A fuel leak over crocodile country

A successful start to the day. With two cooperative Pratt & Whitneys and only a short taxi required, Spirit was soon climbing over the Timor Sea and bound for Darwin. Anouck was filming the beautiful scenery below us when she suddenly noticed something flowing from one of the refuelling caps. That something was Avgas. Yikes!

I was reminded of a throwaway line from a military briefing (years ago) about surviving in these waters. The advice was simple: “your Browning 9mm pistol has thirteen rounds. Twelve for the saltwater crocs and one for yourself.” Which seems a bit unfair to the crocs since they eat the sharks. 

Fortunately, a quick review of Spirit’s fuel system showed that the situation was manageable. The leak was coming from the cap above the left auxiliary tank which is only one of several fuel tanks. We had enough fuel in the other tanks to comfortably make it to Darwin with reserves. We just needed to reduce the loss.

Levelling off helped immediately and the leak was reduced to a trickle. With the outflow relatively small, most of the fuel would be burned before it was lost. Within a few minutes the leak stopped altogether as the fuel quantity dropped a little lower in the tank.

Our attention then returned to the flight south and my personal thoughts turned to trying crocodile for dinner rather than the other way round.

Smooth air soon changed to something livelier as we worked around clouds typical of the Darwin wet season. Unlike many modern aircraft, Spirit’s wings are rigid and have very little flex in turbulence. Instead, she moves through the bumps rather like a yacht riding the waves. Which is surprisingly comfortable for the conditions.

The approach into Darwin had strong winds until late finals. To quote Nick: “She kept Curt working all the way down”. That’s pilot talk for ‘difficult conditions to land in’. Curt did an excellent job, by the way.

Darwin is home to Gooney Bird Adventures. Its owner Woody and pilot Trent were there to welcome us on arrival. A couple of well-earned beers were planned at the Cavenagh Hotel on Cavenagh Street. Those directions sounded simple enough, but our film director Gregory somehow managed to get himself, Anouck and me lost along the way after attempting a shortcut through a gin distillery.

Our late arrival was quickly forgiven by the rest of the team. Especially since it happened to be our fantastic film director’s 51st birthday. Safe to say there was more French Champagne than Australian crocodile on the menu. And a very enjoyable evening was had by all.

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