 Welcome Traveling Aviators. Keith Gomez from the Bahama Tourist Bureau is here today to give you some idea about what it would really be like to do some of our dream vacations. Keith works for the Tourism Bureau out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida and goes around the country helping people get ready for such an adventure. So today, here's our program with Keith Gomez on how to fly the Bahamas. Keith. Good morning fellow pilots and Kathleen I want to thank you. Obi Young and the staff here at the FAA for inviting me to come down and speak to you on Flying the Islands of the Bahamas. Today as you know we're here at Sun and Fun which is nothing but a hop step and jump away from flying to the Bahamas. We're right next to a 46 miles of the coast of Florida. As you can see flying the islands of the Bahamas like I mentioned is only 46 miles away. It's a short jump for you pilots to come down and visit us in the Bahamas. We have over 50 airports for you to fly in, clear Bahamas customs and immigration and enjoy the amenities that we have to offer within the Bahamas. The hardest part of your trip getting to the Bahamas is just getting to South Florida. For those of you coming from the Midwest, the Northeast or the West Coast it's a very very very short trip once you get down to Florida to fly to the islands of the Bahamas. General information in flying the Bahamas, flying into the Bahamas the first procedure that you go through is claim Bahamas customs and immigration. All airports are basically owned by the Bahamas government. At any Bahamas government owned airport there are no tie-down fees, no landing fees, no overtime charges for Bahamas customs and immigration. All pilots are welcome at government-owned airports. At private airports within the islands of the Bahamas you may be required to pay a very small fee, a very minimal fee, which is indicative of just landing there using their particular facility. Like I mentioned, it's a very very minimal fee. Very short distance, as I mentioned, in flying the islands of the Bahamas. Very short distance, 46 miles going from Florida to the Bahamas. From Palm Beach going over to the Bahamas is only 60 nautical miles from there to Grand Bahama Island. The clear Bahamas customs immigration at Grand Bahama International Airport and at that particular airport which is private on you may be required to pay a very small fee to land and tie down there. It's very relaxing to fly the islands of the Bahamas and we need you to come down and visit our islands because we welcome private pilots to fly our islands. We have a lot of destinations, a lot of experiences to offer you to fly to the Bahamas so we welcome you flying the islands of the Bahamas. Again as I mentioned we have a lot of good facilities to clear Bahamas customs immigration, a lot of amenities to offer you and there are no landing fees to clear Bahamas customs immigration. There are no tie down fees to clear Bahamas customs and there's no immigration fees. When you fly the islands of the Bahamas we welcome you to fly and visit our various destinations. The Bahamas government is investing in infrastructure in the Bahamas to accommodate you fellow pilots to fly down and visit our facilities. We're taking the time to invest to secure the facilities to make sure that when you fly down to clear customs immigration that your planes are safe and the destination is secure and safe for you to visit. Flying from the United States to the Bahamas all aircraft are required to have 12-inch numbers. You do not need to depart from an airport of entry or port of entry to fly to the Bahamas. You can basically leave from your home if you live on the airship and fly to the Bahamas. You file an international flight plan which is basically the same as flying a flight plan from Miami to Fort Lauderdale. The difference being of course you're flying to a foreign destination. Now you must fly or file an IFR flight plan. It is mandatory after sunset. If you're taking firearms with you leaving from the United States into the Bahamas we do advise that you register with United States customs prior to going to the Bahamas. Let me know that you are taking a firearm to the Bahamas. When you clear Bahamas customs immigration we also ask that you notify the Bahamas customs official that you are bringing a firearm into the Bahamas. Also important is that you must register the exact amount of rounds of ammunition you're bringing with you. Very important. We want to make sure that the firearm that you bring to the Bahamas you take back with you. An aircraft custom DQL is required and it can be purchased at any custom office. If you need information on finding this information you can contact us at the Bahamas tourist office or visit our website at www.flying.bahamas.com. When coming to the Bahamas what is required now is to bring your pilot's license, your medical, aircraft registration, your airworthiness certificate and insurance. Also as of January 2007 it is mandatory that all persons living the Bahamas flying I'm sorry leaving the United States flying to the Bahamas have a United States passport. Okay very important you must have a passport very very important. Also required you must have a Coast Guard approved life jacket for each individual onboard your aircraft. A life raft is optional it is not mandatory to fly to the Bahamas however a life vest is. When flying the Bahamas you activate your flight plan prior to leaving Florida on one to two point two or one to six point seven Miami radio. Prior to landing you close your flight plan on one to four point two or NASA radio on one two eight point zero. If you're able to close in the air when you do land please call 1800 WX brief to close your flight plan. Very simple in terms of procedures or forms to fill out and fly to the Bahamas. We simplified the process to come in and clear Bahamas customs immigration. Prior to this many years ago there's a multitude of forms that a person would have to fly. They would have to file the C7, C7A, Transire, etc. and pilots after a while just started saying you know what it becomes a little hectic the procedure is just so many forms to fill out not anymore folks. Very very simple. We simplified it down to three forms of the C7A general decoration form. C7 is also going to be your cruising permit which allows you to individually fly from Island Island within the Bahamas so there's no need to fill out a separate transire form. Very very simple procedure. There's one immigration card per person that's required for each individual on board your aircraft. Like I mentioned very very simple procedures very very simple forms. This here is a copy of the C7A form which you'd be required to fill out in entering the islands of the Bahamas. Of course as I mentioned the first stop that your aircraft makes must be at the airport of entry mandatory you have to land there first clear Bahamas customs immigration before enjoying the amenities that we have to offer within the Bahamas. Very important as well once you finish that you close your flight plan. Have to close your flight plan folks we don't want to send search and rescue looking for everybody watch your land bound by the pool enjoying a couple Bahama mamas. Okay want to make sure you guys have closed your flight plan first. Present your identification when you meet the customs officer your pilot's license and as I mentioned for United States citizens proof of citizenship in the form of your passport okay. Also again three simple forms for general declaration the C7A and one immigration card per person that's all you need. Folks we all know how it is when going from country to country the first person you meet which dictates your entire state is going to be the customs officer. Please be patient. Okay sometimes the guys being out partying all night with his friends and you guys fly down to the Bahamas you know hey I want to get on that beach right away. Just take your time. Relax as the Bahamas no rush no worries okay. Control the airports within the Bahamas there are only two airports that have towers which we can call which we call our control airspace. Those are airports are going to be NASA international and Grand Baham International Airport. Those only two towers within the Bahamas so there's only two places where you have control airspace okay. Flying to the Bahamas of course you contact approach control you contact the tower roughly about 20-25 miles up. Let them know you're inbound and let them give you your landing instructions. Uncontrolled airports cover the other 50 plus airports within the Bahamas. Announce your aircraft over Unicom 122.8 let them know you're inbound your location your intentions in flying to that particular island that particular destination. Let them know what you plan on doing and in the Bahamas very important our traffic is left hand okay. When you fly over the airport about a thousand feet and you enter the left traffic pattern altitude okay. You fly in notify everybody very important communicate communicate communicate. Very important you must communicate throughout your entire procedure flying to uncontrolled airport. You want to make sure that the guy coming back from the bar kicking back relaxing last night isn't taking off and not aware of anybody else coming in. Be considerate to your fellow pilots. Communicate communicate communicate. A question that tends to come up often is concerning experimental aircraft. We've standardized the procedure for experimental flying to the Bahamas. It's basically the same procedure as a pilot flying from the United States to Canada. There's no need to call ahead and give or request advanced permission to fly experimental aircraft to the Bahamas. All you have to do file an international flight plan just like before and you can fly in. What's required is of course a valid certificate of the aircraft registration. The nationality registration marks assigned to your aircraft by the FAA. A special airworthiness certificate that usually comes with the fact that you do have an experimental aircraft. All validation must be in your possession and onboard your aircraft. Okay. Pilot's license of course is mandatory. You must have that in your possession. Your medical certificate is required. This idea some of the scenery one could expect to fly within the islands of the Bahamas. Again, this isn't a computer generated image. This is how it really is. You don't believe me? At about 11am hop or flight over. You see it for yourself. In trying to simplify our procedure, we've associated ourselves very closely with Bahamas customs to simplify the procedures for any person flying to and around the islands of the Bahamas. What this tells you is that the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism in conjunction with Bahamas customs is after the private pilot market. We are saying to the private pilot community, we want you to come and visit our country. We want you to enjoy what we have to offer. So we will do whatever it takes to simplify the procedure for you to clear Bahamas customs, Bahamas immigration and enjoy what we have to offer. We are there for you. We want you to visit us again and again and again. If you visited Abaco, you visited Iluthra, you visited Bimli, there's still a lot more to see. A lot more to see. As I mentioned, for single engine private planes under 6,000 pounds, there's no landing fee. The landing fee may only apply to you at a private airport. That is the airport that is privately owned. All government airports, as I mentioned before, there are no landing fees, no overtime charges for Bahamas customs and immigration. Okay. There are no tie down fees that any government on airport. Very important for you to know. When it comes to fees, there's only two letters you need to know when it comes to fees in the Bahamas. N-O, no fees. For private aircraft under 6,000 pounds, that's the only way that applies to you. No. No landing fees, no overtime fees for Bahamas customs immigration, no tie down fees. What that spells in your pocket is enjoy, enjoy, enjoy the Bahamas. Come and visit us. Fuel. Fuel is available at basically 20 airports within the islands of the Bahamas. Wherever you are within the Bahamas, however, you are no more than 20 minutes flying time from fuel. You can roughly get fuel at just about every major island within the Bahamas. However, let's just say you decide to land at one key, where it's just you, a coconut tree, and a beach. You're only 20 minutes away from fuel no matter where you are within the Bahamas. As far as pricing and fuel, it's roughly on par with most FBOs based in South Florida. It may be an increase of roughly 20 to 40 cents. At the most, at some remote areas within the Bahamas, it may be a dollar more. Night flying. Very important for a lot of people because, of course, getting down, let's just say from the northeast in the United States, from Canada, or from let's just say the west coast or the Midwest. The time frame it takes you to get down to South Florida. You may get here early afternoon, late afternoon, and say, you know what, since I'm only 46 miles away from the Bahamas, let me just continue on. However, the time you arrive in the Bahamas may dictate that you do have to actually stay at another destination other than your original choice. For example, if you're flying to, let's just say, Great Harbour Key in the Barry Islands, and your arrival time may only get there at say 7 p.m. You won't be able to do that. You may have to land at Grand Baham International Airport or NASA International Airport as these are the only places that have lighted runways that accept night flying. Very important as well. Make sure you fly IFR and file prior to going over to the Bahamas if you plan on arriving or your arrival time would get there after sunset. Very important. As far as night flying available in the out islands, right now the Bahamas government in working with the Bahamas Civil Aviation have found out that what we've done is have lighted airports at a few out island destinations, particularly in the Abacos. Marsh Harbour has lighted runways, and I believe Stella Marys in Long Island has lighted runways as well, as well as Exuma International. So we are working to get more and more out island destinations with night flying capacity. Make an instant repair. A very important concern for anyone going down to the Bahamas. You want to ensure that when you fly into the Bahamas, if anything does happen to your aircraft, you're able to get a repair and continue enjoying your visit. What's very important for you to know is that at the FBO's base in the Bahamas, Cherokee Air and Abaco, Millionaire Nassau, as well as the Flight Service Office in Grand Bahamas International, maintenance is available and pilots will fly down or get parts to you from those facilities. Also important to notice that Banyan Air Service base right in Fort Lauderdale Executive is willing to fly pilots and mechanics down to your island destination wherever you are within the Bahamas to help facilitate your aircraft repair. So wherever you are within the Bahamas, you're not more than a phone call away from getting maintenance and repair for your aircraft no matter where you are. A simple call to FBO base in Nassau or Grand Bahama or the Abaco's will ensure that you have a mechanic flying to your plane. Also, Banyan Air Service is available for your service as well. Average runway length is important concern for everybody. Within the Bahamas is roughly about 5,000 feet. You do have one or two facilities where your airport runway is going to be about 2,000 feet, maybe 1,500 feet or 3,000 feet. But for the most part you're going to look at an aircraft runway length, airport runway length, I'm sorry, of about 5,000 feet. Wealth information, very important for all pilots and boaters. 1-800-WX-Brief is a telephone number that you can contact within the United States and the Bahamas to get accurate weather information. Okay, very important if you know that. Also important to note is that at most airports within the island of Bahamas, what we have done in working with Bahamas Civil Aviation is ensure that we have what's called a blue phone at all airport facilities. These blue phones indicate that these are for pilot use only. It's there for you to one, close your flight plan if you're unable to do so in the air. Two, file your flight plan prior to going back to the United States. Three, get accurate weather information. Again, important to note, blue phones available are just about every airport within the island of Bahamas and they're there for your service and yours alone. Okay, it's there for you to one, close your flight plan in entering the Bahamas. Two, open your flight plan flying back to the United States and three, get your weather information. Okay, departing the Bahamas is a concern that a lot of people have. What is the procedure? What do I do to leave the Bahamas? How do I make sure that when I go back to the United States, there's not an F-16 escorting me down? Okay, very important concern for everyone. You must depart in the islands of Bahamas from an airport of entry. Okay, you must file your flight plan. Like I mentioned before, 1-800-WX-BREEF. The blue phones are there for your service. The United States customer knows that the pilot can't say, well, I didn't get a chance to file my flight plan to let you guys know it was coming. No, no, no. We work with the Bahamas government and we know that the facilities are there in place for you, the pilot, to file your flight plan and let us know you're coming in bound to the United States. Okay, what we actually do nowadays is call and advise customers and give them an approximate ETA and your aircraft and passenger details in coming back to the United States. We want to make sure that everybody is aware of where you are at all times and what you're going to be doing when you get there. For example, you don't want you to deviate from flying to fall out of there to go to Palm Beach and then have people, you know, search and rescue looking like, where's Johnny? Where's Johnny? Johnny's supposed to file his flight plan, Johnny didn't. You want to make sure that the facilities are there and that you actually follow the procedure. When calling or when filing a flight plan, what they're going to give you is discrete transponder code. Okay, ensure that you get that from the customer officer when you speak to them and give them your information. When landing, you want to make sure that you actually give your general declaration form and immigration card to the immigration officer prior to departing. Show them a copy of your flight plan that you have actually done the procedure, you have done your paperwork and you are ready to depart and enter the United States airspace. Of course, as you know, there's a departure tax. That's the only thing any pilot or passenger pays, which is mandatory. A $15 departure tax for any person departing to Bahamas, where as myself or yourself leaving the Bahamas flying anywhere, you pay a $15 departure tax. After takeoff, you activate your flight plan. Contact Nassau Freeport Radio 124.2 or 128.0. If you're unable to contact them, you can also activate your flight plan on Miami Radio 126.7. For flight following, you can also get that on 126.7, I'm sorry 125.7 or on 121.0 and that's Nassau. Like I mentioned, what you're going to get is the discrete transponder code from the United States Customs. This you activate 126.7 from Miami Radio. Fifteen minutes prior to penetrating that aided zone, you must have that transponder code. The aided zone is that imaginary line between the Bahamas and the United States. That's just our imaginary line to say, okay, we're now transferring these guys over to your protection and your concern. That's all it is. But prior to doing that, we want to make sure that you have the transponder code. When landing, you close your flight plan if possible in the year. 122.2, of course, as you know, and if unable to, you contact Custom Office on 1800WX brief to close your flight plan. You land at the airport of entry, Opelock, Miami, or Fort Lauderdale, or Palm Beach, depending on how far up you're going in South Florida. That's where you land, customs clear, make sure that everything's there. Your flight plan, of course, like I mentioned, would be closed in the air, or your flight plan, once you land, you close on 1800WX brief. Wait for Custom Instruction. What's going to happen is when you land, you're going to be put in what they call a penalty box. You wait for US Custom Instruction. They will direct you as to what to do, when to disperse passengers, when to come in and physically clear. You walk the customs, you leave the aircraft doors open. What you also do is you take your luggage with you if instructed to. If not, you leave everything in your aircraft, take your documentation with you, which would be a passport proof of citizenship. Prepare your US arrival and customs declaration cards in advance if possible. Now, in addition to individuals flying down to the Bahamas, what we in the Bahamas government do is organize what's called fly-ins to the Bahamas. This allows those persons who have never flown to the Bahamas before to fly to the Bahamas in a group atmosphere. What we try to do is make sure that it's very easy and the procedure is easy so that you can fly to the Bahamas continuously on your own and if possible encourage yourself and friends to come along with you. In doing that, what we've done is organized the flying program for about roughly last five to ten years. The flying program is nothing more than a coordinated event for pilots to get together, share the camaraderie and experience of flying from one destination to another destination with a group of friends. It's a great way for one to introduce you and your family to what we have to offer. Another way to meet new friends and new pilots for various destinations and to come and explore more of what we have to offer. Our flying program usually runs for roughly three to four days on single destinations and anywhere from two weeks to a week on multi- destination fly-ins, which means we spend maybe three days at one island, three days at another key, and three days at another destination prior to coming over. What it does is give you the experience of island hopping. It gives you the experience of talking on NASA radio and the experience of actually flying from island to island on your own. It's ideal, like I said, for flying clubs, associations, and ideal for the first-time flyer. For the newly licensed pilot, it's excellent. It's a good way to get his feet wet and flying to the Bahamas. The format in the Bahamas flying program is of course the lead pilot. Myself, Mr. Greg Rule, the predecessor of the program would give you the pilot briefing on what to do and procedures are coming down to the islands of the Bahamas. Walk you through the paperwork and again let you know where we're going to depart from, what islands we're going to visit, the amenities on each island that we have to offer. Itinerary, of course, is going to be sent to you on the experience on flying to the islands of the Bahamas. It's just an idea and some things to remember coming out to the Bahamas. Flying to the Bahamas is close, it's fun, it's easy. Very simple. Are there any questions from anybody flying to the islands of the Bahamas? Yes, sir. I can be loud. On the N numbers, I have an antique aircraft that has small N numbers here and due to a number of factors I don't want to put vinyl numbers over that. Can I put the numbers on the wings or do they have to be on the fuselage? It has to be on the fuselage. And could they be done with something like temporary paint or something? Yes, again, the main part of the N numbers is to ensure that coming back to the United States, this is the law. It has to be 12-inch numbers. Going to the Bahamas, your numbers can probably be six inches, five inches. It's not a requirement for us. Coming into the United States, one is sure that you have 12-inch numbers. Even if your plane is legal with small numbers in the states? Yes, 12-inch numbers. Any other questions? Yes, sir. Many, many years ago, but a local flight school is sponsoring trips, but Hama is now allowing it with rental aircraft and they're requiring everyone to have a USA radio license. Have you heard of that in the last 20 years? Actually, no, I haven't. It may be called a new. It's one of the, sorry, it's one of those archaic things that we have to get rid of in the Bahamas. As Greg mentioned, it's not required anymore. Yes, ma'am. Hi. If you are flying on an IFR flight plane and you have activated, do you have to get a squawk to enter the ADAS or is it like in the United, in the DC area? No, no, once you, once you file IFR, in fact, some places, you don't even need to activate. Once you get clearance and you, they get a void time if you go on islands where they don't have that, but once you, you go, they automatically have you in record. In fact, your squawk code would give you, when you clear, you get your clearance. That's the squawk code you get. Get back in. Anyone else? I'm sorry, sir. A slight amplification on that. Twice in your presentation, you mentioned getting the code once before leaving the Bahamas and once before penetrating the ADAS. Is that the same code or do we have to get a second code? It's the same code you're going to get. The point of the matter is to make sure that you do have the code prior to penetrating the ADAS zone. When filing your flight plan, you want to ensure that you do get one. If you do not, or the customs officers give you one. You want to ensure that once you're airborne and you activate your flight plan, one is given to you prior to penetrating that ADAS zone. It's like a redundant system. You want to ensure that you have it prior to penetrating that ADAS zone. Anyone else? Any other questions? Folks, what do we have, what do we have to do? We have some talks that we want to give away. We realize that in the Bahamas, we really don't have much tie-downs. And we realize that you guys want to come to the Bahamas and we want to give these talks. In fact, me and Keith flew over here from NASA and we kind of overgrows and we definitely need to get rid of these talks. So what Keith is going to do, we're going to ask one or two questions because we want to make sure that you are paying attention to what he was saying at this meeting because it's very important to us. And it's very easy questions you're going to ask. And we're going to get these talks away. Again, we have some on the floor there and we have some over here and we also have some name tags we're going to give away to you guys. So Keith. Question number one folks. What is required as of January for all pilots flying to and from the islands of the Bahamas? Passport. Jesus. Give it to him. Give it to him. There you go. Okay. Average runway length in flying to the islands of the Bahamas is what? I'm sorry. There you go. You guys really were paying attention. You know we have that video we're going to be running in a few minutes so once you guys get that video queued up you're going to go and take care of that. There's a nice video presentation shows you the experience of flying to the islands of the Bahamas. What you see and do. All the procedures that I went over roughly in presentation is there for you in the video format. Okay. Yes sir. You have a question. Okay. What is going to do right here before us? We have a DVD that we going to do in a few minutes and Keith is going to give us some more prices while we get this DVD up and running for you. Yes sir. Okay thank you. We're thinking later this summer of making a flight down to Providenciales, Provo, Turks and Caicos. And on our way back we're thinking of making a stop in the Bahamas. Is there anything special we need worry about coming basically from the south to the Bahamas as opposed to coming from the US? No sir. No sir. It'll be the same procedure to clear Bahamas customs immigration. You land at the airport of entry with the same paperwork as I mentioned before. Passport proof of citizenship and your pilot information. You land at the airport of entry, you clear Bahamas customs immigration, fellow deceased seven forms and Bahamas immigration card and that's it. The same procedure as flying from the United States to the Bahamas is flying from Turks and Caicos to the Bahamas. Last question. Some years ago I remember when we did some island hopping we had to have a transire every time we went. Did I understand you correctly that that's no longer a requirement? That is correct. The C7A is going to be your transire. That's going to be the form given to you to continue island hopping within the islands of Bahamas. So there's no separate form that you'd have to fill out. When you first clear Bahamas customs immigration you fill out three copies of that form. One copy is going to be retained by Bahamas customs and one copy is going to be retained by yourself. That's going to keep on board the aircraft at all times. So when you land at another airport and a customs officer may ask you is this the first port of entry that you're stopping to? Do you have any proof that you've cleared before? You show him a copy of that and that he's going to sign off on and that's your transire. There's no separate form that you'd have to fill out to fly the islands of Bahamas. Like I mentioned folks we try to make the process as easy as simple as possible. For years like I mentioned we've listened to your concerns, we listened to the fellow pilot say you know what I love flying the islands of Bahamas. However the paperwork process gets to be a burden. So we take that in the economy side down with Bahamas customs and say what can we do to simplify this process. We came up with the idea that hey you know what let's cut back on the paperwork. Let's alleviate that concern from our pilots. I let them get down to the business of why they're here and join what we have to offer. Any other concerns? Yes sir. I have been asked for a landing fee at some airports. It's a nominal fee but you don't necessarily want to start arguing with the customs officer about what he's charging you. How would you recommend handling that? My first question to you is going to be how recently was this? A month ago you were asked that. Do you know which airport you were at? Governor's Harbor. At Governor's Harbor, Governor's Harbor's government you should not have been asked for a landing fee. That's why I'm asking. Well here's what I would do. First thing I do is I would tell the customs officer sir I spoke with Keith Gomez from the Bahamas service office and I am aware of the fact that what is available to all pilots is what we call the private pilot Bill of Rights. The private pilot Bill of Rights is stated at every single airport at every port of entry within the islands of the Bahamas. What this does is this allows every single pilot to walk in prior to client customs and see what he is entitled to as a visitor to our country. The private pilot Bill of Rights states that no private pilot flying down for leisure under 6,000 pounds pays a tie-down fee. He does not pay a landing fee. He does not pay an overtime charge for Bahamas customs or immigration. It's stated right there. As a matter of fact we have a posted behind Bahamas customs to make sure that when the pilot comes in and he says this the custom officer if he or she is not aware of that moment has the information right there. So in all fairness and honesty you should not have been charged a fee and the custom officer should have been aware of that. As a matter of fact it should have been visible to yourself and that custom officer. So what I would get from you prior to this presentation is your information and I will personally follow up with Governor Sabia Port to ensure that that does not happen again. If you go as I mentioned if you visit any other island within the Bahamas on any future trip ensure this to yourself and your fellow pilots that you as a private pilot has a Bill of Rights stated at every single port of entry within the Bahamas. Okay I'm sorry sir. Okay we have the video up. You go ahead and cue the video. 125 miles east of south Florida's Gold Coast is a little gem of an island called Chubb Key. With a 5000 foot groomed runway suitable for jets Chubb Key has been the private getaway for many of America's affluent sportsmen and women. Located within a half mile of the tongue of the ocean it offers spectacular offshore fishing. The island is quite special the staff is friendly and the club members and their guests enjoy an easy pace that fits right in with the laid back unpretentious charm of the tropics. We welcome other like-minded people to join us in this rare and beautiful setting. A new master plan for the island has been unveiled that offers villas and home sites as well as slip ownership for yachts up to 200 feet. Built around traditional Bahamian architecture Chubb Key offers and preserves a lifestyle that revolves around a love of the sea and all things natural. A well appointed yet casual members club will be the social hub of the island along with a spa villa accommodations a beautiful beach and a full-service marina. The Chubb Key Club extends a warm welcome to all who embrace gracious tropical living. To represent the Department of Civil Living of the Bahamas and I'm here to let you go good folks know how simple and easy it is to fly into the Bahamas. As you know we are over 700 islands we have 60 airports out of those 60 airports 28 of Port of Entries. There's a requirement with the flying over water to make sure that you have life worth or life wrap it's not mandatory to have both. In the Bahamas we have radar services so you'll always be on the radar watch once you left Florida and tell you leave the Bahamas. We speak English and our regulations are similar to those of here. That's Mr. Tony Dean one of our civil aviation directors and Tony Dean was basically going over some of the premises to what's expected for private pilots flying down to the Bahamas. So in a minute the video is going to come back up with the pilot procedures. You want to have a Bahama by who are being the Bahamas ten times in their craft nine times in the Bahamas eight times okay folks I'm just trying to get rid of these stuff because I want to go about empty. Let's go and give us another talk away. Can you go ahead and ask a question? Yeah who's flown at both control the airport in the Bahamas I don't control the airport in the Bahamas. You have how many times? There you go. Okay tell it what in terms of a chalk I'm gonna give you some name tags and folks the video is up and running now so be ready to go. Hello I'm John Obradovich and my wife and I published the Bahamas and Caribbean pilots guide. First let's just say that when you fly the Bahamas the hardest flying you'll do is when you go from wherever you live to Florida that's a lot more difficult in terms of restricted airspace and terrain and weather. When you get to the Bahamas there is no terrain the highest point is 200 feet above sea level and the weather is almost always ideal it's 44 miles from the shoreline to the first island which is Bimini and from Bimini on there's virtually an island inside all the time. There's large land masses as well as their small islands but you always seem to have land inside and an island inside. Visiting the islands of the Bahamas you must file a U.S. international flight land before departing the U.S. and your first point of arrival in the Bahamas must be at an airport of entry. Each person aboard the aircraft must have proof of citizenship a passport or birth certificate. Keep your aircraft registration available and check that your aircraft insurance policy extends to the Bahamas most do. All airplanes must have a mode C transponder 12-inch registration numbers on the plane and one U.S. Coast Guard approved life jacket for each person. Life rafts are suggested but not required. Vests and optional life raft equipment can be inexpensively rented at most FBOs in south Florida. At typical cruise altitudes radio reception is fine speaking with the choice of Miami or Nassau radio. Nassau approach Mooney, 888 Echo Fox truck, 888 Echo Fox, go ahead. Yeah I'm going to cancel flight following this time out, airports in sight. I am Craig Peyton producer of this DVD. Flying out here is easy and the radios work fine. Both Bahamas approach and Nassau center have remotes throughout the islands. Customs is a no-brainer. You land, you fill out a C7A form. Once you get stamped then you're free to island hop until you leave the country. Offshore weather is usually good VFR. Because of the Gulf Stream's moderating influence the weather generally remains in the 70s and 80s year-round. For trouble free navigation GPS is your best bet. With VORs and ILS approaches in Freeport and Nassau. You can get a little breezy out here in the islands and I've also found from water to land you have to consider wind shear. I carry a little bit of extra speed on final. I don't try to plant the plane right on the numbers. Upon arriving you must land at an airport of entry the first time you enter the islands. Normal hours for customs are 9 a.m to 5 30 p.m. Clearing customs is no problem. All you do is fill out the Bahamian immigration card one per person and four copies of the C7A form. With this single permit you can island hop with ease. The Bahamian government has developed a private pilot's bill of rights. No landing fees for single-engine private planes under 6,000 pounds. No overtime customs and immigration fees for private aircraft visiting for recreational purposes and no tie-down fees at any government owned airport. The islands of the Bahamas begin 55 miles off the Florida coast and are made up of 700 islands 30 of which are inhabited covering a vast area of 100,000 square miles. AFGAS is currently available at nine airports in the islands. You are never more than 20 minutes flying time away from fuel. AFGAS prices are similar to Florida's FBOs. There's good FBOs throughout the country. Marsh Harbor, Freeport, NASA but also I carry a card from FBOs in Florida. Banyan, for instance, will send a Cherokee with a mechanic to your location if you need repairs in a hurry. And that's nice to know that help is only a couple hours away. When departing surrender your copy of the immigration card and pay departure tax of $15 per person. You must file an international flight plan with 800 WX brief or NASA radio in the air. Before takeoff you are required to contact U.S. customs at your airport of entry at least one hour before arrival notifying them of your exact arrival time. A phone call is the only way to comply. Once in the air you must contact Miami radio 15 minutes before penetrating the A-D-I-Z just past Bimini. Hi, I'm David Grantham. I'm a pilot for the United States Customs and Border Protection in New Orleans. Also this year I'm the chair elect of the International Federal Pavilion here at Oshkosh. One of the places we enjoy going is the Bahamas and a lot of us are always a little apprehensive about clearing customs into or out of the Bahamas. This year if you're going to travel make sure you make your one-hour call to the U.S. Customs Service prior to coming back into the United States and we assure you we don't want to hold you up clearing customs back into the States. Make your call try to have as much paperwork done as possible greet the customs officer and we'll get you through as quick as we possibly can. Thank you. The Bahamas.com website has a very informative section under activities flying. There you'll find important phone numbers, tips and questions answered. Another popular way to experience the islands the Bahamas tourist office has incorporated fly-in. The fly-ins provide for discounted hotel and sports activity rates. I'm flying over water I don't see there's any more dangerous or troublesome than flying over the land. You got to play You got to play around over here. It's very easy. Feel free to call the Bahamas tourist office at 800-327-7678 anytime. So fly on over and we'll see you in the islands. This country with over 60 airports to choose from in an archipelago that's 400 nautical miles long you'll find that each island has a unique personality to discover. Also with seven degrees of latitude a short hop in the airplane can change your weather from cool and breezy to warm and tropical. Now it's time to adjust to island time and look around. The islands of the Bahamas offer something for every budget and lifestyle. Private pilots on their own schedules visit the family islands for their laid-back friendliness pristine beaches great food and world-class diving. Some of these islands include the Abaco, Salutera, Bury, Andros, Cat, Xumas, Long, Crooked Islands and San Salvador. The lure of the lush tropical flowers the soft Bahamian breezes jewel-like crystal clear waters are irresistible. The beaches are perfect and like nowhere else in the world. If scuba diving or snorkeling or sport you enjoy you'll find a minimum of 100-foot visibility in crystal clear warm water conditions. First-rate sport fishing tours boating, golfing, horseback riding sightseeing and shopping are all popular activities that visitors keep returning to the islands for. In both Nassau and Freeport gambling, lively music and entertainment are part of the excitement. Nassau, capital city of the Bahamas resides on New Providence Island neighbor to Paradise Island. This island pair maintains a distinct blend of international glamour and tropical ease. With its impressive combination of ecological wonders and man-made attractions Grand Bahama Island generously offers something for everyone. The Bahamians are well-traveled people and they know what time of day it is. You'll find that they have an approach to life that's something we can all benefit from. Their culture is it's very subtle but it's beautiful. People have enormous integrity and pride in their country and they're happy to share it. Flying your aircraft to the islands of the Bahamas is an adventure of a lifetime. So I hope you enjoy this production and get a little bit of an idea of the enormous variety this country offers. As you look through the pilot's guidebook and you look through some of the hotel commercials on this DVD you'll find it's a great place to fly and I think you'll find yourself coming back to Dublin again. So I hope to see you down in the islands. Now folks after that video who wants to go to the Bahamas? I know I do. I know I do. I think we're going to have Michelle from Avocado Beach. Yes. How you doing? Hi everybody. Well they're telling you about flying over there but the most important thing is where are you going to stay once you get there? I work for Avocado Beach Resort. We're an 88 room resort, 200 slip marina. If you're coming in a sea plane you can actually land right outside of our property. We have customs and immigration right on site so they'll take care of that for you. And you can not only island hop by plane there. When you come to the Avacos in particular we have 90 miles protected water and then a little Boston whaler. Believe me you don't have to be much of a boater because they allow me to go out on my own. You can just hop around to over 50 different islands. Some of them are just little atolls with nothing there but your footprints in the sand. Our food in the out islands is also very important when you're going on a trip. What are you going to eat? Well we have wonderful, of course, Bahamian food. Our restaurant in the Avacos Beach Resort though is a AAA diamond rated restaurant so we have rack of lamb and field loin chops and so forth. There's also many other, I don't want to just talk about Avacos Beach Resort. We also have a dozens of different properties. They were touching on a lot of them in that picture where you could see where Stella Maris resort and their pool sitting over the water. We have Cape San Maria and that was one of their beaches that was being shown there. So the one thing is, is once you come on your plane and you come to explore the islands of the Bahamas, there are some wonderful places for you to stay. Of course, Avacos Beach Resort is the best place to stay but there are several others and we'd like to combine them. We have a number of people that like to go to the say Nassau where they experience Atlantis. They get overwhelmed with all there is to see and do there and then they come to us and go, oh this is the real Bahamas. This is the laid back lifestyle of getting away from it all and the beauty of the waters that are there to explore and enjoy. On the side of our property they have tennis courts. We have a scuba diving center. We have a boat rentals, tennis courts. So there's myriad things for you to do. There's kayaking in amongst the little mangroves and so forth, bone fishing, deep sea fishing. So there's numerous things for you to do once you receive or once you arrive in the islands of the Bahamas. Thank you. Any questions? Come see us someday. I have one question for the crowd. What's the best place to visit again in the islands of the Bahamas? Where? That's right, Avoco Beach Resort. Okay, but make sure you come there. Give that lady a pair of chalks. Make sure you come and visit us. Outside of that, within the islands of the Bahamas, like Michelle mentioned, there are lots of destinations to come and visit. There's a destination to fit every single mood you're in, every single vacation experience you'd like to visit and experience in the Bahamas, we have it to offer. 700 islands, 2,000 keys. There's an island for every single day of the year for you. Okay, so if you've visited the Bahamas 15 times, and you've been to 20 different places, you haven't even touched the surface. You have a lot more to offer. So definitely come down and visit us. Any other concerns before we wrap up the presentation? Yeah, one question. Sure. Just to touch on someone who said that they got charged a landing fee. Yes. And a lot of the information that you've given, you refer to private pilots and private aircraft. That's correct. If a pilot, and I'm sure many of them here have a commercial license, does the custom agent assume that it's a commercial flight and therefore charge a landing fee? No, not just because you have a commercial license. Again, what we're talking about or the concern is for a private flight. You may be a private pilot or a commercial pilot, but the flight itself has to be for recreational purposes, not for renumeration. If you're flying down and then charging a fee, then it's a commercial flight. So if it's just down for your experience of vacation, no, you should not be charged. Once your aircraft is under 6,000 pounds, no. Regardless of your rating, there's no charge to you. Does that answer your question? Yes. Yes, sir. What if you have a twin engine plane? I notice you got no landing fees for a single engine under 6,000 pounds. For twins, there'll be a small fee, a small minimum fee charge. Roughly, I think, $4 to $12, I believe. Yeah, roughly about $4 to $12 for a twin aircraft. Again, it goes, I guess, by the way. The important part of what we're talking about is for most recreational purposes, a lot of persons flying down to the Bahamas would purchase or would own a single engine aircraft, particularly like a new pilot or an experienced pilot just out for flying for recreation. A person flying a twin, the only concern that they would have to pay would be a minimum fee for the maybe $12. Any other concerns or questions? There's no question or concern that's too small or too big to answer. Just one small point. Oh, this was probably three months ago. Yes, sir. We were at Freeport at Grand Bahama, and we were invited to make a quick stop over at West End. Yes, sir. And which was probably 15 minutes, not even 15 minutes, flight away. And upon our return, we were charged a landing fee again. So, you know, at Grand Bahama, I think you... I'm sorry. Grand Bahama International is a private-owned airport, it's run by what's called the Grand Bahama Port Authority. That particular airport is a privately owned. Okay. Now, as I mentioned in the presentation, government-owned airports, there are no landing fees, no tie-down fees, etc. Private-owned airports, you may be charged a small, minimal landing fee. Yeah, okay. That's it. Thank you. No problem at all. Any other questions? Now, for that talk, again, somebody mentioned the... What's the greatest place to stay? Alcove. There you go. That gentleman right there. All right. Now, we're going to ask a question, distance-wise. Let me get an idea of distance-wise. Who came from where to be here today? Anybody from... Let's just say Georgia. Anybody from further north than Georgia? Show of hands. Let's just say anybody from Ohio. Okay. Anybody further north than Ohio? Okay. Anybody further north than Michigan? Somebody further north than Michigan? Canadians. Okay. All right. We got a tie for two Canadians right there. Okay. Heading down south. I don't think there's anybody further north than Canada. Any north poles in here? Okay. Heading back south. I think Michigan was the closest state to Canada. Mr. Gantz? You got some Michiganites over there? All right. Heading further south. Anybody from Ohio? New York? We got a New Yorker in here? Where are they? Where's the New Yorkers? I'm originally from Ohio. Oh, we got an Ohio man right here. Oh, you're from Florida. How long you been down here? Actually, originally. Good point. Good point. Hey, Keith, quickly. I was just asked a question, and Ani didn't mention it when I was speaking. Abaco Beach Resort, where I am, is located in Marsh Harbor Airport. Marsh Harbor is one of the busier airports in the Bahamas. We were 10 minutes from the airport to the resort itself. In fact, you go through the only stoplight in the out islands of the Bahamas. Yep, to get to us. But in addition to our government-owned airport, there is a brand new FBO that's opened up there, and it's beautiful. Our security is very good at Marsh Harbor. So that was a question someone had just asked. Oh, okay. Thanks, Michelle. Yes, sir. Availability of auto gas for airplanes? Well, availability of it? Yeah. I think outside of NASA. Oh, I was just wondering if you have an STC for auto gas for your planes. Do you know if there's auto gas available at some of the airports or... Say again? Oh, I was wondering about the availability of automobile gas for airplanes at the airports. We have gas. Right. Okay. I use auto, yes. That's what I'm wondering. There we are. Okay, folks, we're going to wrap it up. I just want to find out from anybody else are there any concerns that we have not answered any questions of flying to the Bahamas that you did not get off your chest? Feel free. Everybody right here is ready to go right now and run straight up to the tarmac and fly to the Bahamas, correct? Absolutely. There you go. Great presentation. Thank you very much.