At the south-eastern tip of Libya, where the Libyan border meets Egypt, and Sudan (Chad is just to the south) the 3 frontiers make a corner. It is a one of the most desolate and beautiful places on earth, a vast emptiness. Readers of the last post will remember Sam warning us not to stray into Egyptian airspace. Itchy trigger fingers at a tricky time in the Middle East. We entered the spot as a user waypoint on our GPS systems before leaving Kufra and called it Dogleg. We stayed well clear of Egyptian airspace. It was also decision point for those of us with limited fuel endurance. As it turned out, Alpha Charlie was burning as little as 7.5 USgallons ph giving us a range of over 500nm and running sweetly. We had 3hr 14mins to run to Dongola, our refuelling point, and 4hrs 42mins worth of fuel left in our tanks. About 14.4 on the Exhaust Temperature Gauge and power back to around 2500 RPM.
I asked the other Foxes on our private chat frequency as we flew over it whether they could come up with something a bit more, well, pertinent for Dogleg. Just William came up with Mubarak's Moment because we wouldn't be here were it not for the uprising in Egypt which swept the old autocrat from power and diverted us to Libya. So Mubarak's Triangle it is, after the Golden Triangle where Cambodia, Thailand and Laos meet. Flying at 7,500 lends perspective to things: as a journalist on the FT I used to hear a lot self-serving arguemnts couched in fancy languge - usually from big and small business and Foreign Office mandarins and US State Department officials- about how autocracy was better than democracy if it produced stability. Good for whom? The patronising assumption being that democracy was far too complex a concept to be entrusted to emerging countries. And dealing with thugs like Saddam in Iraq or autocrats like Mubarak in Egypt was more predictable.We shall see. The other thought that occurred to me was that this popular uprising calling for democracy was not inspired by the barrel of an American gun through regime change. That's western arrogance at its most puerile. This wind of change started with a vegetable seller in Tunisia who set fire to himself because he was being hounded by the local goons. It has swept away one of the most powerful dons in the Middle East and has started a second Arab revolt. Tanks on the streets of Bahrain. Anger in Yemen. Rioting in Benghazi, Libya where we have just flown from. Colonel Gadhaffi, Libya's boss has said he will join the demos- while his security forces are killing protestors. You have to hand it to him. He has a sense of humour even if it is warped.. But the genie is out of the bottle. The fear is gone. There will be unprecedented change and, no doubt, unforeseen consequences. We'll just have to deal with them. It's not a Berlin Wall moment. The Soviet block was monolithic so it fell like a line of dominoes when the Polish shipyard workers lit the spark. The Middle East is more complex. But, after decades of corruption and suppression there is hope and dignity for its people. The comon desire for freedom is in our genes.
DONGOLA, MEROWE, DOWNWIND LEFT FOR RUNWAY 02 OVER THE NILE
Dongola: scene of a victory by Kitchener over the Mahdist forces in 1896; built on the ruins of Old Dongola capital of the old Christian kingdom of Nubia; date palms, friendly Sudanese and our first glimpse of the life-giving Nile, the longest river in the world at over 4,130 miles. To the north Aswan and Luxor. To the south Khartoum. Our first refuelling stop where we have to pump Avgas by hand out of sealed barrels hauled here from somewhere under Sam's instructions. The rule is: if the seal is broken don't touch it. If you fill your tanks let the fuel settle before draining some of it off to test for impurities. We take off in formation just as the sun is slipping below the yardarm for the short flight to Merowe which is at the other end of a great bend in the Nile. We come in to land at Merowe about an hour later flying the downwind leg over the Nile. I'll say that again: we join downwind for Runway 02 Left downwind over the Nile. A long way from Cranfield airfield Alpha Chalie's home base. I have to pinch myself. The river runs parallel to a new and virtually empty airport with a 5000ft runway and a tower which looks like a modernist beer can. A sunset flight over the Nile on Valentine's Day. I think of, my wife,Victoria and I wish she could be here to share this moment. At Merowe the officials get the hump. Who are we, what are doing there? It takes hours sort out. We have missed a day so the lovely Nubian Rest House we were due to stay at is full. Scattered tourists come here to see the small, kit-built pyramids which Egyptian architects flogged up and down the Nile after the great ones in Egypt got some good press. I sleep in a worker's dormitory in the small own on my own under a warm, starlit sky, humble but drenched in atmosphere and impeccable, gentle Sudanese hospitality.
KHARTOUM, CAPITAL OF SUDAN
On the flight to Khartoum we hear the big birds passing overhead and reporting in: Speedbird 46, Gulf Air 01, Ethiopian 194, Qatar 523. We are at 6000feet. Alastair, William and Richard fly low looking for camels. It's become an obsession. The descent into Khartoum is bumpy, ferocious thermals lifting and bumping Alpha Charlie. " This will make you a better pilot" says Steve. Thanks buddy. As we turn base a couple of irritated passenger jet skippers ask to push back and taxi only to be told by a slightly harrassed but helpful traffic controller that there's a formation of loons in light aircraft coming in and it's way above his paygrade to take any chances so would they bide their time. Khartoum airport must have more UN, Red Cross and World Food Programme aircraft than virtually anywhere in the world. Mostly crewed by jolly Russian and Ukranian pilots. I've always thought there was something iconic about Russian planes. Antonovs, Yaks, Bears, MiGs..there's something muscular and at the same time beautiful about them.
I go to bed wiped out. I wake in the middle of the night with ferocious stomach cramps. The next morning a charming Sudanese doctor tells me I have gastroenteritis. He gives me a couple of jabs and tells me to rest. I decide not to acompany Steve on the leg to Addis and fly, instead, straight to Nairobi, Kenya on a scheduled flight to meet the others there on Saturday at the legendary East African Aero Club. I'm disappointed. But Steve doesn't need an invalid in the cockpit asking " Can we land?" every few minutes. He is accompanied by Adam, Sam's cheerful and competent Kiwi side-kick.
Down in Damazin, capital of the Blue Nile state, David has damaged his nose-wheel on the way to Addis Ababa and has to overnight and wait for an engineer and/or spare parts.. More on that tomorrow.
MEMO TO WILLIAM HAGUE
Re: SIESTA TIME AT THE BRITISH EMBASSY KHARTOUM
" Hello. I'm a British citizen and I may need your help."
" Yes?"
" I flew in on Wednesday in my own aircraft as part of a formation but I got sick and they've had to leave Addis Ababa without me. The Sudanese want you to vouch for me. But my passport is at the airport and you will need to see it."
" We will need to see your passport"
" That's what I just said. I'm ringing in case I need to get in touch later. I hope you can help"
" It's the Sudanese weekend. We start our break at 2:30- in about 2 hours- so no consular officer will be available after that"
" Could I please speak to the vice-consul and maybe get a number I could call you on later?."
" I'll try and put you through. Sorry I can't get through to her"
" What's her name? Does she have a direct line/"
" Her name Sarah but you will have to ring back. Call the switchboard."
When I call back I get a recorded message - press option 2- which says consular queries are only dealt with on 3 days a week. Today is not one of them. Would I leave a recorded message? I do. But nobody gets back to me.
I don't know what consular services are for but there's a jolly good quiz on the Foreign Office website about them which wins you an IPad if you get the answers right. Presumably one of the questions is NOT "Will we delay our weekend to help stranded Brits abroad ?"
Mubarak's Triangle
Refuelling by hand from drums at Dongola
OK. Just this one pic with my Akubra hat
The Nile !!!
Russian cargo planes carrying aidworkers and food to Sudan's troubled south including Darfur.
Below Alastair "The Chopper" bonding with Russian UN helicopter pilots at Khartoum
Below Alastair "The Chopper" bonding with Russian UN helicopter pilots at Khartoum
No comments:
Post a Comment