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Catalina updates
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Historically significant and identified as one of the thirteen iconic Qantas aircraft, we are bring one of type back to Australia. Where is the Catalina?
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Wednesday, 18 November 2009 04:49 |
The veteran Catalina aircraft was delayed in U-Tapau Thailand enroute from Madrid to Australia, awaiting fuel availability in Indonesia. When the engineers returned to Thailand and began to prepare the aircraft for further flight it became apparent there was a problem with the right engine.
Following some restoration work a test flight was commenced but terminated immediately.
A bolt was found to have come loose in the engine.
The engine must be changed.
The engineers and pilots have been recalled. We are currently assessing our options as to a replacement engine with several possibilities available. |
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Fixing to Cat in Thailand |
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Saturday, 17 October 2009 22:30 |
The team in Oz have managed to source a huge amount of required replacement parts, and dispatching Peter E to BKK on the QF1 tomorrow night. Chris, Ross W, Ray and Norm went out to the airport to prepare the Cat for the new bits, replace the blown gear hydraulic hose and refill the hydraulic tank, change the spark plugs on the right eng, and remove the right carby. Next day they were out there again, removing the left eng. left magneto and changing the spark plugs on the rear bank of cylinders.Peter arrived here early this morning with all the goodies, handed them over to Chris, who went out again with the boys to start the replacements. Finished around 3pm and took her up for a test flight. Right engine was perfect, but same fault still in left engine. Guess that proves its not the magneto!!
Ross K was informed last night by the handling agents that there is no AVGAS in Bali. By this morning he had told us there is none anywhere in Indonesia. SO NOW HE TELLS US? We did a stack of replanning, only to establish there is none in Brunei either. Last chance is Zamboanga in the Phillipines..otherwise, down to Singapore and park it until we can get some fuel positioned to Bali. Find out tomorrow. More checking of ignition leads, and anouther test flight in the morning. |
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Thursday, 15 October 2009 16:59 |
Spent all day working on the Cat in 40 degree + sun. Ray, Norm and Ross W, pulled the right carby and a left engine magneto off the engines, checked, cleaned, reassembled and refitted them. Replaced a prop governor gasket, cleaned a prop feather button and rewired the fuel pump circuit breaker. Ross K and self were the go-fas and work stand movers, cleaned about 90 US gallons of oil from the fuselage, and after the sun went down, the torch-holders, and finally, just before 8pm, the engine runners.
Of course, since we didn't have a Permit to work on our aircraft, we had to submit a plan, clear customs with all our gear, discover the aircraft was u/s, then quietly rectify it. Then re-enter the country, clear customs again, and 5 very tired bunnies checked back into the hotel at 9pm, ready for a 5am wake-up. Needed an early start, 'cos wanted a daylight arrival into Rayong to dodge the afternoon thunderstorms.
Airbourne the next day not long after 8am. Got the gear up and almost 300 feet altitude before the right engine started doing exactly what it had out of Ahmenabad. Anything above 28 inches of manifold pressure cause back-firing and surging...same low fuel flow. About that time Ross quietly mentioned that we had lost the hydraulic system. We were more than 2000lb over max landing weight and heading out over low country and sea, so we continued the climb at reduced power on the rt. eng. The fact that we were a flying boat and we had both done water landing training a few days before, assisted in the decision to continue following the coast. Reached cruise altitude of 9000 ft about 30 minutes later. Right engine happy at cruise power, then left engine started doing the same as the last sector, eventually running on only one magneto to stop the back-firing. Bit of weather to negotiate across Burma (can't spell Myanamar) and the hills of western Thailand, planning from ocean to airport to lake to river to airport, should an engine give up. Sun went down abeam Bangkok, by which time we could see the weather was good to destination. Did a manual gear extension at 9000 ft over the airport in case of engine problems (left eng still surging occasionally on the remaining mag). Were going to have limited braking available (believed the accumulator would give us 5 brake applications before it ran out) so used full length of 11,000 ft runway and maximum aerodynamic braking (nose held very high on roll-out). Doing 24 kts at end of runway , and gentle, constant application got us off the runway and onto the opposite direction taxiway. 2nd application to slow for "follow me" car intersection proved the "5 application theory" was incorrect and we had no brakes, and, because it is a castering nose wheel, no steering. Chopped both engines and rolled to a stop still on the taxiway. Got the towbar out and got tugged to the parking bay. Both "drivers" more than a bit stuffed.
45 minute drive but worth it as we checked into a very nice pub on Pattaya beach. |
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Wednesday, 14 October 2009 22:40 |
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VH-EAX Sitrep 14 Oct.2 - Estimated wheels off Kolkata 0302Z Aircraft tracked SE from Kolkata, over the Ganges delta in SW corner of Bangladesh, across the top of the Bay of Bengal then down the Myanmar coast. Crossed Myanmar into Thailand, passed west of Bangkok then across the Gulf of Thailand to Rayong (140km SE of Bangkok). Estimated touchdown at Taphao International Airport, Rayong, Thailand 1230Z. Sector 8 completed. Cheers, Dave |
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Last Updated on Thursday, 15 October 2009 07:43 |
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Tuesday, 13 October 2009 11:30 |
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Refuellers promised to be ready to start at 6.30am so we got to the aircraft at 6.20. Some time later they turned up to tell us they first had to collect the drums. They came back 1hr 30 min later with 18 drums. Now you would think, with 20 "workers" this would be done in no time. They were going to test each drum, then start the fueling, then the pump battery went flat, then the cable to the pump fell apart. Eventually our blokes chased them away and got the job done. Departed around 1030 local instead of the planned 9am. Right engine started playing up at about 500 feet on t/o..backfiring and surging intermittently. Made it to 9000 ft with reduced power on that engine, where it settled down. Appears be running lean with auto-rich selected. Then left engine started cutting out and backfiring, occasionally at first, becoming worse. Turned one magneto off and it ran quite happily on the remaining one. Weather quite good across India, with just the odd diversion around cloud buildups. Sun went down about 90 minutes b4 arrival into KOL. Right engine stopped after we cleared the runway (a known problem usually prevented by keeping the elect. fuel pump running). However the fuel pump circuit breaker popped, and Norm traced and fixed the problem. Got it going (impossible to turn toward the live engine with only 1 going), taxied to the bay, more Indian officialdom and into transport. Drove through grubby streets to the fanciest hotel I've been in. Engineering day 2morra.....no landing fields on the next sector if we don't get it fixed. |
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Monday, 12 October 2009 17:31 |
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VH-EAX Sitrep 12 Oct.1 - Close to half way home, just below (or is that above?) the Tropic of Cancer needing to get to the Tropic of Capricorn. Ahmedabad, Sadar Vallabhai Patel Airport, India Elevation 55m Temp 30° Hum 51% Baro 1013 Steady Wind 11 km/h from N Skies Haze Off chox 0516 Z 1046 IST 1616 DST Estimated takeoff 0540 Z 1110 IST 1640 DST Destination (Calcutta) Kolkata, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, India Distance 1008miles Cheers, Dave. |
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Monday, 12 October 2009 10:02 |
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Our 3rd pilot, Chris, the flying Dutchman, can't go with us due visa problems in India. The instant crew visa man that he used last time doesn't work Sundays and we are not allowed to park in Muscat for 2 days.So he is paxing to Bangkok and will meet us there. Makes for 3 hard sectors with just the 2 of us. Our engineers had a bit of "work experience" once we were out of radar coverage. Were chased by a helicopter (and beaten !!). Only thing that saved us was him having to stop in Pakistan for fuel. Into Ahmedabad , dodging the odd cloud (first of the trip) for a sunset arrival and the associated Indian customs procedures. Yesterday,we were in a pub with no beer, today a STATE with no beer.. this is becoming a health trip. |
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Sunday, 11 October 2009 12:33 |
Ross and myself had a day off yesterday, catching up on emails, Ross organising stuff, me washing. Went up to the "vertical hamberger" shop for old time sake...but he was closed. Guess it was normally late at night when we used to go there. The 3 engineers (Ross Warden had arrived yesterday to join us) and Chris ( the flying Dutchman) went out to the aircraft to work on the prop governors and fuel pump, refuel and top up the oil.
Next day, out at the airport to finish the work on the pump and prepare for departure. An airport official was upset we had turned the aircraft around ( so we could taxi out) without his permission. A QantasLink cap and 380 pen seemed to make him much happier with the situation, and we departed. Negotiated a route away from the big hills of Oman after a bit of arguing, and slid down to ILS in hot but clear conditions. Then it turned very bad.
Checked in to the Ramada with a fearsome thirst only to discover it was a "dry" hotel....never heard of such a thing. Quick shower, then a sweaty 20 min walk to Trader Vics in the Intercontinental Hotel for cold beer and good food
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Saturday, 10 October 2009 22:16 |
VH-EAX Sitrep 10 Oct.2 -
Estimated wheels off Bahrain 0815Z
Aircraft tracked SE across Qatar, The Persian Gulf, United Arab Emirates then into Oman.
Estimated touchdown at As Seeb Airport near Masqat 1150Z.
Parked for the night 1153Z.
Sector 5 completed.
Cheers, Dave
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Friday, 09 October 2009 19:07 |
Jay-walking police would make a fortune in Luxor...everyone wanders all over the roads, little donkeys dragging big carts along the freeways, cars and buses playing dodge-ems. Much safer in the Cat. Got airbourne about 9am, over the Nile, sand, Red Sea (very blue), then Jordan and Saudi Arabia ( more sand and small, rocky mountains) Quite turbulent, and the Cat is not pleasant to fly in such conditions. flies like a whale, wiggles it tail, nods its head all over the place. Sun went down with still a few hours to Bahrain, not too many lights out in the sands of Saudi. After 8 hours airbourne, approaching Bahrain, very pretty. So to let us enjoy it more, we were held at 9000 ft over the top, in holding patterns, on vectors 30nm north west, then back again. Eventually landed 9hrs and 9 minutes after t/o from Luxor. Very tired bunnies checked into the Gulf Hotel, scene of many good memories from the "good old days" when QF operated 747 Classics to and from London.
Day off 2morra..reckon we earnt it 2day. |
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Friday, 09 October 2009 08:26 |
VH-EAX Sitrep 09 Oct.1 -
Estimated wheels off Luxor, Egypt 0730Z 8 Oct.
Aircraft tracked ENE from Luxor across Egypt and the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia. Then tracked almost due east across Saudi Arabia to the island of Bahrain.
At 1548Z aircraft was about 30 miles from Bahrain, Manama Airport and began what looks like an ATC holding pattern.
Last tracker report was at 1628Z with aircraft about 12 miles from threshold of runway 30.
Aircraft landed Bahrain at about 1640Z.
Sector 4 completed.
Cheers, Dave
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