Report Africa 2009 (5)
18. Lambarene, FOGR - 01.03.2009 - 90 NM - 0:43
The flight over the jungle to Lambarene had been something very special. The newest approach chart from Jeppesen from the year 2000 mentioned a Laterit runway. To our surprise we landed at a perfect concrete runway and found very helpful tower controllers who immediately called the Albert Schweitzer Hospital for our pick-up.
With the hospital director we had been several times in e-mail-contact but he had forgotten us and first realized who we are when we showed him the whole correspondence. From his side it was a very short chat. For the night we got a shabby accommodation at the hospital area and were left to our own devices until we were driven the next day to the airport.
Shortly before 1.00 p.m. we reached the so called restaurant where we got something to eat. There we met 3 young medical students who were very short in talking to us. We also met a German medical doctor who is doing research for the University of Tübingen and he told us that he belongs to the inventory of the hospital. We could move free at the hospital area, visited the museum and all the old wooden buildings. The entry of the hospital itself was prohibited to us. We had all time of the world and so we sat on a bench along the river side, saw hundreds of huge bats and thought about the work of Albert Schweitzer and what is practiced nowadays. We had the feeling that all is surrounded by secrets. On the departure date an invoice was presented to us, for our feeling much too high.
19. Franceville, FOON - 02.03.2009 - 240 NM - 1:54
On our departure in Lambarene we kissed the Ogooué-River and the jungle. Franceville is a small town but built on many hills at the country side with a lot of villas. Here we met a funny Italian Crew who maintained a helicopter at the airport.
At the planned day of our departure to the Congo we waited at the airport without success for our permit and had to stay another day in Franceville. These 3 days were very exhausting as we had to phone on our SAT-Phone with the FSI all the time concerning our Congo-Permit. We can´t avoid the feeling that something went wrong.
20. Kinshasa, FZAA - 05.03.2009 - 220 NM - 1:37
21. NŽDolo, FZAD - 05.03.2009 - 10 NM - 0:05
As the permission for the Congo arrived with delay we had to return once more from the airport in Franceville to the hotel and could only fly one day later. Brazzaville arranged with Kinshasa the approach for a short VFR landing. And then the hassle started. They didn´t want to let us land in N´Dolo where 1000 l of already paid AVGAS waited for us. After long and heavy discussions we finally were allowed to fly but after refueling we should return to the international airport with the heavy aircraft. The CAA and all the fools were not able to understand that it is impossible to land after 5 minutes with such a heavy aircraft.
After our landing in N´Dolo we were greeted by many people and the discussions started again. Chicco, a coordination officer understood our problem and told us that we can leave directly from N´Dolo to Burundi. That was a relief for us. Suddenly a guy from the CAA arrived and checked all the aircraft papers and the flight manual in a very impolite, actually disgusting way and asked many questions. But he was not able to find anything irregular. Later on we got the information that this method usually brings him many bribes. Afterwards we were able to refuel the aircraft with 5 drums of AVGAS and met Greg Heller from the MAF. He brought us to a hotel in the city. In the meantime it was dark, no street illumination, only sometimes a light from a shop. People walked around on both sides of the street and the traffic was chaotic. It was scary. Kinshasa is an overcrowded dirty city without any center. Sorry to say, but the horrible person from the CAA with his never ending stubbornness and idiocy was a strain on the nerves. If we would have a wish free, this person should not work there anymore, but what shall it, another person would take his place an then you will find the same problems and corruption again.
