International Air Rally (Caribbean)

I agree with @Katamarino . I hope the rally is better organized than your post.
FWIW I flew with them a few years ago and their attitude is unchanged.

Mass Flyer mentions some issues with stopping points, like airports with no fuel. Part of Camil and Catherine's program is to promote the rally to local tourism organizations, charging fees to bring the rally to town, negotiating free room-nights for themselves, etc. So those economics are probably driving the airports selections more than issues that are of interest to participants. That's neither bad nor good IMO, but they were a bit secretive about it on our trip.
 
They've done this numerous times before. One of our club members participated with his Meridian last year. They group the airplane's according to speed and range. He said it was a lot of fun, they are well organized, and he met a lot of interesting flying folks.
Really appreciate this comment..so much BS out there, Had to set records straight on Mass Flying MF purposely lying to keep pilots away, but thats OK happy they stand clear..... enough pilots out there with enough common sense and maturity happy to fly, discover. Happy New Year ! Hope you join us.. you can register to the News letter..very interesting trip coming up!
 
No, not at all.
My friend said there was a wide variety of airplane's, but no Piper Cubs. ;)

Your plane should be plenty capable.

Sorry to hear you had such a bad experience with them. Maybe they are already booked up for the next excursion. They do more than just a Caribbean circuit, so the repeat participants may not have done this route before, but one of their other excursions? I think they do a western North America and an Eastern North America route as well. The woman representative I spoke with a couple of years ago was French, and she behaved, well...French.
Great trip coming up ! March/April..very affordable as always with the support of destinations which make it safe !
 
I'm going on the Around-the-Caribbean trip with International Air Rally. This will be my 4th Air Rally trip and its been a lot of fun. I'm flying a 1966 Mooney at 120knots. Lots of planes at different speeds. We don't try to stay together in flight. We just try to arrive near the same time at the destination. Air Rally is also preparing a trip from Winnipeg to Inuvit Canada in August. I'll likely go on that one too. It's been a good experience for me every time.
Hello Vincent... Happy there are pilots like you out there which keep the rally going. I feel we are disturbing a few of the competitors... we can expect a bit of baching going on but thats OK... part of the game
 
I think you'd have been better off posting nothing, rather than posting that poorly written diatribe. It comes across as extremely unprofessional.
A record of 21 years of great flying adentures with great pilots speaks for itself... getting to be too popular out there so bashing is to be expected.. part of the game however lies cannot be left unadressed when its going too far
 
Longest exposure over water is hard to figure. The Caribbean chain includes probably hundreds of very small, uninhabited islets that would provide a desert island existence until rescue. The Air Rally also provides a glareshield GPS box that allows the organizers to track the progress of each plane in real time. If you don't arrive they know exactly where to look for you. We also use an in-air frequency to share wind and position information. And you can be in contact with ATC almost all the time.
A trip between St. Vincent and Barbados would be about 85 nm over open water. The next longest stretch along the typical north-south routes is about 30 nm (between Monserrat and Guadeloupe). Whether one would choose to fly directly between Monserrat and Guadeloupe is another issue, as Antigua controls the northern part of the airspaces. To enter or exit Antigua airspace, you need a cross-border permit (in advance). If you're just passing through, the radar service can cost you about $25. As an alternative, totally circumventing Antigua airspace to the west costs you a bit of extra over-water flight but only about an extra 7 nm in flight distance (while saving a potential charge of $25).
 
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