Page 16 - Jan 20 TNT

Tropical Paradise
The tropics is a magical world of sandy beaches, turquoise waters and comfortable temperatures. The Tropic of Cancer passes through Long Island, located in the Bahamas (a mere 300 nautical miles southeast of Miami). After reaching the Tropic of Cancer, the average temperature reaches around 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
But what destination(s) in the trop- ics should you choose? This is where maps and perceived distances can play tricks on you. From Palm Beach, Florida, the closest tropical destina- tions are as follows:
• Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos; 520 nm
• Ocho Rios in Jamaica; 525 nm
• Grand Cayman; 450 nm
• Roatan in Honduras; 715 nm
Are you surprised Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos and Ocho Rios in Jamaica are about the same dis- tance? And looking at the “far away” destinations, the distance between West Palm Beach and Aruba, Carta- gena (Colombia), Panama, and Tortola is only 1,000 nautical miles.
Stranger yet, Aruba (at a distance of 1,021 nautical miles) is only 28
occasional trickery), let’s look at some of the other factors that come into play when selecting and f lying to these tropical destinations (excellent weather and temperatures are nearly always guaranteed at each). Languages
Most of the islands are English and Spanish-speaking, with some French and Dutch spoken in the Caribbean. In the British sense, there are the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, the Virgin Islands, the Leeward Islands,
Curacao. In the Caribbean, we also have the French islands of Saint Martin, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Saint-Barthelemy (also known as St. Barth). English is widely spoken everywhere, so the comprehension and terminology are not an issue. Currency
The dollar is “king” at most every destination.
But some countries do have their own currency.
nautical miles further than Tortola. And Cartagena is only 5 nautical miles further than Liberia, Costa Rica. What is wrong with these numbers? Noth- ing, they are all true. Charts and maps can sometimes play tricks on us in their rendering.
Now that you have a better under- standing of the distances (and the
St. Kitts, Nevis, Antigua, St. Lucia, the Grenadines, Canouan, Barbados, the Caymans, Belize and Jamaica.
Spanish is spoken in the Dominican Republic, most of Central America, Cuba (no longer available for travel), Panama, Honduras and Colombia. There is a little Dutch spoken in the islands of Aruba, Bonaire and
Fuel
Avgas and jet fuel are plentiful in the tropics but double-check availabil- ity because deliveries might be late.
For jet fuel burning airplanes, a fuel release with a well-known provider is your best bet.
Regulations
Take caution since the United States implemented the Electronic Advance Passenger Information System or eAPIS. It can be a real pain for U.S. pilots, and even worse for foreign pilots and their foreign registration. So, they have created a comparable system called CARICOM. Mexico and Central America countries also re- quire pre-approval.
Single Pilot Waiver
While the single pilot waiver is accepted in the United States (and only in the United States) for jets that require two crew members in the rest of the world, that also applies to the
14 • TWIN & TURBINE / January 2020
AN AERIAL VIEW OF SAINT KITTS.