Just for fun - flying to Buenos Aires

[woodstock]

Last night was our Xmas party and a gentleman there was from Buenos Aires. I talked to him about my flying and he said "get all of your licenses, you could come down here and be a ferry pilot for people who want to fly from BA to Uruguay/Paraguay. (hmmmmmmm, she thinks - maybe in my next life...)

at any rate, we also talked about "how hard would it be to fly a small plane to Buenos Aires from the DC area" (conclusion - west coast of South America most likely easier...) and it got me thinking even just doing a flight plan for this would be pretty cool. I have no idea what the infrastructure is like down there - how hard would it be to stop for gas (where?) and what kinds of permits would you need to fly your own plane through all the various countries... how long would it take, what are the challenges (weather, mountains etc. not to mention are the locals friendly when you land, etc.)

has anyone done anything even remotely like this before? (either here, or, did you read a book about someone who took off on their grand adventure to do this...)

what say all you? hypothetically - what are all the things to keep in mind when flight planning something like this?

 

[woodstock]

ps. I'd really be interested in reading a book by or about someone who has done something this big/crazy - doesn't have to be to BA, just any long-haul flight in a small aircraft - Jean Batten, for instance.

 

[Everskyward]

ps. I'd really be interested in reading a book by or about someone who has done something this big/crazy - doesn't have to be to BA, just any long-haul flight in a small aircraft - Jean Batten, for instance.

If you want an adventure book you could try "Flying South" by Barbara Cushman Rowell. I wouldn't be using it as a "how to" book though.

http://www.mountainlight.com/books/flyingsouth.html

 

[NC Pilot]

There was a company based at my home airport that sold Dromader Ag planes. They sold one to a place in Brazil and ended up converting the ag chemical hopper to a fuel tank, took off and flew to Brazil from North Carolina. I understand it was a very long flight and when done the pilot understood how Lindberg must have felt...

 

[HPNFlyGirl]

Sounds as if JNX is busy. If ya know what I mean Mark.

 

[tonycondon]

See what happened to the Embraer pilots who had the Mid Air over South America. No thanks.

 

[murfpj]

Only DC to BA? Why not from Alaska to Argentina? Here is a guy who did it in a Lake Buccaneer with 3 kids in the back
http://www.aso.com/seller/9440/ba/main.htm

 

[SCCutler]

If you want an adventure book you could try "Flying South" by Barbara Cushman Rowell. I wouldn't be using it as a "how to" book though.

http://www.mountainlight.com/books/flyingsouth.html

Excellent book, except when she wanders into dissecting her non-flying life. But the flying part's more than enough to justify the read.

Except the postscript.

 

[Everskyward]

Except the postscript.

In some weird twist of "aviation is a small world" I know the guy who taught her to fly the 206. I asked him about it last time I saw him. He remembers her but didn't know she had written a book where she mentions him both in the text and in the acknowledgments. He also didn't know about the postscript.