,...--

De

p, Aztec To

Detailed and entertaining account of flight from New York

to enchanting islands of is given by one

who enjoyed every minute of it. He describes

trip as 'nicest eve1' created for private plane'

by W. D. STROHMEIER' AOPA 52082

J

Service. When the bills finally came Ifcoming-oryou have aContinental-andlittle faith in youra goodLy• home to roost, only then did we realize supply of General Declarations (gladly what Shell 100;130 gasoline costs per supplied by AOP A's Flight and Travel U.S. gallon-25 to 26 cents! Department) plus a few WAC charts Add to that another genial couple• that cover the area, you can take your• in our case Shelton and Louise Fisher, self on the nicest trip ever created for also from our hometown of Darien, a private airplane - the Bahamas, Conn.-and you have the ingredients Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and of a really wonderful flight. places even farther down the Carib• For us, the trip started as a germ of bean-, , Barbados, an idea last fall, and sprouted into a to name just a few. two and a half week trip that covered A few embellishments help, but aren't nearly 6,000 miles from Westchester necessary. Such as two Lycomings, County Airport near New York City, which we had in Piper Aztec N 4807 P, about 32 hours of automatic flight in an ADF, an automatic pilot, and Jep• a straight line from omni to omni or pessen radio charts, both for the area beacon to beacon by ADF. Past , and the individual airports. A Shell In• this latter method of navigation took on ternational Credit Card helps, too. It added aspects of' ease and simplicity wasn't until a month or so later that we since everything down there, with the found out other nice things about Shell exception of a few omnis, is ADF. The

Barbados-bound and eager to leave 50 -above-O0 weather at Westchester County Airport are (left to right) Louise Fisher, Bea Strohmeier and Shelton Fisher. Bill Strohmeier, in back• ground, is preparing to enter the Aztec southbound over Guantanamo in a 707 -on 126.2 mc. Incidentally, this and 1I8.1-plus 121.5 the emergency fre• Route Of Strohmeier Trip To Barbados And Return quency-will get you anywhere in the Caribbean. And 118.1 is the universal tower frequency. Getting back to single-engine con• siderations, the only variation from "Yankee Route" which is the direct line from Florida to San Juan would be more southerly routing with a fueling stop at Great Inagua rather than South Caicos. Then after Inagua, you can head southeasterly and pick up the shore of Haiti just 60 miles across. From there you skirt the Haitian and Dominican coasts, hop the 60-mile Mona Passage to the west tip of Puerto Rico. Flight over Haiti or the Dominican Re• public is seriously frowned on and 48 hours advance notice must be given be• fore landing. Nonetheless, it is dry land and would provide a suitable refuge for a limping single-engine airplane. Barbados Emergency equipment, of course, is a must, single- or twin-engine. This should consist of inflatable life rafts, a Mae West for each person, a little food and water for sustenance. It's wise, too, to have die marker which makes a big yellow spot on the water, some beacons are strong and powerful and thing but routine scenery. shark repellent, flares and a flashlight. reception is generally better. It's true While we enjoyed the serenity of two I also took along a Narco VT-4 battery• of VHF communications, too. You seem purring 250 h.p. Lycomings out either powered VHF transmitter for good to be able to talk a lot farther. For in• side, it proved to be a trip I wouldn't measure. stance, we made reservations with the hesitate to make single engine. If you've So much for some basic considera• Rock Sound Club on their airport's Uni• ever flown to West End on Grand Ba• tions. Now for some specific details. corn while more than 100 miles out and hama or to Nassau, you've flown water The trip of Zero Seven Papa started while at 3,000 feet, but that's near the stretches about as long as the legs re• fittingly in five above zero weather the end of the story. We're getting ahead of quired anywhere else down the line. In last day of January from Westchester ourselves. other words, no hop between islands is Airport. As we left home, the Opel Our route covered, after Florida, much more than 25 minutes in a Co• station wagon was not only overloaded Eleuthera in the Bahamas; South Cai• manche or Bonanza-or about 80 miles. inside but had four suitcases on the cos, half-way to San Juan for fuel; St. There are a fair number of boats and luggage rack above. Someone should Croix in the American Virgin Islands; you usually have something always in have said "tilt" right then and there, Guadeloupe, the French West Indies; sight. In most situations too, you're because too much baggage proved to be Barbados; Antigua; St. Thomas, Vir• within VHF range of some ground sta• the only drawback on the whole trip. gin Islands; South Caicos and Eleu• tion or within shouting distance of an• We later found we could just comfort• thera on the way back. other airplane aloft. For instance, a ably get everything and ourselves into In between, we had nothing but rou• friend of mine who flies with Pan a standard size Chevy station wagon. tine flights-10 of them international American heard us working Grand We once had to use two taxis to get from one country to another-and any- Turk Air Force Base while he was everything from airport to hotel.

Partiallycloud-obscuredpeaks, such as this volcanicmountain,on Saba Is• Strohmeierparty breakfastingon the Carib• land, are frequently found in the Caribbean.The 1,200-footlanding strip, bean BeachClubpatio at Antigua.Thedin• shownin the foreground,has no expansionpossibilities. This photographwas ing area overlooks St. John harbor and madefromthe StrohmeierAztec mountainsin the background Distance, Time And Fuel Cost Of Flight In Aztec N4807P From White Plains, N.Y., to Barbados And Return

Date Leg Statute' Time Fuel Rock Sound Club to alert the chef. Cus• (1963) Miles Cost toms was a simple formality, cost a Jan. 31 White Plains, N.Y. to Rock Sound, Bahamas pound sterling or $2.80. The landing fee Stops at Greensboro, N.C., Vero Beach, is also one pound. W. Palm Beach, Fla. 1460 8:20 $ 93.81 The Rock Sound Club, a favorite of Feb. Rock Sound-St. Croix, V.I. mine for years, was never a prettier Stop at South Caicos 890 5:20 77 .33 sight-its Olympic-size swimming pool Feb. 5 St. Croix-Guadeloupe FWI via Saba Is. 230 1:50 13.50" bordered by beautifully illuminated Feb. 8 Guadeloupe-Barbados via 265 1:45 12.41" Royal Palms. Franz Gross, the man• Feb. 12 Barbados-Antigua via St. Lucia 320 1:50 15.85 •• ager, who learned the hotel business in Feb. 14 Antigua-Rock Sound his native Vienna, \vas on hand with Stops at St. Thomas and South Caicos 1077 6:15 76.65 his handsome goatee. Rose Maire, the Feb. 15 Rock Sound-DeLand, Fla. dining room hostess with her wonder• Stop at Ft. Lauderdale 490 2:25 39.52 ful French accent and figure to match, Feb. 16 DeLand-White Plains was still there. Also David, and Harold Stop at Raleigh-Durham 972 5:30 61.05 and Sam, waiters who had served us on Totals 5704 33:15 $390.12 our last visit two years ago. It is a wonderful place and one that is becom• 'Distances are via shortest airways or direct island to island. Additional mileage actually ing increasingly popular with "island flown sightseeing not calculated. hoppers". In fact, people travelling in "Fuel in Guadeloupe, Barbados and Antigua is priced at approximately 25(' per gallon. their own private planes are represent• Fuel at Rock Sound and South Caicos was highest--48(" per gallon. ing a considerable share of the business at Rock Sound and other resorts in the Bahamas. To leave Rock Sound after breakfast, as if it were just a motel stop along the Moral: don't let the baggage load of an seas" destination was Rock Sound on road, seemed a crime but we had a fair Aztec lure you into using it all. Keep Eleuthera, 260 miles out the 115° radial bit of travelling to do this day, 900 your "going ashore" requirements to of the West Palm Beach VOR. We'd be miles, and would lose an hour since St. Croix, our destination, is on Atlantic one suitcase per person plus the usual getting there an hour after dark, hoped Standard Time. camera case, etc. they'd still be holding our reservations While I took an extra long time (pur• and hoped, especially, that their field By now our system of assigned crew posely) to recheck weather and file IFR lights would be on. If not, we'd go back duties was working beautifully. I had to Raleigh-Durham, the crew finally to Nassau, 80 miles west of Rock Sound. appointed Shelton Fisher our "chief of found a place for everything-and ev• Right off Palm Beach we tuned the protocol" which put him in charge of eryone was mumbling that it was too ADF to Rock Sound's own private all Customs formalities and other simi• bad we didn't have an Aztec B with horner and it came in loud and clear. lar details. This left me free to handle those big baggage compartments. We Soon after total dark, the moon made fueling, parking,-airport fees, and flight were airborne at 8:30 a.m. with the its presence known straight above us, plan filing. It left my good wife, Bea, by reflections off the nacelles and we and Louise with the job of packing. clear crisp sun sparkling on the winter Couldn't have worked out better-for snow. could even see bright and clear the We cleared Customs at Palm Beach• white sand in the shallow Bahamian either Shelton or me. just a simple case of having a copy of waters. The lights of Nassau passed Assigning one person, other than the your General Declaration stamped for quickly by our right wing tip and we "captain," to Customs duties is a very presentation to Bahamas Customs. soon left them astern. Now a few lights practical idea. If you do it yourself, as [This is not a U.S. Customs require• on Eleuthera showed and to our great I've always done previously, you're ment but is required by Bahamas.-Ed.] relief we saw the single 6,000-foot run• pretty busy at every landing. Filling This serves the purpose of proving to way beautifully outlined with lights. out forms, waiting for Customs to ap• the Bahamas where you carne from• We buzzed the little village of Rock pear, then fueling, then parking. With and not from Cuba. Our first "over- Sound to alert Customs and then the our system Shelton had all the papers in order before landing. He saw to it that the baggage was taken to Customs, the papers cleared and a taxi secured. This took about the same amount of

Aztec delivers vacationers to Barbados, 2,925 miles from Westchester County, N.Y., Airport, starting point time as refueling (service was excep• for the Caribbean flight. Standing beside the plane at the Barbados Airport are (left to right) Shelton and tional, I might add, except in the U.S. Louise Fisher, Bea and W. D. (Bill) Strohmeier. Fisher was designated "chief of protocol," whose duties were Virgin Islands) and parking. Thus our to handle Customs, immigration and similar details with local officials along the route. Strohmeier was chief group was headed for the hotel in about pilot and master of the plane half the time it would take if you as the captain handled everything alone. This seems to give the impression that there's a lot of paper work. To the contrary, there is only one form you need - the General Declaration. You prepare about five of these prior to each flight, using carbon paper, of course. This document merely details basic data on the airplane, owner, date, flight route, crew and passenger list. I had typed up about 50 forms with J.>asic data prior to the trip so that simpli• fied things even further. Customs ev• erywhere (except in the Virgin Islands) was business-like and efficient. A smile and patience seem to solve all prob• lems, but watch your holidays. 'Ve went to Nassau once on Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, and it cost $20 over- (Continued on page 5~)

THE AOPA PILOT

1 A' Aztec's "chief of protocol," Shelton Fisher, poses with Customs officers at South Caicos "terminal," where cold Cokes and snacks are available. Putting one crew member in charge of Customs details is highly recom· mended by Author Strohmeier for foreign flights

(Continued from page 52) recorder which was one of the Lord's time. I cleared out of Mexico on Good most potent tools as used by Father Bonaby. It seems he had trouble getting Friday last year for a $28 overtime his parishioners to choir practice until charge. he got the tape recorder. Now attend• There is usually no charge for cus• ance is no problem at all, he said. "We toms during regular hours. At some record the singing on the tape recorder, places, such as the Bahamas, however, then I promise the people that I'll have there is a departure tax or airport tax the tape developed in time for them to on passengers - around $2. For this hear themselves sing at next week's reason, always sign on one of your choir practice." . group as copilot since crew members The Cat Island strip was typical of aren't taxed. Used to be you could name the many new ones cropping up all over everyone aboard as a crew member from the Bahamas. About 4,000 feet long, navigator down to stewardess, but paved, period. Nothing else. We dropped they've caught on to this and I believe the Father off, engines still running, the rule now allows only two crew mem• paused until we were sure he could get bers for the average four to six pas• his Land Rover started, then took off• senger aircraft. and for me this was the real beginning We've had a lot of delays getting of the trip because I'd never been south• this story off the ground out of Eleu• east of the Bahamas before. thera. It took us an extra, unexpected You're supposed to fly by flight plan stop to get the flight on to the day's down these areas, so I filed with San destination, St. Croix. The unexpected Salvador which soon was abeam of us stop was on Cat Island, 70 miles down to the left. This is a U.S. missile track• the Bahamas from Rock Sound. Cause: ing site on the island, where Columbus Fr. Murillo Bonaby, an Angelican made his initial discovery in 1492. The priest, who showed up at the airport U.S. Air Force has other bases, with just as our lovely lady baggage han- landing strips, at Grand Turk, Eleu• . dlers had finished their job, miracu• thera (north of Rock Sound) and at lously leaving the four seats uncluttered Grand Bahama. They can be contacted with baggage. Brion Leary, the handy on 126.2 me and you address them as man at the airport, introduced the "San Salvador Radio" rather than "San Father and explained his plight. It Salvador Tower." San Salvador "rog• seems the Father had missed the Ba• ered" the flight plan info, and after a hamas Airways flight the day before five-minute pause while apparently con• to Cat Island and there wouldn't be tacting San Juan direct, came up with another trip for three days. The good San Juan weather and winds aloft. Ap• Father had a church service to conduct parently these way stations don't have - that night on Cat Island at one of 13 teletype weather at hand but can, under churches he served. Could we take him? most circumstances, get the weather We pondered the Lord's work vs. FAA for you. and decided Mr. Halaby wouldn't mind The South Caicos beacon came in three people occupying the two middle loud and clear with a distinctive high Aztec seats for a cause such as this, pitched tone for its "CM" identifying so Shelton, Bea, and Louise took up a code. The beacon, incidentally, is owned position aft and Father Bonaby sat up and operated by Pan American World with me. And a very interesting man Airways. On this route, you're seldom he proved to be. Born in the islands, out of sight of an island of some sort, educated for the ministry first in Bar• although with the typical scattered bados and then in England. While we cumulus it's hard to distinguish be• couldn't bring any of the Father's bag• tween an island and a cloud shadow. gage, he did carryon his lap a tape That's why it's always important to

THE AOPA PILOT I I

Fast service is given aircraft on South Caicos. The Brazilian-bound plane prepares to depart for San Juan as the local service crew turns its attention to the visiting Aztec

make an estimate for your next landfall the meantime, they've set out to make and to believe your watch. Don't get the airport the best, most efficient fuel• lured to one side or the other by what ing spot between Florida and San Juan, appears to be your destination only to a monopoly previously enjoyed by Great find it's a cloud shadow which your Inagua. A live wire Englishman by the watch would have told you was appear• name of Ian MaGuire runs everything ing much too soon. and it's a pleasure to see him operate. South Caicos, 320 miles out of Cat Max Karant of AOP A and Gil Quinby Island, was one hour 40 minutes, our (AOPA 37841) of Narco had spent a 170 m.p.h. ground speed bearing out night there in South Caicos in Novem• the almost automatic 20-25 m.p.h. winds ber, and this heightened my curiosity aloft which prevail out of the southeast. as we circled town to get someone to South Caicos is really an "Out Out Is• come to the airport. land"-isolated, remote. It has a 6,500• This was not necessary. The airport foot strip left over from World War II was agog with a dozen people and a new and a salt industry of sorts. It has BaTon in Brazilian markings at the fuel now come to life under the aegis of pump. Our "reception committee" con• Caicos Holdings Ltd., who are expand• sisted of the missionary, his wife, sev• ing their salt production, planning eral children, the doctor's wife and a eventual home building and tourism. In nattily attired policeman who doubled

Under the division of work on the Strohmeier-Fisher expedition to Barbados the ladies, Bea Strohmeier (left) and Louise Fisher, were elected to handle the baggage. It is reported that they did not have to carryall this baggage themselves-merely see to it that someone did that chore

Ip as customs officer and quickly expedited hour from South Caicos and just a spot our papers. Apparently the arrival of on the map. It comes just before pene• any airplane draws a number of the trating and you determine it roughly locals, who are anxious to come talk by taking an ADF bearing on Caucedo, with people from the outside world. a powerful beacon on the south side of This day, too, the airline was due in the . Not that it from Nassau and points in between. does much more than give you some• The service at South Caicos is really thing to do. You're too far out to excellent. We were on the ground just report to anyone. Half an hour later 35 minutes and could have made it comes Idaho intersection and this gets sooner except for chatting with the local a little more positive since it's a bearing people. Customs is the simplest for• on the omni at Ramey Air Force Base mality but does exist even if you come on the northwest tip of Puerto Rico. from the Bahamas, because South All the other check points around the Caicos is so far from Nassau that they island are named for states also• have elected to be independent and do Ohio, Vermont, Alabama, Iowa, etc. The business directly with London. We had airways are all "routes"- Yankee understood earlier that they were under Route, which we were following, Route Jamaican jurisdiction, but this has X-Ray, Route Two and so forth. changed, too. Oddly, the whole British As we passed abeam of Ramey, we Islands in the Caribbean are currently were getting into rain and had an in a state of confusion as to which di• upper deck of broken cloud. In fact it rection they will head in their efforts looked pretty thick ahead of VFR at to get out from under colonial rule. 7,500 feet so we started a slow descent Most of them are in a Federation whose and finally wound up at 1,000 feet going seat of government is at Trinidad, but through a series of solid lines of rain even so they require Customs inspection which lasted two or three minutes. even on inter-island hops. This, we understand, is typical mid• Fuel at South Caicos is on a cash or afternoon weather. cheque (pardon our British influence!) In the meantime, I had pondered the basis, since they apparently don't have necessity of landing at San Juan at all. a bank through which to handle credit Why not proceed direct to St. Croix cards. Fuel was 59 cents a gallon and A call to San Juan FAA produced as• there was a $4 Customs charge. No surance that St. Croix had Customs, landing fee. They have a very clean Because of the rain and cloud forma• restroom and a little canteen where cold tion at all levels it looked as if Puerto Cokes and snacks are available. Since Rico could best be traversed IFR. San we had brought box lunches from Rock Juan ATC came back with a clearance, Sound we enjoyed lunch aloft with cold routing us at 3,000 feet from the SJU South Caicos Coke en route to San Juan. beacon to the San Juan VOR on the We filed our flight plan, after takeoff, airport. We just broke out in time to with Grand Turk, the USAF missile catch a beautiful rainbow with our color tracking base about 20 miles east, and camera. From there it was climb to the last bit of island until you reach 5,000, turn south on Route Seven to San Juan, unless yo,u veer to the south Point Tuna, on the south side of the and pick up Haiti. island, then east on Route Yankee to It's 410 miles from Caicos to the St. Croix, 75 miles out. powerful San Juan homing beacon• We broke out of the clouds just east SJU-which is west of San Juan Inter• of Puerto Rico and the islands to the national, but we picked it up loud and northeast were beautiful-Vieques, St. clear. The winds, as nearly as we could Thomas, St. John and others. Just determine were straight on the nose. before we could see St. Croix we had So much so that the compass agreed to go through another rain cloud and precisely with the prescribed course. It this produced a beautiful setting for showed 1290 magnetic' on the chart for our first glimpse of the island. Suddenly Route Yankee, and with the ADF point• we popped out of the overcast and there ing dead ahead, the Aztec's compass below us and ahead was St. Croix, very read precisely 1290 and stayed that way green and very beautiful. for the entire two hours. It's when We cancelled IFR, swung wide to let you're on a long overwater haul aiming a Caribair Convair at 3,000 feet land at an ADF that you really appreciate first and came in behind, landing east an automatic pilot with heading lock, as always anywhere in the Caribbean. because it holds a course so much better It was 6 p.m. local time and a very than you can do manually and gives you flustered Customs man could only speak much better indication of there's any of "complications." He talked so much drift at work. about the "complications" of his job For two hours it was hard to stay that there was little wonder he was awake. So little possibility of traffic overloaded. He wouldn't start process• at 7,500 feet that you didn't feel very ing us or our baggage until the health alert. The others took naps and I let officer came eight miles from Christen• the seat back in maximum recline posi• stad. Finally a phone call settled things tion and just watched the clock. Cloud and we were on our way. It is .im• condition was typical and beautiful, just portant to remember, however, that scattered, harmless baby cumulus with especially in the Virgin Islands, the tops around 6,500 feet or so. The water U. S. Department of Health has to be was so very blue below and with good notified well in advance so they can reason because as you approach Puerto send a man out from town to look at you Rico you pass near the Brownson Deep, and your International Health Certifi• over 30,000 feet down. The first check cate. We had similar delays in St. point is Y-3, or Yankee Three, about an (Continued on page 58)

THE AOPA PilOT (Continued from paae 56) ocean 90 miles east of St. Croix. From a Grand Terre, the eastern island, is Thomas. Be sure, therefore, to get in distance it looks almost like a perfect shaped roughly in a triangle about 25 a request for Public Health to meet volcano, stretching up some 2,800 feet. miles on each side and is relatively flat. you in your original flight plan or at As you get closer you see the sides of The west island, Basse Terre, runs your earliest radio contact. the island go straight down into the about 30 miles from north to south. It St. Croix for four days was wonder• ocean. There's no harbor, only a few is most inappropriately named, since ful. The Fishers had been there before very rocky beaches-yet three villages Basse in French means "low" and the so knew places and people. We had exist high up the slopes. Friends who island is anything but, with one peak good fun, got too much sun, of course, had cruised these parts had told us to going up to 4,800 feet. Pointe au Pitre, and did much of our shopping thinking, be certain to fly around it. They had the main city, bustling with some 40,000 for instance, that Beefeaters would gone ashore on native whale boats black French people, and the nearby never be cheaper anywhere else-$1.50 through the surf onto the rocky shore. airport, are centrally located at the a fifth instead of $2.25 at Nassau which The islanders main livelihood comes narrow waist which connects the two I always thought was a real bargain. from fishing and building boats. One islands. Scotch, good standard brands like Black town is called Bottom, yet it's high up Guadeloupe has two homing beacons and White and Dewars is $2.75-same the mountain in what was once a and an omni, the only one south of St. price whether you use it locally or take volcanic crater. The very top was ob• Croix. It was probably installed after it with you, in contrast to Barbados, scured by cloud, as was the case in all an Air France 707 several years ago for instance, where you can only get volcanic mountains on the whole trip. strayed during an ADF approach in a the tax-free price if it's delivered to We circled, taking pictures and were violent thunderstorm and drilled a hole your airplane out of bond. Cigarettes suddenly surprised as we rounded the in one of the mountains. were $1.20 a carton! eastern edge to see a landing strip You wonder what kind of a French We loaded down therefore with our carved out of a shoulder on the north• reply you'll get when you call the legal gallon per passenger and took it east side. tower, but the English instructions with with us for the rest of the trip. We went down a little lower to take strong French accent came back clearly St. Croix retains much of its charm a closer look and saw that construction to land, as always, to the east "cleared when it was a Danish Island. It is was apparently still in progress. We straight in." We had no trouble land• mountainous to the west and north, made a note that on some future trip ing-the runway is 10,184 feet long. quite flat along the southern shore and we'd land and visit Saba. Upon my re• As we parked in front of the Douane very dry, like Arizona, on the eastern turn, I ran into Bob Gift, a Piper (French for Customs), a Shell service or windy end, which also is the eastern service technical representative who crew was there pronto to take care of most part of the United States. had recently landed on that strip from our fueling. There's a smattering of private flying nearby Dutch St. Maartin with a In two small French taxis we were evident, but most of the flying is char• Cherokee 180. He said the strip is 1,200 off to La Caravelle, 16' miles away, ter. Bill Bohlke (AOP A 67416), well• feet long and that's all they'll ever be through Pointe au Pitre which is cer• known former operator of the Spring able to stretch it. Both ends are sheer tainly every bit what you'd expect to Valley, N. Y., Airport, operates several cliffs down to the water. see in Central America ... thousands Apaches and Commanders. There's a From Saba you head more southerly of natives, many carrying bundles on T1'i-Pacer and Cherokee there, too. Fuel and start down the chain of islands their heads, milling through the narrow was 45 cents a gallon-100 octane, land• which eventually take you all the way streets ... open gutters, and a smell ing fee was $1 (collected before I even to Trinidad. First come St. Eustatius that didn't quite border on a stench. had a chance to get off the wing walk) (called Statia), then St. Christopher The main roads were good but narrow and tiedown was a buck a night, too. (St. Kitts), Nevis, then Montserrat. and full of curves. And the driving was Typical of the inexpensive prices we Each has its DC-3-size strip and is 100% French. Never use the brakes, paid everywhere, much to my surprise. served by BWIA or Leeward Islands just blow the horn. Ultimately, we There's a wide variety of places to Air Transport using anything from turned off onto a fine new road which stay at St. Croix, from new luxury Apaches to four-engine Herons. These curved round a low hill and revealed hotels to small guest houses. Stand• islands are very similar. Each has a La Caravelle-an $8,000,000 monument ard rates everywhere in the Caribbean left-over volcano, perennially shrouded in cast concrete to some way-out French seem to be $20-$25 per person, with in cloud. The mountain sides slope off architect. It would be best not to try meals. One could probably do much gradually to the shore and all land to describe it, and only hope there's better at guest houses, and the rates that's anywhere near level is planted room to publish a picture of the big, after April 15 and until around mid• with sugar cane. Many of the islands completely open main lobby area with December are considerably lower. even have narrow gauge railroads to flowing concrete roof. The place had Our next leg out of St. Croix proved haul the cane to the sugar mills. been open only two weeks and was to be perhaps the most interesting. It South of Nevis looms the French is• really just getting started. took us over Saba-an immensely awe• land of Guadeloupe. It's really two is• But not the chefs-they were in good inspiring island that juts up from the lands barely connected at the midriff. (Continued on paye 60)

Louise Fisher and Bea Strohmeier enjoy the first touch Town of Castries on mountainous SI. Lucia Island, its land-locked harbor and airport are all of sun on Pelican Cove beach at SI. Croix close together. Beach alongside airport is reported to be one of the best in the Caribbean (Continued from page 58) of trying to find an interpreter. Vir• form. Five of them were brought tually no one speaks English with the straight from Paris by the Parisian exception of the hotel clerk and the owners who are determined to make tower people. La Caravelle's reputation on its French The flight plan also brought out an• cuisine. They have not failed. The food other curious fact. Nowhere in the was superb and our only complaint was ICAO flight-plan form is there any its abundance and richness. The rooms place whatsoever where your home ad· were super modern, each with a balcony dress, whereabouts, or "next of kin" can overlooking the excellent beach and be entered. Typical ICAO thinking beautiful surroundings. that assumes all aircraft are airline· We were there three nights and the type and the owners readily known, weather was "standard." Ideal tem• should a search and rescue operation perature, beautiful scattered cumulus be required. If you have any concern that has a special softness to it from on this score on such a trip, you'll have the Bahamas south. You look up at to write your name and home address them, especially near sunset, and have down on a piece of paper and give it to a tremendous urge to go fly through the clerk. them and over them. South out of Guadeloupe, you pass While most of the clientele was over flat sugar-planted Marie Galante, straight out of Paris, we ran into an• then shortly pick up big, black, for• other fellow American ail' tourist• bidding Dominica, heavily forested with albeit with a French name, Jacques wild jungle-like vegetation, high water Istel (AOPA 74361)-the parachute falls, primitive villages, narrow tor• impressario who had made it single• tuous roads and rain and no sugar cane engine. It was he who pointed out ,to me at all, quite in contrast to the sister the observations mentioned earlier British islands just north. These may be about the relative ease of doing the harsh words for an interesting and trip on one engine if you skirt the intriguing island. No doubt it would be Dominican coast to Puerto Rico. a fascinating place to roam and explore. Jacques suggested we try snorkeling' On a future trip I would most certainly at a nearby spot where there are some want to do just this. cannon from an old galleon. Next morn• Thirty miles south of Dominica you're ing with Alex Sabattier, our breakfast back over French territory-over the waiter and former French Navy frog• island of Martinique guarded at the man, we set forth in an outboard sev• northern tip by 4,800-foot Mount Pele eral miles down the coast, couldn't find which in 1902 erupted, wiping out the the cannon but saw some lovely under• city of Saint Pierre with a loss of 40,000 water scenes. That afternoon we had a lives-one of the worst disasters in real adventure. We took a bus into world history. Curiously none of the Pointe au Pitre and this wasn't just travel books we took with us mention any ordinary kind of a bus ride. As a thing about this. on many Caribbean islands the buses We skirted the eastern shore of Mar• are owned by individual drivers-small tinique admiring its coast line which buses that carry around 20 people. As looks quite like Maine. The booming a result there's a bus about every five surf appeared extra white as it foamed minutes and what a ride! Like the cab onto the shore in the bright tropical drivers, they rely on their horn instead sun. Already, of course, we had our of their brakes. On the way back to the ADF locked on our destination which hotel, Shelton said, "We're sure knock• lay 30° to the left-some 100 miles ing them off." I asked what he meant across "on the diagonal". Barbados, if and he said, "Knocking off the things you look at the chart, stands aloof from we don't have to do again." the other islands, farther to the east, Incidentally, Hertz cars are available alone, well out in the Atlantic Ocean. at Guadeloupe and are highly recom• It has not, however, been bypassed. On mended. The mountainous part of the contrary, it is perhaps the most Guadeloupe is very' picturesque and developed, the most British, the most would most certainly make an interest• established of all the islands in the ing all· day drive. Caribbean. It prospered long ago on the All currency on Guadeloupe is, of slave trade and rum. It is today the course, French-filthy French paper most thickly populated of all the islands. money-worse than you see even in Its main city of Bridgetown is almost Italy. Whil.e France has gone to New a "metropolis." Newly-marrieds from Francs (worth 20 cents each), Guade• other islands come to Barbados for their loupe still operates mainly on old honeymoon. It is a favorite vacation Francs. It takes 500 to equal a dollar. spot for people from Venezuela. Its That meant our landing fee and park• south shore between the airport and ing for three nights came to 29,120 Bt'idgetown boasts dozens of hotels and francs or just over $5.90. guest houses of all sizes, shoulder to The flight plan you must file at all shoulder facing on the excellent beach. these spots is the world standard ICAO We were, all in all, amazed at the form which looks especially formidable number and excellence of the places to in French. However, the lady in the air• stay in Barbados. Our reservation was drome office gladly put in the numbers at the Colony Club on St. James Beach as I explained in my fractured French on the western side of the island. If you that we were going to Barbados next, like surf, this is not the side to stay 260 miles away. With a little sightsee• on, as the water is very placid and ing we'd take 1 :30 hours. I might add quite a few boats are permanently that a little French is almost essential moored off shore even though there are on Guadeloupe, at least to avoid delay (Continued on page 62)

THE AOPA PILOT (Continued from page 60) attractions. The well-protected harbor 100 miles of open ocean to the west. is a haven for private and charter Another example of the fact that the yachts. trade winds blow steadily and forever A new 7,500-foot jet strip makes the from the east or southeast. old original USAF WW II runway look We took a drive through the coun• like a taxiway, and we were cleared to tryside and everywhere you went the make a right turn in-working the roads were walled on either side with tower, as always, on 118.1. One of the sugar cane which reaches up, some• nice things about planning your trip, thing like corn, well over ten feet high. from Puerto Rico south, is that the While we were there the harvesting islands are so close together that you got underway and the whole island can get all your travelling done in an turns out to do the job. Some of the hour or so after a leisurely breakfast cane is converted into a marvelous and be all checked in at the next liquid known as Mount Gay Rum which place before lunch. This, of course, is sells for 80 cents a bottle, in bond one of the big advantages of operating delivered to your plane, and is really with your own airplane. It's trouble good. Other prices were considerably enough getting hotel accommodations lower than in the Virgin Islands, too. without having to worry about airline It was tempting to continue south• schedules, too. Generally, we were air• ward to other islands with exotic names borne around 10 a.m. and were on the -Grenada, Tobago, Trinidad-but we ground before noon. were now out ten days and the in• Antigua surprised me with its very evitable northbound trek had to start. dry, Arizona-like landscape. Lots of We were glad we saved Antigua for sugar cane, of course, and lots of cactus, the end because this proved to be an• too. Our taxi driver was an affable West other gem. It's located just 30 miles Indian by the name of George. He north of Guadeloupe so we were retrac• took us in his slightly tired Chevrolet ing our steps. However, we altered our to the Caribbean Beach Hotel and route slightly, heading from Barbados wouldn't accept our money. We could more to the west to take a look at pay him when he took us back to the St. Lucia. The main town of Castries airport, thus assuring himself of a fare on the north end of the island is on a two days hence. The CBC-as the Beach beautiful harbor and there's a fine look• Club is known-has a unique setup. ing airport on the north side. We didn't The rooms are in motel type arrange• land, but circled several times, making ment on the very beautiful beach. The a mental note that here, too, would be dining terrace and office are on a bluff a place not to miss "the next time." several hundred feet above the beach, Our guide book said one of the affording a magnificent view of the ap• Caribbean's finest beaches is located proaches to the harbor at St. John's, two _, right alongside the runway and it miles away, and the higher hilly part looked just so from the air. South we of the island farther south. To get up could see really spectacular mountain and down, they have a little funicular scenery with two twin peaks which led cab which runs up and down on tracks to a discussion on board about the origin and is self-operated like an automatic of the Spanish word "Teton." elevator. Northbound out of St. Lucia we Here, as at Barbados, the Club main• chose to pass by the western side of tains reciprocal dining privileges with Martinique and confirmed what I sus• other establishments and this permits pected, that the air is much rougher on you to eat meals at a variety of places this, the leeward side. If you have no all for the same standard $25 a day, ap• reason to the contrary, therefore, plan proximately, per person. to go by these islands on the east or St. John's, the main town on Antigua, windward side for a smoother ride. We isn't any great tourist attraction and did that, very close and low, going by nothing to waste any film on. It did Dominica and further confirmed the have, however, the finest shop we saw impression of primitiv'eness and raw on the whole trip with a wide variety nature which sets Dominica apart. The of fine dresses at ridiculously low prices beaches were black, the foliage on the and other excellent items. It was called hillsides had a genuine jungle look. the Coco Shop. Bea bought several Everywhere except right along the dresses, muu-muus and other items for shore, it was overcast and raining. presents. I felt I had lost my shirt in We climbed on top and passed over the process. Guadeloupe at 9,500 feet enjoying a We were at Antigua just two days tailwind for the first time in over and two nights when we decided that, 3,000 miles. Through the always beau• much as we liked it, we'd be better off tiful scattered cu we picked up Antigua making the long haul back to the en• ahead and as we passed the south shore virons of Florida on Thursday, have were impressed more than ever with the Friday as a final day in the sun, then amazing variety of topography which make the long haul back to Connecticut you see from one island to the next. on Saturday thus avoiding two 1,000 Antigua has many inlets and harbors mile days back to back. and a very irregular shore line. This George was there on the dot to take explains why Lord Nelson chose Eng• us to the airport and collect his money lish Harbor as his base of operations which was $6 "Beewee" each way. from which the British Fleet sailed to "Beewee" money is what you use in win the famous battle of Trafalgar. all the British West Indies, from which The dockyards, as they existed during the name was derived. A "Beewee" dol• Nelson's time, have been restored and lar is worth about 60 American cents now constitute one of Antigua's main (Continued on page 67)

THE AOPA PILOT

Circle no. 42 on reader service card~ (Continued from page 62) Dominican Republic and Haiti off to and they have 100 cents to the dollar, our left even though we were never the same as we. closer than 55 miles. We got Nassau George, and we found this true of all and Florida weather from Grand Turk our cab drivers, served as a great Radio, pre-filed for our next leg, can• source of information on local facts and celled our existing flight plan out of customs. In fact, you should be sure to St. Thomas just before letting down spend a lot of time in cabs just to talk to South Caicos. We were barely out to the drivers and find out about the of the airplane when a pick-up truck islands. Their native lingo and man• arrived with the refueling crew and ner of speech are fascinating. George, Mr. Liam MaGuire himself, a very for instance, explained that a Pan-Am pleasant, energetic type who was most DC-8on the ramp that morning "sleeps charming. This time he had two offi• here." ciaIs-customs and health-and they We left Antigua with the intention of quickly took care of our papers, then getting to Rock Sound on the off had a Coke. The poor health officer chance they might have a couple of had a terrible headache so we turned rooms still available. If not, we'd try tables and administered a little health Grand Bahama or go on to Florida. to him in the form of a couple of To "collect" one more island we landed aspirin. With a double crew we figured at St. Thomas, 225 miles from Antigua, we'd be paying double the $4 for cus• passing Saba again to settle a bet toms service we paid on the trip down. Shelton and I had, as to the location "No charge at all" explained MaGuire. of the air strip. He said it was south• The reason we paid $4 before was be• east. The dollar bill you might have cause it was during lunch hour! The seen hanging from the ceiling of the more you ponder Customs customs the Aztec on our approach to St. Thomas, less you understand it. was won by me. The strip's on the MaGuire said business was picking northeast tip! up quite nicely, that they averaged Public Health was late coming out to three or four airplanes a day, and the airport and we had an irritating they'd rapidly gone from 200 gallons a delay of 20 minutes until the man ar• week to over 2,000. "Great Inagua is rived, looked at our International not very happy about this," he chuckled. Health Cards, said okay. Why it takes We finished our Cokes, shook hands a special person to inspect foul' yellow all around, including the missionary pieces of paper beats me. and his wife who showed up, and We had to be airborne by 1300 local charged on northwest bound up Yankee time to make Grand Bahama before Route to Yankee land. We passed dark if necessary. I elected to stay at through what apparently was the left• the airport and refuel whilst the crew over of a weak front, which involved went in town on a quick one hour sight• steady rain for 30 minutes and in-and• seeing/shopping excursion. It took out IFR at 1,000 feet. It was about nearly an hour to gas the airplane• this time we experienced the excellent from five gallon buckets through a range of VHF communications out here chamois yet! Such primitive facilities, over the water. As mentioned in the in comparison with such modern ones beginning, we raised Rock Sound over at such far-out places as Rock Sound 100 miles out at 3000 feet. And the and South Caicos, are beyond my com• word was good. They had room for us. prehension. And on this airport at St. Next day, our final one in the sun, Thomas were the first signs of big was perfect and we didn't leave until private flying activity, too: 15 or 20 late in the afternoon for Ft. Lauder• airplanes from an Ercoupe to a Twin dale, filing with Nassau Radio (126.9) Beech parked there. as we passed Nassau. They really were I had a quick sandwich with Jack busy with private aircraft arrivals Chapman (AOPA 97614) a refugee and departures. As we tracked outbound from Teterboro who now operates a from Nassau with one of our omnis, couple of Apaches in charter service, our second omni tuned to Bimini and and heard woesome tales about the slow• the ADF on Bimini, too, for good meas• motion Customs people on just a simple ure, I couldn't help but think of the flight from St. Thomas to San Juan. first trip eight years ago to Nassau by The take-off from St. Thomas into Tri-Pacer, with no ADF, no omni on the prevailing wind is interesting and Bimini (no airport there then either) I understood why the Caribair Convairs nor at Nassau. Only eight years ago, are Jato-equipped. There's a ridge a but a century of progress in between. couple of hundred feet high right at Airports everywhere, radio facilities the east end of the runway. With 4700 everywhere. Even the engines don't feet of runway, of course, it's no real seem to go into "automatic rough" like problem, but it just doesn't look right they used to. If you can make Bimini to stare at this obstruction as you wait you can make Barbados. You ought to for V2. Some pilots handle it differently. try it sometime .• I saw a DC-3 and a Cessna 170 take off west, down wind. THE AUTHOR We were now headed back to South Caicos and made it in two hours and a William D. Strohmeier (AOPA half, a distance of 486 miles. It was .52032), author of Aztec To Bar• beautifully clear, so we had a good bados," is executive vice president of view of San Juan which is a really large Davis, Parsons and Strohmeier, Inc., city and built up along the shore line New York City advertising and pub• like Beach. Going northwest on lic relations agency. He resides in Yankee Route, we could clearly see the Darien, Conn.

JUNE 1963