Bush Flying.

[sennadog]

Can anyone recommend any decent books on bush flying in Southern Africa? I'm planning a trip there next Spring from Europe and I'm planning to do some touring around South Africa and I'm also looking for some survival books that may be relevant to the subject.

Cheers.

[dievlieg]

Hi Sennadog

Don't know of any books on the subject. If you are planning on flying in SA, Botswana, Zambia & Namibia you shouldn't have too much of a problem. I don't think Zim is worth the trouble at the moment. For one thing, even Jet-A-1 is over US$1 a litre, don't even know if they have any AVGAS left in the country. As far as the other countries in the region go, you shouldn't have any hassles. You might even get SAR in most parts, definitely SA. Just check on insurance cover for flying into places like the Okovango Delta (Maun & surroundings) in Botswana.

Have fun, hope this helps.

[sennadog]

dievlieg. Thanks for your reply. I'm only planning on touring SA and a bit of Swaziland and won't bother with Zim.

I was after some information as many of the strips look pretty threadbare compared to the relative luxury of landing on a grass airfield in England so I am looking for any tips or decent websites that may be of interest. Of course, I may be wrong and the flying is very similar to the UK apart from the larger built up areas but I wanted to get as much information as I can before I go.

[mattman]

Hi there Senna

Welcome to Africa !There are few and far between the books I mean.Anyway a good start would be ,to get the Guide to airfieldes of Southern Africa ,or the Airfields Directory of Southern Africa. The info is pretty basic but it has got the right stuff length ,coordinates ,some genral stuff as well.The best would be to come over and update the book with info from local pilots and operators and maybe some tips on how to aproach the difficult ones .South Africa is preety cool when it comes to bush strips most are good enough but beware of altitude and wet conditions and animals and ...the list goes on!Just feed the guy's some beer and they will probably give you more than you bargined for .Swaziland is allright if you go to the right places the north is a bit dodgy though.
The type of aircraft you choose is also important most of the guy's will probaly tell you to stick to the cessna 180's to the 210's.They fast and perform well out of short srtips and good on the fuel flow and you can bring some company along (the missues and so forth) so they good for a bit of load too.
If you have a chance come to Namibia really cool and most of the strips are in a good condition and also a fair amount of lodges and places to stay.
Enjoy and happy landings

[sennadog]

mattman. Thanks, good advice and I'll look for the books online. The place that I'm looking at renting the aircraft from has C-172s with beefed up landing gear and apparently they can take out the back seats to make room for our gear. I presume that a C- 172 is man enough for the job?

Yes, Namibia is definitely on my list but probably not on this trip due to time constraints but at least it gives me an excuse to come back for another visit.;)

[Grim Reaper 14]

The South African guide is available in the Transair shops, and presumablty through their mail order system too.

[Doodlebug]

Hi sennadog

Please be sure to check on performance. A heavy 172 can get into trouble on the plateau (temperature, elevation etc) on the shorter strips. The locals will know.

Enjoy your holiday! :)