Flying down to Jo'burg
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Flying down to Jo'burg
Hi,
Does anyone have any experience/advice flying from the UK to Johannesburg in an un-pressurized single (range about 900 nm). Places to go and possibly avoid etc..
Thanks in advance. AP
Does anyone have any experience/advice flying from the UK to Johannesburg in an un-pressurized single (range about 900 nm). Places to go and possibly avoid etc..
Thanks in advance. AP
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I fly this route monthly with work and i suggest you think long and hard before you go... I have 4 engines and shed loads of petrol, and it is still a very barren 6 or 7 hours between europe and Zim, Zam and SA. I am sure it can be done, but there are thousands of miles, where if you come down no-one is going to come and get you. but if you get it done then a trip of a life time! I would guess that 400nm south of tunis/tripoli area to about 400 nm north of Lusaka will prove tough to crack..
Good luck
Good luck
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A number of GA pilots have done this; some have written articles about it, and one or two may even have written something detailed enough to be useful to somebody else.
Three problems come to mind:
avgas
avgas
avgas
I suggest you contact a specialised overflight agent e.g. this one. The last chap I read about used one of these agents for the lot, apparently. They can fix up crew visas too; another job which is an absolute b*stard if you try it via the various 3rd world embassies of countries along the route.
I think most have done it via the east coast of Africa, thus avoiding the worst of the cannibals. Crete (Iraklion or Sitia) is easy enough and then you can zoom down to Luxor HELX which claims to have avgas. That's as far as I've looked into this kind of thing. Then you have Sudan...
Libya seems hard. To go there (Visas etc) you need to be "sponsored" by somebody there. Like EVERYTHING in Africa it can be arranged with a bundle of $$$ but when I looked into it in 2007 (for a short trip from Crete which was abandoned) it didn't seem trivial.
Three problems come to mind:
avgas
avgas
avgas
I suggest you contact a specialised overflight agent e.g. this one. The last chap I read about used one of these agents for the lot, apparently. They can fix up crew visas too; another job which is an absolute b*stard if you try it via the various 3rd world embassies of countries along the route.
I think most have done it via the east coast of Africa, thus avoiding the worst of the cannibals. Crete (Iraklion or Sitia) is easy enough and then you can zoom down to Luxor HELX which claims to have avgas. That's as far as I've looked into this kind of thing. Then you have Sudan...
Libya seems hard. To go there (Visas etc) you need to be "sponsored" by somebody there. Like EVERYTHING in Africa it can be arranged with a bundle of $$$ but when I looked into it in 2007 (for a short trip from Crete which was abandoned) it didn't seem trivial.
we're doing this in December
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IO540,
You tell me! 
Sam, may I ask what is your experience of flying in Libya? I ask for the same reasons as IO540 (btw, I lived there for two years)
Libya seems hard.
Sam, may I ask what is your experience of flying in Libya? I ask for the same reasons as IO540 (btw, I lived there for two years)
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I flew to Cape Town via West Africa and back to UK via East Africa in a 210 in 2004. No real problems, lots of lovely VFR flying, expensive, but worth it. Send me a PM if you need a briefing.
)
Libya
Hi,
I have never flown there (we do the flying recce in September), but we have operated extensively in southern Libya for the last 8 years or so with our rally-raid activities.
We have built up extremely good contacts with the Libyan government (who is, as an aside, one of our clients!). Preparations are in place, and all should go well - but Libya remains Libya which is why we are nonetheless doing a recce first. It will probably be, though, more confirmation than construction - as said, we have been in Libya a long time!
Contact me if you are interested in the October safari!
Sam.
I have never flown there (we do the flying recce in September), but we have operated extensively in southern Libya for the last 8 years or so with our rally-raid activities.
We have built up extremely good contacts with the Libyan government (who is, as an aside, one of our clients!). Preparations are in place, and all should go well - but Libya remains Libya which is why we are nonetheless doing a recce first. It will probably be, though, more confirmation than construction - as said, we have been in Libya a long time!
Contact me if you are interested in the October safari!
Sam.
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OK here are some more details:
Aircraft Cessna T210N, max fuel 720 lbs, 80pph on economy power, a reasonable alternative was available on each leg.
Route down was Jerez - Lanzarote - Nouakchott - Bamako - Ouagadougou - Lome - Accra - Sao Tome - Principe - Libreville - Lubango - Ondangwa.
Then round and round in Southern Africa (Namibia - South Africa -Zambia - Malawi - Mozambique) where there are few issues although each country requires a permit. Flying in to game lodges works well.
Route up was Johannesburg - Beira - Dar es Salaam - Nairobi - Djibouti -Port Sudan - Luxor - Iraklion - Luqa
Overall plan ahead, fly lowish level VFR to see the sights, look the part, visas not required for crew, use agent for obtaining permissions, don't be surprised by silly prices, understand the ITCZ, mobile phone works almost everywhere, anti malaria pills made me feel funny so I stopped taking them.
Fuel was available except Sao Tome/Principe/Lubango. HF was required on the Libreville - Lubango leg to contact Brazzaville. No single engine over water is allowed in Gabon.
Three of us on the way down, one on the way back. Almost everyone we met was helpful and anticipation of hassle/bureaucracy was worse than actuality
Bill Hall did something similar:
http://www.airsquadron.org/pages/afr...ind_report.htm
Aircraft Cessna T210N, max fuel 720 lbs, 80pph on economy power, a reasonable alternative was available on each leg.
Route down was Jerez - Lanzarote - Nouakchott - Bamako - Ouagadougou - Lome - Accra - Sao Tome - Principe - Libreville - Lubango - Ondangwa.
Then round and round in Southern Africa (Namibia - South Africa -Zambia - Malawi - Mozambique) where there are few issues although each country requires a permit. Flying in to game lodges works well.
Route up was Johannesburg - Beira - Dar es Salaam - Nairobi - Djibouti -Port Sudan - Luxor - Iraklion - Luqa
Overall plan ahead, fly lowish level VFR to see the sights, look the part, visas not required for crew, use agent for obtaining permissions, don't be surprised by silly prices, understand the ITCZ, mobile phone works almost everywhere, anti malaria pills made me feel funny so I stopped taking them.
Fuel was available except Sao Tome/Principe/Lubango. HF was required on the Libreville - Lubango leg to contact Brazzaville. No single engine over water is allowed in Gabon.
Three of us on the way down, one on the way back. Almost everyone we met was helpful and anticipation of hassle/bureaucracy was worse than actuality
Bill Hall did something similar:
http://www.airsquadron.org/pages/afr...ind_report.htm
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Thanks for the information
Hi Guys,
Many thanks for all the information. I omitted to mention in the original post the single was a turbine, so avgas not a problem.
The planned route is;
UK - South of France TBC
- Malta
- Heraklion
- Luxor Nightstop
- Port Sudan
- Djibouti
- Addis Ababa
- Nairobi Wilson Nightstop
- Ndola
- Jo'burg
I will let you know how it goes and thanks again for all the help and advice. AP
Many thanks for all the information. I omitted to mention in the original post the single was a turbine, so avgas not a problem.
The planned route is;
UK - South of France TBC
- Malta
- Heraklion
- Luxor Nightstop
- Port Sudan
- Djibouti
- Addis Ababa
- Nairobi Wilson Nightstop
- Ndola
- Jo'burg
I will let you know how it goes and thanks again for all the help and advice. AP
It wont be long before Bose-x will be along and tell us that he has done this trip several thousand times whilst inverted in a DC3 then DFC will quote several pages of the ANO explaining that the trip is actually illegal for a PPL! hehe sorry Bose I couldnt resist it!
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It wont be long before Bose-x will be along and tell us that he has done this trip several thousand times whilst inverted in a DC3 then DFC will quote several pages of the ANO explaining that the trip is actually illegal for a PPL! hehe sorry Bose I couldnt resist it!
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If you are using jet fuel then availablility shouldn't be a problem. If you are unpressurised then take plenty of oxygen....especially if you are going to Addis; those mountains are fierce. Don't do them first time in the dark.
I think that your schedule is somewhat optimistic....and I plan these things for a living. Two legs in a day is about what you'd expect. There is a lot of messing about on the ground - even when you are paying a handling agent.
Arriving at Wilson after about 5pm will mean that you have nowhere to park.
Lilongwe is an easy, and cheap, stop between Nairobi and Joburg.
I think that your schedule is somewhat optimistic....and I plan these things for a living. Two legs in a day is about what you'd expect. There is a lot of messing about on the ground - even when you are paying a handling agent.
Arriving at Wilson after about 5pm will mean that you have nowhere to park.
Lilongwe is an easy, and cheap, stop between Nairobi and Joburg.
