Leg 001

"A surprise way to earn some dough"

A fresh start

Well, it's the sticky humid morning of June 28, 2024.  After six weeks of sweaty, questionable labor, my ragtag crew of cement-men-turned-aircraft-mechanics and I have managed to assemble Wanda into what appears to be a flying machine.  Ah, just look at that fresh Hobbs counter: zero hours! I haven't seen a virgin in awhile...errr...nevermind.

The aircraft seems to have all the pieces, but both alternators are completely seized up.  That's a relatively easy fix, with easy-to-purchase parts, except I'm standing in the middle of the Brazilian jungle, 100 miles from the closest major airport in São Luís.  What does that mean?  It means "follow the roads and rivers, son"...a sentiment that gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling, as my mind hears the words of my first flight instructor spoken more than 25 years ago.

I give Wanda her first preflight walk-around and can only shake my head in disbelief that she is mine.  She's covered in duct tape & mold, but I know that if we can make it to São Luís, she'll get to enjoy her 'Wizard of Oz' makeover moment.  I already have a paint scheme in mind--warm, chocolatey tones that will give her a classic look.  This delicious thought is clearly premature, as we have 100 miles of jungle to cross without any electronic assistance.

It's not a straight line, but it's the best way to dead reckon over a dense jungle canopy

To travel from my current location to the sweet refuge of the São Luís maintenance facility & paint shop, my plan is to use the highways, rivers & power lines.  I'll first need to locate the village of Codo, just six miles to my east.  From there I will fly northwest to Coroata, where I'll need to pickup a vital stretch of the highway to find Vargem Grande.

From Vargem Grande it is a westward track, using a prominent power line & railroad spur to navigate my way away from the Itapecuru River, which appears to run deep under jungle canopy for a couple of miles.  You'll have to keep in mind that I've never flown in this part of the world, so not only am I guessing that the river will be hard to see, but I'm also hoping those power lines are still intact.

If I find Itapecuru-Mirim, my job will be to locate the major BR-135 highway that will eventually lead me to São Luís.  If I've made it that far, but can't find the highway, my plan is to use my whiskey compass to fly due North West until I hit water, at which point I'll follow its coast North East.

I'm spending my first moments in Wanda by sitting in the left seat, looking at my VFR sectional, when I hear voices.  That's strange.  It's 6:30AM and my rent-a-crew are all working the night shift at the cement plant just over the ridge.  Who could it be?

I am surprised to see two men and one woman walking up the dirt roadway that leads to this lowly little jungle airport. And even more strange, the guys are pulling suitcases as if they are walking up the concourse at O'Hare.

"Hello there" I yell, probing to see if they speak English. I am relieved to hear their reply of "hey" and "good morning."

How on earth did they get here?

Looking concerned, the woman, glancing around the quiet airfield, asks, "excuse me sir, but is this where we catch our flight to São Paulo?"

Oh boy.  They're looking for Codo airport, which is six miles to the east of here.

"No, I'm sorry," I say.  "Your taxi dropped you at the wrong airport.  My airplane is the only one here.  I believe you're looking for Codo airport, which is another 20 minute drive that way.  I'd suggest calling your taxi back."

"Oh no" says one of the men.  "Our AirBnB host arranged for the taxi with a friend.  We don't have his phone number and just assumed he'd take us to the airport.  Is there a way to hail a cab around here?"

"My friend, I've been here for six weeks now, and I haven't seen a single taxi," a statement that immediately crushes all three of them.  "I'll tell you what.  I was planning to take off in a few minutes and fly over Codo airport on my way out.  I can drop you there if you'd like."

Eyeing Wanda and not wanting to be impolite, the second man gently asks, "does she actually fly?"

Laughing and looking as macho as possible, I say, "this is the greatest aircraft in the world.  You bet she flies.  Welcome aboard!"  Admittedly, I was a little impressed with my conquer-all, can-do mindset!

Short final for Codo RW16 - Wanda's first landing

My new passengers aren't thrilled to hop aboard Wanda, but let me tell you: I am ecstatic.  Hearing her wonderful Lycomings sputter to life and watching her flaps drop for the first time is a phenomenal moment of satisfaction, melted with a serving of anticipation and a dollop of fear.  The aircraft has what it takes to fly and in a few moments, we are about to find paradise together.

I taxi to the very end of the airstrip, run up the engines, blow off the dust, wink at the woman in the right seat, and slowly make full power.  Wanda lifts into the sky like an angel ascending to heaven for the first time.  The morning is milky smooth, with lovely gold tones imposed on a rolling green landscape.  I fly straight out for 2 miles, then turn east to set myself up for a quick approach to Codo airport runway 16.  I set her down like the Pro that I am and to the great relief of my nervous passengers.

"Thanks for the ride, man" says the bravest of the two guys.  "We don't need our Brazilian cash any more, so here, take this."  Into my hand he drops a nice little wad, which I counted later to be $430.  Nice!  I wasn't expecting for this to be a money-making enterprise, but as I pay the landing fee at Codo, the desk attendant asks me if I'd be willing to take 2 local politicians to São Luís.  Apparently the morning commuter is down with a flat tire.  "Sure, madam, I'd be happy to do it for some cash" I say cheerfully.  "That can be arranged" she says.  Wow--what a nice surprise way to make some dough.  I could get used to this.

Rio Itapecuru treated me to a fantastic color palate this sunny morning

As soon as the cash hits my hand (another $1,900 in my pocket), I load the local blow hards into the back row and we're ready to depart.  My first order of business is to overfly Codo and pickup the Itapecuru River on the north east side.  I see a river and can confirm it with the MA-026 highway hugging its banks.

We're level at 2,000 feet, cheerfully following the river for the next 6 minutes, and I'm keeping an eye out for the little village of Timbiras.  The two politicians chat away in the back, so I activate my noise cancelling A20s and turn on my playlist.  This morning I am listening to the Foghorn String Band's "Outshine the Sun" album and my soul is content.

Half way to Timbiras, the Itapecuru River begins to shallow, giving me a fantastic look at where the silt begins.  I ponder the axiom "...muddying the water" as I watch the river become a cloudy hiding spot for what I'm sure are nasty piranhas.  I'm glad to be up here and not swimming down there.

Timbiras comes into view & the sky thickens

Right on time, five minutes later, Timbiras comes into view.  It's not a large place, but it's easy to spot as all the local roofs have a unique reddish color that isn't found in other nearby villages.  The clouds begin to thicken.  I'm expecting small bursts of rain, but good visibility the entire trip to São Luís.  We start to pickup a small amount of turbulence, but I'm so proud of Wanda--she's incredibly stable, even in bumpy air.  In fact, I take my hands off her yoke several times to take some photos as the rain begins between Timbiras and our next landmark, Coroata.

Banking right to follow the MA-020 road to Vargem Grande

Bringing myself back to aviation reality, I begin to look for the MA-020 roadway that exits north east out of Coroata.  Thankfully, the rain has subsided to a sprinkle and I can see out the windshield without any issues.  There is a plethora of roads to choose from, but all of the sudden, there she is - a straight line pointing exact 045 degrees.  I throw Wanda into a glorious 45 degree bank to the right and within moments we're headed toward Vargem Grande on the longest leg this trip without a major landmark.

And there they are!  Power lines!

After 10 minutes of flying in light chop over the solid green canopy, I am expecting to cross a large power line network that would be running east/west.  I'm ecstatic to look across my left (#1) engine and see the lines there in the distance.  Admittedly, I haven't used dead reckoning in a while, so in this moment I feel vindicated.  My love for pure aviation; that is, stick and rudder finesse, combined with intuition and visual alertness, is off the charts.  I am having the time of my life flying this broken little forgotten airplane and these two chatty Brazilian Members of Parliament.  This surely is already shaping up to be a trip of dreams.


Overhead the Vargem Grande cement factory

As planned, I'm overhead the Vargem Grade cement factory on the outskirts of town.  It must be something in the sediment layer that makes cement such a popular product here.  Within a few minutes I easily spot the BR-222 road and power lines running alongside it.  I head toward Leite and encounter a brief downburst of rain and moderate turbulence.  I'm having a blast flying through the soup, but I notice that it definitely shut up the backseat chatterboxes.  Ah, sweet serenity...for a few moments at least.

Much to my disappointment, we soon flew out from under the dark cloud and the stump speeches continued as loud as ever.

Passing the Itapecuru bridge

As the sun returns and we make our way to Itapecuru-Mirim, I notice some interesting colored ponds scattered along the highway.  Their color is fantastic, but I highly doubt it is natural.  It really makes a person wonder what was dumped into these waters during the construction of the highway and power grid.

We pass downtown Itapecuru-Mirim, which looks like a major metropolis after seeing only trees for the last 50 miles.  I fly east of the bridge and continue toward my final major challenge: finding the intersection in Entroncamento that will connect me to the BR-135 highway, which will lead me all the way to São Luís.

And just as She has been doing, Wanda makes my job easy, as the intersection is just ahead and to the right.  I throw her into another hard right bank, turning north for our destination, with a giant smile on my face.

SBSL runway 6 in sight 

The final 15 minutes of our flight is pure bliss.  There is scattered rain, sun and a fantastic landscape of coastline with highways, seaways, power lines and railroad tracks.  We are cleared into the class D airspace using my handheld radio, and within moments, we are parked in front of the Saga Group's maintenance hanger & paint shop.  The BBHs (Brazilian Blow Hards) make their way off of the ramp and I'm left alone with my lovely flying girl.

Wanda flew brilliantly and now deserves her moment to shine - new avionics, a new paint job & a complete once-over.  She and I will pause here in São Luís for a few days.  While she's being pampered, I'll sniff around and see if I can find more paying jobs that will take me northbound toward the Caribbean.