Transborder Crossing West Coast

[Scott Aviation]

This Saturday I will be crossing the border for the first time from Vancouver Island down to Bellingham Washington for the day, just to get my feet wet.

 

I've done the EAPIS arrival/dep itinerary, customs decal, read all the particulars around notififying customs, flight plans, etc,

 

Does anyone here have any experience travelling between the Seattle Area and Vancouver Area and any helpful thoughts or tips would be great

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Chris

 

 

[231flyer]

I flew from Vancouver to Bellingham last summer on our way home to Colorado/Texas from our great Alaska adventure.  You have obviously researched the EAPIS arrival process and are familiar with registering your flight manifest and the all important phone call to confirm your flight and arrival time.  Once you land at BLI the US customs post is to the left (North) of the tower and both FBOs are to the right of the tower.  I was directed to park almost at the base of the tower (I used Bellingham Aero rather than Command) and was met by a US Customs officer.  He looked inside and in the luggage area (we were in my Malibu) but did not ask us to unload any of our bags. We had nothing to declare.  We followed him into the office to get our passports stamped and hand over our customs declaration form.  It was easy and took less than 20 minutes.  Apparently we arrived in the evening between commercial flights so did not have to wait to get processed.  I have also done the road crossing and this absolutely beats the hour long wait and long lines.  On your way back to Canada you will need to file the outbound EAPIS manifest and make the usual Canadian arrival provisions.  We enjoyed BLI especially the entertainment district.  We did stop by the Costco and will never ever make than mistake again.  It was absolutely insanely crowded......we did not even enter the store.  Have a safe flight!! 

[Jerry 5TJ]

Going Northbound in an N-registered plane, what is a good airport for IFR arrivals into the Vancouver area?  Is CYVR friendly to GA? I want to be near Burnaby and Vancouver.

[Marauder]

One tip! Don't get out of the plane until instructed to do so. If you go to the spot and there is no one to meet the plane, wait a a few minutes and either call them on the number or the frequency provided. U.S. Customs gets a bit irritated if you egress on your own.

[Scott Aviation]

Going Northbound in an N-registered plane, what is a good airport for IFR arrivals into the Vancouver area?  Is CYVR friendly to GA? I want to be near Burnaby and Vancouver.

Not alot of people know this but YVR has GA friendly weekends....meaning Sat-Sun morning 7-10 am landing fee is only $9-10 rest of the week its $35. 

I would fly into Pitt Meadows Airport it has a IFR approach, rental cars, is close to the skytrain and burnaby etc.  if your not going to be IFR I would fly into Boudary Bay airport.

My wife and I fly into boundary bay and Langley airport all the time from the island and its great service at both airports, restaurants, rental cars, cabs.  Once you get close enough to the skytrain you get a day pass and can travel very quickly and effeciently all over vancouver and there are some really nice views from the skytrain.

[Scott Aviation]

Just did cycd-kbli Bellingham today. Just have to say. Simple! I encourage all to try cross boarder travel sometime. Also I want to thank command aviation for their generous loaner BMW for the day so we could enjoy Washington. We will be back!