The Northwest Territories boasts outstanding opportunities for aviation tourism with its vast wilderness and abundance of lakes offering paradise for flying on floats.  In furtherance of its mandate to promote the region as an aviation-friendly destination, NWTFA has acquired a visitor floatplane dock to be placed on Back Bay in Yellowknife.  The dock will be available for use and booking through an online reservation system by summer 2023.  This project has been made possible through the support of Ahmic Air and with funding from the GNWT Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment and the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor).

Lower Pensive Lake is located 33 nautical miles northeast of Yellowknife on the Pensive Lakes wilderness paddling route.  NWFTA volunteers conducted a remote site clean-up at this location in July 2022 with support from Unsmoke Canada / The Great Outdoors Fund and Air Tindi. Volunteers removed accumulated debris and made improvements to the firepit and benches.

Lower Pensive Lake has now been added as one of the "Places to Fly" on our website.  A sandy beach provides excellent parking for several floatplanes.  An open esker behind the beach offers stunning views of the lake and surrounding landscape.  This site is ideal for daytrips or camping and includes an established firepit with several large benches.

NWTFA will be hosting a fly-out beach day at Chedabucto Lake on Sunday, August 28, 2022 (weather permitting).  Members are invited to join us for a day of swimming, kayaking, water frisbee and relaxation at the beach!  For more details, click on the snip below to download the informational flyer.

NWTFA hosted a fly-out work party at Lower Pensive Lake on Saturday, July 16, 2022 to conduct a general site clean-up.  Seven volunteers, being members of NWFTA and/or CASARA, travelled to the site in member floatplanes to participate in the clean-up.  We spent approximately 5 hours collecting a total of 1200 kg of debris, hauling it all down the esker to the beach, and loading it onto a Twin Otter for removal to the Yellowknife solid waste facility.  With a bit of extra time, we also used a few salvaged timbers and donated logs to reconstruct benches around an existing firepit. 

NWTFA extends its thanks to Unsmoke Canada, The Great Outdoors Fund and Air Tindi for their support of this project.  As a result of their assistance and the collective effort of our volunteers and the Air Tindi pilots, this site is once again a lovely wilderness destination with a pristine beach and scenic esker.  Check out our photo gallery for more  shots of this site before, during and after our clean-up and learn more in Cabin Radio's story about the project. 

​NWTFA has selected Lower Pensive Lake as the site for our 2022 remote site clean-up.  The site is a very pretty location with a sandy beach and open esker.  An abandoned shelter on the esker has resulted in a plethora of damaged building materials, broken glass, and general trash requiring removal.  This site is on the Pensive Lakes wilderness paddling route popular with resident and visiting paddlers.  Once the site has been cleaned up, the beach and surrounding esker will be a lovely destination for day trips and camping. 

NWTFA will be hosting a fly-out work party at Lower Pensive Lake on Saturday, July 16, 2022 to conduct a general site clean-up.  For more details, visit our Remote Site Clean-Ups page.    NWTFA extends its thanks to Unsmoke Canada, The Great Outdoors Fund and Air Tindi for their support of this initiative.

​Since the weather forecast for this afternoon/evening calls for showers and mist, the NWTFA Annual General Meeting and BBQ/Potluck is being postponed to Saturday, May 28, 2022.  The time and location will remain the same.
 
For anyone who has submitted an RSVP, we will assume that you plan to attend next Saturday unless we hear otherwise.  If you’re unable to make it next week, please let us know by email to [email protected].
 
The RSVP form will remain open until next Thursday for anyone who hasn’t already replied and would like to attend next Saturday.

NWTFA/COPA Flight 108 has been monitoring the availability of 100LL av gas in Yellowknife and can now provide the following information in advance of the 2022 float season:

• Bassett Petroleum has discontinued its supply of bulk 100LL av gas but will continue to make fuel available in drums.
• Ahmic Air is willing to sell bulk 100 LL av gas to NWTFA/COPA Flight 108 members and visiting pilots.  Availability is subject to the operating needs of Ahmic Air and should be confirmed in advance.  Fuel can be pumped into tidy tanks or directly into aircraft fuel tanks.   Price is yet to be determined due to recent fluctuations in fuel costs but is expected to competitive.
• Fuel Flo will have 100 LL av gas available in drums throughout the summer.  Consideration is being given to also making fuel available in bulk.
• 100LL av gas is also available at the CYZF airport through Shell.  Recent pricing is approximately $3.00 per litre.

​Tundra tires just waiting for spring break up and gravel bars!   Thanks to new member Mason Elwood for contributing this shot of his 1990 Christen A-1 Husky excitedly waiting for summer adventures.  Break up in the Yellowknife region typically occurs around the last week of May or first week of June, so it shouldn't be too much longer.

In the meantime, local pilots are invited to attend our annual Rust Remover scheduled for May 14, 2022.  This seminar will be approved by Transport Canada as satisfying the 2-year recurrent training requirement for private pilots.  Registration is free for paid-up NWTFA/COPA Flight 108 members and $35 for non-members. 

The 2022 Rust Remover will be held on May 14, 2022 at Northern United Place in Yellowknife, NT.  The program will be sanctioned by Transport Canada to satisfy the 2-year recurrent training requirement for private pilots.  This event will be of interest to all pilots, whether flying on wheels, floats or skis.  Refer to the flyer opposite for more information.
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Speakers and presentations are expected to include an update from NAV CANADA on local operations, aviation medical examinations, physiological factors, aircraft mechanical and fuel systems, departure procedures, and interpreting graphical area forecasts.

Registration is free for NWTFA/COPA Flight 108 members and $35 for non-members.  ​

Annual membership dues for NWTFA/COPA108 are $35 and cover membership for the calendar year.   All memberships are individual and are now payable for the 2022 year.   Membership dues help cover the cost of our annual Rust Remover, social programs, AGM and spring BBQ, and other events and initiatives.  Strong membership is essential in building our recognition as a significant voice for general aviation in the Northwest Territories.

Whether you are a new member or are renewing your membership, please complete the Membership Application in full, to assist in keeping our mailing list and member directory accurate and up to date.  Please also subscribe to our electronic newsletter to ensure that you continue to receive our news going forward.   

NWTFA/COPA 108 merchandise, including silk-screened T-shirts and embroidered hats, is now available for purchase online. 

​The Midnight Sun Fly In Association has announced that, due to COVID-19 restrictions remaining in effect in the Northwest Territories, the next Midnight Sun Fly In has been postponed to July 2023.  The success and popularity of the Fly In is dependent on the ability to welcome visiting pilots from across North America.  Current border restrictions, isolation requirements and limits on gatherings and activities, while protecting the health of residents, render it impossible to host the event in 2022. 

Plans are already underway to host the next Fly In in July 2023 and both the Midnight Sun Fly In Association and Northwest Territories Floatplane Association/COPA 108 look forward to welcoming new and returning guests then.  Updates will be posted on the Fly In website as and when available.

The Midnight Sun Fly In Association and COPA Flight 108 (Northwest Territories Floatplane Association) will be hosting a fly-out picnic at Beniah Lake on August 8, 2021.  Our destination is a very long sandy beach near the treeline.  Lunch will consist of smokies and butter tarts.  Members, family and guests are welcome.

For more details, including photos of this stunning location, site coordinates/maps, and arrival/parking information, click on the flyer snip opposite to download the picnic flyer.