Flight Training - May 2014 - 37

WHAT YOU'LL NEED
For the airplane

* Permanent registration and standard airworthiness certificate
* Radio station license
* Weight and balance and operating
limitations information
* Life vest or flotation device for each
person aboard
* An ID data plate
* 12-inch registration marks
* Transponder with Mode C
* Customs and Border Protection
user fee decal. Aircraft with fuel tanks
installed in the baggage or passenger
compartments must have a Form 337
on board.
For the pilot

* Pilot certificate with English-proficient endorsement.
* Medical certificate if private pilot;
sport pilot certificates permitted.
* Restricted radiotelephone operator's permit.
* Letter of authorization if the airplane is not registered in your name.
For everybody

* Current passport
* Children traveling with one parent
must have a notarized statement of
approval from the absent parent stating the dates of the trip.
More information on international flying is
available on AOPA Online (www.aopa.org/
Flight-Planning/Bahamas.aspx). A handy
resource to carry with you is the Bahamas &
Caribbean Pilot's Guide from Pilot Publishing Inc. (333.pilotpub.com).

ISLAND HOPPING is one of
the best parts of visiting the
Out Islands, where a new
adventure is usually about
50 nm in any direction. The
Aviation Adventures pilots
based at New Bight Airport
on Cat Island (above), and
hopped to Staniel Cay to feed
the swimming pigs (left).

Protection requirements; and of course the CPB's Electronic Advance
Passenger Information System (eAPIS), the web-based application that
collects information on private aircraft departing or arriving the United
States to or from a foreign location (see "What You'll Need," left). Some in
the group are first-timers. Nobody wants to miss a single detail-not even
Larry and Ruth Sooby, former Virginia residents who now live in Wichita,
Kansas. They have been participating in the planning sessions via Skype.
GETTING THERE-HALF THE FUN? Most of the airplanes are wheels up from
Virginia on January 31. Temperatures are in the teens, and patches of snow
can be seen on the ground well into North Carolina. Hepp has been checking in with other Aviation Adventures airplanes on the air-to-air frequency.
It's a friendly exchange that combines information sharing, moral support,
and camaraderie. The pilots compare notes on ground speed at various
altitudes; for now, the weather is severe clear with only a bothersome headwind that is stronger at higher altitudes.
Five aircraft rendezvous at Lowcountry Regional Airport in Walterboro,
South Carolina, for fuel and a barbecue lunch. Unfortunately, the VFR
conditions are eroding farther south. This isn't an issue for the instrumentrated pilots, but three others are traveling VFR. And one of those VFR
pilots is fairly wet behind the ears. Arnaud Van Der Haegen earned his
private pilot certificate in August and hasn't yet logged 100 hours.
For a time, the Twin Comanche is the lead goose in the flock, slightly
ahead of the Diamond DA42, the Piper Arrow, and the two 172s. Van Der
Haegen asks for pireps; he is flying above clouds and doesn't want to get
stuck on top. Hepp passes along cloud coverage reports and suggests that
MAY 2014 FLIGHT TRAINING

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Flight Training - May 2014

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