Just when we were about to head out from the hotel for a tour of the attractions of Chiang Mai, news arrived that our Chinese agent was proposing a new routing in China that would avoid Guilin and its Customs problems. Assumptions about the China legs being abandoned proved premature.
Thus much of the day was taken up with revising all flight routes, fuel uplifts, etc etc so as to land tomorrow 26 April at Nanning in the south of China instead of Guilin.
Then, the plan now goes, we would proceed from Nanning to Zhengzhou on 27 April, and then return Zhengzhou - Nanning - Thailand on Monday 1 May.
This change involved further changes to our Laos and Vietnam overflight permits being obtained. More money is involved.
Time was spent juggling the fuel uplifts in each place that would get us back to Thailand with enough fuel to continue to Bangkok on 2 May. When standard approx 200 litre (50 US gallons) barrels at Nanning were assumed, this seemed to work out ok, but we are now told the barrels are 250 litres which is not so straightforward to plan for next week.
Our fuel that was sent to Guilin is now needed at Nanning, I hope the agent will deliver it to the latter in good time; fuelling by a pump from a barrel can be quite slow.
I was pretty sceptical that the revised Chinese permits would actually turn up on time, but they have now arrived and we appear to be on course for a 0920 local time (0220Z) departure tomorrow. This route takes us from Chiang Mai, across Laos, then overhead Hanoi in Vietnam, and across the border into China.
Looking at the packed flight movement times for Nanning, one of China's busiest airports and with only one runway, it is unclear how ATC will manage to fit in one small and (relatively) very slow aircraft into their traffic pattern, but I suppose that is not our problem now that the flights have been approved.
I understand that very few foreign private aircraft have been allowed to fly in China, so this may be a pathfinder flight so to speak.
There are two aircraft involved in this trip, the Mooney N2125K that you have seen earlier, and a Thailand-based turboprop Piper PA-46 flown by Ed and Mike. Having two aircraft on the same routes may reduce the feeling of being out on a long limb .......
Thus much of the day was taken up with revising all flight routes, fuel uplifts, etc etc so as to land tomorrow 26 April at Nanning in the south of China instead of Guilin.
Then, the plan now goes, we would proceed from Nanning to Zhengzhou on 27 April, and then return Zhengzhou - Nanning - Thailand on Monday 1 May.
This change involved further changes to our Laos and Vietnam overflight permits being obtained. More money is involved.
Time was spent juggling the fuel uplifts in each place that would get us back to Thailand with enough fuel to continue to Bangkok on 2 May. When standard approx 200 litre (50 US gallons) barrels at Nanning were assumed, this seemed to work out ok, but we are now told the barrels are 250 litres which is not so straightforward to plan for next week.
Our fuel that was sent to Guilin is now needed at Nanning, I hope the agent will deliver it to the latter in good time; fuelling by a pump from a barrel can be quite slow.
I was pretty sceptical that the revised Chinese permits would actually turn up on time, but they have now arrived and we appear to be on course for a 0920 local time (0220Z) departure tomorrow. This route takes us from Chiang Mai, across Laos, then overhead Hanoi in Vietnam, and across the border into China.
Looking at the packed flight movement times for Nanning, one of China's busiest airports and with only one runway, it is unclear how ATC will manage to fit in one small and (relatively) very slow aircraft into their traffic pattern, but I suppose that is not our problem now that the flights have been approved.
I understand that very few foreign private aircraft have been allowed to fly in China, so this may be a pathfinder flight so to speak.
There are two aircraft involved in this trip, the Mooney N2125K that you have seen earlier, and a Thailand-based turboprop Piper PA-46 flown by Ed and Mike. Having two aircraft on the same routes may reduce the feeling of being out on a long limb .......
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