Most "interesting" Approach in Africa

[George Tower]

A very good friend of mine in the UK is constantly telling me just how great (or not as the case may be) flying a 757 into Innsbruck is. Apparently everything is in his words "non-standard". So I just thought I would ask - Whats the most interesting/challenging/exciting/down-right horrid airfield on this great continent?

[Taikonaut]

Almost anywhere is interesting since most airports in Africa has no ATC radar. You can't get a vector even if you wanted one.

Remember all the NDB approaches you did during the flight training? Well, you get to do them again. This time it's for real in a widebody jet with no approach radar to back you up. Met report is marginal at best. No mistakes, no blanking outs, no brain farts. Yes, there are traffic out there but you can't figure out where they are because they were speaking in French.

Many times, it is your first time there, the first time anything your size ever landed there.

Yup, it's pretty challenging. Give me Innsbruck or the old Kai Tak any day.

I would like to take this moment to thank Mr. Jeppersen and Mr. Garmin and Mr. Lockheed for making my life a bit easier. ;)

[bluesafrica]

You may found that AERAD charts are even better and more informative in African continent than anything else.
Blues

[michaelknight]

I've used Aerad and Jepps in the past, Aerads I've found better on the eye as they have some colour. But I prefer the Jepp format, even though most of their plates are black & white! But how are the Aerads more informative, in africa? As at the end of the day, there all drawns and sourced from the same AIP.

Michaelknight

[4granted]

Back to the subject:

I still think Goma DRC is one of my Worst/Favourites. Decending through some of the Sh1tiest weather to do the DME arc (No DME) and VOR Letdown (Vor not working) very close to the mountain.
Of course the landing just completes the bizaar experience with people on the runway and the lava that has of course gobbled up a quarter of the runway and cutting off the terminal building from all a/c and pax.
On a good day flying in there VFR is just a beutiful sight with all the Volcanoes and lakes....
Ill be there in Less than 3 weeks.
Hip Hip Hooray..Cant wait....
HB4g
but not for long
:ok:

[planecrazi]

I would tend to agree with 4G, Goma on Lake Kivu, west of Rwanda, the border of Rwanda and DRC. Landing at a high elevation, over 5500ft, facing a volcano, at night, approaching from over water, having just flown around big mountains on the approch from Kigali, make it to minimums and find the runway is occupied with refugees crossing the runway, from of Rwanda into DRC.

I recall a Gulstream 1 taking out some refugees on take-off there and then having the gear collapse on the next landing in Entebbe, back in the late 90's.;)

[Taikonaut]

4G, you've just reminded me of Bujumbura in Burundi. Very similiar, a big lake one side (same chain as the one in Rwanda)and a huge mountain on the other. Coming in from the north in IMC? Not fun, lots of tall rocks, but VFR approach is spectacular, especially over the lake.:}

[Cardinal Puff]

Buj approach is fine but you sometimes have to ask for the G/S to be activated. Best is going out on the lake on a Sunday morning and lounging around in a boat with a cold beer when MK departs empty and gives a bit of a show.:ok:

[Heathrow09L]

Whats APP like into SEZ and MRU Island

[Biggles in Africa]

It has to be Lagos 19R:

1. WX is always lousy/turbulent
2. Inbound/outbound traffic regularly lie about their position/speed/altitudes crossing, airproxs abound, but seem to be tolerated for some perverse reason
3. Traffic in the pattern shortcut said pattern from that published
4. ATC regularly lose the plot (confuse callsigns, clear two aircraft to Initial App Alt, both cleared for approach at same time!!, regularly tell you to "standby" on first contact,(where's that damn strip?), then don't come back to you. Have learnt to add 10nm to TOD for "standby" factor!!
5. ATC clear you to land on closed runways??
6. Must be the only place in Africa where you must "call glideslope contact"?
7. Until recently you could expect people on the taxiways/runways, who could end up trying to empty your holds after blocking the taxiways!! Someone must be shooting someone else since this seems to have stopped now.
8. Radar has a long history of unserviceability/ unreliability. Power failures lead to improvised letdown procedures(GPS/INS VOR position used for holding), even by the BIG carriers.
9. ATC radios not always up to scratch
10. To round off your day, go into the terminal for a cup of coffee and you may just have to fork out $50 to get back to your aircraft if some police-type dude doesn't like your face. You may have to dodge the odd Terminal building fire just for adrenalin-rush purposes!

Of course, all the above is just rumour, isn't it...........can't possibly be true.......

Biggles thinks:
Reality is a bitch, then you either die or marry one!:rolleyes:

[Taikonaut]

CP, Most of the time we could never raise Bujumbura tower, due to mountains and VOR signals were never on line. Like I said gotta love that GPS. :\

As far as Lagos goes, I'd love to call "Glideslope Contact" if there was a glideslope to contact. :yuk:

[AfricanSkies]

hey guys i LAUGHED so hard when I read the above, so true!!yeah, I often thank my stars for GPS...what a winner!

Getting out of Matsapha in IMC at night with charlie mkII's in area when the VOR was u/s for about a year was a bit of a sheepskin-sucker sometimes too:eek:

Spriggs in OVC002 ++RA, was tricky without the C-THRU

[George Tower]

Here's one that looks a bit tricky.

http://www.claytor.com/intro/picLesothoStrip.jpg

http://www.claytor.com/intro/intro04.html

[Taikonaut]

Weather report? I always remember going to operations in Europe (EHBK) to get my weather for Africa. Seems like TAF or METAR for any airport south of Khartoum (HSSS) will show up as "-Nil-". My best sources for weather has always been CNN and BBC. Lots of green stuff: not good. No green stuff: Good. :uhoh: