Month: March 2014

It was a successful and very enjoyable adventure with no hairy moments. As with all such ventures, the secret to success comes in careful and detailed planning, ensuring the handlers knew in advance exactly what was required, particularly as regards avgas supplies. Within reason, the fewer stops the better and the bonanza is well endowed with a still air range of 1,350nm. Aircraft with lesser ranges can and do make the trip but the logistics become more complicated and expensive. Weather for the African part of the route at this time of year is not an issue. Except within Kenya where we flew VFR, all legs were on IFR plans although in practice, VMC prevailed albeit on occasions over thick dusty haze below us. Weather for the European part of the route at this time of year is necessarily more uncertain but on the whole was not bad, with occasional IMC and light icing.

We can certainly recommend G A S E who provided a much more comprehensive service than the traditional overflight agents; Ahmed’s ability to change our route approval in Egypt at very short notice was second to none. In a tourism context both Egypt and Kenya are very quiet at the moment and would certainly like to see more tourists around. Within Europe, we aimed for turnaround times of about an hour. In Africa, 75 to 90 minutes was more the norm but where refuelling was from barrel, two hours turnaround should be allowed for.

In all, the total distance covered was just under 9,900nm in a flight time of 68 hours 40 mins.

If any pilot reading this would like more detailed information to undertake a similar trip, they are welcome to email me for this – gajb@corsock.com

The last day of our adventure for Phil with him flying the leg to his home base at Biggin Hill, 530 nm in 3 hours 30 min. The weather forecast suggested that the best time to leave was around midday local; the overnight front had cleared to the east and the next trough was just making its way into France and so this turned out to be. After a wander round Avignon, we were out at the airport and airborne into initially a 20 kt headwind, which soon become a crosswind and eventually a tailwind with ground speed rising to 185kt. We started at FL100 but soon climbed to FL120 above SCT/BKN cu,sc with occasional higher buildups and climbed further in north France to FL140. By this time, there was significant CB activity but apart from a brief moment of heavy rain on the approach to Biggin, we managed to avoid any turbulence and icing.

Apart from the relatively short flight to Carlisle tomorrow, here the adventure ends and a great success it was. I will post a postscript setting out some overall reflections in a few day’s time and in due course, a write up will appear in PPL/IR Europe’s house magazine Instrument Pilot. I shall certainly go to Africa again in a year or three and there are other exotic destinations in mind as well. Meanwhile thanks to all who have read this blog and I hope it has been interesting and given you a flavour of what we have been up to over the past month.

Another long but this time very successful day’s flying. Overnight rain in Crete had given way to a bright morning and we started the day with a brisk walk out to the end of the harbour wall at Heraklion before leaving for the airport where Phil was going to fly the first leg of 625 nm to Salerno in Italy.

Departure was at 0900 UTC and after an initial climb to F120 to clear the Cretian central spine of mountains, cruise was at FL100 and we left the western coast of Crete for a 410nm leg over the Mediterranean to Carrafa in the toe of Italy before turning northwestwards up towards Sorrento and then Salerno. As forecast, there was a headwind of around 35-40kt which made progress slow but as the leg went on, this headwind slowly decreased. It would however mean another night landing for me and we rang Avignon on the sat phone to check their airfield closing time – no problems here as they were open until 9 pm local time. Considering we were flying towards the centre of the low over Italy, the weather was very good; we were over cu/sc but with increasing higher layers as we approached Italy. Flight time for this leg was 4 hours 50 minutes.

Salerno were very efficient and we managed refuelling and turnaround in an hour. Off again with me flying this time and there were now some large CB buildups but no problem circumventing these and as dusk approached over Corsica, they began to die anyway. The lights of France soon appeared and with a useful short cut from Provence radar, we landed at Avignon at 7:45 pm local having covered 535 nm in 3 hours 30 min making a total distance for the day of 1,150 nm, the highest daily mileage for this trip.

Into Avignon to our ‘usual’ hotel and then for a well earned and very good dinner. Tomorrow Phil does his final leg to Biggin Hill and then I return to Carlisle on Tuesday.

Following our arrival in Cairo on Thursday evening, we spent Friday morning looking round some of the Pyramids, including the Great Pyramid concluding our visit as the now normal Friday demonstrations after prayers got under way. Nothing dramatic, just a few groups of people marching with slogans and the army and police in side streets ready for any trouble. Eddie Gould of G A S E guided us round and we then had a very pleasant poolside lunch at our hotel before doing some serious flight planning for our return to Europe where the weather is not looking very springlike. Later in the evening, we met Ahmed, the other guiding light of G A S E who organised the clearances. We agreed to meet at 7am on Saturday when Eddie and Ahmed would take us back to October.

A good journey out there in just under an hour and then the problems began. First there was no promised fuel. Next we were told that we could not take our flight planned route to Port Said to clear customs/immigration outbound as the airway was shut because military drones were flying up and down the Suez Canal. The alternative route doubled our flight time. Ahmed then came up with a new plan; we would fly NW to Mersa Matruh, a military base to refuel and then continue on to Heraklion from there. The base commander’s permission for this was sought and gained and Ahmed then set about getting a revised permit from Egyptair to cover this new route, again obtained within an hour or so. Departure loomed, or so it seemed, but then we were held for 45 minutes at the 19 holding point because of ‘miscommunication with Cairo ATC’, tedious in the extreme! Finally we were off to Mersa Matruh.

Phil flew this leg, around 200nm culminating in a RNAV approach. Once on the ground, further problems accentuated by no one there speaking English. Apparently the fuel bowser was broken, and after further calls to Ahmed, he told us that the General commanding the base would let us some avgas from a barrel so out came the refuelling equipment again. The General himself, a charming chap who spoke some English, turned up to personally supervise the operation. Unfortunately no pics as photography here strictly forbidden.

Then it was off to Heraklion with me flying and helped along by a 25 kt tailwind, we covered the 295 miles in just over two hours. Both of us had tricky landings; Phil with a gusty crosswind and blowing sand and me with a 40º offset VOR procedural approach in the dark and then having difficulty finding the runway lights in the glare of surrounding town and industrial area lighting. Fortunately Phil spotted them at the last moment.

Into town and a more modest hotel than the one in Cairo but very adequate. Out for an excellent fish dinner in the town with the proprietor’s lethal grappa to end the meal; we felt we had earned it!!