Going like a Boeing! (#8) - Cross countries
A fellow pilot friend of mine, Mari’e (yes – two females in a cockpit – scary thought?…), and I flew down to Richards Bay and Durban International yesterday (5 March) and “over-nighted” in Durban. We flew down in a Cessna 172, which at the end of the flight we re-named “Old Faithful” (yes, we found ourselves talking to the plane… could it have been a mild case of Hypoxia?!…). There were no real glitches, despite a slight delay in the beginning, but I suppose that’s aviation.
The most important thing to consider when flying down to the coast is proper planning. Don’t take chances. Consider everything that could go wrong and what you would do if it did. It is important to do your in-flight fuel and PNR (point-of-no-return) calculations, because the weather can change rapidly once you’re past the escarpment. We were very fortunate in that we had beautiful blue skies all the way. We flew down at FL95, which is higher than I have ever flown, myself. You might find yourself thinking that you are too low when you first see the Drakensburg, but on getting closer you will see that you should clear it quite well (remember: plan your flight 1500’ above the highest obstacle en-route within a 5 nm radius). We also had the illusion of clouds in the valley, which was probably just haze. It is therefore a good idea to ask Jhb Information what the weather conditions are at your PNR.
We re-fuelled at Newcastle. After Newcastle we flew on to Richards Bay. It is amazing how the humidity suddenly hits you! And seeing the ocean for the first time on your flight is absolutely wild! Remember to fly with your mixture full rich at the coast, too. We re-fuelled again there and went up to the tower to file a flight plan to Durban International. The controller there gave us a lot of advice and tips on the route to Durban International from Richards Bay. We were uncertain of the routing before and had planned to fly flight levels and speak to Dbn Info.
If you are unfamiliar with the coastwise routing, this is how we did it: After taking off from Richards Bay and leaving their control we remained coastwise and spoke to traffic on 124.8, staying at 1500’. After passing the Tugela River, switch over to 124.2 (traffic below the TMA). At Ballito, call up Virginia and they should clear you to 1000’ and hand you over to Durban International. The downwind at Durban was unusual because the controller cleared us to 500’ but we had to remain along the coast where there is an outcrop which was higher than us and only once we passed that did we see the airfield again and we were cleared for finals. Landing at an International airport was an experience in itself – a crew bus, marshallers, HUGE aircraft!!! We also got to go up to the Apron Tower - okay – even though it was just to pay landing fees, it was still exciting!
The flight back to Wonderboom the following day (including a touch and go at Virginia, Why? - Just because we can! - and a re-fuel at Harrismith. We re-fuelled quite a bit, I know, but as they say – the only time you have too much fuel is when you’re on fire) was also awesome, excepting for pretty bad visibility – which all adds to the thrill I suppose.
I must say again, this flight was a real confidence booster, not that I consider myself a cowboy (or girl, for that matter) now. I am pretty sure that it would have been a lot tougher and busier without a fellow pilot sitting next to me.
Email me: ngarden
|