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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, MAY 15, 1981
May 16, 1981
HWA DIARY
by
Robert Fahey
Page 2
It has been a full trip so far! After an overnight stop in Honolulu, we
were to fly on to Sydney, Australia on Wednesday, May 6th.
At present,
there is a 17-hour time difference between Los Angeles and Sydney, and a 20-
hour difference between Honolulu and Sydney. Our schedule was to depart
Honolulu at 11 a.m. on Wednesday the 6th, and arrive Sydney after 11 hours
of travel at 6 p.m. Thursday, the 7th! The day and dates change as you
cross the International Dateline!
But we had several delays.
First, after takeoff in Honolulu, we found we were losing fuel from our
starboard wing fuel tank. Captain Black quickly shut down the fuel flow
from that tank so there was no danger. But we had to return to Honolulu
immediately. No serious problem--the fuel cap had not been locked properly
by ground staff. It was easy to fix, but we lost an hour in the process.
Next, our refueling stop took longer than we had hoped. Faleolo is almost
exactly half-way between Honolulu and Sydney. If you are interested, find
it on the map in Western Samoa. Modern and efficient it is not. Turn
around took a half hour longer than expected.
The last delay was the worst. Headwinds. Just after Faleolo they began.
At first they were not very strong. But they kept increasing. Our flight
time should have been just over 5 hours. But as the headwinds increased, so
our expected flight time kept being extended. While I was in the cockpit
the highest INS (Inertial Navigation System) reading was 138 knots. For a
time, it looked as though we might have to divert to Auckland, New Zealand.
The pilots were calculating and recalculating ground speed, fuel supply,
and fuel flow as they kept changing to make sure we could reach Sydney
safely. They had to skirt a large thunderstorm, which was spectacular to
view from 41,000 feet, but added to our fuel concern.
Finally, at 9 p.m. local time, after 14 hours of travel time, we spotted the
lights of Sydney. We were permitted to fly straight in and land. We were
tired! Customs and Immigration seemed to appreciate our weariness and sped
us through.
Mr. Bob Morton and several other ministers were there to meet Mr. and Mrs.
Armstrong and the rest of our party (which is Mrs. Ruth Nestor, Evelyn and
I). We went straight to our hotel which was our home base while in Aus
tralia. It was about midnight when I got into bed. That was 4 a.m. in
Honolulu and 7 a.m. in Los Angeles!
The next morning I saw Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong in the breakfast room. He
didn't look a bit tired! He said he had been very tired the night before
after such a long day, but that he had had a very good rest and was ready to
go!
We spent Friday getting settled into the hotel and working out dozens of
last-minute details with the local men.