Diary
8th June, 1998 - 06:00 UTC
Location: Brisbane
Preparations are nearing completion for our departure in 5 weeks time. The ferry tank is currently being installed into the aircraft, and will be flight-tested next week. Aiming for a departure date around 14th July,1998.
10th July, 1998 - 0800 UTC
Location: Brisbane
Departure planned for Wednesday, 15th July. The aircraft is having the final fit out for our departure next week. This involves the installation of the Satcom system, a new alternator, and an HF radio. Last weekend we did a test run to Melbourne and back to try out the Ferry Tank. All went well. We now have total fuel well in excess of 800 litres, giving us a maximum endurance of nearly 12 hours and range over 3000 nms! On the leg down to Melbourne we began at FL165, climbed up to FL185, and then descended to 8500ft due to icing and weather. On the return leg, the weather had improved and we climbed straight to FL210, then FL230, and eventually FL250. The aircraft was still achieving easily 75% power, and at a long range power setting of 26" Manifold Pressure and 2450 RPM, we managed a TAS of 281 kt with a Fuel Flow around 70 litres/hour! The oxygen system worked well, and we are both confident of being able to sustain these high flight levels over the long sectors to come. We struck some heavy rain on our descent back into Caloundra, which took a little paint from the leading edges of the winglets. We are happy with the aircrafts ability to handle bad weather and icing, and the winglets have now been repainted. Now, to pack our bags...
15th July, 1998 - 0500 UTC
Location: Pago Pago, American Samoa
Departed Caloundra at 0400 local time this morning. Landed at Brisbane to clear customs and refuel. Airborne out of Brisbane at 0530 and overflew the tower to commence our record attempt, and set course into the rising sun for Pago Pago. We could not get the HF radio to work today, but we were able to send a fax to Nadi Control with our Satcom. We were able to relay our position reports via other aircraft on VHF, and we were in VHF contact a lot of the way because we flew over Noumea and Fiji. But we must get the HF working before we leave Pago. The weather was excellent enroute, and we were also able to make a visual approach into Pago, a relief after 8 hours in the air. We set a provisional world speed record of 282 kts average over the sector, thanks to a good tailwind to begin with. We started at 21,000ft with a groundspeed of 330 kt, but this dropped off to 260 kt as we picked up a slight headwind in the last hour or two. We cruised most of the way at 23,000ft at about 65% power. On arrival at Pago, we cleared Customs, and returned to the aircraft to refuel (at US$3.50/US Gallon!) and attempt to fix our HF radio. We eventually found a bad connection at the aerial tuner box, which we fixed, and the HF tested OK. We decided we would leave in the morning for Hilo.
16th July, 1998 - 2130 UTC
Location: Hilo, Hawaii
Departed Pago at 0710 Local time, after delays getting weather briefing, for this 2308 nm sector to Hilo. Started at 10,000ft, but we only got a groundspeed of 220kt, so we continued up to 17,000ft, where it improved to 245kt. We anticipated light headwinds most of the way, and this turned out to be correct. We diverted around weather a number of times when passing throught the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone either side of the equator, but overall the weather was very good. We managed to remain out of cloud the whole day. We were relieved that the HF gave us no problems today. Approx. 1000nms out of Hilo, San Francisco Control gave us initially a diversion to the left of track due to military activity, and then they gave us a diversion to the right. They eventually cleared us to a Lat/Long postion 150nms to the southeast of Hilo, giving us overall about 150 extra track miles - just what you need after sitting in the seat for 9 hours! Its times like these that I wished the HF wasn't working! It was very difficult, once we saw the volcanoes of Hilo off to the left of the aircraft, to continue flying away past them, when we hadn't seen land for 9 hours. Eventually we were cleared into Hilo, and after 9 3/4 hours in the air we flew past the tower to record our time. Our provisional speed record was much slower than yesterday's, at 233 kt, due to the winds and diversions. We arrived with about 2 1/2 hours fuel remaining. On arrival we learned that Customs were not expecting us for another day, and after a number of phone calls, a customs officer was sent over from Kona, on the other side of the island, to do our clearance. This would mean we had to wait at the aircraft until he arrived. We also had to wait for Immigrations, Airport Security, and Department of Agriculture. 4 hours later we got to the Seaside Hotel, Hilo. We can be contacted here today (Friday in Australia) by fax on (808) 969-9195, Room 264. We are planning to depart tomorrow at 0530 Local time for Redmond, Oregon, and will report futher from there. Cheers, Alex & Gary.
18th July, 1998 - 0300 UTC
Location:
Redmond, Oregon
We made it! After 9 1/4 hours in the air we finally landed in Redmond, at the Lancair factory. We departed Hilo at 0600 local time this morning, just as the sun came over the horizon. We set course to the northeast for the mainland, and enjoyed excellent flying conditions all the way. We had a slight headwind to begin with, but towards San Francisco we began to pick up the forecast tailwind of about 15 knots. We set a provisional world speed record of 263 kt between Hilo and San Francisco, and then headed north for the last hour and a half to Redmond. We had beautiful views of San Francisco Bay and the states of California and Oregon before we landed at 1830 local. It certainly was great to be on the ground again!
21st July, 1998 - 2315 UTC
Location:
Redmond, Oregon
After a relaxing weekend recovering from our ocean crossing, we returned to the Lancair factory to prepare the aircraft for Oshkosh. This involved taking out the ferry tank, so passengers could once again be carried in the back seat, removing the HF aerial, doing an oil change, changing the spark plugs, etc.. We have also been trying to rectify a few minor electrical problems. The team at Lancair have been extremely helpful and supportive, we really could not do it without them.
This morning we flew across to Salem, about 80nm west of Redmond, in formation with the company Lancair IV-P (see photos page). The weather continues to be spectacular, with clear skies giving us a great view of the mountains.
Everyone is very busy here in preparation for Oshkosh, and we expect to depart on Sunday morning together with some of the company aircraft.
Many thanks to all those who have emailed us there best wishes. It's great to know you're with us.
30th July, 1998 - 2330 UTC
Location:
Oshkosh, Wisconsin
We departed Redmond at 0600 Sunday morning, and flew to Spearfish, South Dakota, where we stopped for lunch. Gary flew VH-LKG and Alex flew in the Lancair IV ES with some of the Lancair Sales team. Took some good aerial shots of VH-LKG after departing Redmond (see photos page). After departing Spearfish, made a small diversion to the south to fly over Mt. Rushmore. Finally arrived in Oshkosh at about 1800, to start setting up the Lancair tent and displays for the airshow, which started on Wednesday. The weather has been fine and warm (30 deg C) so far, and the airshow started well. An unbelieveable number of aircraft, of just about every known type, on the field for the show. They expect approx. 15,000 aircraft to fly in for the week!
We are planning to depart Oshkosh on the 4th August for Bangor, Maine, where we will refuel and spend the night, before departing the next day for Shannon, Ireland. More soon...Gary & Alex.
