200 Landings

Today's flight achievement: 200 lifetime landings.

The event was celebrated, under an overcast sky in light rain, at Havre-Saint-Pierre, Quebec.

Havre-Saint-Pierre, Quebec

Havre-Saint-Pierre, located along Route 138 some 200 kilometres (120 mi) east of Sept-Îles, is a town situated on Pointe-aux-Esquimaux on the Quebec north shore (Côte-Nord) of the Saint Lawrence River in Canada. Important geological features near the town include the Romaine River to the north and west, les Chutes Manitou, on the Manitou River to the west, l'Ile du Havre, less than a kilometre offshore from the town, and Anticosti Island, which on clear days can be seen to the south of the town.

My flight had departed from Port Menier on Anticosti Island, but its landmass was quickly lost in the haze as I crossed Jacques Cartier Strait.

Sony Reader Store Expands Purchases Available In Canada

Eighteen months ago I purchased a Sony Reader. My satisfaction with the device itself has been overwhelmingly positive, and it rejuvenated my interest in reading. However, over the past year I have been growing increasingly frustrated with my experience within the Sony Reader Store. More often than not, a title I browsed to would stubbornly deny any intention of purchase, citing "U.S. Only." I counted once, and a whopping 70% of the most recently added titles were unavailable in Canada. Honestly, I had all but given up on the store.

But perhaps there's hope yet. Today I received an email proclaiming Canada is now less of a second-class market:

"We are happy to announce that thousands of previously unavailable eBooks are now available for purchase in Canada. We apologize for any inconvenience over the past few months and are committed to providing you access to the widest selection of digital reading content."

First confirmed titles, and similarly first on my list of purchases, is Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy.†

Thank you, Sony. It's nice to know my beloved E-Ink device still has a future.

† And book two in Brent Weeks' "Night Angel" series—Shadow's Edge.

Pacific Coast VFR Flight Adventure

For this flight adventure I thought I'd stick close to home. And, to spice it up a bit, I'm going to add a bit of a twist: These flights will all be navigated entirely under VFR - Visual Flight Rules. No VORs. No NDBs. No ADF. No DME. No GPS. Nope, this time I'm going to put Flight Simulator X to the test and demand that its scenery be sufficient to get me from Point A to Point B. 

Starting and finishing in Vancouver, the Pacific Coast Flight Adventure visits Nanaimo, Port Alberni, Campbell River, Woss, Port Hardy, Bella Bella, Sandspit, Prince Rupert, Terrace, Bella Coola, Alert Bay, Powell River and Qualicum Beach.

European Flight Adventure

This flight adventure visits forty European countries, starting in London, England and ending in Moscow, Russia. (OK, so Russia isn't Europe, but hey, would you pass up a chance to fly to Moscow?)

Top Gear Challenge Flight Adventure

This flight adventure reproduces (in spirit, at least) the route of James May and Richard Hammond in a Cessna 182 as they race Jeremy Clarkson in a Bugatti Veyron from Alba, Italy to London. I'll be skipping the truffle.