| Previous Leg | Leg 7: Rarotonga to Apia | Next Leg |
| Date | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| Thu 07/15 | NCRG - Rarotonga, Cook Islands / UTC -10:00 | NSFA - Apia, Samoa / UTC -11:00 |
| Departure | Enroute | Arrival | Distance | Avg. Spd. | Max. Spd. | Max. Alt. | Fuel | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (NM) | (KT) | (KT) | (FT) | (USG) | ||||
| Estimated | 09:00 (19:00Z) | 05:30 | 13:30 (+1 00:30Z) | 826 | 88 | |||
| Actual | 09:40 (19:40Z) | 06:14 | 14:54 (+1 01:54Z) | 847 | 136 | 187 | 8,532 |
The weather conditions on this leg are subject to conditions over the Pacific Islands, closer to the equator than Fiji, during the month of July this is a period of a cooler, drier season.
And most of the time, conditions are weather free. From May to November it is the cool, dry season - less humidity.
| Temperature in Faleolo | Low: 62°F, High: 82°F |
| July Precipitation | 3.3 Inches |
| Winds Aloft at 7,000 to 10,000 Feet | From the southeast at 7 MPH |
Airborne at 19:40Z, landed at Faleola airport at 01:54Z for 6:14 en route. Weather good, but winds not favorable. Ed complains "Where are these great tail winds we are supposed to get?".
Our route takes us over Pago Pago airport where Ed had been previously, then on to Samoa our destination airport.
We fueled the airplane on arrival to save a special trip on Friday, a forty minute drive from Apia. Also the I.F.O.P.A. banner made its debut on a corner of the ramp to be viewed by passengers in taxiing airliners.
We were hoping to stay at Aggie Grey's Hotel, famous for "South Pacific" filming, but it was booked solid so we settled for the number 2, the Kitano Tusitala. Quite nice. We arrived in time for the evening buffet dinner and native show. Very interesting.
Friday morning, we walked the beach road to Aggie Grey's, to see what we had missed. Its yesteryear tropical architecture was most impressive. A great breakfast, but hotel still booked. Did some souvenir shopping and back to the Kitano for this narrative.
Operationally, we are having difficulty with the auto pilot and the HF radio. The radio problem could be operator error or a problem with one of the components. Fortunately we have the Iridium satellite phone and are permitted to continue using it. We are ahead of schedule and are changing our departure dates to give us an extra day in Cairns for repairs. We leave here tomorrow Saturday the 17th and Vanuatu on Tuesday the 20th. Our flight tomorrow takes us across the International Date Line.
 Photo Courtesy of Ed Galkin or Dick Sollner
We left Rarotonga with nice weather
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 Photo Courtesy of Ed Galkin or Dick Sollner
Overflying Pago Pago, American Samoa, where Ed stopped on a previous around the world flight
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 Photo Courtesy of Ed Galkin or Dick Sollner
Almost on final at Apia
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 Photo Courtesy of Ed Galkin or Dick Sollner
Fire dance at Hotel Kitano Tusitala
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 Photo Courtesy of Ed Galkin or Dick Sollner
More of the show
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 Photo Courtesy of Ed Galkin or Dick Sollner
Now, a customer or two have been roped in
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 Photo Courtesy of Ed Galkin or Dick Sollner
Aggie Grey's Hotel in Apia. Famous for its role in "South Pacific"
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 Photo Courtesy of Ed Galkin or Dick Sollner
Marlon Brando slept here
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 Photo Courtesy of Ed Galkin or Dick Sollner
Traditional Coast Guard cutter
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 Photo Courtesy of Ed Galkin or Dick Sollner
What do you want now?!? I'm trying to send stuff to that ?!@#% webmaster!
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That evening in Apia, Samoa we enjoyed fine dining at Aggie Grey's Hotel in their best dining room. Wonderful.
 Photo Courtesy of Ed or Dick
I.F.O.P.A. banner deployed in view of taxiing airliners
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 Photo Courtesy of Ed or Dick
Faleola arrival terminal
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