5. Hateruma to Shimojishima - 22 May 2004

	Miyakojima
	Approaching Ishigaki
	Leaving Miyakojima

FS9 crashed after I contacted ground control in Shimojishima, so there's no log entry for this flight. Lots more clouds: low, flat, and colorful -- which makes it hard, sometimes, to distinguish them from islands in the distance. The Ryukyu chain is well served, though, by navaids, so apart from a headwind there was no trouble on this flight.

After landing in Hateruma, previously, I had noticed that I was running lowish on fuel -- which was not surprising, given the fact that I had not refueled since beginning this tour in Iwojima. I knew that I had plenty of fuel to make it to Shimojishima (which is on the little island marked Irabujima in the London Times Atlas), but not for the flight after that -- and Shimojishima, like Hateruma, has no refueling facilities. Once in the air, therefore, I decided to stop at nearby Ishigaki (ROIG), which is on the southwest tip of Miyakojima, which extends in a triangular shape north and east. Scenically, this was the most interesting part of the trip, as reflected in the screenshots: the island and airport as seen from the west, the final approach to Ishigaki, and the long southern edge that I fly past after refueling.

Landing at my final destination, Shimojishima, the visibility was relatively low (esp. on final) and there was a light rain. ILS made the approach easier, but was not really necessary.