Flying home for christmas (?) - a new USA-Norway adventure.

[CafeRacer500]

Thanks for the flight, looking forward to more

[Medtner]

Leg 9: Providenciales International Airport (MBPV), Turks and Caicos Islands, to Rafael Hernandez Airport (TJBQ), Puerto Rico.

A none too much exciting leg - strictly ferrying - but of immense importance for my trip.

After a short warm up and runup I'm ready for takeoff. The warm weather makes for easy starting and quick warming up - a matter of only a few minutes, as opposed to when I was still in Connecticut where I needed 20 minutes for the engine to feel okay.
Checking for traffic - this will be an intersection takeoff, 10 degrees of flaps.


Cruise climbing over Providenciales island.


A few showers here and there - even some distant thunder.


Having reached my cruising altitude of 11.500 feet, I configure the airplane and find, crucially, that even with no particular wind I will easily get 1200 NM range. This is good news, as my longest leg is 1100 NM.


Passing over Grand Turk, east of the Caicos Islands. This island have my primary navigational aid - a VOR that will take me towards Puerto Rico.


The VOR does its job, and leads me towards the VOR on the north western part of Puerto Rico. I double checked with VORs in The Dominian Republic underways to be sure that I was on track.
In the haze I finally spot land. It is soon time to start a slooow descent.


I descend like I'm a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser - around 500 fpm. In between The Dominian Republic and Puerto Rico is the island called Isla Mona.


Again, a "Stratocruiserian" (if I may invent a word here) approach. I seem be better at these approaches than the tighter traffic patterns.


A 12.000 feet runway to my disposal - I can take my time to get a good touchdown, balloning if I must (which I didn't).


Taxiing to the GA-parking, passing behind and under an MD-11.


Parked, again before sunset. These palm trees look perfect to sit under and have a drink, right?



I can't even begin to express how much I look forward to the next several legs. Exploring the Caribbian will not be a fly-over. No indeedy, there will be visits to many islands. I'm intending to land at some iconic airports, including Saba, St. Barts and Princess Juliana. I've tried St. Barts many times before, but have never been able to do it coming from the south west (over the hill)........

Tune in and see!

[flaminghotsauce]

What an awesome trip. I've been following closely! Keep it going.

[Medtner]

Leg 10: Rafael Hernandez Airport (TJBQ), Puerto Rico, to Terrance B. Lettsome International airport, Virgin Islands.

Merry X-mas! I've not reached Norway in time, which I suppose was a wildly optimistic goal. I have however reached the scenic "goal" (or at least one of them) of this trip. More on that later...

This is going to be Island Hopping Galore

Starting with a shot of the tach to get the hours.


I was torn between rushing the run-up and get the takeoff before this guy - having him crawl up my backside on departure --- OR waiting, having a monstrous wake turbulence... I opted for the latter, waiting long enough for the wake to settle.


Cruising along the north coast of Puerto Rico. Here is the town of Arecibo and it's airport just above and to the right of my cowling.


San Juan. Puerta de Tierra to the left, and Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport over the cowling. I stayed well above the airspace to be sure that I didn't have any conflicts. Lots of traffic...


At the far north east of Puerto Rico are the beaches outside the town of Fajardo. The end of this island tapers off to a series of small islets leading towards The Virgin Islands.


The first of the Virgin Islands is Isla Culebra, which is part of Puerto Rico and The Spanish Virgin Islands.


Coming in for a crosswind T&G at Culebra's Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport airport.


Next island is St. Thomas, which part of The United States Virgin Islands.


Ahh! Landing directly into the wind is nice for a change. This is Cyril E. King Airport.


Climbing out over Long Bay. Busy indeed...


Flying over the island of St. John I'm about to leave the US Virgin Islands. The border goes through the channel coming from the lower left to the upper right in this picture. Crossing this I'm over the island of Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands.


I'm in dire need of a bathroom break and a lunch. I'm stopping for a short break at Terrance B. Lettsome airport on Beef Island.


Boring tach-pic again... To be continued in next post - the forum couldn't handle so many pics.

[Medtner]

Leg 11: Terrance B. Lettsome International airport, Virgin Islands, to Saint Barthélemy Airport (Gustaf III), St. Barthelemy.

Back from the break and about to untie the Skylane. Full walk around again - never know what might have happened in 25 minutes.


Intersection take off makes me use the rest of the runway. Climbing out over the bay.


Having headed north I come across Anegada Island. It is only appropriate that I have a a T&G at Captain Auguste George Airport just north west of the settlement.


Cruising towards the VOR station at St. Maarten, eventually picking up the NDB at Anguilla. I'm headed there to inspect an island with the curious name Dog Island.......


.... and here it is. Let me try to get a better view....


... well.... Dog? How about a deranged surgeons experiment, merging the tail end of a tuna fish with the head of a St. Bernard-dog?


On base for a touch and go at Grand Case airport on St. Martin (the French side of the island).


Climbing over the hill I'm on a left downwind to the famous runway 10 at Princess Juliana International Airport.


Time to turn towards the iconic final.


I'm coming in low to try to blow away some toupées.


On the equally iconic climb-out towards the hills. I'm headed for even more iconic stuff....


... The island of Saba.


Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport is just next to the wing strut.


The 1299 feet runway is in itself a challenge, but the landscape around makes it a hell of a problem. The winds are usually problematic unless one have it straight on - which I don't. The forecast when I was over St. Maarten was a strong but only slight crosswind. Now it is at 17 knots, coming from 50 degrees to my left.

FAIL:


Left downwind...


FAIL:


EPIC FAIL!!!:


Almost... but, nevertheless, FAIL:


Screw this, I'm going home!!!


Coming towards the island of St. Barthelemy.


The airport at St. Barths makes for all kinds of interesting challenges. Coming in towards what looks like just a bay...


Over the hill, the runway is in sight. One have to know where it is to make this work - I have been here before - about a year ago, but this is my first try this time around...


Chopping the power just as a flock of birds lifts off from the ground...


A shot of the classic, monstrously silly approach path. The makers of this airport must have been on heavy drugs...


Slipping down to the runway. Did I mention that there was a crosswind here too? (though not as diabolical as on Saba)


Stopping safely just before the 325 meter mark:


Hours are building on this bird. I had planned to have my service at St. Maarten, but the mechanic had left for St. Barths, so here is my full stop for this day. Next trip will be with a serviced airplane. And rest assured (or be restlessly uncertain), I'm going back to Saba. I will/shall/must have an ice-cream there before I head southbound.


Parked outside the terminal at St. Barthelemy Airport. Fantastic place!

[CafeRacer500]

Wow, Saba looks scary

Dog Island

[G-BJPS]

Great shots and narration once again Erik! I must say your English is very good sir!
Is that addon scenery for St Barths ? Or is it like that with Orbx Global?

Look forward to more!

John.

[Medtner]

Great shots and narration once again Erik! I must say your English is very good sir!
Is that addon scenery for St Barths ? Or is it like that with Orbx Global?

Look forward to more!

John.

Thanks all for reading my travel blog.

Everything from Florida have been addon scenery.
I'm using real paper charts to navigate by - so stock scenery is impossible to fly in.

- The foundation is FTX Global, Vector and FSGlobalX.

- UTX Tropical America and Caribbean. This gives landclass and coastal updates (and small nuggets of upgrades here and there). Very good stuff - this can be seen on my trip over the Florida Keys and the islands all the way to and including Virgin Islands.

- PW Sceneries. This upgrades the Caribbean all the way from Anguilla down to Grenada. This is maginificent stuff, and it's freeware!

- FlyTampa St. Maarten. High quality payware upgrade of St.Maarten, St. Barths and Saba. Essential scenery. Saba is indeed a heck of a place to land. I've succeded in the past, but only with light or no wind. I will try again!


As for future nuggets of scenery - the rest of the Caribbean will be utterly beautiful. South America will probably be more of a ferry trip - I don't have any proper upgrades apart from a small upgrade of the landclass.
When across the Atlantic ocean I will visit the islands west of Africa - Tenerife and Madeira comes to mind. The trip across Europe is still to be planned, but I suspect that a trip over the Swiss alps will be obligatory.

[Medtner]

Leg 11b: Saint Barthélemy Airport (Gustaf III), St. Barthelemy, to Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport, Saba, and return to St. Barths.

This morning I wanted to have a test flight, having had a service on my Skylane. Surprisingly the oil filter was shabby indeed. Some other filters needed replacement too. Oil change and new spark plugs.

Why not put it to the test - go for a new try at Saba?

I'm towing the airplane away from the pushback trucks.


I had my mechanic get up on the hill and take a shot of me as I was holding short of runway 10. The morning is exploding into life in the background.


Lining up, shades coming in handy as I'm taking off into the sunrise.


A left climb out of the bay. The beach is empty - maybe quarter to seven in the morning is a little too early?


Saint Barthelemy under the rising sun. I must remember to have more early flights!


Many, many tries had to be had this time around as well. The trouble is that the crosswind (yes, it's still there, though less fierce) is giving me a mechanical updraft on the side of the mountain. It's almost impossible to get the airplane slow enough.


After some ugly bump and goes I finally managed to put it down in time to stop "safely".


A hectic icecream is wolfed down due to the rising temperatures. With sticky hands and a sweaty yoke I'm heading back to St. Barths.


I'm trying out runway 28 this time, the wind being calm. Very beautiful approach, and not quite as difficult as the other way (though the go around option is a rather sinister business).


Back for more umbrella-ridden drinks while the mechanic does a new inspection of the Cessna (not sure if the landing gear thorougly enjoyed my hard bump and goes at Saba).

[Lewis - A2A]

Great images as ever that shot from your 'mechanic' on the hill looking down at you at the hold is a great screen shot.

thanks,
Lewis

[Medtner]

Leg 12: Saint Barthélemy Airport (Gustaf III), St. Barthelemy, to John A. Osborne Airport, Montserrat.

Sorry for the delays, folks. All kinds of distractions during christmas and a lot of work the first days in the new year made for little time to go flying.

Just after firing up the lovely Lycoming 540 I heard a woman stating her intentions to taxi to runway 28. Whaaat? Is she crazy? Taking off eastbound on St. Barths? Good thing that it is a small Katana.


Here she is climing over the hill. Good for her! I don't have the nerves for this, and opt for the safer runway 10.


A final shot of St. Barthelemy. I'm sure coming back here!


A touch and go at F.D. Roosevelt Airport at the island of Sint Eustatius.


Having touched and went (sic) I'm spotting Mount Liamuiga on the island of St. Kitts.


Passing by the mountain on St. Kitts I'm coming to Basseterre. I'm skipping this airport, having reached a comfortable cruise and a nice cool temperature.


Coming to Montserrat I snap a picture of the volcano. It erupted in the mid 90s and destroyed several towns and the then-airport on the north-eastern side of the island. It's still slowly erupting, and the southern part of the island is "out of bounds".


Doing my best to side slip into the my destination airport, John A. Osborne Airport.


Parked on the grass ramp. A2A was here, I notice.


-----

Leg 13: John A. Osborne Airport, Montserrat, to Les Saintes Airport, ÃŽles des Saintes.

Short field takeoff. Always fun!


The barren landscape on the south of Montserrat is quite scary. Towns are under this layer of pyroclastic flow. The old airport is also around here somewhere...


Coming to Guadeloupe. I'm probably going to visit some airports around here, but I'm headed for my destination in the south first - I'm thinking a late afternoon flight would be lovely around here.


The docks at Basse Terre.


A wonderful archipelago, the ÃŽles des Saintes.


Coming around the western end of Terre-de-Haut, low and very slow to be ready for the approach to the airport. I'll take more pictures later.


Just a pic for the record:



More trips coming soon!

[Lewis - A2A]

great stuff as always, wonderful sunny screen shots

cheers,
Lewis

[Medtner]

Leg 14: Les Saintes Airport, Îles des Saintes, to Saint Barthélemy Airport (Gustaf III), St. Barthelemy.

I was joined on this trip by my friend and co-pilot, Frode. This made for changes in my planned route...

Lining up at Les Saintes Airport, an airport that needs special training as do St. Barths. The Caribbean is full of these airports - all kinds of fun for us bush-flyers/STOL-flyers.


I flew a sort of a traffic pattern around Les Saintes - as you can see a straight in for this runway is not possible... (the airport is just by the innermost part of the bay)


The island of Marie Galante, to the south east of Guadeloupe.


A touch and go is required.


The change of plan had us going back north. The small islands to the left is the archipelago Les Saintes, from which I started this leg. The large blob looming in the fog is Guadeloupe.


The city of Pointe-a-Pitre on Guadeloupe, and its international airport just over the cowling.


The reason for going north was that my co-pilot wanted to see Antigua and Barbuda. The former:


Saint John's on Antigua. I had to scare the tourists on the cruise ship.


Barbuda - left downwind on the local airport. Fantastic place!


Short final. This island was so beautiful, and you see the weirdly placed trees? That's a small beach with some growth and a few houses. That's probably the place to be when the winter is at its most monstrous here in Norway...


I followed the directions given by my co-pilot, who were handling the charts during this leg. Runway heading led me into the sunset.
What the hell is that thing in the mist?


Ahh. You know this one, don't you? I'm back at Saba. My co-pilot wanted to see these iconic airports with his own eyes. Time for a new round of fails at Saba? No indeed - wind was relatively calm and I made it on the first try!


Inbound to stay over the night at St. Barths.


------------

Leg 15: Saint Barthélemy Airport (Gustaf III), St. Barthelemy, to Martinique Aimé Césaire International Airport (Le Lamentin), Martinique.

This was only a quick ferry trip, since I've covered most of the islands already. But it gave me the opportunity to have an other verification that my cruise altitudes and power settings are good for my scary crossing of the Atlantic.

A Katana coming in to St. Barths before I leave.


Southbound, with Saba on the right, St. Eustatius in the middle and St. Kitts on the left.


Passing Guadeloupe and the archipelago of Les Saintes. Dominica is in the background, an island I skipped this time around. Maybe next time?


Arriving at Martinique.


Left base at Le Lamentin.


Safely parked.



I can promise a more interesting trip next time, covering all kinds of fantastic airports.

[Medtner]

Leg 16: Martinique Aimé Césaire International Airport (Le Lamentin), Martinique, to Piarco International Airport, Trinidad.

This is island hopping galore again, and for the last time in the Caribbean. I wanted to enjoy this, since the next several legs will be long, long ferry legs.

The weather on Martinique was rather shabby, but this was just an early morning shower. Forecast for the rest of the trip was very good, with some local showers, but VFR.
I had to start with an IFR plan to get me off the island. Scary to taxi in the rainy dark.


Liftoff...


Climing out of the messy weather located around Martinique.


Coming over the island of St. Vincent during a gorgeous sunrise. Kingstown and the local airport below.


The Grenadines is my "goal" for this trip. Here is the first island, Bequia.


Coming around for a touch and go at Bequia's airport.


Views like this is why I'm flying.


Pushing the Skylane to the limits on Mustique International Airport. I had planned a touch and go, but had to make it a full stop so that I could try the scary take off as well. A turbo charger would have been nice...


Canouan Island.


Now this is one of the few airports that seems to be placed by people who know airplanes. This was safe and nice, in stark contrast to the many other airports ever since... well... since Bahamas I guess...


Here's a good example of what I mean. This is Union Island, and the airport is just behind that hill. Notice, by the way, the island just behind the hill and the airport... I will get back to that one...


I'm heaving myself around the hill and down to the runway. Fun, fun place, but I wonder if the people living below the approach know about the fatal spins that can occur in maneuvers like this?


The aforementioned island is called Palm Island. I have the feeling that I've seen something like this before... Didn't I see a dog/tuna-island back outside St. Maarten?


At Carriacou Island I had planned another touch and go, but the airport was badly mainained and I skipped it. Climbing out from the flyover I see some smaller islands and way back in the mist, Grenada.


City of Saint Georges, Grenada, just before turning to left downwind at Point Salines Airport.


Just after touch and go. Time to say goodbye to The Caribbean Islands.


Coming to Trinidad. To the right is Venezuela.


I'm flying over the large Port of Spain on my approach to Piarco Int'l.


On a long, slightly high, and stable approach.


A shot for the records, having just parked.


I had just shut down and was exiting the airplane to tie it down when this aircraft from Caribbean Airlines was taking off. Why not get it in the shot?



The hope is that you have all enjoyed this lengthy trip through the islands leading from Florida all the way down to South America. The trip isn't over, and there are many sights to be seen, but I'm aiming for longer legs for a while now, so that I can get home at some point. Christmas? Well, I didn't say which christmas, did I?

[Lewis - A2A]

Very nice update, the rain and night in those first few look horrific, not sure I'd want to go up lol.

thanks,
Lewis