King Air C90 # 1
Paris to Phnom Penh
The
last time I went with a Cessna 337 from France to Cambodia, this time
I was hired to deliver a King Air C90. But first the Beech turboprop had
to be made ready. The aircraft was purchased in Paris Le Bourget were it
was sitting since nearly one year without being moved.
The
price was interesting but as always in a situation like this there is a
catch. The aircraft is one of six special build Beechcraft for Lufthansa
training school. Apart from the new radios it looks more like an old 737
cockpit than a C90.
The
electrical system and the cockpit panel are not standard and no diagrams
were coming with it. To get a fresh C of A the shop that knew the aircraft
since a long time was asking 45.000€ (the quote from the year before when
the plane did not pass the annual inspection) Lengthy negotiations
reduced it to 29000€ but they offered only a ferry permit for this reduced
price. After two weeks without any progress I checked out the aircraft and
decided it was flyable with minor work. A French mechanic that runs a
small shop in the South of France got the job to fix what was needed and
we ended up spending only a few thousand a fraction of the Paris shop
quote.
The
engines were in good shape but I discovered lots of new problems that
mainly results out of the fact that the aircraft had been sitting unflown
for long time insufficiently protected against the elements. Inside the
Cabin there was an extreme level of humidity.
The
autopilot made trouble, same as the flight director what is a completely
different unit in this King Air. Without ether system there was a hard job
lying ahead of me, hand flying the plane more than 5000NM going single
pilot.
One attitude Gyro failed but there were two others to substitute.
The
Air condition did not work what was quite a handicap from Egypt on but
ones above 10000’ it gets cold and even in India heating is needed.
The
de-icing boots did not inflate what meant to better stay out of
clouds near freezing level.
And finally the fuel indication was giving false readings, completely
topping the tanks at each stop took care of this problem.
The
aircraft got a ferry permit and simultaneously we obtained the over flight
and landing clearances for the route. It was easy this time as I stick to
the same route that worked before.
But
bureaucracy hassle started even before the first flight with the French
custom and immigration officers. The flight was planed to depart on a
Monday. Custom clearance requires 24h prior notice but they are not
available to make reservation on Saturday or Sunday. What brings it to
72h. A very polite request on Monday morning for a 14:00 departure was
unsuccessful. Finally I changed the destination from Croatia to Italia and
wanted to go. But now I made Customs suspicious and they wanted to block
my departure. None of these officers had any knowledge about the Schengen
contract that allows this flight and insisted on inspection scheduled for
Tuesday morning. Ignoring their order I was airborne 14:05 on Monday
without
inspection and I haven’t heard from them yet.
Flying over Italia
showed that even south near Rome they get some snow.
The
weather was good with a light tailwind what helped to reduce the flight
time. That night I made Dubrovnik my first stop as planned. Here I use a
private accommodation in Cavtat a small fishing/tourist village near the
airport. Dubrovnik is one of my preferred places with inexpensive handling,
low fuel prices and an AIS office right on the airport. This is a great
help in dealing with the Eurocontrol. But still each
time I have to call Brussel helpdesk and ask for manual flightplan correction as
there is no possible airway connection between Dubrovnik and Iraklion my
next stop.
From
there the flight went to Luxor Egypt, Bahrain,
Muscat Oman, Ahmedabad and
Kolkata India and direct to Phnom Penh. (
information and
pictures about this legs can be found
on
previous flight reports)
The
last leg from Kolkata is quite a stretch for a C90 with only 370Gal of Jet
A1 available. With no correct fuel indication system I was getting nervous
flying the plane over a distance of 1200NM. Additionally the wing boots
that would not inflate when needed caused some permanent drag during the
whole flight as the picture shows.
Nether
helpful was the high OAT (ISA +25°C) that reduces power of the PT6-20
engine to around 700Lbs/ft torque of the 1300 available and limited my flight
altitude. But while burning fuel and getting lighter a step-climb helped
to get some more range.
The
flightplan was initially
filed to Bangkok but the option was
spending the Saturday night with some friends (made last time while
delivering the 337) in Phnom Penh. Only the Cambodian permit was for the
next day and I even didn’t have the number with me yet. After an hour of
working with Bangkok control and having them contact Phnom Penh my request
to amend my flightplan was granted.
Anyhow here is all the equipment that the Cambodian Airforce has available
to stop such an attempt if unauthorized.
And
the Mig21's haven’t been flown for years. They are probably in worse shape
than the King Air after only one year sitting around.
In
Phnom Penh
the aircraft got its maintenance check and some repairs were performed. The
owner had to visit some neighboring countries and the King Air was put
into action to see how his new aircraft would perform.
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pilot@utility-aircraft.com