Recently in Malawi!
Today I am doing a positioning flight as a passenger with a C-177 of the Ulendo Airlink from Lilongwe Int. Airport to Dwangwa Airfield. The DC-3 and the rest of the crew are there at the airfield, waiting for me to fly on to Lifupa near the Kasungu National Park.
Ulendo Airlink operates a C-177, a C-210, a DO-228 and offers private air services from Lilongwe to various airports within Malawi.
Another photo for the holiday photo album!
On the way to the active runway we are passing the big ones..
.. and the almost forgotten MD-80 of Sudan Airways. (Yes, they are still flying high here..)
Pilot Earnan from Scotland generously gives me the rudder pedal and so I can once again control a Cessna on the ground! It's easier than with the DC-3!
At the holding- and run-up point for runway 14
Take off clearance received, pilot Earnan takes control..
.. and we are on our way!
Airports are the gateway to the world!
The old Lilongwe airfield still exists and is in use, somewhere in the south! That would be interesting to visit!
After two coffees and a sandwich we are a little south of Dwangwa and pilot Earnan is preparing the approach!
Earnan is not doing this for the first time.. it's pretty racy!
He must know this area here like the back of his hand..
.. to find this little airfield straight away!
That's Cessna.. a cool flare out!
Skill comes with practice.
Here we are and our DC-3 is also being made ready for the flight!
Thank you Earnan for the nice flight and we'll see you again!
Change of aircraft and seat.. While my co-pilot greets the passengers, I do the cockpit work, study the weather and the route maps. The TAF is still reporting the possibility of CB and thunderstorms.. we'll see!
The ground crew reports everything is okay, so then.. engine start!
Checking the instruments after starting the engines.. everything is fine!
The wind is blowing from the south and we're waiting right next to the active!
No other traffic somewhere in the air, line up runway 14 and we are ready!
Here we go!
A dusty affair!
- V2
- Gear up
Climb Check:
- Flaps: Standby
- Climb Speed: Set
- Climb Rate: Set
- Fuelpumps: Off
- Autopilot: ON
7500 feet are the order of the day.. because we will fly over the central highlands of Malawi!
Below us, the scattered settlements, the sugar cane plantations..
.. and the airfield of Dwangwa.
A little left turn and we're on course..
.. towards Lifupa Airfield and Kasungu National Park!
Central Malawi is a green, lush country with plateaus, highlands..
.. forests, mountains, plains, steep slopes and river valleys.
One last route checkpoint..
.. and we have reached the outer limit of the Nationalpark.
The park is on average 1200 meters above sea level and is characterized by a diverse landscape and is crossed by several temporary rivers.
Kasungu National Park was once famous for its abundance of game, especially the huge herds of buffalo and elephant, but that picture has changed radically since the 1980s; Due to the ongoing poaching, the stocks have decimated significantly.
Nevertheless, the park still offers huge untouched wilderness areas and the new park management is well on its way to protect and develop the park.
And we should actually think about our approach!
As my co-pilot says..: "If you can land here, you can land anywhere!"
Easier said than done, I don't see a runway yet.
Somehow I manage a decent approach.. and hey..! There are elephants by the river!
Like a fly-in safari! More elephants!
"That’s perfect".. praise from the right seat!
Lifupa Airport-Facility and Lodge!
Done..
.. and a leisurely roll out. My pulse calms down again!
They doesn't know what nerves are and have obviously got used to planes!
Everything went according to plan!
Flight time 42 minutes and a few gallons of aviation fuel consumed!
Airplane undamaged! Log entry made!
Happy faces all around!
That's the way it is in Africa.
Cheers
