Flying to Mexico

jd21476

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jd21476
Has anyone ever flown to Mexico? I live in San Diego and we also have a house in Ensenada, MX. Now that I own an airplane it would be great to fly to the house in Ensenada. Has anyone ever done it and what do I need to go south of the border?
 
Have done it more times than I can count... under 121 we don’t worry about much, but when we did it under part 135 we always had to produce (or make available) a Mexican insurance policy.
I’m not sure about part 91, but insurance is something I would check on before hand.
Also arrange everything with a handler ahead of time. Make copies of all certificates and give them the copies. Originals have a habit of getting lost.
 
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I went in January in my 182. A couple of hours sitting waiting on first entry while they very slowly prepared the entry permit (good for the remainder of the calendar year), and after that very straightforward. I used my US insurance certificate, which had Mexico included on the territory limits, and it was fine.
 
Has anyone ever flown to Mexico? I live in San Diego and we also have a house in Ensenada, MX. Now that I own an airplane it would be great to fly to the house in Ensenada. Has anyone ever done it and what do I need to go south of the border?
@Rgbeard is exactly the guy you need to talk to.
 
Has anyone ever flown to Mexico? I live in San Diego and we also have a house in Ensenada, MX. Now that I own an airplane it would be great to fly to the house in Ensenada. Has anyone ever done it and what do I need to go south of the border?

There's a couple instructors in the area who do Mexico Checkouts, basically explaining the process of flying in and out of Mexico. I did a Mexico checkout in 2016; cant say I remember all of it but I remember enough of it that I could probably get by with some pre-planning without major issue.

Total flight time from KMYF to MMES and back (with a stop at KSDM for US Customs on the return trip) was about 1.5 hours in a Cutlass (C172RG) according to my log books. I forget how long it was to process everything in Ensenada but remember it took a while. Afterwards my instructor and I grabbed lunch and flew back and it was like 6 hours total including preflight, planning, flight, customs, lunch, flight back, etc.

The process is pretty simple once you know it and is pretty similar for flights to Canada and the Bahamas, in fact Mexico I've heard (and sort of found but with only 1 flight to each, I'd hesitate to call it a general rule) is more difficult/less accommodating than the other 2 to GA. Mostly in terms of language (Mexican controllers seem to speak spanish at every opportunity and dont stick to english even when requested), availability of services (at the time in 2016 and I see no reason why this would have changed, fuel was only available at select airports controlled by the military in Mexico in order to combat drug trafficking) and general helpfulness clearing customs (again language barrier but also in terms of "I messed something up" the Mexican authorities seemed more stringent and provided much less assistance in correcting the issue whereas the Bahamas practically goes out of its way to welcome GA and make it easy and the Canadian authorities were less picky and more helpful too).

Just a couple other notes to add since you have your own plane and clearly intend to make the trip multiple:
1) Dont forget to get a Radio Operator's License for both yourself and the plane. If I'm not mistaken, its $10,000 fine if you are asked for and you cant produce your radio operators license for US Customs. I've only been asked once out of 3 international trips so cant say how common it is.
2) Dont forget to get your own CBP decal for your plane.
3) Mexico does require that you have insurance and it also requires you be authorized to take the aircraft overseas so make sure you check with your insurance and draft a letter as the owner, authorizing yourself as pilot to take the plane, especially if its owned under another name or LLC. (I believe the letter also needs to be notarized)

These are pretty straightforward and any instructor should cover them with you but they are things easily forgotten/overlooked since they are not common and/or attached to the plane, not the pilot and are not available "day of" like customs forms or eAPIS (Its my understanding that technically the CBP decal can be purchased day of and you just have to show a receipt but I've not gone international in a plane without a CBP decal) so they require some pre-work.

Also, bring pesos. Though USD is a popular secondary currency in Mexico, the airport landing fee and customs services will not accept USD or Credit Cards in most instances and MMES doesnt have an ATM (nor can you leave the airport to get cash until cleared, which requires payment upfront)
 
Is this going to be worthwhile for you? Isn't Ensenada about 60mi S of the border? Not to quash any aviation opportunities but I'd worry this will be reverse-efficiency! (I've done plenty of that in my time, lol)
I could be wrong, maybe you live close to each airport and have a car down there. Or the drive is more onerous than I know. Not to get all practical on ya!
 
Did someone say my name?

Welcome, fellow Ensenada-ean (or whatever we're called).

For the best Mexico pre-flight overview, reach out to Brown Field's First Flight 619-661-6522, and get some time with Kieran (pronounced Karen), and he'll do a Mexico checkout for you. IMO, far better to spend a few $ with them for the pro-overview than to simply read info on the net.

In other news, MMES used to be military-only, and it's become Joint-use in recent months. You can now park the plane there overnight, or for a week or three.

In what part of town are you? Feel free to reply privately. My wife and I live in the San Miguel area, at the beach, and keep our plane on your side of the border, at Brown.
 
Is this going to be worthwhile for you? Isn't Ensenada about 60mi S of the border? Not to quash any aviation opportunities but I'd worry this will be reverse-efficiency! (I've done plenty of that in my time, lol)
I could be wrong, maybe you live close to each airport and have a car down there. Or the drive is more onerous than I know. Not to get all practical on ya!

Will likely depend on how often he makes the trip and for how long. After all, we're talking about potentially supporting 2 tie-downs or hangars in separate countries plus customs/passenger tax (Pilots dont have to pay the tax if they only stay in country for a short period)... I'm sure there's a sweet spot of frequency and length.

The big offset here though is going to be in terms of traffic which is going to be really dependent on the OPs actual location as well as time and day of the week they travel as well as other considerations such as delays at the border crossing.
 
Two weeks ago I drove across to Valle de Guadalupe (20 min east of Ensenada) and back in my car. Unless you have a sentri pass, border crossing into the US is a PITA. One should expect at least two hours and much more at peak times. I've heard clearing customs at the airports is usually much quicker. Flying would be a no-brainer for me from LA...I just wish Mexico would start accepting basic med.
 
Two weeks ago I drove across to Valle de Guadalupe (20 min east of Ensenada) and back in my car. Unless you have a sentri pass, border crossing into the US is a PITA. One should expect at least two hours and much more at peak times. I've heard clearing customs at the airports is usually much quicker. Flying would be a no-brainer for me from LA...I just wish Mexico would start accepting basic med.

The OP hasn't come back, but he said he has a home here. I'm pretty sure he's either SENTRI, or knows the deal.

What was your favorite winery in the VDG?
 
The OP hasn't come back, but he said he has a home here. I'm pretty sure he's either SENTRI, or knows the deal.

What was your favorite winery in the VDG?

I figured that...it was more a reply to another poster who questioned if it was quicker to drive. From SD...with a sentri, driving would be quicker.

As for the wineries...I've been down there a few times. This last time, I really enjoyed Decantos. Monte Xanic was also good. We had dinner at Fauna (didn't go to Bruma, the winery there)...which I wasn't too impressed. Last time we ate at Deckmans and it was amazing (wine there is most excellent too.)
 
You've been hitting solid places in the Valley!

Decantos is definitely an amazingly beautiful property. I've just not ever been a fan of their wine. We need to head back, it's been +1 year since we've been there.
Monte Xanic has been there since ever, and is a good solid producer.
Not a fan of Fauna. I don't like the communal dining experience, and when you get the wine/food pairing option, it's not well-thought out.
The winery / Bruma, you're not missing out except for a kick-ass tree in the middle of the building.
Deckman's is nice, but can be hit/miss on service. When we've been there, half the time the service was just awful, the other half was wonderful.

LMK if you need other ideas of places to visit. :D
 
join the baja bush pilots and all of the information is there. They will even sell you mexican insurance and file your APIS.
 
1) Dont forget to get a Radio Operator's License for both yourself and the plane. If I'm not mistaken, its $10,000 fine if you are asked for and you cant produce your radio operators license for US Customs. I've only been asked once out of 3 international trips so cant say how common it is.
This post is an excellent summary, but I have one minor nit to pick; the pilot needs to have an FCC Restricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit (RR), but the license requirement for the aircraft is an FCC Aircraft Station License (AC), not an operator's license.
 
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