Lilongwe, Mzuzu, Inhambane questions

[zoneout]

Hello all

I have a flight shortly to Lilongwe, Mzuzu (both Malawi), and onward to Inhambane (Mozambique)

Can anyone give me some current info please:

1. Fuel (Jet) availability at Lilongwe and can I pay with credit card? Maybe I need USD cash? How about Shell Aviation card?
2. Anyone know the airport at Mzuzu? I was thinking about leaving the plane (King Air 200) parked there for four days....safe?
3. Is there immigration at Inhambane? Do I need to organise? If not, the nearest would be Vilankulos: do I need to organise there or is it open in "normal" hours?

Anyone got any VFR (or IFR for that matter) tips for flying in Malawi? Done plenty of travelling by road there, but never flown in.

Thanks
:ok:

[pointer41]

Last year I had the pleasure of visiting Lilongwe and Mzuzu, not Inhambane though. At Lilongwe was Jet-A1, friendly and helpful staff and it was memorable. Mzuzu I will not forget, staff friendly as well, but interestingly short for the JS31 I flew then, a BE20 should be no problem. And yes, my opinion is that it will be safe. Inhambane I have not visited for some years, but last visit was no pain. I can't remember if there was fuel, though.

Bottom line, treat everybody with respect, take interest in what they do and it will do you well.

See if you can get contact detail, phone in advance and talk to them about your requirements, etc. It may cost a bit but will pay for itself. If you cant obtain contact detail, I suggest you talk to some Air Ambulance operators for the info and advice.

Enjoy!:ok:

[VarigMD11]

Lilongwe and Mzuzu is a pleasure...as said above, just be friendly and curteous and say zikomo ;-)

Lilongwe is served by Air BP, plenty of Jet A1 but Avgas is a problem at the moment. Give them a call on +2651700191. They generally like USD cash, you might be able to use an Air BP card but not credit.

Mzuzu is a sleepy airport, not much happens. Runway is old and cracked, grass growing in tufts through the tar. Its narrow and in the middle of town. Weather is a problem sometimes. No nav aids...just follow the main road in from the north if its cloudy, it passes right by the airport.

Hope this helps.

Regards

[zoneout]

Thanks guys, that helps a lot. Malawi is a fantastic place, looking forward to going again. Thanks for that number and the USD cash advice. Also hope I dont have to look for the north road in to Mzuzu...seem to remember lots of hills around there. Thanks very much for the info!

Anyone have any recent experience of immigration at Inhambane?

[Dengue_Dude]

Only got to Lilongwe once, it was in a DC10 carrying money!

What a beautiful place, the setting of that airport is idyllic.

Even the guys with the guns were friendly, but there again, we were the right side of the cordon :)

[reinbobber]

Last time I was to Inhambane there was immigration due to a flight from RSA but no fuel. If you are flying from Lilongwe ask Beira control to confirm. You can always stop at VIL since they have both immigration and fuel.