Airport Considerations

Victoria airport is actually located in the town of Sydney, about a 30 minute drive north of Victoria Harbor.  It is tower-controlled with three intersecting runways so be sure to check out the airport diagram and become familiar with the layout.  After landing taxi to AeroShell to clear customs.  Parking is $30/day unless you just clear customs and depart.  Victoria Flying Club is located next door with a restaurant.  Flying regulations in Canada are very similar but not identical to our FARs.  Again, we recommend you attend our seminar to learn Canadian procedural differences.

Things to Do

There are activities in Victoria to suit anyone’s tastes.  From the airport you can get a rental car, taxi or public transportation to the city proper.  Downtown Victoria surrounds the Inner Harbor with a wide variety of shops, museums and restaurants.  If staying overnight I recommend one of the many bed & breakfasts within walking distance of downtown.  For a special occasion check out the Empress Hotel and be sure to make reservations for high tea.  Also consider staying in Sydney by the airport.  The hotel rates are more reasonable and there are a variety of good restaurants by the marina.  There are several bicycling, kayaking and golfing options but no visit is complete without a stop at Buchart Gardens.  This 55-acre manicured garden is outstanding in the spring and summer drawing visitors from all over the world.

You won't find this airport in the GNS530 database, but Roche Harbor is another San Juan fly-in destination. Located 7.1 NM northwest of the Friday Harbor airport, WA09 is the home of the Roche Harbor Resort and casual dining on the water at the Madrona Bar and Grille or the Lime Kiln Cafe. For a more formal dining experience try McMillan's Dining Room. Everything is just a short five minute walk from the West end of the runway. Have the whole day? Then rent a kayak or take a whale watching tour.

Airport Considerations

This airport can be intimidating due to its 30 foot wide runway, but with nearly 3600' of length it’s not much different than landing at Snohomish. Parking is at the approach end of runway 07 in the grass above the runway and there are no taxiways so depending on your landing direction, you may have to back-taxi to parking. Remember to announce your intentions!

Since the airport is private and maintained by the residents of Roche Harbor there is a nominal landing fee of $10. It’s a small price to pay for the privilege of landing in such a beautiful place. The pay box is located near the main road. Be sure and read the airport description for pattern altitude and noise abatement information.

-Todd Lindley

If you have more time, take a few hours to head into the quaint little town of Langley either via local taxi or by the airport provided bicycles (bike rack is located out front of the coffee house).

Airport Considerations

Transient parking is located at the North end of the runway and on the Northeast side behind the hangars.

As the summer days heat up, things get quite bumpy around Langley as well as an increase in density altitude, so be sure and calculate airplane performance. On calm wind days the preferred entry is to land to the North (runway 34) and depart to the South. Also, the airport is surrounded by trees so it’s easy to lose site of the runway in the pattern. A couple of landmarks to keep you oriented is the cell tower which is abeam the approach end of 34 and Useless bay which is a good reference for turning left base when landing on runway 34.

- Todd Lindley