Jess-b 420 Posted August 23, 2015 Report Share Posted August 23, 2015 I'm tired, out of place and out of practice. Work has kept me busy and I missed a huge chunk of the last section of the ATWC. So I'm raring to go on this, the first leg of next section. Aircraft choice is always interesting, and following a recent trip to Sweden, I discovered a quirky little Saab, the J21 following a recent trip to the Swedish airforce museum with Mikael. Having done a lot of searching, I'm surprised to find a J21 living in retirement out in PNG. What are the odds aye! The J21 has plenty to enjoy, speed and fuel economy plus it's pretty nice looking. The fuel tanks should provide enough fuel to seem me though the long trip, albeit with a little top off to make sure at AYKY Kunaye. So with the mid afternoon spun shining down on us, we depart for our one and only fuel stop, before heading out to sea for a very long crossing to PTPN. Leaving the AYTK behind, I take the time to get a feel for the J21. It's nimble that's for sure. It climbs quickly and can cruise at over 300kts, the cockpit is a bit confusing however. My Swedish adventure hasn't left me with a mastery of the Swedish language, and the cockpit is all in Swedish. Not only Swedish, it's also in metric. I'll be heading up in meters rather than feet. We spend a bit of time darting between the mountains and enjoying the tropical scenery. Soon enough we get to the approach to our one and only fuel stop. Here I find the Saabs Achilles heel. Landing in the J21 is tricky. At full flaps the stall speed is still quite high, and even then, the nose up attitude at low speeds means you'll not see the runway on the approach. So if you want to land with the runway insight, it's more a case of dive and point the nose at the runway than holding the nose up. The landing is ok if a little 'rustic', and I quickly taxi to the apron to refuel and get going again. Fuelled up, I bid farewell to the land and head out to sea. This is where things get interesting. My single GPS tells me that at my current speed, I'll reach my first waypoint in just 45 minutes. However, just 10 minutes later, the weather has worsened, and we find ourselves being thrown around like a rag doll. Rain and thunder rattle around as we pass though several storm cells. There's nowhere else to go but straight ahead. I try to climb above the mess, but at 7000 meters, the clouds show no sign of easing. This carries on for 20 minutes until finally, I'm clear of the storm and back in clear air. But it's cost me dear. Checking my fuel gauge, I see its dropped to just 200 litres from the original 500! And I'm not even to the halfway point. We're in trouble. A ditching looks inevitable. Frantically i search through my maps for a place to refuel, but I find nothing. What I do discover is a horrendous mistake on my part. I'e misread the J21's range, mistaking the range in KMs with NM's. Even without the extra fuel I used in the storm, I'm screwed. Then, the unexpected happened. With just 100 litres left in the tank, I reach the halfway point over a small archipelago of little islands, and low and behold, there's a small sand strip below. Without thinking about it, inland on the short strip and hope there's a fuel dump here. To my greet relief, I find some fuel and quickly refuel the J21. It turns out, this was an abandoned fuel stop from WW2. I'm thankful it's here and that the avgas is still good. Taking off is going to be tricky though. I estimate the runway is just 600m, and full of fuel, J21 can be difficult to unstick. So I open the throttles and hold her on the brakes until I'm at full power. I launch off the runway, barely scraping over the sea and I'm back on my way. The stop has allowed time to catch up though, and it's getting dark. Pretty soon the horizon is gone and I'm relying on my Gps heading and instruments only. It's an hours flight to PTPN and I hoping to make it safe. Fat chance. Once again, just 15 minutes into the flight, ahead of me are the telltale signs of lightning. Sighing, I hold on and point the aircraft in the right direction. This time, the weather is much worse, and without a horizon I'm struggling to keep on course. By the time I clear the storm this time, I'm way off course and my fuel is starting to get low. Thank goodness, it's just 60nm to our destination. In the dark, I've never been so happy to see the dim lights of the airport. The weather is poor, and low cloud passes around me, obscuring the airport. I break though, and land with just a few hundred litres in the tank. I taxi off the runway and park up. With the J21 secured, I'm off to a bar with the baton. It's been an eventful trip and the J21 was great fun to fly. Link to post Share on other sites
hlminx 301 Posted August 23, 2015 Report Share Posted August 23, 2015 Sounds like a bit of a white knuckle ride Jess. Glad you, the j21 and the baton made it in one piece Link to post Share on other sites
stu7708 244 Posted August 24, 2015 Report Share Posted August 24, 2015 Well done Jess, and nice to see the J21 in action. Now, all that remains for you is to remodel that in to the jet-version and figure out the metric conversions If you need any pointers on the labels in the cockpit give me a shout! I also recall promising you some links to swedish airforce models for FSX. Take a peek at this version of the J35.. https://simulations.bookmark.se/(free registration is needed for the download though) Link to post Share on other sites
hurricanemk1c 195 Posted August 24, 2015 Report Share Posted August 24, 2015 Superb shots and story Jess - I'd better get my skates on! Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Coffee 2,030 Posted August 24, 2015 Report Share Posted August 24, 2015 Terrific, if a bit scarey start to this section. OMGosh I was worried that the baton might be lost...and yourself of course. Does the baton have a tracking device and flotation? (...and Jess too ofc). Heh...JK bout my dodgy priorities Jess. Glad you arrived safe. Very cool looking plane. I also have trouble with metric cockpits, Russian birds are the Worst. Link to post Share on other sites
hifly 925 Posted August 25, 2015 Report Share Posted August 25, 2015 White knuckle stuff there but a SAAB, quirky but reliable, will never let you down. Link to post Share on other sites
stu7708 244 Posted August 25, 2015 Report Share Posted August 25, 2015 White knuckle stuff there but a SAAB, quirky but reliable, will never let you down. Much like their cars, right Jess Link to post Share on other sites
Jess-b 420 Posted August 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2015 True Enough Mikael, you know I love my Saabs, although Harley may have had even more trouble getting across that leg on a full tank. Link to post Share on other sites
brett 2,315 Posted August 25, 2015 Report Share Posted August 25, 2015 PIREP's like these are a lot more exciting when reading from the comfort of my home then being in the aircraft. Well done and glad you made it safe. Link to post Share on other sites
Bruce (a.k.a. brian747) 142 Posted August 25, 2015 Report Share Posted August 25, 2015 Some seriously good airpersonship on show there, Jess! Congratulations on making it in good shape. Cheers, bruce a.k.a. brian747 Link to post Share on other sites
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