Fppr Principe Island /pcp

[exjet]

Does anyone have any info on this runway - LCN, hardstand taxiway etc. The boss would like to get there for New Year but cannot find any info on the runway

:ok:

[skyloone]

Perhaps worth a chat to these guys... can probably give more info and point you in the right direction. I assume they have to collect their clients from the a/p which is due south of the resort.

bom-bom.com (http://www.bom-bom.com/)

[C212-100]

Dear Sir,

I have flown from Sao Tome (FPST) to Principe (FPPR) many times. I fly for the Portuguese Air Force and we used to have a C212 based in Sao Tome for flights between the two islands of the archipelago.

Feel free to ask me any question!

A brief description:

The runway is on the top of a plateau on the northern part of the island. If you approach from Sao Tome (app 035º MHDG) you will have some hills between you and the plateau where the rwy is located. If I correctly recollect those hills are some 3000' in height and the aerodrome is at 500'. The runway is 18-36, 1000m in length by 40m in width. It is in asphalt with the threshold of rwy18 in good conditions and the threshold of 36 in gravel and grass (the asphalt is beeing damaged by the vegetation). Almost all operations are made to rwy 18 since the wind is normally calm. From what I remember I never heard it more the 10 kts in intensity and only slightly crossed. And that was the worst situation I have encountered. Usually it is between 4 to 6 kts. I don't know which aircraft you fly but I think it is a fairly acceptable secondary aerodrome in African standards. It is African after all, isn't it? :} Alongside me I've seen on the apron in Principe EMB-110, Do228, good old Twotter of Air Sao Tome (sadly lost some years ago) and incredbly a C550! :) Affirm, a C550... Don't really know how that fragile looking gear handled the gravel at Principe (neither how does engines managed the gravel also) but it is a fact (I've seen) that a C550 has landed and departed from Principe.

I would be more than happy to speak with you about our SOP's there. Please feel free to ask.

Cheers!

C212-100

P.S.: And how I miss Sao Tome and Principe!!!!!

[exjet]

Thanks for that info. I was given a runway length of 1320 m (4331') and ashpalt. If the LCN would have been acceptable with that runway we'd be ok. Its a Global Express so maybe we'll stay in Sao Tome and have the pax transferred.

Appreciated, thank you
:ok:

[chuks]

We used a Dornier 328 turbo-prop, when the numbers were okay wet or dry.

The numbers for a Dornier 328Jet were on the accelerate-stop limit for a dry runway but not for a wet one, and it does rain there fairly often.

The runway surface is very coarse and it really tears up high-pressure tires. We used to come back from our Principe trips with shredded tires on the turbo-prop so that we never tried it with the 328Jet. (There is no reverse on a 328Jet so that you are always heavy on the brakes on a short runway, when that seems to do much of the damage to the tires!)

Now that the Twin Otter is gone, how should one get from Sao Tome to Principe? Is there a replacement shuttle aircraft?

It is a really beautiful island. It looks like a real tropical paradise, emerald-green vegetation covering volcanic peaks shooting up out of beautiful clear water. It's worth a visit.

[C212-100]

A Global Express?! On Principe?! :) Now there is something that I would really love to see. :) I know of a C-130 that landed and departed form there. :)

I know nothing about flying that kind of equipment so I am only saying that on the enthusiast point of view... In Sao Tome there is a Emb-110 bandeirante that used to belong to Naturelink still flying regular linking both island. From my recollection it was possible to lease the plane for a charter flight FPST-FPPR-FPST. Will try to find the contact of STP Airways that I believe are still running the business there. I believe it would be the most feasable way. Leave the pax at Sao Tome and have them carried to Sao Tome on the Bandeirante. The plane is very well maintained (or used to be) and the pilots used to be experienced guys. I believe the safety issue would be guaranteed.

Good luck to you. Sao Tome and Principe is very beatufil and Principe island in particular as chuck said is a real paradise. Worth a visit.

Anything else, please feel free to ask.

[farfromterrafirma]

come on, in all honesty you really shouldnt be using pprune as a base for finding info on a runway? call up Sao tome, they should have some kind of aerodrome chart for you. there is a 110 operating out of there and they do the shuttle for the island resort there from sao tome..
its dodgy going in there with a B190 when you got a full house in the back (which i dont think has even been attempted) so definately not with a gobal...?

[chuks]

If you just fuel for the hop back to Sao Tome with VFR reserves? No idea really. For sure there is no margin for error at Principe; it is simply a dangerous air strip. Not a bad one, just inherently dangerous.

It is pretty much a one-way in, one-way out sort of place due to high terrain rising behind the runway. The 212 pilot could say better, since it has been a while ago that I was there but I seem to remember that the runway is built on a little artificial plateau between the steeply rising terrain coming up from the beach and the high volcanic peaks some distance further inland. I know it focused my mind, landing there.

We used to get a bit of stone damage to the belly from loose stuff thrown up by the nosewheels, the ramp is very tight, probably too tight to fit any thing bigger than a C550 (the Dornier has a very small wingspan for its size and can turn on a dime), fire cover was a Land Rover towing a trailer rig with aqueous foam, the tower used to be asleep at the switch fairly often...

The people there are very, very poor, or at least they were when we went. The lower-class people were dressed in rags you wouldn't use in the garage but they were very polite, withdrawn even. We used to give the children biscuits and soft drinks in "Tetra-paks," when they would just take what we gave them without grabbing, something I found surprising.

They would only fire up the airport generator when an aircraft was due to land, I think. Sometimes we would have to make a low pass or two before the tower responded to our calls.

It is a sporty little place, all in all. I kind of liked it, since I am basically a bush pilot but a lot of our guys coming from bigger airplanes didn't like it one little bit.

When we switched to the 328Jet they decided not to even try to operate there since it was right on the limits. I was a bit disappointed but that was probably the right decision.

The smart way to go would probably be to head over to Sao Tome and let the little Bandeirante take it from there, yes.

You would want to have someone make sure that everything was okay with the Bandeirante operation before you use it, just in case. You can get some heavy thunderstorms in that area so that you surely wouldn't want your boss flying with "just anybody" in a light aircraft.

The Twin Otter crashed into the sea doing training off Sao Tome, I think!

[exjet]

I do appreciate all inputs given - but believe me if the charts supplied by the airport authorities in Sao Tome and the performance data given by our providers all say we CAN DO IT and I still have that nagging feeling - I'd rather hear from the guys who have been there. You helped me make the decision to stay in Sao Tome and have the pax transferred

:)

[doubleu-anker]

In the absence of other information or to back up and confirm the information you have, google earth (tools - ruler) is quite good. depending on the age of their data base of course.

However you seem to have been given good info in this case.

[C212-100]

I back everything that chucks said.

To the one saying that the best thing to do is to get some chart out of Sao Tome CAA there is one thing I need to tell you: You are very far from knowing how Sao Tome is.

Cheers to you all and all the best for that operation in Sao Tome and Principe.

Photos: - Aircraft Pictures | !!!!!!!!!!!!!! (http://www.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!/photo/-/-/1229559&tbl=photo_info&photo_nr=1&sok=WHERE__%28country_%3D_%27Sao_Tome_and_Principe%27%29_&sort=_order_by_photo_id_DESC_&prev_id=&next_id=1184324)


Here you have a good view of the final for rwy 18.