Kind of hard to make the transfer when Denise Connor wants to keep making 13 knots…I wonder if @Sine_Nomine is stowed away belowdecks?
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Got em…on the way back…
Back on solid ground. It was hard tearing the boys away from the gal sailor…but she was headed for Christmas Island too…
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Dang…I only flew the thing for 30 minutes or so…guess I was over-boosting the engines! Good thing I got back or there would have been two of us floating around out there…
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D’Oh! Great reading. Thanks.
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A little late on the PIREP; yesterday was a busy day–the party started early and went late. Here we go:
Started the day parked up at YPDN - Darwin, Australia:
The last leg of the Mudspike 2017 Christmas flight. I’d come a long way from Tucson, USA:
I had an unusual number of “situations” or “issues” on this mission. I forgot about the International Date Line. Now it was Christmas Eve Day at the destination and I was still 1400nm away. Not much margin for error or delay now.
It was overcast in Darwin. I went in to the FOB to check the weather. Some serious storms to the north but my planned route to Christmas Island should take me south of the thick of it:
Out to the C-130. Check that all the engines and tires are still attached to the airplane:
Good. Preflight, set up, engine start. Check. On this ramp I’m parked up a little close to the light poles. Decide to back out; engage reverse thrust, and… go forward! Hit the brakes, verify the throttles are in reverse and try again. Go forward again. Aiiii! If I shut down to fix this I may not get these gifts and supplies delivered in time. So I make an executive decision. I call for a pushback. Yes, I’m thinking “how long is that runway at YPXM?” but figuring I’ll worry about that in 1200nm. Adapt, improvise, overcome.
Once clear of the tug I start down the taxiway:
And climbout. Turn west and up to altitude (11K feet or so):
Picked up a little rain along the way, adjusted altitude here and there to try to stay between or above cloud layers. A happily uneventful flight for a few hours. And then, there it is: Christmas Island coming into view like some mystery place in a Robert Louis Stevenson novel:
Overflew, connected with ground by radio, winds were light, brought the C0130 down softly on runway 36:
Taxied up to the Operations building and shut down:
I made it! With a few hours to spare. 
Real-time, real weather the whole way. About 8400nm; mostly across the open Pacific. I sure got some stick time in the C-130! Helped unload my cargo and the holiday party was already starting. Got a glass of eggnog and joined the festivities.
I’ve never circumnavigated the globe and I’ve come this far, almost halfway, so I think I’ll take the C-130 home the long way and continue west:
Until next year, pilots, Merry Christmas from Christmas Island! 
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That’s awesome. I’ve enjoyed reading your story and others as they’ve made these long journeys! Congrats on the arrival…!
I agree…I was thinking about continuing my journey the rest of the way around the globe as well. Definitely in a faster airplane though… 
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Yes indeed. If I continue the circumnavigation, my venerable DC3 will have to stay at Christmas Island. I will need something fast with a decent autopilot!
It really has been a fun event though, both flying it myself and reading about everyone else’s adventures. I am looking forward to next year’s fly in.
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Thanks for saving me, Henk and the packages.
One Coast Guard plane is lost at sea, another flies out to save it… that would have made for an embarrassing story.
After all that happened, I’m gonna grab some sleep first. I’ll post the full report tomorrow morning!
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Just a quick note as we reach message 680 in this years event just to say a ‘thanks’ for all those that posted. I’ve really enjoyed reading along your adventures, either in the air or on (under?) the sea. Merry Xmas! 
Btw, we have a Christmas Island flag, well I never… 
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Thank you for providing job security! Snark’s Totes Legit 145 operation thanks you for your continued service requests!
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The whole event was great fun. We really should have more of those!
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I’ve crossed Sri Lanka and now approaching Medan, Indonesia, just beyond the mountains. Hot and steamy. Looking down at the hills, valleys and jungle, I just hope I don’t go down there: from the air my PC12 might just look like a real tiger to search & rescue!
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Disaster! Coming in to land at Medan WIMM in heavy soup two things happened:
- I wound up at WIMK: an airforce base close to WIMM with the same runway configuration 5/23. No wonder I had such difficulty lining up on the ILS! Moral: don’t be in such a hurry to get down.
- My nosewheel failed to deploy. Tried recycling the undercarriage, but just red lights and a “check gear” warning. So I wound up with a PC12 with only 2 wheels, modified nose shape and a prop with only 2 blades!
Moral: rtfm and try the hand-pump for wheels first!
No Christmas Island for me I’m afraid, so Merry Christmas to one and all, and may 2018 bring many happy hours of simming!
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Bravo…! Congrats on reaching Christmas Island - and I think we may get to congratulate you twice. I get a feeling that the D-Gull may just show up on the scene at some point in the future.
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No worries - it is the journey moreso that the destination! Merry Christmas to you as well…!
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Ok, on my way down in a borrowed KingAir 350B, courtesy of “Flight Inspection Australia” livery! FL110 with (yet again!) a slight tailwind, ground just visible through broken cloud cover below me. TAS 239kts, GS 245kts.
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Finally made it! Low cloud cover, but wonderful to see the island appear. Ok we can break out the kegs of beer: Cheers everyone!
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Very nice…! Welcome aboard. I have a 747 on the ramp there…but it must be hidden away somewhere with some camouflage netting…
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