BrATC
Well-Known Member
Aren’t we?
Long X Country from Florida to Brazil
- Thread starter MikeNovemberMike
- Start date
Baronman
Well-Known Member
It’s all relative.... maybe just not as GA friendly as other places.
Richman
JC’s Resident Curmudgeon
Here’s a thread from Beechtalk where a guy flew his 58P down and back:
www.beechtalk.com
He had a handler. These are people who “grease” your trip and are pretty much necessary for GA outside North America and a few other places.
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He had a handler. These are people who “grease” your trip and are pretty much necessary for GA outside North America and a few other places.
D
Deleted member 27505
Guest
I've done many ferries to many places in South America. @Richman nailed it. You really, really, really want to get yourself a competent handler on the planning side (permitting, etc.) You want that person to arrange solid ground handlers at your stops. If you don't get good handlers (there are lots of bad ones) things could go south on you very rapidly (and potentially, very seriously). That said, some countries are much sketchier than others, and within any given country some aerodromes are much sketchier than others. Get some competent handler assistance.
Richman
JC’s Resident Curmudgeon
Point is, GA in North America, especially the US & Canada is unlike anywhere else in the world. Aus-NZ are in the next rung down, but are considerably higher on the fussy-meter.
It would be a big mistake to think everywhere is the way it is here. You can get pinched bad.
It would be a big mistake to think everywhere is the way it is here. You can get pinched bad.
MikeNovemberMike
I came, I saw, I went to bed....
Obrigado!
MikeNovemberMike
I came, I saw, I went to bed....
Here’s a thread from Beechtalk where a guy flew his 58P down and back:
BeechTalk - Login
A Beechcraft (Raytheon) Owners & Pilots Group providing discussion forums for all Beech aircraft. Includes the Bonanza, Baron, King Air, and Premier lines of airplanes, turboprops, and turbojets.
He had a handler. These are people who “grease” your trip and are pretty much necessary for GA outside North America and a few other places.
On the comments section in Foreflight (for each airport) pilots recommend a handler. Are you suggesting an a la carte type of handler for each airport, or hire a planning service to take care of flight planning and handlers for the entire mission? If the latter, what does a service like that cost?
Thanks
Richman
JC’s Resident Curmudgeon
Some countries have wildly complicated/byzantine customs requirements, with aircraft in particular. You're just not going to just fill out a card and wave your passport. There are also insurance requirements. There are professional handling companies that also handle routing, services as well as customs & immigration. If you are planning on multiple stops w/ multiple countries, probably the way to go is a "all-in" company.
They're not inexpensive. As @Crop Duster pointed out, a trip to South America isn't a $100 burger run, and I can't emphasize that enough. Wildly inaccurate or non-existent weather reporting (NO ADS-B or Sat WX), non-existent GA facilities, highly questionable 100LL availability (VERY expensive), limited ATC, local Gendarme or Military who doesn't like or is unfamiliar with GA, Customs/Immigration who are looking for "supplemental income", limited ability to divert, MX if you need it (even for an oil change)....you REALLY have to have all your poop in one sack for this kind of trip.
One guy I know used AirJourney. It was around $1300 plus $200 per stop. It's a comprehensive service.
Look, I don't want to dissuade you, but this isn't the kind of thing you read a a couple of comments on Foreflight or Facebook and decide to launch off on, or your trip over to Nassau went OK, so you're good to go. You can find yourself in (very) serious trouble on a trip like this, and you really need a long, detailed planning process. Find competent advice.
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MikeNovemberMike
I came, I saw, I went to bed....
I appreciate all that . Thanks. This is not happening for a month or so, and I am trying to make the trip as seamless as possible. I have been down to Aruba by way of Bahamas and Puerto Rico and fortunately the customs went quickly. However, I am concerned with Trinidad and Suriname as they are extremely poor countries and I don’t want to get stuck there.
Richman
JC’s Resident Curmudgeon
The Caribbean is in no way reflective of of South America. Those are all tourist destinations and are relatively used to seeing GA. GA in the Bahamas is very common, the PR is a US Territory and Aruba is Dutch (well, technically KotN).
I don't feel like I'm getting through to you. Maybe @Crop Duster will have better luck.
D
Deleted member 27505
Guest
Hey @IFRlol, I just PMed you with some info.
BrATC
Well-Known Member
On the weather part here in Brazil for example we just recently have implemented a weather radar that we can see on the scope, we still need to check during summer, when we have TCUs and CBs everywhere.
Anyway, feel free to pm me if you need any help with Brazil, indeed our airspace is not really GA-friendly, we have so many notams you must know for example and they change constantly, so it is really a pain the ass to plan a flight around here.
MikeNovemberMike
I came, I saw, I went to bed....
Thanks for your help, wilco
Sorry to revive the thread. I have a similar trip planned from KMSN to SBJR. Curious about how to handle flight planning into SBJR as it seems there is no flight following around the 9000' I'll be mostly flying. Do I contact Center/FIR after takeoff and get passed between controllers like happens in the US as I move through their airspace? Or do I not talk to anyone and just call Center/FIR before I enter their airspace? Do I activate my FPL after takeoff by calling the local Center/FIR?
CFI A&P
Exploring the world one toilet at a time.
There are too many questions to answer here. 1) Hire a handler. 2) Review the airway manual for the countries you intend to transition/ stop in.
There are places that won't file your flight plan without paying the fee, those same places won't give you your clearance until you've paid your fees. Some of these places require over flight permits, and you won't be permitted into their airspace without them. As @Richman said, the Bahamas is easy, and other Caribbean islands but trips like these are not for the novice.
