Brazil is really big. With an area of 8.516.000 km², our country ranks fifth in the ranking of the largest in the world.
Of this entire area, 40% are covered by the Amazon Forest, which occurs in several states in the North of Brazil, such as Amazonas, Acre, Rondônia, Roraima, Maranhão, Amapá, Tocantins, Mato Grosso and Pará, the latter being the state I had the opportunity to fly for a while, getting to know better a region that in the past was only known through books or videos.
AVIATION AND THE INDIGENOUS SOCIAL FUNCTION
Pará is huge. Being the second largest state in the country, with 1.248.000 km², second only to Amazonas in size, the Amazon Equatorial Forest covers 77% of its area with natural vegetation, especially in the north, west and south sectors, where a large amount of of indigenous villages, which can be accessed by river or just by air.
To serve indigenous peoples, the Union delegated the work to two main bodies: Funai (National Indian Foundation - linked to the Ministry of Justice), which takes care of transporting food, equipment and people, and SESAI (Special Secretariat for Health Indigenous - linked to the Ministry of Health), which is responsible for the health care of the Indians in that region.
To fulfill these missions, both bodies rent air taxi aircraft in the region to be served to carry out the air transport of basic food baskets, medicines, doctors, dentists, etc.
In the Pará region, PEMA Taxi Aéreo and Piqueatuba are the two most requested to carry out the journeys using their fleets, generally highlighting Cessna 206, 210 and C208B Caravan aircraft, whose robustness and strength fit like a glove for the tasks in that region so challenging.
AIR OPERATIONS IN THE AMAZON
Flying over the vegetation of the Amazon rainforest to villages with planes like these is no simple task. To begin with, we have the obvious: as they are single-engine planes, in the event of a propeller failure, diving into the dense jungle is practically certain.
There is no place to try a forced landing, not even the famous “empty”. Trying to reach a river in a glide flight is quite an adventure, because unlike what happens in the Amazon, where the hydrographic basin is one of the largest in the world, in Pará there are fewer rivers than in the neighboring state.
They are important because, in addition to providing water for subsistence in case of permanence in the jungle, they also collaborate enormously for a smoother landing in case of engine failure in flight – which does not happen if the breakdown happens flying over the jungle, since even applying the “stall landing” technique over the trees, the plane will be seriously damaged, because in addition to the issue of deceleration, there is also the factor that the treetops in this type of region are very tall, such as 30, 40 or 50m in height . That's why when the planned route contemplated a parallel river, I felt even a little more comfortable.
FLIGHT OVER VEGETABLE JUNGLE vs STONES JUNGLE
Another point that generated some discussion between pilots who operate in that region and pilots who fly in large urban centers (such as São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, etc.) is about a possible engine failure in a single-engine plane over a megalopolis.
In fact, losing the aircraft's only engine when crossing a large city is an extremely delicate situation, since there are few places where a forced landing can be performed with relative success.
If at that exact moment you are flying over a densely populated neighborhood in a large single-engine vehicle (such as a Caravan, a Pilatus PC-12, etc.) first over the treetops.
However, it is convenient to that trees in this type of region are very tall and with very thick branches/trunks, which will result in the plane being torn apart in the first impacts.
In addition, he used to point out to colleagues that an engine fail over the city allows, at least, to receive help from the Fire Department more quickly, increasing the chances of survival in an event like this. There, only the Army or the Air Force offer help with helicopters after an accident, and this can take hours, days or not at all.
NIGHT FLIGHT
At night, single-engine flight over large expanses of forest becomes even more challenging, even aboard a turboprop like a Caravan, very reliable machine as in our case.
As there are no light sources on the ground, such as cities, the pitch takes over the external view, even losing the reference of the horizon line between the sky and the terrain, especially on days when the stars are covered by clouds. This is why IFR flying in these regions becomes imperative.
Furthermore, in an engine breakdown, not even trying to look for a less bad place to land (like a river) is possible. That is why it is common for pilots to choose even longer routes (but with more landing options) for eventual emergencies.
CLIMATE
One of the things that caught my attention during the first few days flying in the North of the country was precisely the dynamism of the climate. It is impressive how in a matter of a short time a CAVOK day, without a single cloud in the sky, is lined with CBs (Cumulunimbus) and TCUs (Towering Cumulus), precisely because the characteristic of the region is hot and humid.
By the way, it is noted that the bases of the CBs there are slightly lower than in other regions of Brazil, forcing you to fly “with your finger on the HDG” of the autopilot in order to deviate from these bases – especially when flying an airplane that It has no pressurization.
Rains in the form of showers occur almost all year round, and are always more intense than those found in the Southeast region, for example. Mainly in winter, right in the first hours of the day, it is common to find “goat's beard” fog very glued to the surface, dense and extensive, especially further east of the State, requiring aviators to have good knowledge of the region in order to look for airfields or private lanes for alternatives.
Check it out at video below:
INFRASTRUCTURE
Although the forest dominates the territory of the State, in the extreme eastern strip predominates lower vegetation and many farms. With the exception of the region surrounding the Parauapebas airport which is surrounded by forest, flying in that sector is peaceful for single-engine operations.
It is even in this region that the airports with the best infrastructure are located: Belém (SBBE), Marabá (SBMA), Parauapebas/Carajás (SBCJ), Redenção (SNDC) among others, where it is possible to find runways in good condition and navigation aids. and landing.
However, for the other sectors, the situation is reversed: there are few aerodromes with minimal for air operations. The exceptions are Santarém (SBSN), Altamira (SBHT), Ourilândia do Norte (SDOW), São Felix do Xingú (SNFX), among others.
In these, it is possible to find beaconing, simpler maintenance and supply for a technical stop. Therefore, prepare your planning well: it is normal to find JET-A in one of these but not AVGAS, or vice versa.
Very few are the airfields that offer both types of oil derivatives immediately (like the one in Ourilândia do Norte, for example). However, it is important to be well prepared, especially your pocket. At the time I was there, the AVGAS price at some airfields in that region cost (are you sitting?) R$19,20 – the litre.
With regard to navigation and communication aids, we find what is to be expected: in the extreme east there is some VOR coverage and in the rest of the state the use of GPS for navigation becomes almost mandatory, except for more experienced pilots in that region. , which manage to navigate by in a region where the topography is very uneven (which would at least allow using mountains as a reference) and with few rivers, which would also fulfill this function.
The radiotelephone coverage in the region with the ACC is satisfactory. The radio signal coming from the Amazon Center (124,35Mhz) was strong, free of static and without blind spots. Radio with the organ is already possible in the first 2000 ft above the ground. The controllers' work is good, with very few (not to say rare) times that the ACC vectors or determines the execution of waits, precisely because of the low volume of traffic. That, at least, is in Lower Airspace.
Speaking of phone calls, one thing that is quite strange in the first few days is the type of coordination in the FCAs or Free Frequency carried out in this region of the country, where aircraft movement is lower. Pilots literally “exchange ideas” at 123,45Mhz, as if they were talking on the phone! You hear about everything: they arrange barbecues, exchange car parts, hotel tips and even family disagreements.
Another interesting thing to note is the level of camaraderie and fellowship of those aviators. I've heard things like this countless times:
“Could any colleague tell me how to get to Fazenda Três Estrelas from Sapucaia, please?”
“Colleague, fly on this bow for about xx minutes, following a dirt road… you will see a silo and on the left side two white water tanks. The track will be on your right, after a little hill…”.
The pilot who offered help was practically “vectoring” the other, informing what he would find ahead in his route, for several and several minutes. In short, something unthinkable for those who fly in congested REAs in São Paulo, for example.
REPORT AND INDEXES
It is difficult to accept that a state as huge as Pará is still poorly served by air transport. One of the reasons why the demand for air transport is still small is, in part, the lack of culture to use the plane as a means of transportation.
Talking to people, it is clear that this type of transport is still seen as “expensive”, “elite” or not very accessible, and this accessibility is precisely due to the lack of airports in good conditions for operation.
In fact, getting to an airport served by commercial airlines takes hours and hours, since there are few roads and many of them are in very poor condition.
Due to this impediment, people who are in cities like São Félix do Xingú, Tucumã, Ourilândia, Xinguara, Redenção, among others, prefer, for example, to go by car or bus to Goiânia, as the lack of regular airline options and the very high ticket prices force you to face up to one day on the roads to access the Brazilian Midwest.
Perhaps, with the arrival of large mining companies that are setting up there, added to an incentive for air taxi companies in the region to transform themselves into sub-regional airlines, this gap can be minimized for the people of Pará.
In the next article, we invite you to learn a little about the operation in indigenous villages carried out by air taxi companies in the region in the important work they do for the Indians of Pará.
Do not miss it!
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Micael Rocha was a flight instructor for four years, is a checker at aeroclubs and CIACs, has flown C525, C525B and C208B Caravan in air taxis and has been flying Cirrus SR22 since 2013.
@aeroereview
