Mount Pleasant to Rothera

DAY 16, LEG 74 - Mount Pleasant to Rothera

Day 16 of the world tour covers a new milestone.  We fly south to Antarctica and will land on Adelaide Island at the Rothera Base.  This small airstrip is one of the few lit strips within reach of us and this time of year, the sun barely rises in Antarctica.  We will take maximum fuel southbound, but due to the short length of the strip at Rothera, and careful rationing of fuel supplies, we will only be able to take just enough out again to make it to Ushuaia on Cape Horn.  On departure from Mount Pleasant, the wind was given as 245/25kts so we will taxi out to the shorter runway 23 for departure.

Backtracking along runway 28 to runway 23.

Take off from RAF Mount Pleasant.

Thanks to the cold conditions at these latitudes, our fuel consumption is 100kg / hr less than we are used to which is good news on such a long leg.  The wind keeps up and we have a crosswind of 88kts which is over 100mph! 

Vectors into Rothera.

Turning final.

Parked at Rothera as snow begins to fall.

EGYP - AAXX stats


Take off time:  0630
Landing time:  0928
Flight time:      03:58 (-1 hour time difference)
Fuel used:       1556kgs / 3423lbs

Buenos Aires to Mount Pleasant

DAY 15, LEG 73 - Buenos Aires to Mount Pleasant

Whilst we refuel, the weather improves slightly in Buenos Aires and will allow us some good views of the city on departure.  This leg takes us to the Falkland Islands, off the coast of Argentina.  The claim to these islands has been fought over by the United Kingdom and Argentina for decades and a vote will be held amongst the residents of the islands to decide finally whether they wish to remain part of the UK or whether ownership should be transferred to Argentina.  There are two main airports on the Falkland Islands and our destination is RAF Mount Pleasant.  On arrival we will spend the night on the Falkland Islands in order to fly to Antarctica the following day in good time to make it back to the mainland again and up to Santiago, Chile, where the aircraft will have maintenance checks done and an auxiliary fuel tank fitted to allow the crossing of the Pacific Ocean.

Parked at Jorge Newbery next to a SOL Airways Saab 340.

Take off in a crosswind.

Climbing out over Buenos Aires.

Overhead Ezeiza International Airport.

Crusing over north-eastern Argentina.  We ask for the latest weather in the Falklands from ATC and they inform us the wind is currently 300/24kt.  The runway direction is roughly 280 degrees so at the moment, does not present any problem.

Cruising over the South Atlantic.

First sight of the Falkland Islands.  The latest wind at Mount Pleasant is 320/32 gusting up to 46kts!  Slightly more of a crosswind than we were expecting and should produce a very low groundspeed on approach.

Joining the circuit at RAF Mount Pleasant.

Final runway 28 at RAF Mount Pleasant.  Thanks to the strong winds, our groundspeed is just 81kts!

SABE - EGYP stats


Take off time:  1037
Landing time:  1451
Flight time:      04:14
Fuel used:        1720kgs / 3784lbs

Montevideo to Buenos Aires

DAY 15, LEG 72 - Montevideo to Buenos Aires

From Montevideo, we make the short 125nm hop along the Rio de la Plata into Argentina.  Our destination is the smaller of the two international airports in the capital city, Buenos Aires.  Jorge Newbery Airport used to only serve domestic destinations and the ocassional flight to Montevideo, but now has expanded into other South American regions.  It is ideal for us since it will be easier to turn around quickly there than at the main airport, Ezeiza.  For this short leg, I decided to fly VFR at low level to enjoy some views of the river.

Taxi out past an Iberia A340 that has just landed from Madrid.

Departing Montevideo.

The Santa Lucia River and Angel S Adami Airport, used entirely for general aviation.

Passing a SOL Airways Saab 340 going the opposite direction from us - Jorge Newbery to Montevideo.  As we pick up the ATIS for our arrival, it is clear that a cloudbase of 300ft is not sufficient for VFR flight, so we file an IFR flight plan with Montevideo control and receive vectors for an ILS.

Hazy conditions on final to Jorge Newbery.

SUMU - SABE stats


Take off time:   0922
Landing time:   1005
Flight time:       0:43
Fuel used:         373kgs / 821lbs

Asuncion to Montevideo

DAY 15, LEG 71 - Asuncion to Montevideo

After a night stop in Asuncion, it was an early start on a cold morning to continue our journey south.  Today, the plan is to fly to the Falkland Islands and on the way, we will take in two more new countries on our trip, Uruguay and Argentina.  Our stop in Uruguay is at the capital, Montevideo, on the banks of the River Plate.  The airport serves mostly South American destinations, as well as scheduled flights to Madrid and Miami.

Departing Asuncion in the early morning.

Sunrise as seen from the cabin.

Passing the Uruguay River.

Some cloud at our level as we approach the borders of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, so we descend to FL200 to avoid any turbulence.

View from FL200.

Parked at Montevideo.

SGAS - SUMU stats


Take off time:  0635
Landing time:  0904
Flight time:     02:29
Fuel used:       1124kgs / 2472lbs

Rio de Janiero to Asuncion

DAY 14, LEG 70 - Rio de Janiero to Asuncion

During our turnaround in Rio, the haze lifted so we were eager to get going to make the most of the good weather and to enjoy some more views of the city. Our final destination of the day is Asuncion, the capital city of Paraguay. However, en route we will visit the Iguassu Falls which lie on the border between Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. The falls are not as large as our previous visits to the Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, or Niagara Falls in the US, but are still spectacular and worth a small detour to view. In order to spend as much time sightseeing as possible, the tanks were filled up once again. As we progress further south, sunset becomes earlier each day so we need to get to Iguassu before sunset otherwise we'll see nothing!

Taxi out at Rio with a TAM A319 shortly departing to Sao Paulo.

The Rio-Niteroi bridge across Guanabara Bay.

Lining up on 20R next to a TAM A319 on 20L who has just been given take-off clearance.

The TAM A319 is airborne so shortly we will be allowed to depart as well with a good view of Sugarloaf Mountain in the distance.

Airborne from Santos Dumont airport.

Climbing out over Rio.

The Maracana Stadium.

Ilhabela, between Rio and Sao Paulo.

The massive city of Sao Paulo.

Overflying a TAM A319 climbing out of Sao Paulo towards our departure airport of Santos Dumont in Rio.

Jurumirim and Xavantes resevoirs in south-eastern Brazil.

View of the cabin over the Parana state of Brazil as I stretch my legs during this fairly long flight.

Commencing the descent towards the Iguassu Falls with the Iguassu River that borders Brazil and Argentina visible.

Approaching the Iguassu Falls

The falls.

The falls.

Leaving the falls and heading towards Itaipu Dam.

The Itaipu Dam as we set course to Asuncion and climb up to FL160 for the 160nm cruise.

Short final into Asuncion as a GOL 737 taxies out for departure to Curitiba.

SBRJ - SGAS stats


Take off time:   1535
Landing time:   1750 (-1 hour time difference)
Flight time:       03:15
Fuel used:         1460kgs / 3212lbs

Brasilia to Rio de Janiero

DAY 14, LEG 69 - Brasilia to Rio de Janiero

The final Brazilian leg of our journey continues south to the city of Rio de Janiero.  This spectacular city used to be Brazil's capital city and is the second largest city in the country.  The leg allows us some sightseeing before landing at Rio's Santos Dumont airport.  This is the smaller of Rio's two main airports and is famous for having two short runways and a central location in Guanabara Bay.  The larger international airport to the north of Santos Dumont is the country's main international gateway.

Taking off from Brasilia.

First view of Rio as we begin our descent.

Approaching Rio with Galeao Airport visible.

Flying along Copacabana beach.

Copacabana beach.

A hazy day for the beach!

The Nelson Piquet racing circuit.

The mountains look spectacular in the haze.

Christ the Redeemer - the 4th largest statue in the world.

Turning final to Santos Dumont.

Taxiing in.

SBBR - SBRJ stats


Take off time:   1157
Landing time:   1509
Flight time:       02:12 (+1 hour time difference)
Fuel used:         905kgs / 1991lbs
Higher than expected fuel burn due to sightseeing at low level around Rio.