Flying to the Edge
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A Cirrus Adventure to East Greenland
For generations, airline and ferry pilots have viewed Greenland as little more than a fuel stop on North Atlantic crossings, not a destination for tourism or adventure. Aircraft from Europe and North America briefly touch its rugged coastline before continuing on, while the vast ice sheet remains a breathtaking panorama of endless glaciers, towering mountains, and remote Arctic wilderness visible only from cruising altitude.
For general aviation pilots, however, Greenland offers a very different experience: easy VFR operations, pilot-friendly procedures, and no special permits required. You will have direct access to dramatic fjords, soaring peaks, and massive glaciers. In one of Earth’s most remote landscapes, you can enjoy cultural experiences in colorful Arctic villages, world-class hiking and camping, big-game hunting, and up-close encounters with whales and other exotic wildlife.
The route from KBKV to BGCO.
The Plan
Our journey began on August 6, 2026, in Brooksville, Florida, where Bart Gray and I mapped out our ambitious flight to eastern Greenland. Our aircraft was Bart’s Cirrus SR22, N140BV, a 2011 normally aspirated G3 model with the clean-wing configuration. The airplane was especially suited to the adventure because I had previously owned N140BV and flown it on two circumnavigation flights, giving me deep familiarity with its performance, range, and reliability.
The normally aspirated SR22 is particularly well suited for long-range flying. We typically flew between 10,000 and 12,000 feet. At 12,000 feet with an OAT of -10°C, lean-of-peak settings yielded a fuel flow of 10.7 gph, 52% power, and a TAS of 158 knots, providing 7.5 hours of endurance. Most legs averaged 600 to over 800 miles, except the first, from Brooksville, FL (KBKV) to Bethel, Maine (0B1), which was 1,107 miles. All flights stayed within CG limits and under the 3,400-lb. gross weight limit.
Aside from carrying a substantial complement of survival gear for both the overwater segments and the Arctic environment (as required by the Greenland AIP), we made no modifications to the airplane. There were no auxiliary fuel tanks to extend our range, no HF radio for long-distance communications, and no specialized ferry equipment. In every sense, it was a standard, non-FIKI, normally aspirated SR22. Our success would depend not on elaborate equipment but on careful planning, sound aeronautical decision-making, favorable weather, and the proven capability of a well-maintained aircraft. The airplane’s simplicity only added to the appeal of undertaking a journey to one of the world’s most remote and spectacular flying destinations.
In addition to the survival gear for the overwater leg and our crossings of the Greenland Ice Sheet, we wore immersion suits over comfortable wool long underwear. Even in summer, temperatures typically stayed in the 50s°F, and winds off the ice sheet could be surprisingly brisk, making winter clothing a necessity.
Although we had planned several stops throughout Greenland, we chose Ittoqqortoormiit as our primary destination. Perched on the rugged eastern coast of Greenland, sometimes called “Tunu” (Greenland’s Backside), the village is surrounded by the vast Arctic wilderness. Ittoqqortoormiit is widely regarded as one of the most remote and isolated communities on Earth.
Carsten Egevaug’s book, Life at the Edge, beautifully describes life in Ittoqqortoormiit and the other villages in what is known as the Scoresby Sund. Scoresby Sund sits at the very edge of human habitation in northeastern Greenland, isolated by hundreds of kilometers from other settlements and bordering the world’s largest national park. Its residents live on the edge, both economically and geographically, relying heavily on hunting to survive in a remote area where winter lasts 10 months.
The village also held special significance for our journey because it lay directly beneath the path of totality for the August 12, 2026, solar eclipse, making it an ideal location to witness this rare celestial event.
Quick turn at Kuujjuaq, Quebec.
Logistics
Access to Ittoqqortoormiit is challenging even by Greenlandic standards. Nerlerit Inaat Airport, better known as Constable Point (BGCO), serves the community and is located about 21 miles northwest of the village. With no roads linking the airport to the town, travelers must complete the journey by a two-and-a-half-hour boat ride, a 15-minute helicopter flight, or, during the long Arctic winter, by traditional dog sled.
The airport features a 3,281-foot hard-packed gravel runway, adequate for the Cirrus, and has a GPS approach procedure, making it a practical gateway to one of the most inaccessible regions in the world.
Reaching Ittoqqortoormiit, however, posed a logistical challenge beyond transportation. BGCO does not stock 100LL avgas, so we had to make special arrangements through an unlikely source: the airport gift shop. The gift shop manager, Morten Mandrup, arranged to import four drums of fuel from Norway. We needed only one drum for the return flight to Kangerlussuaq (BGSF), but we ordered four because shipping costs were based on a per-pallet rate, and shipping four cost the same as shipping one.
Three drums remain at BGCO. Anyone interested can purchase them at the gift shop along with T-shirts and whale bone necklaces.
This seemingly simple task ultimately dictated our expedition’s timing. The fuel could arrive only by ship once the ice released its grip on the world’s longest and largest fjord system. Each year, the sea ice typically breaks up around the beginning of August, opening a narrow window for maritime access. The seasonal supply vessel, carrying our avgas, was the only ship of the year capable of delivering the fuel needed to support our flight, along with supplies for the various remote villages for an entire year. It arrived on August 5.
Crossing the Greenland Ice Sheet
We departed Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, and flew a direct course to Constable Point, a journey of approximately 642 miles across some of the most remote and unforgiving terrain on Earth. Cruising at 11,500 feet MSL, we stayed roughly 1,500 feet above the immense Greenland Ice Sheet, second only to Antarctica in size, an endless expanse of snow and ice stretching to every horizon.
From the cockpit, the landscape looked otherworldly, a frozen desert of brilliant white punctuated by deep crevasses, wind-carved ridges, and occasional shadows cast by distant mountain peaks emerging from the ice sheet.
For the first portion of the flight, we maintained VHF communication with Sondrestrom Radio, but contact faded approximately 90 miles east as we ventured deeper into Greenland’s vast interior. Beyond that point, we entered a world of remarkable isolation. For more than four hours, we crossed the ice sheet and the rugged mountains of eastern Greenland with virtually no direct communication.
The silence broke only once, when an American Airlines flight high overhead kindly relayed a position report on our behalf and helped us get the current weather at Constable Point, which was good!
The VFR flight between Kangerlussuaq and Constable Point is hard to put into words. The flight crossed some of the highest elevations of the Greenland Ice Sheet, which covers approximately 80% of Greenland. The flight also flew over the southern side of the Greenland National Park, the largest national park in the world.
The park spans 375,000 square miles and is larger than 166 of the world’s 195 countries. The park is not open to independent visitors. Access is almost exclusively via expedition cruises from Iceland or Svalbard, private charter flights, or boats from Ittoqqortoormiit. The park has no roads, airports, accommodations, or public infrastructure inside.
What better way to view the world’s largest national park than a VFR flight? Beautiful fjords, icebergs, ice fields, glaciers, and majestic mountains, all so bright and reflective that you know why Arctic explorers wore thick sunglasses with special lenses.
Although difficult to spot from the air, the park is home to an estimated 2,275 polar bears, herds of musk oxen, reindeer, Arctic foxes, and hares. It also hosts humpback, fin, bowhead, beluga, and narwhal whales, walruses, many species of seals, rare birds, and fish of all kinds, including my favorite, “Arctic char.”
Approaching the Greenland Ice Sheet from Scoresby Sound.
Ittoqqortoormiit
Arriving in Ittoqqortoormiit by helicopter from Constable Point, we found a scenic, colorful Arctic community of about 350 residents. No restaurants, coffee shops, bars, or hotels. No Ubers, taxis, rental cars, or other ground transportation exists, except for the four-wheelers villagers use. From the helipad to town, the store, the small museum, the church, or anywhere else is on foot.
We stayed at the Ittoqqortoormiit Guest House, a basic but clean and comfortable guest house. It has a communal kitchen, two bathrooms, and offers great views of the fjord, including icebergs and spouting whales. A well-stocked grocery store is within walking distance, and we prepared meals at the guest house with other guests from Denmark and other parts of Greenland, including a tasty walrus stew. We took photos, made new friends, and it became one of our favorite memories of the trip.
A Morning Walk
One morning, Bart went for an early walk through town. Not long into the walk, he encountered five local Inuit residents, two of whom were carrying rifles. As the group approached, they stopped to explain that walking alone, especially in the early morning or evening, could be risky because polar bears occasionally wander into or near the community.
The residents then explained why they were out so early. With the first day of school approaching, they were patrolling the town to check for polar bears and ensure children could walk to school safely; walking is their only option.
The moment was a powerful reminder of how different life can be in remote Arctic communities. While preparations for the start of school elsewhere often involve classroom setups, new clothes, or crossing guards, in Ittoqqortoormiit part of the routine includes monitoring the town’s perimeter for potential polar bear threats.
After inviting Bart to join them, the group spent the next hour patrolling the community. Although they found no bears, the experience left a lasting impression. It was not a special event for visitors or a planned adventure, but neighbors looking out for one another and protecting their children.
The unexpected encounter reminded him that the most memorable travel experiences are often unplanned, when a simple early-morning walk can offer a unique glimpse into everyday life at the edge of the inhabited world.
Greenland airports are closed on Sundays; Constable Point is also closed on Saturdays. This led to a two-night stay in Kangerlussuaq. We stayed at the Kangerlussuaq Hotel inside the airport terminal and dined at the Musk Ox restaurant, where, of course, the special was musk ox along with reindeer skewer appetizers. We booked a one-day tour of the ice sheet through “Guide to Greenland” and spent our spare day hiking on what was estimated to be a 1-million-year-old ice sheet.
Unfortunately, weather and time did not allow us to visit some of the other scenic Greenland communities: Nuuk, Sisimiut, Narsarsuaq, Kulusuk, and, particularly, Ilulissat, one of my favorite places to visit.
Two COPA members, Justin Fornal and Wesley Archer, flew their Cirrus all the way north to Qaanaaq (BGQQ) a few years ago to participate in the Great Arctic Swim.
Several airports in Greenland offer 100LL avgas: BGSF, BGGH, BGKK, and BGQO. However, confirm availability in advance, particularly in August, when demand from European aircraft traveling to and from Oshkosh is high. It’s also possible to ship fuel to some of the remote villages, as we did.
What better way to visit one of the world’s most remote, beautiful, and inaccessible places than to fly VFR in the Cirrus?
Resources
Greenland AIP: aim.navair.dk/en/
Ittoqqortoormiit Guest House: [email protected]
Constable Point Gift Shop (BGCO), Morten Mandrup: [email protected]
Kangerlussuaq Hotel: albatross-arctic-circle.com
Ground tours: Guidetogreenland.com
- Flying to the Edge - September 21, 2026
- VIA The Poles: Journey Around the World’s Ultimate Flight Path - August 27, 2025
- The European “28 Day Holiday License” - September 11, 2023
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