{"id":25020,"date":"2024-01-16T21:01:52","date_gmt":"2024-01-16T21:01:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/?p=25020"},"modified":"2025-06-27T05:09:09","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T05:09:09","slug":"round-the-world-the-pacific-part-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/index.php\/2024\/01\/16\/round-the-world-the-pacific-part-10\/","title":{"rendered":"Round the World – The Pacific, Part 10"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The next morning we made our way out to the airport again. Before departure to Maui, I had an appointment with an airworthiness inspector from the US Federal Aviation Authority’s (FAA) Honolulu Flight Standards District Office (FSDO). He would perform an inspection of the aircraft and, hopefully, issue my flight permit for the trip from Hilo to the mainland. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The distance from Hilo to the California coast is much too great for Planey to fly it in one go without performing significant modifications<\/strong><\/a> to the stock fuel system. There is nowhere to stop between Hawaii and the mainland which means that an aircraft must be capable of flying a minimum of 2,050 nautical miles non-stop to make the flight. In stock configuration Planey can do about half of this; hence the requirement to install the ferry fuel system consisting of a 160 gallon bladder tank behind the front seats, with transfer pumps to take this fuel into the main aircraft fuel system.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Planey on the apron in Honolulu<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

All of this extra fuel weighs a considerable amount; when fully fueled for the flight to the mainland, the aircraft is about 20% over the certified maximum take-off weight. To operate overweight legally one must apply for and receive a permit from the FAA, and the aircraft inspection is part of this process. I had submitted the paperwork to get this process started a couple of months earlier. The inspector assigned was responsive and helpful, but it seemed that he hadn’t worked on a permit for a small aircraft before; my weight and balance calculations were returned to me with the suggestion that I replace the (correct) density I had used for avgas with the value for jet fuel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The inspection was quickly completed and the FAA rep promised to send through the completed permit for me to print before departure from Hilo. The power in the FBO had been off when we arrived and had still not come back on, so they noted down my details to complete the invoicing later, and we were on our way.<\/p>\n\n\n