Internation flying.

[scubabri]

I just got back from a trip down to south america, and although it was fun, I have some questions about airspace transitions and the like.

Where can I find info on FIR's, and airspace entry requirements, communication requirments, etc etc.

Thanks.

Brian

 

[80/20]

Single source:
IFM - International Flight Information Manual
Available from FAA & Jeppesen

Individual publications from each country:
AIP - Aeronautical Information Publication (IACO version of AIM with more details about maps, airspace and so on.)

The corporate guys can probably fill in with practical details about this.

 

[Pondscum]

scubabri:
I'm sure there are other sources as mentioned in the previous post, but this information is all printed on the enroute charts. Info such as where the FIR is located, who "owns" the airspace, type of airspace (class A, G, etc), what freq to use and when the controlling agency needs to be contacted (ie: 10 minutes before FIR boundry). Hope this helps.

 

[scubabri]

Basically, I'm looking for any gotchas, or stuff that may be radically different from US airspace that will get me into trouble. I found that in filing flight plans, in South America, they are pretty insistant about knowing approx when you will be crossing a FIR.

I'm also trying to find out who may shoot me down if I don't have the right freq, or can't contact someone before entering an airspace.



Brian

 

[Gulfstream 200]

whoaaa...

nobodys gonna shoot ya down, heck, half the time they dont even want to talk to you!

FIRs are easily seen on the high charts, and many frequencies are published there. dont sweat the airspace either.

It is common for nobody to be on frequencies, always try and get a backup HF freq or start randomly calling on the chart. Plan to stay on your route the entire time, rarely do you even get cleared to the next boundary. So be it...VHF is getting better, especially if routed over Brasilia, but still a lot of HF..Yes, they will want your your ETA at thier FIR boundary, within 3 minutes (I think??) ebtry requirements beyond what is listed in your Jepps should be asked to your handler (Universal, BaseOps, etc)

Approaches are a little more confusing than the US (just a little)
there may be 4-5 ILS's to the same runway, you will get assigned one depending on your arrival fix. No big deal. Places I recall this are B.A, S Paulo, Rio, Montevideo maybe Santiago...they also have "teardrop" type patterns to get established instead of the typical holding patterns we have. Departure slots are not as bad as Europe or Asia but I would be in touch with ATC or a good handler if you knew you were running late. As always, a good handler is KEY.

Be sure to get your Brazil Visa stamped, insist on it when you stop there.,even if you just fuel in Manaus or Boa Vista. Once stamped it is good for 5 years, if not I think only 90 days. They like to make you buy another one for 60$...

Be sure each pilot is type rated, that is a requirement for Brazil at least. Falcon pilots will tell you - having a DA50 on your type rating may not cut it - bring a seperate piece of paper from the FAA saying that a DA50 rating lets you fly a DA900 also.....picky, picky....Aircraft paperwork MUST be in order. I have had it not looked at whatsoever to a 45 min inquisition....again picky, picky..
OH, Yellow fever shot is required for Brazil now also. Shot is good for 15 (?) years.

SARS has scared them also. be warned that they may look at each pax now. If anyone looks sick or is coughing its immedialty 14 days quarantine, no questions asked. From what was said at the Intl operators conference this HAS already happened. Imagine having a slight cold and winding up in a SA hospital for 2 weeks.... F&*K THAT. Leave sick pax HOME.

My limited experience has been all good in SA. The people really are pretty friendly and the babes are just freakin' hottys. Dont drink the water (bring your own) No drinks with ICE either. Food is not too bad, the beef is actually very good.

Have Fun!....

 

[80/20]

A good start is to ask for general differences when flying in all foreign countries
Most foreign countries follow the ICAO standards, even more so than we do here in the US.
Many of these differences have little practical influence on the how you actually operate your aircraft.
There are however some important differences, one example is varous altimeter setting procedures. There was a thread about this some time ago, try to search for transition level or transition altitude.
AIP USA has a DIFF (differences) section that lists the main differences between US and ICAO standards.

 

[ACWild]

Don't forget to scour the enroute charts for notes. For instance, I always forget that Miami center wants a call 10 minutes prior to entering the FIR. The note for that is in green ink on the chart.

 

[Dan CFI/CFII]

Watch those Brazilian visas.

If you have been to most any part of Africa, Colombia, Peru or a few other South American countries, you will need to have not only the yellow fever vaccine, but a certificate proving such, and it must be ten days before you enter the country. And yes, they can give you the vaccination at the airport, but then you get to stay there for ten more days...

Dan

 

[Gulfstream 200]

absolutly.

Yellow Fever must be given to you at least 10 days before hitting the ground in Brazil.

And Yes, obviously carry your yellow "shot card" with all those good vaccinations recorded accuratly!

You will no doubt need that Hepatits series if you wind up in a Brazilian Hospital, Jail, or Hooker...(just joking)

 

[TurboS7]

Colombia--they will shoot you down, depending on what type of airplane you are flying an where. But my friend caught a missle with a C-182, it just went through and didn't detonate, so that is a comfort.

 

[swimmer]

position awareness is twice as important down there and just because a controller says something be careful about doing it- they have been known to run people into mountains at a much higher rate than their American counterparts........

also flying internationally when a controller says cleared to some point that doesnt necessarily mean present position direct like here in usa.

 

[A Squared]

>>>nobodys gonna shoot ya down, heck, half the time they dont even want to talk to you!

Well actually, there are places in Africa and South America where they *will* shoot you down, although they are doing it for different reasons in Africa than in South America. In South Americas *they* are doing it at the insistence of and with the active assistence of the US state department. For those of us with short memories, it wasn't that long ago that there was a bill in Congress proposing shooting down suspected drug planes in the US also.


regards

 

[80/20]

I have a friend who was on an intended flight from South America to Miami where he got intercepted and forced to land in Belize because of flight plan discrepancies. He got serious problems in Belize.

I strongly recommend using the systems and publications as intended. Charts are fine for enroute operational information, but they often lack important information not directly related to navigation. The nations of the world have made a system for how information should be distributed through NOTAMs/AIP/AIM/IFM and so on (see my posting above). Those that fly for large airlines don't need to worry about it and may never see an AIP or IFM because a central navigation or dispatch office will sift through all these publications and pass on the essential information. Those that don't have this luxury can either get the books or just fly and solve problems as they appear. One can often get away with a lot of discrepancies - but not always.

 

[scubabri]

The IFM I found on the FAA web site reads like stereo instructions, but I think I got the jist of it. What's your opinion, better to fly IFR or VFR?

We flew down to Colombia via Bahamas -> Turks -> Dominican Republic -> Aruba VFR and didn't have much problem, other than sometimes finding the right person who wanted to talk to us. But personally, I think it would be easier to fly IFR, but I don't know

Brian

 

[80/20]

I prefer IFR for Intl. flying.

 

[slickmagneto]

SHOTS?

I delivered a new airplane in Manauss and flew on to Sao Paulo, Brazil in Oct. 02 and no one mentioned any thing about Yellow Fever shots. Is this new?

 

[Gulfstream 200]

I dont think the yellow fever shot requirement is anything new......and I don think its even critical in populated areas like Rio, S Paulo, Brasilia, etc....but Manaus?? dammm..that place reminds me of Indiana Jones Movies...

Either way it is required, now weather anyone checks or not.....who knows....I have only had to produce verification ONCE. But I understand if you dont have it, they will give it to you, then quarrantine you for 10 days. NICE. Certainly worth just getting one if you plan on going down there...I belive they are good for 15 yrs.

OH, sorry about the getting shot down question.....I was assuming we are all going IFR with decent handlers...I do recall a cessna getting shot down on some VFR mercenary flight a few years back in Columbia....VFR around Columbia...thats pretty F'n smart....oh well.

 

[Dan CFI/CFII]

I've run into serious problems with the Yellow fever card in Sao Paolo. They're seriously strict about it there. I didn't even need to leave the airport, but I had to leave the transit lounge, and there was NO WAY they would allow that to happen. I even asked if someone could escort me around the airport--and both the airport security and the disease prevention guys said they absolutely could not do that.

I've been checked for it every time I've flown into Brazil. Of course, I've also entered and they never even knew I was in the country. Of course, that was by ground transport.

My guess is that it's even tighter now with SARS out there. I'm amazed at that, I've got just about any vaccination you can think of, and I have certificates to prove it, but I didn't have the yellow fever certificate they were looking for... nuts.

Dan