Katamarino's off around the world; planning thread

So is your flight leg to Hawaii going to be similar to the ones the guys recently did in the 210 (on YouTube)? That was a interesting video to watch. Man they were carrying a lot of fuel and you could see that takeoff seemed pretty stressful. IIRC, they even required a special permit to takeoff over gross. Also the early part about pumping the gas and the engine not liking the air so they had to transfer gas to another tank first. I liked the HF radio location. Looked like it was on top of the fuel tank and from a ham radio shop :) One thing (amongst many) that I would have surely missed was the extreme over gross weight effect on early cruise speed. Its like they were getting faster and faster but with no real way to predict it they actually had to fly it and see what it was doing to verify.
 
Not the route I’d take, but I like your ambition
 
Have your mechanic check the rigging. Every little bit helps on a long flight.

Also, are all your tires the same size? You may want to get the HD nose wheel so you can take one spare tire and tube for all three.

Finally, Make yourself a phrase book for everywhere you are going. I cold not understand a thing those people in Australia said when I was there.
 
Any thought to staying South via Easter Island and Chile, then back North?
 
cgrab said:
Finally, Make yourself a phrase book for everywhere you are going. I cold not understand a thing those people in Australia said when I was there.
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We sat next to an Australian guy at a bar in Hong Kong. He was a friendly dude, and we were chatting.

In the beginning of the night; you could understand the guy, but you had to think when he spoke.

After a few drinks... we could no longer understand a word that guy was saying. We were confident it was English.

He was a great guy and we had fun drinking together. I loved hearing the local talent sing "Take me Home, Country Roads" with a thick Chinese accent. Things I'll likely not forget until I'm too old to remember anything.
 
Lindberg said:
How do you stay awake on a really really long overwater leg?
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Pay attention?

Get an early start, be well rested. Plane prepped and fueled the night before. Monitor your position, listen to other traffic on appropriate frequencies. Make sure your portable GPSs are charged and remain at max charge during the flight. Monitor aircraft systems, fuel consumption, confirming you have enough to make it, especially as you get to your point of no return (you did calculate that, right?). Look out for storms and deviate as necessary. Increase altitude at the appropriate point as fuel burns off for weight.

Sounds pretty busy to me.
 
You're just missing "Watch a movie" :p

Also, message support team regularly through satellite messenger. Nice to keep people up to date, and something else to keep me alert.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
1) Magneto (a left mag is sufficient since you can use those in either). I would suggest overhauling mags if they have 500 hours or more on them, or at least replacing the nylon gear in them if they're Bendix mags. Those gears get brittle and will go out without warning
2) Starter (SkyTec NL is my favorite on a Lycoming)
3) Alternator
4) Extra alternator belt as suggested above
5) Handheld radio is a good idea
6) Battery pack for your iPad
7) I would keep two PLBs personally

The main reason for 1-4 is that it keeps you able to repair and keep going without waiting around for parts to get to you in who-knows-where.

It does sound like a very fun trip. I would say that I would be much happier doing it in something that burns Jet A just because that vastly simplifies the fuel considerations. However, they certainly can be overcome on a 100LL powerplant. I also agree with the suggestion of getting some agencies to help you with authorizations. A lot of times it may not be necessary but they can grease the skids much easier.
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A good list. Already got 4, 5, 6, and 7. I've been discussing mag overhaul with my mechanic; by the time I leave they'll have about 350 hours on them, and I'll add at least a couple of hundred more. He's suggesting to leave them as they're working well and not too old yet.

I'd love to burn Jet-A for this, but a turbine is outside my budget - and I'm really not willing to pay more than $200k for the Soloy diesel engine! If they bring the price down to about $80k, that might be a bit more of an option. Of course, a PPonk is well known to run happily on Mogas in a pinch...

I've got two agencies that I'll work with; GASE, and probably White Rose Aviation as well. I have worked with both before and they're very experienced with RtW flights.
 
Sinistar said:
So is your flight leg to Hawaii going to be similar to the ones the guys recently did in the 210 (on YouTube)? That was a interesting video to watch. Man they were carrying a lot of fuel and you could see that takeoff seemed pretty stressful. IIRC, they even required a special permit to takeoff over gross. Also the early part about pumping the gas and the engine not liking the air so they had to transfer gas to another tank first. I liked the HF radio location. Looked like it was on top of the fuel tank and from a ham radio shop :) One thing (amongst many) that I would have surely missed was the extreme over gross weight effect on early cruise speed. Its like they were getting faster and faster but with no real way to predict it they actually had to fly it and see what it was doing to verify.
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It will indeed be just like that. With me, minimal luggage, and required fuel the airplane should actually perform decently. I'll be making a few flights at progressively higher weights to work up to it, and get used to how the airplane handles; and I'll do this in advance of departure, over the USA. When the time comes to do it "in anger", it shouldn't be a surprise.
 
cgrab said:
Have your mechanic check the rigging. Every little bit helps on a long flight.

Also, are all your tires the same size? You may want to get the HD nose wheel so you can take one spare tire and tube for all three.

Finally, Make yourself a phrase book for everywhere you are going. I cold not understand a thing those people in Australia said when I was there.
Click to expand...

Good tip; will have the rigging checked. My tires are not the same size, but I'd rather keep my smaller nose tire than take the extra drag of a larger one.
 
DesertNomad said:
Any thought to staying South via Easter Island and Chile, then back North?
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A little; but some brief checks suggest that AVGAS is even harder to find on that route. Maybe in future, if I ever manage to get a diesel engine into this thing!
 
Lindberg said:
How do you stay awake on a really really long overwater leg?
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By not having any empty bottles..??

th
 
Katamarino said:
I imagine there'll probably be butt-clench marks in the seat cushion by the end of those legs.
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Yeah, when I watched JP's follow up video on the Hawaii to SF flight you could tell he was hyper alert the entire time. The elation of that flight would probably make it hard to sleep afterwards however you think you would just want to land, pull the damn mixture, hop out, lock the doors and crash in a hotel room for like 20 hours.
 
The shop sent me an update yesterday. I hope they remember how to put it all back together again!



Having put in an IFD440 all of 4 weeks ago, I'm now contemplating how it would be so simple to just swap out the trays and upgrade to the 540 instead. It's a sickness...
 
iamtheari said:
If you're not, then you should be! I just noticed on your map of states visited that this entire trip appears to be for the purpose of crossing Hawaii off the list. :)
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Katamarino said:
Haha - guilty as charged, that is definitely a bonus..!
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You'll love flying over Hawaii. I've got 12.8 hours between 5 trips and the view is tremendous.
 
Great adventure. Are you planning to post in this thread along the way? Start a new thread? Post a blog? Or? Will be fun to follow if you do.

Sent from my SM-G960U1 using Tapatalk
 
Sounds like a great adventure. Good luck!
 
CRQFlier said:
Great adventure. Are you planning to post in this thread along the way? Start a new thread? Post a blog? Or? Will be fun to follow if you do.
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Yes; both a thread on here, and my new website that is nearing readiness!
 
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