[Grahame Hutchison]

A Banff Squirrel - they are very fast.


Not uncommon to see Deer walking around Banff, they love eating the flowers. We walked out of the hotel and there were three Deer crossing the road.



AC205 Calgary - Vancouver: Wed, Oct 03 2012

After staying overnight at the Delta Calgary Airport Hotel, it was an early start for the 8am service to Vancouver. The hotel has an aero bridge to the Terminal, so there was no need to go out into the -6degrees, with a strong westerly blowing. Check-in was quite quick however there was an extremely long line at security. Checks today were through standard screening stations, however there were random swab tests and booth scans.

Once at Terminal A Gate 18 there was just enough time for oatmeal, fruit and coffee for breakfast. Boarding was called at 0730 and pushback was right on time at 0800. Today's service was being operated by an Embraer E190 C-FNAP, and in contrast to our three previous AC E190 flights, today's aircraft was absolutely full.

Many people had two carry-on bags, or bags that were too large for the smaller E190 overhead lockers. Seat allocation was 21CDF.

As we taxied for Runway 26, we pulled up at the de-icing bay where two trucks pulled up alongside and gave the wings and tail a good spray. I could see some small amounts of ice break free. With a full aircraft the takeoff roll was a little longer, and once in the air we could see that much of Calgary had been covered in snow. It started snowing as we left Banff the previous afternoon, and the colder conditions from the west rolled right into Calgary overnight.

De-icing before takeoff in Calgary.


We were in cloud fairly quickly, however as we approached the Canadian Rockies, the cloud cleared and there were spectacular views of the snow caped peaks, including Mt Baker.

0837 36000ft 409mph south of Revelstoke, and 38 min out of Vancouver.
As with all other AC domestic services, free refreshments are served (drinks and a biscuit), all other food items, which include hot snacks, must be purchased.
0852 Top of descent and current conditions in Vancouver were 9 degrees with calm winds.

Vancouver Activities : Capilano Suspension Bridge, 22km bike ride around Stanley Park and city shoreline, Grandville Farmers Market and the Boeing Tour. Highly recommend the Steamworks Pub and Brewery at any time of day.

A Beever at the Float Plane Terminal in Vancouver.


The main Floatplane Terminal, a very busy operation.


Boeing Tour

On Thursday 4th October we had a hire car for the day and drove down to Paine Field for the Boeing tour. From central Vancouver it’s about a 3hr drive on the wrong side of the road, the major hold ups being the Massey Tunnel (20min going south and 1hr north) in peak hour, and the US Border crossing (20min). Once over the border it’s a freeway drive down to Mukiteo.

The Boeing Tour operates out of the Future Of Flight building, which includes a museum, the Boeing Store, Theatre, a café and gift shop. The Boeing Tour does not allow any cameras or electronic devices, so you need to leave everything in the car, or take advantage of one of the secure lockers, $1 for a small one and $2 for a larger one. There are no toilets while on the tour.

The Boeing Store at the Future Of Flight - I couldn't stop myself, purchased a Soft Shell jacket, Dreamliner Tee Shirt, Mug, Pen and stickers.



The Boeing Tour entrance.



The Boeing Store and Tour entrance.



The Future Of Flight Cafe



The Future Of Flight Museum - not that big, but still interesting to look over.


The tour starts with a 6min video in the theatre, talking about how flight, and Boeing, have changed the world. At the end of the video you walk straight onto the bus for the drive around the end of the runway, and across the taxiway over on the Boeing Freeway to Building 40, the largest building in the world by volume. A B777 departed as we drove past the threshold of Runway 16R.


Building 40 which houses the B747, B777 and Dreamliner production lines.


First stop was the B748 production line. From the bus you descend a stairway to one of the many long tunnels under the production lines. Part way along we took a lift to the observation level of the plant, where the open deck provided an amazing view of three B748s at various stages of completion. The aircraft closest to the plant door was for a Corporate customer. Directly below were three B748 cockpit sections being assembled, then three other aircraft at various stagesof completing.

Retracing our steps, we were back on the bus to move further along Building 40 to the B777 production line. Down into the tunnel and up to the observation level again, and we could see the B777 line, with an Emitates aircraft almost complete, next was a Philippines Airlines, and further back another B777 undergoing fuselage joining. This is a moving line like the B737 line down in Renton, and it moves at 1.8” per minute (you can just detect the movement if you line the rig up with a fixed point).

The next production line was the Dreamliner, and the most obvious difference was the lack of the noise from the rivet guns. At the head of the line was a B787for Hainan, with a couple more B787s lined up behind. Even at the production stage, the Dreamliners were gleaming.

Once completed, the aircraft are towed along the front of the Building 40 for further work, fuel testing and fill, flight testing, and the paint shop. Because the taxiway from Building 40 crosses over the Boeing Freeway, Boeing only ever tow the new aircraft over the overpass at night, in order to avoid distracting drivers, or having them stop on the roadway to take pictures.

Mary, our tour guide was excellent, and competently answered most of the questions. As we took the bus back to the Furtue of Flight building, we could see a line up of 8 Dreamliners, China Southern, Lot Polish Airlines SP-LRA, Ethiopian ET-ADS, ANA JA816A, Ethiopian ET-ADP, Hainan B-2728, LAN CC-BBB and Qatar A7-BOA and another Qatar. Further on was an unpainted B748, an all white B748, an Air India Dreamliner and a Cathay Cargo B748. Further still was an all white B748 and 5 more Dreamliners, two being for Air India. On the apron opposite the main plant was an unpainted B748, a B748 in Boeing livery, and unpainted B777. The bus driver said that they had two Dreamlifters in overnight, apparently a little unusual.