Has anyone here taken a trip from the US to Africa on a cargo ship? I know that many of them have room for a few passengers. Like many workaholic doctors I have not taken much (hardly any) time off in the last nine years. After I get my health back in order and sell the clinic in about two years I want to take a long trip before reporting for my military tour.

I thought it might be fun to pull the wing off a light plane, put the whole thing in a container and go to Africa for six months or so. If I use a plane with a radial engine it will burn shit gas (80 octane) without too much trouble. Those engines are easy to repair also; just bring some extra jugs and pistons, and two cases of spark plugs. Oh yeah, lots of oil.

So I guess I have two questions:

What is a relatively easy port to bribe my way through? (Of course my papers will be in order; as if that means anything.)

Are there any Sub-Saharan countries where it isn't too hard to temporarily register an airplane?

I have had plenty of adventure (ie got the shit scared out of me) in my life, and do not need to fly a single engine light plane over either the Atlantic or the Sahara for fun. All the extra fuel and bladders means no cargo also.

Since someone will ask, the plane would be a North-Star Six, made in Ontario. Czech made supercharged 315-360 hp radial, taildragger, tube and rag body construction, metal wing, 150 gallon fuel capacity and a 2,250# useful load (that's a lot of biltong).

Thanks for any input.

lawndart

Back in the 70's I used to buy tail draggers and fly them up to Alaska and sell them. I took SuperCubs, a Luscombe 8E, a Citabria on floats, a Cessna 170 and a Cessna 195. The 195 was the most fun because it turned heads at every airport with its radial engine and "real" airplane roar.

If you need a copilot with all the licenses except for a lunar module, let me know (who do you know with a multi-engine sea rating?)

I almost forgot. I often have breakfast with two brothers who have a business crating boats, antique autos and aircraft for shipment out of the Port of Brunswick.

lawdart,

I took two x-Atlantic crossings on Freighters and it is a great way to travel! Fare is in-expensive (then anyway) the food was good and it's a great way to catch up on your computer work and reading - 'cause you have to entertain yourself.

Like you're considering doing it was also a great way to get my belongings (including two Dogs, they did have to be kenneled on the stern, not in the quarters) and myself back from Europe in one load on the same ship!

Most voyages are not direct - one time it was Germany, Belgium, UK, Spain to Florida and alsmost three weeks - but I arrived!

We always ate with the ship's officer's in the Captain's galley and were always politely treated by the crew. My understanding (I'm not a Maritime lawyer) is that freighter's can take 9 passengers since if there are 10 on board they are required to have a Docter on board, so a medical condition may have to be considered.

Yes, like your airplane, it's great to watch the crew (who know you anyway after the voyage) unload your belongings safe & secure onto the wharf!

quote:

If you need a copilot with all the licenses except for a lunar module, let me know (who do you know with a multi-engine sea rating?)

Judge,

A multi-engine sea plane rating! That is very impressive. Did you get that in a Widgeon? You are on for doing some flying together. I will have identical glass cockpit displays for each seat (much cheaper and better than analog instruments these days). It will have sticks (fighter jocks doan do no yokes mon'), and the throttle quadrant will be in the middle, so the right seat will be for the PIC.

No worries if the beer runs out, anyway. Just haul some meat into town and trade it for fuel and alcohol. Plus, I'm a designated driver/pilot.

What are the three most useless things in aviation?

Altitude above you, runway behind you and a half a second ago.

What are the three most dangerous things in aviation?

A pilot with a toolbox, a flight attendant with a chipped tooth and Judge & lawndart flying a taildragger with 500 pounds of beer in the cargo area.

Gerry,
Thank you for the information! Maybe I can talk them into letting me bring a shotgun, cases of clay pigeons and shells. Do some trap shooting off the fantail on the way over. Boy, wouldn't that be nice; three weeks to just hang out.

lawndart

Since 9-11 and with the new MARSEC reg's, you will diffently have to do your homework.

CHeck the lines and see which offer direct service to Africa, a few still do,

I would look to HAPAG-LLYOD, MERASK/SEALAND to start,, then look to freight forewarders about buying outright a container, much cheaper in the long run, if your just going to dump it,after a one way run.

Thanks for the tips,
I would hang onto the container. When it is time to move on just load my stuff up and hop back on a ship.

lawndart

Maybe paint a big Harley-Davidson or Grateful Dead logo on the sides so it wouldn't get lost in the shuffle. Cover the top with a Confederate flag, of course.

Lawndart, not sure about the regs on planes these days but the International AIM has a lot of info on the subject, and it is updated regularly. You shouldn't have to register your kite, just travel via ICAO standards. Don't think the open skies approach has been totally squashed yet. Do keep an eye out for areas of unrest as they will shoot at you for sport. Have a friend that once flew for ARAMCO about 10 years back, his King Air got perforated regularly around Angola. Had an SA-7 miss one day as well.

Don't know much about the boat thing but hope to do that to New Zealand one day.

Luck on your adventure!

Judge, Lawndart,

Bids for a navagator/co-pilot/beer tester/spirtual advisor..

One with (now listen up Judge) acutual turbine, multi engine, transport catagory, ski time north of 78 degrees lat and a certified float plane instructor with shit loads of light and heavy round engine tail wheel time.

I've got a buddy who specializes in ferrying airplanes all over the world who could probably tell us alot about which country has the uhmm,, best financial reward system for registering an airplane.

Lawndart,
Do you have a web sight for that bird. I can't seem to find it..
Greg

Lawndart:

It looks like you may have company when (and if) you want (or need) it.

What is your time frame... three years hence? I'll be retiring (again) about then.... I hope!

Surestrike,

Look here.

Regards, Wayne E.

I'm not good for much, but I could help with the beer if need be, maybe learn a helpful language besides Cash-ese.

Here is a nice little blurb on the North Star 6:

NORTH STAR 6
The North Star 6 is another story. It can actually be set up as a 2, 4, 6, or maybe an 8 seater. It's big. The NS6 is 49.25" outside width. With 15" seats you have 4.5" to the doors and 9" between the seats. This will allow you to walk through to change seats/pilots etc. in flight, or go to the back for a sleep while your partner flies! From the fire wall to the baggage back wall is all open, and its about 11' long. The width at the back wall is 38.5". The back wall can be opened to extend the
floor for camping by 4 feet, but don't use it in flight. At the front seats the floor to ceiling height is 51.5", Its fairly tall to get good visibility over the radial engine. There are cargo doors both sides that are 29.5" wide x 37" tall at the front and 28.75 tall at the rear. This is a strong, usable airplane. All the cross tubes in the floor from the front gear attach to the back wall of the baggage are built like inverted roof trusses so they can support high baggage/cargo weights. The longeron at the baggage door is double tube telescoped together to support the loads while loading the ac.

We expect an empty wt. between 1,800 lbs. and 2000 lbs. and have designed it for a gross of 4,000 lbs. People don't expect that ratio because they are used to Cessnas. You can't get the same strength to weight ratio with aluminum that you can with tube and fabric. (and definitely not the same durability) The only advantage to aluminum is the lower cost due to easier manufacturing. Even the Cessna 180, an airplane built much stronger than any aluminum kit on the market, has
recurring structural problems when used 1/2 as hard as I expect the North Stars to be used. I know this from 25 years watching the 185 jump plane I used to fly here. The other consideration is the slow speed flight. It brings back the same complaint I keep getting from 180 pilots, they feel like they are landing a dragster in small rough fields. Add this high touch down speed to less than optimum structural integrity and rough strips become a big liability for airplanes with a higher
landing speed than the North Stars. The NS6 will have a much lower stall speed, and carry more weight, than a C180. The cruise speed we don't know yet but it should be comparable to a C180, maybe better. You have to remember that even though the engine is rated at 315 hp ( or 360 hp ), it's power output to the prop is more like 400++ hp due to the gear reduction and internal supercharger. To get a feel for the thrust available, the prop is 106" long with 9 1/2" wide blades!

We are using the same aerodynamic design as the North Star wing on the NS6. The wing structure will be all aluminum however, not fabric covered. I expect to install double flap bell cranks to take the load from the tremendous thrust of the BIG prop and to enlarge the flaps at least another 18 inches per side. The flaps will be hydraulic pressure cylinder activated with a quick release solenoid and a manual cable system for redundancy, in case of system problems. The big advantage of this system
is that a trigger on the stick will activate a solenoid, dumping the pressure and quickly/easily retract the flaps. This would be a big help when landing in short strips, it would get rid of the lift from the flaps on touchdown, "gluing" the plane to the ground, eliminating float, and make the brakes more effective. The gas tanks will be doubled up to give 104 gallons in the wings, with an option for another 50, giving a potential of about 150 gallons. Also it would be easy to do a large belly tank if needed, this is a tall airplane because it was designed with the 106" prop in mind, so there is lots of room under the belly.

The leading edge of the stabilizer will be strut braced with a yoke that travels with the jack screw. (this was done on a number of old ac) Yes the tail is bigger and stronger than the NS tail. It's the same shape as the C185 tail but with a little more span and height to compensate for our lower landing and takeoff speeds.

There is an alternative to the 360 hp M14P "Russian" engine, that's the 315 hp Czech engine. Almost all parts are the same, cyl., pistons, rings,... The main advantage other than lower cost is that they use a two blade ALUMINUM CS prop, the M14P uses a WOOD CS Prop. The last quote I got for a Czech prop was 3,500.00 rebuilt "0" time! There now are adapters to use
American props on the M14P, but the cost of those props is high. These are low compression engines so auto fuel is ok. With the gear drive the engine runs in the optimum RPM range and the prop turns at its most efficient speed. This greatly reduces prop noise and vibration, and increases thrust. Even though the Czech engine is rated at a lower HP, due to the gearing and longer prop it probably may have close to the same thrust as the 360 hp.

It really is an exceptional airplane and if you opted for it you would never have to worry about space or structural integrity. It is the airplane I want and need for our family so you can be assured I will do it right. Three engineers who each want one are collaborating and working with me to insure we build the best design we can.

I have six of the NS6's sold and the first well under way. We are actually building 7 all at once. The first four fuselages are out of the jig with wheels, tail, seats, engine and controls installed on one of them. We have built production tooling with it. The main jig probably weighs 3,000 lbs.!

We have added a CNC mill/router to the shop so we can machine our tooling and dies in house. This machine will also cut the parts for the wings.
We expect to start shipping wings in the spring 04.
The price for the NS6 is $70,000.00 U.S. funds. That price includes engine mount, fire wall, boot cowl,
plexiglass... basically all the type of stuff we supply with the North Star 2. Since the prototype has
not flown yet we are trying to keep the price down, it will rise in time.

Due to the tremendous interest in the North Star 6, we have not had time to work on an NS4, so
that project is on hold until the NS6 is in full production.

As a side note the NS6 could carry 1 or 2 stretchers, a pilot, and a doctor!! We are working on an extra large cargo/stretcher door mod. We have always expected that eventually the third world market for aid and supply work will be a natural for this airplane.

Morgan Williams
Per CF Ltd.
http://www.customflightltd.com
705-526-9626

I will be getting the #6 airframe.

The tail number will be (of course); LD 666

I looked at everything out there, manufactured or kit, and this is hands down the best of the pack. It has 10,000 hours of real, no shit engineering into it already. All the jigs are built. The first five frames are just about done.

Here is a picture from last summer:



Surestrike,
Sounds like you were flying Twin Otters up on Ellesmere Island.

Maybe we could get a small sub rosa business going hauling beer in and injured/ill sportsmen out. Hell, we would even give a price break to anyone who signed over their remaining animals on license.

DigitalDan
Too bad warplane maintenance is so bad in the third world. Can't imagine a better existence than dropping cluster bombs on people's liberation armies all winter, and then spending the summer in New Zealand.

Judge,
Three years is about right. Do to health issues I have had to more or less behave this last decade, and the strain is not good for a person.

RIP,
You can be the doctor. Just make sure the beer doesn't rattle around too much in back, and keep pouring fentanyl into the patient so he/she doesn't thrash around too much either.

Cash-eee, the world wide language!! I'm sure I'm not the only one who moved to the head of the line by licking the back of a twenty and slapping it on my forehead (long before HIV made its first trip out on the AIDs highway).

This, of course, would be the company logo:



lawndart

quote:

Originally posted by lawndart:


Surestrike,
Sounds like you were flying Twin Otters up on Ellesmere Island.



lawndart

Casa 212, Deadhorse AK and points North supporting aural accustic listening .....Uhmm... I mean supporting atompispheric reasearch sations in the deep artic that float around on the ice floes during the winter.


Yeah I know whats a CA-212?/// Here ya go!



Here's our multiengine luxury liner for those that require a higher class of service.

LD airlines flight 666 to wherever now departing. Captain Garcia in command.

quote:

Originally posted by lawndart



lawndart

Very cool.
I have done flight surgeon chores before, from mundane to ridiculous, once having ambu-bagged a kid for 5 hours flying from Shemya to Anchorage in a C-130, with a tech and I spelling each other on the bag. The kid survived with no mental deficits.

We once launched a massive rescue mission to McGrath in the dead of Alaskan winter at midnight, a joint Army and AF operation. A radio call had come in from a native caretaker of a lodge. He was all alone there like Jack Nicholson minus his family in "The Shining." He said that he had fallen on an axe while chopping wood, injuring his chest, and he sounded a bit distressed with pain, then becoming more lethargic as he talked,then the radio fizzled out ...

My C-130 orbited and dropped illumination flares while the Army chopper and the PJ's swooped in and rescued an Alaskan Native. We then headed for the nearest strip where the C-130 could put down and I could examine the Alaskan Native.

I found him to be intoxicated by alcohol and to have a tiny bruise on his chest where he had fallen against the woodpile, and he wanted a ride into Anchorage to be with family, friends, and firewater abundance.

I think the lodge owner got a bill for the rescue, or at least there was talk of trying that.

I'll work on Swahili (as we all should) and Tswana for Botswana.

The rest of us need to divvy up French, German, Afrikaans, and Portuguese as well as Texan, the latter two for heart shots at going away buffalo.

Got room for Alf too? He would really be handy, and we could all do some basic flight lessons, and you could train the non-pilots a bit for emergency procedures, in case of a pinch.

I would like to use your Logo on my new proprietary line of rifles and ammunition: RIP Arms and DOA: ammunition, brass, and reloading dies and bullets.

RIP Arms (Rest In Peace Arms): Dedicated to relieving pain and suffering in the game fields by one-shot kills.

DOA (Dead On Ammo): Dead-On-Accurate, dead on arrival of the bullet.

I'll use profits from the biz to finance my expertise in Cash-eee language speaking all across Africa.

RIP,
When you see how Surestrike, Judge and I fly you won't want any part of being in the cockpit . This plane will be good for +7 "g" loading with a full load, and +10 with just pilots and fuel. Flying a full basic aerobatic routine will be a requirement for the quarterly proficiency flights.

I was the flight surgeon for the Alaska ANG PJs in 1994-1995. That was the best screw off job in the history of the US military. There was a lot of skydiving, scuba diving, small boat in open water driving, daily PT runs, small arms practice, skiing, climbing, etc. etc. Their building is right on lake Hood across the street from Anchorage International/Kulis ANG Base.

The native corporations squandered all the oil money they got over the last 30 years, so things are going back to the way they used to be. World's highest rates of tuberculosis and syphilis. Blood Alcohol Contents (BACs) of .600 are pretty ho-hum up there.

It looks like we have the lawyers, guns and doctors angles covered. We just need some money and we'll be ready to rock.

Surestrike,
Those CASAs are nice planes for hauling. I'm glad you made some money flying up there; just sorry you had to put up with the secret squirrel guys to do it. I'm sure you noticed that the guys out doing the work are great to deal with. The bureaucrats with nothing on the line but their desire for a corner office are another story entirely.

Did you start out flying Twin Beech/C-45s? I did some jumping out of them down in Coolidge, AZ a long time ago. Flew them some as well. Fun to fly, but they sure ate up the runway in the summer time. Same, same with the DC-3s.

So it's settled then. The corporate logo will be the Jolly Roger, and the corporate motto will be ciel bleu, mort noir.

quote:

a flight attendant with a chipped tooth

Tee hee!

quote:

Originally posted by lawndart:

Surestrike,

Did you start out flying Twin Beech/C-45s? I did some jumping out of them down in Coolidge, AZ a long time ago. Flew them some as well. Fun to fly, but they sure ate up the runway in the summer time. Same, same with the DC-3s.

Lawndart,

No, I have never flown a C-45. I started my twin engine career in an L-18 Lodestar hauling freight down on the border. Kind of like a twin bitch only more better.

Surestrike,

That is awesome. We used to skydive out of a Lodestar at Casa Grande, AZ. You might have flown the same plane.

Didn't Amelia Earhart dunk a Lodestar in the Pacific back in 1939? Not a good airplane for such a weak pilot to fly.

You came up the hard way in flying.


When I get the plane built I'll haul it over to Colorado and hire you to teach me how to fly it the right way. I can drive an F-16 in my sleep, but taildraggers are a whole 'nother deal. Other than a few dribs and drabs here and there in DC-3s and Twin Witches all my conventional gear time is in Cubs, Super Cubs, Citabrias and just a few hours in Stearmans.

Sure will be fun to fly around Africa for a few months.

Amelia was in a L-10 Electra. About half the size of an L-18.

Dude tailwheel is my specialty. I give about 3 or 4 tailwheel endorsments a year in anything from C-180's to T-6's you name it.

I'd be more than happy to get you up to snuff in the North Star.

My neighbor has a North Star on his ranch strip. It is the standard cub like two seater.

It is a really nice flying bird. Gentle as a kitten. But performs like a homesick angel.

Me like.

Lawndart,

Consider Walvis Bay (Namibia) as your destination. It's a small port but has a couple ships coming/going each week. It's about 15 miles south of Swakupmund, which is a classy little town with alot of modern European influence. Namibia has a lot of aviation adventure opportunities. I have friends there that have flown ultralights all over the place.

The three Namibian hunting ranches I know well each have landing strips and can accomadate you for an overnight or for a couple days with no problem.

quote:

I'd be more than happy to get you up to snuff in the North Star.

Cool. That problem is solved.

quote:

Consider Walvis Bay (Namibia) as your destination. It's a small port but has a couple ships coming/going each week. It's about 15 miles south of Swakupmund, which is a classy little town with alot of modern European influence. Namibia has a lot of aviation adventure opportunities. I have friends there that have flown ultralights all over the place.

That sounds perfect.

I remember reading the story about the guy who had to put an airplane down on the beach of the Skeleton Coast at the beginning of WWII.

quote:

The three Namibian hunting ranches I know well each have landing strips and can accomodate you for an overnight or for a couple days with no problem.

That sounds about right. When I visit friends it usually takes about thirty-six hours before the lady of the ranch is chasing me down the driveway with a broom or shovel.

I really appreciate everybody chiming in and sharing their hard won knowledge with me.

LD666