EvilEagle
Pattern Altitude
Thanks for all the help I’ve gotten from the red/blue/purple and BT boards; I completed my first Bahamas trip in the Bo this week. My little sister got married and as her wedding gift, my wife and I planned (& paid for) her honeymoon. They knew we were doing it, but they didn’t know that we were all going in the plane and they didn’t know the location. We filled them in on their honeymoon plans the night before departure.
On 30 April the weather was not doing anyone in S. FL or the Bahamas any favors. The flight down from Statesboro, GA was fairly uneventful other than some light turby’s under the overcast layer; but you could tell the wx was getting worse by the minute with very strong winds out of the east. I solicited opinions from a couple of boards as well as the phone briefer as to whether to ride it out in Ft. Pierce or push forward to the Bahamas. I ran into a Baron driver who had just made the hop over from Marsh and he recommended pressing on – the wx was bad, but no big boomers anywhere from what he saw. I stayed put for a bit after lunch watching the satellite and radar views.
KFPR:
Packed up!
Finally decided to roll with it; I had plenty of gas to bust a U turn anytime I thought it was getting too rough and nothing was telling me it was getting any worse. eAPIS was easy and straightforward, and I just called WX BRIEF to file the international flight plan. (Someone on Airnav said that the APP folks knew how to help with the eAPIS, but that wasn’t my experience) We have two life jackets, but rented two more and a life raft from APP – easy; just make sure you call ahead for a reservation.
The route I filed would keep me out of the worst wx on radar and satellite, but of course they gave me a routing that was right into the heart of the moderate/extreme precip. Sidebar: Everywhere in SE FL, they change up the east/odd, west/even stuff. I was going to Jekyll Island on Friday at 9k, and when I checked in with Jax center they told me I needed an even altitude for that direction of flight. I thought this was a simple mistake but went with it; however this continued anywhere south of Jax. /sidebar… I got the new clearance all put in the boxes and took off for the Bahamas. As soon as I got to Miami center they questioned my route selection (the one I got cleared – not the one I filed). I eventually got almost exactly what I filed to keep me out of the weather (trend item for Miami center this week!). We said goodbye to the USA while fighting the 45 knot easterly winds at 7k (finally got an odd altitude after asking for it).
So long America!
The ground speed of 119kts combined with the bad weather was not very comforting for my first single engine ocean crossing (even if it was only 80 ish miles). We did manage to stay out of the thick stuff for nearly the entire flight, only getting into some moderate/borderline heavy rain south of Freeport. I had originally planned to drop low along Grand Bahama Island and sightsee past Treasure and Marsh, across to the Berry Islands and then to Andros, but with the delays, headwinds and bad weather we were pushing the 5pm customs hours.
Hello Bahamas!
As a result, we hung a right turn at Freeport and pointed towards the brightest of the clouds to the south and hoped for the best (no NEXRAD past Freeport). Other than the fore-mentioned heavy rain, we had a nice flight into Fresh Creek, even breaking out to a patch of clear air on the north end of the island to get low and do a bit of oooing and ahhing at the water color.
We flew down the east coast of Andros at 500’ and about 155 KIAS keeping an eye out for our destination – Small Hope Bay Lodge. After a quick turn around the place, MYAF filled the windscreen and actually looked like a swamp from the two days of steady rains. The US Navy facility is just east of MYAF and is very tempting to point at when looking for a place to land. Strong winds pushed us around the final turn and stood the windsock out to its limits, but they dropped off to no factor once we got below the tree line. The MYAF runway is in decent condition, a few cracks in the pavement here and there but no huge rocks or major foliage in the runway.
The parking area was nearly flooded (should have gotten a picture of that one). If anyone is going to MYAF and expecting/fearing heavy rains, park near the windsock – that was the only dry place and is where I parked.
We unloaded and the wife, newlyweds (and some unsolicited help) drug the bags into Customs. No tie downs there, but did have some rocks to chock the tires. I threw my CSOB gust lock in, plugged the nose cowl, covered the pitot and tightened up the cover. By the time I got inside, the bags had all been cleared and the other 3 were admiring the Bahamas stamp in their passports. I had to fill out a cruising permit in quadruplet as well as signing the customs form; and just like that we were done and officially permitted into the Bahamas. (wow that was easy!)
We took a short $35 ride in a waiting cab to SHBL where Linda welcomed us and immediately ushered us to the bar. (I knew I was going to like this place!) She explained the workings of the place and showed us to our cabins where our bags had already been stashed by the cab driver. For the next 4 nights/5 days we ate, slept, hammocked, scuba’d, bonefished and DRANK all we could handle and enjoyed the company as much as the setting. PM if you want more SHBL info – but I definitely recommend it if you want to get away! One other guest did mention that the cabbies tend to fill up their vans on 100LL, but we did not have any problems with fuel levels upon departure. Although it did make me wonder if I should invest in some locking gas caps.
SHBL:
We left MYAF on Friday afternoon to hot sunshine and blue skies. The Small Hope family had asked for a flyby, so we obliged. (the things I do for my friends… J )
25 mins after liftoff we touched down on runway 9 at MYNN. We chose to use Executive Flight Support due to the $1.30/gallon savings for the impending fill up.
We called ahead for a taxi that was recommended by our hotel staff (Sunrise Beach Club and Villas on Paradise Island). We had about a 40 min cab ride to Paradise Island. (right by the newest build in Nassau; the Chinese are building a 3500 room, 2 casino plus waterpark monstrosity of a resort) Our stay in Nassau was a bit of over-stimulus after 4 nights in SHBL, but we enjoyed it; especially the Atlantis waterpark (surprised me too). We did a sunset cruise one night as well.
Monday came too quickly, we cabbed back to executive, paid the fines (I mean fees) to leave and filed a flightplan right at the reception desk. We filed IFR in case the puffies were building over the FL coast. I did file an indirect route to do some sightseeing. Of course, that didn’t compute with ATC, and they again gave me something that I didn’t ask for. Once airborne, they were helpful to amend my clearance to something close to my filed clearance. The sightseeing on the way home was much better but we were already tired and had a long day ahead of us, so we cut it short a bit and headed for FL. Customs at KFPR was a breeze, even though I arrived about an hour before my eAPIS said I would. Turning in the raft and jackets was as easy as carrying them inside, and after another good meal at the Tiki we were off to drop the sis/bro-in-law back in Statesboro. Again, I filed to some points that would take me around the east side of the terrible weather along the FL coastline. Getting my clearance out of KFPR, the routing I was cleared took me DIRECTLY through every piece of red on the NEXRAD. Who are these geniuses? I took off with the clearance they gave me and immediately started asking why I couldn’t detour around the east side. Miami center said the plan was to divert me around to the West (would which add about 45 mins by my ROT calculations). When I got to Orlando, they asked why in the world I wanted to go around to the west when the east side is much shorter. At least someone in FL didn’t have their cranium up their rectum. I don’t know what Miami Center’s deal was this week, but they didn’t seem to do anything smart (other than the controllers in the Bahamas). We finally got around the weather and into Statesboro to drop off the happy (albeit tired) couple. The flight back to Nola was pretty uneventful other than the 200 mile long line of extreme precip running N/S. We found a small gap and shot through it getting only a few bumps and some moderate rain. If we’d been 5 mins later, we’d have to go around the whole line. The controller thought we were crazy but we were VMC on top for all but about 2 mins of the gap. After 19.6 hours of flying, the trip was over. It was great and we can’t wait to do it again. Thankfully the Bo ran without a hitch, now it’ll get a good fresh water wash and start prepping for that big first annual. If you ever think about going to the Bahamas – DO IT!!!
On 30 April the weather was not doing anyone in S. FL or the Bahamas any favors. The flight down from Statesboro, GA was fairly uneventful other than some light turby’s under the overcast layer; but you could tell the wx was getting worse by the minute with very strong winds out of the east. I solicited opinions from a couple of boards as well as the phone briefer as to whether to ride it out in Ft. Pierce or push forward to the Bahamas. I ran into a Baron driver who had just made the hop over from Marsh and he recommended pressing on – the wx was bad, but no big boomers anywhere from what he saw. I stayed put for a bit after lunch watching the satellite and radar views.
KFPR:
Packed up!
Finally decided to roll with it; I had plenty of gas to bust a U turn anytime I thought it was getting too rough and nothing was telling me it was getting any worse. eAPIS was easy and straightforward, and I just called WX BRIEF to file the international flight plan. (Someone on Airnav said that the APP folks knew how to help with the eAPIS, but that wasn’t my experience) We have two life jackets, but rented two more and a life raft from APP – easy; just make sure you call ahead for a reservation.
The route I filed would keep me out of the worst wx on radar and satellite, but of course they gave me a routing that was right into the heart of the moderate/extreme precip. Sidebar: Everywhere in SE FL, they change up the east/odd, west/even stuff. I was going to Jekyll Island on Friday at 9k, and when I checked in with Jax center they told me I needed an even altitude for that direction of flight. I thought this was a simple mistake but went with it; however this continued anywhere south of Jax. /sidebar… I got the new clearance all put in the boxes and took off for the Bahamas. As soon as I got to Miami center they questioned my route selection (the one I got cleared – not the one I filed). I eventually got almost exactly what I filed to keep me out of the weather (trend item for Miami center this week!). We said goodbye to the USA while fighting the 45 knot easterly winds at 7k (finally got an odd altitude after asking for it).
So long America!
The ground speed of 119kts combined with the bad weather was not very comforting for my first single engine ocean crossing (even if it was only 80 ish miles). We did manage to stay out of the thick stuff for nearly the entire flight, only getting into some moderate/borderline heavy rain south of Freeport. I had originally planned to drop low along Grand Bahama Island and sightsee past Treasure and Marsh, across to the Berry Islands and then to Andros, but with the delays, headwinds and bad weather we were pushing the 5pm customs hours.
Hello Bahamas!
As a result, we hung a right turn at Freeport and pointed towards the brightest of the clouds to the south and hoped for the best (no NEXRAD past Freeport). Other than the fore-mentioned heavy rain, we had a nice flight into Fresh Creek, even breaking out to a patch of clear air on the north end of the island to get low and do a bit of oooing and ahhing at the water color.
We took a short $35 ride in a waiting cab to SHBL where Linda welcomed us and immediately ushered us to the bar. (I knew I was going to like this place!) She explained the workings of the place and showed us to our cabins where our bags had already been stashed by the cab driver. For the next 4 nights/5 days we ate, slept, hammocked, scuba’d, bonefished and DRANK all we could handle and enjoyed the company as much as the setting. PM if you want more SHBL info – but I definitely recommend it if you want to get away! One other guest did mention that the cabbies tend to fill up their vans on 100LL, but we did not have any problems with fuel levels upon departure. Although it did make me wonder if I should invest in some locking gas caps.
SHBL:
We left MYAF on Friday afternoon to hot sunshine and blue skies. The Small Hope family had asked for a flyby, so we obliged. (the things I do for my friends… J )
25 mins after liftoff we touched down on runway 9 at MYNN. We chose to use Executive Flight Support due to the $1.30/gallon savings for the impending fill up.
We called ahead for a taxi that was recommended by our hotel staff (Sunrise Beach Club and Villas on Paradise Island). We had about a 40 min cab ride to Paradise Island. (right by the newest build in Nassau; the Chinese are building a 3500 room, 2 casino plus waterpark monstrosity of a resort) Our stay in Nassau was a bit of over-stimulus after 4 nights in SHBL, but we enjoyed it; especially the Atlantis waterpark (surprised me too). We did a sunset cruise one night as well.
Monday came too quickly, we cabbed back to executive, paid the fines (I mean fees) to leave and filed a flightplan right at the reception desk. We filed IFR in case the puffies were building over the FL coast. I did file an indirect route to do some sightseeing. Of course, that didn’t compute with ATC, and they again gave me something that I didn’t ask for. Once airborne, they were helpful to amend my clearance to something close to my filed clearance. The sightseeing on the way home was much better but we were already tired and had a long day ahead of us, so we cut it short a bit and headed for FL. Customs at KFPR was a breeze, even though I arrived about an hour before my eAPIS said I would. Turning in the raft and jackets was as easy as carrying them inside, and after another good meal at the Tiki we were off to drop the sis/bro-in-law back in Statesboro. Again, I filed to some points that would take me around the east side of the terrible weather along the FL coastline. Getting my clearance out of KFPR, the routing I was cleared took me DIRECTLY through every piece of red on the NEXRAD. Who are these geniuses? I took off with the clearance they gave me and immediately started asking why I couldn’t detour around the east side. Miami center said the plan was to divert me around to the West (would which add about 45 mins by my ROT calculations). When I got to Orlando, they asked why in the world I wanted to go around to the west when the east side is much shorter. At least someone in FL didn’t have their cranium up their rectum. I don’t know what Miami Center’s deal was this week, but they didn’t seem to do anything smart (other than the controllers in the Bahamas). We finally got around the weather and into Statesboro to drop off the happy (albeit tired) couple. The flight back to Nola was pretty uneventful other than the 200 mile long line of extreme precip running N/S. We found a small gap and shot through it getting only a few bumps and some moderate rain. If we’d been 5 mins later, we’d have to go around the whole line. The controller thought we were crazy but we were VMC on top for all but about 2 mins of the gap. After 19.6 hours of flying, the trip was over. It was great and we can’t wait to do it again. Thankfully the Bo ran without a hitch, now it’ll get a good fresh water wash and start prepping for that big first annual. If you ever think about going to the Bahamas – DO IT!!!
