Ah, the Mudspike Christmas Flight! About a month ago it occurred to me this might be coming up so I checked. And quite a nice destination this year. I got the “take off from the airport closest to your home location” part but forgot the “with a load of gifts” part and had to improvise, as we’ll see. Here’s one single PIREP for my three-flight journey, so please forgive the length. X-Plane 11.25 for the flight and the following pics.
Drove over to my home field, KTUS Tucson, Arizona, USA on a typically sunny autumn day at the cargo ramp. For a brief moment I thought I’d just stay home, click a lot of gifts on Amazon, and sub-contract this out to one of the big 3:
But that wouldn’t be in the spirit of the season or the Mudspike Flight. Instead, I commissioned a special paint on my newest acquisition:
C5 Galaxy–I was planning on lots of gifts this year. The C-130 Hercules from last year would not do.
Taxied out at Tucson and departed northbound:
Some time and a fair distance later I descended through the clouds at dusk for PAFA-Fairbanks, Alaska:
After one go-around (I cannot find a chart for Vref approach speeds at various weight and flap settings for the C5 Galaxy–if anyone has one, please alert me–and am having difficulty getting the big plane down without being long or bouncing as I guess at the proper speeds), taxied in and parked up:
Left it there for a few days while I re-positioned myself to help with the Anchorage earthquake. Oh yea, why PAFA Fairbanks? Because I was picking up a bunch of gifts from North Pole. North Pole, AK:
Time was passing by and Alaska felt even colder knowing others were en route to Pago Pago so I headed out to coordinate the loading. Opened the front and back of the C5 to expedite loading:
When all was secure and the forklift drivers well tipped, an uneventful climb-out had me southbound in the winter sun:
A short while later, after an uneventful over-water flight, I descended for landing at Honolulu, Hawaii. I think I could have made Pago Pago in one go from Fairbanks but I was heavy with cargo and a bit concerned with fuel; also, my organization is stretched thin right now so I was having trouble finding relief pilots–I’d have to do this non-revenue flight on my own–so a layover by Waikiki sounded good. Got down, not pretty, on 08L and parked in an out of the way spot:
Ah, island warmth, island time, a few iced Konas, some surfing on the north shore. Uh, “layover” turned into a longer stay. Then one day I remembered I still had a job to complete. Besides, the non-stop Christmas muzak and sidewalk Santas were messing with the island vibe, so back to the airport. Checked that the cargo tie-downs were still secure, checked the weather en route and at Pago Pago, called ahead to be sure there’d be parking space for me, then filed the flight plan, engine start and taxi out. I fly from PHNL frequently in my 777 but have always used runway 08L. I’ve always wanted to use the “reef runway” and given both my parking proximity (so shorter taxi time) and the fact that I’m still not expert with the C5 (so maybe out of the way would be good for everyone), I decided to use 08R reef runway for takeoff:
Ah, the Pacific is a big place. Even in a big jet. Settled in at FL280 for cruise above the clouds:
And then it was back to business. Tutuila Island came into view. I radioed down to NSTU-Pago Pago for approach clearance. I had been on autopilot while enjoying Amy Grant’s second Christmas album on the in-flight sound system and found myself past TOD. So I flew a break pattern over the field and set up for a long final:
Put it down on runway 05. Not great, not horrible, but needed most of the 10,000 feet. Back-taxied on 26 and turned onto the cramped parking apron:
Parked up and shut down the engines. Hey, wasn’t that Hawaiian jet at PHNL when I left?
My arrival was attracting attention from folks at this nicely modeled scenery (Cami de Bellis’ in X-Plane):
Though this one didn’t seem to care:
Enough messing around, time to complete the mission. Off-loading the gifts. As the saying goes “articles may have shifted in flight”; I opened the back ramp and some spilled out. Then the ground crew got to work:
And that, pilots, is that. A little detour made my flight longer this year, but got it in before Christmas! Last year, with the C-130 Herc, I continued on to go around-the-world to get home. That burned me (and the plane) out for a while, so this year I think I will soak up some south Pacific cheer then just head home direct. Until next Christmas, Pilots, happy holidays and Happy 2019!
