After pumping some of the poorest-quality Avgas I've ever seen into my wings, emptying the strainers several times in the process, I looked around for a place to settle down for the night. None were really available this far out of town and I wanted an early, early start; so I stretched out in the back of the plane for some much-needed shuteye.
Day 27
Took off before dawn and steered 190 for Iquitos, Peru. It'd be fairly easy to find; along a very distinctive river section. Also it's fairly large, with its own VOR so I can use the RMI.
Heading for Peru in the early dawn. Nice shot; I thought.
The dawn from the cockpit.
Hard to see the ground; but I thought the cloud cover looked quite striking.
Along the way; I passed the equator - the half-way point. I celebrated by switching to the auxiliary tank - fuel was starting to be a big worry. And of course; I was fighting a 27kt. headwind; almost direct nose-on at 165deg.
Tailwinds are apparently not allowed in FS9.
Of course; now that I'm down, allow me to crow for a moment:
HALFWAY!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!
Anyhoo; the Amazon came into view just as I was really starting to sweat - down to 19% fuel remaining. The distinctive Y-shaped bend was smack off the nose; about 5nmi to the east; so my navigation has still been plum so far. I let down to the Iquitos airport - a very pretty little airfield with a nice parklike quality.
After approaching over the city itself; I landed and taxied to the pumps to feed my thirsty bird; then shut down outside the airport's admin offices.
The welcome here was much nicer than in Cumano; the folks took care of the paperwork quickly and efficiently, then treated me to an excellent lunch and drove me into town to a nice and relatively inexpensive hotel with the assurance that my beloved AQV would be well cared for.
A bath, clean sheets and about 18 hours of sleep - can't ask for more than that. Night, all.
Part 8 is here.
