To the Gulf of Guinea and beyond

To the Gulf of Guinea and beyond

 

We visit 5 West African states. Departure is from Lagos (DNMM), Nigeria.

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and the world's sixth-most populous country. The modern state originated with British colonialization in the 19th century, taking its present territorial shape with the merging of the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and Northern Nigeria Protectorate in 1914 by Lord Lugard. The British set up administrative and legal structures while practicing indirect rule through traditional chiefdoms in the Nigeria region. Nigeria became a formally independent federation on 1 October 1960. It experienced a civil war from 1967 to 1970, followed by a succession of military dictatorships and democratically elected civilian governments until achieving a stable democracy in the 1999 presidential election. The 2015 general election was the first time an incumbent president would lose re-election. Nigeria is a regional power in Africa and a middle and emerging power in international affairs. Nigeria's economy is the largest in Africa and it is often referred to as the Giant of Africa owing to its large population and economy and is considered to be an emerging market by the World Bank. However, the country ranks very low on the Human Development Index and remains one of the most corrupt nations in the world.

Our first POI is the World Bank Building [WP1] in the City of Lagos.

We then follow the coast and land at Cotonou’s International Airport Cadjehoun (DBBB). We are now in Benin, formerly known as Dahomey. Cotonou is the seat of the Government, Capital City is Port Novo.

From the 17th to the 19th century, political entities in the area included the Kingdom of Dahomey, the city-state of Porto-Novo, and other states to the north. This region was referred to as the Slave Coast from the early 17th century due to the high number of people who were sold and trafficked during the Atlantic slave trade to the New World. France took over the territory in 1894, incorporating it into French West Africa as French Dahomey. In 1960, Dahomey gained full independence from France. As a sovereign state, Benin has had democratic governments, military coups, and military governments. A self-described Marxist–Leninist state called the People's Republic of Benin existed between 1975 and 1990. In 1991, it was replaced by the multi-party Republic of Benin. It is a tropical nation, dependent on agriculture, and is an exporter of palm oil and cotton.

We continue along the coast and land at Lome (DXXX), Togo.

Lome is Togo’s Capital city. Togo is a tropical, sub-Saharan nation whose economy depends mostly on agriculture. In 1884, Germany declared a region including a protectorate called Togoland. After World War I, the rule over Togo was transferred to France. Togo gained its independence from France in 1960. In 1967, Gnassingbé Eyadéma led a successful military coup d'état, after which he became president of an anti-communist, single-party state. In 1993, Eyadéma faced multiparty elections marred by irregularities and won the presidency three times. At the time of his death, Eyadéma was the "longest-serving leader in modern African history", having been president for 38 years. In 2005, his son Faure Gnassingbé was elected president.

Our next stop is Accra (DGAA), the Capital, and largest city of Ghana.

Ghana covers an area of 238,535 km² (92,099 sq mi), spanning diverse biomes that range from coastal savannas to tropical rainforests. With nearly 31 million inhabitants (according to the 2021 census), Ghana is the second-most populous country in West Africa, after Nigeria. Beginning in the 15th century, the Portuguese Empire, followed by numerous other European powers, contested the area for trading rights, until the British ultimately established control of the coast by the late 19th century. Following over a century of colonization, Ghana's current borders took shape, encompassing four separate British colonial territories: Gold Coast, Ashanti, the Northern Territories, and British Togoland. These were unified as an independent dominion within the Commonwealth of Nations on 6 March 1957, becoming the first colony in West Africa to achieve sovereignty. Ghana subsequently became influential in decolonization efforts and the Pan-African movement. Ghana is a unitary constitutional democracy led by a president who is both head of state and head of government. Ghana has maintained since 1993 one of the freest and most stable governments on the continent, and it performs relatively well in healthcare, economic growth, and human development.

Still following the coast we reach Sekondi Takoradi, Ghana, and land at a military base (DHTK).

Keeping the Gulf of Guinea to our left we reach Abidjan’s International Airport Felix Houphouet-Boigny (DIAP). Abidjan is the most industrial city of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire. A cultural crossroads of West Africa, Abidjan is characterized by a high level of industrialization and urbanization. It also is one of the most populous French-speaking cities in Africa.

The city expanded quickly after the construction of a new wharf in 1931, followed by its designation as the capital city of the then-French colony in 1933. The completion of the Vridi Canal in 1951 enabled Abidjan to become an important seaport. Abidjan remained the capital of the Ivory Coast after its independence from France in 1960. In 1983, the city of Yamoussoukro was designated as the official political capital of the Ivory Coast.

However, Abidjan has officially been designated as the "economic capital" of the country, because it is the largest city in the country and the center of its economic activity. Also, almost all political institutions and foreign embassies continue to be located in Abidjan.

After departure, we head for the Henri Codan Bedie Bridge [WP5] and then overfly the Mosque Salam [WP6], the Caistab Building [WP7], the Stadium [WP8], and the St.Pauls Cathedral [WP9]. All of these POI are very close together.

The area today known as the Ivory Coast became a protectorate of France in 1843 and was consolidated as a French colony in 1893 amid the European Scramble for Africa. It achieved independence in 1960, led by Félix Houphouët-Boigny, who ruled the country until 1993. Relatively stable by regional standards, Ivory Coast established close political-economic ties with its West African neighbors while maintaining close relations with the West, especially France. Its stability was diminished by a coup d'état in 1999, then two civil wars—first between 2002 and 2007 and again during 2010–2011. It adopted a new constitution in 2016.

Ivory Coast is a republic with strong executive power vested in its president. Through the production of coffee and cocoa, it was an economic powerhouse in West Africa during the 1960s and 1970s, then experienced an economic crisis in the 1980s, contributing to a period of political and social turmoil that extended until 2011. Ivory Coast has experienced again high economic growth since the return of peace and political stability in 2011. From 2012 to 2021, the economy grew by an average of 7.4% per year in real terms, the second-fasted rate of economic growth in Africa and the fourth-fastest rate in the world. In 2020 Ivory Coast was the world's largest exporter of cocoa beans and had high levels of income for its region.

Now we leave the coast and head northwest. On this leg, we can see some hills, the only elevated terrain during this flight. Our last POI is the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro [WP10]. While designing it after the Vatican Basilica, Lebanese architect Pierre Fakhoury constructed the dome to be slightly lower than the Basilica of Saint Peter but ornamented with a larger cross on top. The finished height is 158 meters (518 ft). The dome is more than twice the diameter of St. Peter's in Rome, 90 meters versus 41 meters (300 ft versus 136 ft). The base of the dome is much lower than Saint Peter's, so the overall height is slightly less. The basilica is constructed with marble imported from Italy and is furnished with 8,400 square meters (90,000 sq ft) of contemporary stained glass from France.

Columns are plentiful throughout the basilica but are not uniform in style; the smaller columns are there for structural reasons, while the bigger ones are decorative and contain elevators, rainwater evacuation from the roof, and other building mechanical devices. There is enough space to seat 7,000 people in the nave, with standing room for an additional 11,000 people. Apart from the basilica are two identical villas. One of the villas accommodates the clergymen who operate the basilica. A room in the other villa is reserved for papal visits, of which only one occurred when the basilica was consecrated. The cost of the basilica (estimated to be about 600 million US$) was met with some controversy globally when construction began, especially as Côte d'Ivoire was going through an economic and fiscal crisis at the time. Pope John Paul II agreed to consecrate the basilica on the condition that a hospital also is built nearby. This hospital, which construction was frozen during the politico-military crisis from 2002 to 2011, was finally completed in 2014 and opened in January 2015, for €21.3 million.

We finish the flight Yamoussoukro (DIYO).

The flight has 600 miles and 5 landings, so we want to be fast. Any airplane cruising at about 250 knots would be suitable. The TBM, the CJ4, the Longitude, the PC-21, or any Warbird or Jet would be ok. I will probably be in the MB346. As always, please fly what you like.

Flight plans can be downloaded here.

Additional scenery:

To see the POI, the Africa Big Scenery is required.

There are freeware sceneries available for Murtala-Muhammed and Tokoin.

 

 

Flight Particulars:

•             Date and time: Wednesday December 21st, 19:00 UTC            
•             Where: AVSIM RTWR Teamspeak - Casual Flights Channel
•             Teamspeak Server Address: ts.teamavsim.com
•             MFS Multiplayer: US East Server

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