A African Bush Trip in JPLogistics Cessna 152.
King Shaka Intl to Morocco. Roughly 6,700 miles.
Pilots (Captain’s) Log
Day 3
Leg 2
Lumbago (FNUB) to Bie (FNKU)
Distance: 293 miles
After freshening up and eating, I headed back to my plane.
I powered her up for hopefully the last time today? Then radioed for taxi clearance and departure.
It seems the winds had changed as I was assigned runway 10, the opposite end to my assigned landing.
On taxiing to my assigned runway it seems a member of the groundcrew was in a rush to get home?
Taki complete, I radioed for clearance then proceeded to line up on the runway.
Throttling up I started down the runway, fighting the crosswinds all the way to rotation.
Pulling back on the stick the nose rose and I was up and on my way.
Checking the gauges and my course. All OK.
Angola here I come!
Headed to Angola my final destination for today was like flying over a totally different continent!
As you will see…
On this leg I opted to just have the one waypoint set at 182miles, Cuima Airport. As I was starting to tire I opted to fly without any detours.
Though below still looked a bit parched, there was certainly a lot more ranches scattered about.
The further I travelled North East, the greener the land became.
Before long, I was flying over farmsteads with cultivated land.
Only 170 miles from Lubango, and it was like I was flying over a different continent.
On my approach to my first waypoint, the sight that lay in front of me was awe-inspiring.
I was very tempted at this point to backtrack and land at Cuima, then dive into that inviting blueness.
But no, I need to reach my destination. So my journey continued, 111 miles to go.
With the inviting blueness left well behind me, I continued flying North East. Passing over scenery that I never believed existed in this part of Africa.
So far I was really enjoying this final leg of todays flight, but I was still looking forwards to getting back down on terraferma.
Just 7miles to go, my destination was almost in sight.
Finally I was upon the small airport, and setup for landing!
As I circled the airstrip, I kept one eye open for any signs of a hotel in the town below.
Right time to put this bird down on the asphalt…
All lined up and looking good.
Crosswinds, minimal…
Easy does it…
Touchdown!
My best landing of the day!
Now to taxi to my parking spot.
Hang on while I go and see if this place has a hotel.
Hey bud, is there a hotel in this town…
Sadly, no hotel. Though there is a small motel nearby.
Right time to check the old girl over and put her to bed.
Hey bud! Is there anywhere I can get a beer …
Day 3: Completed