Airplane checkouts We landed in LAX mid-afternoon and made it swiftly out of the aircraft, the only hassle being a “charity mugger” who latched onto us and wouldn’t let go. It’s not long before we are safely into the bus to the rental car site, and following the GPS directions through Los Angeles. The sun has set by this point and we take the highway through downtown LA, marveling at the city centre buildings. Finding Ben and Alejandras place is…
While Sophia went to the offices of our hosts for one last visit, I made my way to the airport and returned the rental car. I also prepared everything for departure, so we could get away as quickly as possible. Matsapha airport was easy to negotiate and it did not take long to fuel, flight plan, and pay; around mid-day we were on our way. An initial strong tailwind shifted 180 degrees and became a strong headwind for most of…
Our morning got off to a fairly slow start. The journalists came at 10 and, as planned, spent an hour discussing the project with Sophia and preparing for their article. This done, we hopped in a taxi and headed straight to the airport. We arrived this time at the brand new terminal, opened the previous day. Things started off remarkably well, with the counter for paying landing and parking fees being near the information desk in the main concourse; the…
Sophia returned from a teaching session at about 11am, and with a detour to the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine offices it was well after noon before we actually made it to the airport. This was cutting things very tight, as we intended to fly to Lusaka International before then continuing to a farm strip half an hour north of Lusaka where relatives of one of Sophia’s colleagues in the UK lived. They had a private strip on their ranch,…
Sophia made another medical visit in the morning, and around mid-day Ben drove us both to the airport. After the customary argument with the authorities about payment methods, we took some fuel and set off west towards the Ngorogoro crater. This huge volcanic feature is now one of the prime safari spots in Tanzania, with lodges around the rim and an interior teeming with wildlife. Flying over, we could see nothing of these animals (we did not descend too far…
I took a taxi to the Aero Club arriving at around 0900, and bumped straight into our engineer Rick. We first walked over to Phoenix to find out exactly where they wanted us to bring the aircraft; being a Sunday not many people were around, but Rick had spoken to one of the facility’s managers beforehand and arranged for us to work there on the weekend. We were directed to take the aircraft to the closer hangar, and once we…
My alarm went off just after 5. To try and avoid some of the fierce heat, and minimise the cooling problems associated with the aircraft’s engine, I wanted to be in the air by 7. The flight plan had been filed the day before, so the only task for the morning was to get through immigration and prepare the aircraft. Halla’s husband Osama drove us to the airport, arriving at 6, where Mohamed and his colleague were waiting to escort…
Sophia headed off early to try and acquire some currency again, and I made my way to the airport to prepare the aircraft. Despite being before 9am, the temperature was already well over 30 degrees. As I tidied the cabin, the fueler came over to say hello again; we’d met him on arrival yesterday, and having spent three months in the UK studying, he spoke excellent English and seemed to be keen to practice it. When Sophia arrived, not long…
The commandant kindly picked us up again at 0830 and drove us back to the airport. He explained that the only taxis in town were motorbike taxis, which would be impractical because of our luggage. We arrived at the airport at the same time as a Brit, Bruce, and his South African colleague who were flying the Caravan. They worked for a Canadian survey company, with this particular aircraft being based out of South Africa. They would come into country…
We left the accommodation at 0700 and drove with our escort back to Port Harcourt international. Our marshaller was there to greet us, and took us to passport control for the exit formalities. For only the second time since the start of the trip, a bribe was demanded; the immigration personnel would not process our passports unless we made it worth their while. A tip to people for good service is one thing, but $90 was being asked for here….