MM 2012 Cape-to-Cape Golden Age Lockheed 12 G-AGTL

[MM]

Safely to Colomb-Bechar.

Again, constant headwinds of 20-30kts on the nose--seem to have a knack for this. (When I was young, I walked 10 miles to school, all uphill--both ways.)

Kodaks of the Lockheed 12 leaving the comforts of Algiers, then trading vegetation for sand, dramatic rocky ridges six thousand feet high, and finals into Colomb-Bechar.

http://fs-duenna.com/flights/ShowFlight.php?detail=flight&value=HnEikweXMIczzqmB3X3SUUcQF08

 

[MM]

Next, Adrar in the sand.
Quick restart due to unknown glitch on initial roll.

 

[MM]

Safely to Adrar. This dead reckoning is tough on the nerves. And I've just begun...

The French have brought over some of those oil derricks that you see in Texas and Pennsylvania (and Baku). Must be experimenting with oil discovery here in 1930s Algeria. But they sure picked an odd spot for the work...on the threshold of Rwy 4.

http://fs-duenna.com/flights/ShowFlight.php?detail=flight&value=XultPQYPp46FKLiBtmacRYJfcBs

 

[PRB]

Good show Mike. That's where I'm going next too. The leg after that will be long. Hope we have enough gas!

 

[MM]

Good show Mike. That's where I'm going next too. The leg after that will be long. Hope we have enough gas!

Copy gas. Worried too--about range and winds and visibility and just finding the airport.
Hope we can share an orange soda at Gao...rather than a sip of radiator fluid in the Tanezrouft.
Good luck to both of us.

 

[MM]

Heading out over "the land of thirst" toward Gao. Gulp.

 

[MM]

Long day flying over sand and more sand. 20kts headwinds for the first half caused some worry, but they abated after a couple of hours to some relief. Happy to see the Niger at last and then to cruise down to find Gao's airstrip. Safe.



http://fs-duenna.com/flights/ShowFlight.php?detail=flight&value=9guTXpqGDxhBoMQuuxoh3zg8nc

 

[MM]

Then down the Niger to Niamey.

 

[MM]

Milk run down the Niger under clear skies. Safely into the checkpoint at Niamey.


http://fs-duenna.com/flights/ShowFlight.php?detail=flight&value=rQtrLvQcuW49K6UqsiyAEwIW4qY

 

[MM]

And now Lagos (DNMM). Will enjoy using these high-tech radio beacon detectors...

 

[Moses03]

Nice run so far M. Those twin Lockheeds seem to adapt to the sand rather well.

 

[MM]

Thanks. This Lockheed driver is happy to see the sand pass under the wings quickly enough...

Trip from Niamey down to Lagos showed a much more arid Nigeria than I expected. Interesting to have ones preconceptions corrected.

http://fs-duenna.com/flights/ShowFlight.php?detail=flight&value=WL619MozQM1p9zY57XEjXpDaIsY

 

[PRB]

It's always good to have the sand passing under the wings. The sand, as we know, marks the edges of the air, and they are to be avoided whilst in flight...

 

[MM]

Leaving Lagos for Libreville over the Gulf of Guinea.

 

[MM]

Long flight over water interrupted by a few moments of dead silence. (Was listening to the ball game when the silence indicated a need for the tanks' being switched. The classic "audible warning system.")

Approaching the coast, the clouds started to build and boom and toss the Lockheed around in the air. On finals, we were greeted by a lively thunderstorm on the field at Libreville. Happily, the turbulence was not too severe and we walked away from another one...after a few moments of intense concentration. Thank goodness for the tough gear they make in Burbank.

http://fs-duenna.com/flights/ShowFlight.php?detail=flight&value=Evl6MCE7Qcezs6mm4VRVgBSlcpw

 

[MM]

Out of Libreville for Leopoldville in the Belgian Congo.

 

[MM]

Into Leopoldville safely enough after miles of trees and wetlands. Off to the Righini Bar and Garage for a lube job...

http://fs-duenna.com/flights/ShowFlight.php?detail=flight&value=7TRePjmsAvK1N4m6rEF9R6czHY

 

[MM]

Next, a morning dead reckoning flight along the Congo to Lisala.

 

[MM]

Scenic flight skirting along the Congo. Tossed around a bit by a few African thunderstorms en route. And then, the last half hour approaching Lisala was plagued by loud thunder and the driving rains of a ... North Carolina thunderstorm. Safely in before the local storms threatened the equipment (computer).

Kodaks show early morning departure, then several encounters with the Congo storms, including one over Coquihatville. In the end, it was a delight to find Lisala's gravel strip along the Congo's north bank.

http://fs-duenna.com/flights/ShowFlight.php?detail=flight&value=A9l1Q39XrTjfoUtOt0xWqdSXCy8

 

[MM]

On to Stanleyville (FZIA).