PNR stands for, "Point of no return...." today for the first time (yes his first time whilst all the years he's worked at BAS) John our captain decided to turn the aircraft around as he had received a met update from our Rothera met woman about the conditions at Rothera.
PNR means that we would have no fuel to turn around and land back at our original airport..so the decision is critical.
Before this point I had been lucky (and annoying enough to keep asking) that I got to sit in the jump seat for take off. This absolutely fascinated me...everyone knows I love flying and after speaking to Alan Meredith (Chief pilot of BAS)alot this summer whilst at lasham I knew what I was expecting but the extensive collection checklist and then watching the four props start up individually. ..and then the take off speed, cruising speed and stalling speed for that way were amazing for such a big piece of kit.
Today with a very high all up weight and tail wind our stalling speed was 72kts, that's only ~30 kts less than the gliders I fly! Ridiculous.
 |
| Me in the jump seat. Thanks John Law for the photo! |
Anyway you can probably tell I've had a few mojitos at this point point of writing my blog.
After a strong tail wind (22 kts) and only 5 kts of wind at rothera (which i swear is unheard of), the temperature and dew point changed from being 2 degrees different when we set off...too a completely different airmass swooping in and emerging Rothera in thick fog.
We turned back for Punta Arenas just before our PNR in time for pizzas and mojitos. Tomorrow we will try again.