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First thing in the morning I borrowed Juvy’s phone, the only one working here, and called Customs and Border Protection in Hawaii to confirm our arrival for the following day. They acknowledged and said they’d be waiting (spoiler alert – they weren’t). Next I called flight service in the US and...

Be aware that it's not just the customs fee that has rocketed. They are privatising many of their airports and, just like when the same happened in Greece, the new commercial owners appear determined to wring hundreds of dollars out of every aircraft.

I slept late the next morning. At about 11am we decided to set off on the hour’s walk into the nearest town. The daughter of the lodge’s owner had offered a loan of a motorbike but having never ridden one I decided now was probably not the time to try and learn, particularly given the very...

As soon as I finish the write-up here, I'll start a new thread!

Rain pounded on the roof of the hotel on and off throughout the night, disturbing my rest. We were due to be taking off before dawn, and doing so into rain and cloud is never enjoyable; indeed it’s usually best not to fly in such conditions, and so I was worried that we might be looking at a...

I met Sabu the next morning at the airport to refuel Planey. We obtained a temporary security pass for me and drove up to Sabu’s hangar where a handful of new, sealed drums of avgas were stored. We rolled one of them out to Planey and unpacked the electric transfer pump. It was a good thing that...

As a "42 year USCG Master Mariner Captain" perhaps you should solve it yourself then, rather than sniping at people who are trying to help out.

Amazing that he survived to live to the age of 41.

We only had to fly 80 miles today so there was no need to depart early. We still made an early exit from the hotel however, glad to see the back of it, and walked the thirty minutes to the visitor center for the American Samoa National Park. Along the way we passed the port and fishery, as well...

The reason I wanted a new W&B is because of the many, many mods I've made to it over the past 5 years. So any change will be a combination of paint job, but probably mainly drift from doing all those mods and updating the W&B by calculation, not measurement.

Well I dropped my airplane off at the paint shop yesterday and asked. They said that on small aircraft they don't usually weigh them, but we agreed that they would weigh mine and prepare a new weight and balance.

Question as in the title. For clarity, I want to get the aircraft weighed anyway and I'm curious about whether a paint shop will do this automatically when the job is complete.

The next morning we were collected by a water taxi before dawn, as the hotel shuttle boat didn’t start running until later. The sun wasn’t around yet to warm things up, and the breeze was chilly as we sped across the small waves back to the main island. The dawn was breaking as we pulled back...

I think that aerobatics or unusual attitudes training is a fantastic investment. I did a bunch with the RAF (Royal Air Force, not Recreational Aviation Foundation) very early in my flying career and I'm certain that it has made me a safer pilot.

I don't know - compared to Houston, Florida is pretty nice!

That would be nice. If I didn't work, flying around the world would not exactly be a possibility. My trips are 100% self-funded through employment, and any money donated as sponsorship goes 100% to the charity I've been supporting. "The West" is not limited to California. There are countless...

Who's not working, exactly? :rolleyes:

I can't imagine moving from the West Coast to Florida as a pilot. Flying in the west is just so superior in terms of landscapes/scenery and interesting destinations; and the weather in Florida is miserably hot and humid for half the year.

As I was finishing breakfast I noticed that the small shuttle boat was loading a few people up, and encouraging others to join them for a fish feeding excursion. I grabbed my breakfast Pina Colada and boarded. We cruised out a little way from shore and spent a while floating around, throwing...

Well, given that planning is well under way for the next big adventure, I should probably close out the last write-ups of this one here for those who don't follow the website. The last "write-up" post here covered the flight to New Caledonia, so that's where we pick up. I spent about 10 days...