Quantum 3 Posted June 13, 2014 Report Share Posted June 13, 2014 LEG 56: Pemba (Tanzania) HTPE >> Wilson Nairobi (Kenya) HKNW PIC: Dean Newton Date/Time: Off blocks at 10:20z, 13th June 2014 Good day, my name is Captain Dean Newton, and I am a pilot with EAAL (East African Air Logistics) a new start up company shipping freight around Kenya and Tanzania, in a fleet of DC-6s. Most of the aircraft have come from Alaska and Northern Canada but our ship today has just been secured by the company, from a Cayman Islands operator that has gone in to administration. Our ship has not been re-liveried yet, but is being put straight in to service. It's scheduled to be painted in to EAALs colours on 1st July, in Nairobi. Having gained my ATPL with BA in 1997, I started my flying career flying DHC-8-300s for BA regional, based out of Bristol, flying to regional airports through the UK, and into Europe. I then moved to the ERJ fleet, where a few years later I gained my left seat position. I then left for EasyJet where I was a captain for 7 years, initially flying the 737-700 and later the A319. I left EasyJet 3 years ago and travelled the world. While routing Africa I met the CEO of EAAL and the rest, as they say, is history. Anyway, back to today's flight; we're transporting grain, oil and some general goods from Pemba Island (part of the Zanzibar Archipelago), Tanzania, over to Nairobi. We use Wilson Airfield over there, as it's easier for operating in and out of, in the DC6s. HERE'S OUR FLIGHT PLAN:- and here's some basic info, from Wikipedia, about our ship today :- We join our aircraft as loading is being finished up:- She's old, but clean and functional! Out here in Africa, ground aids are unreliable and scarce, so we're cleared for GPS for en-route IFR and most approach procedures. You can see our panel-mounted Garmin unit here; Our DC6 may be 60 years old, but it still has ramp presence; We program the Flight Plan that we showed above, into the Garmin:- ....and off we go, taxying out to the left, to take off on the easterly runway; With little delay, we're airborne and Nairobi bound. We use an Ethanol Injection System for extra power on Take-Off; After a 180 degree left turn downwind, we're on course and on our way to MOKAD; Our pitch in the DC6 is steep, but our climbout beyond 2000AGL is at a modest 1500fpm; We pass through some broken cloud layers; Soon Pemba is behind us and we head North West; We settle in to a cruise at FL160, with a ground speed of 310mph; With the basic but effective autopilot plugged in, I pop back to the galley and fix a coffee for me and Dave, my Co-Pilot; We notice our engine Temps are a little high; So we increase the cowl flaps from 40% to 75% open, on the overhead; Soon, we're descending for Wilson, Nairobi. There's no radar until we're near the main international field (where we're NOT landing), and we're pretty much left up to ourselves for descent down to pattern entry;- On finals, we get a good view of the city sprawl of Nairobi; Now it's short finals, with a VAPP of 118kts. There's a strong cross wind so we're crabbing in a little, from the left (excuses, excuses );- In an instant, our mains are down, and two seconds later, our fronts; Offloading begins and we prepare to take a trip in to town. It'll be a cold beer for Dave, and a strong coffee for this teetotal pilot. Our flight time was 76 minutes, meaning we landed 15 minutes ahead of schedule;- 'til the next time! Captain D.NewtonEAALDar Es Salaam AvenueNairobiKENYA 1 Link to post Share on other sites
hifly 925 Posted June 13, 2014 Report Share Posted June 13, 2014 Nice trip. Great ship. Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,487 Posted June 13, 2014 Report Share Posted June 13, 2014 Cracking PIREP Dean and superb shots. Thanks for getting the baton safely to Nairobi 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Quantum 3 Posted June 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2014 My pleasure. It was a great flight - it's nice have some paramaters and choices made for you sometimes, rather than just flying from A to B as I tend to. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was also surprising how good (mostly!) Africa is looking now with FTX Global and Vector. Although I've owned both for months, I'd not ventured down to Africa until flying this flight leg. Cheers. Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,487 Posted June 13, 2014 Report Share Posted June 13, 2014 That's what's great about the challenge, visiting places you would never have thought of to fly to! Link to post Share on other sites
hurricanemk1c 195 Posted June 13, 2014 Report Share Posted June 13, 2014 Superb shots there Dean! 1 Link to post Share on other sites
brett 2,284 Posted June 13, 2014 Report Share Posted June 13, 2014 Nicely done Dean, great choice for transportation too! :thum:She's a beauty, but you might want to get those engines check out. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
stu7708 244 Posted June 13, 2014 Report Share Posted June 13, 2014 Great PIREP Dean, what a way start your ATWC piloting Glad you enjoyed yourself, I sure enjoyed the screenshots and story. Really love that livery too, and thanks for reminding me that I have a DC-6 collecting dust somewhere in my Hangar 1 Link to post Share on other sites
ddavid 149 Posted June 13, 2014 Report Share Posted June 13, 2014 Good choice of AC, Dean, and a nice set of screenshots - Thanks for sharing! Cheers - Dai. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
J G 927 Posted June 17, 2014 Report Share Posted June 17, 2014 Great PIREP and a lovely old Bus Well done indeed. J Link to post Share on other sites
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