Stage 2. The flight back to Europe (Tulare, to Palo Alto California)

Round the World Flight with HB-PON 2008/09
Rolf Martin FRIEDEN & Manfred Melloh
Sat 12 Nov 2005 13:29
37:27.6N 122:06.8W



With regular contacts by telephone and by e-mail with David Johnston, I was constantly kept updated of all the work in process. As per the master plan of this project,
David informed
me in early October that HB-PON would be ready for the 10-hour engine break-in, the second week of November.

Olivier, my co-pilot and I returned back to San Francisco early in the second week of November and then headed straight down to Tulare to take delivery of my freshly inspected
and upgraded
Comanche with the shining overhauled power plant and its new "Titan" cylinders.



 

 


Our brand new Titan Cylinders ready to be mounted



With strict instructions from David Johnston on how to break-in the over­hauled engine for the next 10 hours,
Olivier and I spent the next few days
racing up and down the central valley at low altitude and different defined
power settings, whenever the autumn fog disappeared.




HB-PON freshly overhauled and ready for the first test flights