Viva Mexico!

In an all-too-brief seminar given by Jack McCormick, President of Baja Bush Pilots, at last week's AOPA Expo, attendees attempted to learn the proper paperwork and hints to fly into Mexico without incident.

The seminar concentrated on the Baja peninsula area. There are 80 or so ICAO Airports throughout Mexico, shown on charts and in databases with an "MM" prefix. About 70 of the airports are "international" and can be used for initial landing in Mexico. Unlike in the US, you can overfly other international airports and land at the one of your choice.

There are MANY other IATA airports -- which are likely not in databases -- identified with three letter codes dotted all over Mexico.

McCormick made the paperwork seem minimal. File your flight plan in the US in both directions; this makes for ease of opening and revising entry times. Land at the Mexican international airport of your choice. Bear in mind fuel; not all the airports will have fuel all the time. You're flying to Mexico to have an adventure... but you don't want to have to stay there. Bringing along some extra oil and other fluids.

One tip: don't select Mexico City as your choice. It's Mexico's busiest commercial airport... and a landing there will be quite costly for a small plane.

Once you land, "pick up fuel first," McCormick points out. Then head to immigration, customs and flight service. The paperwork you need will be a copy of aircraft registration, airworthiness certificate, current medical, pilot's license and proof of insurance. A prepared pilot will have made two sets of copies of each document and have them stapled.

The three things NOT to bring are guns, drugs and ammunition. If you are going to Mexico hunting special permits can be obtained but these were not covered in this seminar.

If you are planning more than one trip to Mexico, it is advisable to ask for a multi-entry rather than single entry. This should cost you around $55. The immigration fee is about $22 and landing fee $10. Another hint offered by McCormick was to hold on to your immigration ticket and of course, you multi entry so on your next trip administrative costs will be the landing fee only. Some airports like Loretto will collect your immigration card, others like Ensenada, Mexacali and San Felipe won't.

For those of you interested in visiting Hacienda de los Santos, written about previously in ANN, Guaymas and Ciudad are small plane friendly and nearby. Alamos is the closest to Hacienda though.

For those of you who have always wanted to ignore what the tower tells you to do, San Felipe may be your place. Their tower is advisory only. Just remember, safety first. If you head to Alfonsina's, unless you have floats, you may want to check the tide table since the runway is sometimes under water.

Once you do land, there are many wondrous sights to be seen off the normal beaten tourist path. Copper Canyon, which is seven times the depth of the Grand Canyon and whale watching are only two of the choices. Whale watching in Mexico is a different experience. They often come right up to the boat and you can "pet" them. McCormick tells the story of one girl who lost her footing, fell onto the whale's back, stood up and stepped right back in the boat. That's a whale of a tale in anyone's book.

Return flight instructions became a bit fuzzy as time was running out for the class. Of course you should have filed your flight plan outbound from the US if possible. There is no rule to check out of Mexico but it is "custom". Landing back in the US seemed more paperwork intensive but the requirements were not discussed fully since the time was up.

"Always have enough money to go the route with cash," advised McCormick, because many places in Mexico won't take American Express, or even Visa or MasterCard. "Don't leave home without it" doesn't count in Mexico.

FMI: www.bajabushpilots.com