Post 13: Fox formation at Kufra, Libya



Fox formation scrambling

GPS view of Alpha Charlie entering Africa..Crete

 to the south, Egypt to the left, Libya ahead

THE WORLD'S MOST AMBITIOUS IRRIGATION PROJECT: Libya's green circles are irrigated by deep aquifers from 'fossil water'. The man-made river cost US$20billion to create..grapes dangle from vines in the scorching desert. Libya has no lakes or rivers and virtually no rain. The 2,333 mile network of pipes - probably the biggest irrigation project on earth- carries water from four major aquifers which run deep under Libya, Egypt and Chad. They hold an estimated 480 cubic miles of ice-age water buried up to 600 metres underground. The water is carried to Libya's cities in the north and, along the way, farmers use the water to plant crops. The aim is to plant up 400,000 acres....

Refuelling courtesy of the Libyan Air Force at Kufra and ( below) first sight of the desert

Kufra is about as far south as you can get in Libya without being in Sudan (south) or Egypt (east). Just north of the Tropic of Cancer, it feels like a frontier town, a cross roads between countries. Which it is. Both on the ground and in the air. As we started our descent from 7500 feet into Kufra over a shimmering desert landscape British Airways Speedbird 65 was above us at 37000 feet asking Kufra tower to relay a message to Tripoli that they were on their way. I know not where from or to. Outside our little hotel (the only one), the Muslim call to prayer reverberates. Unusually both the muezzin's ( priest) call and the congregation's response is broadcast over loudspeakers echoing over the rooftops, like an Arab Gegorian chant. Kufra is a small, dusty, ramshackle town, an oasis in the Libyan desert. At midday it's 23 degrees in February. In high summer temperatures reach 50 degrees centigrade. The lip-smacking aroma of barbequed chicken mingles with more earthy smells.Virtually no women in the streets. At the airport I chat to a Sudanese man in a magnificent turban who was seeing his brother off to Khartoum on the only flight of the day. He seems genuinely ecstatic about the revolution in Egypt. Where next I ask? "Yemen" he says. Sudan maybe? He laughs and gives me the Arab equivelant of a High Five. I hope so. These people deserve better.


We've had to spend a second night here courtesy (not) of the Libyan air force, the only supplier of Avgas for our little fleet. Authorisation finally came through from Tripoli this morning so we all traipsed out to the airport. But by the time we'd refuelled it was too late to make Merowe and Sam the Man judged that Dongola, our first waypoint, a hefty 512nm away inside the Sudanese border, was OK to land and refuel but not secure enough to spend the night.


Crete to Kufra was the first time we worked as a team on the ground and in the air. There are 8 aircraft, Foxes 1-8. G-VAAC is 6. I'll be featuring all of the team over the next couple of weeks but this is how it works: Fox 1 (David in his twin-engined Cessna) leads the way and relays weather and other key flight information back down the line on our own chat frequency. Out here, in between airports, there is nobody to talk to for hundreds of miles. Which is a blessed relief from the UK and most of western Europe, where you have to change frequencies every few minutes. This system of aerial smoke signals is a vital part of getting safely from A to B and gives each Fox ( each aircraft has its own speeds, endurance and other limitations) the ability to make its own decisions about what level to fly at if, for example, they wish to avoid cloud, and whether to go all the way to our intended destination or divert to the nearest airfield. The two other fastest are Bernard in his turbo-charged Mooney and Helmut (Europe's most distinguished bush pilot) in his gobsmackinjg Cessna 206 with its 450hp Allison (Rolls-Royce) engine and a 5-blade prop which is so beautifully engineered it's almost a sculpture. At the back is the slowest, William and Sam in helicopter G-DINY. Fuel and endurance are critical on these mercifully few long legs. Thanks to some skilled leaning of our engine by Steve we managed the 4.6 hour,512nm flight from Benghazi to Kufra with an hour's fuel to spare. The helicopter had to put down in the desert about 100 miles from Kufra to fill up from the jerry can in the back. As we get deeper into the flight and the fastest and slowest aircraft get further apart messages are relayed down the line from the airfields at our destination to the tail-end Charlies. Example:


" Fox 8 ( William in the chopper) to Fox formation. Could someone ask Kufra tower whether they have runway lights? We're running a bit late">


" Fox 7 ( Richard with a Yorkshire accent so broad you can't see the other end) just use your torch William"


Half-way to Kufra we see Gaddafi's extraordinary crop fields in the desert: hundreds of perfect green circles set against the sand, each about 40 acres, irrigated from a central spout which draws water from the underground table and pivots around a central point. I have no idea what they do to the balance of nature but, seen from 7500 feet, they are make an unforgettable impression.

Tomorrow, Dongola to refuel and the ancient ruins of Merowe. Sam has given us strict orders to stay out of Egyptian airspace. "They might be a bit twitchy right now and use us as target practice". You can say that again Sam.