A Beech Between Continents

By Willie Sage.

When Peter Vincent recently went looking for another Beech 1900D to add to his Darwin fleet, he wanted the best 1900 he could find—which just happened to be in South Africa. As Willie Sage writes, the plum job of ferrying the new aircraft from Johannesburg to Darwin fell to him and Craig Anderson.

When Craig Anderson, our maintenance controller—and recently type-rated to fly the B1900—suggested that as an engineer-cum-pilot, he would be the ideal choice to make the ferry flight, I decided that I had better go along to keep an eye on him (someone had to go!). Our route would take us from South Africa to Mozambique, the Seychelles, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Bali and finally to Darwin—a total of around 27 hours’ flying.

I was working in Darwin at the time, so the first leg of the flight to South Africa from Darwin to Perth was just a short four-hour hop. However, after sitting on the South African Airlines A340 for 11 hours between Perth and Jo’berg, I suddenly realised we would have a long way to go to get back to Darwin.

Neither Craig nor I had been to South Africa before so it was going to be an interesting trip. Having heard all the negative feedback about South Africa, I was a little apprehensive about what we would find. I thought we had better hang onto everything very tightly as I had heard the stories of crime and muggings, and I told Craig we should be very careful about where we put things down. However, the first day we were there, as we left the café where we had just had lunch, a guy came running up to us with a wallet in his hand asking if it was ours! It was Craig’s—he had left it on the seat in the café and the nice man returned it for us! Crime and muggings were obviously not universal. According to the locals, crime is a problem but you do learn to live with it and keep out of certain areas; nothing that a gun and a bit of razor wire over the back fence won’t fix, apparently!

The aircraft we were to pick up was located just outside Jo’berg at an airfield called Lanseria. Lanseria—which is also an international airport—is like a large, modernised Ardmore, and most of the aircraft there are GA types. The difference is that instead of Cherokees and 172s, they are Lear Jets and Citations!

Compared to Australia and New Zealand, South African aviation is on a different scale. As well as the variety of aircraft—from brand new Cessna 206s, PC 12s, Falcon jets and more Beech 1900s than you can poke a stick at—the aircraft were all in immaculate condition. This is in stark contrast to the aircraft in Australia’s Northern Territory—old Barons, Chieftains and 402s that all look as if their paint and upholstery is at least 30 years old.

We were very keen to see “our” new aircraft and hoped it was going to be up to the standard of some of the others on the field. We were not disappointed! Our Beech 1900D—all painted up in Vincent Aviation colours—looked like she was straight out of the factory! She looked great!

After validating our licences with the South African CAA, we were ready to begin our ferry flight home. The only problem was that we were the only ones ready! There were “a couple of paperwork issues that needed sorting.” What a surprise! How could this happen? Everything always goes so smoothly in aviation!

When the aircraft was finally ready for a test flight, we needed a local pilot to accompany us as our licences were only valid for the ferry flight. Com Air—the company from which we bought the aircraft—arranged for Graham, a local pilot, to help out. Graham was experienced in many types and apparently had a lot of time on the 1900; he took the Captain’s seat. I sat in the right seat, while Craig played second officer in the back.

We got her started and taxied out. Graham was very good at explaining the local procedures as we taxied to the holding point. As we were cleared for take off and started our roll, I was a little concerned that we didn’t seem to have done any checks! I had a quick look around to make sure we hadn’t missed anything major and asked Graham if he would perhaps like some flap, a couple of lights on—and maybe the transponder! “Good idea,” he said, and we were on our way (I made a mental note to make sure the gear was down when we came into land!).

Our test flight was a success. We climbed to FL240 and checked out all the systems. The aircraft seemed to run well, and its pressurisation and environmental systems—which I have found can give trouble in the 1900—were in good shape.

Graham seemed to know what he was doing and proved to be a competent pilot—they just do things a little differently on that side of world. I now understand why some of the pilots I have trained who had been flying in Africa have found it a bit of a challenge to adapt to the New Zealand way of flying; the boot might be on the other foot if our positions were reversed.

Graham did a great job of flying an ILS approach with the autopilot system, and even though it was a perfect day, it was good to see that all the avionics were working properly. Once we were back on the ground, we arranged for engineers to attend to a list of small defects that Craig had noted during the flight.

The following day, we decided to make one more test flight to make sure everything was in order. However, we didn’t want to just fly around in circles and thought we should go “somewhere”. Brian, the Com Air boss, was more than helpful and arranged for us to fly out to the famous Kruger National Park.

The next day, Craig and I preflighted the aircraft and were all ready to go. We needed to be on the ground by 15:00 hours as no flights were allowed into the park after that. At 13:50, we were informed that Graham was running late and would not be at the airport until 14:00; it was going to make it very tight reaching park before it closed. Craig and I boarded, called for a clearance and start and cranked up the right engine, leaving the door open for Graham when he arrived.

He turned up at 14:03 and hopped into the right seat, and we were off. As he was strapping himself in, I said, “You work the radio and I’ll fly; just tell me where to go.” I was starting to get the hang of this South African flying!

It was another perfect day without a cloud in the sky as we departed and climbed to FL240 and tracked out to the west. It was going to be touch-and-go whether we got there in time. We pushed the 1900 along to give us a ground speed of 290 knots, which gave us an ETA of 15:02.

At 75 miles out, we started our descent. I told Graham we would descend a few miles below profile and keep our speed up as long as possible. On right base at 7 miles—still doing 248 knots—Graham started getting a bit fidgety and said in his South African accent, “Do you think we should slow down or we might overshoot the airport?” I reassured him that it was pretty hard to cock it up in one of these things (but at the same time thought I had better not this time!). At four miles and level at 1,000 ft AGL, we slowed to 188 knots and selected flaps-17. At three miles, and with the speed now below 180, down came the gear. We were on our 3-degree profile with the 1,800 metre sealed runway nicely lined up, and we touched down exactly at 15:00. The 1900 is a great aircraft—so forgiving and easy to fly once you have the hang of it.

We were picked up at the airstrip in a safari jeep and taken to the game park lodge, where we were given a briefing and a rather high-class afternoon tea. Our briefing included instructions that we were not to go to our rooms without an escort or we might be eaten by a lion or run over by a rhino. Considering it was only a 20-metre walk along a path, we thought we better keep an eye out!

We were duly escorted to our room and what a great room it was—a beautiful double bed with lace draped around a four-poster. Unfortunately, it was the only bed in the room! As much as Craig reassured me he would have been able to resist me, we asked to have another bed put in the room.

That evening, we headed into the game park in Land Rovers and in no time at all, we were in the bush, where we saw all manner of wildlife: giraffe, antelope, rhinos, leopard, water buffalo and many more. I found it amazing that so many animals all lived together in one area. Being in the bush there is very different from being in the bush back in NZ—in South Africa, you feel like the hunted and not the hunter.

After a good night at the lodge, we departed early for Lanseria where, thankfully, it appeared that all the issues with the aircraft had been sorted out and we began making preparations for our departure to Darwin the next day.

As with any flight, pre-flight planning is very important, but even more so when you are heading half way across the world and have never been there before. We spent a few hours sorting out our flight plan and made sure that all of our international clearances were in place.

Planning for a flight like this normally starts at least three weeks before departure. It is important to have all the correct charts, to ensure that clearances are in place and that the necessary services will be available. We had an agent take care of all the route clearances for the different countries but we did all the flight planning ourselves.

The last essential preparation was a trip to the supermarket to get a few snacks for our journey.

We cleared customs at 04:00 the next morning and with full tanks, were airborne an hour later with Craig flying the first leg to Nampula in Mozambique. With the 1,150 nm flight route programmed in to the GPS, we set course and climbed to flight level 270. Eastbound at this latitude, we had hoped for a bit of tailwind and once level in the cruise, we ended up with a ground speed of 320 knots—about what we had expected.

The first leg of 1,150 miles in the 1900 was not such a big deal, with a flight time of just over three and a half hours. All over land, and with lots of alternates along the way, it was a nice relaxing way to start our trip. In addition, this 1900 is well kitted out with full autoflight systems, which make a big difference (most of Vincent Aviation’s B1900s have autopilots, except one 1900D in New Zealand and one C model in Darwin). There is no doubt that having a good autopilot system is a great safety feature and it really reduces workload for the crew. Another benefit is that it teaches pilots to manage the systems on the aircraft, which is what is expected in today’s airline world. I have found that it can be hard work training crews who have not used autoflight systems because as soon as they come under pressure, they tend to disconnect and hand fly—it should be the other way around!

It didn’t seem too long until we were approaching our descent point for Nampula. One never knows what to expect when flying to places like this for the first time. We briefed the VOR approach, as were weren’t too sure what the weather was going to be like and the controller was a bit hard to understand (as most of them are in these third world countries). We were still above the cloud as we crossed the VOR and Craig made a nice job of the reversal turn to intercept the final approach profile. I called the advisory altitudes on the way down and we broke visual at about 1,000 feet with the runway in sight straight ahead.

Once we landed, a little man came out and directed us to our parking spot. The fuel truck came over to refuel us under Craig’s watchful eye while I headed off with my escort to do the paperwork, file the plan for the next leg and pay a few fees. All went well and we were ready to go about an hour later.

I find that the airport fees, paperwork and refuelling are the most stressful parts of any ferry trip. If you don’t have the correct paperwork, or not enough cash to pay fees, you can be in big trouble. It’s always a relief to get a final clearance and be underway again.

Our second, and final, leg of the day was to the Seychelles—1,250 nm across water with nowhere to go in between. Once again, we climbed to FL 270 and although our ground speed was slightly less, we were still getting around the 300 knots. On long over-water flights, ground speed and fuel burn are monitored closely! The 1900 has auxiliary tanks as well as mains, so their “time-’til-empty” handily allows for accurate calculation of range and endurance.

On long over-water flights, it is important to work out a PNR (point of no return). This is the furthest point beyond which it is not possible to return to either the point of departure or an alternate. It is essential to establish a PNR in case bad weather or other unsuitable conditions may prevent landing at the destination. It’s also important to check upon reaching the calculated PNR that the fuel reserves have been calculated correctly and will be sufficient! To continue past the PNR having used more fuel than expected can make for a very long and worrying flight! PNRs are always calculated on a worst-case situation. This normally includes one-engine ops and depressurisation. If the 1900 can make it on two engines, it can make it on one—it will just take a lot longer to get there and even if there are pressurisation issues, there is enough oxygen available to remain at altitude until destination.

The weather was clear all the way to the Seychelles and in no time at all, we could see a few islands coming into view. The airport is located on the main island but there are many others all around that are accessible by aeroplane or boat. Seychelles is a beautiful place with lots of tourists, palm trees and nice beaches, and for that reason, we had decided we would stay there for the night. Once we had cleared customs, we caught a taxi to the hotel and went for a swim with all the tourists at the beach and then relaxed by the pool. It’s a tough job, this ferry flying!

The next day, we had planned on a relatively easy day with a single 1,200 nm leg to the Maldives, where we would overnight. We arrived at the airport at 09:00, cleared customs, got the weather and filed a flight plan. After a careful pre-flight, we were on our way. As we neared the Equator, our friendly westerly wind decreased and the wind at altitude tended more easterly. Our ground speed had dropped to around 270 knots and the clear skies were replaced with a tropical moist cloud layer that enveloped us.

The freezing level at those latitudes is at about FL180 but at 270, ice didn’t seem to be too much of an issue and all progressed well. Upon arrival, we were cleared to descend via an arc for an ILS approach. The weather was poor with heavy rain and a good 25–30 knot crosswind to test Craig’s skills. Craig was a bit dejected by his crosswind landing, which he thought was a bit “ordinary”—that was until we watched an Airbus 320 that landed after us; it arrived sideways and bounced several times. This cheered Craig considerably; his landing didn’t seem so bad after all!

The islands of the Maldives sit just above sea level. The island that hosts the airport is just big enough for the runway and one hotel. Access to all of the other islands is by boat or one of many float-equipped Twin Otters. We had a walk around the island but the weather was terrible so we retired to the hotel for an early night and decided that if all went well, we would try to get all the way to Darwin the next day.

The next day, in the same kind of weather that had greeted our arrival, we departed at 05:00 on a short leg of 400 miles to Sri Lanka. We arrived and were marshalled to our parking spot next to an American-registered Cessna 206 floatplane. We asked its female ferry pilot where she was off to, and it turned out that she was following the same route we were. The aircraft was fitted with ferry tanks that gave it 16 hours’ endurance. She told us she had burnt 6 quarts of oil on the last leg—she was a bit worried about the oil consumption but was heading off anyway! We decided she was keen. However, during our next leg to Medan in Indonesia we spoke to an Air New Zealand 777 crew and when we told them what we were up to, they thought we were rather keen! All relative, I suppose.

All went well in Colombo and after refuelling, our next 1,200-mile leg was straightforward—until we were radar vectored in a large valley for an ILS approach at Medan. The Indonesian air traffic controller did a great job, but we were a little concerned when we expected a right turn and he turned us left through 360 degrees onto final approach. There were a lot of big hills around and quite a lot of cloud. While we didn’t mistrust him, we certainly kept a good look out for terrain.

After landing, we were surprised at how many other aircraft turned up. A 737-100, a -200, and a -300 all arrived, as well as an Airbus. There are millions of people in Indonesia so I suppose they need lots of planes to move them around. It was six o’ clock in the evening local time when we arrived and we worked out we would be in Bali at about midnight.

Because we were crossing so many time zones in a short time, I had given up trying to figure out what the time was at each destination. Because we were heading east, we were losing quite a lot of time as we went. After a quick turnaround, we were off again on the 1,300 nm leg to our last stop before Darwin: Bali.

The weather hadn’t been too good for the last three legs but as we progressed, the cloud started to break up and we were soon in clear skies. Our track took us over the top of Singapore then into Bali. After only an hour on the ground and with the assistance of some very helpful ground agents, we set off on our last—straightforward—leg to Darwin, where we touched down at 06:00 local time. It had been a big day, with 15 hours’ flying. However, with two crew, and lots to do along the way, we arrived in good shape and were not too tired.

The aircraft had been fitted with a satellite tracking system before we left, so everyone back home had been able to log into a website and plot our progress. When we looked at the print-out of our course, I was amazed at how far we had travelled in such a short time.

We both had a great trip and the new aircraft performed well. I take my hat off to pilots who fly single-engined piston aircraft over these big distances; it is a very lonely feeling being out in the middle of the ocean, struggling to talk to anyone on a scratchy HF radio and trying not think of anything going wrong.

However, Craig and I had a great trip. I have made other long-distance flights, but ferry flying is a great experience and good way to see places that you wouldn’t normally visit. If you ever get the chance to go on a ferry flight, I highly recommend it!