Ferry flight from Ghana

[AfricanEagle]

I may, just may, pick up an aeroplane for friend in Ghana and fly it back to Europe. 2 seater, 100hp. I'm a PPL. Aside buying some stripes for my shirt to get to the runway side of airports, any other suggestions to what I should be aware of?

Thanks.

AE

[Gunship]

If it is a one-engined or even a two -engined piston job ... well can I have your name for insurance purposes please ;)

Seriously mate : There is a massive piece of wil earth between you and the sea. Then there is the sea ... take the shortest route over the smallest piece of water.

and then ...


God Bless your flight ;)

[mini]

You nuts mate... put it in a container & ship it.

[Kopeloi]

Maybe not too bad if you could follow the west african coastline all the way up. Lot of airports on the way but don't know if all of them have avgas. Find out before committing yourself.
Then there is only 20 mile hop cross the Gibraltar strait and you are in Europe... Cross sahara you will need lot more range than you may have on light aircraft as standard.

[Stayinalive]

Whats the big deal about taking a single engine piston a/c from Gahna to Europe?
Lotsa places to use and safe enough to do....
PM me and will help u out with pleasure.

[chuks]

AvGas might be a problem. As already pointed out, make sure of availability before arriving somewhere. Remember to take along a few cans of engine oil to top up with.

To go around the coast would make a lot of sense, since there is a whole lot of nothing in the interior. It would be easy to get lost or be stranded. Check out the terrain in Morocco while you are at it.

I used to encounter guys on pleasure flights from Europe to Dakar, Senegal, so that this must be reasonably doable, even though I never did it in anything smaller than a Cessna 404. That has eight hours endurance, which makes things pretty simple!

Be sure to take plenty of US dollars, including small denominations. Otherwise you will often find yourself owing $103.00 with 'no change.'

Know the exchange rate before you start haggling, so that you don't get cheated, but AvGas can be very expensive at remote locations.

A lot of counries prohibit taking their currency out again, so that maximum use of credit cards and/or carnets is very handy. Algeria used to be a real pain in the a*se but then it became too dangerous to go there anyway.

If you cannot speak the language then an English/French dictionary is a good idea since much of the West Coast is francophone.

Brush up on the details required to file an ICAO flight plan and how to read METARs and TAFs.

Rent a life vest and an emergency personal beacon for the trip and buy at least a case of 24 plastic 1.5-litre bottles of water before setting out, just in case. You can last weeks without food but only a few days without water. A small compass, a Swiss army knife, a sun hat, warm clothing (it gets real cold at night in the desert) and a stout pair of boots are all good things to have as well.

Take along cheap biros, or baseball caps, cans of Coke or packets of cakes for instance, just to have something for the guys in uniform who want 'Un petit cadeau, monsieur...' Packs of cigarettes are not such a hit anymore. Giving cash presents can be not such a good idea in case you give either too little or too much or perhaps end up accused of bribery in Africa (As if!).

Don't take booze or copies of men's mags, such as 'Playboy' along; this can mean trouble in any country that follows Islam.

And, mainly, remember that you will be present as a guest, so keep smiling and do not lose your rag.

Good luck and enjoy the trip!

[African Tech Rep]

A long time ago I had an acquaintance who flew something small from the States to Europe via some cold bits.
In his infinite wisdom he put all his cold weather stuff in the cargo locker – and the crashed en-route and nearly froze to death as he couldn’t get out of through the twisted bits.

OK – your chances of freezing are not high (although it does get cold even in a desert) – but maybe a little forethought of “worst case” is called for – SAR between the US and UK is a tiny bit quicker than that in many African countries.

[chuks]

Come to that, if you were doing a trip across the Sahara without an HF radio you used to have to sign a paper agreeing to pay the costs of the search if you went missing. Yet another reason to go creeping around the rim instead of taking a big bite out of the middle.

And I used to wonder, crossing Algeria which would be worse, to be lost or to be found ... by the wrong guys. You might want to work up some sort of 'goolie chit,' actually.

[AfricanEagle]

Thanks to all for answers and pms.

I will be planning coastwise.

Algeria, aside security reasons, does not have avgas at centally located airports: it has to be prepaid and transported on purpose. I wouldn't bet on it being there on arrival.

Good advice on small money denominations and petit cadeau. Baseball caps always work wonders, even in eastern Europe.

Cold. I've slept in the Kalahari desert under a tent and froze my nuts off. I will be carrying jerseys.

Over water: I have flown extensive legs sep over the Mediterranean.

Safety. I have my own life vest, swiss knife and leatherman. I have a bloody expensive Breitling with ELT and will probably also have a SAT ELB. If all high tech goes wrong I know I can burn the aircraft tires as a smoke signals.

I am familiar with ICAO flight plans.

I just have to wait for the owner to organize himself and the aeroplane.

Thanks,
AE.

[dakotanorb]

Not to worry. There are some people that fly with kites over continents and the Atlantic.
http://www.aerotrike.co.za/expeditions/expeditions.html
Enjoy your trip.
Fly save