The trip through the remainder of the Middle East into Asia needed to be completed quickly as we were under some time pressure now. The next four legs from Luxor , Egypt back to Bangkok were long. We would also be passing through areas of greater bureaucracy with higher risk of encountering weather problems now that Asia was in the tail end of the monsoon season.
We read of crews flying incredibly long flights – so over 15 hours. Well this leg from Luxor to Muscat was long enough for us. Thanks to the Ovations speed we covered the 1450nm in just less than 9 hours. The airplane averaged over 14 miles/gallon burning 11 gph at an average ground speed of 163 knots – not much wind affect on this leg.
Our route was simple. Across the Red Sea, straight over Saudi Arabia, overhead Dubai, Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman to Muscat. Radio coverage was good and the controllers easy to work with. Flying across the Middle East and Asia , you rarely get a “direct” clearance even if you have the required navigation equipment on board. It is extremely nice to have the Garmin 1000 to plug in enroute course changes and to give you instant estimates of time to next waypoint. You are asked for this information often so if you don't have a way to compute it in your nav. system – keep your calculator and maps handy as you will need them
Our handling agent in Egypt was great – AN Aviation – and he got us through departure formalities quickly. We were airborne on schedule at 9:30am , but with time changes, it was dark when we arrived in Oman .
Approaching Muscat; welcome sight…….
Old fort; coast of Muscat…………….
The agent in Oman was Oman Air. They were also fabulous. On arrival, we were met at the airplane, escorted into the airport and through customs in minutes – very smooth and easy. Departure was the same. Filing the flight plan at their operations center, arranging fuel (they accept BP card) and payments were done quickly, with competent and courteous staff. Also, we had our oxygen bottle refilled by Oman Air engineering; it is not easy to find oxygen in this area so if you need now you know where to go!!! We had a good experience with Oman Air handling and recommend them to anyone.
NOTE ON DRESS FOR MIDDLE EAST AIRPORTS: Once you leave Europe it is wise to wear some form of aircrew dress. In our case we just wore white shirts with epaulets, dark pants and shoes – with no tie. This conforms to air crew dress. Also, wear an Air Crew identification card. In other words – look like a flight crew – not a military crew with flight suits however. You can get a visa on arrival at Luxor . Our experience in Oman , Pakistan and India was that they did not require a visa for aircrews staying up to 72 hours – this included Lec who carries a Thailand passport. We had already acquired visas for Pakistan and India so rule this did not benefit us. Now that I have told you this – issues like “who is aircrew” might be interpreted differently by various agents so check before your arrival. The agents we met definitely did not expect us to have visas.
Muscat area proved to be somewhat of a disappointment to us. Perhaps because it was Ramadan and most facilities are closed in the afternoon; we were not able to experience the real culture of this area. After spending two days at the Ramee Guestline Hotel (very average hotel with poor service) we were ready to leave and push hard for Thailand via Pakistan and India .
I made a big mistake during take off from Oman . In the rush to get airborne and with a Russian aircraft waiting right behind us, I did not take sufficient care in doing the pre take off check. As a result I took off with the nose trim partially in the down position. As we reached rotation speed, pulling back on the controls did not produce the normal response. I pulled harder and harder; eventually the nose lifted and up we went, gradually. At this point I realized what was wrong and corrected the trim 200' over the runway. Every pilot has done something like that no matter how much experience you have- be honest. The lesson is – take the required time, care and follow the check list procedures diligently. Do not succumb to other influences and pressure when you are responsible for flying safely.
The flight over to Karachi was short in comparison. Only 500 miles and 3 ½ hours flight time. The departure controller gave us routing which did not conform to our flight plan but since it was more direct, straight across the Arabian Sea , I was happy to accept it. One hundred miles out the next controller seemed to pick up our flight planned route and directed us to turn north towards the Iran coastline – OK since that was where we were originally expected to be anyway. After a short time he mysteriously rerouted us on an eastbound course almost direct to Karachi . Great and one of the few experiences where we were able to fly a GPS direct course. Nice guy……..
Weather arriving at Karachi was good and we were vectored to the ILS approach at the international airport. Arriving from the south west you must be careful. There is a military airport very close to your track arriving at Jinnah International. The approach controller was very diligent in warning us of this military location and certainly wanted to make sure we did not land there…….
We stayed at the Mercure Grand Hotel in Karachi . It is only 5 minutes from the airport and they provide a free courtesy car to and from the airport – unusual in this region. It is a new, excellent hotel. Rates are considerably less and it is more convenient than the Marriott and Pearl Continental hotels which many ferry crews recommend. We did not see any sights of Karachi as we were only there overnight and unfortunately we did not take any pictures.
We hired agents from Pakistan 's, Shaheen Airline, to do our handling. Although very pleasant they were less than efficient. Also, General Aviation parking is very far from the terminal so don't plan to walk from your airplane to the arrivals hall. Security probably will not let you and it is VERY FAR.
On departure, we encountered long delays waiting for paperwork and refueling. It took more than 2 ½ hours to get going after arrival at the airport in the early morning. Avgas was a big part of our delay. Avgas is available only from Shell but Jet A fuel from several companies. Shell does not accept credit cards – US $ cash only. After a long wait and many phone calls, two Shell guys finally arrived at the airplane in a small truck. Their fuel dispenser has no gauge. So they use a dipstick and I had to trust that they are putting the right amount of fuel on board because I did not see the starting level on the dipstick – in our case I am quite sure they did fill the amount requested.
NOTE ABOUT HANDLING: Many crews attempt self handling in Luxor , particularly, because it has a reputation as being high cost – which is correct. We chose to use an agent in Luxor , Oman and Pakistan . First of all because it is stated as being mandatory in some of these airports but mainly because we do not know procedures or where offices are located in these large airports. It can be very aggravating and time consuming to learn as you work through the process at each airport. Most of the charges are set by the airport – not the agent – so the small amount of money saved bypassing the agent in “difficult airports” seems insignificant to me in the scope of a RTW trip.
Luxor, Egypt - Muscat, Oman
