The gentle art of waking a radial engine
With Ramadan underway, locals were also up before dawn to take their pre-fast meal. During the drive to the airport, the streets were already alive with scooters weaving through the morning traffic. Often an entire family was balanced on a single small machine, flowing around our car as though we were part of a motorcade.
On the ramp, Spirit waited patiently in the warm tropical air. Mark had recently sent me a nostalgic article written by a retired pilot reflecting on the joys (and challenges) of starting radial engines compared with modern jet ones. His point was that these engines don’t simply start. They need to be gently coaxed into life.
With that thought in mind, I watched Connell step up to the task of bringing Spirit’s Pratt & Whitney radials to life (for the first time) this morning. Radial engines have their own personalities. They rarely hurry, and they seldom perform perfectly for an audience. Connell had both challenges to contend with, as most of us stood nearby observing while he carefully worked through the process. From my amateur perspective, the engines eventually rumbled awake, settling into the familiar rhythmic growl that always seems to signal the beginning of another adventure.
Before long, Spirit was taxiing for departure and climbing out over Balikpapan. Below us the vast oil refinery (responsible for roughly a third of Indonesia’s production) dominated the shoreline, while long coal barges moved steadily through the surrounding waters. Soon, the industrial landscape gave way to scattered shoals and small islands that dot the seas between Borneo and Timor.
The weather proved kind, with smooth air and a helpful tailwind allowing Spirit to make excellent progress to the south-east. Conditions were so agreeable that yours truly was trusted with much of the flying, until Connell resumed his duties to guide Spirit down into Dili under the watchful eye of Captain Curt Lewis.
Arrival formalities required patience in the heat, but the welcome could not have been warmer. A crowd quickly gathered to admire Spirit, with many people keen to take photographs and step aboard for a closer look. A great many smiles all round. Next stop is Darwin, so stay tuned…