Why bother going all that way? Current local temperature down here near Montreal is -28C. The expected low tonight is -34C. Iqualuit is currently -34C and will go down to -36C tonight. The extra 2 C seems hardly worth the hassles of Northern isolation. Better to base in Montreal and enjoy some of the nice warm nightspots when off-duty. Mike Gammon ----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael A. Burris" <yul@prodigy.net> To: <AIRLINE@LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU> Sent: Friday, February 14, 2003 9:52 PM Subject: Here's To Cold Weather! > Iqaluit boosted by airline test procedures > WebPosted Feb 12 2003 10:11 AM MST > > IQALUIT, Nunavut - Another foreign aircraft company > now conducting cold weather testing from the Iqaluit > airport is bringing good business to the community. > This week, the very first of a new model Airbus, the > A-340, arrived to be checked out for performance in > cold weather. The testing is mandatory before new > aircraft can be certified safe for commercial flights. > > Recently a Eurocopter NH-90 arrived, and is still > going through its paces with a crew of about 25 > technicians. > > * FROM JAN. 17, 2003 : Antonov's landing causes > stir at airport > > John Graham, the city's airport manager, says > Iqaluit's northern location and 3,000-metre runway > make it ideal for such tests. > > Graham says Iqaluit actively promotes itself for cold > weather testing because of the economic benefits it > brings to the city. > > "So all these people are staying at hotels here in > Iqaluit and they're out buying souvenirs and stuff > like that, so yeah, there's a spin off for the > community," he says. "Over the years we've sent out > brochures basically to all the major aircraft > manufacturers. We keep in touch with who's building > what and when they're starting their test programs and > stuff like that. So they know us pretty well." > > Graham says typically two major airlines conduct cold > weather tests each year in Iqaluit. He says this is > the best time of year. > > The Airbus is expected to leave Nunavut Thursday, > while the helicopter will be here for the rest of the > month. >