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Hawaii
As you recall, the nearest passage
from Hawaii to California is from Hilo to San Francisco. That
distance is over two thousand miles, well beyond our range
of eighteen hundred miles. Because of that, we had planned
to have extra fuel tanks installed in the cabin of the airplane
to increase our range. That plan was initially foiled due
to the untimely death of the man that we had contracted to
install the tanks. We then had to reschedule the installation
with another company and, since that was going to take several
weeks to accomplish, were forced to return to Arizona on a
commercial flight. With dogged determination to complete the
circumnavigation of the globe in my airplane, I vowed upon
our departure from the Pacific, "I shall return". (It seems
that I recall someone else saying that about sixty years ago
under rather more dramatic circumstances.)
Here are some of the things that
I have learned about adding tanks to our airplane. We needed
another 300 gallons of jet fuel and that required three addition
tanks. The tanks are so large that all of the cabin seats
had to be removed in order to get them to fit. The seats were
subsequently stacked and secured in the remaining space. The
emergency exit is partially covered by one of the tanks and
it is questionable whether or not the pilot or me could squeeze
through it. The only places to sit are either in the pilot's
seat, the copilot's seat, or in the rear on the toilet.
There is less than 12 inches
of clearance between the left and right fuel tanks. (Also,
remember that you cannot stand up in a King Air 200.) This
narrow passageway runs virtually the entire length of the
cabin. The task of getting from the door of the airplane to
the cockpit seems more suited for a contortionist than an
over weight 63-year-old man who has difficulty making a turn
on a golf swing. Compounding my problem is the fact that I
have claustrophobia. The only reason it is possible to get
through is that the tanks on the right side are slightly lower
so that your chest clears. There are pieces of garden hose
everywhere connecting the tanks together and to the fuel system
of the airplane. They are attached with clamps similar to
those you would see on an automobile radiator hose. There
is a large check valve on top of the left front tank that
allows air from the cabin to enter the tanks as fuel is drained
from the bottom.
The man that installed the tanks
suggested that we take extra hose and clamps with us in case
we have a problem during the passage. He also suggested that
we take an ax with us to break the windshield in case we had
to ditch in the ocean and couldn't make it to the back of
the airplane. His comments, although sincere, were not particularly
reassuring. We have a life raft, life preservers, a satellite-based
Iridium telephone that works anywhere on the planet, and a
hand-held GPS. If we have a problem, all we have to do is
get the raft out of the airplane, inflate it, and get in it.
There is a FAA regulation that only essential crew is allowed
on a ferry flight. I am beginning to understand why.
Neither Tom nor Pam Clements
was able to make this trip. My pilot is Herb Toney. Herb has
flown for me many times before and is an excellent pilot with
lots of experience. He was a warrant officer in the Army in
Vietnam and flew a Huey helicopter. If you are too young to
remember, these were the guys that rescued wounded soldiers
from clearings in the jungle while being fired upon by the
bad guys. His job was considered one of the most dangerous
and important in the military. Herb is truly a great American
hero. When I asked him if he was up to the trip, he said,
"If you're game, I'm game".
Herb and I arrived in Honolulu
Thursday, January 17, at 4:00 PM. We were almost 45 minutes
late out of San Francisco but made up all but 8 minutes of
it because, as the United Airlines Boeing 777 pilot said,
favorable winds. This was not encouraging because in just
three days we would be heading back the other way in great
need of tail winds. Upon arrival, we were picked up and taken
to the FBO (Fixed Base Operation) to inspect the airplane.
They had just finished the installation. I was not mentally
prepared for the sight of what was to be our ride to California.
My first try to make my way to the front of the airplane failed.
I became partially wedged and had a mild attack of claustrophobia.
After exiting the airplane and recomposing myself, I tried
again and was successful.
On Friday morning, Herb went
back to the airport to test fly the airplane and receive training
on operating the valves that control the flow of jet fuel
from the ferry tanks. I would have gone but the installer
was going up with him and there was no room for me. When he
arrived at the airport he discovered that there were 40-knot
ground winds and he had to abort the test flight. He also
said they were reporting head winds of 20-30 knots between
Hawaii and the West Coast. We will not be leaving Hawaii with
a head wind.
Our plan is to reposition the
airplane to Hilo, Hawaii, on Saturday and then leave on Sunday
morning. Our destination is Camarillo, California, where the
tanks will be removed on Monday and Tuesday. We will then
return to Scottsdale on Tuesday evening. This is all contingent
on the weather of course.
It is now Monday morning and
we are still in Hawaii. We were not able to test fly the airplane
until Sunday due to weather here in the islands. We decided
to reposition to Kona instead of Hilo because of better weather.
It's only about 40 miles further from California.
When we flew over on Sunday,
we had a problem with the Fuel Flow gages and decided that
they would have to be fixed before we left but I just heard
from Herb and he said they had healed themselves overnight
and we're going today. We are shooting for wheels up at 11:30
AM. That will probably get us into Camarillo around 10:00
PM or a little later. I've got to go. I have a 'plane to catch.
Wish for us blue skies and tail winds.
Stay tuned,
Pat
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