Mace Pinchal, successful Houston real estate developer and accomplished pilot, is featured in the just released book, Round the World & Across Russia in 21 Days, 30 Years Later: 12 Planes & 22 Aviators Thru 11 Countries When the Soviet Union Fell & Russia Returned. Documented by author, Michael B. Butler, the detailed flight journal written by Pinchal is a primary foundation for this detailed telling of a complicated aviation adventure. Flying his twin-engine Baron 58 with co-pilot Brad Silva, his flight planning was intense and the observations were cogent, enlightening and humorous. Mace Pinchal's then fiancé and now wife, Jennifer, went along on this grand tour and provided welcome support throughout the World Flight.
Nine aircraft of the 1st Annual Around the World Air Rally left Santa Monica Airport on July 4, 1992, just seven months after the Soviet Union collapsed, and flew east across the U.S., up into Canada, across the North Atlantic and thence to Moscow, thru Europe, and across the desolate wilds of Siberia to the super-secret air base and nuclear launching site, Anadyr, just across the Bering Strait from Alaska. Five additional aircraft joined up in the UK, with only three continuing on past Moscow.
This book is constructed from 7 primary pilot journals, 5 ancillary journals, interviews, the 25 hours of video shot by the author and what he also recalled from an event. Everyone involved knew they were making history—first private group to circumnavigate while crossing Russia—during the continuous days of early wake up calls and long hours of flying. Four days in Moscow as guests of the Vice President of Russia, Alexander Rutskoi, were followed by entering into largely uncontrolled Siberian airspace where danger lurked around every corner.
Round the World & Across Russia in 21 Days is available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and in ebook and audiobook formats at Google Play. For more info and color show shows go to www.MichaelButlerBooks.com.
Round the World & Across Russia Book Trailer
Below are two samples from Mace Pinchal's flight journal, which are a vital part of telling the World Flight Across Russia story properly.
Mace and Brad were prepared for all emergencies, "In addition to our 'Gumby' suits, which we wear to our waists, we also pile on thermal underwear, two pairs of wool socks, flight boots, flight suits, our leather flying jackets and U.S. Air Force flight gloves. However, do not think this is just for survival should we have to go down in the North Atlantic or Greenland, we also need it for warmth in the aircraft while flying, since we can't afford the 'luxury' of using the gasoline fired aircraft heater.
"With the heater on an additional two and a half gallons of gas per hour will be consumed, which on a 7½ hour flight equates to 30 minutes of flying time, such an amount might make the difference between life and death in adverse conditions. Next is the arduous task of slowly crawling in the airplane, which quickly turns into a comedy show. I gingerly crawl in first and after a few minutes I'm settled in—I now know what the Mercury Astronauts meant when they said, 'You don't get into a capsule-you put it on.' My co-pilot Brad is next—during the whole procedure Larry and Jennifer capture us on film flopping around and grunting like a couple of old bull seals.
"At 6:50 am local, 1050 Zulu, we fire up the engines up and taxi out to the active ramp. After run up the ATC contacts us and informs us of a 20 minute delay, Damn! We are really psyched up and now this, we then moved away from the active and shut down, no sense in burning 20 minutes of gas on the ground. Sully, Don and Bob, in The Ultimate Trip, are next to us and cleared for departure. As they taxi past us, we flash them the traditional 'thumbs up,' see you in Iceland. In the interim, Brad cracks open the door so we can indulge in a quick smoke to ease our nervous tension, then we again dutifully review our latitude/longitude coordinates in the GPS. At 7:10 am local, 11:10 Zulu, we start up and receive clearance, at 7:15 we are off towards Europe under overcast skies."
Mace and Brad had a trickly landing in Iceland, as Mace's flight journal explains, "We arrive over Iceland around 19:00 Zulu, 6:00 local. Weather is not only worse than forecast but is worse than reported. As Brad and I cross the coast we get clearance for descent and the radar vectors for Runway 14s localizer approach. At 9,000 feet we enter into dark clouds and pick up some ice, this leads us to request a further descent and at 6,000 feet we arrive in a clearing between layers.
"As the descent continues into the lower layer, we level off at two or 3,000 feet, Brad calmly goes through the checklist, he calls out and cross-checks on the descent into Reykjavik Airport. We are tired and know it! Weary and in a dicey situation we are extra careful, finally we are vectored onto the localizer, and then get clearance for final approach. The airport sits in the middle of the town along the coastline, there is water on two sides of the airport with the town on the other two. The approach to the airport involves a series of step-downs over water, Brad calls out each one and then follows with the new altitude for descent to, as he does so I dive her through the thick, moist clouds. The wind blows like hell all around us and the localizer needle periodically swings wildly two dots to the left and then two dots to the right…."
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