RocketRoute member Tomasz D. recently completed an ambitious trip round the world in four weeks. Tom planed the flights using RocketRoute FlightPlan app, and arranged fuel and ground handling with RocketRoute Marketplace. He was in communication with RocketRoute Support team throughout the journey. Here is his inspiring story. ;)
I live in Poznań so the other side of Earth is about 1100NM SE of New Zealand. The plan with our round-the- world trip was a nice big circle linking the two. I co-own the TBM with my friend Arjan and we alternated pilot duties leg by leg. We prioritized unique UNESCO World Heritage Sites over the homogeneity of big cities, which meant romantic, remote and dramatic destinations: Samarkand Town; Kathmandu Valley; Komodo National Park; Kakadu National Park; Great Barrier Reef; Rapa Nui National Park (Easter Island) and Iguazu.
Mike from White Rose Aviation took care of permits while Marcin Herzog did flight planning, airport comms, handling and fuel arrangements. Both were sterling; critical to our progress and, we discovered, also our well-being. Good support feels good even when you’re not using it. There were too many curious times to list but flying over Afghanistan is worth a mention. The super- strict radio comms and meticulous positioning made it plain that the US Military controls this airspace with a beady eye. Heard some ‘black wolf’ call signs which sounded dark and combative - but maybe they were just honouring a pet?...
We used RocketRoute for all flight planning during the trip and also used AirBP where available. With its global coverage, RR really is a great tool for international flying. The support we received from the RocketRoute team was always fast and efficient.
An attraction in Kathmandu was a helicopter flight to Everest’s base. The AS350 B3 took us up to 20,000ft with no oxygen. I would heartily recommend this very memorable digression over a daunting landscape. It was worth the landing in Kathmandu, which was the trickiest on our route and, I suspect, in the world. It necessitated $60M third party insurance and completed training approaches in a sim. We managed thanks to our insurance agent and Aero Poznań Flying School.
Totegegie in French Polynesia offered the most spectacular landing; a lovely, low and inviting reef, lapped by the peaceful grandeur of the impossibly vast Pacific. At 5h 57m, the flight to Easter Island was the longest in duration. A proper tailwind was required. Destination was a small VFR strip located between two hills on a cliffy island. There was no proper alternate airport for us; it would have taken an unfeasibly magnificent tailwind to carry us a further 350NM to mainland Chile.
Robinson Crusoe Island was possibly the most unnerving. We descended in light rain and I could only see cliffs. At three miles final I saw the runway, demanding a steep approach owing to the threat of turbulence from the uneven terrain. While on the same ocean as Easter Island, Robinson was less enchanting but elementally imposing; cold, windy and foreboding with seals swarming the shores.
Alas, commonplace JET-A1 was unavailable there. Planes flying in from mainland Chile have enough fuel to fly back. At home I spent weeks being blanked by fuel companies, shipping companies, aviation companies - everyone said no. So I’m posting the email of the one local hero who can get JET-A1 ready for anyone bound for that remote shore; Marcelo at mare@islarobinsoncrusoe.cl
The most serious error was entirely ours and, perhaps ironically, came on the final leg: flying at night, over the Alps, single engine, potential pressurization problems, tired crew, 85kt headwind, snow and fog forecasted all around. We descended through the snowfall and landed with a comfortable 500ft cloud base. We had actually planned to fly the next morning but whimsically decided to tack on the last leg that day. It was not big and clever, and it was entirely unnecessary.
Such miscalculation withstanding, the trip required no special skills. Anyone could do it, though good support is vital. Apart from the afore-mentioned I must also pay tribute to Daher Socata, for making such a reliable, versatile aircraft and supporting us throughout the trip.
Read the whole story here.
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