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Auckland to Fiji, NZAA - NFFN
(Mother Nature Throws us
a Punch)
Our car and driver picks us up
at Auckland's Ascott Metropolis Hotel at 7:30 a.m. for a planned
10:00 a.m. departure to Nadi, Fiji. Don't ask me why, because
I don't know, but there are a lot of "n" sounds inserted into
the words as they are spoken in Fiji and Samoa. Although they
are spelled Nadi and Pago Pago, they are pronounced Nandi
and Pango Pango.
The direct distance to Nadi is
1,164 nm, and we cannot tolerate very much headwind to make
this flight with sufficient reserve fuel. If the forecast
winds look too strong, we will have to turn the flight into
two legs by using Norfolk Island, Australia, for a fuel stop.
When Universal's fax arrives early in the morning, the forecast
average headwind component is minus 34 knots. Although worse
than we hoped, this still allows the flight to be completed
in one leg instead of two. Also, the computerized flight plan
provided by Universal shows that the strongest headwinds come
during the first half of the trip and they get less as we
proceed north to Fiji. They never help, mind you, but they
don't hurt us as much.
Our great handling agents, Robin
and Raynor, have things well in hand when we arrive. Catering,
fueling, learning a bit more of the great store of South Pacific
flying knowledge that Robin possesses…the time passes quickly
and soon Ashley and Pat arrive. The helpful New Zealand Immigration
agent even is driven by Raynor over to Air Center One's hangar,
where we are located, so no time is lost traipsing through
the corridors of the main terminal.
We are airborne at 10:14 a.m.
local time, 2114Z. Today's flight is basically straight north
but, for the first time during all of our legs, we go "backwards"
one time zone, so we gain an hour today instead of losing
one. Our departure is from Runway 23L, a stone's throw from
the hangar.
We have nice views of the Auckland
area as we fly the simple Departure Procedure and our course
takes us offshore on the east side of NZ's North Island. We
are handed from Auckland Departure to Auckland Center passing
12,000 feet and they ask for our estimate at "Kalag" intersection.
Center offers us FL280 and we decide to accept, since the
range for a turboprop is almost always improved by climbing
higher. However, such is not the case today. Thanks to the
wind readout we have in our avionics package, we can instantaneously
see that the extra one thousand feet from 270 to 280 has brought
us an additional twenty knots of headwind! Bad deal! At our
request, Center permits us to return to FL270.
We are now in clouds, ice vanes
deployed, and not having a smooth ride. Continuous light and
occasionally moderate chop makes the going uncomfortable for
passengers and crew alike. Pam and I focus on the headwind
and the groundspeed, and keep comparing our actual performance
with what the computerized flight plan has predicted.
At Kalag, it is obvious that
we are doing much worse than the projections. Since the winds
are nearly twenty knots more than forecast now, there is always
the hope that the improvement down the road will also be better
than forecast. To bet on that, however, is unwise. If winds
to not improve by an amount much more than forecast, then
there is a very real possibility of not having enough to make
it to Nadi.
We are now using the HF radio
for contact with Center, and it is behaving itself well today.
At 2230Z, the wind has increased to 80 knots, giving us a
76 knot headwind component. Our groundspeed dips under 160
knots for a time as we motor along with all ice protection
devices activated.
Notice: If you are not a
pilot and have no interest in technical King Air things,
then skip the next five paragraphs.
To add another element of bad
luck, our left fuel flow gauge is doing a weird thing: It
is reading 180 degrees backwards! What I mean by that is
that the needle on the gauge is pointing such that the big
end is reading wrong but the little end is reading right.
This year model King Air, 1976, still utilizes fuel flow
gauges that are powered by Alternating Current, not Direct
Current. The AC gauges, including the torque gauges, have
the ability to operate in this backwards fashion.
I was never told of this by
any other pilot or instructor or mechanic, but many years
ago I stumbled across the phenomenon during a training flight
that I was conducting. I could hardly believe by eyes, but
there it was, a torque gauge working, but working 180 degrees
out of phase. Being the curious guy that I am, I decided
then to see if I could correct the problem and/or duplicate
it.
There is a memory-aiding poem
that says, "DC Dies but AC Lies." What this means, as applied
to King Air AC and DC engine instruments, is that the loss
of power to a DC-powered gauge will result in the gauge's
reading going to zero. It dies, in other words. However,
the loss of power to an AC-powered gauge will result in
the gauge's reading remaining right where it is. In other
words, the gauge needle lies still, and hence it's value
is telling a lie to the pilot.
I tried the following. At idle,
when the torque should be low, it was reading high. I pulled
the torque circuit breaker and froze the torque gauge at
that high, incorrect, value. Then I added power, using the
Ng, fuel flow, and ITT gauges to guarantee that I didn't
add too much power, until I had a lot of actual torque.
I then reset the CB and - voila! - the needle jumped a minor
amount to the correct reading and started working properly
again.
Since that first time, I have
found that this technique has always provided a successful
fix to this rare problem. Later this day, it would repair
our temporary loss.
At 2245Z, an hour and thirty-one
minutes after takeoff, Pam and I agree that there is no point
in continuing and I request a clearance from Center back to
Auckland. At least, the return will be quick, with so much
tailwind. We receive the new clearance, south down the airway
back to Auckland, and turn around. Immediately, our groundspeed
picks up to 312 knots!
I ask Auckland to call Air Center
One and advise them of our intentions, and soon I am able
to talk to Robin directly on his frequency. He already is
making plans for a re-route for us via Norfolk Island and
is talking with NZ Customs about our change in plans. In less
than an hour after turning around, we are back where we started
from. Two hours and thirty eight minutes after starting, we
are shut down on the ramp outside of Air Center One's hangar.
Amazingly enough, with the wondrous
help of Raynor and Robin, we are refueled, Customs' requirements
are satisfied, a couple of new flight plan have been filed,
and we are off again, this time heading to Norfolk Island,
YSNF. Pam and I had discussed our duty hours, fatigue, and
whether or not we should still try to continue to Nadi today.
If it were not for the quick service provided in Auckland,
our decision would have been "No." However, as it developed,
we both felt good in pressing forward. We could, after all,
spend a night on Norfolk Island if need be.
With these shorter legs, fuel
is not the worry as it was earlier and hence we file for a
lower altitude to make more speed. This also keeps the cabin
altitude lower and provides more oxygen for our feeble brains.
Our clearance is for FL220 and this puts us outside of controlled
airspace for most of the way. Hence, our clearance is a clearance
into uncontrolled airspace; it is not a clearance to YSNF.
Odd, but typical here.
This time our route takes us
right up the western shore of the North Island, with beautiful
views of the beaches. We now have about 30 knots of headwind.
The HF is working well, and from over 170 nm out we are hearing
and talking to Norfolk clearly on VHF as well. The weather
at Norfolk is fine. Pam is flying this leg, as she was during
the earlier aborted attempt, and she makes a visual right
downwind entry into the traffic pattern for a landing to the
east.
The small island is beautiful,
green and lush, with lots of farm fields in view. Although
I am no expert, the history of this place is fascinating.
It is where many of the Bounty's mutineers were sent to as
a penal colony after they were finally found living on Pitcairn
Island. Today, many families on Norfolk still have the names
of the famous crew: Christian, Adams, etc. Also, it is the
home of the Norfolk Island Pine tree, that grows in abundance.
The flight takes two hours and
forty-three minutes and our time on the ground for refueling
takes a relatively short forty minutes. Now I am flying left
seat. Upon departure, I stay low and give us a brief tour
around the coastline of this small, pretty, island before
turning toward Fiji and climbing to altitude.
Now the HF decides to be stubborn
again and it is hard to communicate with Auckland Center.
"Pacific 910" relays one report for us. Later, we talk to
Nadi Control quite nicely on the HF.
About an hour after takeoff we
are out of all clouds and it is clear ahead. We notice cumulous
buildups in the distance to our right, where we would have
been had we flown straight from Auckland. The decision to
reroute via YSNF seems better all of the time. The winds are
now predominantly from the west and we are getting a minor
help from them as we fly northeast.
Sunset in Nadi comes at 0640Z
and the GPS says we will land at 0735, meaning it is going
to be dark outside. Nadi Approach clears us to an intersections
about fifteen miles out for a straight-in ILS to Runway 02.
We make a small right course correction to start heading to
that point as Pam picks up the ATIS. What's that it says?!
Heavy rain? Dang!
Actually, the ATIS is a bit old
and the rain has moved away by the time we are setting up
for the approach. We see the runway lights from ten miles
out or so, but then the tower throws us a curve: "Turn left
at the final approach fix and maneuver for visual right traffic
to land on Runway 09." He is assigning this to us in order
to allow an airliner to depart on Runway 20, heading right
towards us as we land on the other end of the concrete strip,
Runway 02. We see the airliner's landing lights ablaze between
the twin row of runway lights as he sits waiting to takeoff.
"Uh, tower, I think we can slow
it down and there'll be enough room to depart the airline
traffic and we could still land on 02," I advise. "No, make
a visual approach to 09. Noise abatement procedures in effect."
Oh well, we tried. Night, circling
approaches to unfamiliar runways, especially with little if
any lights on the ground in the surrounding area, are hard
to execute and, historically, have claimed the lives of too
many pilots and passengers.
However, we decide to accept
the controllers suggestion - They are always suggestions,
not commands, in my opinion, until the Pilot-on-Command agrees
to them - based on a number of favorable factors. First, the
circle will be almost totally over the water of the bay. Even
without local knowledge of the area, there won't be any hidden
terrain to hit when we are over the sea. Second, visibility
is good and winds are virtually non-existent. Third, the runway
we are circling to is plenty long, well-lighted, and has a
visual approach slope indicator (VASI). Fourth, we have GPS
giving us distance to the airport and this vital information
can help us execute a proper descent profile. Fifth, we have
two experienced pilots crosschecking each other.
Thus, we do the circle, it all
works just great, and we are on the ground parking at Bay
#2 three hours and forty minutes after starting up in Norfolk.
Local time is 7:38 p.m.
Our handling service here initially
gives a less-than-stellar impression, but they improve during
later encounters. Pat and Ashley and the baggage are off-loaded
and moved into the terminal from Bay #2, then Pam and I must
start up and taxi the airplane around the terminal building
to the south side for long-term parking at Bay #15.
It's always the little stuff
that gets you! As I taxi around the large, dark, ramp to the
other side, the landing lights illuminate two large baggage
trolleys that are sitting unattended and unlighted right on
the ramp. How sad it would be to execute a flawless circling
approach at night and then to ding the airplane severely hitting
some nasty little ground obstacle! Vigilance pays!
We secure the airplane but the
exhaust stacks and cowling inlet lips are still too hot to
allow installation of the vinyl covers. "No problem!" says
the handler, a man of Indian descent. "We will do it for you
later when they cool!" Two days later, when we return to the
airport to refuel, the covers are still sitting uninstalled,
as we left them.
This same fellow now drives Pam
and me back to Bay 2 and we find P & A waiting in the baggage
claim area. We have to complete our immigration forms. We
look a little worse for wear at the end of this long day as
we sit on the edge of the unused baggage carousel doing the
task. The two-man crew of a Twin Otter that arrived just after
us is doing the same thing.
Finally, out we go, pushing our
airport carts full of luggage, including golf bags. A friendly
gentleman, Kalam, another Indian, has been waiting for us
for over five hours, having never been told of our change
in arrival plans due to our unexpected return to Auckland.
Although the vehicle is a Toyota Land Cruiser, we think it
will be impossible to fit all of the luggage and all of us
into it. Kalam proves us wrong! He does a superb job of packing,
and we fit with room to spare.
We drive through the dark roads
of Nadi, about a twenty-minute drive, across a small bridge
onto the man-made island of Denerau, where we are booked into
the Sheraton Royal Resort. I think we are all somewhat in
a daze, finding it hard to believe that we really made it
here on the scheduled day, just a few hours later than planned.
Pam and I have a late dinner at one of the resort's restaurants…overlooking
the beach, thatched roof, tiki torches blazing, the sea breezes
cooling.
Mother Nature threw us a good
shot today. We regrouped, found another way around her challenges,
and persevered. The adventure continues.
Norfolk Island Terminal |
Norfolk Island |
Norfolk Pines, at home |
Pacific Sunset from FL270 |
Right Base at Norfolk Island |
Robin, Raynor, Pam, & Tom at Auckland |
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