The FSDO are confident they'll figure out a way to make the Hilo departure work. It's just paper shuffling after all!
Since you have mentioned that your pre-existing drums of fuel should be available on your flight, I wonder if you have altered any of your legs since the plan 2 years ago? Also, given prior discussions, I would guess your flight matches up with the usual and expected favorable winds for that time of the year. But what do you expect your tightest segment will be with regard to available fuel reserve to account for unanticipated winds? I do not follow anything on Facebook, so I was surprised to hear about the cam and valve issues and that that contributed to some of the 2 year delay. When and how was that discovered? Anyway, Good luck on your plans and safe journey.
Wow! Could this happen at anytime? I heard so many stories of newer engines running into trouble. Is this normal? My mechanic is trying to get me ready for a new engine in the coming future but if it works why fix it.
The route has changed a little. Originally I planned to depart from New Zealand; given that I returned to Australia this has of course changed. This gave the opportunity to add New Caledonia and Fiji to the route; both have Avgas available from the bowser. The Hawaii to CA leg is the longest by a factor of two, so definitely the tightest on fuel. I won't go unless winds are looking good and expect at least a 3 hour reserve. The engine issues were discovered during routine maintenance!
Snacks/drinks, subsequent gymnastics to have a pee, occasional messaging back and forth on the InReach, reading my e-book, podcasts/music over Bluetooth, maybe a cheeky movie or two on the tablet. Not much traffic around at 10,000ft between Hawaii and CA so I am happy to divert a bit of attention to staying alert, especially overnight. The thought of all that water underneath does help too, as @murphey points out.
The Ian Toll Pacific War audiobooks would be good for about 86 hours of entertainment, and there's no better venue to listen to them than this portion of the trip around the world. You can skip past the portions talking about how many planes were lost to mechanical failure and weather. https://www.audible.com/series/The-...eativeId=0d6f6720-f41c-457e-a42b-8c8dceb62f2c
This has been going on four years now! That's epic. It's like a lonesome dove series. Really enjoyed following along.
It's remotely possible that there is a surviving, airworthy Zero, a holdout pilot, and a holdout crew chief somewhere in the Pacific, but, from a purely mathematical standpoint, @Katamarino will have more problems with sharks jumping out of the ocean to get him.
I arrived in Australia on Monday morning and spent yesterday afternoon and today preparing the aircraft. Still plenty to do, but most importantly the ferry fuel system is re-fitted and tested and seems to be working fine.
I know a couple of guys that are currently on the trip around the world. Good luck! https://www.flighttoendpolio.com/
Of course... how unsmarts of me to not notice the pallet... I am sure glad there are folks on here smarters than me...
