Expedition Day 54 After two restful days in Port Vila, I head to Bauerfield International Airport for an early morning flight. The operations chief greets me at the terminal entrance and then speeds me through customs, fee payment, and fueling before the commercial flights begin. Within a very short period of time, the terminal building fills with passengers and the ramp is a hive of aviation activity. The Vanuatu pilots and ground crew shake their heads and laugh nervously as I start up the engine and obtain my clearance. They can not believe that "May", a mere toy in their eyes, has the range to make it all the way to American Samoa. I smile, give a thumbs up, and taxi between the tightly spaced aircraft to the run-up area. I back-taxi and zoom climb away from the airport at 90 knots. Once reaching 9000 ft and 50 miles off the coast of Vanuatu, I divert south in a giant arc to avoid another volcanic plume (2 of 3 in this trip) which had drifted south-east from Vanuatu. While planning for this leg, I was warned of the $3000 landing/parking fees at Nadi, Fiji, so I bypass Viti Levu and and continue east towards American Samoa. Little did I know at the time, I would get royally fleeced for fuel in Pago Pago, American Samoa. The solid overcast over Fiji prevented me from seeing the many beautiful tropical islands below me. I overfly Bligh Water, made famous when cannibalistic local tribes chased Captain Bligh through this passage in 1789. 50 nm to the north lay the Yasawa Group, a chain of mountainous islands and the infamous "Blue Lagoon". Viti Levu is the largest of the islands comprising the South Pacific nation of Fiji. The engine is running lean-of-peak (LOP) at 5 gallons per hour. Photo taken at 9000 ft MSL over Viti Levu, Fiji. Golden hour lasted for only a few minutes. The rapid transition of day to night near the equator happens in a flash. Approaching the island of Tutuila (American Samoa). One third of the way across the Pacific ocean, with another 4300 nm of island hopping to California. The moon was below the horizon as I approached Pago Pago airport. My eyes were fully adjusted to the darkness of the remote South Pacific, but useless to pick out high terrain features around the airport. It's not an issue as I am flying on instruments. The air traffic controller, who seemed to be running a little behind schedule for some unexplained reason ( I was the only aircraft for 100 miles), delayed switching on the runway lighting. I made a second request for the lights to be turned on. I was past the final approach fix and preparing to declare a missed approach. At ILS minimums, the airport lights were switched on to maximum brightness nearly blinding me. Within a few hundred feet of the ground, the plane's landing lights revealed the runway was crawling with hundreds of chunky cane toads. Do I declare a missed approach with an army of amphibians on the runway? I continued with the flare and landing, with toads clearing a path. The Samoan controller then directed me to taxi over a water causeway and proceed to any spot near the terminal building. After 10 hours of flying over the warm waters of the South Pacific, I switched off the engine to silence and slid open the Plexiglas canopy. I popped my ears to normalize pressure and immediately heard the roar of the pounding surf against the reef and seawall. My handler warmly welcomed me to Pago Pago but then said, "Do you want to hear the good news first or the bad news?" Historical Note: Pago Pago and NASA American Samoa and Pago Pago International Airport had historic significance with the Apollo Program. The astronaut crews of Apollo 10, 12, 13, 14, and 17 were retrieved a few hundred miles from Pago Pago and transported by helicopter to the airport prior to being flown to Honolulu on C-141 Starlifter military aircraft. "Apollo Splashdowns Near American Samoa". Tavita Herdrich and News Bulletin. Retrieved July 7, 2010. "Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal – Kevin Steen". Eric M. Jones. Retrieved February 23, 2011. The 10,000 ft sea level runway at NSTU, Pago Pago, American Samoa. The risk of flying around the world in a small plane On 23 July 2014, Babar Suleman and son Haris departed from this runway on a rainy, moonless night. Within moments of take-off, they crashed their heavily loaded Beechcraft Bonanza in to the ocean off Pago Pago. My handler was on duty that night and witnessed the crash. He was still understandably, very upset by the experience and he implored me to not take off at night. I listened to his advice and departed early the following morning. Suleman accident report: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/08/13/ind-teen-pilot-crash/14015495/ Photo credit: Pinterest The $3000 fuel bill. Improvised aircraft fueling at Pago Pago.
After landing at Pago Pago, my handler bluntly said that my reserved aviation fuel (AVGAS) at the airport was no longer available. This was devastating news. Unless I could "MacGyver" high octane aviation fuel from coconuts, I would need to scramble to find an alternative fuel source. A new shipment of AVGAS would take months as it is shipped from the US. I was leery to use lower octane auto fuel as it had not been tested with my engine and fuel delivery system, and might subject my engine to detonation. The use of an untested fuel might lead to disaster on take-off. The only other avgas on the island was stored in a 500 gallon container at the port of Pago Pago, which was originally intended for tuna boat helicopters. The new helicopters use jet fuel, so this precious, highly refined fuel, was available for $31/gallon, or over six times the cost of fuel on the continental US. There was no negotiation. Buy it now or get stuck for a very long time in American Samoa. The fuel was delivered promptly that afternoon in two 55 gallon drums along with a disclaimer absolving them of any responsibly about the fuel quality. Once back at the airport, the uncooperative fueler would not let me borrow their transfer pump, which was readily available. My handler, Prichard Airport Services, instead offered to help me siphon 110 gallons of AVGAS to my fuel tanks using a fork lift, Baja fuel filter, and 1" vinyl tube bought that afternoon at Ace Hardware. Thank you Richard (and good natured crew) for your assistance during a difficult situation. The job took three long hours, with a few minor spills, dozens of re-primes without the use of a manual pump. We completed the fueling after dark using flashlights. In the photo shown above, the fellow in the yellow safety jersey spit out a mouth of AVGAS while re-priming the siphon. Photo credit: Prichard Airport Services Comments are closed.
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