Once again this will ve a 2 day post due to an overnight in Pekanbaru.

Day 1

Miguel and I set off on our first flight of the day nice and early. For the first time this tour weatger was amazing! A couple fair weather cumulus clouds dotted around a bright blue sky. It is amazing how this lifts the spirits, today would be a great but long day.

Islands close to Telo

Our first leg was to Telo, it is great seeing the islands when there is sun around as it brings our the turquoise blues of the tropical waters that you normally see in postcards. The flight across was nice and quick and ended with a nice landing. We loaded the pax for the next flight and got airborne in no time.

Miguel

We were on our way to Nias, which would be a quick 35 min flight. These 2 legs went by quickly with no hassle at all. It is great to be able to get a bit more of a look at the island with out clouds obscuring view.
After a couple photos with passengers and a friendly chat with the ground crew we loaded up and set off for Sibolga.

Fishing platforms Sibolga

A quick flight to Sibolga to refuel and get our next load of passengers. We refueled for the rest of the flights for the day and after a quick lunch of Nasi Soto we got on our way to Binaka (Nias). The flight across to Binaka is a quick 40 min flight over water, we carry a life raft and life vests for this reason. Luckily we were not swimming today and got to Binaka without a problem. The heat really started kicking in now at about 35 degrees on the ground, which our air-con can not handle. A quick turnaround and we were on our way back to Sibolga for the last half of the day:)

Nias Island

After Sibolga we set off to Pasaman for Miguels leg. It has been great with the beautiful weather today, without clouds around we are able to see everything around and some new features here and there. A nice landing into the shortish runway at Pasaman which lies between Oil Palm Plantations. It is always sad seeing the destruction caused by these plantations, often the only thing you can see in every direction are these Oil Palms.
We loaded our pax from Pasaman and set off for the last quick leg of the day to Pekanbaru.

Patterns Pekanbaru

After landing we closed up the plane and left for the hotel for a couple well deserved beers, burgers and much needed rest.

Day 2

I will make this one short;)

Waking up in Pekanbaru this morning after a great night sleep with pouring rain was reasonably easy. Miguel and I had a great buffet breakfast at the hotel while chatting to some pilots from Wings Air before heading to the airport. Another 8 leg day lay ahead for me.

Sumatra

The weather today was a little cloudy, but luckily no build ups. We flew from Pekanbaru to Pasaman and the on to Sibolga. A quick turn around before heading to Binaka and back where we refueled and had a little lunch. Next was to Telo and then back to Padang where I said goodbye to Miguel and was joined by Peter for the last 2 legs.

Clouds Building

Peter and I did a quick 1.2 hrs to Rokot and back to finish the day. I am now sitting at home writing this and looking forward to bed. Tomorrow is my last day before holidays, not sure where I am going yet, but looking forward to it!

Route:
Day 1: WIEE to WIMO to WIMB to WIMO to WIMS to WIMB to WIMS to WIEP to WIBB

Day 2: WIBB to WIEP to WIMS to WIMB to WIMS to WIMO to WIEE to WIEB to WIEE

Hours: 12.4 hrs