Exploring the world in the Beechcraft Bonanza

Leg 60, Niafunke, Mali to Agadez, Niger

DAY10_21.PLN (3.1 KB)

More desert, really there is a lot of it

10-21 Niafunke GANF 5:10 AM
10-21 Goundam GAGM 5:27 AM
10-21 Tombouctou GATB 5:46 AM
10-21 Kidal GAKL 7:40 AM
10-21 In Guezzam DATG 9:23 AM
10-21 Arlit DRZL 10:07 AM
10-21 Manu Dayak (Agadez) DRZA 10:59 AM

Flight time 5:49, 5 stops

There are not many airports in the desert, long flights.

First up, Tombouctou aka Timbuktu

Home of the Djinguereber Mosque, build from earth (banco) mixed with straw in 1327

Regular maintenance keeps it looking great, scaffolding is build into the design

Following the river Niger passing Bamba down there on the left

It’s not supposed to be this full, I guess they had heavy rains up stream

Kidal at the end of the road RN18

More desert views between Kidal and In Guezzam

Soothing colors, very relaxing

It goes on and on and on

Plenty time to add the good parts of earlier flights to https://worldtour.flights/

In Guezzam, brief hop into Algeria on the border with Niger

Niger is 10 miles left of the airport

View down below

There are pictures of the streets flooding, though not often, it can rain pretty hard here

Into Niger, on the way to Arlit

Arlit is a big industrial town next to a huge Uranium mine (Arlit Mine) It looks kinda ugly in FS 2020, a mess on google as well. Ugly mine, so a nice colorful picture of the surroundings instead

However this is what keeps the lights on if your country uses Nuclear power

Continuing on towards Agadez

Better detail here, the awesome landscape is back

Aïr Mountains on the horizon

So much color in the desert

One more before reaching Agadez

Agadez on the rather dry river Teloua

Another town made with banco, mud bricks

As well as the 16th century Grande Mosquée d’Agadez

Tomorrow back North a bit, into the Aïr Mountains

Leg 61, Agadez, Niger to Ati, Chad

DAY10_22.PLN (3.5 KB)

More deserts, mountains and some really weird landscape

10-22 Manu Dayak (Agadez) DRZA 4:28 AM
10-22 Iferouane DRZI 5:26 AM
10-22 Dirkou DRZD 7:18 AM
10-22 Nguigmi DRNG 8:37 AM Oddly nothing there on Google

10-22 Nguigmi DRNG 9:58 AM
10-22 N’Guigmi DRZN 10:38 AM
10-22 Berim FTTL 11:27 AM
10-22 Hassan Djamous FTTJ 12:07 PM
10-22 Ati FTTI 1:35 PM Syntethic vision landing

Flight time 7:46, 7 stops

Setting out towards the Aïr Mountains

Iferouane, picture taken from the bugged airport on a runway shaped hill sticking out the terrain

Into the Aïr Mountains

Climbing up through one of the valleys

On the other side, more desert!

Looking back at Aïr Mountains from the Eastern side

And out onto the vast sand planes, it’s a long way until the next airport

The sand hasn’t buried everything yet

Here it has, not even halfway to Dirkou

I’m guessing this is the ‘road’ to Dirkou, lot of tracks on the ground

Dirkou in Eastern Niger

There is not a lot of info on this town, but it does have a picture of a pink sandstorm!

Traveling on towards Nguigmi

That’s it, all of Nguigmi

It must be newish, there is nothing there on Google. On Bing it looks like a brand new compound.

Flying from Nguigmi to N’Guigmi

N’Guigmi on the shore of lake Chad before the lake retreated

The lake retreating explains the bizarre landscape that follows next

But first, a view from the ground in N’Guigmi

No bridges to go under, stack it up!

Onwards to Berim, flying over the bottom of lake Chad

Lake Chad is a terminal basin (endorheic basin) meaning water only flows in, evaporates out

The lake varies in size over the centuries as rainfall patterns shift over time

Lake Chad shrunk by as much as 95% since 1963 but is currently growing again

People live on these ‘islands’ yet the place seem to have no name

This is at 13°57’50.3"N 13°41’45.5"E, lot of tracks going and leaving, no name or other info available

I’m moving further way from the center, drier land

Koulgouma … maybe. No info other than ‘island’. Chad is a mysterious place

Berim also had no info, just a single 4 star rating on Google. Place not found on Bing (unnamed)

Flying on from Berim to N’Djamena, back to the wetter parts of the old shore

Green here

One minute later

Arrival in N’Djama the capital of Chad

That colorful part near the bottom right is Place de la Nation

N’Djama is a huge city, with very little info again

The national museum does have quite a few pictures for impressions of Chad and this cool new statue

Onwards to Ati while the sun sets behind me

Oi, keep your eyes on the road driver lady

Peaceful at night, the light fades fast at this latitude

Ati, another mystery with hardly any info. I found this picture for the only POI a market

And a couple random videos only adding to the mystery

Tomorrow, a bit further East than heading for greener pastures in Central African Republic

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Leg 62, Ati, Chad through Central African Republic to Doba oilfield, Chad

DAY10_23.PLN (4.1 KB)

I’m leaving the desert behind for a while. South to greener pastures and back West to explore the next section of Western Africa.

10-23 Ati FTTI 4:31 AM
10-23 Oum Hadjer OUM 5:06 AM
10-23 Goz-Beida FTTG 6:01 AM
10-23 Birao FEFI 6:59 AM
10-23 Birao FEBI 7:31 AM
10-23 Gordil FEGL 7:52 AM
10-23 N’dele FEFN 8:35 AM
CTD shortly after departure, restart
10-23 N’Dele FEFN 8:47 AM
10-23 Kabo FEKA 9:43 AM
10-23 Batangafo FEGF 9:58 AM
10-23 Doba Airport FTDB 10:47 AM

Flight time 6:04 9 stops

I flew around Central African Republic today and ended back in Chad. Central African Republic is even more mysterious, hardly any info or pictures on google maps. Undestandable since it’s one of the 10 poorest countries in the world and still plagued by civil war.

From the air it looks quite lovely. First Oum Hadjer on the Batha river, still in Chad

The pictures online show a lot more green, I guess this was from the dry season

Following the Batha river, patches of green along the dried up river

Passing Kotro down below

Kouroukoul, no info on this town

Gaz-Beida a little further, about 70km West from the border with Sudan

However I’m going South, Sudan will have to wait. Otw to Birao

This is (one of the places called) Birao, the town in the distance

Only this sad fact available: In March 2007, the town was almost completely burnt down in the fighting between rebels and government troops in the area. On to Birao airport, which is actually near Tiroungoulou.

Passing by Reserve de Faune de la Ouandja Vakaga, savannah

It’s getting greener, Parc National st Floris

Gordil, that is an airport down there, the green dot is my plane. Also zero info.

N’Délé, a market town (in the distance) in the North-East of the country

Looks nice

Bamingui-Bangoran Parker, national park and biosphere reserve

Reserve de Faune du Gribingui Bamingui

They do have a lot of nature reserves in Central African Republic

Coming in for a landing at Kabo, I love these kind of airstrips

Batangafo on the Ouham river, signs of agriculture

The info for this town: There is an airport in Batangafo. Thx.

Following the Ouham river for a bit

Straight road to Koldega, back in Chad

Doba, my final landing spot for today, has no info either. The airport is next to Doba oilfield and a town called Dildo. It’s also referred to as Dildo airport. There is no further info.

I’ll be passing by the capital of Central African Republic on my next lower (altitude) pass through Africa, for now I’m heading back West all the way to Cape Verde.

Leg 63, Doba oilfield, Chad via Cameroon to Gusau, Nigeria

DAY10_24.PLN (4.8 KB)

10-24 Doba Airport FTDB 5:17 AM
10-24 Moundou FTTD 5:36 AM
10-24 Touboro FTBE 6:06 AM
10-24 Lere FTMB 7:05 AM
10-24 Garoua FKKR 7:33 AM
10-24 Yola DNYO 8:03 AM
10-24 Jalingo DNJA 8:37 AM

10-24 Jalingo DNJA 9:01 AM
10-24 Makurdi DNMK 10:18 AM
10-24 Lokoja Airstrip DNLO 11:14 AM
10-24 Nnamdi Azikiwe Intl (Abuja) DNAA 11:53 AM
10-24 Shiroro DN50 12:18 PM
10-24 Gusau DNGU 1:13 PM Landing strip is the dark stretch in the middle of town

Flight time 7:32 11 stops

Mostly low detail terrain today yet also some parts with better coverage. The trees help.

First Moundou, not much from the air, but has some sights available online

On the way to Touboro into Cameroon

Touboro is still pretty dry

Touboro houses thousands of refugees fleeing armed violence

A market in Touboro

Bouba Ndjida National Park over the hills

Bouba Ndjida National Park, one of the few places the painted hunting dog can still be seen

Lac Léré

Lere, not much info, 89K population, has an airport, situated on Lac Léré, no pictures

Flying by Djaloumi

Garoua on the Benue river

Cameroon is great at soccer and shows its passion for it

Roumdé Adjia Stadium, build in 1978 and will be part of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations

Looking at the date of the picture it was fully renovated / upgraded in 2018

Crossing the Faro River

I’m using my plane here to cover up the worst of the low detail center river line imposed on top. I wish you could turn that off, no clue why it’s there.

Arriving at Yola, which means great plain or vast land, massive city on the Benue river

Yola airport

Crossing an unnamed mystery river

Bing to the rescue, it’s the Mayo Ini. The part joining remains unnamed.

Next crossing the Belwa river

Jalingo Airport with part of the city behind.

Most of Jalingo is on the other side of the river Lamurde

Jalingo, maybe on Barbe way

Interestingly most of the shops have pictures what they’re selling yet landmarks are not marked

Following the Benue river

Lokoja on the left 2 where the Benue river (coming from the right) joins the river Niger

Lokoja from the ground

Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, Aso rock dominating the sky line

It’s a proper rock to build a city next to

Flying past Shiroro Hydro-Electric Power Station

Last picture of the day, Kwiambana Game Reserve

Can’t spot and Elephants or Lions. It seems only Northern Ethiopia has fauna in the game so far. It will be a while until I get there.

I was ready for another night time landing by Drone view in Gusau since the air strip has no data in the G1000. However the landing strip turned out to be in the middle of the town. Aim for the long dark rectangle! It says Gussau old airport online but still seems to be in use. It’s just old.

Leg 64, Gusau, Nigeria via Benin to Tenkodogo, Burkina Faso

DAY10_25.PLN (6.1 KB)

10-25 Gusau DNGU 5:15 AM
10-25 Saddiq Abubakar Lii Intl DNSO 5:51 AM
10-25 Sir Ahmadu Bello DNBK 6:13 AM
CTD on touchdown, restart
10-25 Sir Ahmadu Bello DNBK 6:19 AM
10-25 Gaya DRRG 6:44 AM Follow Niger River
10-25 Kainji DNIX 7:51 AM
10-25 Jebba DNJE 8:29 AM
10-25 Ilorin DNIL 8:47 AM
10-25 Tankaro DBPA 9:54 AM
10-25 Djougou DBBD 10:17 AM
10-25 Natitingou DBBN 10:40 AM
10-25 Kandi DBBK 11:25 AM
10-25 La Tapoa DRRP 11:59 AM CTD 2 minutes out
CTD on approach, restart close to La Tapoa
10-25 La Tapoa proximity 12:07 PM
10-25 La Tapoa DRRP 12:12 PM
10-25 Diapaga DFED 12:30 PM
10-25 Arly DFER 12:48 PM
10-25 Pama DFEP 1:13 PM
10-25 Tenkodogo DFET 1:45 PM

Flight time 8:16 15 stops

Long flights with a lot of flat terrain going from national park to national park.

First up Sokoto in the North-West end of Nigeria. The name means ‘market’

Sultan Palace hall in Sokoto. No info other than a picture

The big area with a track going around is for horse races, Sokoto race course

Some info in video form, mini Durbar for Sultan Sa’ad Abubakar in 2016

Flying on to Gaya which is actually in Niger, right on top of the border with Benin

Following the river Niger, the border between Benin and Niger, back into Nigeria

The land is pretty flat, the river seems to shift often

A wide green stain on the dry desert

Kainji Hudro Power plant at the end of Kanji reservoir

Lake Jeba

Jeba hydro electric power plant

The town of Jebba in the opposite direction

The paper mill is the biggest feature in Jebba

HRH KABIYESI OBA Adebola Adebara the first Oba (local chief in Nigeria) of Jebba, 1897

Local festival at Oba’s palace

Onwards to Parakou, Benin

Djougou, an important market town in the North-West of Benin

Grand Mosque in Djougou

Festival of dancing horses in Benin, no clue where this is in Benim

Flying over one of the many national parks in Benin, Foret de Birni

View from the runway at Natitingou, also known as Nati

Natitingou Grande Mosque

Forêt l’Alibori Supérieur

Parque Nacional W de Níger, right on the border between Benin, Niger and Burkina Faso

It has one picture, two elephants, they must be down there

Harvest time in La Tapoa, Niger

Arriving in Arly, Burkina Faso

A faded airstrip near a road, nothing else there

Pama, no info

About 9 miles from Pama, on lake Compienga is this 4 star hotel, Refuge de Thialy

If you want peace and quiet, go here!

Arriving in Tenkodogo at sunset

I was just watching this amazing video about Benin, fun to recognize all the place names I flew over

Leg 65, Tenkodogo, Burkino Faso via Ghana and Togo to Bocanda, Côte d’Ivoire

DAY10_26.PLN (6.0 KB)

10-26 Tenkodogo DFET 4:25 AM
10-26 Ouagadougou DFFD 4:59 AM
10-26 Poura DFCR 5:38 AM
10-26 Wa DGLW 6:21 AM 261 nm next
10-26 Kpalime DXKA 8:07 AM

10-26 Kpalime DXKA 8:23 AM
10-26 Kumasi DGSI 9:25 AM
10-26 Sunyani DGSN 9:55 AM
10-26 Soko (Bondoukou) DIBU 10:16 AM
10-26 Tehini DIBN 10:49 AM
10-26 Bobo-Dioulasso DFOO 11:44 AM CTD less than 10 minutes out
CTD while turning the camera, restart
10-26 Bobo-Dioulasso proximity 11:51 AM
10-26 Bobo-Dioulasso DFOO 12:02 PM
10-26 Orodara DFOR 12:20 PM
10-26 Korhogo DIKR 12:53 PM
10-26 Korhogo DIKO 1:12 PM
10-26 Katiola KTC 1:44 PM
10-26 Bouake DIBK 1:56 PM
Autopilot broken (active pause mistake) 100% up trim, unrecoverable, restart
10-26 Bouake DIBK 2:20 PM
Terrible performance sub 5fps, restart, game lockup on exit, delete rolling cache
10-26 Bouake DIBK 2:50 PM
10-26 Bocanda DIBC 3:18 PM Drone cam landing with blinding lightning, grass strip

Flight time: 9:36 15 stops

Detail is kinda patchy in this area with many places where color grading and detail levels change on sharp boundaries and also cloud shaped ‘holes’ in the terrain filled in with default farmland textures that don’t fit in at all with the surrounding scenery. Lakes and rivers also have very low polygon data but it was still possible to get some decent impressions.

First up Ouagadougou, awesome name for the capital of Burkina Faso

Monument des Héros Nationaux

Grande Mosquée and Cathédrale in Ouagadougou

The cathedral is from the 1930s, no info on the mosque

Flying over Nago

Poura, dirt landing strip below

Wa, Ghana. Easy to spell city name, useless when searching

Interesting restaurant names, eg God is king fast food, Mummy’s kitchen and Prisoners canteen

Mole national park, Ghana’s largest wildlife resort

Elephants, antelopes and over 90 other species on savanna and forest terrain

Lake Volta or rather the start of lake Volta

Largest man made reservoir in surface area

3,283 sq mi total, 3,000 sq mi were flooded with the completion of the Akosombo dam in 1965

Looking at the border with Togo near WoraWora

Forêt de Missahohoe in Togo

What it really looks like

Kpalime, Togo

Bandai Hills Forest Reserve

Near Agogo, Ghana

Kumasi, capital of the Ashanti region

Barekese dam

Sunyani, capital of the Bono region

Tehini, Côte d’Ivoire

Between Tehini and Bobo-Dioulasso

Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkino Faso’s second largest city

Home to this amazing Grande Mosquée, possibly the largest example of Sudano-Sahelian architecture

Made with mud brick and white washed regularly.

Construction started as early as 1812, later enlarged. A view from inside

Tongon Gold mine, Côte d’Ivoire

Apparently it is (or was) for sale, producing about 250K ounces of gold yearly

Bouake, second largst city in Côte d’Ivoire

My last flight was cursed today. It was on auto pilot, not much to see in the dark anyway. But I paused, turned up the gain with drone cam to take a look and didn’t realize I used active pause with auto pilot on. That put AP into an unrecoverable state. I tried to get out of it but AP only wanted to pull the nose up 100% into a stall.

So I restarted, let it fly on its own again from Bouake, I came back in time for the landing and found it was stuttering at sub 5fps for no apparent reason. I restarted again after deleting the rolling cache which fixed the problem.

3rd time, smooth sailing. I came back 5 minutes before landing. It was a grass strip and dark, drone view with increased gain to the rescue. It went very smooth this time, lined up nicely switching back and forth between camera and plane controls. The difficulty was the lightning, which had been going all day already, which completely whites out the screen with the increased gain to be able to see the terrain. Fun landing!

Leg 66, Bocanda, Côte d’Ivoire via Liberia and Guinea to Bemako, Mali

DAY10_27.PLN (6.7 KB)

10-27 Bocanda DIBC 4:51 AM
10-27 Yamoussoukro DIYO 5:12 AM The Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro
10-27 Seguela DISG 5:55 AM
10-27 Mahana DITM 6:22 AM
10-27 Guiglo DIGL 7:12 AM
10-27 Gagnoa DIGA 7:47 AM
10-27 Tchien GLTN 8:44 AM
Terrible performance, streaming issues, restart
10-27 Tchien (Zwedru) GLTN 8:51 AM
10-27 Tapeta TPT 9:14 AM
10-27 Lamco GLNA 9:47 AM
10-27 Konia GUNZ 10:01 AM Massif du Zamia North-East
10-27 Odienne DIOD 10:52 AM
10-27 Gbenko GUGO 11:39 AM
10-27 Badala (Faranah) GUFH 12:21 PM
10-27 Kiniero GUKO 12:52 PM
10-27 Diankana (Kankan) GUXD 1:08 PM
10-27 Siguiri GUSI 1:33 PM
10-27 Bougouni GABG 2:11 PM
10-27 Senou (Bemako) GABS 2:45 PM

Flight time 9:47 17 stops

A lot of flying but detail was patchy, thus a lot of let AP do the work until the terrain gets better. See below for one of the worst places to fly (Liberia)

First Yamoussoukro, the capital of Côte d’Ivoire

Yamoussoukro is home to the largest church in the world, Basilica of Our Lady of Peace

Not quite like that, doesn’t look like $600 million well spend

This is what it looks like, completed 1989.

It can house 18.000 worshippers, only a few 100 attend normally. Social distancing king!

Moving on to Seguela

Ground view of that open-ish patch dead center

The typical style of Mosque around here

Mont Sângbé National Park home of the African dwarf crocodile among others

Near Késon

Guiglo on the river Zo which flows into Lac de Buyo nearby

Gagnoa, looks like rain

Yep, I was right.

There are a lot of half finished buildings around which reminds me of Greece. When we were touring there in our twenties we also noticed lots of house with only a frame for the second floor. A local explained that it had to do with taxes and building permits. No hurry completing the second floor, just need to have rods sticking out for another floor to have the building permit to finish it many years later. However, here it just seems to be coincidence or people like to take pictures of construction in progress. (There are also a lot of selfies posted for landmarks)

Something different. I always try to get the best out of the simulator, adjusting camera angles just right, keeping detail changes out of frame etc. But Liberia is a different story. This is between Tchien and Tapeta

The connection was fine, the game was simply streaming garbage. It happened for another long stretch later in Liberia, a half concentric ring of those blue squares moving along with me over extremely low detail terrain. It happens more often in the far North, first time I see it this bad at this latitude.

Not all Liberia is bad, Tapeta, over saturated but decent at the right angle.

No info on Google though, mystery town

Nimba Nature Reserve on the border with Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea

Konia, these long wide runways are making me lazy

Massif du Ziama Classified Forest in Guinea

That is some dense forest, looks like a lot of work to keep the road clear

Crossing a mountain range near Kourouko

Approaching Banankoro

Near Banankoro is Mazano with a diamond factory. I expected a little bit more than this

Faranah on the river Niger as many of the bigger cities

New meets the old (not my circle)

One of the many random pictures you see on Google for cities around here. It gives a good idea of the local culture without street view.

Siguiri on the Niger

Siguiri at street level

I flew by Sélingué Dam Hydrolectric next to Kangare on the Sankarani river in Mali and after that the city of Bougouni. Unfortunately the detail is so low in this area I couldn’t make anything of it. So I flew on to Bemako, the capital of Mali. Arriving after dusk

Bemako has a monument of independence (from France I assume, no info)

I’ll see what Bemako looks like in daylight tomorrow.

Leg 67, Bemako, Mali via Senegal to Kaedi, Mauritania

DAY9_29.PLN (10.0 KB)

10-28 Senou (Bemako) GABS 5:01 AM
10-28 Ambodédjo (Sevare) GAMB 6:54 AM
10-28 Keibane (Nara) GANK 8:32 AM
10-28 Kolokani GAKN 9:20 AM
10-28 Bafoulabe GABF 10:23 AM Lake and parks East-ish
CTD while cruising in the background 10:59 AM
Restart, luckily little navmap was running and had the last known position
10-28 Bafoulabe GABF - Dire GADI 34nm to go 11:06 AM
10-28 Dire GADI 11:18 AM
10-28 Kedougou GOTK 11:49 AM
10-28 Simenti GOTS 12:20 PM
10-28 Tambacounda GOTT 12:39 PM
10-28 Ouro Sogui GOSM 1:29 PM
10-28 Kaedi GQNK 1:50 PM

Flight time 8:42 10 stops

More low detail areas but also some decent ones.

I started out by following the river Niger to the desert. Passing Farako

Near Kougou

The closer to the desert the less the effect of the water. Near Nakri

Near Kouli

Mopti, making good use of the water

The river Bani joins the Niger in Mopti, double the water

Fertile waters, fertile land, great place for a town

Mopti is build along the old bank of the river Bani. It looks like the river shifted a lot leaving a huge area of very fertile ground for farming.

All that water and mud is also great for building, Grand Mosque of Mopti

Niger river basin feeding Lake Débo

Quite a sight from the air, near Dogo

The river continues North to Niafunke where I departed from in leg 60

Nara to the West, not far from Mauritania (to the North)

What’s missing from the weather engine, sand storms!

That could seriously hurt my plane

Near Goumbou, washboard terrain

Kolokani

Passing Hatero, finally some elevation in the terrain. It has been mostly flat so far

Bafoulabe where the river Bakoi joins the river Bafing

Ferry service to connect the roads up there

Hydro dam at Manantali on the river Bafing, constructed from 1982 to 1988, operational since 2001

Apart from long time issues with funding to get the project actually delivering electricity, the dam also took food away from about 370,000 people who lived from flood recession agriculture in the Senegal river valley. Flood recession agriculture has now completely disappeared.

Wong National Park

Dire or rather Falea South-West Mali.

Big runway for a tiny little town

Kedougou, Senegal

Near Semanti inside Niokolo-Koba National Park

Flying by Fete Bowe, also not much info on towns in Senegal

Arriving in Kaedi for the last stop, just across the border (the river) into Mauritania

Leg 68, Kaedi, Mauritania via Senegal to Rabil, Cape Verde

DAY10_29.PLN (5.8 KB)

I’ll apologize in advance for the amount of screenshots, I went into the good part of the desert again. So many amazing views, well worth the ‘detour’.

10-29 Kaedi GQNK 4:31 AM
10-29 Kiffa GQNF 5:26 AM
10-29 Aioun-El-Atrouss GQNA 6:18 AM
10-29 Tidjikja GQND 7:23 AM
10-29 Letfotar GQNL 7:49 AM
10-29 Akjoujt GQNJ 8:56 AM

10-29 Akjoujt GQNJ 10:02 AM
10-29 Oumtounsy GQNO 10:51 AM Intl airport missing, just dirt strips
10-29 Nouakchott GQNN 11:00 AM
10-29 Podor GOSP 11:41 AM
10-29 Rosso GORO 12:04 PM
10-29 St Louis GOSS 12:24 PM
10-29 Thies GOTH 12:58 PM
10-29 Blaise Diagne GOBD 1:06 PM
10-29 Leopold Sedar Senghor GOOY 1:24 PM 323nm next
10-29 Rabil GVBA 3:25 PM Virtual vision landing

Flight time 9:48 14 stops

First up, the way to Kiffa from Kaedi, starts tame enough

Kiffa, large spread out town with a photo featuring Niagara falls on Google

You can’t fool me, this is the real Kiffa

Carrying on to Aioun-El-Atrouss

The desert colors are coming back

Too bad the height map resolution doesn’t match the ground detail, this is what it looks like around Aioun-El-Atrouss after some rain

On to Tidjikja, a long stretch of empty desert to cross first

Until getting to the Tagant Plateau

Across the lonely road

Hopping up onto the Tagant plateau

Approaching Tidjikja

Tidjikja, capital of the Tagant region and is known for its palm trees

On the way to Letfotar

The landscape is getting more and more varied

Letfotar, maybe. The nearest settlement is unnamed, closest named town is Moudjéria, 12 miles away.

Continuing on to Akjoujt

Lake El’Aleib (maybe, unnamed on Bing, kinda questionable name placement on Google)

Names are sparse, but you can see a picture of what’s on the shelves in a local shop

Then follows a lot more desert with lovely sand dunes

The ground is starting to show patterns again

And then the scenery goes wild on approach to Akjoujt

To put the actual town in a rather mundane spot

Strange form of advertising, a local grocery store (Epicerie Tasamouh) has one picture up of a heavily bandaged guy hanging out on a chair in front of (blocking) an open steel door, taken from inside a Toyota that’s stopped in the middle of the street or driving by. Also the only contribution of the poster. I feel there’s a story here.

There was a good picture of Akjoujt as well

On the way Oumtounsy

Autoroute Akjoujt N1, long straight drive

A lonely grocery store down below with pictures of the inventory posted

More sand dunes along the way

Oumtounsy is the name of the airport at or rather in Nouakchott

Nouakchott is home to Mosque Saudique

There is also a fish market nearby with the colorful pirogues to fish with

Arriving at Podor along the river Senegal which forms the border between Mauritania and Senegal

Street view is (sporadically) available in Senegal, horse and buggy seems to be the popular form of transportation in Podor.

On to Rosso, That looks like a hand with a skull drawn in the thumb

Richard Toll, named for the park of the Château de Baron Roger, laid out by botanist Jean Michel Claude Richard. Senegal looks very much like France from the road signs to the style of concrete hydro poles. Senegal gained independence from France in 1960, not very long ago.

Quite busy on the streets, bustling town.

Arriving at St Louis

Another coastal town with lots of colorful boats

Thies, a major industrial city

And lastly arriving at the capital of Senegal, Dakar

Home to the African Renaissance monument and mosque of the divinity

I’m amazed I’ve never heard of this monument before. The first picture I saw of it was a few days ago posted in a small town in Guinea. I thought it was a joke picture, it’s a real thing. It is rather new, 2010 unveiling. 52 meter high bronze statue designed by Senegalese architect Pierre Goudiaby and made by Mansudae Overseas Projects in North Korea. For comparison, Christ the redeemer is ‘only’ 30 meters high.

I did know of Dakar from early on, Paris Dakar rally pc game from 1990. The rally is still going

Although the last time it went to Dakar was in 2007. From 2008 to 2019 it was held in South America due to security concerns in Mauritania and this year it was held in Saudi Aribia.

From Dakar I (or rather the plane) flew on to Cape Verde. I took a couple pictures of the sun getting low before letting it continue on its own. Near full moon today

I like how it lights up the logo on the wing

Taking a back seat for the rest of the flight

Cape Verde has no runway lights but does have a big runway in the G1000, virtual vision landing made easy. Tomorrow island hopping! I survived patch day, the game still works :smiley:

Leg 69, Rabil, Cape Verde via The Gambia to Kolda, Senegal

DAY10_30.PLN (5.1 KB)

Couple technical issues today due to the patch. The G1000 buttons keep turning on their own, it seems the button up event from the mouse is not always recognized anymore. Work around, remap cockpit zoom to button plus scroll wheel and use the scroll wheel to operate the G1000 knob.

Also TAA has changed, picture quality seems to have degraded some what even though I take screenshots at render scale 200. It could also be the terrain at Cape Verde, a lot of washed out pictures needing a bit of brightness and contrast adjustments.

The plane seems to be harder to control as well with wind or maybe the effect of wind is now better implemented. It was windy today in Cape Verde, up to 36 knots, making it very hard to land.

10-30 Rabil GVBA 5:02 AM
10-30 Amilcar Cabral GVAC 5:40 AM
10-30 Preguica GVSN 6:13 AM
10-30 Agostinho Neto GVAN 6:42 AM Took 3 attempts to land, 26 knot cross wind
10-30 Sao Pedro GVSV 7:10 AM
10-30 Esperadinha BVR 8:03 AM
10-30 Sao Filipe GVSF 8:18 AM Crazy wind, full steering lock to stay on the runway
10-30 Mosteiros GVMT 9:01 AM Awesome volcano
10-30 Mandela Intl GVNP 9:32 AM
10-30 Maio GVMA 9:50 AM 385nm next, 35 knot head wind ugh, climb!
10-30 Diofior GODI 12:50 AM
Restart, not sure if streaming is actually working or poor quality
10-30 Diofior GODI 12:50 AM poor quality
10-30 Banjul GBYD East through The Gambia 1:24 PM
10-30 Kolda GOGK 2:18 PM

Flight time 9:04 12 stops

First up Boa Vista, sadly very little detail

What the coast really looks like

There is an old freighter ran aground at the beach in 1968, Praia da Atalanta, but detail is too low to see it

Rabil, cute town next to the airport

São Nicolau to the West

Ribeira Brava, the airport is just to the left

Parque Natural Monte Gordo in the mountains, quite green in reality

Awesome coast line here as well

Vale do PaúlIlha de Santo Antão, or simply Paul Valley

Ponta do Sol, actually this landing was easier than it looks

Esgamaleiro tucked into that valley

Chã de Igreja

the real thing, those vertical cliffs on the water!

Tabuadinha

A little bit to the South-West, São Vicente

In the middle of the bay on the left is this rock, turned into tourist attraction

Mindelo on São Vicente

A long way to the South, Esperadinha Brava, another ‘interesting’ landing experience

Just East of Brava is Ilha do Fogo with a massive volcano, Pico do Fogo

Active 9,281 ft. stratovolcano

With a huge caldera, Fogo National Park

People live there, Bangera and Portela

The lava field at the base of the volcano

Fogo as seen from its caldera

Looking down into the caldera from the peak

And one more goodbye shot for the overview

On to Santiago a little bit to the East, Porto Mosquito to the right, sounds inviting…

Quite a colorful island

Praia, the capital of Cape Verde

View from Lighthouse Dona Maria Pia at the end of that small peninsula

Last island for today, Porto Inglês on Maio

Nice Beach. It’s still 27 degrees there at 11 PM, looks inviting

Back to the mainland, back to Senegal. Flying over Moundé

This area is part of the Saloum river delta

Bakau in The Gambia, a small country around the river Gambia

Kachikally Crocodile Pool in the middle of town where you can pet the crocodiles


Hmm, not sure if you can trust that one

Banjul, the capital of The Gambia

Arch 22, decorative gate commemorating 1994’s military coup d’état

I followed the river Gambia to the East until the sun went down

About time to turn South to my final destination of the day

Arriving in Kolda, Senegal, night lighting has changed

No lights at the airport, no problem, runway data was in the G1000

Tomorrow back to the coast and follow it Eastwards.

Leg 70, Kolda, Senegal via Guinea-Bissau, Guinea and Sierra Leone to Sinoe, Liberia

DAY10_31.PLN (7.3 KB)

Landing is still tricky after the latest patch. Something is messed up with the sensitivity curve of both the flight stick and the way the ailerons react. Auto pilot has issues as well, very jerky when switching to VS mode. While leveling off over the runway, when pulling the stick back slowly, there is a point where it suddenly gets super sensitive and the plane pitches up wildly. Move it a mm back and it violently pitches back down. For now my solution is to land with trim set to 20% up, thus pulling the stick less far back while landing.

First back to the coast, at Cap Skriring

Cap Skirring is a popular seaside resort for Europeans and great place to catch the waves

Varela National Park

The Rio Mansoa river delta

Bissau, the capital of Guinea-Bissau on the river Geba

Contrasting city, modern to decaying Portugese colonial buildings

Labe to the East in Guinea

Fouta Djallon next to Labe

Badala

Crossing into Sierra Leone near Kabala

Agriculture near Kabala

Interesting mountains near Makiti, a huge eroded plateau, must be old

Conakry the capital of Guinea

A long city, it actually started quite a bit way back from my first picture

Topped by the remnants of an old volcano

Îles de Los

Looking back on the city extending in the far distance

Museum and Grande Mosque of Conakry

Yasasi

Approaching Freetown in Sierra Leone

Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, known for its historical role in the slave trade

The old town’s centuries-old Cotton Tree, a historical landmark, symbol of emancipation

Freetown on departure

Near Rontok

Near Funkio, some nice colors along the coast

It’s all part of various river basins, here the Tai river basin

Heading in land again, passing Lanty dry mining plant

Apparently pruduces heavy minerals, rutile, ilmenite and zircon (Mr Zurcon?)

Kenema

Kambui Hills Forest Reserve next to Kenema

On the way to Robertsport, shields up

Robertsport, named after Joseph Jenkins Roberts, the first president of Liberia

The beach around here

Monrovia, capital of Liberia

View from Ducor intercontinental hotel

The old hotel is now a tourist attraction, with great views

You can explore it in street view, pretty cool

The layout reminds me of the abandoned building in The last of us 2

I flew on to Sinoe to arrive there in the dark with lots of lightning, drone view landing for visibility

Bright during a flash, near pitch black right after, fun landing with that going off every few seconds

1 Like

Leg 71, Sinoe, Liberia via Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo and Benin to Lagos, Nigeria

DAY11_1.PLN (7.4 KB)

Along the coast with a little peak into Togo to find nothing of particular interest. (A whole lot of cloud shaped holes with default texture filling)

11-01 Sinoe GLGE 4:46 AM
11-01 Grand Cess GRC 5:11 AM
11-01 Cape Palmas GLCP 5:28 AM
11-01 Tabou DITB 5:37 AM Cool kid drumming on google maps
11-01 Tabou DITA 5:47 AM
11-01 Nero-Sur-Mer DIGN 5:53 AM
11-01 San Pedro DISP 6:02 AM
11-01 Sassandra DISS 6:17 AM
11-01 Dabou DIDB 7:00 AM
Bad performance, restart
Also turning sharpen off in UserCFG.opt makes everything very blurry, no middle ground, TAA problem
11-01 Dabou DIDB 7:07 AM
11-01 Felix Houphouet-Boigny DIAP 7:23 AM
11-01 Aboisso DIAO 7:41 AM
11-01 Tiapoum DITI 7:51 AM
11-01 Takoradi AB DGTK 8:24 AM
Terrible performance, restart, streaming issues, constant lightning, delete rolling cache try without
11-01 Takoradi AB DGTK 8:32 AM
11-01 Kotoka Intl (Acra) DGAA 9:22 AM
11-01 Kpong DGAK 9:37 AM
11-01 Tokoin DXXX 10:19 AM
11-01 Akpaka DXAK 10:51 AM
11-01 Sokode DXSK 11:29 AM
11-01 Save DBBS 12:07 PM lot of cloud shaped, default farm texture, ‘holes’
11-01 Murtala Muhammed DNMM 1:03 PM

Flight time 8:02 19 stops

First up Cape Palmas

Monument at Cape Palmas, doesn’t say what for

Nero-Mer Airport, La Flotte, Côte d’Ivoire

Very nice beach here

Sassandra on the Sassandra river

Flying by Tioko over a big coastal lake

Abidjan, big city closer to the Ghana side of the border

Abidjan Plateau Mosque on the left, St Pauls Cathedral on the right

Elmina, Ghana

A bustling fishing port

With a long history of slave trade. Here the Dutch cemetary with Elmina castle in the background

Elmina castle was build in 1482 by the Portugese, a base for trading slaves. The Dutch attacked the Portugese in the 17th century from Fort St Jago, while recruiting Africans into their army. Then in 1735 the directors of the Dutch West India Company decided to shift the slave trade to Elmina Castle, where slaves were cheaper.

This leg is depressing. Born and raised in The Netherlands, yes I knew of the slave trade and we did learn about the West India Company in school. However the slave trade by the Dutch (and other stuff like South Africa and Indonesia) was conveniently left out of the history curriculum.

Cape Coast, a little bit further East

Cape Coast Castle, fort built by the Swedish in the 17th century.

It was later used by the British as a holding prison for slaves.

Accra, the capital of Ghana

Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park (left) honors Ghana’s first president.

Black star gate on the right, The star represents Africa in general and Ghana in particular.

Accra is also home to the world’s largest digital waste dump, Agbogbloshie

It’s nicknamed Sodom for the open fires used to extract metal from old electronics.

Flying by Kpong, lightning is going crazy all around

Lomé, the capital of Togo

No, that straight line is not a bug, it’s the border with Ghana

Akodessewa Fetish market on the left, the world’s largest voodoo market

Monument of independence on the right

Sokode, straight North from Lomé

Stade Municipal de Sokode, holds up to 10,000 people

The home stadium of AC Semassi F.C. and Tchaoudjo Athlétic Club

Arriving in Lagos, Nigeria, not long after sunset, view from the coast

Lagos is a major financial center for all of Africa with a rapidly expanding financial sector

Next to that, it also features an amazing night life

Leg 72, Lagos, Nigeria via Bioko island to Bali, Cameroon

DAY11_2.PLN (6.1 KB)

11-02 Murtala Muhammed DNMM 4:13 AM
11-02 New Ibadan DNIB 4:43 AM
11-02 Akure DNAK 5:16 AM
11-02 Benin DNBE 5:41 AM
11-02 Osubi DNSU 6:00 AM
11-02 Enugu DNEN 6:58 AM
11-02 Owerri Imo DNIM 7:25 AM
CTD right after coming to a stop (switching view to nav panel)
11-02 Owerri Imo DNIM 7:33 AM
11-02 Port Harcourt DNPO 7:47 AM
11-02 Port Harcourt City DNPR 7:54 AM
11-02 Eket DNEK 8:21 AM
11-02 Calabar DNCA 8:40 AM
11-02 Malabo FGSL 9:12 AM Mount Cameroon on the left
11-02 Tiko FKKC 10:33 AM
11-02 Douala FKKD 10:46 AM Mount Manengouba otw
11-02 Mamfe FKKF 11:34 AM
11-02 Bali FKKG 11:58 AM Drone cam landing

Flight time 7:37 15 stops

Bing coverage is a bit of a modern art piece in these regions


Luckily the weather provided the views instead

First up, Ibadan, the largest city by geographical area in Nigeria, 6 million people

Bowers tower is one of the landmarks in Ibadan, good spot to view the city

A historic monument put up to honor Captain Robert Lister Bower

A first, a late first, after 1200 approaches, dead on without ever changing direction after taking off

Akure

Just North of Ogbunike where Ogbunike Cave is in the forest behind the yellow fields

Ogbunike cave and peculiar instructions

When you look it up online it incorrectly shows pictures of Hang Sơn Đoòng in Vietnam, which I will certainly visit, but this cave is about a hundredth of the size. The largest chamber in this cave is still pretty big, 10 by 30 meters by 5 meters high.

Enugu, derived from two Igbo words Énú Ụ́gwụ́ meaning “hill top”

Port Harcourt, connected by a large estuary to the Bight of Bonny aka Bight of Biafra

Crossing the Imo river

To Eket, yep lots of lightning and thunder

Rey estuary

Malabo on Bioko island, Equatorial Guinea. Island not far off the coast

Saint-Isabel of Malabo

Climbing up Pico Basilé

Volcanic mountain peak, 9,878 ft high

It feels like the weather doesn’t want me here, the clouds are chasing me

Reserva Científica de la Caldera de Luba formerly San Carlos

The Gran Caldera de Luba Scientific Reserve is a protected area of 51,000 hectares

A bit better view closer up

View from down below

Back to the mainland, Mt Cameroon, aka Mongo ma Ndemi (“Mountain of Greatness”)

13,250 ft high, part of the Cameroon volcanic line, same as Pico Basilé earlier

Diving down to Tiko, Mt Cameroon remains hidden

Got to escape the catcher!

Flying by Tiko, small town on the edge of another large estuary

Douala in the between the Wouri and Dibamba rivers

La Pagode aka Palace of the Kings Bell from the German colonial period on the left

La Nouvelle Liberté produced by Joseph-Francis Sumégné in 1996, now a symbol of the city

Mount Manengouba in the never ending lightning

Featured in the documentary The Mists of Mwanenguba

Flying onwards to Mamfe

The sun is getting low

Mamfe on the Manyu River

Checkpoint in Mamfe

Racing to my last stop, it’s getting dark fast

No runway lights, no G1000 data, prepare the drone, max exposure

Made it, barely, Bali formerly the center of a kingdom

Awesome pictures !

You might wanna join our new thread.
It’s the windows spotlight challenge :slightly_smiling_face:

Leg 73, Bali, Cameroon to via Central African Republic to Gbadolite, Democratic Republic of the Congo

DAY11_3.PLN (4.5 KB)

The switch to winter time and moving further East are cutting into the hours I can explore. It was dark at 11 AM already today. Considering the circumference of the Earth is 21639 NM at the equator, every 900 nm further East is one less hour of sunlight. At some point I’ll have to make the switch to playing in the evening/night. Currently sun rise would be at 10:30 pm from my pov.

11-03 Bali FKKG 5:37 AM
11-03 Bafoussam FKKU 5:58 AM
11-03 Foumbot FKFO 6:06 AM
11-03 Nkounja FKKM 6:10 AM
11-03 Tibati FKTI 7:08 AM
11-03 N’gaoundere FKKN 7:30 AM
11-03 Bocaranga FEGC 8:25 AM
11-03 Bossangoa FEFS 9:13 AM
11-03 M’Poko FEFF 10:12 AM
11-03 Bangui FEBA 10:17 AM
11-03 Gbadolite FZFD 11:16 AM Too dark for drone cam, runway lights!

Flight time 5:53 10 stops

Another day with thunder and lightning from start to finish

Climbing or a a couple ridges that form a horseshoe near Ntendzem

Reservoir of the Mapé aka Lake Bankim

Peculiar landscape between Nkounja and Tibati

Trees grow in/along the drainage channels, too dry further out

Lake Mbakaou, dam in the river Sanaga

Ngaoundal, there is a Bauxite mine nearby is about all the info on this town

On the way to N’gaoundere

I guess that ditch is a little more than a ditch in reality to lead a road around it

Crossing the Djerem river

Rainbow at Bocaranga, crossed in to Central African Republic

Near Bobili, it’s really pouring now (except on my windshield)

Arriving at Bossangoa

No info on Bossangoa, onwards to M’Poko

Two drops of water on the windshield if you look closely!

It cleared up a bit near Bado

Not for long, on approach to Bangui

Bafinli just North of Bangui

Bangui, the capital of Central African Republic, on the Ubangi river

No info or rather landmarks in the capital.

There are some pictures online including this panoramic shot

The city was taken over by rebel forces in 2013 and the most recent cease fire from 2019 was broken again this year. On 17 February 2020, members of the Popular Front for the Rebirth of Central Africa (FPRC) attacked MINUSCA forces in Birao, leading to 12 FPRC forces being killed. The country has been in a state of civil war since 2012.

Following the Ubangi river for a bit

On the way to Gbadolite

It gets dark early now and fast

Gbadolite, just over the border (the Ubangi river) into Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was known as Versailles of the jungle, Mobutu’s modern high tech city in the jungle.

The airport was also build by Mobutu, large enough to accommodate the Concorde. He further build the largest nuclear bunker of Africa there, room for 500 people, and two palaces.

After Mobutu got ousted in 1997 the city and palaces were raided and the palaces left abandoned

Leg 74, Gbadolite DRC via Central African Republic to Impfondo, Democratic Republic of the Congo

DAY11_4.PLN (6.1 KB)

Another full day of lightning, it never ends!

11-04 Gbadolite FZFD 5:04 AM
11-04 Mobaye MBanga FEFE 5:11 AM
11-04 Bakouma FEGM 6:02 AM
11-04 Yalinga FEFY 6:28 AM
11-04 M’Boki FEGE 7:43 AM
11-04 Zemio FEFZ 8:06 AM
11-04 Bondo FZBY 9:01 AM
11-04 Bondo (Likali) FZDW 9:17 AM
11-04 Aketi FZKN 9:34 AM
11-04 Yalingimba FZGI 10:00 AM
11-04 Bumba FZFU 10:13 AM
11-04 Lisala FZGA 10:40 AM
11-04 Pimu FZBX 10:58 AM
11-04 Binga FZGE 11:17 AM
11-04 Gwaka FZFW 11:29 AM Drone cam landing
11-04 Impfondo FCOI 12:25 PM virtual vision landing

Flight time 7:21 15 stops

A look at Mobutu’s abandoned palace in Gbadolite from the previous leg

Yalinga, heading North first, back into Central African Republic

Flying over Chinko Nature Reserve

The reserve spans nearly 7,000 square miles, that’s seven times Luxembourg

The whole area lies on a volcanic plateau 2,000 ft above sea level

Approaching M’Boki, rain has moved in

Which brings out the rainbows

M’Boki Airport

Heading back South into the Democratic Republic of the Congo over Western Bomu Wildlife Reserve

Eastern Bomu wildlife Reserve

No info on the Bomu reserves, it’s pretty wet

with a varied and colorful terrain

Bondo on the river Uele

Flying over the river on departure

Bumba on the river Congo

Finally a town with a couple pictures, looks like it was a flood situation

The Congo river

My only ‘knowledge’ of the Congo is from the 1995 movie, Congo, mediocre blockbuster now cult-classic

Not to be confused with the 2019 movie Congo which has nothing to do with the 1995 one

Most likely also not a good source to learn more about the Congo

For that this would be the documentary to watch

Moving on to Lisala

A packed ferry at Lisala

Crossing the Congo river again

Binga at dusk

I continued on to Impfondo, the dark airstrip was in the G1000, here lit by lightning

So much lightning!

Leg 75, Impfondo, Democratic Republic of the Congo via Republic of the Congo and Gabon to Djoum, Cameroon

DAY11_5.PLN (4.5 KB)

11-05 Impfondo FCOI 4:14 AM
11-05 Mbandaka FZEA 4:53 AM Follow the river
11-05 Gamboma FCOG 6:01 AM Extremely low res terrain in between
11-05 Lekana LKC 6:34 AM
11-05 M’Vengue FOON 7:10 AM
11-05 Koulamouto FO23 7:37 AM
11-05 Booue FOGB 8:01 AM
11-05 Mekambo FOOE 8:50 AM
11-05 Ouesso FCOU 9:45 AM
Restart, weirdly overbright and streaming only sporadically
11-05 Ouesso FCOU 9:52 AM
11-05 Masea FKYK 10:34 AM Server issues, slow streaming
11-05 Djoum FKSA 11:38 AM Drone cam landing

Another day with thunder and lightning, however it did finally stop after I restarted the game due to streaming issues. The last 90 minutes were thunder free!

It started with some nasty weather, approach to MBandaka over the Congo river

A little break under the clouds to spot the town, MBandaka

The view on a good day

MBandaka has a large botanical garden, Jardin Botanique d’EALA

Next to all the flora it houses a Nile Crocodile captured in 1953. They get between 70 and 100 years old, the picture of him was from Dec 2018, living there for 65 years already.

Today it was nasty in MBandaka, on the runway lit by lightning

Following the Congo river further South West

About here the Ubangi river joins the Congo river

I can’t even see the sides in this weather

Arriving in Gamboma accross the fuzzy border (the river Congo) in to Republic of the Congo

From Gambona to Lekana, got my reading light on, not much to see

With the weather and streaming issues on top, I decided to climb above the clouds to Koulamouto

It cleared up for a bit over the Ogooue river at the GRand Poubara Hydropower Plant in Gabon

Bridge over the river at the Chutes de Poubara

Approaching Koulamouto on the Lolo river

Nice paved runway at Koulamouto

Lots of trees here

Booue on the Ogooue river

Nice town, just 6.6 miles South of the Equator

Looks like logging is one of the activities here, big trees

Spotting the Lvindio River in between the clouds

Ouesso on the Sangha river, back in the Republic of the Congo

The ferry from Ouesso to Brazzaville

Ouesso is known for the pygmy peoples who live nearby. The smallest peoples in the world

There are between 250,000 and 600,000 Pygmies living in the Congo rainforest

Boumba Bek National Park in Cameroon, an ocean of trees

Descending to take a closer look at the rain forest

Better not run out of fuel on this stretch, no emergency landing sites anywhere

Sunset over Nki National Park, connected to Boumba Bek National Park

Dusk doesn’t last long, luckily still enough light for a drone cam landing in Djoum

Leg 76, Djoum, Cameroon via Equatorial Guinea and São Tomé and Príncipe to Gamba, Gabon

DAY11_6.PLN (5.2 KB)

11-06 Djoum FKSA 4:28 AM
11-06 Oyem FOGO 5:06 AM
11-06 Campo FGRI 5:57 AM
11-06 Ntoum FONT 6:46 AM
11-06 Leon M’ba (Libreville) FOOL 6:56 AM
11-06 Corisco Intl OCS 7:10 AM
11-06 Sao Tome Intl FPST 8:19 AM
11-06 Port Gentil FOOG 9:33 AM
11-06 Lambarene FOGR 10:15 AM
11-06 Fougamou FOGF 10:39 AM
11-06 Mouila Ville FOGM 11:03 AM
11-06 Ndende FOND 11:22 AM
11-06 Gamba FOGA 11:47 AM

Flight time 5:15 12 stops

Yep, thunder and lightning, quite a bit of rain as well. I am flying over the rain forest so to be expected.

The rain forest with that vertical sun at the equator

Approaching Campo, Cameroon

Campo is on the North side of the river Campo in Cameroon (left)

On the South side is Rio Campo in Equatorial Guinea (right)

Coming in for a landing at Campo, nice little strip cleared for me

The beach is awesome here

To the South to Bata, large port city in Equatorial Guinea

It has an international airport, but it’s messed up and unavailable in game

The darker spots (eg in front) are clouds on the source data

St. James and Our Lady of the Pillar Cathedral on the left

Torre de La Libertad, monument with a restaurant inside it on the right (front left in the picture above)

Further South to Libreville, the capital of Gabon

Two unique churches there, Notre Dame de Lourdes and Cathédrale Sainte Marie

Corisco, a little island not far from the coast with an international airport for 2,500 inhabitants

Going a bit further West to São Tomé, leaving the rain behind

Clear above the water, but it won’t last

São Tomé, the capital of São Tomé and Príncipe (Principe is an island to the North)

National musem in an old fort, don’t trip over the cannons

Obo National Park, Pico S. Tomé sticking out

Can’t see much, most of the island is shrouded in clouds

I was looking for Pico Cão Grande

The height data is not there, it’s simply missing

Ilheu das Rolas, little island off the South coast of São Tomé

The island is on the equator (equator in red, looking South-West)

In the middle is the equator landmark

Back to the mainland, approaching Lambarene, Gabon

Lambarene on the river Ogooué

It is known for the Albert Schweitzer Hospital, still in use with a museum inside

It was built by the German doctor in the early 20th century to treat tropical diseases

Lot of rain in the rain forest on the way to Fougamou

Approaching Fougamou, small town along the Ngounié river

A break from the rain on the ‘runway’ in Fougamou

On the way to Ntende, starting to get late (sun sets a bit before 6 pm locally)

Quick, one more flight to Gamba

Gamba, Gabon, on the coast and the southern bay of the Ndogo Lagoon.

Leg 77, Gamb, Gabon via Angola and Republic of the Congo to Simisimi, Democratic Republic of the Congo

DAY11_7.PLN (7.7 KB)

Another day exploring the rain forest, which tbh feels like going back and forth over the ocean, except you can’t spot ‘islands’ until you’re on top of a change in geography. The difference, there are airports or rather air fields in the jungle.

11-07 Gamba FOGA 4:01 AM
11-07 Mayumba FOOY 4:24 AM
11-07 Noumbi FCPN 4:49 AM
11-07 Pointe Noire FCPP 5:16 AM
11-07 Cabinda FNCA 5:40 AM
11-07 Muanda FZAG 5:51 AM
11-07 Kitona Base FZAI 5:55 AM
11-07 Soyo FNSO 6:02 AM
11-07 Matadi FZMT 6:21 AM
11-07 Boma FZAJ 6:28 AM
11-07 Matadi-Tshimpi FZAM 6:51 AM
11-07 Inga FZAN 7:05 AM
11-07 Loutete FCBT 7:37 AM Missing airstrip, road in place
11-07 Maya-Maya FCBB 8:14 AM
11-07 N’djili Intl FZAA 8:25 AM
11-07 Bandundu FZBO 9:21 AM
11-07 Kempile FZBV 9:45 AM
11-07 Mboliasa FZBT 10:26 AM Broken airport, runway is a long building
11-07 Mangai FZME 11:18 AM
11-07 Boende FZDR Too dark for done cam
11-07 Simisimi (Kisangani) FZIA 1:42 PM

Flight time 9:41 18 stops (skipped two, broken airport and too dark for drone camera)

Starting my flight today by following the coast South, the weather is still the same

Mayumba on the Banio Lagoon

Nice on a good day with some wrecks to explore

Mayumba National Park

Pointe Noir, oil industry hub in Republic of the Congo

It is also the terminus of the French colonial Congo-Ocean Railway

Gare de Pointe-Noire

515 km long, the Congo-Ocean railway line connects Pointe-Noire to Brazzaville. Bing does have the route in vector data, not in the game however and not visible on the aerial data.

Cabinda, an exclave of Angola seeking their own independence as the Republic of Cabinda

Boma, port town on the river Congo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Boma is home to Baobab de Stanley, 700 year old, 19-meter diameter giant

Named after the explorer Stanley who spent some nights in this tree in August 1877

Matadi, chief sea port of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Matadi bridge, historical landmark and an essential connection across the river Congo

Matadi is a big city, the Mpozo river joins the Congo river on the other side of the city

Inga, further along the Congo river in more hilly terrain

Perfect for a double hydro dam

Unfortunately obscured by a huge cloud on Bing, nothing there in game

Brazaville, the capital of Republic of the Congo and other end of the Congo-Ocean railway line

Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza Memorial, the French explorer who founded Brazzaville in October 1880.

Right across the Congo River, Kinshasa, capital of Democratic Republic of the Congo

N’Dolo airport (FZAB) inside the city, missing from the game

Stade des Martyrs (de la Pentecôte) originally named Stade Kamanyola, opened 1993, capacity 80,000

The stadium was renamed in memory of four ministers purged by Mobutu Sese Seko and hanged at the site on June 2nd 1966

Just South of Kinshasa, Lola ya Bonobo, rehabilitation center for orphaned bonobos

Kutu people, that’s the name of the town behind me

Flying over Crique d’Obeke (lake down below)

Kiri Territory

The town of Kiri has a bugged airport, MBoliasa (FZBT)

The runway is a stretched out building and no flat roof to land on. Can’t land here.

Mangai or rather Ipope at these coordinates (S2° 34’ 31.04",E20° 21’ 52.22")

Colorful but no clue what is going on here

The sun goes down fast on the way to Bounde with nothing but trees in sight

By the time I got to Bounde it was too dark for even a drone cam landing at max exposure. So I decided to fly on to Kisangani (or rather let AP fly on). Not much to miss in this area but more trees!

Kissingani, the largest of the cities that lie in the tropical woodlands of the Congo

Nicely lit runway, easy landing.

More trees tomorrow. Btw the lightning actually stopped!

Leg 78, Simisimi, Democratic Republic of the Congo to Cazombo, Angola

DAY11_8.PLN (4.1 KB)

11-08 Simisimi (Kisangani) FZIA 4:09 AM
11-08 Kindu FZOA 5:34 AM
11-08 Lubao FZLA 6:07 AM
11-08 Tunta (Kabinda) FZWT 6:52 AM
CTD on approach, crashed Firefox as well, restart
11-08 Tunta FZWT vincinity 6:57 AM
11-08 Tunta FZWT 7:03 AM
11-08 Kabalo FZKR 7:19 AM
11-08 Bukama FZED 7:53 AM
Streaming issues, restart
11-08 Bukama FZED 7:59 AM
11-08 Lusinga FZRL 8:23 AM
11-08 Bukama FZDX 8:56 AM
11-08 Kisenge FZQP 10:15 AM
11-08 Cazombo FNCZ 10:51 AM Drone cam landing, dark early

Flight time 6:31 9 stops

More jungle while heading South. Pretty uneventful flight for lack of info on the places I visited. The scenery did change a bit but still dominantly a lot of trees.

Heading South along the Lualaba River, here near Ubundu

The Boyoma falls are nearby, however the only picture at Ubundu is showing Niagara falls, nice try

These are the Boyoma falls, not much to see in game, nothing but smooth water

On the way to Lubao, thunder and lightning

Some breaks in the trees on the way to Tunta

A bit more color towards Kabola, sunny again

Kitenge, not Kabalo as the game suggests, nice long stretch of dirt to land on

Kabalo is about 90 miles to the North-East

Old locomotive near Kitenge

Upemba National Park

The land rises up a lot here, I was flying at 5,000 ft at some point

Lusinga, tiny town in he back

Another shot of the highlands of Upemba National Park

Bukama on the Congo river near lake Kabwe

Kisenge, zero info on this town

And it’s already getting dark on the way to Cazombo, Angola

Safely landed in Cazombo on the Zambezi river, using the drone cam’s high exposure

Early dark, yet locally the full day is still ahead, 20c, no clouds, tiny breeze, a harsh Canadian November day haha. Time to head outside.