Day 5

Tuesday May 6^th, 2008
Leg 8: Agadir (GMAD)– Agadir (GMAD)
PIC: Etienne
Flying time: 0h36

We were quite early at the airport and the TAF and Metar for GMML and GMAT (Tan Tan) were okay. Some clouds but only at 1600ft and higher (SCT016). Visibility at GMAD was fine too, only a little bit of wind. They tell you it is 12kts, but it felt like a lot more, but like most of the time here the wind is on the nose (runway 28 = 280 degrees). Laayoune would be our first stop in the Western Sahara and we where looking forward to it.

We received a clearance number from Rabat through the ARO of Agadir (everyone is very helpful). This clearance number was needed to file a flight plan to Tan Tan, Laayoune and Dakhla. No clearance number, no flight plan, no flight. The number was entered in the flight plan under item 18 ”CLEARANCE xxxxxxxx”).
After take off we got a clearance to climb to 2000ft. But soon after reaching this altitude, we requested to descent to 1500ft due to cloud cover. Everything was fine until we left the TMA of Agadir (flying outside the controlled sector) to the southwest, flying along the coast. There the visibility deteriorated seriously.

Clouds at 1000ft, so we descended to 700ft. This was a bit of a surprise to us since the weather forecasts had not predicted this. We didn’t fancy to fly to Laayoune at 700ft (3 hour flight) or lower, so we returned to the field, flying pretty low to the ground (no obstacles on the approach chart fortunately). GPS in this case was very handy (we had two operating) and also comforting. We are also using the VOR for direction and position.

After landing we had lunch and talked about what to do next. We looked at the new TAF (forecast) and METAR (current weather) for Tan Tan (GMAT) and GMAD and decided that this would be possible at 700ft (they don’t call it sport flying for nothing ;) ).

Leg 9: Agadir (GMAD) – Tan Tan (GMAT)
PIC: Marco
Flying time: 1h54
Landing fee: EUR 13 (incl. parking for a night)

After we had diverted back to Agadir (see leg 8) we discussed whether we should proceed Laayoune or stay in Agadir. At that moment we saw a small piston engine plane with a November registration. This plane was flown by a French family. They had just come from Tan Tan, a field half way to Laayoune. They told us that they had flown all the way at 500 ft due to low visibility. We also spoke with some airline pilots about the weather that they had encountered on their way. They had no problems, but they came in from the north and they were flying IFR (this means that the were flying on instruments and that they didn't need very good visibility). We decided to go and if the visibility would be too low we would again return to Agadir. We made only one change into our plan; we would not go to Laayoune but to Tan Tan. The flight to Laayoune had an estimated elapsed time of 3h 45m. This would be to tiresome for one person to fly under low visibility conditions. Therefore we decided to go for Tan Tan, a field half way on the route to Laayoune.

We both admitted to each other that it feels better to fly under these conditions than to sit next to someone who is flying under these conditions :). Marco was the lucky guy to fly, so Etienne had to hold his breath for the next two hours.

After take off it immediately became clear that the weather was worse than forecasted (lesson learned: TAF and Metar in Morocco are too optimistic). We descended from 1500 feet to 500 feet and followed the caost line. The only instruction from ATC was that we had to stay VMC (this means that you have to fly under such conditions so that you can proceed your flight under legal visual conditions). We might have complied...

Half way we saw a small village called Sidi Ifni. It had an abandoned runway on the coast line. Marco decided that this would be our alternate aerodrome if we couldn't reach Tan Tan nor return to Agadir. We might get into difficulties with the Moroccan authorities if we would land there, but at least we would be alive. After Sidi Ifni the visibility got very poor.

We kept on flying, and after a while the visibility got a little bit better. We climbed to 800 ft. Shortly before we turned in land to reach Tan Tan, we were able to climb to 1200 ft (also necessary because the airfield is situated at around 600ft and there are some obstacles). After reaching 1200 feet we turned left towards Tan Tan. Tan Tan is situated on a plateau, reaching above the surrounding terrain. After two hours Marco was happy to have reached Tan Tan. Now with the field insight he asked for the wind direction and the wind speed. The information that he received gave him the impression that it would be a simple landing. This turned out not to be the truth. He was surprised by a very strong cross wind, making the landing unexpectedly difficult.

Tan Tan looks like an abandoned military base in the middle of nowhere. The people working at the base were very friendly.

We got a taxi to the village. On our way to the village we were stopped at a road block of the police. We had to wait about half an hour before we could continue our trip to the village. Tan Tan is a very nice village where you can experience the traditional Morocco. It is also clearly a garrison city. The military is an integrated part of the community. We stayed at a small hotel. It was simple and cheap. Nothing to complain. We had a nice stay in Tan Tan.