The Government authorities in the northern provinces of Bali island have always wanted the tourism business, which has largely been concentrated in the southern part of the island, to also reach their shores. After all there are many fine beaches, historical sites, cultural characteristics and other attractions there that many have passed over probably due to lack of publicity.
Since the beginning of the new millenium, a small airstrip had been established in Grokgak, Buleleng to cater for sports aviation. Several local and international aerial events have been held there and among them are the International Buleleng Fly-Ins. The first was held in 2001.This story covers the second in the series and this was held in early September 2006.
Ten years earlier, this writer had taken part in the Jakarta - Mataram - Jakarta Air Rally (see the story also in this blog) which stopped in Denpasar airport to the south on the way to and from Lombok island. So this was somewhat like a down-memory-lane trip for me.
It was Independence Day, August 31, 2006 and a few of our contingent members flew the ceremonial flypast in their Eagle 150s at the national parade in the morning. They were the Eagle Formation consisting of six aircraft. Our RSFC (Royal Selangor Flying Club) team comprised two C172s (9M-BDX and 9M-RFC) using the callsign Selangor Formation. In addition the C172 of the Perak Aero Club 9M-RMW was assigned to be the third member of our formation. Another batch of aircraft used the callsign Pahang Formation.
I was flying the lead aircraft 9M-BDX and the other two were to formate on me at all times during the whole event.
Our two RSFC C172s flew from KL to Melaka to meet up with other aircraft from the rest of Peninsular Malaysia. We all assembled at Melaka Airport (WMKM) for our Immigration and Customs clearances and after refueling left in formations for Pekanbaru Airport (WIBB) in Sumatra.
REFUELING, CUSTOMS AND IMMIGRATION AT MELAKA
The flight took us across the Melaka Straits, overflying the RUMID and SALAX intersections and Dumai Airport (WIBD) and took us almost two hours.
Pekanbaru's Sultan Syarif Kasim II is a joint civil/military airfield and I had flown to this airport two years earlier to take part in the Pekanbaru Air Sports Show (PASS). The TNI-AU (Indonesian Armed Forces - Air Force) took care of our immigration and customs clearance without any hassle. We were supposed to immediately refuel and continue to Palembang Airport but unfortunately the avgas for our aircraft had not even left its depot at Medan, meaning that we had to spend the night in Pekanbaru. The fuel only arrived mid-morning the next day (1 September 2006) and we left for Palembang at almost noon.
THE 3 EAGLES & THE OTHER C172 HANGARED AT PEKANBARU
FUEL ARRIVED FROM MEDAN THE NEXT MORNING
SEVERAL HAWKS TAXIED OUT WHILE WE REFUELED
TOWING AN EAGLE TO THE FLIGHTLINE
(In front is the late Kol. Zakaria who perished in an air show at Padang airport on 23 June 2011) )
OUR C172 BEING REFUELED
AN ADAM AIR B737 TAKING OFF FROM PEKANBARU
(The airline was shut down by the aurhorities two years later. In the background is the civil terminal)
After a long 3 1/2 hour flight we arrived at Palembang (WIPP) which, like most Indonesian airports, is a joint civil and military airport. We were parked on the military side. All our Malaysian formations stopped to refuel here before proceeding on the next 3-hour plus leg to Halim in Jakarta.
A COLUMBIA BEING REFUELED WHILE AN EAGLE WAITS
PALEMBANG AIRPORT SEEN FROM THE MILITARY SIDE
Selangor 3 (9M-RMW) had by then discovered that their cruise speed was higher than those of Selangor 1 and Selangor 2. They decided to proceed on their own after Palembang.
Less than an hour after we left Palembang, low cumulonimbus clouds began to restrict visibility for the rest of the leg. We had to fly low to keep the ground in sight.
As we neared the city of Bandar Lampung, Selangor 2 (9M-RFC) radioed that their AHI (artificial horizon indicator) gyro had toppled due to vacuum failure and that they could not navigate safely in the poor visibility. They decided to land at the local airport of Raden Inten (WICT) and try to resume their flight when the weather improves perhaps the next morning.
(The crew attempted to resume their flight the next day but had to return to WICT as the weather persisted over the next few days. As there was no avgas there, they decided to abandon their flight altogether, enjoy their enforced holiday there and wait for us to ferry them fuel on our return leg five days down the road.)
Our aircraft became the sole remaining member of Selangor Formation and so we decided to switch our callsign to 9M-BDX, continued on in the foul weather and arrived at Halim in Jakarta as darkness encroached.
Halim is a military/civil airport serving the domestic carriers and GA (general aviation) aircraft. It is noted for the number and variety of old aircraft found there, some of which were still in good flying condition. We spent the night in a hotel in Jakarta anticipating a dawn takeoff the next day.
A C172 FROM IPOH AT HALIM PARKING
After refuelling early the next morning (2 September 2006) we flew eastward past Cirebon and onward to Semarang (WARS), another joint civil and military airport north of Central Java. This was a 2 1/4 hour flight.
We had an early lunch while our aircraft were refuelled and then continued eastward to Bali passing along the way the large military/civil airport of Surabaya on the northeastern tip of Java Island. After 3 1/4 hours we reached the norwestern tip of Bali island.
OUR AIRCRAFT PARKED AT SEMARANG
We had an early lunch while our aircraft were refuelled and then continued eastward to Bali passing along the way the large military/civil airport of Surabaya on the northeastern tip of Java Island. After 3 1/4 hours we reached the norwestern tip of Bali island.
LetKol Wisnu Airport in Gerokgak, Buleleng has a 700 metre paved runway with the northern end surrounded by trees and the other end close to hills. Approach is recommended from the Runway 14 end and the aircraft has to be dropped onto the threshhold after clearing the edge of the trees.
My wife arrived in Denpasar after flying commercial from KL via Jakarta and was waiting at the Wisnu terminal when we arrived in our C172.
THE TERMINAL AT WISNU AIRFIELD
THE STAGE FOR THE OPENING CEREMONY
THE ATC TENT ON THE LEFT
(Open burning by villagers in the background)
A TV CORRESPONDENT MAKING HIS REPORT
(Participating aircraft in background is a Zenith CH750 kitplane)
Visitors to the airfield were welcomed with traditional dances and served delicious local meals. For two days there were all sorts of aerial events presented by both local and visiting pilots. For the local children there was a paper aircraft design competition which produced some interesting aerodynamic concepts.
Participants were housed in exotic beach hotels in the upcoming resort area of Lovina Beach nearby. We were also taken on a tour of the local historical and cultural sites in North Bali.
A grand dinner was hosted by the Governor of Buleleng to welcome us. To sum it all, we had a glorious time and greatly appreciated the warm hospitality of the organisers led by the highly efficient and ever popular General (Rtd) Chepie Nasution. Pak Chepie had organised practically every major aviation event in Indonesia as far as I can remember. Syabas Pak!
OUR HOTEL ON LOVINA BEACH
LOVINA HOTSPRINGS
A grand dinner was hosted by the Governor of Buleleng to welcome us. To sum it all, we had a glorious time and greatly appreciated the warm hospitality of the organisers led by the highly efficient and ever popular General (Rtd) Chepie Nasution. Pak Chepie had organised practically every major aviation event in Indonesia as far as I can remember. Syabas Pak!
After two days and two nights of flying events, feasting and camaraderie in Buleleng, it was time to return home. Selangor 3 (9M-RMW) had to depart first as one of its pilots had something to attend to back home. They agreed to ferry a can of avgas to our stranded aircraft in Bandar Lampung which they had to pass on the way.
The Federation of Aero Sports Indonesia (FASI) had invited us to be their guests in Jogjakarta and so we departed on the morning of 4 September, 2006 from Wisnu airfield with another spare can of avgas and headed for Surabaya ( a 1 1/2 hour flight) to refuel again for the onward flight to Jogjakarta.
The Federation of Aero Sports Indonesia (FASI) had invited us to be their guests in Jogjakarta and so we departed on the morning of 4 September, 2006 from Wisnu airfield with another spare can of avgas and headed for Surabaya ( a 1 1/2 hour flight) to refuel again for the onward flight to Jogjakarta.
SURABAYA CIVIL TERMINAL
(Viewed from the military ramp)
THE 3 EAGLES DEPARTED AFTER REFUELING AT SURABAYA
The 2-hour flight to Jogjakarta took us through some of the most breathtaking terrain with peaks that thrust up above the clouds and mountains much taller than those found in Peninsular Malaysia. We passed Madiun and Surakarta before turning left for Jogja.
MT BROMO NEAR SURAKARTA
MT MERAPI NEAR JOGJA
As we descended towards Jogja I looked down to my left and there they were - the stunning towers of the ancient Hindu temples of Prambanan. Only four months before I had watched a live performance of the Ramayana epic at the foot of those towers on a full moon night.
We landed at Jogja and were served with a sumptious lunch at the terminal. My wife had arrived earlier on a commercial flight from Denpasar and was waiting for me.
A QUIET CORNER OF JOGJA
That night we were treated to a buffet dinner with a fashion show thrown in and afterwards we returned to our comfortable hotel in downtown Jogja.
The next day (5 September 2006) was an air carnival day at Jogja airfield and at midday our contingent was taken on a tour of the city with a buffet lunch at a popular restaurant. We had an early night and was ready for departure the next day.
Early on 6 September 2006 we refueled our aircraft and were ready to board when a crew member spotted fuel dripping from our engine. A closer check revealed that it was a continuous drip, so we requested TNI-AU to have an engineer fix the problem. It was a loose washer in the fuel drainer that was the cause and after about an hour, the problem was fixed.
ENGINEERS FIXING OUR CARBURETTOR
Meanwhile I watched a few trainers (Turbo Mentors) doing circuits and a passing F16 beating up the airfield twice.
A TURBO MENTOR DOING CIRCUITS AT JOGJA
BUZZING JOGJA AIRFIELD
By the time we left friendly Jogja, it was 11.00 am but it was another interesting flight as we traversed new terrain which I never flew over before. The 2 1/4 hour flight took us west to Cilacap Selatan, north to Cirebon and then west to Halim,
We had lunch at Halim with the kind courtesy of a pilot/engineer whom we met in Buleleng and he also loaned us a spare vacuum unit and a spanner which we would need to fix the malfunctioning AHI of our stranded C172 in Bandar Lampung. After thanking him for the kind gesture (I cannot now recall his name), we left Halim for the 1 1/4 hour flight to Bandar Lampung.
BASE LEG INTO RADEN INTEN, BANDAR LAMPUNG
The weather was still poor at Bandar Lampung as we landed and found two of the stranded pilots waiting for us. The third pilot had gone home by a commercial flight five days earlier. We looked at the AHI problem and decided that we did not have the skill to fix it. So it was decided that Selangor 2 had to be flown home without a working AHI no matter what. The pilot would have to keep close to my plane at all times and use my wings and the ground as reference. As the sky was gloomy and it was too late to continue to our next destination, we checked into a local hotel for the night.
Bandar Lampung is a large city full of people. It is the transit point for those who travel from Sumatra to Java and vice versa as it is where they take the ferry across the Sunda Strait. Somehow we did not feel comfortable with the locals as they appeared rough and even hostile but this could be due to the preponderance of poor migrants moving between the two islands.
The next morning (7 September 2006) we refueled the stranded aircraft with the spare can of avgas that we brought. They would have just enough to reach Palembang, our next stop. The pilots in Selangor 3 who were supposed to bring the other can of avgas from Buleleng to them never did so but instead scooted off with the fuel.
The flight from Bandar Lampung to Palembang turned out to be a nightmare. The weather was bad with rain along most of the route and clouds down to the ground. The terrain was hilly but we had to fly as close to the ground as we could or get lost in the clouds and risk hitting the hills. The pilot of Selangor 2 had no AHI and had to depend on watching my wings or risk being disoriented in the cloud. I had to fly slow increasing the risk of stalling to enable the slower Selangor 2 to keep me in sight at all times. For the best part of an hour we meandered between the hills straining our eyes to see what was ahead but after some time I realised that we were just wandering up and down without making any progress towards Palembang. Both our aircraft had already burned much fuel and we could just run dry if we had gone on meandering. As we were far from any airport and flying low amongst the hills, we could not reach any ATC on the radio. At our altitude their radar would also not be able to track us. Looking at the peak elevation of the terrain from my map and checking with my GPS, I found that we could track straight for Palembang if we climbed slightly higher into the clouds but clear of the mountain peaks. So it was either we risk slamming into a mountain that we could not see or fall out of the sky from having no fuel. I chose the former.
About 30 minutes out of Palembang we managed to contact ATC but they could not detect us on radar (rain also restricts radar signals). We plodded on relying just on my GPS and reporting our position every now and then to them. Finally after more than 1 1/2 hours from Bandar Lampung, ATC identified us on radar and guided us in. It was one of those few times when seeing an airport from a distance felt like winning a lottery. We landed and parked at the civil terminal.
PALEMBANG TERMINAL
Our two aircraft quickly refueled and left for Pekanbaru which was more than 3 hours away. The weather was better this time and we arrived at around 1.30 pm, had lunch and went through customs and immigration. Again we had a quick refuel and departed for Melaka across the straits. Selangor 2 still without an operating AHI continued to stick close to me.
SELANGOR 2 CLOSE BEHIND OVER MELAKA STRAITS
MELAKA WELCOMING US HOME
(Note the extensive reclamation under way)
PARATROOPS BOARDING A CN235
(One of them was killed later that day when his parachute failed)
As we approached Kajang there was a massive storm ahead over our home airport Sempang. We were advised by ATC to loiter over Kajang until the rain subsided. After a while the storm persisted and ATC suggested we divert to Subang airport which was clear. We headed for Subang but half way there, we were informed that the southern end of Sempang's runway was clear and we could land there. We happily turned back and landed at Sempang at almost 7.00 pm where my wife was anxiously waiting for me.
It was a very satisfying experience for me indeed in spite of the few tense moments that we had. The Indonesians again proved to be perfect hosts. Their aviation industry impressed me greatly and has a very bright future because with such a wide expanse of territory, mountainous terrain and numerous islands, air travel is the most appropriate (or even necessary) for their people.
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