EQDC3: Leg 6, Part 2 (almost halfway RTW!)
Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2005 10:58 pmAn hour out; crossing into Sumatra proper now; still good weather. A line of puffy clouds awaits, mostly below my altitude.
EQDC3 is quite happy with the fuel load today; very manageable.
As I near the 2-hour mark and the ridgeline of the island, the weather grows a little more unstable.
Rather suddenly, I'm surrounded by darker clouds and the ground is lost in haze. there are peaks near my cruise altitude ahead...
ATC asks me to climb to 8,800... after a few minutes, they send me back down to 8,000. I saw nothing in the mist...good thing there's radar service here...
There's a little turbulence, and visibility is poor. If i'd gone with a greater load of fuel, this part might've gotten a little dicey. The mountains, when visible, are quite lovely.
ATC is calling headings every few minutes; some turns are questionable, but I'm not in much position to argue.
At last, at 2.5 hours, the western coast of Sumatra slides into view. Seems I have a headwind.
Could go either way at this point... I may be cutting it very close with the fuel on the remaining long flight over the Indian Ocean. But I'll be ready for my hourly time/distance/fuel calculations soon, and will have my last chance to turn back then- coincidentally at the halfway-RTW point.
Next: Halfway!!
EQDC3 is quite happy with the fuel load today; very manageable.
As I near the 2-hour mark and the ridgeline of the island, the weather grows a little more unstable.
Rather suddenly, I'm surrounded by darker clouds and the ground is lost in haze. there are peaks near my cruise altitude ahead...
ATC asks me to climb to 8,800... after a few minutes, they send me back down to 8,000. I saw nothing in the mist...good thing there's radar service here...
There's a little turbulence, and visibility is poor. If i'd gone with a greater load of fuel, this part might've gotten a little dicey. The mountains, when visible, are quite lovely.
ATC is calling headings every few minutes; some turns are questionable, but I'm not in much position to argue.
At last, at 2.5 hours, the western coast of Sumatra slides into view. Seems I have a headwind.
Could go either way at this point... I may be cutting it very close with the fuel on the remaining long flight over the Indian Ocean. But I'll be ready for my hourly time/distance/fuel calculations soon, and will have my last chance to turn back then- coincidentally at the halfway-RTW point.
Next: Halfway!!