It is now midnight Saturday night in South Africa (and 10 am on Sunday in the Marshall Islands) and I guess by now J & J must be on their way. For the first time they will have to deal with headwinds of 15 to 20 knot all the way which will make the flight time about 24 hours. To make sure they have the range they have taken off with a massive 620 litres of fuel on board giving them a safety margin even if the headwind picks up a bit.
Apart from the headwind there are a bunch of cb’s which they are going to have to deal with on the way but after they cross the International Date Line they should be through the worst of them. Although Johnson Atoll is just over halfway and a convenient emergency landing spot they will be passing it in the night and without a moon and lights on the abandoned runway, it could prove difficult to land on it in the dark … but just knowing it is there gives some comfort.
Good luck J and J … we’ll chat again on Sunday at 10 am when you land in Hawaii. I know, how crazy is that – they fly for 24 hours and land at the same time and date as they took off .. just 4,000 km away eastwards or is it westwards?
Mike
