Around The World @ 90 Kts - Part 2
 

This is a convenient place to start another thread, since I was probably about to run into the total image limit for the first thread.

Editorial comment:
The team having reached Alaska, I can imagine the huge relief of no longer being in Siberia. I spent three weeks in Arctic Russia in 1991 and 1992. Although we were being hosted by a Russian oil company, it was still a very grim experience. We took emergency food and sleeping bags with us and some of the hotels we stayed in, were quite similar to the ones described above.

I find it hard to believe that they made it all that way, with minimal local support. A staggering achievement.

I42

Day 26: 1997-06-13
 

ATW Retro-blog: 1997-06-13 (Day#26)

The team awoke to … well, Friday June 13th again (having crossed the date-line the previous solar day)
[This presented your ‘retro-blogger’ with a bit of a challenge, but it’s solved by posting twice within 24 hrs]

The team arrived at the airfield to take stock, anticipating setting-out later on an initial leg to commence progress across North America. A local operator offered to clean the team’s Chipmunk spark plugs in their new plug cleaner, and was rather taken aback when Dave Gill happily accepted their offer and handed-over 56 plugs! The aircraft were cleaned and waxed, and a chipped prop replaced with the spare which was stowed on the Islander [Everyone has a spare prop, right ???]

With Eielson as the intended destination a launch at 13:30 was aborted when one of the Chippie generators failed and required replacement, by which time it was too late to depart. Local newspaper reporters took advantage of the delay to interview the team members, and the team in turn took advantage of another night in Nome to explore the history of this pioneer gold-mining town.


Nome accommodation – perhaps basic, but everything worked!
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...pshconbjbd.png

Rusting gold mining equipment, left where it was last used, when the mining operations became no longer commercially viable.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...psxqf3kak3.png

Day 27: 1997-06-14
 

Day 28: 1997-06-15
 

Day 29: 1997-06-16
 

Day 30: 1997-06-17
 

Day 31: 1997-06-18
 

Day 32: 1997-06-19
 

TW Retro-blog: 1997-06-19 (Day#32)
Watson Lake (CA) - RTB
45nm; 0h30; Cowan(962)/Hughes(833)


Not a particularly successful day – it started with Bill rousing everyone an hour early, because he got the departure time wrong, the wx was grim, and the Chipmunks were ‘seduced’ into a departure by what turned-out to be a “Suckers’ Gap”, forcing a retreat just 20nm down-route, when the cloud-base came down to the surface.
On the bright side, Yukon Air Services gave fulsome support to the minor MX which was carried-out whilst having nowhere to go, and the aircrew were able to avail themselves of 1:500,000 VFR Sectional charts for the remainder of the route across Canada (better airfield and general frequency info), having been issued with 1:1,000,000 WACs when leaving the UK
[Personally, I find that, with a little pre-planning (ripping, and securing, a few pages out of the AFD), flying XC in a Chippie is easier with WACs (sadly no longer available) since less in-cockpit origami is necessary. Of course, post-Luddites use iPads, which makes the art of pilotage an easily-avoided and hence dying skill.]
Errata:
1 – yesterday’s posted photo of Dave Gill dealing with 962’s prv was actually effected today;
2 – the ‘Canadian’ shown yesterday was the owner of 18065, though name still unknown.


'Log cabin'-style ATC tower, CYQH
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...ps8wgm6es1.png

Self-explanatory
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...pslarpt8nd.png


A selection of aircraft at CYQH - note that (of course) they are all designed with the little wheel at the 'correct' end, though the amphib Otter is a bit of a rebel.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...psg11rajhq.png

Day 32: CYQH-CYQH 45 nm, 0.5 hrs, GS 90 kts. Cumulative 8515 nm, 88.49 hrs, Average GS 96 kts.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...pskfocdg3t.png

Day 33: 1997-06-20
 

ATW Retro-blog: 1997-06-20 (Day#33)

Watson Lake (CA) - Muncho Lake (CBF8 – CA)
230nm; 2h30; Cowan(962)/Hughes(833)

Another day of poor weather between Watson Lake and Fort Nelson, the desired destination. Things were looking better around noon and Tony and Ced got off shortly after a Super Cub flying the same route. Things didn’t look better for too long, however. Following the highway, the weather deteriorated, as it had the day before, and the three aircraft were now obliged to retrace their route. However, the weather now closed-in behind them and a landing on the highway was the only option.

The Cub landed, but shortly before the Chipmunks followed suit another bush pilot joined them on frequency and advised of a dirt strip, Muncho Lake, which would be preferable choice. This guy actually got airborne to guide them in, and the Cub pilot also took off and repositioned. This is the kind of camaraderie which exists between pilots in such locations, where flying is often done near the limits of what terrain and weather will permit.

Meanwhile, back at Watson Lake, the Islander had been delayed and departed some 1h25 after the Chipmunks. On contacting Fort Nelson they were somewhat concerned to learn that nothing had been seen or heard from the Chipmunks. Tony Cowan had realized of course that their failure to arrive would not go un-noticed and had taken steps to get a message through to Fort Nelson, which duly notified the Islander crew of Tony and Ced’s location. Bill then made just four phone calls to locate them at a garage/motel– beating the law of averages in a town which had only about twenty phone numbers.

Thus, the team spent the night at two separate locations.

On approach to Muncho Lake strip.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...psenabjtzv.png

Parked-up adjacent to the strip at Muncho Lake.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...psuh7gfiol.png

Day 33: CYQH-CBF8 230 nm, 2.5 hrs, GS 92 kts. Cumulative 8745 nm, 90.99 hrs, Average GS 96 kts.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...ps3kgygjlo.png

Sorry folks. It looks like Photobucket has changed its policies.

Standby.

Yes it has and as much as I really enjoy reading this thread, I refuse to pay $399 to look at the photos (photobucket subscription)....

Photobucket enforced subscriptions
 

Agreed.
I am surprised this has been permitted to happen.
A real shame and I also refuse to pay some 399.00 Pounds to view the pictures....as excellent as they doubtless are.
What a sad step "forward".

But surely photosuckit cannot put a charge on individual's private photos - sounds like ranomware to me

Um, it is the person who posts the photos who has to pay, not the person who wants to see them. India Four Two will have to either cough up the cash, or rehost the photos on an image host that doesn't suck.

Uplift his photos directly from his computer.

On the top line of the normal reply page just after the smiley there is a keyhole. Press this and it will display a page where you can attach a photo from your computer in a similar way to attaching to an email.

Just like this: Click the thumbnail and it comes up full size.

Now that is an aeroplane I have always wanted to fly, having trained on the Satan's-breath version

Background to the Photobucket "Ransom" demands
 

Amazon and eBay images broken by Photobucket's 'ransom demand' - BBC News

I'm downloading all my images and then looking for somewhere else to upload them.

When are we going to see the photos for this marvelous thread?

Philoctetes,

Sorry. I've been distracted by several things, my day job among others!

I'll try to get to it over the weekend.

Why don't you practice some archery while you are waiting? ;)