Two Days Four Countries

I was on my way to Mwanza, Tanzania with four folks going to do computer training at a school there. The sel-call on the HF goes off (sel-call lets you ring a specific HF radio. Everyone else on channel can still hear you, but only the one radio rings like a phone). Our ops manager says, "Jay can you divert and after you drop off your passengers, go to Entebbe to pick up three people and take them to Bunia?" But I'm getting ahead of myself.

First the guys going to Tanzania. When we planned the flight there was no fuel in Mwanza so I had to carry round trip gas (about 280 liters or 74 gallons, weighing in at 440 lbs). They were told 20 lbs luggage each, no more. They showed up at the hangar, not customs for the usual metal detector and luggage scans, and they showed up with 20 kg (about 45lbs0 of luggage each. The good news for them was that that day Mwanza had gotten a fuel shipment in, so there was gas there. So...taxi from customs back to the hangar, take 100 liters of fuel off (about 25 gallons), and now there's weight to carry the luggage. Taxi back to customs (beat the passengers there) load up finally and go. Wow.

Then the HF call. Can I go to Entebbe. "Call me when you get on the ground there and I'll talk you through where to take care of the paperwork." Sure, I can go to Entebbe. "Ok, I'll call when I get there." So I drop my passengers off, refuel, file a flight plan and take off.

Entebbe, yep, the same place as in "Raid On Entebbe." They have a fancy new terminal building (3/4 done, that plays in later) getting ready for the CHOGM meetings next week. Land, park, secure the plane, etc. Ok, call the Ops Mgr. No answer. Hmm. Find the restroom. Call again. Still no answer. Ok, let's see what I can find. I found were the file flight plans and pay landing and navigation fees. I wander out through arrivals (I missed the office where we're supposed to leave general declarations (customs document stating what and who we brought and are taking)). Call again - it'd be nice to know where I'm spending the night. Finally, an answer! I'll be staying with the Stairs. Dan is the Entebbe pilot (he's up in CAR on a safari flight for another week though) and his wife Cindy and two daughters live there. I get a cab out to their house, Cindy pays the cabbie (I have no Ugandan shillings). I get a great meal, and fixed up with a room in the guest house / AIM Air Uganda office.

The next day it's back to the airport and off to Bunia. I meet my passengers, the Morrows and Pearl Winterbuck. They're long time missionaries out there. Pearl is about 87 years old and in a wheel chair. Somehow we have to get here (and about 10 huge suitcases) downstairs to the ramp. Remember the building is still under construction? There's no power to the elevator. So... Ed Morrow, two Ugandan airport workers and I carry Pearl, wheelchair and all, down two flights of stairs. Brave lady. Then Ed and I lug the bags down, and I stuff them in the plane. Its a good thing they were missing one from the flight to Uganda, I have no idea where I'd have put it That plane was FULL!

Off to Bunia, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. No worries. Except the Bunia tower controller won't SHUT UP!! Three planes are coming in at about the same time. This guy gives us new directions every 5 seconds. Just sequence us and let us fly for crying out loud! Get landed, get unloaded and say farewell to the Morrows and Pearl. (Ed was great to talk to, he was on headset for the flight out...wonderful fellow!) Belagese, the Congolese who works at Bunia for MAF and AIM helped me with the paperwork, and brought out three more passengers to go back to Entebbe. Get them all loaded up, get on our way...tower thinks we're going to Arus. Sigh. Easily fixed, and back to Entebbe.

Land, unload, farewell my passengers (who speak 10 words of English between them) and file paperwork to get home. Take off, and fly along the north shore of Lake Victoria heading home.

Two hours later, I land and put the airplane away. Two days. Four countries. Ten missionaries.