April 1999 - American Bonanza Society

FLIGHT TO ANGEL FALLS,cOlllilllleli from page j64 Jon to St. Lucia before dark.We arrived in St. Lucia late in the afternoonand landed in low clouds througha cut in the mountains. Others arriving ali11le later ran right into a rain shower andhad to make the approach from the otherdirection. Don't evertry to find your wayin there wi thout clearly seeing your way.The GPS will run you right into themountain. Fuel was $3.68 per gallon. Wepaid U.S. dollars, the preferred currencyeverywhere we went. Credit cards are notaccepted for fuel or government fees.St. Lucia is a beautiful island. with lotsof gardens. lovely beaches and good restaurants.We stayed at the Green ParrotHotel, a comfortable place high in themountains ove rlooking the harbor. Wehad a late briefing and prepared for ournext day's flight to Venezuela.Sf. Lucia toCanaima, VenezuelaThe primary destination on this tripwas Angel Falls the highest waterfall inthe world, which was named after JimmyAngel, who landed his Flamingo monoplaneon the mesa near the top of the fallsin the 1930s.We stopped to clear customs and immigrationin Ciudad Guayana. Venezuela.The outside air temperature was 96F, the h011est on the trip. and it was humid!Thankfully, we were met by localaero club members who furnished us withsnacks, soft drinks and a cool room.After a short stay here, we proceededto Ca naima, 123 nm away, where welanded on a hard runway and then taxiedto the ramp-a gravel and dirt apronalongside the runway.We were met by the people fromRudy's Jungle Camp, who helped us clearour paperwork. We were transported bycanoe and truck to the camp and settledin for the night.CanaimaThe following day we were taken tothe local falls and led on a narrow trailunder a waterfa ll on a three-foot-widepath. Fortunately, there was a rope toABS April 1999hang onto and most of us were dressedin swi m wear and shoes. We got absolutelysoaked. If you stumbled. adios' Itwas very exciting.The next day we ro e at5 a.m .. took afive-hour trip in a powered canoe throughrapids, then an hour-and-a-half hike upthe mountain to view Angel Falls. Thisis a spectac ular waterfall, 3.2 12 feet high,dropping from a more than 7,000-footflat-toppedmountain. Now this was definitelyworth the trip' Everybody went onthis trip, includi ng at least eight peoplewho were at least 70 years old. Actually,the two days in Canaima were everythingone could hope for. It is only accessiblefor a short time each year and we justcaught the end of the seaso n.Barbados, Tortola,Turks and CaicosAfter clearing customs and refuelingin Ciudad Guayana. Venezuela, we wereoff to Barbados, Tortola and finally toProvidenciales in the Turks and Caicosislands. Providenciales is a fabu lous islandjust sout h of the Bahamas surroundedby bright turquoise water.West Palm BeachWe chose to clear U.S. Customs inWest Palm Beach, with others clearingin Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport. andovern ighting in Boca Raton, Florida.My flying time from Florida throughthe Caribbean and back to Florida was28 hours. Forthe most part, the fl ying wasVFR with intervals of clouds and showers.The aircraft perfomled fl awlessly, and mostof all, we met some wonderful people whoshared our love of flying.Jon is planning a trip to the PanamaCanal via Mexico, Guatemala. Hondurasand Costa Rica on October 31 throughNovember 16, this year. The good Lordwi lling, Vallery and I will be going. too.For anyone else who is interested. Jonmay be reached at 850-785-1234 inPanama City, Florida.REflECTIONSTwo things tick out as a result of thi s trip: Tip tanks will be added to my Bonanzaso I can avoid fuel tops such as the ones we had. I haven 't decided which tanks toadd, but I do know the weight allowance is as important as the fuel capacity. Thesecond is hot starts. I made lots of them and none was easy. I tried every method fromthe POH, as well as other pilots'. I'm always told how easy it is, but trust me. it is not.I lost my vacuum pump in the clouds at 9,000 feet after leaving West Palm. Myturn indicator was also out. I have a standby a11itude indicator which I used to getdown to Daytona Beach. Had I remembered it, however, my standby vacu um wouldhave been a be11er choice. If you make a trip like this, be sure you know your equipmentwe ll-and how to use it in an emergency.NOTES ON CUSTOMS, IMMI GRATION, FUE L AND WEATHERSince most of us needed to stop for fuel on most of our inter-island flights, we hadto develop a plan for 14 aircraft that would land withi n an hour or so of each other toget through customs, immigration- and in the case of S1. Thomas, agri cu ltureinspections.Fuel is expensive. ranging from $2.60 to $3.68 per ga llon in St. Lucia. The fue l isusua ll y served from a pump, but sometimes from a truck. Our fuel stops ranged fromone to two hours. When trying to get to a destination before dark, especially for theslower aircraft. time becomes pressing. Then you add the time for processing-and itgets a bit irritating. They rarely serve general aviation aircraft. and that may explainthe confusion that occurred.Weather is normally 96 percent VFR-but not on this trip. Although some aircraftstayed VFR, sometimes at 11 ,500 feet, we got tired of dodging clouds and began tofile IFR more frequently. In some ways, it was a good idea since flying in cloudsduring the winter months in the Caribbean typically doesn't present thunderstormacti vity and is a good way to power wash the airplane-@-Page 5&47