NV - UY and return

[DPeterson3]

I made it from Carson City to Mercedes, Uruguay in my 1964 Mooney, co-pilot being my 9 year old grandson. Route was via Florida, Turks, Leewards, French Guiana, Brazil. We mostly had a hoot. Not cheap, but that really wasn't expected. I'm leaving the airplane in Uruguay for a few months, then flying back down commercial and fly it back home, hopefully via the west coast. I'll be researching details for the west coast routes, avgas, regs over the next few months, and comments are most welcome.

Just curious - I just received a bill from Guyana for $140 USD. I took a direct route from Grenada to Cayenne which just clipped the Guyana airspace area, but well beyond the oceanic limits of their sovereign borders. I was instructed to by Trinidad to contact Guyana, I did, they asked for estimated border, I told them, and that was it. No other services requested or provided.

I'm planning on ignoring the bill. Anyone else run into this?

I've got enough range on the return leg to go direct Guayacil - Panama, but would actually like to visit Colombia. I've seen mention of restrictions for transients. Any updates to this? The country is getting a much better reputation these days, so hoping their GA hospitality has improved.

Cheers,
Don

[LimaFoxTango]

I guess once you enter someone's airspace whether by a mile or 300, you're in and will be charged as such. I'm surprised you didn't get one from the French. Flying thru PTP and FDF airspace as a commercial airline isn't cheap I hear. I guess GA aircraft tend to slip through the cracks.

Sound like a fun trip.

[DPeterson3]

Various details have led me to plan my return to back along more or less the same route I took on the southbound trip. Thus, I will go ahead and pay Guyana their annoying fee for nothing just in case weather forces me to land there.

I'm looking at a somewhat more inland route, however, just to change things up a bit, going via Manaus to Boa Vista to Grenada. This would put me over Guyana and probably Venezuela although I don't plan to stop in either. Anyone have comments about elements along that route? I'll be flying in late December, so expecting afternoon thunderstorms in at least southern Brazil.

Don

[Ayax]

Nice Trip! Congrats! Your post surprised me when I saw my country as your destination. I have been flying a lot in SA and never been in Guyana. Maybe you Would like to return via the west coast, Chile, Perú , Ecuador , Colombia, you will find different views, but as my opinion nothing is comparable to the Brazilian Coast.
Godspeed!!

[DPeterson3]

Hello Ayax,

Thanks for the note. My original plan was to return via the West Coast, but events require me to keep the return trip too short to really appreciate all that new territory, so I'm going to take the more civilized route up through Brazil.

Hopefully I won't have to land in Guyana. My first choice is to go right up through the heart of Brazil stopping in Boa Vista, then non-stop to Grenada. My trip down took me from Grenada to French Guiana, then southward. All easy enough, but the leg from Grenada to Cayenne was quite long and poses challenges.

Of course, I'd appreciate anyone's comments on a GA route, speaking only English, up through the heart of Brazil. Current itinerary would be Foz do Iguassu, Cuiaba, Manaus, Boa Vista. Each leg is short enough I can adopt the "off at dawn, down before noon" if I have to.

Cheers

[Ayax]

Hi Dpet!!! Nice Trip back you are planning!! I have been in Foz many times, I recommend to stay enough to visit the Falls and go to Itaipu Dam, 24 hrs is more than enough.
Also in Manaus take your time to visit the different places around. The other places never landed there.

[Ayax]

Godspeed!!