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Mike
I read with great interest your inquiry
regarding transatlantic flight
I made the trip several years ago in the 310
I had at the time.
A few
thoughts for your consideration
- Insurance is the biggest preflight issues.
Some countries require it. I was never asked to show it (or anything
else for that matter), but you should look into that issue
now.
- The trip is all about weather. The icing level never gets above 5,000
ft. even in July. The weather can be nasty and turn quickly. The nearest
alternate can and will be 200-300 or more miles
away.
- At one time there were “issues” around experimental aircraft
in some countries and IFR flights. You should look into this issue now also.
- Allocate a lot more time than you think
you will need. You could be stuck somewhere for days. Plan to make the most of
it. Don’t get into a situation where you feel any pressure to launch on a leg.
We had an understanding that if either one of us didn’t fell right about a leg
for any reason, we would wait until it felt good. It never happened, but we
were prepared
Recommendations
- Look for a transatlantic "Ground School" I
used Ed Carlson. I don't know whether he is still doing this. Most of the rules, regulations and
“how to information” you could get off the Web. However people like Ed provide
absolutely invaluable information about FBO’s (handlers), hotel/B&B,
telephone numbers, weather trends etc. And last but not least answer all the
questions that come up about what is important, and what is not.
- Talk to every ferry pilot you find along
way, they know the drill and what looks good and what doesn't. A night “on the
town” in Goose Bay with a couple of ferry pilots is something you won't
forget!
- Get the local (destination) telephone
number for weather for the critical legs
(Greenland, Iceland and Goose bay in that order) and call them just
before you leave. It might take a
bit of talking, but you can usually get a pretty knowledgeable opinion. These
folks know the local weather patterns and how they
change
- Talk to the airline guys on the assigned
frequency. There’s always someone there, and they can get weather for you. In
addition ask them to look out the window and tell you what they see. They can see a long
way!
- Construct a simple Excel spreadsheet with
the required information for position reports because you will have to do lot
of them in the right sequence. Also fill out and make many copies of the ICAO flight plan. It is a real pain.
But most of the info doesn’t change. You get a very positive response when you
hand someone a form that is legible.
- Avoid temporary fuel tanks if at all
possible. If you go Greenland/Iceland you might not need one. Get the regs and
run the numbers now. OTOH, if you are in the construction phase consider
permanently plumbing in lines for a removable aux tank. I
am.
- Get a good moving map. The best bet is a PC
based MM since you can use it for flight planning and Enroute Most of the air
space in Europe, with the exception of central France, is controlled and many
of the fixes are ADF’s. In addition, use a MM to create your own GPS overlay
for places like Narsarsuaq. Narsarsuaq is the most difficult and expensive
place. Beware of arriving or departing when the airport is not open. The cost
is staggering. Also, Jet A is ~1/3 the cost of 100LL. The approach must be the
wildest one in the world. It is (or at least was) an ADF approach with the IAF
at 6000 feet over the airport. Have a look at http://iserit.greennet.gl/bgbw/ if you haven’t already. Returning, you
need 13,000 or more over the southern tip of the polar ice cap, and most
people hold that altitude until you can see Narsarsuaq, which means you start
your approach at 13,000 overhead. The ultimate slam dunk
approach
- Be prepared for some pretty hefty bills.
The 310 was just over 5000 lbs at gross, which ups the anti. I got bills for
months that had ridiculous cost algorithms. Bureaucracy gone amok. People in
the user fee system have to justify their existence so they make up ridiculous
rules. I could have papered the floor of my hanger and probably the 310 too. I
offered to do this for the AOPA so they could show folks what user fees are
all about (one picture is worth a thousand words) but they ignored
me
Mike, I hope all of this hasn’t discouraged you, it is an incredible
experience for many reasons, not the least of which will be the other pilots you
meet doing the same thing.
Europe is actually very small, and if it
weren’t for the airspace and bureaucracy would be easy to get around. I had been
going to Europe for 25 years on business but never got to the Channel Islands,
the Isle of Mann, Le Mans (the airport is next to the track), Donegal or circled Omaha beach at under 1000 ft.
I did in the 310 and will again in my IVP.
We had great weather, stopped in 9 countries, flew 18 legs in 12 days,
got as far south as Geneva all in 20 days. We had tail winds both ways. I have
never complained about head winds since then, and never will again!
Hope this
helps
Regards Bruce
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