This part is a testament to anyone who wants to buy an aircarft from overseas. IT IS A LOTTERY. Even someone like myself who has owned around 30 different aircraft from G1's and Citations down to Chipmunks all of us can get caught.
Anyway the narrative begins with a happy three crew members having arrived in Chittagong Bangladesh asfetr a long flight from Karachi via nagpur.
On arrival we aere meet by our handling agent who arranged fuel etc for us. Although the service was reasonable the charges for what we got were extortion. Basically $US1000 for something that when I finally departed Chittagong I did myself for less than $US50.
Fuel was supplied in drums at a cost of $US5 per litre.
After take off for Bangkok our track took us over Coxs Bazzar, at the time I was sitting in the back with our engineer/pilot in command and the US pilot riding FO. Suddenly the Us pilot noticed zero oil pressure on the right hand side at FL120. A quick feather of the engine and a Pan call and we were turning back to Chittagong.
For those on this forum that deride the 685, let me tell you on one engine at gross at FL120 it had the capability to continue to climb at around 300fpm.
We were cleared to return to Chittagong. As we entered late down wind the controller called, "
Beware sheep at the end of the runway" naturally three sets of eyes went looking for the errant rams. Suddenly it dawned on us, Sheep was actually a bloody big tanker crossing the end of the threshold in the river.
I'm sure the readers can imagine the scenario, a real live engine failure and there is a VERY VERY large tanker across our path. Thank god for the old Commanders performance, we cleared the tanker and "T" did an excellent landing.
AS the owner I had threatened him with the statement you break it you fix it. "oh to regret those words.
After we had all kissed the ground and changed clothes we started to trouble shoot. The scene of "T" hanging off the prop with the engine not turning was enough for us to accept the engine was US.
Our handling agent returned and offered his services at $400 a day.
By this time I was wise enough to politely say no, under my breath cursing his ancestors.
The one bright source was the Airport Manager, he had recently been seconded from the Bangledeshi Air Force to run Chittagong Airport. He understood our prediciment and arranged a young friend of his to act as our guide/interpreter and goffer.
Over the next 5 days we removed the engine, crated it and the other departed, leaving me to arrange customs. HERE IS WHERE THE CORRUPTION STARTED.
The Customs agent, a supposedly reputable company assured me it would be on the Malaysian flight that I was booked on - HE LIED.
It took nearly three weeks before it left Bangladesh. Then when it arrived in Sydney, his bill was attached. His charges for arranging customs $US4,500 - or about $3500 too much.
I spent the next week arguing with the Sydney agent until I threaten to send the engine back. This would have meant the Bangleshi customs agent would not get paid and he would have to wear the return air freight.
Finally he agreed to halve his bill.
Now with the engine back in Sydney, Billyara disassembled it and found the following
1. The generator may not have been overhaulled, this caused its bearings to fail and create a serious vibration. As it is a direct drive this vibrated the front crankcase bolts to loosen. the first bearing rotated and blocked the oil gallery. Thus one siezed engine.
End result was, replacement of crankcase, crankshaft, camshaft and turbo charger, along with overhaul of the prop governor.
Mid september I Air freighted the engine back to Dhaka, Bangladesh only to find that the original customs agent had not got a return import licence.
No amount of talking would persuade bangladeshi Customs to move, so the engine sat in the boinded warehouse for over a week. This is despite Bangladesh being an ICAO signatory where its convention states AOG spares being imported to repair an aircraft are duty free and should be expidited.
After paying, what amounted to serious money, in
"fines" read as bribes I obtained my engine and we trucked it to Chittagong where it was installed by a very competent US licenced engineer.
All was well in the world and we decided to depart that day, as the magic of Bangladesh had worn off.
Can all of you imagine the scene, it was dark, to the north was thunderstorm, our track was clear weather across Burma to Bangkok.
Slowly eased the throttles up to 44.5 in boost, about to let the brakes go for take off, when I did my normal cross check of instruments, and what did I see, but the left hand engine oil pressure dropping alarmingly.
Quickly shut it down and taxied back to the terminal.
NEXT EPISODE ENGINE NUMBER TWO BACK TO SYDNEY AND WHY I WILL NEVER DEAL WITH AN AMERICAN OVERHAUL FACILITY - BASICALLY THE SEND ENGINE WAS A WALKING TIME BOMB THAT THE OVERHAUL FACILITY TRIED TO COVER UP.