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A Falco to Australia

The route of flight:  

to LDDU    Dubrovnik
LDDU - HEAR    Dubrovnik - El Arish 1083NM
HEAR - OBBI    El Arish - Bahrain 1120NM
OBBI - OOMS    Bahrain - Muscat 450NM
OOMS - VAAH    Muscat - Ahmadabad 806NM
VAAH - VECC    Ahmadabad - Calcutta 890NM

 

After departing France the first stop was Dubrovnik in Croatia. Near the airport there is a very nice place with good restaurants, a little fishing village Cavtat.

 

Turnaround is quick, except when some airliners need fuel. They have priority, at least with the fuel company. The only problem as most of the time came from Brussels. The flight plan to Egypt was rejected for various reasons. With the AIS on the field a slightly modified plan was filed adding the remark: IFPS ROUTE AND LEVEL CHANGE ACCEPTED. This proofed to be better and a reply message confirmed a new routing issued from the computer via Yugoslavia. Eurocontrol did not care that a permit is needed, paid in advanced to fly this route. After listening to some expensive music from the Brussels Eurocontrol phone loop an operator from the helpdesk understood the problem and made a suggestion how to file the flight plan for the third time. The final result was the routing as filed in the original plan with the exception of a different level (even), because the first legs direction to Italy is a westerly heading for 30 NM.  Who cares that the rest of 1000NM is south easterly. Ones airborne the controller asked; “what’s the final level” and the flight was performed with an unrestricted climb to level 130.

The cruising was uneventful only that the communication was difficult with Greek ATC. Overflying the islands VHF contact was lost several times or when in contact it sounded more like a speaker announcement in a crowded metro station. One controller came up with the idea to land to check the aircrafts radios. The reply was; that both King 155’s worked fine crossing the Atlantic and that he should invest in some newer equipment. There were no further complains.

Egyptian radio reception wasn’t better and first contact was established with El Arish tower when approaching the coastal line.

 

The controller was absolutely precise, by the book. What is understandable because the airport hosts an academy type flying school. They operate ten Cessna and the same number of Bonanzas, the only reason why the field has AVGAS.

 

The Falco was topped of for the next day, a long leg crossing Saudi Arabia for Bahrain. The weather briefing at Al Arish consists of the actual departure airport weather (CAVOK/blue sky) and that takes fifteen minutes. The rest you find out enroute or you have somebody to send you a fax to the hotel in the morning. It is only 3$ per page for reception. There is no internet service available or by GMS international connection with a laptop.

From El Arish the routing is first south along the border of Israel. (That is not a good aria for navigational errors. Probable they will be corrected very quickly by some interceptors.) Then the flight continued over the northern part of the red sea and with an easterly heading over the Arabian Peninsula. The destination Bahrain is an island with very modern facilities. ATC communication sounds like London Stansted. The landing was just before sunset.

 

The Follow Me got it right and the parking was in-between a British air force L1011 tanker and a US air force Galaxy transport. [Thanks Steve for the great military paint job]

The next destination is Muscat in Oman. The first impression is good but in the end it gets expensive. They have a talent to charge all and every service and sometimes twice, but it is a fast turn around if you pay quickly.

The next country is the opposite. Everything takes forever. First stop in India was Ahmadabad in the North West. The airport is small and clearing customs and immigration including refuelling can be done in two and a half hours. The departure procedure is faster, two hours in average! Paying landing fees alone takes half an hour. The invoice was 48$, to get to this amount you have to run up and down the tower building several times. Using the steps is exhausting but much saver than the elevator. (Risk management at its best) Paying 50$ as one bill will not work. They have no change and giving 2$ tip to government officials in unacceptable. It had to be 48$ exact, one 20$, two 10$, one 5$ and three 1$ bills. Now they control each bill and copy the serial numbers of each bill into two different books. But luckily they offer you a tee while you wait. The last step is the customs release with an enclosed envelope, sealed, to take with you for the flight in transit. The domestic leg from Ahmadabad to Calcutta is without problems. Position reports are relayed with airports enroute. Only the tower controllers want the whole flight information because they get no flight plan notification.

The approach into Calcutta was sportive; the descent was issued in the last moment. With a speed to fast, an altitude to high and a 90° intercept angle to the localizer, it was normal that the approach clearance was given just after passing the needles center position. Flying strait and level for more then five hours the Falco was tempting and the turn was initiated with a little more than standard rate. On the radar scope it probably looked like a rectangular signal. That was fun but in moments like this you really understand what vertigo means.

The landing was completed just before a thunderstorm hit the airport.

 

 

The positive part of the heave rain; no handling agent showed up. Calcutta is a bureaucratic night-mare. All custom documents had to be filled out again, the sealed envelope was useless. It’s now a nice souvenir.
 

Flight preparation the next day was even longer. The procedure is running back and forth, up and down; the script could be used for a slap stick movie. But when you receive the start up clearance all is forgotten and after being airborne you can relax and enjoy the flight, except for these annoying questions for enroute estimates while still in climb.

 

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