Yet another delay getting to Palmyra

The day started great as we arrived at Bradley Pacific Aviation. We were all under weight so there was no problem with our bags. I had my first bacon coated donut which was actually very tasty.

Bradley Pacific Aviation

While we flew to and from Palmyra on a Gulfstream II last year, the charter service Brenda was able to negotiate for this trip uses a Gulfstream IV-SP. I thought it was luxurious last year, but this year is even better. The plane is wider, longer, and has more amenities. This year we even had a flight attendant to take care of our every need.

Robbie, Paul, Ana, Sabina getting ready to board the plane

interior of the Gulfstream IV-SP

The pilot, Drew, was very friendly and invited us to come up to the cockpit to look around and talk. He had never landed in Palmyra, so I showed him a bunch of aerial photos I have collected. He asked if they were mine, and I said no and that it had been raining when we arrived last year and I really would like to get some of my own aerial photos of Palmyra. He said he would see about doing a 360 of the island before we land so we could take some photos.

Then things fell apart.

There was very low cloud cover over Palmyra, so we dropped below it to try to land which would have been great except it was also raining. There is no control tower, no runway lights, etc., so you need to see the runway to land. We could see the runway out of the side windows, but Drew could not see it from the front windows of the plane which is necessary to land. After circling around for a while we continued on to Christmas Island where there is a larger runway and the weather was clear.

aerial of Christmas Island

Drew was not able to contact anyone on the ground, so we buzzed the runway. Still no response, so we just landed with no clearance. The person finally contacted our plane and apologized -- she had been out for lunch. They had the fuel which we wanted, and supposedly we had a release for it. Instead we were told they required cash up front. The cost to re-fuel is not chump change. Eventually they agreed to accept the fuel release. In the meantime we all got off the plane and took some photos.

Ana, Sabina, Paul at the airport's VIP Lounge on Christmas Island

At first I was optimistic we might still get to Palmyra, but things took a turn for the worse. After starting to refuel they aborted when they learned that we were not paying in cash. Drew had to go into town and met with a Scotsman who runs the island. The Scotsman ended up paying for the refueling with the understanding that Brenda at TNC would reimburse him.

By now the pilots were running into the FAA limits on their flying time, and the weather on Palmyra had not improved, so we headed back to Honolulu. A very frustrating day.