Falcon 50 to Austrailia

[falconpilot]

A few months back a started a thread about South Pacific flying. I was looking for a fuel stop between PHNL (Honolulu, Hi) and Sydney, Austrailia. I had a lot of feed back and was asked to update this thread when I had my route figured out.. So here it is.. Out of PHNL we have choosen to use Pago Pago, American Samoa which is about 2400nm. Some have used Fiji, which is about 2700nm, but i felt that was pushing it a bit. I feel better having lots of gas of that much water. The Marshall Islands was the other option, but the odds were stacked against it, do to the fact of fuel cost and I was told it wasnt that great of a stop. So if anyone has flown into Austrailia and has any input it would be helpful, and appreciated. This is obviously my first time down there.

 

[HMR]

Thanks for the update. Have you figured out if you can do the trip at normal speed or will you need to slow for LRC?

 

[falconpilot]

All flight planning was done at .80 mach.

 

[Metro752]

Besides Fiji is having a political revolution after a recent coup d'etat

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_3073.html

This information is current as of today, document.write(Date()+".") Thu Dec 07 2006 21:28:40 GMT-0600 (Central Standard Time).​

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Fiji [/FONT]​

December 06, 2006
This Public Announcement is being updated to alert Americans that on December 5 Fiji’s military claimed to have deposed the lawfully elected government of Fiji and declared a state of emergency. The U.S. Department of State continues to warn U.S. citizens to defer all non-essential travel to Suva until the security situation is clarified. This Public Announcement supersedes the Public Announcement issued on December 1, 2006, and expires on January 22, 2007.
The Department of State urges American citizens to consider carefully the risks of travel to the Republic of Fiji at this time and to defer all non-essential travel to Suva. On December 5, the Commander of Fiji’s military force claimed to have deposed the lawfully elected government of Fiji and declared a state of emergency. While the situation in Fiji currently is calm, military checkpoints have been established in and around major population centers, including Suva, Nadi and Lambasa. The Department recommends that private American citizens in Fiji evaluate their personal security. The security situation is uncertain and could deteriorate rapidly. Risks could include indiscriminate attacks on government or civilian targets in the greater Suva area.

Cools stuff none the less.

 

[Hugh Johnson]

Bring cash to Pago to pay customs and landing fees. Just went through in a 900EX and the customs fee was 57.50 and I think the landing fee was around 150. USD. Make sure you dont land after hours there probable won't be anyone there. Good luck.

 

[pilot error]

they also have good ice cream in pago pago.

 

[Partyfoul]

Have your camera ready for Pago Pago. The runway disappearing in the flare is quite fun the first time. Lost it in a G-III years ago as a huge wave crashed right over the threshold as we were landing. We got soaked. Try the Lord Nelson Pub in Sydney. It is in Miller's Point by the bridge. Have a great trip.

 

[sidesaddle]

No worries, Mate

Falconpilot,

Just did a trip there a little while back and had a great time. I think you will really like it.

A couple of FYIs for whatever they are worth; Our Trip Planning service failed to bring up that Australian Visas are required for the passengers and for the crew. Fortunately, we found out ahead of time from another source and called to have our provider get them. Here is a link with a little more info:

http://www.eta.immi.gov.au/

Also you may want to bring your own insecticide because unless you present them with an empty can that you have used in the plane, they will fumigate you. One other thing Melbourne Center is pronounced "Mell bun" not "Mell born"

Have a fun trip
G'Day

 

[falconpilot]

great info thanks

 

[Kiwi]

Which parts of Australia are you stopping at?

I go there about 3 times a month. As far as A Samoa - I've only been to Western Samoa. But Fiji [Nadi] is still safe even after the coup detat [spelling].

Let me know if you're going to New Zealand..