This is going to be a very long day. I want to hop across the Mediterranean into Africa, just to say I did (and because I've currently got the idea that this tour may visit 6 of the 7 continents). But I don't particularly want to stay in Africa. So, I'm going to hop east across very northern Africa, and keep hopping until I end up in Italy! But (as Arnold would say), I'll be back. At some point, I'll travel through the Middle East and across to Egypt. Despite the unrest, I've got to see the Pyramids!
I'm scheduled to start off with 3 Private passengers headed for Melilla. It's a little confusing -- FSE calls it Melilla, Spain, but shows the location on the map as northern Morocco. It turns out that this is much like Gibraltar; Melilla is an "autonomous city" located in northern Morocco but "owned" by Spain. But this means it doesn't count as Morocco, so if I want to add that flag to the Globetrotter, I need to find another destination. There's a job going to Ouezzane, but with 3 passengers already loaded, I can't carry the additional weight. But, I think I've got a solution that will work.
So, I'm off to Melilla, flying IFR because the sky is quite overcast. I have no idea if there will be any sights to see on this leg or not, but I'm about to find out!
No sights at all -- mostly flying over the Mediterranean Sea, and very dense fog below. It was neat, though, to be handed off at one point to Casablanca Center. And boy, were they on the ball. Ninety miles from the airport, they started giving me vectors. I've never had so much advance notice.
End: GEML, 0847; $6961.25 and 45gal
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So, after a quick trip to the fuel depot, I've now got 223kg of canned goods stacked in the plane. They are heading 217 miles east. I'm going to take a short 18 mile detour to El Aroui just to "legally" land in Morocco. I asked the canned goods, and they didn't object. It'll just be a quick touch-and-go, but that still counts!
End: GMMW, 0907
I touched the runway at idle, then gunned it and headed back into the sky. I'm now off to the cans' destination of Ech-Cheliff, Algeria, filing my IFR flight plan en route. Three cheers for GEX -- Africa looks different from Europe. A little farmland, but already I see mostly tan desert landscape.
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| Algerian countryside (we're not in Europe anymore!) |
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Now I have 2 passengers, still heading east within Algeria. Scenery out the windows is looking good; a mix of vegetation and arid areas, with identifiable Baobob trees.
So far, today's plan is working out just fine. But I neglected to plan ahead for fuel stops. This hasn't been a problem throughout Europe. But I'm in Africa now. I see that several of my destinations do not have fuel available. But I will run out of fuel long before reaching Italy. Hmmm....
End: DAAB, 1235; $8368.05 and 21gal
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My next leg will take me 175 miles further east. Great -- that's the way I'm going. But, with 21 gallons in the tank, that leaves me an estimated 6 gallons left. The next destination on my list is another 180 miles, which I can't do on 6 gallons, no matter how frugal I am! But, I see that Constantine is only 16 miles away from my next stop, and it's got fuel! So, I'll add this little detour, and I should be fine!
So, after a quick lunch (luckily I found a local fruit vendor near the airport -- can't decide if I should wash the fruit in the local water or not!), I'll load my 3 passengers and press on to Telerghma.
End: DAAM, 1533; $9442.05 and 9gal
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Things are working out pretty well. I ended up with a little more fuel that I thought, so I've got way more than enough for my next little hop. I'll have 3 more passengers along, but I don't think they'll mind stopping for fuel, considering the alternative!
End: DABC, 1549; $9295.22 and 45 gallons
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Aahhh, I feel better now! I've still got almost 350 miles to go, but I've now got enough fuel to do it! I'll get these good people on their way again, and then my last leg will see me to Sicily.
Africa (what I've seen of it so far) has turned out to be much nicer than I expected. The very northern portion that I'm crossing is much "hillier" than I thought it would be, and has quite a lot of forested area (and the ever-present FSX farmland!). There are some beige, arid regions, but they're fairly small and scattered.
End: Z28S, 1744; $10570.22 and 32gal
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Africa has been quite pleasant, but I'm going to go ahead and complete my plan. This would have been one of my longest "empty" legs, but I'm committed to my goal of reaching Italy today (even if it's really Sicily rather than the mainland). But, now that I'm on the ground in Saminjah, there's a job going to Palermo! So, while there's still some daylight left, I welcome aboard my final 2 passengers and I'm off!
After I cross the Mediterranean and am over Sicily, the sun has set and I'm flying in the dark! I've not done much night flying, so I'm sure glad I upgraded the Globetrotter to IFR, because I'm gonna need it. Unfortunately, the clouds are rolling in, so the views aren't quite what I'd hoped for. But the moon is sure impressive.
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| Moon over Sicily |
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| Night landing at Palermo; sure wish they'd turn on the runway lights! |
End: LICP, 1956; $11733.97 and 19gal
Wow, what a day! 961 miles and 13 hours (with a 1 hour lunch break). Both the Globetrotter and I are going to need a maintenance overhaul real soon!
Total Distance Flown: 7,660 nautical miles (plus 6,333 miles to get to Europe, and 1,771 touring the UK)
Grand Total: 15,764 nautical miles so far!
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