Leg 008

"Green green grass & blue blue sky"

Three flags in the collection so far.

It's time to get to work.  Wanda and I are having a blast exploring this global playground, but without a steady income stream, we will fall short of our goal of collecting every flag on earth.

Just as I had hoped, J.A. Pengel Intl is bursting with passengers and cargo.  I had heard through the grapevine that this airport (SMJP) was a major hub for a local outfit called "MendiAir" (a FSEconomy company).  It turns out that Mendi offers daily service between this hub and their other hub in Georgetown, Guyana.  I paid a visit to Mr. Mendi himself, offering my three comfortable seats, large cargo hold & lovely aircraft, to which he agreed to fill to the brim with 3 passengers plus a 200kg crate headed for Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela.  Could I be so lucky that the next two flags I planned to collect were, in fact, Guyana and Venezuela?

I slowly ran a Weight & Balance calculation for today's flight, then checked it twice.  Yes, as expected, we are at our maximum limit (filling the tanks to 54 gallons only), but Wanda can handle it.  Her Lycomings have performed better than expected, so now it is time to earn that green, green cash.

Wanda, packed full to the gills, turning downwind for a good look at SMJP.

The wonderful MendiAir ground crew brought Wanda to the door of the private terminal, loaded the crate and welcomed the passengers, giving me the chance to double check this weight and balance paperwork.

"Ladies and gentlemen, our flight to Georgetown today will take approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes.  We will experience some light bumps during the first 30 minutes, but I'll do my best to climb above the weather to give you a smooth ride.  The weather will clear once we reach the coast and it will be smooth all the way to Cheddi Jagan International airport.  My name is Maxwell, and it is my privilege to fly you this morning.  Please fasten your seatbelts.  Let's get out of here."

Climbing through 3,200 in the soup.

We are heavy, no doubt, but with 11,417 feet of available runway, there's plenty of room for Wanda to run.  She's airborne in less than 2,000 feet, which gives me a nice, semi-shallow climb on the upwind leg while still over pavement.  The tower clears me to exit the pattern from the downwind via climb, so I keep the power at full chop, headed for the first available altitude above the clouds, but below 10,500 feet.

Even at this weight, Wanda gives me 1,200 FPM all the way up to our eventual cruise altitude of 6,500.  Once we entered the soup at 2,000 feet, it was solid gray until beginning to break around 5,000 feet.  Wanting to stay as low as possible to see the scenery passing under us, I decide to get cozy at 6.5K.

We're floating on a sea of fluffy cotton candy at 6,500 feet above the Suriname coastline.

Now above the cloud layer, the ride is smooth.  I dial back the props & mixture, keeping full manifold pressure in, giving us 178 knots across the ground (with a 10 knot tailwind).  The passengers, speaking quietly to themselves, seem at ease.  I ask the passenger in the co-pilot seat if she's ever flown this route before.  She surprises me by replying that she flies to Georgetown at least once per week for business.  Curious, I ask if she always flies on a small aircraft like this, which she confirms.

"MendiAir is a bit of a risk" she says.  "I always get to where I'm going, but I barely see the same airplane twice.  It seems they've built an entire business using commercial pilots just passing through the area.  At least it's cheap."

I do my best to not register any bit of shock on my face.  I am one of the these transient pilots, afterall, so is it so strange?  'Nah' I decide.  I'm just glad to be earning nearly $2,500 for this flight.

The weather is clearing, giving us a fantastic view of Totness, Suriname.

As the passenger and I chat, the weather clears and we are treated with phenomenal views of the Suriname coastline.  I open my moving map on the iPad and watch various coastal towns slip by under the left engine.  I'm especially impressed by the street geometry of Totness.  Was it built at the same time?  Was there a single mastermind behind it?  I make a mental note to search for this answer when I reach the Georgetown Guyana Marriott (no hammocks permitted, thankfully).

Loving the geometry of the Suriname coast.  These people love quadrangles.

After about 30 minutes, my passenger begins to feel snoozy, so I cut the chatter and respect her desire to get some shuteye before arriving in Georgetown.  I hit the shuffle button on the playlist and quickly hear the cool vibe of George Ezra's "Green Green Grass."  I mentally alter the lyrics to hear "green green cash and blue blue sky", which brings a profitable smile to my face.  It looks like we're going to see the world afterall, Wanda.  She must sense my satisfaction, because I swear in this moment, she gave me a gentle little power surge of approval.

Only 2 minutes remain in Suriname airspace.  Time to earn the fourth decal.

For the next hour I marvel at the geometry of the Suriname coast.  At times there are perfect quadrangle farm fields, just a mile inland, that stretch as far as the eye can see.  Again I wonder about the planning: it isn't often you see such perfection in a landscape.  It's green and lush and symmetrical down there.  How satisfying!

We're soon upon the beaches of Corantijnstrand, which lie on the east bank of the massive river delta that serves as the border to Guyana.  I bid Suriname a warm goodbye and relish in the fact that Wanda and I have now earned 4 flag decals in our collection.  Continuing where Suriname left off, Guyana is full of geometry, except now it is waves.  I am in awe by the wavy sandbars and beaches that pass below, as the coastline bulges out into the Atlantic waters.

Take a look at those magnificent streaks of green down there.

One major difference I am noticing about Guyana, however, is that its greens are absolutely brilliant.  Could George Ezra be convincing me that there's something special about these Guyanan greens?  It can't be!  I blink several times, but nothing changes.  The greens of the fields passing below are absolutely mind boggling.  OK, for now, in my mind, Guyana is the 'Green Place'.

I'm soon approaching the SISEX waypoint in my flightplan.  I have loaded the ILS approach for SYCJ 6 in case of low clouds, but I don't expect to need it.  That being said, I need to work my way down to 4,000 feet between here and LITOL.  I decide to start a gentle, slow decent, so as not to wake my sleeping co-pilot paying passenger.  As Wanda and I go down the elevator, the greens are literally exploding into next-level manifestations.  The green place.

The green place.

Wanda and I continue to work our way down the approach, descending down to 1,800 feet.  Take a look at these photos, will you?  The fields...no, the geometry...the greens (!) are out of this world.  I am loving every moment spent flying above Guyana.

Wanda and I get established on the localizer, but visibility is perfect, so I cancel IFR and hand fly my Duchess all the way down to the smoothest possible landing (see below).  My ego gets a few bonus points, as my landing did not even wake my co-pilot passenger.  That's how it is done!  Welcome to Georgetown, friends!

How do you like that landing rate of -12.26 FPM?  It wouldn't even wake a sleeping baby.  Thanks for flying 'MendiAir'!

Wanda, our crate, our passengers and I make the easy taxi to the newly-renovated MendiAir VIP terminal on the north side of the field.  I shake a couple of hands and head inside the FBO to pick up the check.  It's hard to believe that I could earn $2,478.60 while enjoying those first class views, but the deed is complete, so my wallet feels the love.

And as George Ezra would approve, Wanda and I are back into the "green" on this journey.  I shall rest a few days here in Georgetown, enjoy a modern shower, and go back to MendiAir for my next batch of greenbacks.  The crate isn't due in Venezuela for another two weeks, so I'll see if I can fill a load or two along the way.