Friday, February 20, 2009

Cozumel to Roatan, Honduras

Leaving Cozumel
Flying down the Mexican and Belize coastlines, I didn't need to be so high in order to glide to land should the engine act up. Once again we were blessed with light winds, producing a good groundspeed. As usual, the flight followed an airway, with center control all the way. So the 21.9nm distance to waypoint is to the next airway intersection.

This is an airstrip off of Northern Cay, off the coast of Belize. I couldn't land here (unless it was an emergency) even though it looked inviting, because it wasn't on the flight plan and it isn't an international airport with customs to clear me into the country. But man, what an awesome place this would be to sail to! Shortly after crossing this island, center gave me permission to fly direct to Roatan. That shaved off a few miles, but it also put me directly into the wind, and the ground speed dropped to 95kts.


Approaching the northern coast of Roatan.


Flying over the southern coast of Roatan.
I had my marine radio out, and called my friend Jay on his boat Jupiter's Smile. I wanted to buzz him on the way in. But he had been following the flight on the Sky Tracker, and knew where I was. He and Barb and friends were at the airport waiting for me.
Leg distance: 290nm Flight time: 3hrs




No comments: