Professional Pilot, March 2018

Midway as the name aptly suggests is about equidistant between North America and Asia approximately 1300 nm northwest of Hawaii Eastern island next to Midway has nearly reverted back to its natural self before man inhabited it Only a shadow of the old runways remain Every tree and bush that was not originally there has been removed Today other than the constant reoccurring pollution and floating debris it looks like a barren flat island FAA and ETOPS The FAA controls regulates and maintains MDY Sand Island Midway Atoll its related fixtures approaches and 1 runway The cross runway is abandoned Contractors support the infrastructure flying in supplies and swapping out workers and volunteers US Fish Wildlife control the rest On the way in the Automatic Direction Finder ADF signal strength is tested and you fly an approach to make sure all systems are working The FAA and its pilot contractors must fly in at night due to the immense amount of birds 3 million 56 PROFESSIONAL PILOT March 2018 albatross circling the island during the day Theyre mostly ridge soaring anything that juts up from the ground and creates lift Landing a large turbine aircraft during the day could be downright hazardous to you and the Albatross Trust me you would not want to strike 1 of these huge birds they could ruin youre entire day On approach and landing youll quickly appreciate what it means to be pitch black Flying in at night is challenging and not for the faint of heart especially when dodging thunderstorms Coincidentally the names of the gallant pilots who I have flown with to resupply the island and work with the FAA are all biblical in nature Names like John Luke Paul and Michael with mine being the only odd English name in the bunch Flying in and out of these locations is primarily HF ops and you better have 2 good working HF devices with a back up satellite phone Resupply efforts can be as many as 2 3 times a month or more if there is a medical emergency on 1 of the islands However once you land and if the weather is clear the stars at night are breathtaking As soon as you land you are met by an immense and eager crew of helpers who quickly unload all the needed supplies to keep this ETOPS operation running smoothly With few people on the island you quickly learn to get along with most everyone because the place is almost uninhabited much like a ghost town There is a certain beauty to this solitude There is no tourism here so dont expect to show up with your Grumman HU 16 Albatross aircraft and be welcome especially when you have to fork over around 16 bucks for a gallon of petrol for that thirsty flying puppy of yours The fine balance In all of these ETOPS islands there is a fine balance between working with the natural habitat and fitting in or adapting preparing for modern ETOPS emergencies ADS B Out and CPDLC will be a welcome addition to the pilots everyday ETOPS workload ETOPS airports have saved thousands of lives all over the planet The only thing that could eliminate ETOPS airports is technology Someday perhaps when we have supersonic transport aircraft that fly into suborbital space and return on the other side of the planet to land we may no longer need ETOPS airports Until then expect to have them around to facilitate aviation safety over uninhabited land and over open water for the foreseeable future There is a very fine balance to working with mother nature and modern technology It is also a fine balance working between our Federal agencies It is truly an ongoing labor of love to properly maintain these ETOPS airports to FAA safety standards while the albatross enjoy soaring the ridges of Midway and you enjoy that grande latte in the sky Miles above Midway merely a spec over a vast ocean Flying at night Midway island would be a welcome sight in the pitch black abyss with a stricken aircraft Harold Katinszky is an ATP rated professional pilot with 25 type ratings 20000 hours of flight time He has twice filmed the United States for a film library He performs contract flying services globally for PAK WEST Sierra West Airlines Clay Lacy Aviation Starjet and manages Gulfstreams with MP Aviation at SoCal MRO Eastern Island Sand Island Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge Midway Island United States Image courtesy Google Earth