AGAZINE - Midwest Flyer

The following morning the weather was beautiful, and
we flew to Belem in Brazil (SBBE). This was an 1100 nm
leg. We filed for FL310, and 4:00 hours, and we had 4 FIR
boundaries to cross. The flight was uneventful, and the
weather was nice.
We flew at FL310, initially flying along the coast of
Venezuela after departing Trinidad, crossed the South
America coast, and Piarco Control transferred us over to
Georgetown in the Guiana. From there we kept making
position reports until we crossed into Suriname, and were
talking to the Dutch-speaking controllers at Paramaribo
Control. The next handover was greeted with a “Bonjour
N924BB... This is Rochambeau Control. You are in radar
contact.” The first radar contact since we left San Juan,
and we finally had something to dial in the transponder
again. Rochambeau is the Air Traffic Control Center for
the French Guiana, and after a few minutes we crossed the
border into Brazil, and spoke to Amazonica Control.
The flight was very scenic. We left the jungle of the
Guianas, and flew over the mouth of the Amazon River, and
crossed the Equator. Belem sits just 1 degree south of the
Equator. There were a few storms around the airport, but
the landing was uneventful.
I had been advised by many to hire a handler for the
arrival in Brazil. After some hesitation, I paid the $300.00
and got a local handler. I am so glad I did. The bureaucracy
in Brazil is gigantic. There are no FBOs in Brazil; you taxi
up to the airport ramp, unless you contracted with a private
hangar. The public ramp is operated by the airport authority,
which is a government entity called INFRAEREO. The
handler met us there, and from there on they held our hand
as we cleared with the immigration police, customs office,
then to the Federal Police to clear the plane for entrance
into Brazil; then from there to the Brazilian Federal
Aviation Administration called the Automatic Number
Announcement Circuit-National Civil Aviation Agency of
Brazil (ANAC), where they asked for my airworthiness
certificate, plane registration, pilot and medical certificates,
and airplane insurance policy. With all that paperwork, they
issued a letter of overflight, which allowed me to stay in the
country flying around for up to 60 days.
From there we went to INFRAEREO to pay the user
fees. After $200.00 worth of ramp, parking, landing,
communication, and aero navigation fees, I was given a
release to take to the Flight Service Station personally in
order to file my flight plan. Flight plans in Brazil need
45 minutes notice. I filed my International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO) flight plan to the next leg, and met
John and Jane Roberts, who were at the airport cafe,
probably wondering if I was missing in action, since this
process took about 2 hours even with the help of a handler.
The battle with the bureaucracy delayed us, and we took
off by 4:00 pm towards our next stop, SBBR - Brasilia, the
capital of Brazil. The flight was due south, and we flight
planned for 3.5 hours. The sightseeing was gorgeous, flying
Avoiding a thunderstorm enroute to Brasilia.
over savannas, huge dams, forests, and small towns.
Flying close to the equator at 5:00 pm also meant lots
of thunderstorms. Evidently our XM weather was of no
use in Brazil, but fortunately the TBM has onboard radar,
which showed all its value. I had to be constantly working
the tilt to avoid over scanning storms, and there were lots of
deviations. The arrival in Brasilia was at night, and
Our Goal Is Your Success
WESTERN PETROLEUM:
Supplying Midwest Airports With A Global
Perspective & Hometown Service!
For All Your Aviation Fuel Needs,
CALL WESTERN PETROLEUM 1-800-972-3835
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2010 MIDWEST FLYER MAGAZINE 21