VFR to Tangier..... and more
We just came back from a VFR trip from Normandy to Ougadougou, Bamako, etc in 4 DR400 and one HR100. The excuse was to deliver some medical supplies to an NGO down there. Tangier was our second leg.
All I'd say is: go for it! If you can fly in the UK, Spain and Africa will be no problem (do take a GPS if you want to cross the Sahara though!).
First leg: Bernay (LFPD) to Saragoza straight across the Pyrenees at FL125. After refueling, onto Tangier via CMA, YES (Yeste's VOR), GDA, MGA (if you fly high over Malaga airport they won't bother you), Spanish controler are great, they usually don't bother answering your calls unless you are withing 20 nm of a major airport or big TMA.
Tangier's prevailing winds are such that RW10 is usually in use. Watch the storks. There is a nest next to the RWY and they can be found on the actual runway (we found that out as we were taking off).
Flying in Morocco is also very straighforward. However, they do insist on flying VFR via specific routes (especially around Casa and Rabat (give me a call if you want more info. Chris at 07887 50 30 63).
We then flew down to Agadir, Laayoune (if you want to fly south of Morocco, you'll need overflight authorisations). You might also be out of reach of Casa radar and you may need to have airliners relaying your calls. We did a bit of that and then gave up. We just talked to each other on 123.45. Then straight across the desert to Atar (Mauritania). Atar-Mopti (Mali) was the longest I flew in a GA airplane (nearly 6 hours). I did fall asleep at the controls! (the other guy took over).
Mopti-Ouagadougo (burkina faso): fun and no problem.
Ouaga-Bamako and Bamako-St Louis (senegal): a bit long but fun (especially going to have a look at St Louis...in the plane
St Louis- Nouadhibou: great stuff. Actually, the route St Louis-Nouadhibou-Laayoune back up to Spain is the Aeropostale route. Flying over Cap Juby where St Exupery was Head of Station for Aeropostale makes you understand why he started writing: not much else to do there!
Laayoune- Ouarzazate: interesting!
Ouarzazate-Almeria via Fez and Al Hoceima. OK, except for the plane (see below).
Almeria-Sabadel (we diverted due to !!!!ty weather)
Sabadel to Moulins: we wanted to fly straight back to Normandy but we had to make our way through the Rhone valley because of crappy WX over France. We got stuck in Moulin for a day and a half.
Moulin-Bernay last Sunday.
I am now back in London and I am already thinking about taking the plane back to Morocco as soon as I can get away for 4 days!
Highlights (apart from falling asleep at the controls!): flying at tree top level (but still at 500ft - they do have tall trees over there) over villages with kids coming out of schools to wave at us (others running into huts to hide), flying very low (but still at 500ft) over thousands of flamingos, sharing jokes on the radio with bored 747 pilots high up, etc. Only a couple of glitches: while flying rather low...but still at 500ft over villages in South Mauritania I did see people aiming guns at us. I don’t know if they actually tried to shoot us down but if they did – I am glad for their poor aiming capabilities. The other interesting bit of flying was the fact that the engine ran rough over the Mediterranean (we crossed between Al Hoceima in Morrocco and Almeria in Spain, not the narrowest bit of sea!). We decided to bring the plane back as it was and I flew this thing running on 3 cylinders all the way from Southern Spain to Bernay. The vibrations were horrendous and I though the engine would pack up at any time! It held though. And after all: we did deliver the medical supplies to the NGO in Bamako!
It now surely beats flying to Compton Abbas for lunch!!
Anyway, we have posted some pics on bellapix.com, under "africa", "rallye aerien", "ouaga-chris", etc.
Again, do call me if you want to have a chat
By the way Tristan, I am still flying from LFPD but I recently relocated to London. I am going to have to find a way to fly here in the UK. White Waltham is my nearest airfield (I live in Hammersmith) and I am thinking about driving out there this coming Sunday (I\'ll be in North Weald on Saturday) to have a look at shares available. I\'d welcome some tips or information if you can offer any.
I am flying on a UK CAA PPL which I got a while back at Blackbushe - at European Flyers, "interesting company" but brilliant instructors (you hear this Ben, Mark and Nolan?)