Grand Turk to Nassau

Departing Grand Turk Island for Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau, a 410 NM flight. Formerly known as Nassau International, this is the largest airport in the Bahamas. Here are some things to do in Nassau.

Climbing away from Grand Turk airport.

Cruising over the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Level at 31,000 feet, with the island of Cuba about 150 miles off to my left.

Acklins and Crooked Islands surround the Bight of Acklins ahead to my left, and Plana Cays are below on the left. The Plana Cays have been suggested as the first landfall by Christopher Columbus in the New World.

Approaching Rum Cay ahead on the right, which is believed to have acquired its modern name from a shipwrecked cargo of rum. The (appropriately named) Long Island ahead on the left, is split by the Tropic of Cancer, and is known as the most scenic island in the Bahamas. It's also known for its extensive cave system, which has played a major role in the island's history.

Approaching Cat Island ahead on the right. The first settlers on this island were loyalists fleeing the American Revolution. The 206 foot Mt Alverenia, also known as Como Hill, is the highest point in the Bahamas.

Abeam Cat Island at 31,000 feet, with the outside temperature at -46C. My Top Of Descent (TOD) point is about 15 miles ahead. I'm all setup for the ILS approach to runway 14, based on the real-world weather and ground winds provided by my Foreflight app.

Just abeam Princess Cays on Eleuthera, a single island which is a part of the Great Bahama Bank. The Bahama Banks are the submerged carbonate platforms that make up much of the Bahama Archipelago.

Descending through 11,700 feet, and now following the RNAV approach to runway 32, after listening to the Nassau ATIS. Switching from the ILS-14 to the RNAV-32 left me way high on the approach, so I'm descending at nearly twice the normal rate to catch up to the nominal descent path. I wouldn't have had this issue, if I'd been using air traffic services, but they often vector me for the visual approach, when I would rather fly the full instrument approach, so I've been mostly avoiding using their services on this trip.

Level at 1,400 feet, just before intersecting the final approach leg and starting down again. The weather's good, with reduced visibility from sea haze, although I've already got the airport in sight, about six miles away.

On the ramp at Nassau airport.