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aviatingfool

Pre-takeoff checklist
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aviatingfool
Any Baja Bush Pilots on board here? Am thinking of a visit to Loreto this winter and was looking for advice. Have wasted a couple custom tags and joined BBP a couple times over the years and never used the info or the airport directory, other than to chuckle over the one strip with a jog in the middle! And one that is a long curve, when the tide is out....
Anybody been to Loreto (MMLT) lately and have some advice?
Thank you!
 
Was there for the last Whales trip, and a few trips to Mulege and San Felipe in the last few years. A WONDERFUL place and great trip. BBP has another trip mid-March, with 37 planes already signed up, with plenty of CA flyers. I think there were 55 planes on last years trip. I would go in a second, but the wife can't get time off. Except for the always-changing paperwork trail, I doubt anything else has changed. What sort of info can I help with? It's sad that so many flyers are afraid of the trip... it's really something else.
I suggest you search this forum, the AOPA forum, and BBP for the word "Loreto" for the latest info.
 
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Dave Taylor has flown there several times, but he is taking a web board hiatus. Says it is great.
 
Posted warning on flying into Mexico......"While Mexico employs strict gun-control laws, thieves and robbers do not comply and are usually armed with knives or handguns."
 
JedTx said:
Posted warning on flying into Mexico......"While Mexico employs strict gun-control laws, thieves and robbers do not comply and are usually armed with knives or handguns."
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Gee......sounds like what we're looking at if Feinstein has her way...... :mad2:
 
SCCutler said:
Dave Taylor has flown there several times, but he is taking a web board hiatus. Says it is great.
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I know how he feels - gets very frustrating some times.....:yesnod:
 
Goofy said:
I know how he feels - gets very frustrating some times.....:yesnod:
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The "great" part was Lreto, not the hiatus. Don't know 'bout that.
 
SCCutler said:
The "great" part was Loreto, not the hiatus. Don't know 'bout that.
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Yeah, I got that.

Tim, I saw this year's whale trip but most the info is for members and I'm not any more. Probably need to join again. Gave up my AOPA membership a long time ago after being screwed around on the forum by a moderator they finally booted (so he came here - oh well)....!

Will search some more here, tried Google for GA to Loreto and mostly jet stuff comes up - and some really beautiful photos!!
So, if Y'all go there regularly I take it the airport is kind to small planes, fuel is available, parking is safe etc. etc......?

Naturally it is the horror stories that stick in my head. One of our canard brethren got some bad gas, crashed on a remote beach in full communication with ATC and they never sent anyone to find him. When he came back weeks later with a trailer and a guy that spoke fluent Spanish they still had to pay bribes and jump through hoops to be allowed to bring the plane home - almost gave up and left it. Another guy had an issue and left his plane at a major airport for a few weeks. When he came back to get it the panel was gone.... Seems to mean flying in a group is best and never leave the plane unattended for long.
 
For a first trip, I'd suggest going the BBP route - safety in numbers. You can find horror stories anywhere you look, if you look hard enough. Anywhere. In my trips down, there hasn't been one incident. On the Whales trip, you've got 50 aircraft in the air, coming from all parts of the US. The BBP suggest a channel to use while flying, so you're in contact with others. Loreto is very GA/small plane friendly, has fuel, and friendly folks. The military has a presence on the fenced airport, so parking is safe. You've seen the pics, so you know the area is beautiful.
Some fly down the Baja at 9,500, others like low. Except when crossing the Gulf, we prefer 1-2,000 ft maybe 1/2 mile off shore. Beautiful, and usually very smooth. Coming from Cal?, you'll probably stop in San Felipe for customs and some fuel. Check though... once in a while SF is out.
I noticed the link to the BBP Whales information sheet is not working... I'll email them and see that it's fixed.
 
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Flying into mexico is not bad at all except for the freaking bureaucracy at the airport comandancias. Inspectors at the airports are only there to milk their position, thats true in any government job and we whine about our government. They only try to find out if anything is out of order with your paperwork so they can get their cut. Have everything in place and you will keep them at line, sometime a tip as a friendly gesture to expedite procedures is helpful. Maybe, it helps that I am way to familiar with mexico and know exactly how people over there work. ATC is the same deal as in the states, english is spoken and procedures are the same. As horror stories go, well I heard horror stories from LA, HOUSTON, NY, CHICAGO, etc. Just stay on the right side of the tracks and you will be fine. The bulk of the conflictive areas in mexico are in the border towns and countryside. No one is going to be after the tommy bahama gringo for ransom. Kidnappings and violence is usually targeted to specific known individuals, ie rival gangs, known wealthy mexicans, etc.


Anyways, Have fun flying down south.
 
I carry my "Mexico Flying" folder, with several copies of registration, airworthiness, license, insurance, medical, and a letter of authorization to fly the aircraft "for recreational purposes" in Mexico (since my aircraft is registered to a LLC). I even make sure I have copies available online, on a flash drive, or even in my cell phone.
In that same folder, I keep copies of the eApis stuff, and whatever paperwork is generated by Mexico during the trip. I've seen one person who had a piece of paper with everything laid out nicely in Spanish: name, address, phone, home base, aircraft manufacturer, model, serial number...etc.
Little gifts aren't mandatory, but I've seen people bring a box of donuts, bag of coffee, magazines, or Beef Jerky. Last time I went, they confiscated my Beef Jerky anyway. Another time, as they checked the plane, they took a liking to some old MREs and asked if they could have some. Some other folks take some stuffed animals, and ask that they be given to needy families or an orphanage.
 
FWIW... some (ok, many) pics from last years trip to Loreto (side trip to Laguna Ignacio for whale petting)... click here
...note the gps pic showing 151 kts ground speed... in a LSA CTsw! very nice tailwind the whole trip down.
 
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CT4ME said:
FWIW... some (ok, many) pics from last years trip to Loreto (side trip to Laguna Ignacio for whale petting)... click here
...note the gps pic showing 151 kts ground speed... in a LSA CTsw! very nice tailwind the whole trip down.
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Those are great Tim. The coast is really inviting. Inland - not so much. But then I've flown over the southwest several times and that zeriscape looks pretty bleak after a while...... Were those residential lot improvements next to a runway in one photo? Was that also Loreto?
Thanks again for your input here. All going in my "gotta go" file..:yes:
 
Yep. 'pretty much all Loreto pics, surrounding area, or Ignacio. The pics of airport with tower are Loreto, and it sure looks like a residential development right next to the runway. 'Have to agree on the landscape... I prefer the coast, too. The "interior", which is only about 20 minutes across, is pretty bleak, except for some interesting geological formations.
 
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