Flight 40: Gander to Deer Lake

Turbo duke at Gander Terminal

This is the big 40!

As the title suggests, Around the World in 80 Flights, gives one an itinerary which will take the pretend pilot around the world in 80 flights.  I am at flight 40, half that number, and I have not even left North America, yet.  In fact, I plan to stick around in North America a while yet.  For example, I am planning on flying north into Labrador, before cutting across to Greenland, where I will make at least four stops.  While I am up there, I might run a few of the Dew Line Missions from Rolling Cumulus Software;  I am still undecided on that.

At the tail end of my tour, I will hit North America again, after I cross the Pacific and work my way back home.  The West Coast has all of those wonderful Orbx sceneries, so that could take a while.

Clearly, I am not going to get around the world in 80 flights!

Anyway, flight 40 starts at Gander, where flight 39 left off, and we travel to Deer Lake, the last of the Simaddon sceneries which I will use for the North American part of the flight (at least until I get to the Pacific Coast.)

Deer Lake Arrival

Now, about Deer Lake, courtesy of Wikipedia:

Deer Lake is a Canadian town in the western part of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.  The town derives its name from Deer Lake and is situated at the outlet of the upper Humber River at the northeastern end of the lake.

The town is located in Division No. 5 and is the gateway to the Great Northern Peninsula, owing to an important highway interchange on the Trans-Canada Highway. It is the closest major community to Gros Morne National Park and is home to the Deer Lake Regional Airport.

A hydroelectric plant was established on the Humber River in 1925 to provide electricity to a pulp and paper paper mill in Corner Brook

Deer Lake offers accommodation for tourists as well as restaurants, supermarkets, convenience stores and gas stations. There is a stadium and a swimming pool in Hodder Memorial Recreational Complex. St. Paul's United Church, a wooden church dating from 1955 and the modern Salvation Army building are worth a visit. The Main Street offers a scenic view of the lake.

Deer Lake's population is a  hair under 5,000 people.

Deer Lake Regional Airport (IATA: YDF, ICAO: CYDF) is located 3 nautical miles (5.6 km; 3.5 mi) north northeast of Deer Lake, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is currently run by the Deer Lake Regional Airport Authority and is the closest airport to the Gros Morne National Park.

The airport is served by Air Canada, Air Canada Express, Provincial Airlines, Simwings, WestJet and WestJet Encore.  Destinations include, Halifax, Toronto, Gander, Goose Bay, St. John's, Wabush and Stephensville.  There are summer charters to Orlando, Punta Cana,  and Varadero.  So if one wants some unusual tubeliner flights, this would be a unique departure or destination.

Turbo Duke at Deer Lake Terminal

The flight started in a snowstorm in Gander.  After departing from runway 31, I quickly climbed to 7,000 feet -- there was not going to be much viewing in today's weather, so it made sense to get above the storm.

It was snowing hard at Deer Lake and visibility was close to zero.  I did an ILS approach on runway 25, and actually saw the runway seconds before I touched down.