I think it is time to plan a new Bahamas/Caribbean trip. The last one was in 2003 in a Diamond DA-40 (write-up). Back then I wrote “The bible of Caribbean flying is the Bahamas & Caribbean Pilot’s Guide by John and Betty Obradovich.” This has been taken over by AOPA and split into two hardcopy books ($80/year for the latest versions) and/or two apps ($80/year for updates). They try to get the new versions out on October 15 of each year.
The guides are good on the basic stuff that you’d find in the FAA Chart Supplement (AF/D): runway length, fuel availability, phone numbers. They add information on nearby hotels, restaurants, and activities, plus some overview information on each island. They’re weak on some critical details for planning stops, e.g., what does it actually cost to stop for two nights in a light single-engine plane? Phone numbers are included, but not the email addresses that a pilot trying to plan would likely prefer. As with a lot of other resources in aviation, the guides assume that you already know what you need to know, i.e., that you’ve already decided which airports to visit. If you know that you want to fly the island chain, but aren’t sure where to stop and don’t have time to make dozens of phone calls, it might be better to let an experienced handler such as Air Journey plan the trip ($795) because they’ll know which airports/countries not to stop in. (See “Is it possible to build an app whose job is to use another app?” for how ForeFlight and Garmin Pilot have the same issue.)
[Wishlist for the guides: (1) fee grid for every airport showing quickturn and 2-night stop all-in fees for light singles, light twins, and single-engine turboprop, (2) a section with suggested itineraries for people who don’t know where they want to go. The suggested itineraries would include airports with reasonable fees and nearby pleasant hotels and/or attractions.]
BeechTalk seems to be a great resource for trip planning. Folks there have done everything. I posted a question about an Eastern Caribbean trip and got back a lot of helpful information, the most inspiring of which was this 2018 tale (unfolding in the replies over 6 pages) of flying a Columbia 400 from Texas to Argentina.
[My initial idea for a trip:
Turks and Caicos may get scratched due to $300 in fees for an overnight (or a lot more if on a weekend of after hours!). The 100LL price at MBPV is quite reasonable, though.]
I thought that it would be fun to stop on the way back in Cap Haitien. The AOPA guide says “cattle and people have unrestricted access to the airport”. From a Pilatus pilot: “I have 18 landings in Haiti. In my opinion, going to Cap Haitien would be stupid, very stupid. There is no security for your plane, and not much to see. I’d rather be out of Haiti thinking about going to Haiti, than be in Haiti, worrying about getting out. If you really need Haiti in your logbook, I would consider Jacmel, but I wouldn’t go there either. As I was told before my first flight there ‘Remember that Haiti’s business is poverty’. The last time I was there, I did a short field takeoff on departure [from a super long runway] to get the F### out of there!”
The Caribbean is one of those places where it vaguely does make sense to fly yourself around in a light airplane. There are no highways linking the desired stops!
Related:
- Caribbean Flying Adventures (recommended by folks on BeechTalk), a $40/year service that also runs some escorted tours
Your website’s new design burns my retinas. Please, before I go blind, use a proper Bootstrap CSS theme. Its trivial, literally takes only minutes to setup, just google “bootstrap wordpress”. There are hundreds of free themes with beautifully designed fonts, colors, and layouts.
> (2) a section with suggested itineraries for people who don’t know where they want to go.
http://www.tripadvisor.com has rankings of things to do, hotels, restaurants, etc. Posting a question in their “travel forums” gets lots of informed replies.
Seconded with acclamation!
Hi Phil, Chris here from the Beechtalk thread – I flew the Columbia from Texas to Argentina and back! Looking forward to hearing about your next trip. It was your own article about Flying the Caribbean that got me wanting to fly there..
That’s a lot of planning. There must be somewhere a private pilot’s license lets you go whenever you feel like it, without paying $800 to plan the plan & which isn’t faster by car.
My comment “seconded with acclamation” was intended to quote the comment asking for the new glaring whiteness to be changed.
More substantially, I wonder whether it is responsible for a parent to indulge in needlessly hazardous luxuries such as helicopter and fixed-wing general aviation. There are many risks that cannot well be avoided, and voluntary ones that need not be taken. For myself and my family I certainly consider general aviation as risky luxuries. Admittedly my continued life as a father might do more harm to my children in the long run than if I were to be maimed or killed in a flying accident, but perhaps not. Maybe they would have better life-chances if I remained available to support their development.
Just thinking aloud, as it were.
lion: “There must be somewhere a private pilot’s license lets you go whenever you feel like it, without paying $800 to plan the plan & which isn’t faster by car.”
Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of practical arguments to be made for light aircraft. If you need to get to Martha’s Vineyard every weekend, for example, that’s kind of an ideal trip (but Cape Air flies there too and you don’t have to pay for a hangar and annual inspection, just a ticket!). Moosehead Lake in Maine? Mackinac Island, Michiagn. The plane looks a lot better when the car gets stopped by a ferry link!
Bernie: You raise some great points. Certainly flying is more dangerous than staying home, but you can say the same for skiing. Also for going out driving on a rainy night. The Cirrus has the advantage of a parachute if things aren’t going well.