My adventures have taken place in a great variety of aircraft, chosen to suit the trip at hand. In more recent times I have been flying N9953H, a 1981 Cessna 182R, which is heavily modified to make it even better suited for long distance, adventure type flights. In reference to the “Boaty McBoatface” story that played out in the British media; this aircraft is affectionately known as “Planey McPlaneface”.

N9953H has been fine-tuned for long distance adventure, and general exploring. An upgraded 270hp “PPonk” engine allows easier operation at high elevation airports, as well as extra performance when operating at very heavy weights when fueled for very long flights. A JPI EDM-930 engine monitor allows operation to be fine tuned for maximum efficiency while ensuring the engine is operated well within temperature limits. It enables detailed condition monitoring of the engine and early identification of any problems.

The aircraft fuel system is set up for extreme long range. The main tanks have a capacity of 92 US gallons (giving an endurance of nearly 8 hours), and Flint tip tanks have been added giving an extra 24 US gallons of fuel. For the really long flights, a flexible TurtlePac fuel bladder can be installed in place of the rear seats, offering another 150 US gallons of fuel. With all tanks filled, the aircraft can fly for more than 20 hours, covering distances of well over 2,000 nautical miles.

In terms of instrumentation, two Garmin G5 solid state Artificial Horizon and Directional Indicator instruments are installed as the primary flight instruments. This permitted the removal of the older, less reliable vacuum powered gyroscopic instruments.

An Avidyne IFD-540 GPS/Nav/Comm is the primary navigation and communication equipment, with a Garmin GNC255 installed as the back-up Nav/Comm. A Garmin Aera 660 is panel mounted and linked to the IFD-540, and displays weather and traffic information. An S-Tec 30 autopilot is connected to the GPS and can follow any flight-plan which is loaded into it. Rounding off the instrument stack is a PS Engineering PMA-450B audio panel.

Panel-mounted USB charging ports have been added to keep portable devices running on long flights or when out camping.

Rounding out the modifications are Stene Aviation wing-tip LED landing lights; these have come in useful a few times at remote airstrips where the runway lights have been unexpectedly out of action. BAS 4-point inertia-reel harnesses are installed for additional safety should the worst occur.