| Luxor to Amman, Jordan | |
| 02 October 2007 Pilot Section General
A few weeks ago, before we left Singapore it became clear that the plans for routing through Saudi Arabia were not going to work out. We were quoted US$20 / Gallon for Avgas fuel and landing clearances were becoming an issue, so we looked for an alternative route. N238JG does not have the range to safely cross Saudi Arabia non-stop from Luxor, so we needed to find an alternative plan. Amman in Jordan looked like the best option, and then to route south from Amman to Bahrain and on to Muscat in Oman to pick up our original route.
After deciding on the route, Hal had done some reading about Jordan and the ancient city of Petra, so we also decided to stop over a day in Jordan to go and see this as well as the Dead Sea if time allowed.
Luxor had been a great experience and we were looking forward to the relatively short 2 Hour 45 minute flight today across the Red Sea and up the Gulf of Aquaba to Jordan. We were up early and Mohammed Abdou from AN Aviation met us as promised at the Hotel at 0730, drove us to the airport and we did the paperwork in the car on the way. The efficiency of AN Aviation really was quite remarkable. We were cleared through the airport with no delays at all.
On the way to the airport Hal mentioned that he as feeling “a bit funny”. Which became “I don’t feel well” by the time we got to immigration. We took a break for a few minutes and discussed whether he felt well enough to fly today. After a toilet stop he came back and said he now felt much better, so we decided to go, and proceeded out to the plane. As it turned out, this was not the best decision of the trip!
Because of the efficiency of An Aviation, we were on our way 15 minutes ahead of schedule, climbing out North East of Luxor. Our cruising altitude was FL130 (13,000ft) which is the MEA of the airway routes in that area, and the climb took some time in the heat. I was carefully monitoring the engine temperatures and reducing the climb rate to keep the speed up and EGTs down. The Density Altitude at FL130 today was 14,800ft, and we used the Oxygen system as we climbed through 10,000ft. I was testing out a new “Oxyarm” boom system which fits neatly on the headset, but Hal preferred to use a full face mask mainly because it stays in place better if he sleeps.
Initially, Hal said he was feeling better and with his oxygen mask on, he fell asleep. However, as we were passing over Sharm-El-Sheikh he suddenly woke up – “Dad, I’m not feeling well, can we land?”, No sooner had I taken in the message and started to consider what options were available, Hal was being violently sick. Not a pretty sight in the cockpit of an aircraft through a full face oxygen mask. Crikey, what a mess! The only positive aspect was Hal’s immediate announcement that he now felt much better, and didn’t need to land! We did our best to clean everything up in the air, largely undressing Hal and putting his soiled clothes in a bag, and mopping up the mess with our High-Vis vests (I have found a use for those things at last!). I considered diverting, but given the options, continuing another hour to Amman where we knew there was an agent arranged, a decent Hotel and medical services, seemed the best bet rather than diverting to somewhere that we had no idea what logistics support would be available.
With the immediate medical problem resolved, at least for the time being, it was time to prepare for the arrival in Amman. The weather forecast we had received in Luxor had stated visibility in Amman may be limited by smoke haze. Sure enough the visibility was deteriorating and as we were given our descent through 7000ft we entered IMC (Instrument Meterologcal Conditions). The first real IMC we had experienced since leaving UK. I had been expecting the ILS approach, but at the last minute was advised by Approach Control to take the VOR DME Approach to Runway 24. In IMC flying an approach for real, with a rather messy cockpit and a sick boy in the right seat, changing the approach setup added to the workload. I expressed my opinion to the controller that she could have advised me the approach change earlier, and that I was in IMC – She obviously got my point, but then proceeded to try and assist by talking me through every step of the approach procedure which I really didn’t need, and just added more to the workload having to achnowledge here constant radio calls.
Once on the ground a “Follow Me” car directed us to the Royal Wings parking apron and we shut down in the middle of a line-up of Diamond DA40s and DA42s which turned out to belong to Royal Jordanian Airlines training school. The first thing I needed to do was get Hal into an airconditioned building with toilet access, and then second, get the aircraft cleaned up. I climbed out, got some clean clothes from Hal’s suitcase in the baggage compartment and walked round to Hal’s side of the aircraft. But before I could get Hal out of the aircraft (in his undressed state!) a group of about 10 student commercial pilots arrived – they were learning on the Diamonds, and could they please take a look in the cockpit of this nice new SR22 G3? I had to explain that there might be nicer examples of a Cirrus cockpit than my aircraft given the events of the last hour!!
We got Hal sorted out and safely in the hands of a lady from Royal Wings in the arrival area, while a team of people helped me clean up the plane, and the Royal Jordanian student pilots also got to take a look around N238JG.
By 1400 Jordan local time we were in the Hyatt Hotel in Amman, Hal had seen a doctor and been given some pills to settle him down and he was fast asleep. Then I started to go down with the same stomach prolem! Petra is not looking good for tomorrow!!
Pilot Section
Here are the details of today’s flight for other pilots and people interested in the details:
Departure Airport: Luxor, Egypt (HELX)
Departue & Handling: AN Aviation Service Co
Absolutely first class Handling Agent. Prices are steep, but both inbound and outbound we were cleared by Mohammed Abdou and his team with absolutely no delays.
Tel: +2095- 2381591 or 2387561
Fax: +2095-2373000
Airport Charges (through AN Aviation):
Basic Ramp Equipment: US$ 141.00
AN Aviation Supervision: US$ 120.00
Security: US$ 20.00
Leading US$ 20.00
Fire Cart US$ 20.00
Entry Visa (x 2) US$ 30.00
Terminal Crew Buses (x 2) US$ 50.00
Town Transortation (x 2) US$ 20.00
Avgas Price (MISR Petroleum): US$1.52 / Litre (US$5.75 / US Gallon)
Detailed Route: Filed: HELX – LXR – ASRAB – HGD – SHM – NWB – METSA – QTR – QAA – VOR DME APPROACH RUNWAY 24 OJAM
Cleared: As filed, but given several shortcuts along the route.
En Route Altitude: Filed FL130
Arrival Airport: Marka International, Amman, Jordan (OJAM)
Arrival & Handling: Royal Wings
Kids Section Did you Know : The Ancient city of Petra in southern Jordan is famous because of it’s age, and the stone structures carved into the red coloured rock of the mountains.
Fun Fact: The Dead Sea is in Jordan. The water there is very Salty and you can float easily without having to swim.
Quiz:
Answer to yesterday’s Quiz: Tutankhamun was only 9 years old when he was crowned King, and he died at age 18 after 9 years on the throne.
Today’s Quiz Question: Jordan is a monarchy, and the King is a very important figure in the complicated politics of the Middle East. What is the name of the current King of Jordan?
(Answers on the next Daily Diary!)
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