(01-12-2020 10:48 PM)Geoff Quickfall Wrote: Came home from Delhi to Vancouver over the pole (13:43 min air time).
Nonstop excitement through the “Stans” heading north from India; Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan... then onto Murmansk were we lost all communications and had to piggyback through Magaden control CPDLC.
Then we lost Magaden and never got hold of Iceland (BIRD) so: no VHF, HF, ACARS, CPDLC and SAT capabilities. All this before coasting out at Murmansk to the pole. Did get a hold of a United flight on emergency VF 121.5 MHz and they relayed a position report to BIRD via HF but we had no contact with BIRD for clearance to proceed or position reports v is CPDLC or HF!
And into Canada via the North Pole. So for the first time in 30 years of overseas flying I coasted out without oceanic clearance and in no-communications for 3 hours. Rather unusual these days to be no comm’s.
Air Safety Report and a new name for the Murmansk to Canada Polar Operations: “the Polar Triangle”. Wooooooo. Wooooooo. Cue Twilight Zone music.
The departure was Low Vis with CAT III approaches into Delhi (which I did the night before RVRS a,b & c 200/400/200.
So in thirty years my first CAT III arrival, first LOW VIS departure, first lost of coms for 3 hours and first no Oceanic clearance.
That kind of excitement I can do without but it does give one a sense of accomplishment when you land at destination safely and the passengers are completely oblivious.
Cheers
After a 5 hour survey flight in PNG normally at 100ft AGL, then trying to get back through valleys at tree top level dodging power lines and towers trying to stay under the cloud and haze and finally landing on minimal fuel with a storm that's already passing the threshold at the other end of the runway is a wee bit exciting too :-)
cheers
Tony
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