PART ONE

Around The World Main Page

My Flight Around The World

TRIP DETAILS:

Click here to view a map of the trip.

FLIGHT 01: November 19, 2002 - 06:40
Oceano, California (L52)
Half Moon Bay, California (KHAF)
We get an early start on our trip to Half Moon Bay, CA by departing at 6:40AM. About 1:40 minutes into the flight, we've been told that we'll hit some bumpy spots and bounce around a bit. But, you're the pilot and I have no worries! We'll arrive in Half Moon Bay around 8:15AM with winds from 300 at 16. We'll spend a few hours checking out the scenery. Then we'll depart for Reno, Nevada about 12:45PM because we need to run over to the Western Union to send a telex to Russia - more about this later in the flight.

FLIGHT 02: November 19, 2002 - 12:46
Half Moon Bay, California (KHAF)
Reno Stead, Nevada (4SD)
We've submitted our flight authorization ("CDS") by telex to the Ministry of Civil Aviation in Moscow and received our confirmation. So, it's time to get on up to Reno Nevada. The airport is about 5,000 feet above sea level and we'll need to clear some pretty high mountains on the way in. We'll create a flight plan calling for a cruising altitude of 12,000 feet. It usually gets a little choppy passing over Sacramento, and the winds are reported to be from 280 at about 24. It's also been reported that as we approach Reno, the mountains will disappear in the haze from time-to-time. So, please, keep a close eye on the falling barometric pressure or we may need a rope to get off the mountain-top!

FLIGHT 03: November 19, 2002 - 15:19
Reno Stead, Nevada (4SD)
Walla Walla, Washington (KALW)
It's raining in Reno and the crosswinds are blowing at 24. It's going to be a little tough getting off the ground as we leave for Walla Walla, Washington. Along the way, we've been told that we'll get headwinds of up to 50 and some lousy weather. On approach, you had better tune to the ILS on 111.70 or you'll have a really difficult landing with winds gusting to 38. This leg of the trip is not for the novice - that's why you're the captain! We'll spend the night in Walla Walla. There are some great restaurants in this town - so let's not eat too much junk food along the way.

FLIGHT 04: November 20, 2002 - 07:39
Walla Walla, Washington (KALW)
Banff, Alberta (CYBA)
We had great food and a lovely rest in Walla Walla and now we're on our way to Banff, Alberta. Since I am a Canadian citizen living in the US with a Green Card, and since I have a CanPass, we’ve got no problems entering Canada. Except we can’t really go to Banff directly – we’d need to go to Calgary first to clear customs. But what the heck; let’s pretend it’s ok. It's 7:30AM and the weather is miserable. It's raining and the fog is thick. But, we're flying IFR so --- "What the heck." Our flying time to Banff will be roughly 2:30 minutes. Why are we going to the Banff airstrip? You'll see! It is one of the most incredible strips I've ever landed at. You will not believe your eyes when you skim the Rockies and see what you are up against on final.

FLIGHT 05: November 20, 2002 - 12:52
Banff, Alberta (CYBA)
Ft. St. John, British Columbia (CYXJ)
There is not a fuel depot in Banff, but we have plenty of gas to get to our next stop. However, we depart Banff with our fingers crossed. Getting off this gravel runway with a 23 KPH sidewind is not going to be easy. We climb out over the mountains to an altitude of 10,000 feet and cruise on up to Ft. St. John, British Columbia. We've been alerted that on final approach, the fog rolls in and all we see is gray. There is about a 400 foot ceiling - so tune the ILS to 109.50 and prepare to make a back-course approach! Or, if you'd like, you can ask me to perform a visual approach since i know the area.

FLIGHT 06: November 20, 2002 - 16:08
Ft. St. John, Alberta (CYXJ)
Haines, Alaska (PAHN)
Once again we are taking off is heavy crosswinds of 27kts and the fog is dense, so don't fight the "stick". As you leave Ft. St. John, British Columbia, you'll be climbing through "soup" until you reach 10,000 feet and settle in at our cruising altitude of 110. The trip to Haines, Alaska is pretty much uneventful, so sit back and take it easy. If you use the SPOT view, you are apt to see some spectacular Northern Lights displays. We'll arrive in Haines in about 8:00PM local time where the sky is clear and stars are bright. We'll spend the night here and get an early start on our trip to the far east. Oh, by the way, when you have the runway in sight on approach, get down in a hurry --- ATC leaves you about 2,000 feet too high. Have a safe landing.

FLIGHT 07: November 21, 2002 - 07:56
Haines, Alaska (PAHN)
Stevens Anchorage, Alaska (PANC)
It's just before 8:00AM when we climb into our Cessna and head for the fuel depot to fill her up. It's a nice morning, but you had better fasten your seat belt really tight as we clear the runway - it's going to be like riding a wild stallion. Stay on course 125 until you reach about 6,000 feet, then contact ATIS and get back onto the flight plan. You will arrive in Anchorage about 11:45AM, just in time for lunch. The winds on approach --- calm.

FLIGHT 08: November 21, 2002 - 13:48
Stevens Anchorage, Alaska (PANC)
Cold Bay, Alaska (PACD)

We leave Anchorage about 1:50PM and realize that we have a long day ahead of us. We're going to press on the Cold Bay, then on to Adak - about 10 hours of flying time. The weather is clear, so we might as well press on towards Asia. In fact, Adak is halfway between Seattle and Japan - about 1300 miles southwest of Anchorage and 1400 miles from Magadan in Eastern Russia.

FLIGHT 09: November 21, 2002 - 19:33
Cold Bay, Alaska (PACD)
Adak, Alaska (PADK)
We've had some grub and we're on our way to Adak. It's about 7:30PM local time. They tell us that we'll be fighting headwinds of 35kts all the way, but other than that, it should be pretty uneventful - just a long trip! We should arrive in Adak about 11:30PM local time. Until early 2000, it was not possible to stay overnight at Adak, which is primarily an operational Navy facility. But, recently, the island was opened to scheduled commercial airline service and a lodge opened that could accommodate overnight visitors. It's a good job we've called ahead for a reservation or we might have been forced to sleep in the plane - brrrrrr!!!

FLIGHT 10: November 22, 2002 - 07:57
Adak, Alaska (PADK)
Attu, Alaska (ATU)
It's just before 8 AM and we're on our way to Yelizovo, Russia with a refueling stop in Attu, Alaska. We'll use the Air force Base at Shemya as a beacon - Attu is about 32 miles further west. The US Federal government had been planning since 1998 to close down the LORAN radio navigation station in Attu for a number of years since the US satellite-based Global Position System is now fully operational. In 1999, however, the Coast Guard announced that the station would remain open until at least 2006. Lucky for us, otherwise we could not get to Russia without a fuel stop. We should arrive in Attu about noon. We've called ahead to make sure that the weather is clear, because landing in Attu is VFR only and if we can't get in, it's back to Adak. They have confirmed it is clear, dry with winds in the teens. So, off we go!

FLIGHT 11: November 22, 2002 - 13:15
Attu, Alaska (ATU)
Yelizovo, Russia (UHPP)
Well, it's a little chilly in Attu! In any case, we've got our fuel and we're on your way to Yelizovo, Russia. The total flying time is about 6 and half hours. Before we get there, let me tell you that the Russian aviation officials are not used to dealing with the concerns of small aircraft with limited flight ranges. But, we've telexed our request for flight authorization (CDS forms) to the International Department, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Moscow, CIS TELEX: 412303 CDSSU before we left Half Moon Bay. So, we are good-to-go! We'll spend Saturday in Yelizovo and leave for Khomutovo, Russia on Sunday morning. That means we can enjoy Russian Vodka tonight!

FLIGHT 12: November 24, 2002 - 07:37
Yelizovo, Russia (UHPP)
Khomutovo, Russia (UHSS)
My first inclination was to try to fly directly to Japan, but it is simply too far and far too risky. If we were to encounter sever headwinds we would be in a heap of trouble! So, we'll be a little more prudent and head to Sakalina airport, at Khomutovo Russia. Even so, this is one of the more frightening parts of the trip. If I have it calculated correctly, flying at 14,000 feet, at airspeed of approximately 108 kts, will give us a ground speed of about 120 kts. By the time we see land, the Low Fuel Indicator will light up, and all things being equal, we should arrive with about 6 gallons of fuel (40 pounds) remaining. So, the message is - watch the fuel. It's about 7:40 AM and it's snowing. Gee, what a surprise. It's also about -15F - brrrrrr! In any case, we're on our way. The prevailing winds are from the north, so we'll be landing on runway 1 about noon hour.

FLIGHT 13: November 24, 2002 - 14:35
Khomutovo, Russia (UHSS)
Chitose, Sapporo, Japan (RJCJ)
Well we've re-fueled and had a great lunch and we're on our way to Sapporo Japan. The flying time should be about 2:30 and from what we can understand, relatively uneventful. There ought to be a pretty nice sunset as we approach Sapporo at this time of year. By Japanese law, Japanese pilot and radio licenses are required to fly Japanese-registered aircraft. A U.S. private pilot's license is essentially convertible to its Japanese equivalent. The radio license is not. Although licenses in Japan are often very inexpensive per se (the literal cost of the license described here is only about USD 20), the total process usually includes a number of hidden costs. However, private and nonscheduled commercial aircraft need not obtain prior permission to over-fly or land for noncommercial purposes. However, advance notification must be provided by filing a copy of a flight plan with the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) which we did before we left. We can only land at International airports, so we are on our way to the Sapporo/Chitose Airport.

FLIGHT 14: November 25, 2002 - 06:41
New Chitose, Sapporo, Japan (RJCC)
Matsumoto, Japan (RJAF)
We enjoyed some wonderful Japanese cuisine and had a nice stay in a great hotel in Sapporo. The tanks are topped off and we're getting under way early, (6:45 AM) because it's going to be a long day. This trip to Matsumoto will be pretty uneventful, although we are going to be fighting some headwinds. I figure we'll arrive about 11:20 AM. A word of caution - every time I have flown into Matsumoto, there is a lot of severe turbulence and wind-sheer due to the winds across the snowy plains. So, how you approach this airport under frequently severe conditions, can best be described as a matter of life-and-death. And, I am not joking. If you elect to abort this landing because it looks too difficult on approach, then turn due West, climb to 10,000 and head for Komatsu. Once you have cleared the mountains, you can pick up the NDB FQ by tuning 400.0 and Komatsu has ILS on 110.10. If you elect to head to Komatsu, we’ll arrive about 12:15 PM.

FLIGHT 15: November 25, 2002 - 14:14
Matsumoto, Japan (RJAF)
Miyazaki, Japan (RJFM)
We’ve had another wonderful Japanese meal. It’s about 2:15 PM so let’s hop into our “wild stallion”, top off the tanks and file our flight plan to Miyazaki – our departing Japanese International airport. The forecast is for more unstable air until we reach our cruising altitude of 14,000. And, if it’s anything like our trip from Sapporo, we’ll be battling headwinds of 40-60 kts for most of the trip, and of course we’ll be flying directly towards the sun, so that’ll be a bit of a bother. I suspect that we'll be bouncing all over the place on this trip due to clear air turbulence. We should arrive about 16:15 local time. We’ll spend the night in Miyazaki and head out the next day for Taiwan.

FLIGHT 16: November 26, 2002 - 06:55
Miyazaki, Japan (RJFM)
Teipai, Taiwan (RCTP)
It’s just about 7:00 AM and we are getting an early start on our trip to Teipei. This is another one of those LONG legs of our trip. We’ll be flying at an altitude of 10,000 feet and it will be a pretty boring and uneventful trip. I estimate we’ll be fighting some headwinds along the way from 30-50 kts, but other than that we simply got to keep a close eye on our fuel. Set the prop to 2100 RPM and the mixture to consume about 12 gallons per hour at 110 kts, and we'll avoid seeing those uncomfortable “low fuel” lights come on just as we approach the island of Taiwan. I figure we should have about 18-20 gallons in the tanks if we take it easy. We’re going to spend nearly three weeks in Taiwan, enjoying the great Taiwanese cuisine and wonderful hospitality and hopping around the island and visiting some of my friends. We’ll try to be “down-under” for Christmas.

FLIGHT 17: December 19, 2002 - 06:56
Teipai, Taiwan (RCTP)
Kaohsiung, Taiwan (RCKH)
We have has a wonderful few weeks in Taiwan - what a great country! Regrettably, it's time to head onwards. We'll depart about 7:AM for Kaohsiung International in southern Taiwan. We will be flying at an altitude of 12 thousand and should arrive about 8:30AM. This will be our departing airport for our trip to Manila, Philippines.

FLIGHT 18: December 20, 2002 - 09:59
Kaohsiung, Taiwan (RCKH)
Ninoy Aquino International, Manila, Philippines (RPLL)
OK - we've topped off the tanks, filed our flight plan and we're heading to Manila. It's just about 10:00AM and we'll be cruising at 12 thousand. The weather looks great so we should have smooth sailing all of the way to Manila. We should arrive about 2:15 PM (14:15) local time. We'll spend the weekend in Manila and head out on Monday for Australia.

FLIGHT 19: December 23, 2002 - 10:03
Ninoy Aquino Intl, Manila, Philippines (RPLL)
Zamboanga Intl, Philippines (RPMZ)
Manila - a very special place. What a blast! It's about 10:00 AM Monday December 23, 2002 and we're heading to Australia. We want to be there for Christmas Day. So, we'll be heading south to Zamboanga International airport - our Philippines departing airport - at an alltitude of 11,000. We'll arrive about 2:30 PM and spend the day there checking out the sites and get a good long sleep. Then we'll press onwards to Australia early the next morning.

FLIGHT 20:December 24, 2002 - 06:33
Zamboanga Intl, Philippines (RPMZ
Brunei Intl, Brunei (WBSB)
It's about 6:30 AM December 24, 2002. We are determined to get to Australia early tomorrow morning - Christmas Day. We had contemplated a flight from Zamboanga International directly to Bali International, however, we figured we'd get there with about 3-4 gallons of fuel - all things being equal. But, if we hit headwinds, we'd be in a heap of trouble. So, we're on our way to Brunei, we'll top off the tanks and then proceed on to Bali. The weather looks great. So we'll file our flight plan and cruise on down the road at 8,000 feet to Brunei International airport. It's about a 3:30 flight, so we should arrive there just before 10 AM.

FLIGHT 21: December 24, 2002 - 10:35
Brunei Intl, Brunei (WBSB)
Bali Intl, Bali, Indonesia (WADD) aka (WRRR)
Well, let's top off the tanks and we'll mount our stallion and head off to Bali at 14,000 feet. We'll likely pick up some tailwinds en route and achieve a reasonable ground speed along the way. We should arrive in Bali about 5 PM local time.

FLIGHT 22: December 24, 2002 - 18:34
Bali Intl, Bali (WADD) aka (WRRR)
Port Hedland Intl, Port Hedland, Australia (YPPD)
It's 6:30 PM, (18:30) and we're heading for Australia. Albeit it's been a long day, but we've filled our stomachs and we'll take turns at the helm. This part of the trip will be basically over water most of the way, so we might as well travel at night and get it over with. We’ve received reports of thunderstorms near Port Hedland with a ceiling of 5,000. We should arrive at Port Hedland International airport about 12:45 AM Christmas day. We'll stay the night at the Mercure Inn at the Airport and spend Christmas day in the town of Port Hedland - also known as Cyclone Alley during these summer months. Then we'll spend the next few days visiting Broome, Kimberley and other great western Australian areas.

Click here to view a map of the trip.

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