I flew with Chrono Aviation B737-200 Classic from Montreal to the Canadian Arctic north to experience the unique flight operation and landing on a snow-covered gravel runway.
Our first stop is Iqaluit at 63 degrees North. Iqaluit is a technical fuel stop. I got to walk around the airplane during the stop, the weather was freezing and bitter cold for me! ( -30 degrees with wind chill)
Our next stop is Mary River at 71 degrees North. Mary River has an iron ore mine operation. The runway is gravel and covered with snow during the winter months. During the flight, the captain explained the unique and challenging flight operations in the high Arctic such as the difference between true north and magnetic north, and the friction index on gravel landing. The Chrono Aviation B737-200 demonstrated strong continuous operation in challenging weather conditions.
Unexpectedly, I was offloaded due to overbooking on the return flight, I stayed behind at the Arctic mine for 12 hours. This was another unique experience. I flew out of Mary River on the next flight that evening.
