Update 12 January 0900 GMT

At long last I've had a chance to rest a bit and find some time to report on my trip.

I'll start with a picture... 

This is a Piper Apache in the hanger at the FBO in Bar Harbor, Maine.  I landed in Bar Harbor on 22 December because the weather was just too crappy for me to attempt a landing in Bangkor in a new airplane - snow, ice, low visability, bad braking action, etc. and I just decided to fly down the road where the weather as "only" 800 foot ceilings and rain....

The Apache purports to be the only one of its kind in the world (amphib) and I believe it.  The owner offers multiengine seaplane ratings and I may just consider doing one there with my pal Ian next year.

Sorry this is so short.  Now that I've broken the code, I'll be writing more and posting more pictures.

cma

(OK, I guess the picture thing is still a little weird.  Stand by....)

I would like everyone to know that I have made it to Thailand safely.  Friday, I got to Utapao Naval Air Station just before sunset and it was too late to fly the plane to Sri Racha so Saturday morning we flew a Cessna 172 down to Utapao and picked up the Diamond.  "On the way" to Sri Racha, I performed an (authorized) low pass at Bang Phra airfield and had fun talking to my old friend "Kitti" who has been the controller at Bang Phra since forever.  He's relaxing now as he recently retired from his job as tower chief at Bangkok International.

Anyway, I'm sorry there haven't been more stories and pictures but a variety of factors combined to make the last five or six days of the trip a bit of a rush so I could only fly and sleep.  I did very little eating!

Over the next few days, I'll post some more pictures and stories as I think we have the posting problem solved.

cma

Update 8 January 1300 GMT

I'm still having trouble posting pictures but hope to have it worked out in a day or so.  Also, I enable registration again if you're interested in joining the discussion forum.

Update 26 December 2000 GMT

I'm still having trouble posting pictures but hope to have it worked out in a day or so.  Also, I enable registration again if you're interested in joining the discussion forum.

Update 26 December 1930 GMT

Well it seems if it's not one thing it's another!  After a nearly perfect (if excruciatingly long!) flight from Bangor, Maine, I attempted to leave yesterday morning for points East and the aircraft battery was dead and will not hold a charge.  So I get to spend a few days in Santa Maria while I wait for the replacement battery to arrive.  It's been real quiet here over Christmas but I hope to get out and see a little more of the island tomorrow (when the shops and other restaurants open).

Stand by for more news!

Update 25 December 1800 GMT

Greetings and Merry Christmas from Santa Maria, Portugal (Azores Islands)!

I flew here directly from Bangor, Maine two days ago, having bypassed Saint Johns.  I left Bangor a day earlier than I intended because the weather was perfect for the flight and they were about to get two inches of snow.  Below is an essay about the flight followed by some photos I took along the way.

First, though, a note about the SPOT Beacon.  It turns out you can either send "I'm OK" messages once in a while or you can have the continuous tracking but not both.  I have elected to use the continuous tracking so you can see where I am more often.

After inserting the essay and the photos below, I plan to post new items on top so the most recent will be what you see when the page opens.  You'll have to scroll past all the pictures and reports to get to the map or you can go direct to the "bread crumb" map at http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0M3n5fXYmPqp0MZxEZJUIQG1BrWCdOJ9A.

As I write this, it's 9:00 here on the beautiful island of Santa Maria in the Azores (Portugal).

The setting sun was behind me when I took of so I more or less "East Into the Night" and the darkness was my companion for about twelve hours of my 14.5 hour journey.  The Big Dipper filled the left window and was good company (good listener!) for the first four hours or so before I entered the clouds accompanying what the weather briefer described as a "weak stationary front."   About 15 minutes into the front, some ice began to accrete on the wings so I descended from my assigned altitude of 11,000 feet down to 7,000 feet and it all melted away.  I enjoyed the clouds and light rain for the next four hours or so before I again saw stars in the window.  This time it was the little dipper on my left wing.  A few light bumps in the front was all I would experience of turbulence for the whole flight.

I departed Bangor, Maine at 3:45 PM day before yesterday with 148 gallons of fuel onboard and big adventure on my mind.  I was planning to stay over in Bangor and fly to Santa Maria the next day but the weather was looking to get bad (two inches of snow in Bangor) that evening which meant I would probably have to fly through the storm on the way out.  It was an easy aeronautical decision to blast off immediately.  I had been up since about 6:00 AM so I had almost a ten hour day behind me when I took off so 16 hours later when I hit the Hotel Santa Maria it had been 26 hours since I last saw a bed.  I had lunch and went to sleep at about 3:00 PM local time, woke up about 2:00 AM and took a couple Ibuprofin for my aching muscles and went back to sleep.  8:00 I woke up to sunshine in my window.

I believe I have found the cure for insomnia.  It's called extreme fatigue!

It was not a good night for HF radio, at least for me anyway and I spoke to Air Traffic Control (mostly New York Oceanic Control and Santa Maria Oceanic Control) by Satellite phone several times and was particularly glad to have it when I needed to change altitude quickly (I went down right away but was glad I could tell them almost immediately in case there was another plane at the same altitude).  Several times airliners relayed my position reports to ATC.  Thanks to American 66, Reach 692 (Air Force I think), El Al, Iberia 6122, and Delta 94 are the ones I can remember at the moment.  Most asked about the type of aircraft and remarked about how fun the trip must be, and wished me safe travels.  I was just thankful for someone to talk to….

To say this, the longest leg of the trip at 2084 nautical miles (about 2400 statute miles) was grueling would be a bit of an understatement.  Fourteen hours is a long time to sit in a small plane where you can neither stand nor move around much.  About all one can do is "isometric" exercises to prevent muscles from cramping.  It felt like I was in that plane long enough to get bedsores!

Thank goodness the Diamond has really comfortable seats and in addition, I brought my Oregon Aero memory foam seat cushion which made the trip a whole lot more bearable.

It's the morning of the 24th of December and today I will rest, prepare the plane and file a flight plan to fly to an undisclosed location in Europ tomorrow, and rest.  <grin>  Watch the online map to see where I go next!

More later.

Merry Christmas!

Carl

OK, having a little trouble uploading photos.  When I get it figured out, look for some neat pics here....  cma

Hi,

This adventure chronicles the delivery of a Diamond DA42 Twinstar (a four seat aircraft with two diesel engines) from the USA to Thailand. The planned departure date is 12 December which may vary depending on weather the one final approval we are waiting for from the FAA.

I'll be making final preparations for departure from the US in Minneapolis and the first stop is Saint John's, Newfoundland. You'll be able to track my progress on this map and guess where the next stop will be. There won't be a lot of time for me to go sightseeing but I'll try to post as many pictures as I can and sent "I'm OK" messages fairly often. Please feel free to follow the link below the picture and share your thoughts on the sort of "blog" that is set up on the SPOT Adventures website.

Glad you could come along!

Carl