QantasLink Dash 8 pilot retraces dad's flight with four-day, 10-stop trip around the world

TWO pilots, six countries, nine scheduled stops and one forced detour: One of Qantas' smallest planes takes the scenic route from Toronto to Brisbane.

Captain Guy Yarrow and Captain Peter Schryver.

WITH a maximum flying time of just five hours, getting a Dash 8 aircraft from Canada to Queensland tends to be an exercise in careful planning and a lot of pit stops.

Normally a trip of more than 21 hours - with a stopover in Los Angeles - the 15,000km journey from Toronto to Brisbane is usually one left to Boeing 777s or A330s. But with Bombardier supplying the QantasLink fleet, the long trek from factory to base has to be made at least twice a year - usually by the manufacturer. Gallery: Around the world in four long days To mark delivery of the airline's 30th Q400 aircraft, a crew of three QantasLink pilots and an engineer decided to make the trip last month spread over 40 hours, and four days. Captain Peter Schryver said that meant nine stops in six countries plus an unscheduled touch down in Sapporo (Japan). From Toronto they flew to Calgary, then on to Anchorage and Nome in Alaska, Petropavlovsk in Russia followed by Sapporo and Tokyo in Japan, then to Guam (US), Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea, Cairns and Brisbane. His father Casey had done a similar journey in 1989, bringing the first QantasLink Dash 8-100 to Australia via no less than 19 airports. Capt Schryver said while their trip was not as gruelling it did have its challenges. "Flying into Petropavlovsk (Russia) was like walking into a 1950s war movies," he said. "It was quite a spin out. The terminal looked like it hadn't been updated since the 1950s. There were a lot of old aircraft about and because it's still a military base we weren't allowed to take photos." He said the massive airport was crawling with guards but although no expense had been spared on security, the runway was another matter. "It hasn't been upgraded in 20 years and it was one of the roughest runways I've ever landed on," Capt Schryver said. In order to get airborne faster on take-off, a different wing flap setting was used so they could spend less time on the bumpy runway. Poor weather meant the crew was forced to divert to Sapporo en route from Petropavlovsk to Narita Airport in Tokyo in order to refuel. Despite all the country hopping, Capt Schryver said the longest leg was the first - from Toronto to Calgary, about 2700km. "This aircraft is designed primarily for short flights," he said. "To fly these things the distances we did and as efficiently as we did, it's an absolute credit to the aircraft." The red kangaroo tail created some interest at the various airports it visited, particularly in Nome, Alaska. "We used local handling agents at those outports and the refueller said he had never seen one coming through with a red tail," laughed the Captain. Now he has done the trip, Capt Schryver cannot wait to do it again, and hopes it may become part of the QantasLink pilots' training. "It's just an awesome experience for a young man," he said.