This post covers a 19 day trip in the Pacific.
We flew to the LA area the first day and flight planned the leg to Honolulu the next day and the jet stream was really blowing and we couldn't carry enough fuel to safely make the trip with proper reserves. The next day the wind was a little lighter and off we went. The winds were worse than expected but we made it to Honolulu in 12 hours ! Remember this is a old 4 engine piston aircraft... flew at 250 knots versus an airliner at 450 knots.
We went on to Kwajalein Atoll the next day.
What a beautiful island. I reminisced about one of my Uncles living there for a few years and hearing the family stories of my young cousins adventures there. My other connection to Kwajalein was Martha's Dad... He was an engineer for the Atomic Energy Commission and had told me of his Kwajalein stories as the atomic age progressed. We watched a beautiful sunset through the gently swaying palms and went to an outdoor movie. In the middle of the movie a few people got up and left and then a lot of people did... finally the people that were left popped open their umbrellas as the pouring rain started. We took off laughing for the cover of the concession stand as everyone else laughed and made way for the newcomers... it was a regular occurrence. We did hear the rain coming but didn't know what was causing the sound... the locals did.
On to Guam the next the next day.
We headed to the beach and nearby jungle in our spare time. I learned to eat fresh heart of palm there as we cut down small palm trees with our pocket knives.
Then it was on to Northern Japan... The Northern Island, Hokkaido... the capital of which is Sapporo. It was here that Mort scared me more than any other time.
We were on approach to a US base... Misawa Air Base. The weather was mostly clear with a forecast of Snow and the sun was setting. We were about 15 miles out and could easily see the airport and the approaching snow storm. I mentioned to Mort we should keep the speed up and beat the snow storm... he responded by slowing down. I again suggested keeping the speed up as the storm approached the base... and then when when it reached the other end of the runway. Each time he responded by slowing down more. About 500 feet above the ground and a half of a mile from touchdown we lost sight of the runway as the storm blew our way. Now Mort had to transition to instruments as his sole guidance. To do this so low to the ground is a hard task for anyone and especially Mort. He was going off course as I corrected him back on course when I saw the runway... right at 200 feet... our minimum altitude for the approach. I blurted out... "Runway at 1 o'clock"... which was our pilot not flying procedure. When I did that Mort radically banked the aircraft to turn toward the runway and I had to grab hold of my seat to stay upright. He did another radical turn to line up with the runway as we finally got on course. It happened so quick and unexpectedly that none of the crew could believe he did it. Major Wheeler was along on this trip also (we could fly for 24 hours straight with 3 pilots) and he and I talked afterward about pulling Mort from flying when we got back to the states... but we had to get home first.
Early the next morning about 2 AM I experienced the biggest earthquake of my life. We were sleeping in old WW II type wooden barracks and the beds were just metal frames with a spring type base and a 4 inch mattress that seem to sag half way to the floor... like a hammock. I woke up when the bed was swaying and kind of walking across the floor. At first I thought someone big was walking down the hall but I got up and looked out in the hallway and saw a head sticking out of every door just like me... someone said earthquake. I took the time to get dressed a little but some guys went running out in their underwear. The ground was covered with snow and it was freezing cold. We didn't stay outside long as we decided we would rather not freeze.
The next day it was on to Okinawa for the night. Then it was on to Honolulu with a stop at Midway Island for fuel.
One thing about long flights over water when you are en route to an island with no place to stop if you have trouble... ETP... Echo Tango Papa... Equal Time Point. That is the point that you are an equal flight time to your destination and to you origin... taking winds into the calculation... winds could be 100 knots or higher on your nose or you tail... I had already seen 200 knots at this point in my career. If you have a problem before ETP you go back to where you started... after ETP you go on to your destination. A common problem was running into bad weather after the ETP and you just had to press on to your destination because you didn't have the fuel to go back where you came from.
On the way to Japan we encountered a line of thunderstorms just after the ETP and had to press on to Guam. We had to turn and fly along the line of thunderstorms looking for a hole to slip thru and found none. We finally reached a point that just had to penetrate the line at what looked like the weakest point. Well that was a rough ride and it was fresh in my memory.
We left Okinawa for a stop at Midway Island in the wee hours of the morning.
Midway Island is small and the runway starts and stops at the Pacific Ocean and Mort was flying. You haven't experienced dark until you have been in the middle of the ocean on a cloudy night. He tried his best to land in the ocean and I wouldn't let him do it. As we were touching down our landing lights illuminated Gooney Birds sitting on the runway... I don't know how many we chopped up... they just sat there and we were unable to avoid them. Gooney Birds (Albatross) are graceful in flight but are hilarious for the takeoffs and landings... they don't move quick on the ground. The crew chief inspected the airplane for damage as Mort and I went into operations for a weather brief and to file our flight plan to Honolulu.
They actually had satellite weather back then too. The weather map showed a big line of weather right after our ETP... again... I mutinied right there on the spot. I wasn't going to do that again. Bear in mind Mort way out ranked me. We went back to the aircraft and talked to Major Wheeler and since there was no place on the island to put the crew and passengers up we agreed to wait until the next satellite shot. We all sat on the airplane and got hotter and hotter in the humidity. The next satellite shot showed a hole in the line of weather and we were off. As we approached our ETP I could see the big line of weather on the radar and the lightning flashing... I saw no hole in the line. We crossed the ETP and started flying down the line looking for that hole and found none. When we passed through the initial line of weather Major Wheeler headed back for a nap. I was up there for about 6 more hours dodging monster thunderstorms and fighting sleep all the way to Hawaii. When I saw the sun come up and a green jungle covered island it was quite a relief and I sent for Major Wheeler as I was nodding off more often. It seemed like forever to get to Honolulu. I had had plenty of 24 hour days before this but this was the toughest of all of them.
That is the end of my Mort stories. He and Major Wheeler both made it to the 20 year point and retired. Both of them were good people and they really taught me a lot.
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