Avgas - avoiding sudan

[fabiopilot]

Hello Fellows:

I´m schedule to ferry a SR22 from South Africa to Europe and my route was counting on a tech stop for avgas in Karthoum. With the recent civil militar urest that is happening there this is no longer possible. Can any one suggest a alternate route from Nairobi to Europe that avoids Sudan and has avgas ? My max range is 850 nm.

[Krapula]

Nairobi-Addis-Asmara-Marsa Alam depending on avgas availability maybe?

[meleagertoo]

Nairobi-Addis-Asmara-Marsa Alam depending on avgas availability maybe?
Is Sudan as a (w)hole in turmoil? Port Sudan used to have avgas if the trouble remains local.
Asab used to have it too iirc which distance wise is equal to Asmara. I expect Djibouti is another possibility.

[RichardJones]

I did hear there was trouble in Port Sudan. Insurance implications if it's declared a war zone.
Could try Djibouti, Jedda, luxor. Stay well away from the dam.
what about a ferry tank installation?
My 2p worth

[fabiopilot]

The challenge is finding avgas. Avgas in Adis Ababa is not a sure thing yet. North of Adis Adibaba the only other place with avgas is Hurghada. We are considering installing a ferry tank. But if we do that, we might even consider a South Atlantic crossing via Dakar. The final destination of the plane is Brazil. That would shorten the time enroute by half.

[hamil]

The final destination of the plane is Brazil. That would shorten the time enroute by half.

Sorry, just a question .... if the final destination is Brazil, why are you planning your operation flying east of Africa instead of the western side, an area with more fuel stops available at sea level?

Fly safe.

[fabiopilot]

We initially choose the route thru central east Africa because that was the only that could be done without ferry tanks. Adding a ferry tank would make it harder to have the plane insured. After that SR22 that ditched on the way from the US to Australia, ferry tanks are not so easily accepted by insurers anymore.

[Guzzler]

I am planning a similar flight - although it is only 50/50 at the moment.

Fabiopilot would you be kind enough to keep us updated?

[fabiopilot]

So just to update on my progress. I am having installed a ferry tank wich will solve the avgas fuel problem and not being able to stop in Sudan for refuel.

I plan on departing from Kenya and reaching HEGN in Egypt in one leg. The question now, and that no handler so far has been able to answer me is if Ethiopia allows flights thru its north western Tigray region (border with Eritrea). The chart on Foreflight show it as a prohibted area to FL290 but I´m not sure this is enforced by Ethiopian ATC. Does any one have any information if flying thru this area is possible ?

If it´s possible, I plan to leave HKLK (Loki, Kenya) to HEG thru Ethiopia western part and reach the red sea in Eritrea. If the prohibted area is enforced then, the ideal departure point out of Kenya, would be Wajir and then thru Ethiopian Easter part.

Any comments / suggestions ?

[RichardJones]

Good to hear you are about to be up and running.
just be careful around border areas of some of these countries. Might be worth contacting the appropriate ATC unit, before serving off to get it from the horses mouth, with regards to possible restrictions, closure of airspace etc.
Will you be equipped with HF radio? If so give ATC a call anytime before you go.
Do not, repeat do not fly anywhere near Dams. They are a very strategic target/asset. Consequently they may shoot you down if you arrive unannounced. They shoot first before questioning.
Remember, the military are not always communicationing with ATC and Visa versa. Always pre call the onward ATC if possible.
I am talking from experience at this in Africe, albeit it 40 years ago. Can't see a lot has changed.
Good luck. I wish I was young again!!

[DBT123]

Hi! complete newbie to this forum, we are doing a very similar flight from S.A to England! the whole route is a milk run, Apart from Kenya to Egypt! Thanks Sudan for having internal issues! Fabiopilot, how did your trip go? we are flying a PA28 Arrow and don't have the legs or ferry tank option but currently going balder by the day pulling my hair out trying to find a solution.
:bored:

[fabiopilot]

Hi, sorry for being late on the reply. The trip went fine last July. I did FALA FWKI HKLK HEGN ( via Ethiopia, Eritrea and Red Sea - 10 hour leg in a SR22) and then LGIR into Europe. Crossing Ethiopia on the west side was beatiful and challeging because of the high moutains and convective weather. It is an impossible trip without a ferry tank and I highly recommend supplemental O2.

I am planning a new one for next month but this time a new challenging has come up. Ethiopian CAA only allows now overflight at a minimun FL190, wich is impossible for a SR22 non turbo. Crossing Sudan East and South of Karthoum remain very dangerous (conflict zone), not a possibility to me. Sudan West of Erithrea and near Port Sudan seems safe. The good news is that Port Sudam has AVGAS again.

I am also trying to find an alternate route via west coast of Africa, but finding Avgas in between FNLU (Luanda, Angola) and GOBD (Dakar, Senegal) seems impossible. Last year a friend got refueled with AVGAS at DGAA (Accra, Ghana) but Avgas there is no longer available. If any one has contacts there where we could find Avgas in Ghana, Togo, Benin or Lagos, please e-mail me at [email protected]