Well. Sorry for the delay in posting. I'm just back from a trip to Shanghai with my students which went well...but that's a story for another posting.

On Friday 2nd November Fog and I met at HK airport for a champers in the lounge and contemplated the trip before us.

The plan was to hook up with Mark Slayton in AC that evening to discuss our flight over a couple of cold beers.

We met Mark at the Oasis hotel and discussed our trip. Mark had managed to get the aircraft fueled with 20 gallons extra fuel stowed in the rear.

The only real concerns raised was the somewhat overloaded status of our aircraft and the distance we were to be flying over open water. We decided to minimize the risk by skirting close to shore as best we could. The weight problem we felt we could deal with given the length offered by Clark International Airport.

We met bright and early to find the Dornier mechanics had pulled the aircraft out and we set about our preflight checks with gusto. A looses bolt here and there but noting of any concern.

I hopped into the back and Fog was to fly the first sector from Angeles to Buswangas. We taxied out and Fog gunned the aircraft down the runway. 2828 is a grunty little bugger but she really struggled to get off...Fog nursing her into the air using ground effect to good effect (hehe).

We overflew Subic Bay first before making a left turn out over the South China Sea. In the image here you can see 3 Cessnas holding short of the runway and one on short finals.

After Subic we headed South skirting the Island of Mindoro and made our approach to Francisco Reyes Airport for refueling (#2 on my map). Mark was in charge of the refueling operation and it all went smoothly. We took off again with Mark flying, heading out over the ocean towards Puerto Princesa and witnessed some spectacular reefs from the air. It was at this point that the clouds started to look somewhat worrying and with only 40 nautical miles remaining we elected to abandon our efforts and turn around. Mark had selected Subic bay as an alternate refueling stop but we were no encountering a stiff headwind and our ETA to Subic was not counting down as swiftly as we had hoped.
As the fuel gauges headed South Fog and I began to squirm in our seats, GPS equipment was checked and maps retrieved from flight bags. Mark had already ascertained that Subic was going to be a no-no and suggested Lubang as an alternate. As the gauges registered empty things were becoming interesting. We had just passed Mamburo on Mindoro island and we elected to try for there. Things became quiet in the cabin and it was with great relief that the coastline of Mindoro came into sight. We spotted the runway at the last moment and Mark decided to add to the excitement by performing a flap less landing.
Here you can see how much fuel was remaining in the tanks. Fog checked right tank...(half a gallon), I checked left...dry. GULP.















I flew the last leg to Angeles and it was nice to be flying with fuel in the tanks again. Shot the ILS approach into Clark...made a dog of the landing...parked up and got comfortably pissed.

As Adrian says, "It's always an adventure in 2818!!!"

On the whole though a fantastic trip. We all learned some important lessons and we are still here to apply these lessons in future.

Thanks lads. Great trip!~