BajaNomad - and you thought getting jacked by secondary was a hassle

and you thought getting jacked by secondary was a hassle

capt. mike - 1-29-2011 at 08:15 AM

report is not from me [ pulled off another travel forum] but this is a prime example of why U.S. pilots are avoiding mexico and baja like a plague....

"I wanted to fill everyone in on our recent trip to [name witheld here on nomads but a popular place in mexico]. Several things have changed. The Mexican Navy now has a very dominant presence at the airport. In the past, they were there and annotated pilot and aircraft information. When we arrived with our tweenage kids on Jan 25th, the Navy made us open all of our bags on the tarmac and they searched everything. The airport personnel were not allowed to assist us with our baggage, we had to drag it in ourselves.

On our return to [usa] today, Jan 28th, we had to utilize the airports new X-ray machine and metal detectors. We had to put everything thru there and then ourselves. I told my wife it was because I did not trust her with the nail clippers. ƒº.

We then had to get everything out to the airplane. We loaded the plane in order to make our eAPIS timing and then the Navy showed up, made us take everything out and they thoroughly searched everything. They even looked thru eye glass cases and IPod ear phone cases. I have attached a photo of them going thru my wife¡¦s¡¦ purse.

In addition to this they took video of everything and all of us as well as photos. The airport folks are not happy about the additional searches so they were taking photos of them taking photos of us - crazy!!. They have left some luggage hand carts out on the ramp if you need them."

what a bunch of crap.... :lol:

weebray - 1-29-2011 at 04:14 PM

The US has an unstated policy to discourage pvt. pilots crossing the Mexican border and it is getting harder going to and fro in Canada. Private pilots should be advised to stay near your home airport and do t & G's only. Welcome to the 21st century caused by some nut and his shoe.

capt. mike - 1-30-2011 at 08:17 AM

well that is a perception by many but - based on the eAPIS newsletter i and all others who have registered with DHS and CBP that is not correct - yes they make it more red tapish than the good old days but it [foreign travel] is not being discouraged beyond tighter security BS which should not involve non-comm'l GA aircraft under 12,000 lbs anyway.

the place where all this BS happened was in MEXICO - not the US.

crossing back into the US, and leaving the US is a piece of cake generally if your papers and electronic filings are in order.
Mexico is cutting its own throat and alienating GA tourists with these measures.

Yup, the red tape takes a few minutes --

beercan - 3-20-2011 at 08:46 PM

But once you get it under control , all is well.

I am a regular at both Tucson and Yuma and have all the paperwork available, get there at the correct time and --NO PROBLEM.

That little visit described above probably occurred at Loreto--
I know , I have been there and hope to NEVER go back.

krafty - 3-20-2011 at 09:55 PM

holy sheeet beercan, you fly a plane?!?!?!?!? :?:

mtgoat666 - 3-21-2011 at 07:21 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by capt. mike
example of why U.S. pilots are avoiding mexico and baja like a plague....

what a bunch of crap

i think your story is amusing, but the story is ridiculous if the participants can't get over it and are now never going back.

it's just the way things are now. some airports are a bit more zealous than others.
inspections are part of international travel. if an inspection puts you off from intl travel, well,... what do you want, you want the Navy to meet you with red carpet and leis and naked women? get real. it is the new reality. quit whining like a prima dona.
if a few inspections upset you so, you can blame it all on gringos -- their insatiable appetite for drugs is what prompts the govt interest in drugs, money and guns.

sounds like you prima donas need to chill out and dial your egos down.

mtgoat666 - 3-21-2011 at 07:24 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by capt. mike
tighter security BS which should not involve non-comm'l GA aircraft under 12,000 lbs anyway.

Mexico is cutting its own throat and alienating GA tourists with these measures.

seems to me the fav planes of drug runners, money runners and gun runners are non-comm'l GA aircraft under 12,000 lbs

the GA tourists need to smile and see the humor in the situation. quit acting like prima donas, and act more like adventurers.

don't worry, be happy.

Woooosh - 3-22-2011 at 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by mtgoat666

Quote:

Originally posted by capt. mike
example of why U.S. pilots are avoiding mexico and baja like a plague....

what a bunch of crap

Come on goat- is is simply barbaric to force people to haul their own luggage from their planes. They could break a sweat or something serious.

Phil S - 3-22-2011 at 09:24 AM

Funny mtgoat. I didn't read into what you read into Mikes 'report'. He's giving his opinion of what happened to him, and you read it differently, and are all over him like a fan in a dust factory????? Do I detect a liberal that hates people who own airplanes????? (by the way. I don't own an airplane, though to have friends that do. does that make a fellow Nomad a bad person too??

[Edited on 3-22-2011 by Phil S]

CortezBlue - 3-22-2011 at 09:28 AM

I guess you thought there would be a luggage service to help you with bags????

When ever I travel I am always responsible for my bags and when my son was little his bag as well.

So making a comment that you had to DRAG your bags, seems a bit strange. How did they get loaded on the plane in the first place?

I've had worse happen to me at secondary when I hauled a trailer with quads etc, and PS no one helped me re arrange everything either :barf:

Phil S - 3-22-2011 at 10:00 AM

Sorry mcgoat. I reread the first entry from Mike. He wasn't the actual .pilot who was experiencing the problem. I over 'mouthed' that one

bajalearner - 3-22-2011 at 10:34 AM

Ahhh, American elitism at it's best. "What a bunch of crap" that I was inconvenienced after gracing their soil. All real Americans know that one must pay taxes and fees at every level of life so that some peon will drag our bags and cower when sneered at. And real Americans are created with the right to bellow discontent and see people fear the ability to tattle on them if his a@# isn't properly kissed. But most other people and places on earth are just "fly over" trash, aren't they? No one would actually take the time to understand their plight. After all, our official arrival and departure times are listed on our flight plans. And another thing, why can't those Mexicans get control on the drugs going north? Why are they wasting their time searching a plane heading north?

mtgoat666 - 3-22-2011 at 11:12 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Phil S
Funny mtgoat. I didn't read into what you read into Mikes 'report'. He's giving his opinion of what happened to him, and you read it differently, and are all over him like a fan in a dust factory????? Do I detect a liberal that hates people who own airplanes????? (by the way. I don't own an airplane, though to have friends that do. does that make a fellow Nomad a bad person too??

[Edited on 3-22-2011 by Phil S]

i love private aircraft travel. however, i do carry my own bags. i do understand that capt crackers friends were probably upset that their louis vitton luggage got scuffed by the ruffians at the airport. i would be upset too if i foolishly spend $600 on a leather satchel. my luggage was cheap and is now old and scuffed, and in fact looks like a goat chewed on it.

Woooosh - 3-22-2011 at 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mtgoat666

Quote:

the Toiletry Bag (satchel?)is $475, a suitcase is over $6500. It should carry itself for that price. Talk about having more money that brains... Not saying that's the luggage they had. The TJ knockoffs are the way to go and then and add the fake diamond Rolex for $80 more and you're a certified fresita ready to hit the San Diego malls.

:saint:

http://www.chacha.com/question/how-much-does-louis-vuitton-l...

BajaBlanca - 3-22-2011 at 12:39 PM

WELL....a different take on the same theme: many moons ago I took a trip to Brazil, as I did every year, and when I got back to NY, they made me take absolutely everything out of my bag, searched everything including toothpaste, and then left me to put the whole thing together again. It was quite bizarre to go to such an extreme, IMHO.

I was fuming mad ... and this was looooong before any of the bruhaha we have to deal with now at airports.

Woooosh - 3-22-2011 at 12:46 PM

Didn't they have their AirSentri cards and use the special runway?

white glove service for prince mike

mtgoat666 - 3-22-2011 at 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BajaBlanca
WELL....a different take on the same theme: many moons ago I took a trip to Brazil, as I did every year, and when I got back to NY, they made me take absolutely everything out of my bag, searched everything including toothpaste, and then left me to put the whole thing together again. It was quite bizarre to go to such an extreme, IMHO.

I was fuming mad ... and this was looooong before any of the bruhaha we have to deal with now at airports.

yes, that may be true, and your experience was probably just and right - you flew coach, did you not?
prince mike is saying that private aircraft travelers do not deserve the indignity of inspection and search -- such indignity is only for the riffraff that travel by foot, bike, automobile, train, boat and commercial air :lol:

if they are going to search private aircraft, the least they can do is provide a skycap and moist towlettes! :lol:

Try flying yur own plane

beercan - 3-22-2011 at 01:58 PM

You non-pilots and ones that do fly your own plane , but have not been to a sh!t hole like Loreto really need to experience first hand what being treated like a "rich 'merican' is, just because you own an airplane.

Almost all Mexican airfields that I have landed at, treat most folks well. There have been two that I will not return to, unless it is an emergency.

Loreto is number one on the list--When it costs You over a Hundred dollars in FEES, just to land to "clear mesican customs" and then they ORDER you to taxi to another spot and then unload and haul all contents of the plane several hundred feet into "their cubby hole" , so that they don't have to walk out to the plane like all the others do --what do you say ?? Fun, No, already wasted over an hour for their time to figure any fees that they can dream up that wasn't there two weeks before .Then another 1/2 hour+ for fuel and they even tried to cover the meter on the pump.

I fly missions for the Flying Sams and pay for my own fuel and other misc. costs . My last trip COST me over $400.00 out of my pocket!
This is to help the Mexican people receive FREE medical, dental, and other health care .There are a dozen + other pilots in Arizona who do the same.

I also had the opportunity to fly into Chihuahua (number 2 on the list) with another group of medical folks from the Denver area.

I won't go into complete detail since it would get lengthy. Although the leader of our group of medical professionals had a letter from the Governor of Chihuahua stating what our mission was and asking that any fees be waived for this humanitarian endeavor. We were then almost double charged for everything and nothing was waived . They couldn't charge me for an FMT, cause I was the only one in the entire group of 15 that had an FM3--and I also had my annual "permit" for the plane which costs almost $60.00 annually. But they did find an "ADDITIONAL FEE" for me cause I had a six passenger plane.

I can't speak for all, but I have been flying into Mexico for about 30 years and the treatment as I stated has been mostly positive, EXCEPT for those two places.

capt. mike - 3-23-2011 at 06:47 AM

right on Beercan.

most missed the point here - it was not about elitism.
it was about abusive practices at a single Mex. AEO which deviated from their norm per the regs.

the guy was singled out as have been i and others here and there.

capt. mike - 3-23-2011 at 06:55 AM

"my luggage was cheap and is now old and scuffed, and in fact looks like a goat chewed on it."

what pride you have....i can only imagin the shape of your home or mouse hut that you rent...or hovel..
or means of transport - a bike is it?

get some class goat and maybe you'll find some credibility here.

mtgoat666 - 3-23-2011 at 06:55 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by capt. mike
right on Beercan.

most missed the point here - it was not about elitism.
it was about abusive practices at a single Mex. AEO which deviated from their norm per the regs.

the guy was singled out as have been i and others here and there.

prince mike:
you don't get it. your posts about the injustices toward pilots are hilarious. i am amused at your sense of justice that usually ends with the statement "...i/we/they bring so much money to the mexican economy, they should kiss my/our/their butt(s)."

oh, the horror! the queen (pilot) and her royal entourage had to carry their own bags! not once, not twice, but thrice! oh my god, i will never return to mexico! the country is inhumane!

capt. mike - 3-23-2011 at 07:02 AM

nope, they were excessively hassled beyond the routine.
if you had the amount of multiport flying experience i and others have you might get it...naw... too compicated for a hoof footed beast.
mexicans love to cut their own throats business wise and via bad policy - yet we giving gringos love to help the poor ones and constantly give of ourselves because we love the places we vacate to and the people who help us.

don't try and comprehend this. it is beyond your ken.

you might have to look up the word "ken" :lol:

Skeet/Loreto - 3-23-2011 at 03:42 PM

OH! You POOR BABIES!!!!\\

Got hazzled at Loreto and the Border.

God Bless you and your Little Pointed HEADS!!\

DENNIS - 3-23-2011 at 03:45 PM

Nice to see you here, Skeeter.

msteve1014 - 3-23-2011 at 04:03 PM

Come on Mike, read your own post. You made it sound like small planes are picked on everywhere in Mexico. If you wanted to warn other pilots that Loreto treats you like crap compared to all the other places you could choose to fly in to, you should have said that.

And yes, all small planes should be searched real well, coming and going.

queen mike

mtgoat666 - 3-23-2011 at 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by capt. mike
nope, they were excessively hassled beyond the routine.
if you had the amount of multiport flying experience i and others have you might get it...naw... too compicated for a hoof footed beast.
mexicans love to cut their own throats business wise and via bad policy - yet we giving gringos love to help the poor ones and constantly give of ourselves because we love the places we vacate to and the people who help us.

queen mike,
your complaints mixed with a slightly egotistical and boastful noblesse oblige are amusing. keep it up, it amuses me!
:lol:

capt. mike - 3-24-2011 at 06:34 AM

great! glad to give you a laugh. :lol:

but you're starting to get a bit tedious and pedantic.

yur more fun on off topic. see you there, this one's [thread] had enough talk and i won.
hahaha.

grizzlyfsh95 - 4-5-2011 at 11:46 AM

Alot of snarky stuff here. I have flown into Baja since the late 60's, and have experienced good and bad. Can't count the number of times my plane was going to be confiscated because my paperwork was wrong (for some obscure reason). It was usually sorted out with a $50...then went to $100. Things got better when they closed most of the airports (and opportunities for extortion)

norte - 4-5-2011 at 12:24 PM

Those that complain the most about foreign "customs" aught not go back. Getting inspected and paying fees is to be expected.