Journal
Day three, or four, or - whatever.
Out of Singapore with the dawn - actually a couple of hours before dawn. More thunderstorms early on like the ones that dogged my trip down the peninsula, but I seem to be getting clear of them.
I've had an insight. The aeroplane will be at its fastest when the throttle is at its widest and the RPMs at their highest; and that will be true at all altitudes. Therefore, apart from setting the mixture as lean as possible, the only other adjustment you can make is to the altitude; and the height at which you fly determines how far you go - and, of course, how fast you get there.
At 1000 feet with mixture at 60% and 2600 RPM, she'll go 221 kn for almost 4 hours, 840 miles. At 11,000 feet, with the mixture at 30%, she'll go 205 for almost 1500 miles.
I've also examined the reasoning behind splitting a long hop in a particular way. From Singapore to Darwin is almost 1800 miles. That is within my range - at 164 kn, with throttle and RPM reduced. 1800 divided by 164 is 11 hours.
A stop in Selaparang splits it 944 and 903. 944 and 9D3, both at 220, is 4.3 and 4.1 for 8.4 hours. Stopping at WATT, 1373 and 409, is 6.7 and 1.8 for 8.5. Apparently, even with the 45 minutes on the ground, the split makes sense. Now, factoring in headwinds and tailwinds . . .
2333, abeam Tanjung Pandan. Calculate ground speed as 219, distance as 37 miles. Puts me about 8 miles right of track. Pity I can't find my map! It must be under the seat . . .
More thunderstorms over Bali.
Bookmarks