Flying to Costa Rica
NW_PILOT
Rica but I want to fly my self there has anyone in the group done this trip?
if so what would I expect along the route, I know I would be flying through
a lot of different country's along the route is their a guide on what I
would need to take or do prior to departing areas to stay clear of ect. I am
having trouble finding info on this thanks in advance.
C J Campbell
"NW_PILOT" <ste...@fqu2.com> wrote in message
news:WfOdnebrkI_...@comcast.com...
The Baja Bush Pilots have a ton of information on flying in Mexico and
Central America and good contacts with official organizations promoting
tourist general aviation in Central America. Costa Rica, Belize, Honduras,
Panama, Nicaragua and El Salvador have formed a coalition to encourage
American pilots to fly down there and to standardize and simplify entry
procedures and border crossing requirements. BBP has entry forms for all
these countries.
AOPA also posts trip reports discussing entry fees, service, etc.
The biggest complaints about flying there have to do with fees, which
typically run $100 or more. There are services that handle all these things
for the corporate guys, such as Jeppesen International Flight Planning and
Universal Services.
http://www.univ-wea.com/ or
https://cfs.jeppesen.com/public/content.jsp?id=aboutUs
Unfortunately these companies don't address the needs of the rest of us.
IIRC Universal requires a monthly subscription, although Jeppesen will do
one time trips.
From what I have read you will need some form of proof of citizenship,
preferably a passport, a letter from aircraft owner granting you permission
to take the airplane out of the country (even if the owner is yourself!),
local insurance coverage, and cash -- most Central American countries are
not set up to take credit cards for fuel or fees. Most of these countries
require that all night flight be IFR and many airports are closed to all
traffic at dusk. The usual procedure is to land at a port of entry, where
you will be met by armed guards who will escort you to the commandant. The
commandant usually speaks English and will guide you through all the
paperwork and take your fees. If you need fuel, tiedown, guards, etc., the
commandant will arrange it. I gather he is something like a concierge for
visiting pilots. After that you need to keep all your paperwork with you as
fly to other airports within the country.
Lynne Miller
around $8,000 or so in user fees in the various countries which you
will transit through. You can use a service such as Jeppesen, or
Universal but they're generally not required for a mission such as
yours. Just be sure that you have a cell phone that works in all the
countries you plan to visit enroute, and you should be able to arrange
fuel, parking, customs, immigrations, etc. But do realize that I am
not being sarcastic when I say that your user fees, which include
landing fees, ATC fees, parking fees, user tax, passenger tax, etc.
will quite likely approach the $8,000 range. That may even be a bit
too low. If you are interested, you could call Jeppesen or Universal
and get an estimate of actual fees.
As an aside, I am quite drunk right now. :-) It's fun to hang out at
home, drink beers, and just relax.
Lynne
"NW_PILOT" <ste...@fqu2.com> wrote in message news:<WfOdnebrkI_...@comcast.com>...
SelwayKid
Hello
With the constantly changing politics of each conuntry you'll either
visit or overfly on the way south, perhaps the AOPA has current info
at a reasonable cost. Jeppesen has an international service that will
arrange for the necessary clearances, fueling, etc but it doesn't come
cheap. I'm sure a google or dogpile search for international flight
services will give you several options.
I have not flown south in years but in a previous life made probably
four hundred flights as far south as Peru dating back to 1965-1998 in
GA aircraft. Many were ferrying helicopters with short legs of about
200 miles or less. Created some real bureaucratic nightmares with
flight plans, unusual fuel stops, suspicion of helicopters and
terrorists or guerilla groups, etc. I don't recall ever paying more
than $50 in any given place for "fees" aka "mordida" or gratuities. In
fact, in Guaymas MX my money was handed back to me with polite
indignation and was also politely informed that they didn't subscribe
to the standards of polite bribes. That was the one and only time I
ever ran into that in Central or South America!
The flight is pretty straight forward though. Depending on your
routing you can fly the coast line nearly all the way down, or you can
do straight legs and see lots of green under you with some wicked
terrain.
For my part, I usually carried at least $2000 in small bills for fuel,
services and lodging. Credit cards may or not be accepted in smaller
towns so you need to carry cash. Make sure you have a solid bank
connection in case you need to generate more cash! I learned to speak
rather fluent spanish over the years and it has always been a help
when in remote areas. Seems the US citizens are rather slack in
learning anything but their own little worlds while many parts of the
world are multi lingual. In the remote areas I suppose it is
acceptable to not learn more than the local lingo? <ggg>
Get a large supply of "patience pills", take a deep breath when
dealing with foreign authorities, realize they have their own way of
doing things, take another deep breath and try to see it from their
perspective. Relax and take the whole trip as a learning experience.
Know that you, with a private airplane, immediately are lumped into
the catagory of RICH and spoiled. Now it becomes a matter of what kind
of diplomat you are. Don't EVEN think they are dumb people. On more
than one trip I have passed through small airports and was spoken to
with my full name as if I had lived there my entire life! And when it
came time to file a flight plan, they had it all ready for me with the
same info from the last trip! And, in fact, I fully believe I can
return to some of these places some 20 years later and they will still
recall the name and numbers. It can be a real fun trip, or it can be a
nightmare. Spend a lot of time checking on the internet for current
info and services. Info is your greatest friend and the more current
the better. As I said in the start of my reply, the constant
changing....etc, etc. It can change in the middle of your flight so be
prepared for ....???
Enjoy it and go do it! There are those who do, and those think, and
those who simply talk. Which one are you?
Come join the people who think about it, then talk about it, and then
go do it!
Ol Shy & Bashful
now pushing 22,000 hours of fun flying
NW_PILOT
research the last couple days seems like it is totally doable now the long 3
month wait till vacation time I hate anticipation.
"SelwayKid" <selw...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:67a933a4.04083...@posting.google.com...
SelwayKid
> I am the type of person to Go do it And Enjoy It I have been doing some
> research the last couple days seems like it is totally doable now the long 3
> month wait till vacation time I hate anticipation.
Hey!!
The anticipation and planning are all part of what makes the trip so
delicious and memorable! My wife always chides me in a kidding fashion
when I begin to plan a trip for us. Then afterwards, she always
comments on how well the trip went, and how few bumps there were. I
just laugh and tell her to remember how many trips I've made without
her that had some huge bumps!!
Costa Rica is a beautiful place to visit and the people are more
receptive to Americans than many central/SoAmerican countries. I've
never had any sour experiences there and plan to take my wife for a
visit and kick back time. Want to spend some time on the "gold coast"
fishing and really remote. Problem is she wants/needs electrical for
the hair dryer, hot showers, etc. Don't know if I can guarantee it or
afford it?! No matter. It's time she learned how to rough it in style.
It's a fantastic area that I discovered while ferrying helicopters
south years back. Becoming the "go to..." area of Costa Rica.
Ol Shy & Bashful