I love my plane

Today's rainy and cloudy weather exposed me to more fantastic features of my plane.

I am a VFR pilot. This means I can only fly clear of cloud and in visual conditions where I can get a fix on a ground feature. VFR pilots are taught to be terrified of bad weather. This is genarally for their own safety. It is said that a VFR pilot in non visual conditions will live for less than 3 minutes. The reason is that humans rely on visual cues to get a sense of balance and if those visual cues are not present, your mind will convince you that you are in an unusual position. Once that happens, you will fly your plane into a position where it is incapable of staying aloft or, more often, fly it completely controlled into the side of a hill or some other object incompatible with flight.

Thunderstorms are another scary phenomenon for small planes. You can be sucked up or pushed down, hailed upon, iced or otherwise get yourself panicked enough to be unable to fly.

Today was a day spent in non-VFR conditions and skirting around thunderstorms. Satellite image is included of the weather prior to takeoff.

I hasten to add that Jan is an IFR pilot, meaning that he has been trained to ignore the visual cues and to focus on the instruments. And it is these instruments with which I have fallen in love. VH-SMY has a great GPS system which gives a display when there is lightning ahead so you can turn left or right to avoid the worst of storms before you are in them. And when you are in cloud you can set the autopilot and it will not even know about the visual cues much less be seduced by them.



Yellow Marks showing lightning

Jan flew today and I ran the radios and navigational instruments. I was not unhappy with my efforts which included using the pilots of QF10 as a relay to speak to Dakhar Radar control when we were out of range. Thanks to those pilots if they ever read the blog.

I was quite surprised about the fertility of central India. I don't know why but I always had the impression that India was a dryish country. From the bits I saw of it today (through the cloud), it seemed green and full of rivers.

Chittagong is an experience probably well enough missed by most tourists. It is one of those colourful but crowded developing towns. The 25km drive from airport to hotel took a full hour. The roads are chaotic, the beggars plentiful and the sewers and storm drains combined. I loved the experience of walking around for an hour or so. Everyone is in business, most of them on a tiny scale. 5 cucumbers to sell? Set them up on a plate on the side of the road and you're away. The artisanal trade culture is strongly evident. Our stroll passed the shoe maker, machinist, boilermaker, blacksmith, and numerous other craftsmen within a 1 km stretch.

The risk if getting completely lost was huge but our navigational skills managed to get us back to the hotel.


Approx Track Miles:   730NM  
Hobbs Hours:              6.2
Fuel Added Nagpur:     400
Price per Litre:             USD $3.20

A day of flying in cloud

There was a trough spanning right across our path today. For those interested, troughs are often associated with low cloud, rain and wind.

Our weather information isn't exactly precise but after a close review of the satellite images and other websites, we decided to make a go of it.

First up was refueling at the local flying school if Karachi called Schon Air which is owned by an ex airforce pilot and run by his London and Richmond, VA legally educated son, Manu.

Jan decided it was a good time to change the oil in the plane and we took a good look at the engine at the same time, which was a bloody good thing. The newly installed Gami fuel
Injectors had worked a little loose and needed tightening. This was accomplished under the watchful eye of the chief engineer of the flying school while I talked music and politics with Manu.

We departed on a standard dangi 2 alpha departure and were quickly in cloud in which we remained for most of the flight. Light showers rained on us from time to time but it was generally free of turbulence or other troubles.

Nagpur is a wonderful green oasis compared to the desert we have been staring out at. It is humid but pleasantly cool. The local handlers have been friendly but the refueling process, which we were told would take 45 minutes, actually took 3 hours. The pump they had was firstly absent. Then it came but it was broken. The repair involved torn plastic being wrapped around the thread of the old pipe to make it fit the thread but not until greasy rag, and other assorted materials were first tried.


Having paid $1200 to buy the fuel, I was not leaving without it.

Now we are sitting in Nagpur immigration office. This has taken 1 hour of unbelievable questioning, passport analysis, and discussion. Karachi did not stamp our passports on the way in or way out. The fact that we have gen decs stamped saying that we were there appears not to matter. I would say that the pages of my passport have been turned on no less than 35 occasions by three different blokes.

Any rate, we are here now.

Approx Track Miles:       725
Hobbs time:                    5.3
Fuel Added Karachi:      200 litres
Cost per Litre:                USD$3.50

Sliding alongside Iran

The coolest thing about today was what could have been but was not. Our track from Bahrain to Karachi took us to within 5 miles of Iranian airspace.

Now you might not have heard but the Persian gulf is a pretty militarized area. The radios were filled with chatter from American pilots "on tactical". We don't know what that means but we presume it means that they don't disclose where they are going to ATC or, for that matter, us.

So as we are motoring along over water very nicely thanks, the ATC controller comes onto the radio with a friendly American accent to give us a heads up. "You're passing by some aircraft carriers to your south so don't be surprised if they send someone up to check you out". I was absolutely buzzing with the possibility of a fighter jet sliding alongside and spent a solid half an hour just scanning the ocean for signs of the carrier.

Unfortunately, neither the carrier nor any jets were sighted.

So the day was a relatively calm (at least from after takeoff) 7 hours. The takeoff was marred by a long delay waiting for fuel and the fact that I had forgotten to take a wad of cash (in excess of $10,000USD) out of the hotel safe.

We unfortunately arrived in Karachi 15 minutes before Ramadan broke so we had to wait for prayers to be completed before we could leave the airport.

At the hotel, it seems a good chunk of wealthy Karachi turned up for the Ramadan breaking feast so we went along for the ride. Good food, buffet style, outdoors with a 4 horned goat and a fake castle for decoration. This coupled with the loud music and the lucky draw meant it was at least entertaining.

Weather is the next item on our list of things to worry about. Asian monsoon season is nearby.

Approx Track Miles:     932 NM  
Hobbs Hours:               7.6
Fuel Added Before:      402
Price per Litre:             AUD $4.32

Saudi and Bahrain

Long day in the seat today. We managed to get away at around 8am for the flight along the edge of Israel and across Saudi Arabia. Honestly, there is only so much sand a bloke can look at.

We crawled our way up to the required 13000 feet which I will tell you is as high as I have been in a small plane. At that altitude hypoxia can be an issue but we were fine.

For the most part, we flew through dusty haze though a 30 second shower did just enough to make sure that some Saudi dust will come back to Australia. There were thermals making the trip a bit bumpy - some might call it a lot bumpy but it was fine for me.

Crop Circles in the Desert

The best bit of the trip was the descent over the water past the city of Bahrain and into the humongous airport. There was amused dialogue between the tower and some kind of Boeing waiting for us to land. Tower says "Boeing xxx after the landing aircraft. Um have they landed? I can't see them". Boeing says "I can see them. It is a Seneca. They are about to land". "ok line up after the landing".

It is hot here but handling was efficient and we are happily checked into the Novotel after an air-conditioned car ride. The contrast between al Arish and here is marked. There are NO old cars here and most of the buildings are finished.

I looked for evidence of David Trayners constructions but was not able to identify anything specific.

Tomorrow's plan is Karachi, a stop necessitated by a lack of Avgas at Mumbai.

Approx Track Miles:   1,174NM  
Hobbs Hours:              8.9
Fuel Added Before:     260
Price per Litre:             USD $5.12

Iraklion to Egypt

For the first time on this trip, Jan sat his considerable skills in the left hand seat. He has been keeping a careful eye on me as I have flown for the past week but today we decided it was his turn to fly and my turn to take photos.

The process of arrival and departure is never particularly straightforward. We have ground handlers arranged by White Rose Aviation. They meet us on the tarmac and make sure we get our fuel and park in the right spot. Then we are handled through customs and passport control and driven to a hotel.

The departure is the reverse but we have to add time for flight plans and payment of handling fees.

This morning we were collected from the hotel at 630 am local but did not depart until about 9 am. In tomorrow's heat we are aiming for earlier but fearing it won't be that easy.

Al Arish is a very interesting place for a bloke from Sydney. It is right on the border with Israel. Tanks line the street. Our 1971 mercedes taxi was escorted front and back by the police blaring horns and at a pace I feared the brakes would not handle.

The town barely holds back the desert from slithering into the Mediterranean. I walked the best part of 7 km to the market past hundreds of half built homes with women shepherds herding sheep around. Every kid wanted his photo taken and I was a source of amusement for them. I suspect tall foreign tourists are a bit unusual.

Long day tomorrow to Bahrain.

Approx Track Miles:    523NM  
Hobbs Hours:               4.8
Fuel Added Crete:       348 litres
Price per Litre:             AUD $3.50

Finally flying purposefully

It felt absolutely fantastic to get going this morning at about 7am just after the sun crawled up over the mountains to the east of Empuriabrava.

There were some usual hurdles to overcome with flight plans and such but, when I pushed the throttle to the firewall, VH-SMY hurried down the shortish runway and lifted off with a little less to spare than I am used to.

We were overwater for 2 hours and into Fighari (again) at 9am, fueled up and gone again 30 minutes later but not until after downing some double shot espressos at prices clearly set to meet the Paris Hilton style clientele that frequent that airport. They were worth it.

From Fighari we climbed to 11000 feet and trucked along overwater and the very southern part of Italy at a tail wind assisted 155-170 knots ground speed. Best of all, she only consumed around 13 gph (about 50 litres) which puts the Cessna 182 to shame.

We managed to fly over the little cloud that was hanging around the southern part of Italy and with a healthy 22 knots of wind, about 15 of which was crosswind, I managed to wiggle her onto the runway in Crete.

It looks a friendly town of which I will not see much, given my blogging obligations.

Approx Track Miles:    1,239 NM  
Hobbs Hours:               8.5
Fuel uplift Empuria:    156
Price per Litre:             AUD $3.57
Fuel Uplift Fighari:      271
Price per Litre:             AUD $2.49

The Crete Evening

12.2 GPH for 171knots groundspeed!

Crete

Iraklion

In reflection of iPad

Empuriabrava

It is time for a little local flavour.

Empuriabrava is home to hedonism of the adventurous kind. You come here if you want a home en soleil where you can park your boat out the front and have a car, motorbike or plane within walking distance.

Apparently it was a swamp until some seriously enterprising developer turned it into the Venetian canals. A comparison to Runaway Bay, Queensland, is probably not unfair.

Aside from boating and beaching, the primary activity is skydiving. They are leaping from 2 planes every 20 minutes or so and in their hundreds. As you would expect, youth dominates the environment. The pilots are all well under 30 (but bloody good- it is a short runway with plenty of wind),
the nationalities abundant, and the attitudes free.

One interesting character is a famous wing jumper. Look in YouTube for Breitling wingman. I had seen his youtubes even before coming here and embarrassingly when i met him squeaked "you're famous!" Bleuch. I'll be living with that like a teenage girl lives with her first words to her highschool crush.

Photo of him below along with the ding on the airtractor and Charly, Eckhardt's permanent sidekick.

It is fixed

The pesky part arrived this morning. It comes as no surprise to me that the process of diagnosis and repair is a slow one. We had the issue identified relatively quickly but the resolution took a day longer than might have been had it just been the o-ring.

But Jan, Eckhardt and Paul worked cheerfully this morning to achieve a very desirable thunk of the gear into place. And this time it held beautifully.

So now we just need to make a plan for where we should go. Weather is looking a little ominous around Italy so we may wait until it clears a little and leave early tomorrow.

Eckardt at work

Small number of photos

I was asked earlier about photos. It isn't easy with iPad etc but here are a couple from along the way.

Coast of Palma

Mt Etna

Big fire outside Empuriabrava

Just before leaving Santarem

It is close to fixed

Eckhardt has been a fantastic help. We quickly had the plane on jacks and isolated the nose gear hydraulics. Bang. The main gear comes up perfect. So we know that the problem is in the nose gear.

The actuator was off in a jiffy and sure enough the o ring inside re actuator was blown out. This was a big relief because an o ring eckhart has. It could have been the whole pump which would have been a bit of a wait.Oring replaced, the gear goes up and down beautifully but the pump is still have to work every 10 seconds or so to maintain the pressure.

We repacked the actuator again (having found small pieces of the old ring still in the system and it works better but still not perfect. So it was decided to rest the gear and the fluid and hydrate and feed ourselves for a while to see if the fluid calms down. It is a self bleeding system so air can take time for removal.I am confident we will be on our way again tomorrow.

UPDATE: Lunch did not resolve the issue. A new actuator arrives tomorrow at 10am. Should still be back on the move tomorrow. In the meantime, let me tell you about the massive fire that has been burning near here. It started yesterday and closed roads. Water bombers have been coming and going for 2 days. The wind has not helped. One of the water droppers was a crop-duster. He came in today bearing fresh scars, having clipped a tree on his water run. Must have scared the crap out of him because the wing had a fair ding in it. Photos in due course.

Day off

There is nothing we can do today. It is Sunday and the Hangar is closed.

So I guess a day wandering around the town. I might hang out at the airport anyway and watch the parachutists landing.

Punching back into it

The great thing about traveling east across Europe is that the prevailing winds go that way. The exact opposite can be said going the other way.

We punched (flying term) our way back to Corsica and topped up fuel and then onwards to Spain, to a small town called Ampuriabravia. The gear problem persisted.

Eckhardt (the aviation mechanic who looked after EC-JIA for Isabel) was good enough to meet us in the airport and find us a hotel. Donna will love hearing that he has a dog (charlie) that hangs out with him like Saffie hangs out with her.

We won't be able to work till Monday but it should be all good. He can get parts overnight and hen before you know it we will be off again, albeit a week later than expected.

I am hoping my boss will be tolerant.

Ampuriabravia is a Spanish Venice. You need to google earth it. Boats. Canals. Beach. Yep, tourists.

The flying approach into the aerodrome is something else. Right over the town to a shortish runway which we did with ease.

I am feeling quite optimistic now. Eckhardt and Jan will get the job done I am sure.

Approx Track Miles:     679NM  
Hobbs Hours:               7.0
Fuel Added Catania:     220 litres
Price per Litre:              AUD $3.61
Fuel Added Fighari:      103 litres
Price per Litre:              AUD $2.49

Decisions

Your humble correspondent admits to allowing his weak mind to ask itself some searching questions today. What on earth was I thinking? We Mobbitts are not for adventuring. We like the quiet life. Why didn't I just stay in the shire?

The darkness came upon me after lunch. We had an ok morning getting the plane up on jacks and cycling the gear. This enabled us to confirm the hydraulic issue. We then checked for external leaks and found none. So that leaves us with internal leaks as being the likely diagnosis. The problem is that it is hard to find where the leak is. It could be inside the pump, inside the actuator, or a valve could be troubled.

So we decided to go to the terminal to get some lunch.

Now when I described Catania as being akin to Warnervale, this was a bit of a misdescription. We are actually in a big airport with gates and security etc. It just happens to have a flying school and an aeroclub that started after the war.

So having had a sandwich we headed back to our access point to get driven back to the aeroclub but were refused access by one of the security guys. His manner was, how shall I put it, Sicilian.

Everything he said was in Italian, loud, fast and accompanied by wild gesticulation. We had handlers and other helpers trying to get us through and failed. We were sent from place to place and left waiting. After a hands down stand up row between the security man, our kind handler, and the police we finally got back to the plane 3 hours after going for a 10 minute bite.

We put it back together and resolved to depart ASAP tomorrow.

Our decision is to return 4 hours to Spain to the regular mechanic for the aircraft who has a good shop and hopefully the parts we need.

But how good would any adventure story be without some drama and a self questioning hero?

A Brief Update

We are ensconsed in the Catania Aeroclub's maintenance hangar with the kind assistance of Guiseppe (Pepe).  We have jacked the plane up and cycled the landing gear.  It goes up fine.

The trouble is that after a little while it droops down.  This is, as we suspected, an hydraulic issue.  The hydraulic pressure in the system is not enough to keep it in place. 

This could be due to a number of issues, including a small air leak in the system somewhere or a pump failure of some kind which would require overhaul by Piper.

Jan is checking for leaks and to see what we can do here.  If worse comes to worst, we could plough on with the gear down.  It adds to the flying time a little but not too bad.

Isabel is reading the Blog (hi) and she was kind enough to ring to tell me that they did not have the problem before.  Santiago is currently in training for the World Aerobatic Championships. You can find details about that on the Internet by Google if you want to check that out.

Pepe at work on the Tecnam Twin

2 days, 3 unexpected destinations

Friends, it has been an interesting day.

Our track was to head over water around the south of Italy and land in Greece. About 1.5 hours into the flight a landing gear warning light illuminated. This told us that either the warning light was playing up or the gear wasn't fully locked into position. Then the gear lights went on suggesting that the gear was down. Ok. Seems like it mightn't be just the warning light.

It's not really a problem to have gear down. It is more of a problem to have gear stuck up. But it does mean you have to travel slower.

So we tried cycling the gear up/gear down switch and this met with moderate success. The gear retracted but then he same thing happened. So, working on the principle that unexpected events in a 6 hour flight are undesirable, we decided to divert to Palermo.

Asked by ATC whether we had an emergency we advised "no" and told them what was going on. The Palermo ATC decided to upgrade to an emergency anyway. We think they just like the practice.

Traffic Control were great and after a low pass near the tower so they could check that the gear was down, we landed without difficulty.

A quick chat to the police and fireys and all was well.

Police departing satisfied

We were then taken by operations to a nice air conditioned room with Internet to work out what to do.

Jan had the Saratoga maintenance manual and reviewed the trouble shooting steps.

Electrical connections could be the issue but more likely is hydraulic fluid. The trouble with Palermo is that they have great jet handling facilities but not too much for light aircraft like VH-SMY. Numerous telephone calls and much Internet searching later, we found an aeroclub and flight school 100 miles away in Catania. Mind you, we could not reach them between 12 and 2. It is lunch hour there.

The flying school thing is great. Think of it this way. We are in Sydney Airport (but more like Brisbane) and we are flying to Warnervale. It will be a little more our style.

Having made the decision to go there and waited to reach them, we now need permission to land there, another hour, a flight plan, more time and so on. Time is being sucked out of us.

But this is ok and all part of the adventure.

Now I can hear all your whispered chattering from here so just pipe down will you. There is no reason for concern. The landing gear definitely comes down and stays down and we can always fly with it down if we need to. SMY could be a Cherokee 6 for a while. Fixed gear. Nothing wrong with that. Cessna has had them for years.

UPDATE: We got the permission needed. We got the flight plan needed. And then we were told we needed ENAC (CASA equivalent) permission. There was a small inquisition, a review of all paperwork and much furrowed brows as the Italian's considered the law. Jan proved his worth by showing them his A&P licence and telling them the plane was safe. They really had to take his word on the trip because he is a specialist. And they were not.

And there you have it, a very scenic flight past a smoking Mount Etna and here we are in Catania. The maintenance shop is open at 730 am and we will be working hard to resolve then issue and get to Crete tomorrow. If we have the time, we may fly direct Egypt.

Approx Track Miles:     395NM  
Hobbs Hours:               3.1
Fuel uplift Fighari:       374
Price per Litre:              AUD$2.49              

Wow. What a day

I slept wonderfully last night and only woke at precisely 3 minutes prior to the scheduled alarm. Amazing how the body can work this stuff out.

Mario, the airport manager at Santarem, kindly met us at 6 am and drove us to the airport. A small amount of time adjusting flight plans and generally making ready and captain Moff sat in the pilot's seat for the first time, ready for departure.

It was exhilarating to power her down the runway at about 5% over MTOW, as authorised by CASA.

She lifted off easily at 0610 zulu and before you know it we're on track at 8000 feet.

The haze made scenery less than inspiring but it was entertaining to fly through Madrid Airspace. The warning I received from Madrid approach was blunt: "you are in Madrid airspace; you must fly altitude." Message received loud and clear. Fortunately, our altitude hold autopilot functions perfectly to hold us exactly at the correct level.

Pretty soon we are overhead Valencia and my first significant overwater flight is underway.

We had hoped to fly to the north of Palma but ATC routed us to the south and around the island. Beautiful turquoise bays surrounded by azure Mediterranean sea. They looked pretty inviting in our high 20 degrees C cockpit.

We learned a lesson today as well. Jan took us to Alghero, Sardinia, on the understanding gleaned from an aviation book that there was Avgas there. Rule 1, never believe the book.

Fortunately Corsica is only a few miles away and has plenty of Avgas. And that is where we are, in a small town called Pianotolli.

Food time.

Approx Track Miles:   878NM  
Hobbs Hours:               3.1
Fuel Uplift before:       420 litres
Price per Litre:             2 Euros (AUD $2.45)

Day 1 Route

Cute Kid eating at the table next to us

Pre-Day 1

'tis the night before leaving and all is quiet.

Flight plan is lodged with an ETD of 0600Zulu. Donna could tell you but I advise that this is about 4pm Sydney time. Give it an hour or so and the newly purchased lithium batteries should be posting a track of our journey.

The plan takes us at 7500 feet through the following waypoints over a 6 hour trip:

Porta
Akoki
Cls
Toledo
Valencia
Morss

With a final destination of Alghero.

Most of the above points will mean nothing to you but, to me and other pilots, they are points in the sky usually determinable by radio navigational tools or ground features.

She's been flown

VH-SMY has been heard on the airwaves for the first time in Portugal.

We completed a quick check flight to make sure the engine ran properly and the landing gear and other systems functioned normally.

And she was sweet. You cannot believe the difference between the clunkers I have been flying around in and this aircraft. I am very excited about taking you all out for a fly.

Photo is downwind for 05 showing the bridge and the hotel up on the hill.

Back on the ground she copped her first filling including 30 gallons in the bag. That all went well, if expensively. Mind you, she holds a lot of fuel; 380 litres in the wing tanks.

As usual, our walk to the airport was punctuated by disturbing the 30 or so dogs chained up and cared for by the local eccentric. Even though it was hot, they roused themselves into chorus as we walked on by.

The First Fueling

Downwind for 05 LPSR

And Now it's Official

I risked prolonging my jet lag by setting a 2am alarm for myself to check that the Australian Registration and Special Flight Permit had been issued. They had not arrived. Although this gave me a slight tremor, such was my confidence in the Australian system, that I poured myself back into deep slumber certain that my needed documents would be available.

Surely as the night turned into another warm Portugal morning, both the Registration Certificate and the Special Flight Permit arrived in the email. That´s it. The initial bureaucratic hurdles are overcome. They will not be the last. Country clearances, customs entries, customs exits, import duties, and other details of the pen-pushing kind will soon be sent to challenge me.

Speaking of morning - a photo shortly pre-sunrise of the view from my room. If you look toward the bridge past the big warehouse you can just see the end of the runway from which I will depart tomorrow.

Last night Jan and I shopped for consumables for the trip at about 9pm. We have to walk through the centre of town to get to and from the shopping centre. Santarem is a classic European town of about 60,000. Big Piazza in the middle. Polished rough hewn stones making up the footpath that have been worn smooth by a century or two of strollers making them a slip and fall hazard that would generate awesome fees for Slater and Gordon in Australia.

It was a hot Monday night and I was struck by the number of citizens aged from 8 to 80 who were out and about at 10:30pm. Sitting on seats outside coffee shops. Milling around the plaza. Walking their dogs through the small number of green spaces in town. I guess the good people of Santarem find it hard to sleep on a hot night. Maybe this sort of thing happens in Surry Hills too. People in the Burbs seem to hunker down in their homes.

Another hot one today - 41 in Santarem. Not as hot as Tank, Pakistan (g´day Dad) but warm enough to broil my shorts.

Spotme (http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0p9dRpemjrQA9a6JSdNckvkiHYDQMqQHe) should start to get busy tomorrow morning but I still have not managed to find Lithium batteries for it so don´t be fretting if it doesn´t.

Good news

The DGAC have issued the confirmation of removal from the register of Spain. No further impediment to CASA officially registering my plane.

That is a big relief and, barring weather or other unforeseen incidents makes a Wednesday departure likely. Along with the assistance of Isabel´s Spanish lawyer, I also resorted to send an email to Spanish DGAC myself using google translator.

Isabel has been wonderful helping us through the whole process and generally assisting in the transfer process.   
Liferaft is also to be delivered tomorrow.

Plans coming together.

More preparations

I should introduce you to Jan Wells without whom this trip would not be progressing. Jan is an American licensed A&P (a specialist plane mechanic) and a ferry pilot with many pacific crossings and several ferry trips around the mid east, India, and the US. I organised for him to travel to Portugal to give me and independent inspection report and to prepare the plane for ferry. He's a good guy with plenty of different life experiences. It will be good to learn from him the tricks of flying SMY.

Yesterday was a day of final preparations. The GAMI injectors which will improve engine performance were installed. The ferry bag hooked up. And I got to stick on stickers and clean windows which is a good guide to the extent of my mechanical skills.

The excitement of the day came from a precautionary landing that was completed under a Pan Pan priority call by a London based south African couple in an Aerocommander. They had a rough running engine with a hot cylinder and had to make an unscheduled stop at Santarem. They were lucky Jan was around and Isabel had tools because it meant they were able to do initial troubleshooting, finding faulty spark plugs as a likely cause.

The jet lag is beating me tonight as I write this in the middle of the early morning, keenly hoping for news from CASA. That's all we await before departure.

Jan at work - GAMIs.

Its... Unofficial

VH-Sierra Mike Yankee was unofficially born yesterday. 

Jan and I took the 20 minute walk to the airport from the hotel and before you know it I was sitting in what will be our aircraft.  She´s absolutely beautiful. 

Santiago and another member of the Portugese Aerobatic team were taking two Extras (a 300 and a 330) to the World Aerobatic Championship in Hungary so I spent not much time with Santiago.  They had a long way to go in planes that were not designed to travel long distances (max endurance circa 2 hours so many hops between Spain and Hungary).  But Isabel was kind enough to stay with us to finalise everything. 

Also in the hangar was a Yak 52 owned by Jorge to take aerobatic joy rides for unsuspecting punters.  His mission this morning was to take an about to be married buck for a ride at his mate´s expense.  A way better idea than a weekend in Vegas. It was great to watch the low passes and the beat ups in the classic Russian plane.

The rest of the day was dedicated to tasks preparing the plane - removing the EC-JIA decals and replacing them with SMY.  Blocking up Baffles.  Generally checking stuff out.

The stickers I bought from Signarama in Bankstown.  The sticking process is challenging and I can´t say the job is perfect (sorry Don) but it isn´t too bad.  When I asked the Signarama shop owner whether it was easy to apply the stickers, he told me that he doesn´t do it unless absolutely unavoidable.  I think it is a task best suited to the well practised.  Anyway, it should get us home.

We think DGAC has done everything now.  I have submitted the forms to CASA on the basis that they have.  But just in case, we pushed our Start Date back one day. 

Isabel took us for dinner to the Porta Del Sol which is on an old castle that, since the 70s, has been buried  deliberately in sand for preservation since the town had no money to restore the castle.  That will make for an interesting excavation in a 100 years.

Today will be more preparations. GAMI injectors, fuel tank, paperwork and the like.

Getting to it

The process of getting the plane registered in australia and ready for me to fly has been a bit of a saga.

Before the plane can be registered by casa, it must be deregistered by all other civil aviation authorities. Currently, this plane is on the Spanish register. This means that the director generale d'aviacion civile (DGAC) must do his thing and tell CASA that he has done it. Now I am not in control of that process and everyone knows that the things out of your control create the most stress.

The sellers, Isabel and Santiago are trying to get it all done and, near as I can tell, are doing their damnedest to make it happen. It seems to be a myriad of papers, documents, payments to both the Portugese government as well as the Spanish government. Bureaucracy is the same around the world. It really shouldn't be so hard.

Sitting here on the plane in Dubai (waiting for air traffic control to sort out some issues), the most recent news from Isabel is that she has been told by DGAC that they have all documents needed. The boss just has to sign the paperwork and casa will be advised. Isabel's words, "a ten minute job for anyone which will almost certainly take much longer than that.

Departure from Sydney on Emirates Airlines went reasonably smoothly except for a disagreement about whether I was going to be permitted to take my lifejacket with me. An officious witch went about her business denying me the right to take it, claiming dangerous goods about which "she had training". I told her that I did not believe the jacket was a dangerous good and that I would really prefer not to blame her if I drowned in the Indian ocean for wont of a lifejacket. She smiled wryly and refused my request to speak with an operations manager. She was the top and as far as I was going.

I talked to Australia post about delivery options and they couldn't guarantee it. So I resigned myself to mailing it home and buying one in Portugal, if possible.

Over dinner, I googled the situation to see if the information I had been told was accurate and, sure enough, the international air transport association rules say you can take a personal lifejacket. So back I go to aust post, fish out my mail bag, and head on back to officious witch armed with evidence. My first question... "can you tell me, are Emirates memers of the IATA?". Slightly querulous look accompanies the reluctant "ummm yes". Triumphant, I hand over my iPad with aforesaid rule and say "I really don't want you to feel guilty about me drowning. Are you sure I can't take it?". Two blokes then get involved, some debate, but finally they give me the nod with the warning that there is no surety that security will let it pass. Security did need to do a bit of head scratching but in the end they just checked with the airline who gave it the nod and that was that.

No subsequent issue in Dubai. They cared more about my belt. Ridiculous.

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So i am still sitting in the plane in Dubai one and half hours after boarding! I think this inauspicious start may be indicative of this trip. Hanging around in airports waiting for stuff to be sorted out. Geez I hope not.

Anyway, hopefully by the time of landing in Portugal (in 7 hours or so) I will know whether CASA has received what it needs from DGAC.

Even once that happens, CASA needs register the plane and only after that, I can get the special flight permit. But how is this for service?  The guy at CASA who issues the flight permit is going on holidays but he emailed me today to say that he can issue the permit from home while he is on leave! That is service. I promised him I would write to his boss.

Anyway, sitting here today I am suspecting one more day of delay. A departure now looks like 20th.

I am destined today for a small town outside Lisbon called Santarem. Near as I can tell, it is a suburb of Lisbon - a 50 minute train ride from main airport.

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Man, sitting here is sooo frustrating. I just want to get there.

Fortunately, I have been able to ping a few emails around with the (very) good lady wife and a few others while waiting, to say nothing of writing this post.

Talking of what a good woman my wife is, I know of not many who would tolerate their husband shooting through without them on a 3 week journey of adventure. Hugs and kisses for Donna. Hopefully the travel after my returning will be reward for her.

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1 hour 45 now. This is ridiculous. Major international hub. The Singaporeans would be apoplectic if their airport stopped for so long.

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We finally departed 2 hours late. The pilot flew at 39000 feet across the Arabian gulf to Doha and then across Saudi Arabia. Even at our altitude red dust was prominent and affecting visibility. I wonder how Jan and I will cope with it at 10000 ft or less.

I have spent the plane time reading manuals for the garmin gps gear and autopilot systems in my plane. I have a lot to learn and fortunately plenty of time to learn it.

Making a Choice

Choosing which aircraft to buy is one of the hardest decisions I have had to make.  And those who know me well, know how slow I am at making any sort of decision.  The decision on the purchase of a mobile phone plan has been known to take me 3 weeks of research.

I have been flying for about 3 years and amassed a total of 260 hours taking my lovely wife and our friends on day trips and long journeys.  The planes I have flown are the classic general aviation aircraft.  Cessna's 152, 172 and 182 and Piper Arrow.

A lot of those journeys have been two up but plenty of them have been four up.  Now, I am a big unit and most of my friends are pretty big.  In small planes, big isn't ideal.  Thank goodness that Wifey is small. 

The plane we have done most of our long journeys in is a Piper Arrow (VH-PRF) which we have rented from Warnervale Air which is where I learned to fly.  PRF has been very good to us but of recent times she has been out of action.  She's also a little on the small side.  You can't really fly her 4 up at all.

So when going 4 up, I have been taking a Cessna 182.  But even it can't carry 4 up with baggage and full fuel.

So when I started looking at planes, the criteria I set for myself was the ability to take at least 4 with a reasonable amount of fuel and preferably be able to add a kid or two.   This lead me to looking at:

Cessna 182
Cessna 206
Cessna 210
Cirrus SR22
Piper Saratoga
Beechcraft Bonanza

Each had their advantages.  It has been long said that all planes are compromises.  I completely concur.

The other decision-making criteria I set for myself was the balance between new vs old.  I debated this subject online with the professional pilots rumour network (see it here:  http://www.pprune.org/archive/index.php/t-473717.html).  In the end, I decided that I would make a larger investment and buy something newer.

So the 182 gave the newest bang for the budget buck.  The 206 is expensive for newish ones and the 210's are all older.  And on top of all of this, Wifey prefers the ride in the low wing rather than high wings.  So in the end the Cessna's all got ruled out.

The Cirrus was greatly tempting with fantastic speed for reasonable fuel consumption.   In the end, I decided against it.  Call me old fashioned but the aluminium of the Cessna-Piper'Beechraft planes just gives me a sense of ease of workability that the composites don´t offer.  Plus, only 4 seats.
So that left the Saratoga and the Bonanza both of which have the benefit of 6 seat possibilities.  The debate raged in my mind for many months.  In the end, the advantage of the Saratoga is better luggage space, large fuel tanks, and slightly cheaper upfront costs (and debatebly, maintenance costs).  The loading is easier in a Saratoga as well. 

So then I sweated the decision over many months and finally EC-JIA turned up.

Introduction

This was typed a few days before I posted.

Less than three days to go before I leave for one of my best adventures yet.  My mother has described me as an adrenalin junkie.  I prefer to think of myself as bouncing up against the edges of life.  Yes, this means I take a few calculated risks but I think most of them are manageable and well worth the taking.

I have bought a plane.  What a dream. 

EC-JIA at home in Santarem, Portugal 30 June 2012

It is a Piper Saratoga II HP built in Florida, USA in 2003 and having spent most of its life in England, Spain and Portugal.  It currently lives on the Spanish Register with the code EC-JIA, having previously been N3053R.  It is soon to become VH-SMY.

When I bought it, there was no question about how it was going to come home to Australia.  No chance this bird was going to be trussed up in a cage and put on a boat.  She was birthed with wings and she is going to fly.  And I am going to fly her (with some help).

This blog is intended as nothing more than a place for my friends and family to follow along for the ride.