1st flight to Africa...tips?
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1st flight to Africa...tips?
I will be doing some contract flying next month from Europe to north and central Africa. Any tips will be most appreciated (ATC procedures, radar, position reports etc).
Cheers!
Cheers!
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Radar? No such thing mate. Treat ATC with suspicion (you'll get cleared below MSA while inbound etc) make sure you pay your 'fees' in the correct amounts as they never have change to give u. And I hope you like big weather!
Oh and be careful of the nightfighters...
Oh and be careful of the nightfighters...
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- Tell ATC what you are going to do/ doing. If you wait for their instructions you will end up on a heading to the middle of nowhere.
- Remember malaria
- Know your grid mora for where you are and dont go below it unless on a published approach or in vmc. have your radar terrain chart out and cross check it if you are being vectored.
- as the others said - have lots of small USD notes
- if some "inspector " arrives at your a/c ask for ID
-keep your eyes\ears open. I have been on an ILS into Kinshasa and heard another a\c cleared to takeoff directly into me. There are russians in antonovs that dont have transponders and dont talk.
- dont take photos when out of the aircraft, some drunk cop/soldier will try to arrest you
- lots of other stuff aswell!!
enjoy it is a blast
- Remember malaria
- Know your grid mora for where you are and dont go below it unless on a published approach or in vmc. have your radar terrain chart out and cross check it if you are being vectored.
- as the others said - have lots of small USD notes
- if some "inspector " arrives at your a/c ask for ID
-keep your eyes\ears open. I have been on an ILS into Kinshasa and heard another a\c cleared to takeoff directly into me. There are russians in antonovs that dont have transponders and dont talk.
- dont take photos when out of the aircraft, some drunk cop/soldier will try to arrest you
- lots of other stuff aswell!!
enjoy it is a blast
Join Date: May 2003
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Africa Yep not for sissies
Make sure your Jepps is up to date
Do not believe that the published beacon will work (lots of time out of service for years Note DRC)
In some countries the Jepp plate is realy only in the book because nobody told Jepp that the beacon was stolen 10 years ago
STICK to GRID MORAS and MSA
LOOK Carefully at your enroute charts specialy at the grid moras. There are some very big mountains in Central africa and they have a tendency to catch aircraft (PPRune currently runs a treat on one such aircraft).
Speaking French is a great plus point with ATC but remember other pilots can only understand the Queens languige
Brush up on Arc/DME approaches Lots of them.
Listen out on 126.9 and do the calls as per the enroute chart description.It may save your life
If you do not know the place and a letdown is available DO IT. Do not get trapped into visual approaches
Expect a lot of radio clutter (unnecasary ATC talk and rude pilots breaking int calls)
Slow down in good time and do not let them rush you into an approach
ALLWAYS be prepared to be shoved into an hold at the last minute
Allways remember some pilots do not give accurate position reports (They forget that most aircraft has TCAS these days)
TCAS TCAS TCAS TCAS but some aircraft do not have the transponders on so listen to the radio
HF does work (sometimes you need a lot of patients) refer 126.9 above
These are some thoughts that I hope you will read because it comes from many years fliing in a very hostile environment
Fly safely and by the way Africa is not that bad
Do not believe that the published beacon will work (lots of time out of service for years Note DRC)
In some countries the Jepp plate is realy only in the book because nobody told Jepp that the beacon was stolen 10 years ago
STICK to GRID MORAS and MSA
LOOK Carefully at your enroute charts specialy at the grid moras. There are some very big mountains in Central africa and they have a tendency to catch aircraft (PPRune currently runs a treat on one such aircraft).
Speaking French is a great plus point with ATC but remember other pilots can only understand the Queens languige
Brush up on Arc/DME approaches Lots of them.
Listen out on 126.9 and do the calls as per the enroute chart description.It may save your life
If you do not know the place and a letdown is available DO IT. Do not get trapped into visual approaches
Expect a lot of radio clutter (unnecasary ATC talk and rude pilots breaking int calls)
Slow down in good time and do not let them rush you into an approach
ALLWAYS be prepared to be shoved into an hold at the last minute
Allways remember some pilots do not give accurate position reports (They forget that most aircraft has TCAS these days)
TCAS TCAS TCAS TCAS but some aircraft do not have the transponders on so listen to the radio
HF does work (sometimes you need a lot of patients) refer 126.9 above
These are some thoughts that I hope you will read because it comes from many years fliing in a very hostile environment
Fly safely and by the way Africa is not that bad
I was in DKR recently, a breeze. Handler for Jepp was top-notch, crew change, fuel, service and gone in one hour. Stayed at the Le Meridien. OK, pool closed. Tour the town and Goree Island, not bad. Overall, Africa approaching its best. Not SA, but not Kin, either.
GF
Review the "you know you are in Africa when....." thread.
GF
Review the "you know you are in Africa when....." thread.
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Whoa!
Reading some of the posts it seems like in africa aviation accidents are a daily occurence. Makes me wonder how all these airplanes full of people make it everyday to there destination. Or maybe I haven't be listeneing to the news
Reading some of the posts it seems like in africa aviation accidents are a daily occurence. Makes me wonder how all these airplanes full of people make it everyday to there destination. Or maybe I haven't be listeneing to the news
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A word about Africa
Old timer here, been flying in Africa on and off since 1974...
Last time was 2005...
Aeronautical "civilization" only in South Africa, and coastal areas of North Africa...
All the rest of continent is basically NON-RADAR and ATC "deficient".
Learn "basic" aeronautical French language. Numbers 0 to 9...
xxx
Fly your FL plus or minus 100 or 200 feet... maybe 1 NM to the R or L of track. I often did.
(There might be another airplane at your level "ATC forgot about") -
Monitor 126.9 and 121.5. Make BLIND POSITION REPORT 5 minutes before crossing any other airway.
At night, turn landing lights ON when about to cross other airways.
(In NOV-DEC there will be a lot of East/West traffic in SAHARA area) - Hajj pilgrim flights.
All of their air forces MiG-17s have not flown since 40 years ago...
Very unlikely to be intercepted for violation of their airspace.
Control towers VHF radios, or ATC VHF/HF all require to be plugged in wall outlet.
Only ONE outlet in their office... Radio may be OFF when boiling water for tea or Nescafé.
xxx
Was it about 1993...? - I landed one night in Sokoto, Nigeria... 747 with 498 pilgrims.
Tower did not answer, runway lights ON, and wind sock was visible... I decided to land.
Controller sleeping under table. Sorry but woke him up with JT-9D engine noise on ramp.
xxx
Landing fees (and handling fees) can be negotiated...
(Fees vary depending day of the week and phases of the moon).
Take a load of $1.oo and 5.oo bills, for "tips".
(Do not overdo it - $1.oo is a day's wages in countries like Mali or Sierra Leone)...
Baggage porters, fuelers, cleaners, etc... all will beg for a cold can of Coca Cola...
Give it to them AFTER they complete their job...
xxx
Happy contrails
Last time was 2005...
Aeronautical "civilization" only in South Africa, and coastal areas of North Africa...
All the rest of continent is basically NON-RADAR and ATC "deficient".
Learn "basic" aeronautical French language. Numbers 0 to 9...
xxx
Fly your FL plus or minus 100 or 200 feet... maybe 1 NM to the R or L of track. I often did.
(There might be another airplane at your level "ATC forgot about") -
Monitor 126.9 and 121.5. Make BLIND POSITION REPORT 5 minutes before crossing any other airway.
At night, turn landing lights ON when about to cross other airways.
(In NOV-DEC there will be a lot of East/West traffic in SAHARA area) - Hajj pilgrim flights.
All of their air forces MiG-17s have not flown since 40 years ago...
Very unlikely to be intercepted for violation of their airspace.
Control towers VHF radios, or ATC VHF/HF all require to be plugged in wall outlet.
Only ONE outlet in their office... Radio may be OFF when boiling water for tea or Nescafé.
xxx
Was it about 1993...? - I landed one night in Sokoto, Nigeria... 747 with 498 pilgrims.
Tower did not answer, runway lights ON, and wind sock was visible... I decided to land.
Controller sleeping under table. Sorry but woke him up with JT-9D engine noise on ramp.
xxx
Landing fees (and handling fees) can be negotiated...
(Fees vary depending day of the week and phases of the moon).
Take a load of $1.oo and 5.oo bills, for "tips".
(Do not overdo it - $1.oo is a day's wages in countries like Mali or Sierra Leone)...
Baggage porters, fuelers, cleaners, etc... all will beg for a cold can of Coca Cola...
Give it to them AFTER they complete their job...
xxx
Happy contrails
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Not That Bad
Whoa! Reading some of the posts it seems like in africa aviation accidents are a daily occurence. Makes me wonder how all these airplanes full of people make it everyday to there destination. Or maybe I haven't be listeneing to the news
No its not that bad but there are MANY DEDICATED PROFFESIONALS (both CREW and ATC) working hard to do a great job with very limited resources
HATS OF TO THEM
Its up to you (like this gent who started this tread to make sure you now about the pitfalls, specialy for those who come from the organised word
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On top of the the very good advises given, i would add few things :
Remember every ATC will ask your t-off time, ET for all points in its control zone and ETA destination. So be ready with a log after take off. But there is no hand-over to next control : at some stage, you 'll have to get in contact with both centers (if you are in such a busy area with 2 reacheable but geographically separated vhf frequencies). Start every request with DME to station (and radial if out of airways, and altitude crossing if not stable) . It usually supress the need for the next 4 radio calls. If low level, auto information on 118,1 works pretty well in the area. Remeber a lot of people speak a really poor english in this part of the world (like me). Try to stick to standard radio procedures and speak slowly. Monitor the other aircraft's radio transmissions to make sure atc do not send an aircraft on collision course with you.
Make sure your overflight and landing clearance # is within reach during the flight as atc will ask you prior to clear you to proceed to land !
Never overfly military base and "Palais presidentiel"
Don't trust notams about fuel availability or airport status.
Asecna weather office is quite good. But don't trust too much the taf. Weather patterns are very recurrent but not very predictible. Fasten your safety belt
And be ready for a gps overlay procedure as navaids can be down without any notice. BZ vor is currently down ! And control ask you your gps radial and distance...
Check the fuel you asked for is really pourred in your tanks. Remember push back is not likely to be available. So park in a position you can taxi out on your own. Ask if the nearest fuel pit is working before you shut down, you'll save a cycle...
BGF is very quiet : few schedule flights and 3 or 4 light turbo-props flying low level in the country. ATC could be lost with more than 1 aircraft inbound... But you can suggest traffic separation solutions if you have better ideas
Closest IFR alternate is Gbadolité, 145 Nm (without fuel and you don't want to go to RDC anyway) or Mbandaka (fuel but still in DRC) or Yaoundé in Cameroon which is far far away .
BZA : much more busy, be ready to hold at pondo. Specially at sunset. Everybody try to get back before night to avoid to be charged for lights... It's a rush with same freq for gnd, twr and approach... Kin is not a suitable alternate neither. So plan for PNR as altn...
Avoid ice cubes in your coke (usually made of non filtered water), discuss the taxi fare before you board the car, get a lot of change in small denomination, change your hard currencies to CFA in any lebanese shop or restaurant.
Same value in west and central africa, (but different notes) the CFA is actually an hard currency. Its value raised by 50 % toward the dollar since 2002 ! That's because € to cfa is fixed rate (655,957 rounded at 650)
$ to cfa was 420 to one last week.
Do not accept straight away handling without knowing what services you'll be charged for. Unless what you are gonna end up paying 1000 $ for a pair of shocks (removed from your aircraft when the next plane comes in anyway)
On un-controlled airport, make a low pass before you land to check for runway conditions and/or obstacle, people, car, elephant, wheelborrow on the runways. On controlled airports, be cautious for the exact same reasons on short final... (even on large int'l airport). Allways be ready to go around.
Take a roll of toilet paper everywhere with you... you never knwo when **** happens. But you know there won't be any paper where it happens !
And don't get married too fast during a hot night with the first lady you meet... (try several one before...
no, I didn't say that)
A great sense of humour is a big asset.
Have fun !
Remember every ATC will ask your t-off time, ET for all points in its control zone and ETA destination. So be ready with a log after take off. But there is no hand-over to next control : at some stage, you 'll have to get in contact with both centers (if you are in such a busy area with 2 reacheable but geographically separated vhf frequencies). Start every request with DME to station (and radial if out of airways, and altitude crossing if not stable) . It usually supress the need for the next 4 radio calls. If low level, auto information on 118,1 works pretty well in the area. Remeber a lot of people speak a really poor english in this part of the world (like me). Try to stick to standard radio procedures and speak slowly. Monitor the other aircraft's radio transmissions to make sure atc do not send an aircraft on collision course with you.
Make sure your overflight and landing clearance # is within reach during the flight as atc will ask you prior to clear you to proceed to land !
Never overfly military base and "Palais presidentiel"
Don't trust notams about fuel availability or airport status.
Asecna weather office is quite good. But don't trust too much the taf. Weather patterns are very recurrent but not very predictible. Fasten your safety belt
And be ready for a gps overlay procedure as navaids can be down without any notice. BZ vor is currently down ! And control ask you your gps radial and distance...
Check the fuel you asked for is really pourred in your tanks. Remember push back is not likely to be available. So park in a position you can taxi out on your own. Ask if the nearest fuel pit is working before you shut down, you'll save a cycle...
BGF is very quiet : few schedule flights and 3 or 4 light turbo-props flying low level in the country. ATC could be lost with more than 1 aircraft inbound... But you can suggest traffic separation solutions if you have better ideas
Closest IFR alternate is Gbadolité, 145 Nm (without fuel and you don't want to go to RDC anyway) or Mbandaka (fuel but still in DRC) or Yaoundé in Cameroon which is far far away .
BZA : much more busy, be ready to hold at pondo. Specially at sunset. Everybody try to get back before night to avoid to be charged for lights... It's a rush with same freq for gnd, twr and approach... Kin is not a suitable alternate neither. So plan for PNR as altn...
Avoid ice cubes in your coke (usually made of non filtered water), discuss the taxi fare before you board the car, get a lot of change in small denomination, change your hard currencies to CFA in any lebanese shop or restaurant.
Same value in west and central africa, (but different notes) the CFA is actually an hard currency. Its value raised by 50 % toward the dollar since 2002 ! That's because € to cfa is fixed rate (655,957 rounded at 650)
$ to cfa was 420 to one last week.
Do not accept straight away handling without knowing what services you'll be charged for. Unless what you are gonna end up paying 1000 $ for a pair of shocks (removed from your aircraft when the next plane comes in anyway)
On un-controlled airport, make a low pass before you land to check for runway conditions and/or obstacle, people, car, elephant, wheelborrow on the runways. On controlled airports, be cautious for the exact same reasons on short final... (even on large int'l airport). Allways be ready to go around.
Take a roll of toilet paper everywhere with you... you never knwo when **** happens. But you know there won't be any paper where it happens !
And don't get married too fast during a hot night with the first lady you meet... (try several one before...
no, I didn't say that)A great sense of humour is a big asset.
Have fun !
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Mig Seventeen...and the rest...
Well...it seems that our Algerian friends just received the first one of their brand new SU-35...the Moroccans their F16 Block 52 (if Im right) to fly beside their MIG-29 and F5 or Mirage F1 recpectively... But you are right...most of the central African Air forces do not look too lekker anymore.. Well, I actually just read in my belover Air Force Monthly Mag (August Edition) that the UN's are wondering how the hell did Sudanees Air forces received more than 12 Mig 29 fulcrums, while the country is under a "strict" (as they say) embargo... So anyway, even if those Airforces are "old"..its always better to keep away from tricy areas as much as possible...
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Quote: "In some countries the Jepp plate is realy only in the book because nobody told Jepp that the beacon was stolen 10 years ago"
Over the years Jeppesen has been advised by various people, including me, of defective or missing navaids, wrong co-ordinates, etc. They know full well of these problems but refuse to correct their published information or even to add a warning to the incorrect information. Their policy is that they will not correct their information until they receive an official amendment from a country's civil aviation agency. In the meantime they continue to knowingly publish false information that could cause a crash. Is that what is called being a good corporate citizen?
Newcomers to Africa should always ensure that their first arrival and approach at any location is done in VMC, preferably with an experienced skipper as part of line indoc. Do the approach, cross-checking your GPS and the traditional aids, while noting the position of local obstacles and terrain. When you then have to do the approach in IMC ensure that both your GPS and the traditional aids agree with what you saw during your first approach in VMC. If they do not, then do not continue the approach and ensure that you are at a safe altitude until the matter has been sorted out or else divert.
Over the years Jeppesen has been advised by various people, including me, of defective or missing navaids, wrong co-ordinates, etc. They know full well of these problems but refuse to correct their published information or even to add a warning to the incorrect information. Their policy is that they will not correct their information until they receive an official amendment from a country's civil aviation agency. In the meantime they continue to knowingly publish false information that could cause a crash. Is that what is called being a good corporate citizen?
Newcomers to Africa should always ensure that their first arrival and approach at any location is done in VMC, preferably with an experienced skipper as part of line indoc. Do the approach, cross-checking your GPS and the traditional aids, while noting the position of local obstacles and terrain. When you then have to do the approach in IMC ensure that both your GPS and the traditional aids agree with what you saw during your first approach in VMC. If they do not, then do not continue the approach and ensure that you are at a safe altitude until the matter has been sorted out or else divert.
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Do not drink the water. Be very careful with salads since they were washed in the same water that you should not drink.
I'm just curious however, what exactly is the quality of water in africa has to do with this topic???