Lima, Peru, is overcast, as usual. We try to cancel IFR and turn on course once we’re on top, but the controllers insist on keeping us with them until Salinas, 40 miles down the coast. We finally cross Salinas at 12,000 feet and swing around northeastward. The Andes are close, rearing out of the stratus deck into a cloudless sky.
At 15,000 feet I notice that the fuel pressure is fluctuating. I watch the gauge intently. The tempo of the engine is unsteady. The fluctuations become larger and longer.
