AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2015 - 98

Book, eBook, Audiobook

This book will help you:
* Learn all pvt & comm maneuvers
* Reduce the cost of flight training
* Avoid the accidental stall or spin
* Learn "seat of the pants" skills
* Roundout and flare accurately
* Fly complex airplanes
* Understand attitude flying
* Never fear a crosswind again
* Teach more efficiently as a CFI
* And much more!
508 full color pages
1,250 pictures and illustrations
Book - $59.95/eBook - $44.95
Audiobook $89.95/Digital $69.95

Rod's Other Products

The few tourists that we do carry often have bags of
scuba gear for Chuuk, which is a bucket-list destination for
divers, who come to explore the more than 70 Japanese
ships and airplanes that were sunk here by the United
States in World War II.
can't stay. If the airplane is overweight or if
a nonrevenue pass rider gets stuck, things
get interesting.
The flight from Kwaj to Majuro is the
shortest at 45 minutes, but the ground
times can be long because of security
procedures. Some of the galley is also
re-stocked here. Until recently, the airport
at Kwaj was the only one with a control
tower. It has since been shut down, supposedly only temporarily. Time will tell.
Majuro is the last of the atolls we will
see (it's also home of the best tuna steak
sandwich money can buy). From here, the
leg to Honolulu is nearly five hours long.
The westbound Hopper, Flight 154, will
come through tomorrow, and the kit will be
reloaded going to Guam, and the mechanic
will rejoin the westbound flight as well.
When the 727 was flying this route,
it couldn't make the leg from Majuro to
Honolulu, so it would land on Johnston
Island for fuel. Johnston has since been
shuttered. If our dispatcher determines
that we need an alternate besides Majuro
or Hawaii, we are filed slightly north of
the airway-believe it or not, there are airways out here-so we can use Midway.
This, understand, is a last resort. It brings
little peace of mind as it's so far out of the
way and largely unattended. But it's there.
In July 2014, a 777 en route to Guam from
Honolulu was forced to divert to Midway.
BRINGING HOME THE BACON

Laugh & Learn With Rod

Ordering:
www.rodmachado.com

All radio communications are done with
high frequency (HF) radios. Clearances are
in the same format as you learn for flying IFR
out of nontowered airports in the United
States. Remember those position reports you
read about so long ago, but probably have
never done? Those are an integral part of the
process out here, and they are all handled by
San Francisco Radio using the HF radio or
the on-board satellite phone. The weather
can wreak havoc with communications
when controllers and aircraft are thousands
of miles apart, and on those days or individual legs where you can't raise anyone on
98 | AOPA PILOT November 2015

the radio or the sat phone, it becomes necessary to resort to using a landline. This is
an airline, but in many ways, it's a pure GA
operation, which (to me) adds to the fun.
The remote aspect of what we do out
here is driven home by the fact that there is
almost never any traffic in the area. While
some airlines will stop in Majuro or Kosrae
while repositioning airplanes from the
states, there is scant traffic. The flight to
Honolulu, which always takes place after
dark, is a long, lonely one. Air Mike is, even
after 40 years of service, the only game in
town. If we don't get in, there may not be
another flight for seven or even 10 days.
I am often reminded of the song lyric:
"Seven thirty seven comin' outta the sky."
In this case, the 737 in question might
be mine, and I know that these folks are
counting on me to, literally, bring home
the bacon, and nobody relaxes until the
wheels actually touch down. The Hopper
has evolved over time, and the FAA has had
to issue several exemptions in order for the
operation to be successful given the geographic challenges. The pilots are a unique
bunch, as are the flight attendants. The
days are long-the duty day is 16 hours and
the total flight time is in excess of 11 hours.
The reward is an extended stay in Hawaii.
After our missed approach in Kosrae,
we cleaned up the airplane, set up the
approach again, and flew it one more time.
There was no traffic, so there was no rush.
This time we saw the runway well before
the minimum descent altitude. With the
autopilot off, I turned slightly right, and
then back left to join the final. We're the
first flight to land here in more than a week.
My landing isn't too bad-style points
don't count out here, anyway-and we taxi
to the gate. When the door opens, one of
the agents comes into the cockpit as we finish the Parking Checklist.
"Boy, are we glad to see you." Her smile
is all the thanks I need.
AOPA
CHIP WRIGHT is an airline pilot and frequent

contributor to AOPA publications.
http://www.rodmachado.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2015
