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On August 2, 2008,
Seattle pilots Mark Schoening and Doug DeVries depart for a
10,000 mile circumnavigation of Canada via the famed Northwest
Passage . The team will be flying venerable de Havilland Beaver
seaplanes. Midway through the passage, the flight will turn
north in an attempt to reach the Magnetic North Pole. The High
Arctic, the Northwest Passage, de Havilland Beavers, and polar
bears, does it get any better than this?
As the last
frontier, the Arctic is an area rich in history, wildlife, and
natural splendor. Our journey will bring us in contact with
walrus, caribou, musk oxen, and perhaps the odd polar bear,
creatures that have evolved to eek out an existence in this
often-hostile environment. The human inhabitants of the Arctic,
the Inuit, have for centuries survived north of the tree line,
an area spanning from the NE tip of Russia across Northern
Canada to parts of Greenland. For centuries these arctic
dwellers have honed their survival skills in this harsh and
unyielding corner of our planet.
Equipped with
“straight floats”, the Beavers provide access to the thousands
of remote Arctic lakes only reachable by floatplane or foot. As
romantic as this may be, from a practical standpoint, all of the
fuel and supplies must be procured at villages and ports with
water access. Except for occasional supply stops in the more
civilized areas, the team will be experiencing the natural
Arctic first hand, as they land and camp at remote lakes and
ocean inlets.
Midway thru the
journey, our Beavers will bank to the left and begin their quest
to be the first floatplanes ever to reach The Magnetic North
Pole! This wandering point (where the magnetic field of the
earth points directly down) is in constant motion, and was first
found at Cape Adelaide in 1831. It was again located in a
different site by explorer Roald Amundsen in 1903, and since
that time has moved over 800 miles to the northwest. Beaver
N67DN will be specially outfitted with extended range fuel tanks
in order to make the 8 hour round trip from Eureka to the
Magnetic Pole. The high Arctic supply depots of Resolute and
Eureka do not stock aviation fuel, so the team shipped fuel in
drums to these remote locations via Canadian Coast Guard Cutter
in the summer of 2007.
An experienced film
crew, including Oscar-nominated Director of Photography, Eric
Thierman, will film the venture in high-definition. The team
intends to make a documentary film about the adventure,
capturing the experiences of Mark and Doug as they travel on
this amazing 10,000-mile journey though this rugged and
fascinating part of our planet.
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