Flight Log: Arusha HTAR -- Lilongwe FWKI 17.11.2010

Distance: 750 NM
scheduled Flying time: 6h
Filed Route: ITSEV OKMAS EPMAB UVKAT MANDA UTINA IMKAL DVL
ATIS Kili: 0600 rwy 09 wind 090 15kts 9999 BLN 026 CB temp 18 QNH 1017
Clearance: rwy heading climb 6500 ft
Take Off Time: 06:05 (UTC)
ATIS Lilongwe: 1120 rwy 09 wind 100/11kts 9999 bkn 040 temp. 29 QNH1017
Landing Time: 11:50 (UTC)
17.11.2010 Arusha/Lilongwe:  As we first had to fly from Arusha to Kilimanjaro International before we could fly on to Lilongwe, we had to get up very early - at 5 a.m. in fact. One hour later we departed for the airport, where we found our 'Marie' safe and sound, and so we started making our preparations for leaving. Of course, we had to submit the details of our flight once again and pay the handling and airport charges. To our surprise, one of the handling agents had managed to get us 5 litres of engine oil. So, in good spirits, we climbed aboard.    

The weather was relatively low cloud and light rain. But that's not such big problem when flying according to an IFR flight plan. Moreover, we had spoken to a German pilot before we left concerning the best route to take. We started the plane and Martin requested the flight plan from the tower. But they answered him with a question: they wanted to know whether the navigation fee for Tanzania had also been paid. Martin couldn't confirm this, so the tower asked us to switch off the engine and come to the tower to solve the problem.

First of all, there was some confusion when we told them we had no permit for Tanzania and we had not paid any fees. But no one had told us anything about this beforehand. After some reflection on my part, I had the idea of combing through the documents carefully once again. And lo and behold, what did I find but a permit number which I was then able to show the others. From this it was clear that we were to pay the navigation fee at Kilimanjaro International, and not in Arusha. The air traffic controller was satisfied with that and explained that we could now fly to Kilimanjaro International and pay there. We still paid a tip, though, in order to avoid any further discussion. We took off into the clouds, climbing fast to achieve our flying altitude. At 5,500 feet we banked left and headed directly for Kilimanjaro International Airport. 

The landing was simple. Our handling agent had organised everything. We got our aviation fuel and paid the 10 dollar landing charge. An absolute record - normally, we pay 10 to 30 times that! We climbed aboard 'Marie' again and took off towards Lilongwe on flight level 100. On the way, the weather improved and even the clouds started to break up slowly. However, at our altitude, we were still flying in the clouds. After we climbed to 12,000 feet we had to use oxygen in order to keep our bodies properly supplied. Some 90 minutes later we dropped again to 10,000 feet in order to save oxygen - we still didn't know where we could get any more.

The flight to Lilongwe took us over the great expanse of Lake Malawi. Looking down, we saw a very idyllic, almost Mediterranean-like landscape. The air traffic controller's landing instructions were once again straightforward. We were directed to a parking bay and not one but two handing agents greeted us. One of the agents was actually trying to pinch the job of the handling agent actually appointed to do the work. In the end he was unsuccessful, however, once he found out which name had been registered by the agent. But the 'proper' handling agent was evasive when I asked about making payments. It seemed as though he was totally unprepared for my question. I became a little suspicious. And then he said that we didn't need to pay for the hotel either; that had all been arranged and would be handled by the agency. 'Bound to mean higher costs,' I thought. That at least was strange because up until now we had always paid hotel bills ourselves. However, as it turned out later, my suspicions were totally unfounded. Our agent, Flight Service International, had organised things here in such a way that everything could be dealt with properly by the handling agent. And indeed it was, as we prepared to depart the next morning.