Happy Birthday HAL !

[Geoff Quickfall]

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