planeandpilotmag.com 75experience on a scale of 1 - 10. Were
the interrogators polite? Hospitable?
What it a good experience? Rating
an armed soldier with beady eyes in
a foreign country seemed precarious,
so of course I answered everything
with a solid thumbs up and a perfect
- I wasn’t looking forward to that
experience again and also, head-
ing East would mean lying alone
over rugged mountains in marginal
weather with nowhere to land. he
decision was easy and it was a clear
“no-go” for me.
Cozumel (MMCZ) was the obvi-
ous path of least resistance, 300 NM
direct over the Caribbean Sea, and
about 350 NM if you hug the coast
by Guatemala and ly over Belize. I
discussed the options with the per-
former I’d lown with to Honduras,
and we agreed to ly together, but I
made it clear I was not going directly
over the water and that I would only
ly close to land. A lot of performers I know do ly over open
ocean to get to airshows, but I don’t. You can’t safely ditch
a small aerobatic airplane, and I like to have everything
stacked in my favor before I take of. Maybe I’m a chicken,
but I don’t like stress or limited options for survival
“San Pedro Tower, Flight of hree, direct to Cozumel,
ready for takeof.” Even though the second airplane would
be in the lead, I was handling the radios. he
tower called back with an approach frequency
and a transponder code, and we took of with
a 1500’ broken layer of clouds and scattered
rain showers, with good visibility, so it was
ine for a sea-level light. his was going to
be a piece of cake, I thought, but a few miles
out, in a rather confusing move, my leader
decided to go direct and headed out to sea,
saying he had to conserve fuel. his was non-
negotiable for me, so I said, “Adios” and took
a hard left turn.
Flying toward the Guatemalan coast, I wasn’t concerned
because I was in contact with San Pedro Sula Approach
Control, but before I could explain my light path diver-
sion, the ceilings dropped to 1000’ and I lost radio contact,
which also meant they couldn’t see my transponder lash.
I continued lying, hugging the coast, when it occurred
to me that I was now an unidentiied aircraft lying in
hostile territory. Due to drug traicking, it was legal for
Guatemala to shoot down unidentiied aircraft on sight. I
didn’t seriously believe the Guatemalan authorities would
really shoot me down, but what did I know? Maybe I was
being naïve because stranger things have happened. It
was a tense situation and when I inally crossed the border
into Belize, I laughed and gave myself a high ive. By Belize
City, I was able to reestablish radio contact, and they were
clearly relieved because they had been trying to contact
me since I took of.
As Cozumel came into sight, I was almost back to where I
had started the journey, and I still had to get the airplane to
California. I could ly to Texas but that meant a long cruise
over Campeche Bay and more marginal weather, and I’d
had just about enough fun for one weekend. I remembered
Freddy Cabanas, a legendary Key West pilot
and good friend who we tragically lost in
2013, had ofered to ferry my airplane to or
from MMCZ should I ever need it. So I called
Fred, and he said he’d be over in two days
to retrieve my airplane. His son Raymond
then ferried it to California for me. I found
a nice hotel, had a big bowl of guacamole
and then lew out the next day on United.
Don’t let this discourage you from lying
south. Instead I encourage it as a great way
to use your airplane. Do your research. Be lexible. Rules
change, and airports of entry can change. It is not always
easy to get information ahead of time. he best source for up-
to-date information I’ve found is: Bush Pilots International
( formerly Baja Bush Pilots): http://www.bushpilotsinternational.
com. Forelight has a worldwide database with up to date
weather reporting. he medium size and larger airports are
safe and often guarded by the military, so it’s usually ine to
leave your airplane unattended outside at night. Fees are
not excessive and fuel is reasonable. Better still, install tip
tanks if you can, and keep lying south. It’s always another
adventure. PPPatty Wagsta is a three-time U.S. National Aerobatic champion, and one of the
world’s top airshow pilots. Visit pattywagsta.com/school.html or reach Patty
via email through [email protected].❯ ❯ “Heading east would
mean ying alone over
rugged mountains in
marginal weather with
nowhere to land. The
decision was easy, and it
was a clear 'no-go' for me.”The author demonstrates not only how far away the destination was but how much open water might be
overflown on the way to and from it, depending on one's personal culture of safety.