I Was About to Run Out of Oxygen

Added: 2026-05-25

[00:00:00]This video has been sponsored by Hay Polo. Well, you guys can see my oxygen is just about out. And [music] that's not exactly what you want to see when you're climbing to 18,000 ft over the mountains of Papua New Guinea. If you missed the last video, I just got back from Australia. [music] I loaded the Kodiak with 650 kg of cargo and about 250 up here, just more bulky stuff up here, [music] and flew it back to Papua New Guinea.

[00:00:33]Now, I'm heading up to the Highlands with a completely full airplane.

[00:00:39]>> [music] >> Right now, I'm climbing to 14,000 ft on my way up to 18,000 ft, but with my oxygen bottle down to the last bar, I honestly don't know if I have enough to finish the flight. So, we're about to find out. Let's get into it.

[00:01:03]What she's had me do is come out here along the coast for all the airplanes that are lined up for runway 14 coming in. So, she's just been kind of factoring me out. Now, she's starting to vector me back. She'll probably give me direct flight by here in a minute. And if you see me writing things down, you're like, "Man, why are you writing things down all the time?"

[00:01:19]Uh because I am not an auditory learner.

[00:01:21]I'm visual. So, I have to write things down still after as many years as I've been flying here uh to like visually see what I am supposed to be saying back. So, if you're like Is that on navigation direct flight but November kilo?

[00:01:42]There we go. Flight plan. Up down here, direct flight but enter enter.

[00:01:47]A magenta line went different, so let's head going first. I'm going to do with a heading.

[00:01:53]All right, that gets me turning there.

[00:01:55]Cuz if I just flip on my autopilot to join in with the magenta line, it just like jerks way over and then it just like It's super annoying how it jerks so hard. Okay, Boise radar.

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[00:03:47]Boise radar, November Tango Kilo passing 14,400 on climb 18,000 direct my path.

[00:03:55]I have a Tango Kilo more speed at every connect 1010.

[00:04:00]1010 Tango Kilo.

[00:04:02]Guys have not heard about my book. I have two books actually I wrote you guys. One is the pilot's handbook of staying alive, essential safety habits for every flight. And then my second one that just came out recently back in March, what it really takes to be a bush pilot. So this one is what I've learned over the past 11 years flying in Papua New Guinea and all the things all the mess ups I've done I'm sharing with you guys so that you guys can fast track to be thinking more like a professional pilot. And then what it really takes to be a bush pilot is kind of like behind the curtains, behind the scenes of like day-to-day Tango Kilo for separation with inbound Q400 tracking direct to uh um sector um full vector to the left report heading.

[00:04:46]Our heading is 352.

[00:04:50]Roger turn left heading 345.

[00:04:54]Turn left heading 345 Tango Kilo.

[00:04:57]All right, last lots of little that's just my pitot heat warning to let me know it's below 5° C.

[00:05:05]Yeah, my second book though, what it really takes to be a bush pilot is written for people that want to know is this something maybe for me? I'm interested in it. I want to know what it actually is like and maybe do I have really what it takes to become one.

[00:05:19]Obviously that's the name, but it goes through like the type of people that struggle with becoming a bush pilot or maybe just a professional pilot.

[00:05:27]People that really start start to grow in it and the people that really start thriving and then the people that master it. It's just having instructed a few people over the past 4 to 5 years now, I've seen trends, things like that. So anyway, if you guys would like to pick them up I have my website as well as my coffee table album that covers like 40 different locations all around PNG. So, that's a really cool book, I think.

[00:05:53]We're up at 18,000 ft now. We're at 118 knots indicated. So, now we can go ahead and bring our ITT back to cruise. So, 700 now is what we can limit ourselves with.

[00:06:05]After a few more vectors here, there, and around another we're finally going direct VDOT at this time.

[00:06:14]And I probably could almost go direct Ayura at this point.

[00:06:19]I might have some issues with those clouds right there. I might have some issues with the clouds directly ahead of me as well.

[00:06:25]So, I might just ask for up to 10 10 mi to the left of my route.

[00:06:32]Oxygen had go down to the last bar. So, 400 left. If you're wondering how my okay with that, each bar is about 3 hours almost for one pilot. So, I should still have at least probably 2 and 1/2 more hours of oxygen on there and my flight's only an hour and a half.

[00:06:49]And I have this pulse oximeter telling me what my blood oxygen is so I can keep track on what that's doing if that were to be empty and not actually indicate, but when it goes empty it the light turns red.

[00:07:01]Jackson radar November Tango Kilo requesting up to 10 mi left of route.

[00:07:06]November Tango Kilo clear to deviate 10 left.

[00:07:09]Clear to deviate 10 left November Tango Kilo.

[00:07:13]Right. I don't know if I need to yet or not, but in case I have to, I'm just going to side step to the left of these clouds up here. 18,000 ft my temperature is -1. So, if I do go in those clouds there's a very high chance that I'll be picking up icing and this plane is not rated for icing. So, at these altitudes I need to stay out of the clouds as much as I possibly can unless it's just a quick pop through.

[00:07:34]November Tango Kilo verify estimate VDOT.

[00:07:39]Estimate VDOT 34 November Tango Kilo November Tango Kilo Uh we're still at 18,000 ft. You can see this line right here coming up to V dot.

[00:07:52]We're going to be getting into Nadzab's airspace here shortly. We're still on with Jackson's correction Moresby radar.

[00:08:01]He's going to hand me over to Nadzab approach in just a minute.

[00:08:14]1010 for Uh at 18,000 ft, I can just get over all of the clouds, which makes my life super easy.

[00:08:25]See, I'm tracking here just 1.34 nautical miles left of track just cuz I had some clouds over here and I'm just slowly kind of working my way this way.

[00:08:33]I need to head up that way anyway, so All right, we've got all this high terrain over here. So, that's kind of why I'm still heading this direction rather than just cutting straight across cuz I have to just go through all of that and it's 10 times harder if I could just go this way, I get all around all the mountains and then just start a nice steep descent.

[00:08:53]I have my descent set in at 900 ft per minute just because of the way the mountains are. I really want a high descent rate to get over top of them and then last minute head on down quick.

[00:09:06]November Tango Kilo radar Over. November Tango Kilo, go ahead.

[00:09:12]November Tango Kilo, your position 60 mi south of Nadzab air education terminate the contact Nadzab approach 118 decimal 6500.

[00:09:23]Contact Nadzab approach 118 decimal 6500 November Tango Kilo.

[00:09:31]Currently 56 nautical miles so 50 nautical miles then I switch over to 118 decimal 6.

[00:09:37]I was kind of expecting him to give me a clearance, but >> Echo verify your speed at 4.

[00:09:44]Alpha Echo at time 06 Alpha Echo.

[00:09:48]Alpha Echo Well, looking ahead, I've been cleared to 10 mi to the left. I think I'm just going to start tracking more and more that way. There's no point in going all the way to VDOT, especially now that I'm clear any of these higher clouds here, and it actually tracks a little bit nicer going that way, and that's the direction I need to go anyway, so I'm just going to bring my track cross track up closer to 10 mi and cut the corner, basically.

[00:10:18]Nazareth approach November Tango Kilo November Tango Kilo Nazareth approach I'll be in November Tango Kilo 50 DME on the 200 radio 18,000. Estimating beam VDOT at time 34, tracking up to 10 mi left of route.

[00:10:40]Estimating your 49er.

[00:10:43]November Tango Kilo I'll be on and descend to 9,000 and report a beam VDOT.

[00:10:56]Descend 9,000 and report again at VDOT.

[00:11:02]And top of descent is in about 10 minutes from me. Do you need me to descend now, November Tango Kilo?

[00:11:09]November Tango Kilo when ready descend 9,000. When ready descend 9,000, November Tango Kilo.

[00:11:16]I don't really want to have to descend right this minute if I don't want to.

[00:11:20]Uh just because I've got all these clouds, and the longer I can stay above those clouds, then I could just kind of cut over top of them. As if I descend right this minute, now I'm going to have to be wiggling all around them, and I'm going to actually go a little bit further out. So, staying up a little higher is just going to make my life a lot easier.

[00:11:37]I'll let him know when I start my descent just so he's aware of it cuz although it is approach, they don't actually have radar over here. So, he doesn't know exactly where I am or my altitudes.

[00:11:47]Well, my oxygen's still good.

[00:11:49]Still have it on 400, so we'll just top it up when I get back. It looks like it should make it.

[00:11:58]Well, let's go over the strip chart together before we get into Ayura.

[00:12:01]Touchdown elevation is 5,100, so I've got my circuit of 6,100 ft.

[00:12:08]And and it's a 2% slope. It's almost 1,300 m long, so really, really long. We can go ahead and put in our primary frequency 120.7 or 6622 for HF.

[00:12:24]We're going to be coming in this way, so we're going to just be entering into a right downwind around the town of Ukarumpa. And yeah.

[00:12:34]Usually, the winds are whipping this way and kind of gives you some weird wind wind shear at the end of the runway.

[00:12:43]At the approach November Tango Kilo, be advised at this time currently 3.5 nautical miles on the 230 radio. Start your descent for Ayura. Estimating Ayura 52.

[00:13:00]November Tango Kilo, you cleared to leave control area and descend to Ayura.

[00:13:05]Leaving 8,040, do you read me?

[00:13:09]And contact must be on 120.7 HF 66228837.

[00:13:16]And traffic advisory Papua Hotel Sierra are within 10 nautical mile radius of the Kumen Mine and not above 8,000.

[00:13:27]Cleared to leave control airspace on descent at 8,000 or 4000 DME contact 120.7 6622 at 837 copy traffic Papa Hotel Sierra have a good day. Alpha make it out.

[00:13:40]Okay, vertical speed. Let's head on down.

[00:13:45]I'm going to turn this all the way down to pattern altitude to 6100 ft.

[00:13:50]I need to go right through there. So, I think I'm going to continue on my track right here until I get around these mountains and then make my left-hand turn in there. I think it's going to make my life easier because you can see all of these clouds go up I'm at 18,000 and then all the way up to probably 30,000 ft. So, there's no point trying to go that way. I'll keep an eye on here for my DME 40 DME or 8,000 ft.

[00:14:16]We'll contact them on 120.7 or 6622 on HF.

[00:14:22]I traffic Papa Hotel Sierra he is over in this area right over here over at one of the mines. So, not really I traffic too much.

[00:14:34]We'll be going down at 6 to 700 ft per minute at this time. I have it set up for 700 ft per minute.

[00:14:41]I'm seeing a gap in the clouds and I'm heading for that. So, I'm trying to get just over top of that then I'll make my left-hand turn and then we'll steepen it up a bit.

[00:14:52]Let's start the buddy check. Fuel selectors are both on. Brakes feel good.

[00:14:56]We'll turn the terrain awareness off here in a minute when we get closer.

[00:15:00]Our approach speed is going to be 71 knots with the weight we have and the fuel we have.

[00:15:05]Our lights and let are good. If we have to go around power up. 20° of flaps pitch for 12.

[00:15:13]We're setting top of the ITT.

[00:15:17]So far my plan's working out really nice. I'm getting by all of this high terrain and high clouds.

[00:15:24]Looks like I'll be able to just skim over these ones and then just crank this up to probably 1,000 ft 1,200 ft per minute to get down to my pattern altitude. I am at 16 nautical miles to go.

[00:15:37]Coming up on 40 DME.

[00:15:40]We'll probably get to that before we get to 8,000.

[00:15:44]Easy being is here's my 8,000. Once I get into this sector right here, I'm going to be below 13,000 ft.

[00:15:55]Uh I should be at that point.

[00:15:57]Or pretty close.

[00:15:59]And then we'll be transferred off of Nazab approach.

[00:16:05]See this little line is slowly starting to get closer and closer.

[00:16:10]I just need to start cranking it up now.

[00:16:15]I'm wondering if I want to go to the left or the right of this cloud.

[00:16:19]I would do the right of it but I'd be able to get down a little bit sooner but to the left is a little more direct.

[00:16:25]Mosby 120.7 open for Tango Kilo transfer.

[00:16:30]November Tango Kilo Mosby go ahead.

[00:16:32]November Tango Kilo 42 DME to the northwest of Nazab.

[00:16:39]On descent are you estimating circuit are you at 46? Copy Papa Hotel Sierra.

[00:16:45]November Tango Kilo Roger. No other terminal for the traffic area to make 1010.

[00:16:51]AJC 6602.

[00:16:53]1010 6622 November Kilo.

[00:16:57]Let's do OBS for the runway heading which is going to be runway 14.

[00:17:10]There we go.

[00:17:12]We need to get through this cloud and now let's go ahead and start slowing down. We're just 6 nautical miles. Time to slow down. Prop forward.

[00:17:23]And crank this up to like 1,600 or 1,700 ft per minute.

[00:17:33]All stations that are November Tango Kilo 5 miles to the southeast 11,500 ft tracking fly overhead for right downwind runway 14 Ara.

[00:17:47]Okay, there is Ara. Followed by traffic Kilo Sierra Uniform just departed runway 33 on climb out 4,000 to maintain 5,000 tracking for Zidag and then uh flight.

[00:17:59]All right, it is right ahead of me 3 miles. I'm at 10,000 4,000 ft over.

[00:18:04]And we're going to go all the way down to idle and start trying to slow down. I'm going at 2,400 ft per minute.

[00:18:13]Put the rain showers off to my left.

[00:18:18]Okay, box gin anymore.

[00:18:22]Thank you the Sierra Uniform at 10,000 ft November.

[00:18:27]All stations that are Kodiak November Tango Kilo joining right downwind runway 14 Ara.

[00:18:34]All right, there we go. Out of the rain.

[00:18:36]Skipped all of that rain and all the hassle.

[00:18:39]Looking like my track on my next flight up to Grooka looks pretty good so far.

[00:18:43]We do have heavy rain over here and it might kind of move this way, but I don't know. We will see.

[00:18:49]I'm still 1,400 ft something like that over my pattern altitude. So, still heading down at 2,000 ft per minute.

[00:19:00]Bender coming out right where I thought they would be.

[00:19:05]We'll start slowing down on our base.

[00:19:09]Up and harness is done.

[00:19:10]>> Caution, terrain. Caution, terrain.

[00:19:15]Terrain awareness off for below 138, but it is bouncing around. Slow down even more. There's 10 degrees of flaps. Turn to base.

[00:19:23]All stations at Ayura November Tango Kilo, turning base.

[00:19:32]There's 20 degrees of flaps.

[00:19:37]And full flaps.

[00:19:40]Mosbi 1207 November Tango Kilo in the circuit at Ayura, cancel SAR.

[00:19:46]November Tango Kilo Mosbi Ayura search terminated.

[00:19:49]November Tango Kilo.

[00:20:01]Keep a couple extra knots just because of potential wind shear. I can feel it bounce me around a little bit.

[00:20:13]I'm still going a little bit fast.

[00:20:16]Mosbi 1207 now at buffer takeoff position.

[00:20:20]Runway is clear. We're continuing.

[00:20:34]This is where my air speed usually drops off.

[00:20:49]It's flight two done for the day. All I have now is like a 13-minute flight up to Goroka. So, if you want to see what's coming next for my whole end of my flight from all the way from Australia back to my home base, that is coming up next. Thanks guys for watching, and I hope to see you on the next one. Before you go, don't forget to check out Hay Pal. It's a great way for families to have a little peace of mind and know their loved ones are okay without turning it into spying or consistent tracking. Head over to heypollo.com/bushpilot, use my code bush pilot checkout, and you'll save 40% off your first year.

[00:21:22]Thanks HeyPollo for sponsoring this video.