Mont Joli

Two months has gone by since the Bazflyers landed at Nome, Alaska thereby initiating the North American sector of Round the World 2019. During that time the trusty Piper Comanche ZK-BAZ has touched down at 20 airports, and clocked-up almost 50 flight hours spanning 16 of the US States and 6 Canadian Provinces. What a wonderful joy it has been. New friendships were forged and memories made. Goals achieved and milestones surpassed. Oh, how tempting it is to tarry awhile savouring such delightful experiences, but the airways extending eastwards beckon and the Bazflyer’s schedule says, “Its time to move-on…!”

Moving-on is flying 4000 kilometres across the North Atlantic from Goose Bay (CYYR), Newfoundland to Narsarsuaq (BGBW), Greenland then onto Reykjavik (BIRK), Iceland and finally to Wick (EGPC) in far north Scotland. The crossing requires 3-days. This part of the planet experiences Arctic weather conditions. Weather notorious for rapid changes. Intense storms, severe icing, turbulence, and heavy precipitation in all its various forms can be encountered throughout the year. 

Unsurprisingly, just as thousands of aviators have done over the years, the Bazflyers are weather watching from a zone of comfort, looking, waiting, for a suitable Arctic weather window. In this case the zone of comfort is Mont Joli, a smallish French Canadian settlement on the Eastern side of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The Mont Joli aerodrome was constructed during WW2. As a training base for the Commonwealth Air Training Plan it was the home of No.9 Bombing and Gunnery School. 

Mont Joli was also an air base regularly used by many wartime pilots ferrying aircraft across the North Atlantic to Great Britain. Ironically, in a similar vein to the Bazflyers, they were pilots watching weather and waiting for a window of opportunity to make the relatively short flight further north to Goose Bay and then onto to Greenland. During WW2, Goose Bay was the busiest airport in the world.      

Flight route from Goose Bay (CYYR) across the North Atlantic to Wick (EGPC) in Far North Scotland.

Watching weather, waiting for the low between Greenland an Iceland to dissolve or slip south 

Mont Joli is known for many decreative murals scattered around the town....

....and is home to a range of artists