyable.