Page 14 - Nov23

Arriving into Lilongwe, Malawi (FWKI) for a fueling quick turn before the final stop at Lanseria.
It was cloudy in Kenya, but on the flight southbound we got an impressive view of Mount Kilimanjaro. The top of the clouds were at FL210, we flew at FL220, and Kilimanjaro stood majestically above FL230 with a trail of wind-swept clouds downwind of her.
I was cautious coming into our next stop, Lilongwe, Malawi (FWKI). During my last experience, I was forced to pay excessive fees. We had a completely different encounter on this trip because Byron – a local to the continent – called an associate to handle all of the fees for us. The $133 was a fraction of the thousands I’d been asked to pay the last time I stopped at FWKI. We never left the airplane, were refueled in less than 30 minutes and effectively conducted a quick turn.
The final leg seemed relaxing. As heavy clouds started to wane, the beautiful mountains of eastern South Africa began to reveal themselves in all their glory. South Africa is a beautiful country and easily one of the most productive economies on the continent. Signs of civilization grew more numerous and soon we were “diving and driving” on a super-steep right downwind to Lanseria, South Africa (FALA).
At FALA, there were more friends to see us through. The brokers who helped purchase the B100 were there and had everything ready for us. Both the airplane and
crew made it through customs with no delays. This was important because I had an airline flight to catch. Within an hour of landing at FALA, I was at Tambo International Airport (FAOR) awaiting my flight back to the U.S.
Looking back
I’m still amazed every time I move an airplane around the world. A one-mile hunk of asphalt really is a gateway to the entire world. It is a marvel that we can jump in a King Air in Florida and end up in South Africa five days later, having stepped foot on 12 countries and three continents, all in seamless, zipper-like fluidity. The trip was about 50 hours of flight time. We averaged 15 knots on the tail, I suspect a flight from South Africa back to Florida would take an additional 5-10 hours of flight time.
A few observations:
Two ways to make your ground experience go smoothly: have a friend or contact in country and tip well. A $5 USD will get you out of many a jam. Tip more than that, they know you probably have more money onboard.
European airspace has 20 times the number of waypoints on a given route than what we experience in the U.S. Be prepared for ATC to change routes on you, we had it happen three times on one leg of this trip.
This flight couldn’t have been done without Shepherd Aero, the flight management company that provides trip support on every international flight I take. There’s a multitude of overflight permits, meal negotiations, customs events, hotel reservations, fuel uploads, ground transportation reservations and passport paperwork that can be overlooked by the untrained, with one small hiccup causing huge ripples downstream.
Airplanes are an amazing bridge to the rest of the world. I’m looking forward to the next trip and I hope this account will encourage you to let your airplane take you to places that are different and exciting, places that expand horizons and invigorate the soul. KA
Joe Casey is the owner of Casey Aviation, Inc. based at the Angelina County Airport (KLFK) in eastern Texas, which manages various King Air aircraft, a TBM, many PA46 variants and provides insurance- approved flight training in many models of airplanes. He has over 17,500 hours of total flight time, over 4,000 of which are in King
Air airframes. He is a certified ATP-ME/SE and Commercial Pilot Rotorcraft-Helicopter and Glider ratings. Casey is also a Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) with BE-300 type rating issuing authority up
to the ATP level, and also holds CFI, CFII, MEI, CFI-H, CFI-IH, CFI-G certificates. He has flown over 83 North Atlantic crossings in King Air aircraft.
12 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
NOVEMBER 2023