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Current Page: home > flight > caribbeanTrip > prep | Updated 27 Aug, 2022

Flight Planning

I did quite a bit of research on what to expect when flying GA (General Aviation) to the Caribbean. After some googling, I found that AOPA had a great guide on traveling to the Caribbean, and the FAA had some great information, too. While not exhaustive, I came up with the following preparations for my trip to St. Thomas:

• Flying Mindset
• Aircraft Maintenance
• 12" N Numbers
• Customs & Border Patrol Stuff
• Radio Station License
• Document Checklist
• Flight Equipment
• Pilot Documents
• Passenger Documents
• Relevant Links & Resources

Flying Mindset

One of the singularly most important things to understand before you take a journey of this type, is the correct mindset to have. Before leaving, it was important that both myself and my traveling companion be aware of several factors/limitations that would have a major impact on the trip schedule:

• I fly a small, single-engine plane.
• I am VFR (Visual Flight Rules) certified, only.
• Weather can severely impact the schedule.
• I have no desire to fly in marginal weather.

Many pilots have lost there lives to a little thing called Get-There-Itus. To those of you reading this who are not pilots, it may sound ridiculous, but in a small plane such as mine you cannot simply fly through any weather. To do so would be foolish, and potentially life threatening.

The following were rules for the trip we implemented to make sure we did not make bad decisions:

• We figured it would take 3 solid days of flying to reach St. Thomas, so we allowed 7 for the trip there, and more than 7 for the return. This allowed for weather/rest days.
• We were flexible on where we ended up staying.
• If weather delayed us more than 4 days, we had the option of hangaring the plane at an airport, and flying commercial to catch up with our group in St. Thomas.
• We would follow every safety precaution to ensure a safe journey. This included renting a life raft, and using Flight Following when possible.

As the pilot, I am ultimately in charge of my aircraft, and responsible for all passengers. It was very important to me to not take that responsibility lightly, and to make sure everything was done to ensure a safe trip. Weeks before the trip, I started monitoring weather on the intended route and familiarizing myself with the areas and weathers I would be flying into. This helped me understand what to expect. Every morning before we flew, I would make a go/no go decision based on my own and my aircraft's limitations.

Aircraft Maintenance

Aircraft maintenance here...

FAR 45.29 Temporary 12 Inch Markings

The FAA site mentions that ICAO rules (ICAO Annex 7, Section 4.2.2) call for markings at least 30cm (~11.8in) tall. FAR 45.29 also calls for this, but as my plane is an Experimental, it is exempt. After a couple emails back and forth with a pleasant gentleman named Bruce at Nnumbers.com, I had numbers on the way.

The style of letters I ordered were: 12" - 5 characters, black, Slanted (Left & Right), Semi-Rounded. As I had a clear white space on the Fuselage, I didn't end up needing backing to cover any existing lettering/designs.

Although Nnumbers.com recommends a two person installation, with some careful planning I was able to manage by myself. You can see in the first picture I initially mocked up the letters slanting the wrong way. Glad I took a look around the hanger before attaching them!

Customs and Border Patrol Stuff

Radio Station License

Document Checklist

Flight Equipment

Pilot Documents

Passenger Documents

Relevant Links & Resources

Links:

• Entering, Exiting and Flying in United States Airspace(faa.gov)
• AOPA's Caribbean Guide(aopa.org)
• I Fly America Guide(iflyamerica.org)
• Nnumbers.com Aircraft Lettering(nnumbers.com)

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