SUMMIT, NJ -- Pictures from Dick and Bill's arrival in Sky Manor are now posted.

Stay tuned as we will try to exact more poignant details from the N178E crew about this expedition.

PITTSTOWN, NJ -- Dick and Bill landed sound and safe at Sky Manor airport last Thursday, on Independence Day. They were greeted with bubbly by a crowd of about fourty.

Pictures will be posted later today or tomorrow.

IRAKLION, GREECE -- Our intrepid flyers left Bahrain for Crete, flying over unexpectedly high desert in the Arabian Peninsula; After crossing vast expanses of Pacific Ocean, the Mediterranean crossing from Egypt to Crete seemed like flying over Round Valley Reservoir.

India pictures were successfully sent again and they have been added to the Mumbai log page. Along with them came Bahrain and flight pictures added to the Bahrain log page. Finally, there is now an Iraklion log page, complete with pictures.

MANAMA, BAHRAIN -- The Flight of Fellowship left Kota Kinabalu with a great deal of help from Richard Ong and reached Thailand without incident.

The next day was more stressful because of moosoon weather over the Bay of Bengal as Dick's report explains. Rain was aplenty, but AVGAS not. Mumbai didn't have enough for our adventurers and they had to fly out of their way again to find enough fuel to cross the Arabian Sea. AVGAS is used by smaller planes while turbine aircraft use jet fuel; as a result, jet fuel is abondant wherever airlines go, but where general aviation has a small presence, AVGAS is not plentiful.

They did find enough fuel in Ahmadabad and reached Bahrain after making the U.S. Navy a little nervous about this small airplane above their heads in the Arabian Sea. See the report there.

Some words in the fax couldn't be deciphered, so the fax is enclosed below:
Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Page 5 | Page 6

KOTA KINABALU, MALAYSIA -- N178E and its Crew left Chuuk and reached Koror in the Republic of Palau without incidents; the next day, they flew to the Sultanate of Brunei, again without any incidents, but along an assigned route, which took them squarely over the Philippines.

Ready to leave Brunei Saturday Morning, they found out there was not enough fuel for them; they found it about a 100 miles away in Malaysia, in Kota Kinabalu.

Dick sent an additional picture from Majuro, which was added at the end of the page; he also sent pictures from Pohnpei, so make sure to check these pages as well.

CHUUK, MICRONESIA -- Dick called today from Chuuk, one of the Federated States of Micronesia. He had faxed a report to Cornerstone Print & Imaging in Flemington, where Carole was kind enough to forward it here. The report covers two legs, Majuro to Pohnpei and Pohnpei to Chuuk.

MAJURO, MARSHALL ISLANDS -- Final pictures from Hawaii and first ones from Majuro are now posted along with the corresponding report.

SUMMIT, NJ -- Pictures and Report are just in and will be posted Sunday Morning. Webmaster needs to rest after day in the sun at WWII show in Reading, PA!

MAJURO, MARSHALL ISLANDS -- Dick sent the following email:

ATTN: Operations and Shelby
		
Bill feels rested , so do I. We would like to adjust our itinerary times as
follows. All local times remain the same, but dates are changed.
Depart PTPN Tuesday 11th
Depart PTRO Thurs. 13th
Dept WBSB Sat 15th
Dept VTSP Mon 17th
Dept VABB Wed 19th
Dept OBBI Fri 21th
Dept LGIR Sun 23
Dept LEBL Wed 26th
Dept LPAZ Sat 29th
Dept CYYT Tuesday July 2nd
Once we got out of the gate things run smoothely.
Sincerely, Richard F. Sollner


Pascal, Billie and Edyth,
July 2nd arrive Bangor, ME
Wednesday, July 3rd Untank Required by FAA
Thursday July 4th Return to Sky Manor at midday. Happy Fourth of July!!!
Dick and Bill

Revised route has been revised appropriately.

HILO, HI -- Dick ran into Eliot Merk in Hilo, a sympathetic Rotarian/QB who helped him send us his report . New HF Radio performed quite well, thanks to the expert hands of Don Melcher in Oakland.

HILO, HI -- Dick phoned in a brief report while enjoying a view of Hilo Bay. They left Oakland, California at 7:15AM PDT and arrived in Hilo, Hawaii 14 hours and 45 minutes later at 7:00PM local time. Their route was close to direct, flying at 4000' to 6000' over a smooth Pacific Ocean. The aircraft performed well and the crew appreciated the new seats while stuck in the same quarters for this extented period of time. The HF Radio performance was not optimum, so they are going to consult with the marine radio specialist who installed it in Oakland.

Dick promised a full report before leaving Hilo this Friday.

SUMMIT, NJ -- Dick and Bill's reports from El Cajon and Oakland are now posted as well as pictures taken in El Cajon. A picture has been added to the La Cholla to El Cajon page.

OAKLAND, CA -- Dick filed a report tonight, while his partner Bill was relaxing at a baseball game. After several days in San Diego getting the extra tank installed in the cabin and going through unanticipated paperwork, they flew to Oakland, CA on Friday. After filling up N178E, they headed for Hilo, HI early Saturday morning but had to turn around when about 150 NM from shore, as they couldn't establish required HF radio contact with San Francisco. This radio is now being changed in Oakland, with a new crossing attempt planned for Tuesday early morning.

As a result of these delays, they don't expect to make it to Barcelona by the 22, and will go at the leisurely pace initially planned.

Dick and Bill full report with El Cajon pictures will be posted soon...

SUMMIT, NJ -- No report has been filed by the crew since they left La Cholla Air Park last Monday. Second hand reports indicated they were delayed at El Cajon, CA with FAA legalities; they were set to fly up to Oakland, CA Yesterday Friday, with a planned crossing to Hilo, HI Today.

This information remains to be verified with the crew, and if the crew doesn't report anything, there is little that can be disseminated through this web site other than rumors and the webmaster's dubious humour!

Stay tuned...

LA CHOLLA AIRPARK, AZ. -- Dick and Bill left La Cholla Air Park Monday at 14:15 PDT, after a test flight around La Cholla to verify the left engine oil leak was fixed. They refueled the aircraft and the crew, added oil and left. Departure pictures were sent by Bill Dresher and can be seen on the Day 3 log.

An email Tuesday night from Dick reported he couldn't get to his Satellite Phone text mail. When he has this all figured out, a link to Iridium will be provided for sending messages or calling.

LA CHOLLA AIRPARK, AZ. -- Dick and Bill arrived at La Cholla Air Park Sunday at 5:00PM PDT, where they were greeted by friends, among them Bill and Ginny Updegrove, their hosts. An oil leak was discovered in the left engine and was fixed by local mechanic Frank Youngquist. The evening saw a reception in their honor. Friend Bill Dresher sent us their reports and pictures from Day 1 (Sky Manor - Cuba) and Day 2 (Cuba - La Cholla).

They left Monday at 14:15 PDT for the West Coast after a test flight around La Cholla.

CUBA, MO. -- N178E is resting at Cuba Municipal Airport while the crew is snoozing at the Cuba, Missouri Super 8 Motel after a 6 hour 47 minute flight and a nice steak dinner. Tomorrow's program: early morning departure for Albuquerque and La Cholla Airpark in Arizona.

PITTSTOWN, NJ. -- N178E and its crew took off from Sky Manor this Saturday morning at 8:28AM under the watchful eyes of a small group of friends and relatives. After fueling the aircraft, securing luggage, loading food and performing final verifications, they taxied to the end of runway 7. There, after a thorough run-up, they took off as soon as their IFR clearance became valid. More...

The aircraft has now be repaired and test flown and is ready for departure. We are planning on taking off from Sky Manor Airport tomorrow, Saturday, May 25th at 08:00 AM EDT.

While checking our aircraft, our mechanics found a defective part in one of the engines. A replacement is being shipped overnight and should be installed tomorrow for final flight tests before our departure.

As a result, our new departure date is now Saturday, May 25th and our itinerary has been modified accordingly. Keep checking the web site for updates.

Our flight departure is being delayed due to an unanticipated Airworthiness Directive. The oil pumps on both engines have to be overhauled and updated. The existing aluminum gear and impeller must be replaced with more durable steel ones. Because it necessitates engine removal to access the pumps it becomes an eighteen hour job. Hence the delay.

Our appointment for fuel tank installation in El Cajon has been delayed to Tuesday, May 28th. Then it's on to Oakland for pre departure inspection and off to Hawaii. At the moment our new departure date is Friday, May 24th. We have catching up to do.