Wednesday, September 15, 2010

It Broke!!

Arrived in Broome, Australia. Can't describe how good it felt to see the mainland at last, and the air is so fresh! Only problem is that after clearing customs and refuelling both the aeroplane and ourselves, we started up to head off to Alice Springs, and the fuel gauge for the right tank failed, along with my PDU (right side flight instruments). The problem is that if we took off, besides being illegal, it would have been difficult to confirm that the fuel flows were symmetrical and the aircraft could get out of balance and become difficult to handle. Having said that, once the approval is given by CASA, we will continue, prudently checking the aileron trim regularly and keeping the fuel balanced. There should be no problems with fuel load as we have six hours plus at normal power settings, and only a 2.5 hour trip to Alice Springs to drop Chris off. I can then fly to Pt Augusta in a similar time, having refuelled again to full tanks - job's right!

More tomorrow.

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