No crystal ball here.. but, To Me.. it would seem that fuel is at the heart of it, as it is in many similar situations like Norfolk Island (and Bellona Island in '78 when I was talking to the ex-New Guinea pilot as he was turning back), so the questions asked by Renegade are what any pilot would want to know. If it is o.k. for morno, xxx and Jaba to comment, then it is equally o.k. for anyone. Do we hope to learn anything from this, or is it 'to close to home' for some? Loved the look of that Red Plane and snapped it a few times, but when I saw where the pilot sat with very little fuselage in front of him for a horizon/attitude reference in marginal vfr conditions, and the basic '30's layout of the few instruments, thought at the time that it was a fine-weather only fun plane.