May 2014 - Indonesia

Wednesday night, April 30th, 2014:
Tired after another full day of work and jobs and family and house stuff I collapsed into bed ... counting the days until another weekend.

"We welcome our three new Captains to PACIFICA AIRWAYS and know that you will serve us well, and proudly."
These words were spoken by a small, Indonesian man, standing before us at a podium. The lights were bright and the room was stiflingly hot. I looked around to see two other men in white shirts with Captains' stripes on their shoulders. I glanced at my own shoulder to see that indeed I was one of the three standing before the man who was rambling on about a proud history of service and quality in the world of Virtual Aviation and yada yada yada ... I looked over at the other two men again; one of them indeed looked to be of Southeastern Asian descent but the other man looked like Alejandro! Why was he here rather than publishing a FOTM feature for TooMuchFS?

My thoughts were interrupted by applause from the small audience. Three ladies stepped up to us and placed a shell-and-bead necklace around our necks. (pict1) Someone snapped photos and the next thing I knew we were out on the tarmac. The wind was HOT and the air was HEAVY with humidity. The young man walking next to me was talking excitedly about our route to Biak and then Jayapura and as he talked I was glad to see that we were walking toward an Embraer E-jet. (pict2)

Once up into the cockpit we began running through our checklists. (pict3) Soon, with pasengers and fuel loaded we headed out on the roughly 550-mile flight from Ambon to Biak Island. (pict4) (pict5)

A quick turn-around in Biak (including an aircraft change into the EMB-195) and we continued on nearly 300 miles to Jayapura. (pict6) (pict7) Here's a short little tour of the city: http://youtu.be/wVHUOGguOAQ

As we approached from the southwest it became apparent that this was one of Microsoft's famous "airports in a hole." Not as deep nor steep as many we have seen (I've noticed over the years that Alastair seems to be afflicted with these due to his enhanced worldwide scenery). As I approached low over the trees, with the TERRAIN WARNING blaring I knew that I was no longer dreaming. (pict8) Visions of spending the month flying over scenic views to warm destinations like Bali and Jakarta were just not going to be worth the time.

On more than one occassion I have asked about perhaps letting TooMuchFS go due to lack of interest and participation and I have heard nothing back. So, likely I will spend the rest of May and June (June is my flight anyway) continuing to archive away our old flights and features. (pict9) (pict10) (pict11) (pict12)

After landing the E-195 in Jakarta I shut down, logged off and bid my hosts farewell. We'll see what Hans comes up with for July.