Around the World VFR (ish) - now complete!

[gordongreig]

59 - Istanbul, Turky (LTFM Istanbul Airport) - Kuwait City, Kuwait (OKBK Kuwait Airport)

This leg: 1,227Nm, 4:59 flying time
Total so far: 65,553Nm, 251:27 flying time

For today’s trip, we are heading South West to Kuwait - going for a pretty straight flight, but taking a few little detours along the way for some sit seeing. We’ll start with a quick fly over Istanbul itself, then head to Ankara, capital of Turkey, on to Baghdad, then on to the Ziggurat of Ur and finally the Al Hamra Tower in Kuwait before landing in Kuwait City.

On the food front, we’re picking up some Turkish pide with marinated artichokes, broccoli and cheese. Pide is a boat-shaped Turkish take on a flatbread or pizza. These look really nice!

Weather this morning in Turkey is very nice indeed, which is a nice change to some of the misty weather over the last couple of flights. So let’s get going.

Here’s Istanbul - and the Justice Palace, Dolmabahase Palace and the Sultan Ahmed Mosque are some key sites for us to take in as we fly over Istanbul

Heading West now towards Ankara, and first passing over Izmit - and some spectacular scenery over the rugged hills of Turkey

Passing Ankara now, turning towards the South as we fly over Esenboga, Ankara’s airport

Passing West alongside the Kizilirimark River

Ahead to our left is Erclyes Dagi - 12,800 feet tall with some amazing canyons in the foothills here

More dramatic cliffs, plateaus, trenches and valleys here in Western Turkey

We climb up to 25,000ft to get a good look around - amazing scenery

We’ve crossed into Syria now, and are back down at 5,000 feet to get a better look - Lake Assad ahead of us here and away to our right - much flatter and more desert like

Approaching Baghdad, the Euphrates River and crossing Habbaniyah Lake

Here is the Dur-Kurugalzu Ziggurat in Baghdad

Heading further South towards the Ziggurat of Ur

And now West again to our final destination, the Al Hamra Tower and Kuwait City

Approaching Kuwait Bay and Kuwait City

Now to circle around for the landing

And landed

Nice trip, and the latest 1.15.7.0 patch is working beautifully. Next stop - Africa

[gordongreig]

Leg 60 - Kuwait City, Kuwait (OKBK Kuwait Airport) to Socotra, Yemen (OYSQ Moori Airport)

This leg: 1,430Nm, 5:15 flying time
Total so far: 66,983Nm, 256:42 flying time

Today we are heading East and then South to Yemen, but taking the opportunity to fly over some of the key cities in the Middle East - Bahrain, Doha, Dubai and Muscat. We are then heading to Africa, stopping on the small Yemeni island of Socotra before heading to mainland Africa on a future flight.

Today’s food order is Machboos, the national dish of Kuwait. This is slow cooked basmati rice with a variety of spices (such as cardamom, cinnamon, turmeric, cloves, pepper, and ginger) and mutton or chicken and sometimes vegetables

Let’s get going and see what the weather looks like in Kuwait this morning - nice view at the airport with Kuwait City in the background

And heading South West towards Bahrain over some Kuwaiti oil fields

Heading out over the Persian Gulf - we will follow the coast of the Gulf South West to Bahrain

Approaching Bahrain

Now on to Doha in Qatar - pretty much barren desert here

Here’s Doha

On our way to Abu Dhabi and the Sheikh Zayed Mosque and back over the Persian Gulf again

Turning North with our next stop is Dubai

So we really need to do a bit of a fly by of Dubai and the Burj Khalifa in particular - just necessary

Nice. Now back to the flight plan before someone gets upset with us - and off to Muscat in Oman - and out over the Gulf of Oman on the way and across deserts and mountains

Here’s Muscat

Now a straight run South across Oman and Yemen to the Yemeni island of Socotra

And out over the Arabian Sea

Here is Socotra - unfortunately with some low cloud

First sight of the runway - visibility is fortunately OK

Nicely lined up

What lovely sunset landing

Onwards to Africa next!

[gordongreig]

Leg 61 - Socotra, Yemen (OYSQ Moori Airport) to Entebbe, Uganda (HUEN Entebbe Airport)

This leg: 1,502Nm, 4:39 flying time
Total so far: 68,485Nm, 261:21 flying time

Today we are heading into Africa proper, and taking a pretty straight line from Yemen to Entebbe in Uganda. This is at the edge of our range, so we are going for a pretty straight line for our route. Our approach to Entebbe will be from over Lake Victoria.

On the food side of things, today we are stocking up with the traditional Yemeni dish of Shakshouka, which is a delicious combination of eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce.

So time to get going, and just a few clouds about tis morning in Socotra - otherwise looks like nice weather for the flight

Taking off to the North East, we start a gentle 180 degree turn to take us back to heading South West towards Africa

Socotra is a small, barren islands, but still looks beautiful from the air

Out over the Gulf of Aden on our way to Somalia

Somalia looks amazing from the air - barren, rocky desert with incredible patterns and colours

Crossing into Etheopia with the view no less spectacular albeit starting to get into a bit of cloud now

Cloudy over Kenya, so unfortunately can’t see too much

At last the cloud is beginning to break up so we can get a bit of a view as to what’s going on

Nearing Lake Victoria and crossing into Uganda

Turning to the North to circle around and over Kampala to line up with the runway

Lined up on final approach

And down

Next to head further South towards South Africa

[gordongreig]

Leg 62 - Entebbe, Uganda (HUEN Entebbe Airport) to Makokola Retreat, Malawi (FWCM Club Makokola Airstrip)

This leg: 1,318Nm, 5:06 flying time
Total so far: 69,803Nm, 266:27 flying time

Today we are flying further South through Africa and into Malawi, but taking a bit of a detour through Kenya. So we are first heading East to Nairobi, then on to the East Coast of Africa to Mombasa and then South to Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania before heading back South West and inland again to Karonga (Malawi) on Lake Malawi. We’ll then travel the length of Lake Malawi to the Makokola Retreat in Malawi.

To fuel us all up for the flight, we are having mandazi which is similar to a donut minus the hole and is a fried bread that is sweetened with coconut milk and shaped into circles or triangles. A Ugandan delicacy.

So some good weather this morning in Uganda as we prepare to depart from Entebbe

Lovely views over Lake Victoria as we leave Entebbe - although with thickening cloud as we continue towards Nairobi

Here’s Mfangano Island, at the far side of the Lake - and the Lake here is a beautiful green colour

Heading across Kenya towards Nairobi and passing Mount Suswa Conservancy

Approaching Nairobi we are heading into some thicker cloud - so unfortunately we can’t see much

On our way to the Coast - to Mombasa - and we finally start to emerge from the clouds

Although it looks like more cloud is on the way at the coast

Well, Mombasa is down there somewhere…at the end of the rainbow? Definitely raining down there over Port Reitz and Kilindini Port

Following the coastline South towards Dar Es Salaam - but the clouds ahead looking pretty ominous

Thick cloud all the way to Dar Es Salaam - and so turning to the South West and heading back inland towards Malawi and hopefully some better weather

But still lots of thick cloud - although maybe starting to clear as we approach Lake Malawi

At the edge of Lake Malawi, and some serious hills and slopes here

On the other side of the Lake now, and turning to the South over Karonga Airstrip

Heading South over Lake Malawi

Turning now to line up with the runway at our destination, Makokola Airstrip

Lining up for final approach

And down and parked

Where next? Further South I think, towards the Southern tip of Africa…

[gordongreig]

Not done an updated map and lof for a while, so here we are:

And here’s the latest log:

[gordongreig]

Leg 63 - Makokola Retreat, Malawi (FWCM Club Makokola Airstrip) to Mauritius (FIMP Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport)

This leg: 1,376Nm, 5:28 flying time
Total so far: 71,179Nm, 271:53 flying time

Well, remember I said we were heading South next? OK, so I lied. I’ve never been to Mauritius, and we are not that far away from it here…so why not? Plus we get a chance to fly over Madagascar in the process. So we are going pretty much straight East today, flying low altitude airways on a straight line to Mauritius with a couple of exceptions. First we are going to fly over Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar, and then we will take a little detour to Reunion Island, part of France. Finally we will land at the awesomely named Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport in Mauritius. Turns out that Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam served as the island’s first Chief Minister, Prime Minister and Governor-General.

Today’s food order is Chambo with Nsima - Chambo is the most popular and best-known fish found in Lake Malawi and here is served grilled with nsima (a stiff porridge). Supposed to be delicious, so we will see!

So let’s get going, and it’s a lovely day with just some light cloud here in Malawi.

Heading East now, crossing into Mozambique as we leave the Eastern shore of Lake Malawi

Some really interesting hills popping up from the plains below us

Getting a little cloudier as we approach the coast of Mozambique

Heading out over the Mozambique Channel and the next stop is Madagascar - and some cloud ahead

Really interesting scenery in Madagascar - I think I expected more apparent jungle, but it looks more like barren scrubland

Some heavier clouds and rain ahead of us maybe

Looks like we’ve managed to keep clear of the weather

Approaching the capital of Madagascar, Antananarivo

Flying over Antananarivo

Heading out over the Indian Ocean towards Reunion

Nearing Reunion, and a bit of cloud

At Reunion, we are going to fly over Saint-Denis and Saint-Clotilde, the major urban areas on the island

Turning to head on our final leg towards Mauritius

First site of Mauritius

Turning to line up for final approach

It’s going to be a stunning sunset approach and landing - wow!

And down

What a stunning sunset landing. Sometimes this sim is jaw dropping

[gordongreig]

Updated log and map

[gordongreig]

Leg 64 - Mauritius (FIMP Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport) to Maputo, Mozambique (FQMA Maputo Airport)

This leg: 1,437Nm, 5:19 flying time
Total so far: 72,616Nm, 277:12 flying time

Today we are getting back on track by heading back to Africa. We’re going to take a straight line, high altitude flight from Mauritius to Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. We’ll be flying over the top of Reunion Island again, although that will likely be far below us, and then over Madagascar again, before finally crossing the Mozambique channel, East to West this time, and landing in Maputo.

So what Mauritian delicacy can we find today? How about Bol Renverse? In English this translates to ‘Upside Down Bowl’ and is a rice-based dish, served with a stir-fry sauce, similar to chop suey. The thick sauce is made with soy sauce, oyster sauce and sautéed with a variety of vegetables, usually Bok Choi (Chinese cabbage), mushrooms and carrots. Chicken, shrimp, or thin strips of meat is then added to the chop suey, though chicken is the standard choice and finally an egg over easy tops the dish.

So let’s get going, then and see what the weather has in store for us in Mauritius this morning. Well we didn’t expect heavy rain and thunderstorms!

Turning West and climbing out of the heavy clouds and up over Reunion Island - better view of the vocanic nature of the island from this altitude

Heading to Madagscar at 32,000 feet

Approaching the coast of Madagascar - thick clouds making it hard to see anything from high up here - just some little glimpses through the could of the green lands below

But as we cross the heart of Madagascar, the clouds clear to reveal an amazing landscape below

There ahead is the West coast of Madagascar. The snaking river on the left is the Onilahy River, whilst on the right it looks like a dry gorge, but is actually a deep casm with the Fiherenana River flowing through it. Bteween them, on the coast itself, is the town of Toliara

And back out over the ocean heading towards Mozambique and approaching the East coast of Africa

Descending to start our approach pattern - just a few clouds about - flying past Maputo, so we can circle back around for the airport

Heading right over the top of the city now and past the airport that we are about to turn around and land at

Turning on to final approach

and down

And parked

Cool. Enjoyed that - great views of Madagascar from 32,000 feet.

[gordongreig]

Updated map and logbook

[gordongreig]

Leg 65 - Maputo, Mozambique (FQMA Maputo Airport) to Langebaanweg, South Africa (FALW Langebaanweg Airport)

This leg: 1,064Nm, 4:24 flying time
Total so far: 73,680Nm, 281:36 flying time

Today we are flying from Mozambique to Langebaaweg, a town just West of Cape Town in South Africa. On the way we are detouring over Pretoria and Johannesburg before flying straight across the middle of South Africa to Cape Town. There we will fly over the Cape of Good Hope itself where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic Ocean. We’ll then head a few miles West to Langebaanweg.

So let’s get going - a bit cloudy and overcast here in Maputo this morning

Heading South West on the departure track before we’ll turn West towards Pretoria and straight into thick cloud

Finally, a little break in the cloud as we skim low over the higher ground to the West of Maputo on our way tp Pretoria - still lots of cloud and rain about

The weather has really cleared up a bit as we approach Pretoria

And on to the nearby Johannesburg

A long straight run now right across the heart of South Africa to Cape Town

Following alongside the Vaal River

Enormous areas of cultivated land here and then vast areas of scrub land

Approaching Cape Town over the mountains and rugged terrain to the North

Cape Town ahead with Table Mountain visible in the distance

Heading out over False Bay to the Cape of Good Hope with the Cape Peninsula on our left

Heading further West now towards Langebaaweg

Seems that Langebaaweg is quite a small place!

So circling around now to line up for runway 20L

And down

Nice flight. Next, we start our journey up the West coast of Africa.

[gordongreig]

Update map and log

[gordongreig]

Leg 66 - South Africa (FALW Langebaanweg Airport) to Benguela, Angola (FNBG 17th of November Airport)

This leg: 1,314Nm, 5:10 flying time
Total so far: 74,994Nm, 286:46 flying time

Today we are heading up the West Coast of Africa, and I’ve decided to try to follow the coastline as much as possible using local airports as waypoints. So we’ve got a lot of waypoints! Our itinerary is then:

1. Langebaanweg (FALW)
2. Doringbaai Airstrip (FAVJ)
3. Papendotp Airport (FAVQ)
4. Hondeeklip Bay Airstrip (FAGE)
5. Kleinsee (FAKZ)
6. Port Nolloth Airport (FAQJ)
7. Oranjemund (FYOG)
8. Luderitz (FYLZ)
9. Meod Bay Landing Site (FYMB)
10. Walvis Bay (FYWB
11. Swakopmund (FYSM)
12. Terrace Bay Airport (FYTE)
13. Opuwo Airport (FYPM)
14. Opuwo Airport (FYPN)
15. Namibe Airport (FNNM)
16. Namibe (FNMO)
17. Benguela (FNBG)

Lots to see hopefully on the way. We’ll keep it nice and low - about 4500 feet - and see how it goes. It’s interesting that there are some lengthy coastal areas without any kind of runway or even navigation aid, but our route is going to stay pretty close to the coast all the way. The furthest inland we will be is on our way to Namibe Aiport.

So let’s see what the weather has in store for us today in South Africa. Well it’s a beautiful sunny day here.

Heading North now, out over the Atlantic towards Doringbaai Airstrip and Papendotp Airport that are very close together and the mouth of the Olifants River

On to Hondeeklip Bay Airstrip - looks like a mining area

Kleinsee is just a little further up the coast, and still in pretty barren countryside and pretty flat really

Port Nolloth Airport is next up

On to our next wyapoint, Oranjemund - the mouth of the Orange River

Luderitz is next up, with some amazing sand dunes here

Meob Bay Landing Site is our next waypoint further along the coast with more stunning sand dunes on the way

Heading a little bit away from the coast and onwards to Walvis Bay…and more sand dunes!

And North again towards Swakopmund

Next stop Terrace Bay Airport

And on to the “first” Opuwo Airport

And the “second” Opuwo Airport

Our second last waypoint is Namibe Airport

And our last stop, Namibe

And finally on to Benguela, flying over the airport before making our left turns to approach from the West over the ocean

On our final approach, landing and parked up

Our next trip will continue our journey North through Africa

[gordongreig]

Updtaed map and log

[gordongreig]

Leg 67 - Benguela, Angola (FNBG 17th of November Airport) to Bangui, Central African Republic (FEFF M’Poko Airport)

This leg: 1,094Nm, 4:17 flying time
Total so far: 76,088Nm, 291:03 flying time

Today we are heading North into central Africa - literally as we are going to Bangui in Central African Republic. On the way, we are flying over Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo, and then we are flying roughly along the path of the River Congo, passing over Mbandaka in the Democratic Republic of Congo, then on to Impfondo, right on the border between the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo and finally on to Bangui in Central African Republic.

So let’s get going. Nice day in Angola today, with a few clouds about and not much wind

Heading North now, out over the Atlantic

Back over dry land and it’s time to head inland now all the way from here

The lush green around the Longa River as it snakes towards the coast

Coming up to Kinshasa

And across the Congo River to Brazzaville

Miles and miles of rainforest below us, with the Congo River meandering inbetween

Approaching Mbandaka and the cloud is thickening and there are flashes of lightning in the air and a lot of low cloud and rain

North towards Impfondo, and the Congo is vast here…and so many trees!

Impfondo is on the Ubangi River - still a big river, but just a small tributory of the Congo - can just about see Impfondo through the cloud - just

Heading North now to out destination, Bangui, following the Ubangi for a short way

And back into thick cloud - hoping this clears before we get to Bangui

Approaching Bangui through the cloud and on to final approach

And down and parked

So, next stage? North to the Sahara, or West to the Coast? Let’s see how we feel.

[gordongreig]

Updated map and log

Countries landed in

|1|Scotland|
|2|Iceland|
|3|Greenland|
|4|Canada|
|5|USA|
|6|Jamaica|
|7|Greneda|
|8|Colombia|
|9|Peru|
|10|Brazil|
|11|Uruguay|
|12|Argentina|
|13|Falkland Islands|
|14|Chile|
|15|Bolivia|
|16|Ecuador|
|17|Honduras|
|18|Mexico|
|19|Russia|
|20|Japan|
|21|Philippines|
|22|Micronesia|
|23|Fiji|
|24|New Zealand|
|25|Australia|
|26|Indonesia|
|27|Singapore|
|28|Thailand|
|29|Hong Kong|
|30|China|
|31|Nepal|
|32|Sri Lanka|
|33|India|
|34|Azerbaijan|
|35|Russia|
|36|Turkey|
|37|Kuwait|
|38|Yemen|
|39|Uganda|
|40|Malawi|
|41|Mauritius|
|42|Mozambique|
|43|South Africa|
|44|Angola|
|45|Central African Republic|

Countries flown over

|1|Scotland
|2|Faroe Islands|
|3|Iceland|
|4|Greenland|
|5|Canada|
|6|USA|
|7| Cuba|
|8|The Bahamas|
|9|Turks and Caicos|
|10|Haiti|
|11|Jamaica|
|12|Dominican Republic|
|13|St Kitts & Nevis|
|14|Antigua & Barbuda|
|15|Dominica|
|16|St Lucia|
|17|Barbados|
|18|St Vincent and the Grenadines|
|19|Grenda|
|20|Venezuela|
|21|Colombia|
|22|Peru|
|23|Brazil|
|24|Uruguay|
|25|Argentina|
|26|Falkland Islands|
|27|Antartica|
|28|Chile|
|29|Bolivia|
|30|Ecuador|
|31|Panama|
|32|Costa Rica|
|33|Nicaragua|
|34|Honduras|
|35|El Salvador|
|36|Guatemala|
|37|Mexico|
|38|Russia|
|39| Japan|
|40| Taiwan|
|41|Philippines|
|42|Federated States of Micronesia|
|43|Nauru|
|44| Fiji|
|45|New Zealand|
|46|Australia|
|47| Indonesia|
|48|Malaysia|
|49|Cambodia|
|50|Thailand|
|51|Laos|
|52|Vietnam|
|53|Hong Kong|
|54|China|
|55| Bhutan|
|56|Nepal|
|57|India|
|58|Sri Lanka|
|59| Pakistan|
|60|Afghanistan|
|61|Iran|
|62| Azerbaijan|
|63| Latvia|
|64|Lithuania|
|65|Belarus|
|66|Ukraine|
|67|Moldova|
|68|Romania|
|69|Turkey|
|70|Syria|
|71|Iraq|
|72|Kuwait|
|73|Bahrain|
|74|Qatar|
|75|United Arab Emirates|
|76|Oman|
|77|Yemen|
|78|Somalia|
|79|Etheopia|
|80|Kenya|
|81|Uganda|
|82|Tanzania|
|83|Malawi|
|84|Mozambique|
|85|Madagascar|
|86|Reunion Island|
|87|Mauritius|
|88|South Africa|
|89|Namibia|
|90|Angola|
|91|Democratic Republic of Congo|
|92|Republic of Congo|
|93|Central African Republic|

[NiceGuyBadGamer]

This thread is amazing and was exactly what I’ve been looking for! You’ve inspired me to retrace your journey since it’s so well documented here. Thank you for sharing this with the community!

[gordongreig]

Leg 68 - Bangui, Central African Republic (FEFF M’Poko Airport) to Tombouctou, Mali (GATB Tombouctou Airport)

This leg: 1,470Nm, 5:41 flying time
Total so far: 77,558Nm, 296:44 flying time

For today’s flight, we are literally heading to Timbuktu - better known in the modern day as Tombouctou. This is in Mali in the Southern Sahara Desert. Why there? Well, we are close by, it’s on our rough direction and, well, you just have to go to Timbuktu don’t you?

Straight flight today, heading North West over central Africa and into the desert. Should be fun.Let’s see what the weather in Bangui has in store for us today - quite a nice morning!

Lots of trees and jungle and greenery here as we still head North

Crossing into Cameroon

Some mountains in Migeria to break up the terrain a bit

Starting to see more desert looking landscape now

Finally we reach the border and move into Niger and some serious desert

Entering Mali, on our final stage towards Tombouctou and proper desert here

Tracking along the River Niger as we start our approach to Tombouctou

Lined up for approach now

And landed - welcoem to Timbuktu!

[gordongreig]

Leg 69 - Tombouctou, Mali (GATB Tombouctou Airport) to Mosteiros, Cape Verde (GVMT mosteiros Airport)

This leg: 1,243Nm, 4:43 flying time
Total so far: 78,801Nm, 301:27 flying time

Well, we are about to reach 300 hours flying time on this tour, which feels like we need a celebration. So to celebrate, we are going to pop over to Cape Verde islands in the Atlantic Ocean, just West of Africa. On the way we will fly over Dakar in Senegal. Other than that, a pretty straight route. In Cape Verde, we are going to land at Mosteiros on Ilha do Fogo, one of the smaller islands, and an airport which is just a grass trip. Should be fun.

We are going for an early morning start today, and will be taking off with the sunrise behind us.