Bhutan, anyone?

[XSWANN@240]

Hello all,

In mid April we have a trip to Bhutan for a week stay.
I was wondering if anyone has been there? And, can
offer any insight to what we may expect?

 

[sigler]

Well, if you have never been there they usually require that you take one of the Druk Air pilots along since the approach into there is real tricky. In the end you'll be glad you did. The field is at a high elevation, the runway is not that long and it sits in the middle of a valley. It makes Aspen look like a walk in the park.

I'd be reluctant to fly into there in any conditions except for clear-in-a-million VMC, but like I said having the local guy helps a lot. You'll have to fly down into the (real narrow) valley before you see the runway, and you can expect to pick up a lot of airspeed on final. If the wx is such that you have to fly over the VOR, you'll have to circle and that's no fun....

Are you going there with the IV? If so, you'll have a LOT of fun.... Good luck.

 

[Snakum]

what we may expect?

Very thin air will have you chugging up the hotel stairs ... lots of really wise-look'n dudes walking around in burgandy robes ... easy to get sunburned for some bizarre reason ... the inevitable crystal-gazing American baby-boomer who wants to bore you to death about Buddhism just cuz you're from the same country ... you know ... the usual.

Rev. Minh

 

[bafanguy]

XSWANN,


Good grief, Man !! Looked at a map yet ? I don't think you can get there from here. Gotta be some crazy nightlife, though.

You have to give us a full report on the trip if...er, uh, when...you get back.

 

[XSWANN@240]

Well, if you have never been there they usually require that you take one of the Druk Air pilots along since the approach into there is real tricky. In the end you'll be glad you did. The field is at a high elevation, the runway is not that long and it sits in the middle of a valley. It makes Aspen look like a walk in the park.

I'd be reluctant to fly into there in any conditions except for clear-in-a-million VMC, but like I said having the local guy helps a lot. You'll have to fly down into the (real narrow) valley before you see the runway, and you can expect to pick up a lot of airspeed on final. If the wx is such that you have to fly over the VOR, you'll have to circle and that's no fun....

Are you going there with the IV? If so, you'll have a LOT of fun.... Good luck.

Sigler, thanks for heads up.

We're trying to arrange to have a Druk Air pilot onboard for the approach. Also, one day this week we're going to FSI to practice the approach.

Yes, we're going in our IV. And, it should be an experience to remember!
I heard that a Global scrapped its wing while circling there....

Again many thanks

 

[semperfido]

some good poop on nbaa intl database

 

[sigler]

Sigler, thanks for heads up.

We're trying to arrange to have a Druk Air pilot onboard for the approach. Also, one day this week we're going to FSI to practice the approach.

Yes, we're going in our IV. And, it should be an experience to remember!
I heard that a Global scrapped its wing while circling there....

Again many thanks

It was acutually a G-V (might have been a IV, not sure) that had the little "incident" there, apparently he was circling to 15 and hit his wing tip while trying to get over the runway on short short final. It happened only a couple of weeks before we flew in. Then of course no Druk Air pilot wanted to fly in with us, so we ended up with their most junior pilot... Nice guy though, his presence sure made things a lot easier. One thing to keep in mind is that the winds do pick up quite a bit in the afternoon (or so we were told), so it's probably a good idea to plan you arrival for the AM...

Good luck man.

 

[bafanguy]

For the uninitiated, what sort of corporate activity takes place in Bhutan that requires execs to fly there ? It's a pretty remote place. There must be more going on there than the location would indicate.


When you mention a Druk Air pilot riding with you, is this the local national airline ? What type airplanes do they fly and where do you pick up this pilot for your entry into Bhutan ? Sounds like a complicated process with a lot of coordination required.

It would be interesting to hear how all this comes about.

 

[Gulfstream 200]

probably not much going on, I have heard of corporate "retreats" there.

I suppose Isolation somewhere in the hills of Asia is more cool than a weekend in Palm Beach these days...

but thats just a guess...

 

[Clutch_Cargo]

Yeah, I don't think there is much going on either... it's only been in the last few years that they've let outsiders into the country and only then if you were part of a tour group. Obviously the rules have changed or they make some exception for "business" purposes.

Druk Air is the national airline... they fly Avros or Bac-146's I think.

About the only other thing I know about the place is that they recently became the first country to outlaw smoking.

XSWANN, please do give us the lowdown when you get back... like to hear what you thought. I've done KTM before, and it has some similar requirements, but this sounds a bit more interesting!

Have fun,
cc

 

[semperfido]

For the uninitiated, what sort of corporate activity takes place in Bhutan that requires execs to fly there ? It's a pretty remote place. There must be more going on there than the location would indicate.


When you mention a Druk Air pilot riding with you, is this the local national airline ? What type airplanes do they fly and where do you pick up this pilot for your entry into Bhutan ? Sounds like a complicated process with a lot of coordination required.

It would be interesting to hear how all this comes about.

who said anything about execs?

this may or may not come as a surprise to you but many biz jets fly on "monkey business" in other words THERE IS NO BUSINESS.

personal travel

 

[bafanguy]

who said anything about execs?

this may or may not come as a surprise to you but many biz jets fly on "monkey business" in other words THERE IS NO BUSINESS.

personal travel

Well, I'd have no way of knowing...and I may or may not be surprised...that's why I asked the question.

 

[semperfido]

no problemo...that was the answer

ps didn't mean it to sound snooty, just came out that way

 

[bafanguy]

...no sweat...

 

[XSWANN@240]

Believe it or not this is a vacation for the owner. It's not my cup of tea for a vacation! Well, anyway...

Thanks again for all your input. I'll keep you posted when I get back.