Oh no, not again. Katamarino's flight to Australia.

Katamarino

Katamarino

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Katamarino
After finally getting the 182 back to the US at the end of June, 2023, I decided to rest for a bit and do a bit of a refurbishment project on the airplane. Apart from a quick jaunt to Bermuda and a couple of trips to California it was pretty quiet.

It spent a month in the avionics shop for a new panel; pretty much the same instruments, but a nice new metal panel for them to sit in.

Before


After


It then spent two months in the paint shop; the previous paint job by Lancaster Aero had been done using shoddy materials, and it seemed that despite what they wrote in the log entry they hadn't even primed it; they'd just sprayed paint onto poorly prepped bare metal. Less than 10 years after painting it was flaking off in large areas and corrosion was forming. It did at least give me an excuse for a snappy new paint job.

Before


After




The universe has a sense of irony and so, while this work was going on, I was offered a new job in Australia that was too good to turn down. Time for another little cross-country.
 
Katamarino said:
It then spent two months in the paint shop; the previous paint job by Lancaster Aero had been done using shoddy materials, and it seemed that despite what they wrote in the log entry they hadn't even primed it; they'd just sprayed paint onto poorly prepped bare metal
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Surprised to hear this - everyone I talked to said they did great on their plane.

Anyway, the most important question: did you install an inverted fuel and oil system?
You know you'll have to fly upside-down to get there.
 
AV8R_87 said:
Surprised to hear this - everyone I talked to said they did great on their plane.

Anyway, the most important question: did you install an inverted fuel and oil system?
You know you'll have to fly upside-down to get there.
Click to expand...
More left rudder!
 
Having flown over the central Pacific just a year ago, I didn't want to do the same route again. Going west through Alaska and Russia was right out. Looking east, the route north through Greenland would be getting a bit wintery by departure - but the Azores islands looked intriguing. From St John's to Lajes is just 1,200nm, and onwards to Lisbon even shorter at 800nm.

The only complication was that the islands had just stopped stocking AVGAS (seemingly for environmental reasons) - and the timing of their decision meant it was too tight to ship any G100UL there. After weeks of networking I managed to get in touch with board members of the flying club in Lajes who were able to source some suitable fuel.

From Lisbon I would head north to the UK and park the plane up for a couple of months due to work commitments. I will then come back to continue on the second leg; from the UK through Slovenia and North Macedonia to Jordan, onwards through Kuwait and Karachi to Chattogram in Bangladesh, then to Hat Yai in Thailand and finally Johor in Malaysia. After another pause there, I'll finish the route; Johor to Jakarta, Christmas Island, and then Australia. Destination: Perth.



Preparation was a lot easier than last time. We refurbished the ferry tank system, conducted a thorough annual, and I was good to go. Although I updated some of my survival gear (including servicing the life jackets and life raft) most of the equipment stayed the same as the flight around the world.
 
What line of work are you in? Seems random the places you go. Not being too snoopy but just interested. I live now about 4 miles from where I was born haha so I don't move around too much.
 
Today was day one of the trip, and it was a pretty straightforward one; Houston TX to Pittsburgh PA via Ann Arbor, MI. On arrival in PA I did an oil change, ready for the next 40+ hours of flying to the UK. The airplane performed well!


Preparing for departure


The lights of Houston


First signs of dawn


Dawn breaks


Solar farms


Detroit airport


Detroit


The Ambassador Bridge


Oil change in PA
 
fudge80 said:
What line of work are you in? Seems random the places you go. Not being too snoopy but just interested. I live now about 4 miles from where I was born haha so I don't move around too much.
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Oil and gas :)
 
The second day of flying was not as smooth and easy as the first, but still wasn't bad! Day 2 brought much more wind (up to 60kt, thankfully from the side and slightly behind), and some cloud and rain showers.

So far:

Distance flown: 1,984 nm
Distance to the UK: 3,470 nm
Hours flown: 15.6


Preparing to depart from Pittsburgh


Sunrise over Pennsylvania


Copilot has now arrived


Crossing New England


Cloud in Maine


Refueling at Houlton International


The Canadian border (that line through the forest)


The bridge to Prince Edward Island


Approaching Charlottetown


Parked up at Charlottetown


The house at Green Gables


Prince Edward Island
 
I love the paint and the panel!! Just curious, do you have an autopilot?
 
N747JB said:
I love the paint and the panel!! Just curious, do you have an autopilot?
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Take a look at the turn coordinator. That's an S-TEC 30 autopilot. No preselect, but it does have altitude hold and the normal lateral modes, and was a popular retrofit autopilot before Garmin came along and changed the aftermarket autopilot game entirely. We had the model 50 which is pretty much the same thing only not embedded in the turn coordinator on the old club 182, and it was very nice to have.

One thing I don't see is the optional GPSS that can be added to it, which is (or at least was) one of the great bargains of aviation when we added it to our club's 182 ages ago.
 
Any thoughts about flying through the Middle East, Iranian airspace, etc.?
 
WDD said:
Any thoughts about flying through the Middle East, Iranian airspace, etc.?
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That’s what I was wondering too, but just Iran and their satellite bandits, specifically because of that N tail number.
 
Fairly certain he's not actually flying through Iraq or Iran airspace and that's just how it's drawn for the map destinations. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia should be fairly straightforward, I assume UAE and Oman are as well.
 
Sierra_Hotel said:
Fairly certain he's not actually flying through Iraq or Iran airspace and that's just how it's drawn for the map destinations. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia should be fairly straightforward, I assume UAE and Oman are as well.
Click to expand...

Correct
 
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You just got that petty paint job, are you planning to add the flags of the new countries you land at?
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Take a look at the turn coordinator. That's an S-TEC 30 autopilot. No preselect, but it does have altitude hold and the normal lateral modes, and was a popular retrofit autopilot before Garmin came along and changed the aftermarket autopilot game entirely. We had the model 50 which is pretty much the same thing only not embedded in the turn coordinator on the old club 182, and it was very nice to have.

One thing I don't see is the optional GPSS that can be added to it, which is (or at least was) one of the great bargains of aviation when we added it to our club's 182 ages ago.
Click to expand...
Thanks! Now I zoomed in to see it! I’ve got the S-Tec 60-2, pretty good autopilot, nothing like the newer ones, but it works fine.
 
I remember last year riding Qatar Airlines to the UAE and it went through Iranian (and Russian) airspace. Must be nice not having an N number registration.
 
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