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Fly Around The World With Me 268 Individual Flights PART SEVEN |
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TRIP DETAILS: Click here to view a map of the trip. |
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FLIGHT 201: September 1, 2003 Dorval Airport, Montreal, Quebec, (CYUL) Canada Taunton, Massachusetts, (KTAN) USA We will get an early start on our trip to Taunton, Massachusetts, by departing Montreal’s Dorval airport at 6:15 on Labor Day in the US. We’re heading to Taunton because that’s where my wife was born and we’ll drop in to see the “fam”. Incidentally, Dorval airport, is another one of these brilliantly designed facilities, that mandates almost as much time to get from the General Aviation area to the take-off staging area, as it does to fly to your destination (well it seems like it) – it’s a dumb design! Except for some gusty winds here and there, it’s a relatively nice morning for flying and the temperature is already +66F. We’ll be flying at 7,000 feet and we should arrive just after 8:30. FLIGHT 202: September 1, 2003 Taunton, Massachusetts, (KTAN) USA Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, (KMVY) USA We spent a great time with the “fam” over lunch and made the afternoon round-trip visit. We’re going to head on to Martha’s Vineyard where we have made reservations to stay at the Surfside Hotel – just 15 minutes from the airport. The weather is fine and our late evening meal should be enjoyable. We’ll get an early start in the morning for the Bahamas with a couple of stops along the way. FLIGHT 203: September 2, 2003 Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, (KMVY) USA First Flight, North Carolina, (KFFA) USA Indeed, the meal was great at the Surfside Hotel Captains Table Restaurant. Today we’re going to do something “special”. We’re going to fly down the coastline to North Carolina – IFR destination “First Flight Airstrip”. That’s right, where the Wright Brothers made the first flight. However, we’ll do a “Touch and Go”, declare a “Missed Approach”, cancel IFR and land 6 miles south at Dare County Regional airport – VOR: WRIGHT BROTHERS (MANTEO) 111.60 RBX. We’ll fuel up and rest our legs then head over to Bermuda. We should arrive at Dare airport a little after 11:00. FLIGHT 204: September 2, 2003 First Flight, North Carolina, (KFFA) USA Bermuda (TXKF) Congratulations - we did a touch-and-go where the Wright Brothers did their thing! And, we’ve had some lunch, topped of the tanks, it’s about 14:15, and we’re pressing onwards to Bermuda at 11,000 feet. We’ll be receiving favorable tailwinds of about 20 knots, so we should make good time and arrive in Bermuda just after 19:30. Bermuda is reporting low cloud cover in the 2,000 to 4,000 foot range. We’ve made reservations to stay at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess hotel, about 30 minutes from the airport. FLIGHT 205: September 3, 2003 Bermuda (TXKF) Nassau International, (MYNN) Bahamas Well, best laid plans! We were going to spend a few days in Bermuda. However, there’s news of Hurricane Fabian gaining strength off the coast of the Virgin Islands, and it’s heading due north. So, it’s time to get out of here! The prudent thing would be to fly back to North Carolina, however, we can make the Bahamas, albeit with a “Low Fuel Warning” indicator as we approach the islands. As I figure it, we should get there with about 10 gallons (approximately 60 pounds) of fuel left. It’s about an 8 hour, 30 minute flight – meaning we’ll arrive about 14:30 with the one hour time shift. We’ll be cruising at 11,000. We’ll be fighting 15-20 knot winds to start, then, we should garner some favorable tailwinds towards the end of our trip. So, let’s rock! FLIGHT 206: September 5, 2003 Nassau International, (MYNN) Bahamas Turks and Caicos (MBPV) Once again, we were planning on spending a nice relaxing few days in the Bahamas at the British Colonial Hilton of Nassau the Bahamas, in lieu of Bermuda. However, now we are looking at the weather forecast and there’s another hurricane named “Henri” that’s building up force on the west side of the Florida peninsula, so, here we go again. Let’s get out’ta here! We’ll continue our journey around the world ahead of schedule and call ahead to the Royal West Indies Resort in the Turks and Caicos and see if we can get in 3 days earlier than expected. We’ll fly on down to the Turks at 7,000 feet on this 3 hour flight – meaning we should arrive around 10:00. The weather in the Turks and Caicos is reported as being fair with temperatures in the low 70s. We’ll stay on the islands until Friday– September 12, 2003. FLIGHT 207: September 9, 2003 Turks and Caicos (MBPV) Norman Manley Intl, (MKJP) Jamaica There’s little doubt that we could have picked a better time of the year to traverse the Caribbean from the standpoint of weather – this is hurricane season. We had planned on staying in the Turks until Friday, however, there’s yet another “monster” building in the Leeward Islands – “Isabel”. Therefore, we’re going to move on – quickly. It’s a beautiful day in the Turks and it’s painful to depart. Nonetheless, it’s flying time! We’ll need to top off the tanks since we have been island hopping the past few days around the Turks and Caicos. We’ll be cruising at 12,000 feet en route to Jamaica, passing over the Grand Turk island and Cap Haitien and Port Au Prince, Haiti on our way. We should arrive at the Norman Manley International airport in Kingston around 10:15, where we will fill our tummies and tanks and press on to the Caymans. FLIGHT 208: September 9, 2003 Norman Manley Intl, (MKJP) Jamaica Owen Roberts Intl, (MWCR) Grand Cayman It’s now 13:45 on September 9, 2003 and we’re on our way to the Cayman Islands – Robert’s International airport on Grand Cayman to be exact. We’ll be flying at 10,000 on this leg. Our flying time will be about 2:45 in nice weather conditions, meaning we should arrive about 16:30. We’ve moved ahead our reservations at the Victoria House Hotel located on 350 feet of Cayman’s famous seven-mile beach. Regrettably, we’ll only be spending the night here – we need to get ahead of “Isabel”. FLIGHT 209: September 10, 2003 Owen Roberts Intl, (MWCR) Grand Cayman Port Au Prince, (MTPP) Haiti Weather forecasters said it is possible that Isabel could reach near 145 mph (232 km/h) winds today. At 16:00 ADT yesterday, the Hurricane Center said Isabel was 930 miles (800 nm) east of the northern Leeward Islands, moving west-northwest near 14 mph (22 km/h). So, the way I have it figured, in 3 days we could be in a heap of trouble! We can either tie down the Cessna and hope the storm turns more northward, or make a run for Venezuela - I vote for the latter. This means we will need to simply do “fly-bys” over some of our intended destinations and cancel our reservations. So, let’s fly directly to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Now this is a LONG flight – about 8 hours. And, despite the 10-15 knot headwinds that are forecast, we should be able to make it without a fuel-stop along the way. If I’ve got it calculated correctly, the eerie “Low Fuel” indicators will appear as we approach the island of Puerto Rico, but we’ll still have about 50 pounds of fuel remaining. And, we’ll have thunderstorms to keep us entertained most of the trip! We should arrive in San Juan a little past 15:00 local time – considering the one-hour time shift. FLIGHT 210: September 10, 2003 Port Au Prince, (MTPP) Haiti Santo Domingo, (MDSD) Dominican Republic Fly-By… FLIGHT 211: September 10, 2003 Santo Domingo, (MDSD) Dominican Republic San Juan, (TJSJ) Puerto Rico Fly-By… FLIGHT 212: September 10, 2003 San Juan, (TJSJ) Puerto Rico St. Thomas, (TJSJ) US Virgin Islands We were unable to orchestrate a change in our reservations in San Juan and everything is booked-up. However, we were able to book rooms at the Anchorage Hotel in St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. So, despite the fact that we have just completed an arduous eight-hour flight from the Cayman Islands, we needed to hop on our horse and make another sixty-mile trip to St. Thomas. We have added another 22 gallons of fuel (about 120 pounds), grabbed a very late lunch and we’re now ready to head over to St. Thomas at 3,000 feet. It’s now 18:45 and we’re estimating a 45-minute flight. FLIGHT 213: September 11, 2003 St. Thomas, (TJSJ) US Virgin Islands Beef Island, (TUPJ) British Virgin Islands Despite the news that Isabel is heading towards the upper Caribbean islands, I still think it would be prudent to get out of the area completely as soon as possible. So, I have been on the phone all morning changing our hotel reservations for our continuing trip. It’s now 12:37 and we’re on our way to Beef Island in the British Virgin Islands where we will grab some lunch. It’ll only take about 15 minutes to get there at 3,000 feet. And, it’s a lovely +85F outside! FLIGHT 214: September 11, 2003 Beef Island, (TUPJ) British Virgin Islands Wallblake, (TQPF) Anguilla We had a very enjoyable lunch, we’ve topped off the tanks and now we’re on our way to Wallblake, Anguilla. Our flying time will be about 1:00 at 5,000 feet. It ought to be a very pleasant flight. We should arrive a little past 16:00 – just in time for tea. FLIGHT 215: September 11, 2003 Wallblake, (TQPF) Anguilla St. Maarten, Princess Juliana Intl (TNCM) Netherlands Antilles We had an opportunity to do some site seeing and visited the Wallblake House. Built in 1787, it is the oldest and only surviving plantation house on Anguilla. It is one of the few plantation houses in the Caribbean where the entire complex of buildings including the kitchen, stable and workers quarters have survived virtually intact. We’re now on our way at 2,000 feet to St. Maarten Island in the Netherlands Antilles, a 10 mile trip, where we will spend the evening. We have confirmed reservations at the Summit Resort. It’s just coming up on 18:30 and we should arrive in St. Maarten in about 15 minutes. FLIGHT 216: September 12, 2003 St. Maarten, Princess Juliana Intl (TNCM) Netherlands Antilles St. Kitts Island, (TKPK) St. Kitts and Nevis We had a short but pleasant stay at the Summit Resort. We learned that the island’s name, St. Maarten was pronounced by the locals as Soualiga, or "Salt Island" after its main mineral deposit and we could see the remains of the Great Salt Pond near Philipsburg. It’s now 6:30 and we’re getting an early start. Our flying time to the Robert L. Bradshaw airport on St. Kitts, will be about an hour. The weather looks good – so here we go! FLIGHT 217: September 12, 2003 St. Kitts Island, (TKPK) St. Kitts and Nevis St. Johns, (TAPA) Antigua and Barbuda We had an interesting chat with the local aviators about island-hopping. And, we had this conversation over too many cups of coffee. Now - it’s flying-time. It’s about 10:15 and we’re on our way to V.C. Bird International airport in St. Johns, Antigua and Barbuda. We’ll be flying at 3,000 feet on the 50-mile trip. FLIGHT 218: September 12, 2003 St. Johns, (TAPA) Antigua and Barbuda Pointe-A-Pitre, (TFFR) Guadeloupe We had a fantastic lunch at the Big Banana 17° 61° restaurant. The name 17° 61° comes from the longitude and latitude of Antigua & Barbuda. It’s now 14:45, and we’re on our way to Le Raizet airport in Pointe-A-Pitre, Guadeloupe. Our flying time will be about 45 minutes at 3,000 feet on a beautiful Caribbean day for flying. We have confirmed reservations at the Marigot hotel where we will spend the rest of the day and press onwards early Monday morning. FLIGHT 219: September 15, 2003 Pointe-A-Pitre, (TFFR) Guadeloupe Roseau, (TDPR) Dominica We spent a very pleasant weekend at the Marigot hotel in Guadeloupe. It’s just coming up on 6:00 and we’re getting an early start on some serious island-hopping today. On this leg, we’ll be flying at 3,000 feet to Canefield International airport in Roseau, Dominica. It’s only about a 60 mile flight, so we should arrive about 6:30. FLIGHT 220: September 15, 2003 Roseau, (TDPR) Dominica Ft. De France, (TFFF) Martinique We’ve had a chance to rap with the guys in the tower, share some stories and fill up on coffee. It’s now 7:20, and we’re continuing our trip to Martinique – about the same distance as the previous flight (50 miles). So, we should arrive about 8:00. This time, we’ll climb up to 5,000 feet to see if we can avoid some of the low-level turbulence. FLIGHT 221: September 15, 2003 Ft. De France, (TFFF) Martinique Hewanorra Intl, St. Lucia (TLPL) We enjoyed a fantastic Creole breakfast at the airport restaurant. In fact, it was exceptional. It’s about 11:15 and we’re continuing our trip to Hewanorra International airport in St. Lucia. Once again, this is about a 50-mile flight so we should arrive about noon. We’ll be flying at 5,000 feet. NOTE: Take care when taxiing to the strip – its pretty rough! FLIGHT 222: September 15, 2003 Hewanorra Intl, St. Lucia (TLPL) St. Georges, (TGPG) Grenada We took a spin around the island and now we’re on our way to Port Salines airport in St. Georges, Grenada. We’ll be passing over the islands of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Union Island en route. It’s now 14:50 and we’ll be cruising at 5,000 feet and we should arrive in Grenada about 16:15. FLIGHT 223: September 15, 2003 St. Georges, (TGPG) Grenada Barbados (TBPB) It’s now 18:00 and we’re about to embark on the final leg for today. Destination – Barbados, where we will spend the next few days. We’ll be cruising at 10,000 on this 2 hours and 30 minute flight and we should arrive in Barbados about 20:30. There are reports of scattered thunderstorms in the Barbados area, but no precipitation. FLIGHT 224: September 18, 2003 Barbados (TBPB) Trinidad and Tobago (TTCP) It’s 9:30 Thursday September 18, 2003 and we’ve just spent a couple of fantastic days in Barbados – this is a “real” paradise! Alas, we’re on our way again. We’ll be flying to Trinidad and Tobago at 10,000 feet on this 190-mile trip. The weather looks good – a hell’uva a lot better than North Carolina! We should arrive about 11:15. On approach, we’ll see our next destination – the tip of Venezuela. FLIGHT 225: September 22, 2003 Trinidad and Tobago (TTCP) Maturin, (SVMT) Venezeula We spend a fantastic long weekend at the Crown Point Beach Hotel in Trinidad and Tobago. It’s just coming up on 8:30 on Monday September 22, 2003 and we are continuing our trip around the world – heading for Maturin, Venezuela. We’ll be cruising at 8,000 feet on a pleasant day. The current temperature is about 90F degrees. We should arrive in Maturin about 9:45. FLIGHT 226: September 22, 2003 Maturin, (SVMT) Venezeula Cheddi Jagan Intl, (SYCJ) Guyana We're going to stop just long enough to top off the fuel, enjoy some Venezuelan coffee and hit the friendly skies en route to Guyana. We’ll be flying at 11,000 feet on this 350-mile trip and we should arrive about 14:20. But for bucking 10-15 knot headwinds, this ought to be a very smooth flight. We’ll grab some lunch, then head off late afternoon for Suriname. FLIGHT 227: September 22, 2003 Cheddi Jagan Intl, (SYCJ) Guyana Zandery, (SMJP) Suriname We had a very enjoyable lunch at the Woodbine Hotel where we met a group of travelers from Canada. It’s now just approaching 17:00 and we’re on our last leg for the day – the J. A. Pengel International airport in Zandery, Suriname. Our flying time will be about 1:45 minutes at 8,000 feet. We’ll arrive just after dusk. We have confirmed reservations at the Hotel Torarica - located in Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname. FLIGHT 228: September 23, 2003 Zandery, (SMJP) Suriname Cayenne, (SOCA) French Guiana It’s about 7:30 and we’re on our way to French Guiana – about a two-hour flight. We’ll be flying at 3,000 feet to get a better view of the area. It should be a pretty smooth flight, although there are reports of thunderstorms in the area of the Rochambeau airport in Cayenne, French Guiana. FLIGHT 229: September 23, 2003 Cayenne, (SOCA) French Guiana Val de Caes, (SOCA) Brazil Since all private aircraft over-flying or landing for noncommercial purposes in Brazil must give 24-hour prior notice (to both the Department of Civil Aviation and to the airports of landing), we have indeed been given prior approval and we have the acknowledgements on board the aircraft during our flights into or across Brazilian territory. We’ve filled our tummies and the aircraft’s tanks and we’re off to Brazil – Val de Caes airport to be exact. It’s 11:30 and there is still thunderstorm activity in the area. We’ll be flying at 7,000 feet on this leg and we should arrive in Val de Caes about 15:30. We have confirmed our reservations at the Hotel Vila Rica Belem – about 15 minutes from the airport. FLIGHT 230: September 24, 2003 Val de Caes, (SOCA) Brazil Fortaleza, (SBFZ) Brazil It’s 10:00 on Wednesday, September 24, 2003 and we’re on our way to the Pinto Martins airport in Fortaleza, Brazil. Our flying time will be about 6:00 – another long flight. We’ll be cruising at 7,000 feet and it looks like another great day for flying. The current temperature is about 85F degrees and at our cruising altitude it ought to be a comfortable 60F. We should arrive just before 16:00. We will be spending the next couple of evenings at the Meliá Confort Fortaleza hotel - strategically located at the 'Volta da Jurema', a sophisticated area in Fortaleza, only minutes away from the city's gastronomical and leisure centers and close to the Pinto Martins International Airport. FLIGHT 231: September 26, 2003 Fortaleza, (SBFZ) Brazil Recife, (SBRF) Brazil It’s just after dawn on Friday September 26, 2003 and we’re on our way to Recife – my most favorite city in the world. I cannot even begin to tell people how much I have enjoyed my various trips to this area. This is going to be a pleasant flight – just over 330 nautical miles. We’ll be flying at 12,000 feet on this leg and we should arrive about 10:00. We have confirmed our reservations at the lovely Recife Palace Lucsim hotel. FLIGHT 232: September 29, 2003 Recife, (SBRF) Brazil Salvador, (SBSV) Brazil It’s just coming up on 9:15 on Monday, September 29, 2003 and we’re about to embark on a 3 hour trip to Salvador, Brazil. We’ll be cruising at a comfortable 6,000 feet and the weather looks to be great. I am sad to leave Recife, since it is (as I have pointed out earlier) the one place in the world I really love. The people are great – the food is great – the music is great – the entire place is great. But, it’s time to leave paradise! FLIGHT 233: September 29, 2003 Salvador, (SBSV) Brazil Brasilia, (SBBR) Brazil We had a great lunch and we’re now on our way to Brasilia – the capital of Brazil. It’s just coming up on 15:00 and our three-hour, forty-five minute flight should have us arriving about 30 minutes after sundown. There are reports of light rain in the capital. We have confirmed our reservations at the Kubitschek Plaza hotel – named after the founder of Brasilia, Juscelino Kubitschek. FLIGHT 234: September 30, 2003 Brasilia, (SBBR) Brazil Campo Grande, (SBCG) Brazil It’s just coming up on 9:00 and we’re on our way to Campo Grande. We’ll be flying at 9,000 feet on this leg and we should arrive about 13:15 – just in time for a late lunch. FLIGHT 235: September 30, 2003 Campo Grande, (SBCG) Brazil Campo Fontenelle, (SBYS) Brazil We had a quick lunch, and once again we’ll be cruising at 9,000 feet en route to Campo Fontenelle in Piracununga. The weather looks fantastic and we should have a great flight. The forecast for Piracununga is 68F degrees and we should land at twilight time! We’ll grab some dinner, then head on to our final destination – Rio! FLIGHT 236: September 30, 2003 Campo Fontenelle, (SBYS) Brazil Rio De Janeiro, (SBGL) Brazil Well, it’s been a long day and we’ve traveled a great distance. But we’re anxious to get to Rio! So, it’s only another 230 miles the way the crows fly, so we’re going to press onwards. We’ll be staying at a friend’s place, so a late arrival is not a problem. Once again, we’ll be cruising at 9,000 on this beautiful evening. We should arrive in Rio about 00:30 local time. Click here to view a map of the trip. |
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