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Bill's article was a real inspiration to me and many others I'm sure. Since Bill's article there have been others; Tony Radmilovich authored "Around the World in a King Air".
And I've even watched on-line as simmers took turns flying legs of less than three hours and passing the baton off. "Where she goes no one will know..." I would like to share my own adventures with other simmers out there. It's been awhile since Bill's piece and maybe there are some newer pilots out there who need something more recent.
I had one of the original MSFS games which came out about 1983 on a 5 1/4 inch floppy and ran on an IBM-PC. Boy, we've come a long way since then! One of my motivations for getting back into flightsim is the opportunity to fly the big iron jets. I love commercial aviation! But it's obvious that there is something out there for everyone.
One problem with these newer simulators is that I am older now and have a job and a family and a house etc. But I was always curious about what it would take to circumnavigate the globe in FS. How long and in what kind of planes would I do this? Well, with the family happily on the way to Denver a few months ago, I was about to find out!
Bill Smith's article was really fun and I wanted to loosely base my flight on his idea: Different planes, different panels, real-world weather...I like variety. The fact that aircraft models are designed by different people, and therefore each one handles differently, never even occurred to me then. See, you never know what will lie ahead!
I arrive at KPDX, my home airport, with latté in hand (in the Pacific Northwest you have to have a latté). I climb up into the Jetstream 41, which is painted in a United Airlines Shuttle theme. I have never flown this plane before but use the same "twin" panel in my Beechcraft planes. I program in the flight to Hailey, Idaho at just about 500 miles. Then I taxi out to runway 28R. Weather today is cloudy overcast, light winds and light rain. We joke around here that if you want to see a nice sunny day you have to wait until July 5th. Westbound with a positive rate of climb I retract the gear and first notch of flaps. Once clear of the Interstate Bridge I make a climbing right-hand turn up over the Battleground VOR and then pick up my route east. I am disappointed that I cannot see the Columbia River Gorge below but am treated to a very nice virtual sunrise through multiple cloud layers. It is now about 6:30 AM and with all of the panel functions set I sit back to enjoy the humming of the twin turboprops. Normally I have to keep the sound down a bit so the kids can hear "Blue's Clues" but today, it's full volume!
At about 9:40 AM Idaho time I break out my approach plates and cross over the Hailey NDB. There is a procedure turn there designed to get you heading up the valley at a proper angle but heck; it never looks the same on paper as when I fly it. Guess that's why I'm not an ATP huh? I ease my way up the valley, rising terrain on either side, light winds but gusting at times to 20 knots. My landing is "solid" but anything you can walk away from... Nearly 10 AM and I'm hungry. Certainly there is some quaint little breakfast café in Hailey, isn't there?
Quick breakfast down and then it's back to the airport. This time a more familiar plane awaits me, the Beech 1900D. At 11:30 AM I roar into the canyon, snap out a quick turn and dial up my flight path to Aspen, Colorado. It is a little bumpy as I climb up to my cruising altitude but not enough to upset my breakfast. Andrew Herd has written several excellent tutorials for FlightSim.Com and I pulled out the one for "How To Fly Dangerous Approaches, Aspen".
And dialed in the Red Table VOR. Once my HSI came alive I disengaged the autopilot and headed in. The weather today is clear, calm and crisp. No flight into terrain worries today, I find myself thinking. This thought is soon followed by, "Wow, that DME runs up quick!" I push the stick forward and cut throttles even more. I land fast, and long, as usual and have to ride the brakes pretty hard to keep from shooting off into the town of Aspen itself. Whew!
While Aspen is very scenic and beautiful (the sim just does not do it justice - as I'm sure it doesn't do anywhere real justice but hey, for $100 it's pretty darn impressive as far as I'm concerned) there is a lot of world yet to see, so I park the Beechcraft and after a quick drink and potty break climb into an excellent Piper Cheyenne II. You know, just a quick little editorial, maybe it's the designers' fault but I sure prefer flying the Pipers to the Cessnas. Is that bad? Anyway, while there is very little information in my folders about approach or departure to the east, or is it more northeast? That's the way I go today. 3:00 PM Colorado time and I pull of into the mountains. A left turn, over some foothills and I find a canyon which leads up, and out. It is a short hop out of the Rockies and down into the plains. The winds are higher down here and the little Piper is rocked around as I try and set up for the approach into Colorado Springs. Maybe I wasn't watching my speed closely enough or maybe the wind had me distracted but frankly, for all the hoopla about this place I didn't really notice anything unusual about the landing. Maybe you should ask the passengers how it felt?
Well, having paid some homage to the GA side of things I personally am ready for some more thrills now. I hop out of the Cheyenne and run to my next plane, the Boeing 727. Again it is United Airlines. Did I think that the "fun" was about to start? Having never flown the 727 or this panel I had to take a few minutes to find everything but soon enough I had a flight plan loaded in for Dallas, Texas and was pushing back. After a bit of struggle I got the engines to fire and I turned toward the taxiway. I had barely begun my taxi out when the number two engine quit. I slowed to a stop and attempted restart. No joy. In the midst of trying to get number two to cooperate I lost number three. Just as suddenly number two started but I lost number one. I restarted three by the same technique I had used on two only to have number two die again! AARRRGGGGGHHH!
Well, I'm no ATP, we've determined that already! I also don't take a lot of time to run a "Cockpit Simulator" in that the few minutes I get per week to play I want to be in the air! Also, I have a long way to go so...I get back on FlightSim.Com and quickly find a new, simpler 727-compatible panel. Now nearly two hours behind my planned schedule I am airborne out of Springs. The climb rate is less than most others I have done but so long as I don't try for 1000 fpm she does fine. Up to cruising altitude I take the chance to look at the Dallas weather, and it's ugly. Thunderstorms are pounding the area and windshears are all around. Frankly, I don't feel confident in this plane nor with this panel to try that! At 5:30 PM I set up a big arcing hold somewhere up over the panhandles and decide to wait it out.
Finally at just before 7:00 PM Dallas time I am ready to take her in! As I drop down through varying layers of cloud, wind and rain I am buffeted all about. The lower I get the more severe the turbulence. My airspeed indicator is all over the place and that little turn indicator bubble is bouncing off the walls. I swear that I can hear virtual puking back there! There is no way that the autopilot is holding this thing so I disengage and try my best to keep something of a heading. Finally I...intercept? the ILS at 13 miles. Well, I get sorta close to the ILS at 13 miles and "follow" it down. There is no backing off on the throttles at all or I get a stall horn. I click down a few flap notches and lower the gear at five miles. Just then I break out from the clouds and go visual. By now I am sweating bullets and am sure that I can hear those virtual passengers screaming! Boy, do I have a whole new respect for ATPs now! I slam the 727 down at just a hair over 200 knots and pop those spoilers.
After pealing my hand from the stick and throttle controls I limp off the plane and search for a bed. That last leg should've been worth a full day's pay.
Day Two, Monday - 07:00: Having recovered physically from day one (obviously not psychologically or I wouldn't have come back), I find my way back to the computer and DFW. It is a sunny, warm morning, little evidence of last evening's storm remains (a few giant thunderheads on the horizon). Another new plane and panel for me this morning, the Aerolineas Argentina Boeing 747-200 with the analog panel. Kinda looks like the default Concorde panel to me but what do I know.
After I load in the waypoints I want to hit between Dallas and Buenos Aires I pushback and then start the four engines. The humming, whine is comforting. Actually, again, this guy Mike Hambly has done a great job and I recommend you download anything he has done recently. I taxi slowly out to the active, await my turn and then push the throttles forward. Acceleration is sluggish but then again, that's what you expect from a B-742. At 150 knots I rotate and after I'm through 200 feet I pull up the gears and begin retracting the flaps. After climbing to my initial 27,000 feet I engage the autopilot and head off to do all those real-world jobs I had committed to. Wash and vacuum the car, climb up to 31,000. Paint the hallway, climb up to 33,000. Steam the carpets, climb to 35,000. Take a nap, mow the lawn, wash the dog...life is an endless drudgery sometimes.
It is well after dark as I descend through scattered cumulus clouds and light showers. I come in over Rosario and roughly follow the river to Buenos Aires. I am blessed with a straight-in approach, light cross winds off the Atlantic but this big, heavy bird sets down nicely. Spoilers up, reverse thrust, light braking and we're off towards the terminal. Okay, so maybe this was a boring day but the night is still young and this is South America! I head off to find some nightlife.
Day Three, Tuesday - 06:15: Course, my motivation here is the flying not the parties. I've heard that the BAe 146 sounds like a vacuum cleaner but, I don't hear it. However, this is a nice little stable platform to fly from and as the first rays of cold sun struggle to pierce the clouds I steer my plane out over the water, turning northward again. There is this river, with rapids and an impressive falls called Iguacu, Brazil. It's more like that place where Argentina and Paraguay come together but this is my first stopover today. The scenery here is horribly disappointing but we've had that discussion already. Next up is a Pluna 737-200 and I am anxious to get along to the next stop, La Paz, Bolivia. I'd grab a quick breakfast at the resort in town and I'm back into the air just before 9:00 AM. I have just reached my initial cruising altitude of 30,000 feet and suddenly my computer freezes. Or is that crashes? Well, whatever you call it, it's dead, gone, useless. "Nooooooo!"
After I shut everything down and start over I notice that I have no mouse. NO MOUSE! I pull on my shoes and head off to the local computer store. Get mouse, pay for mouse, install mouse, test mouse, resume flight. Although I am ticked at loosing two hours of precious flight time, I am amused that if you lost your flight control computer in the real world you'd have to land. Great thing about flightsim is that you CAN suspend your flight up over Paraguay somewhere. Flight resumed and weather in La Paz is mostly sunny, 75° with light westerly winds gusting to 8 miles per hour. For those who don't get out much or find places like Denver and Colorado Springs a challenge, La Paz sits at about 13,300 feet and that is high, way high. I have to keep my airspeed up into the 200's just to control my sink rate. I put in full flaps for this one figuring I need all the lift I can get. Flying into La Paz isn't the real problem actually...stopping while still in La Paz, that's the problem. With the high-speed approach I floated a bit and landed long. Let me tell you, you can chew up 9000 feet of pavement in a hurry here. And that reverse thrust is almost useless. Eventually I do stop and then make the long taxi back to the airport buildings. There is actually a fun article on Airliners.net about La Paz if you look here.
Although it is lunchtime I really don't feel like eating much at this altitude so I stagger over to the beautifully painted Lan Chile A320 and fire up the engines. Visibility from this cockpit is not what I'd like, I keep having to play with the seat height. I know I have some better airbus panels somewhere, if I could just find it...Well, back out to the end of the runway it looks like I'm ready to head off to Quito, Ecuador next. Brakes on I advance the throttles until the little A320 is quivering, ready to go. Brakes off and...and...here we go. Even with this newer little plane acceleration from 13,300 feet is anemic to say the least. Rolling, rolling, rolling. I have eaten up half of the runway only to be passing 80 knots. Are the spoilers up? "No my friend, that's what happens here". Do I need to RTO? I can see the dirt coming up fast, pull back, back, waaaay back...Umph. I try my best to keep the rate of climb at only about 300 fpm and pull up them gear quickly too - don't want to trim the trees with your mains hanging out there!
Finally I am up through 20,000 feet and have the aircraft cleaned up and accelerating normally. Quito is another one of those Dangerous Airports out there, which we simmers love to fly to. In fact, there are several of them at www.dangerous-airports.com.
The approach into Quito has a couple of procedure turns and I try my best to follow just what the paper says. Besides, there are some clouds out there and it's almost easier to follow the paper. However, by the time I roll out of the last right-hand turn and look up for the airport all I can see is earth with a line of red PAPI lights on top. "Hmmm, not good." I go missed, shoving the throttles in and pulling up the gear. "Uuuh, ladies and gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. Do not worry about the fact that the ground seems a bit close out there...this is actually a "standard" approach for me into this airport, done it at least five-thousand times before so sit back and enjoy another trip around the basin." (I hope they bought that.) This A320 handles very nicely - dare I say better than the 737? Certainly better than a 732 that's for sure! Second time around I do better but the landing is not a work of art.
After a quick tour of the city I get back to the airport and make my way out to an Avianca 757. Now, I love flying the 757s, these are great planes. Even if you are a big GA fan you've got to have at least one 757 in your hangar! Departure from Quito is uneventful and the mountains around this place are beautiful. Hey, I didn't knock the scenery, how 'bout that? The rest of Tuesday is spent flying out of South America to St. Croix in the Virgin Islands. I watch the sun set behind me over Central America as I descend over the blue Caribbean Sea. This time I let the autopilot intercept the ILS and autoland right down onto the runway, smooth. Truth be known I wanted to watch the island pass by as we came down so once autopilot was locked-in I ran back to row 20 to watch the landing from there (another "advantage" to flightsim over reality).
Day Four, Wednesday - 09:50: Is this getting old yet? I don't mean to drag things on needlessly but I was having fun! And there really is a lot of world to see. I sprint back to the little airport and climb the rickety old ladder, squirm through a mere hole and into the cockpit of a B-17 Flying Fortress. Now this is a real airplane! I start the four old piston engines and crank up the volume. Wow! I bask in the sound for a few moments before I realize a problem. I can't see out! Now how in the heck am I supposed to taxi this thing? To make matters worse this is a taildragger! Finally I get something figured out, sorry 'bout the tire tracks through your grass over there. It is somewhere after 10:30 AM Caribbean time that I get this great old bird lumbering into the air. Oh my, those sounds are great, and now I'm getting the wind too! I just want to know one thing, HOW DID THEY TALK TO EACH OTHER BACK THEN?
"What? A Burger?"
"No, a Bogie. B-O-G-I-E, Bogie. 3 o'clock high!"
"You hurt your what, thigh?"
"No! Luftwaffe!"
"Oh, sure, I'll take a Belgian. With whipped cream please."
A thousand miles later I settle the gentle giant down onto the runway at Miami International. I'm not sure why Miami, other than I've never flown FlightSim into here before. I notice that in flight I felt like I was pushing the B-17 everywhere but once I started my descent she was easier to steer around. Such fun things we find out doing this hobby of ours! A quick stop for lunch, exercise and rest rooms in Miami and it's back to the skies. I load up a plane from the Golden Age of Jet flight, the Air Canada L-1011 TriStar. This sucker taxis like a tug boat! By 16:00 I am roaring down the active runway and gently into the skies. I make a slow, graceful, climbing turn out over the water and head north toward Toronto, about 1300 miles away. Again I am airborne for another sunset, this time it sinks into the clouds under my left wing. Toronto is overcast with light rain.
Apparently the L-1011 is a bit of a heavy plane? Either that or there were some windshears that no one bothered to tell me about. I locked-on and followed the ILS right in. This was hand flying and although I could feel some breezes rocking the wings, it was like nothing. I kept about 170 knots IAS but suddenly, SLAM! Shaking off the shock of the impact I reversed thrust and pulled off onto one of the midfield taxiways. I went back to watch the landing on Instant Replay and to this day I have no idea what happened. I also have no idea how this thing did not register a crash. Approach was smooth, no sign of problems, over the threshold and it was like all lift was suddenly gone and WHAM-O!
A bit after 10:00 PM Toronto time I taxi a Braniff International DC-8 out to the runway. This is another older plane and I love the fact that it is loud and, well, obnoxious (just like the real thing). Whoops, did I say that out loud? As I climb through the clouds and pull up the gear and flaps I am struck by how much louder the whole process is in these old birds. Maybe it's just my imagination--I have an active one you know! Once through the clouds and approaching 290 knots I turn southeast and head for New York City. New York's ceiling is broken at about 7000 feet and I plan an approach into 13L, via the Canarsie VOR. I have chosen to leave the twin towers IN my program - perhaps I try to cling to more innocent times? But I gotta say, really a beautiful city at night. After a long but smoother landing I head off into "The City that Never Sleeps", looking for a good bed.
Day Five, Thursday - 05:00: I'm groggy and jet-lagged this morning but somehow, I find my way back to JFK. Frankly, I don't even remember the cab ride. Did I even pay the guy or just throw $100 in his lap and forget the change? Once I see my plane though I feel much better. A gorgeous Sabena A340! What a great plane. The sky is clear and warm though hazy today, visibility only 5-10 miles. With full tanks I taxi out to the north end and prepare for a southbound departure. I climb briskly up to cruising altitude and engage the autopilot. During the long flight across the pond to Brussels I set off to finish some more real-world chores. What a drag!
Coming in over the Faroe Islands I check on the weather to find overcast skies and scattered showers, but the long-range forecast for the week looks nice. Ahh, Europe. My wife and I love Europe, in reality I mean. Oh to be able to go back there again...maybe if I spent my hours scheming up some brilliant, money making plan rather than simming we could afford to travel! For now though, this is it. Also, speaking of European things (chocolate, pastries and cars come to mind immediately) I am fast becoming a big fan of the Airbus fleet. Maybe it's just how the designers work their magic but I tell ya, they are just more pleasant to fly, smoother handling than my Boeing planes. Somehow I feel un-American and certainly un-Northwest to admit that I enjoy flying buses but...that's the way it is. There, now I've said it - and I feel worse for it. And speaking of smooth, the only indication I get that I've landed is when my spoilers auto-deploy. I chop the throttles and then ease in some reverse thrust, take the two-thirds exit and taxi to the terminal.
It's officially Thursday evening in Brussels and I had planned on spending the night here but, how often do you get the chance to be ahead of schedule? I make my way over to the Regional Terminal and another plane that I have never even heard of not to mention never flown before. The Gandalf, Dornier Do-328 jet. This little plane reminds me of an Orca Whale - maybe it's the paint job? Anyway, it's nice, cute and I think I'll keep it in my hangar. By about 20:30 local Brussels time I am off, into a passing local rain shower. Nice to see that Portland isn't the only wet city in the Northern Hemisphere. No showers await me in Berlin and I easily shoot the ILS in for a nice landing. What a great little plane - really, y'all gotta get one'a these things. I'm thinking that this is getting to be a better experience but less of an exciting story by now. Well, you know what they say, "Confidence comes before the fall." I trot off into the night to find a room. Boy, a lot has changed here since I last visited, in 1975. I must say, I do not miss "Checkpoint Charlie."
Day Six, Friday - 07:00: Now speaking of stepping back in time...I find myself back at Tegel Airport and climbing into a Lufthansa Boeing 707. Now if that doesn't bring up some old memories then, well, either you are too young or you have Alzheimers!
Today I have planned a low-altitude, slow-speed flight up the scenic Baltic Sea to St. Petersburg, Russia. The flight will be just less than 1000 miles and I have scattered clouds at 6-7000 feet. The 707 is another big, old, smoky, loud jet which can be a real handful to fly. Okay, by modern standards it's not so big anymore but still, it is a classic. I depart eastbound out of Berlin, climb initially to 14,000 ft and turn north. As I clear the German coastline I slow to 250 knots and descend back down to 5500 feet for the last, roughly, three hours of flight time. This is a gorgeous morning over the Baltic and I must say, "Someday I plan on visiting this part of the world." Although right now I have no idea how that will happen.
As I continue northeastward the cloud layers thin and warm sunshine streams down and reflects off my wings. This is great! I then prepare for my approach into St. Pete's only to learn that it is windy today, very windy. A strong, gusting bit-of-a cross wind kind of a day. After fighting with this old bird a bit I feel like I am set up, or shall I say crabbed-up on something close to a final approach. I struggle to hold my course but finally, at 2.5 miles I am tired of staring into the terminal buildings so I punch the gas and go around. Whew, I'm sure some hearts at the bagel place are beating faster now! (Do they have bagels in St. Petersburg?) This time around I come in steeper, not really faster, just steeper. I get the crab angle set and then fight the wind gusts to try and keep heading toward the runway. Big flare...KICK the tail...Upwind aileron...rudder... Well, I landed, so to speak but I think that this old bird is well past her prime now. "Sorry 'bout the mess back there. I hope that hole can get filled in soon, someone might fall (or drive) into it!"
Okay, I'm off to find a shower and a couple of bandages. Once I have recovered enough to walk normally again I come to the next offering, a Boeing 767, this one in AirTours Colors. I have chosen this plane mainly because of the nice paint job. Sitting in the familiar Boeing 767/757 cockpit I dial in all the coordinates for the next leg, leg number 16, which will be 1600 miles to Bursa, Turkey. I chose AirTours because of the paint job and I chose Bursa simply because "everyone" flies to Istanbul, but Bursa sits there right along the shores of The Sea of Marmara (this is in between the Black Sea and the Aegean). Sounds nice, so I'm gonna check it out. Despite the "heavy" inertia it is still a real struggle to keep this big bird on the pavement but once in the air I climb above the gusts and then turn south. It is now about noon on Friday.
The weather along the Mediterranean and Black Seas is ideal, clear, calm, 80-90°, ahhhhh. I come in over Bandirma, Turkey and turn east, setting up for landing. This time I want to avoid any problems so I take extra care to be sure that flaps, spoilers, autobraking, etc. are all set and working well. As I get to within visual range I see that the runway looks short. Nice scenery/topography but that runway...just not right. At two miles out I turn autobraking up to max. I have my seat cranked up and my speed down to "just about hanging in limbo." I plant the mains down just past the fence, right at the end of pavement ala a Princess Juliana. Spoilers up, reverse thrust, autobrakes on and I squeal to a stop. Wow, next time I should try it in a C-5 or an An-225!
After I taxi to the small terminal I disembark and catch a bus to the beach for dinner. By 6:00 PM I am back at the little airport and I find another plane which is new to me, the Dolomiti CRJ. I've flown the default Lear and figure this will be similar - it's not. As soon as I climb into the cockpit I can see that this is a better plane! I take several minutes to familiarize myself with the cockpit and where all my buttons are. I set up the FMC for Santorini in the Greek Isles, push back and light the ignitions. At 18:20 I depart eastbound, fly around that mountain there and then climb on up to 20,000 feet. This is a wonderful and fast little business jet and this will certainly be staying on my hard drive for a long time to come. I come into Santorini from the south and I touch down just as the sun melts into the sea to my left.
Day Seven, Saturday, 20:00: That's right, I spent the day in Santorini. So complain already! I've been gone for a full week now, I've flown almost every plane under the sun, I nearly died in Saint Petersburg and I'M IN THE GREEK ISLES! (Warm Tyropita and cold vegetable salad with feta could keep me here a week.) So, it's back to business now. The cockpit is rather sparse but I like the feel of it. I turn onto the runway and advance the throttles of my KC-135 Air Force Tanker and the GE engines shove me ahead. More power here than in the original 707, I can feel it! I climb into the star-filled, moonless sky and turn south into Africa. Ahead lies another density altitude challenge. All you Denver pilots need to get out more! Several hours later I make the final turns into Addis, Ethiopia which sits at just near 7,500 feet and in the summer, temperatures can easily top 100°. Now it is the wee hours of Sunday and the temps are cool, into the upper 70's and there is no wind. The landing is smooth and 190 knots does not seem out of place here. I park out near the fueling depot and head into town for a few hours.
Day Eight, Sunday, 06:00: After some fitful rest I head back out to the airport - not much here that I recognize anyway. I load up an old friend, the Ethiopian Airlines 737. This plane is based on the default and the paint scheme hasn't really changed in the last 30-40 years. After a long takeoff roll I gain enough air to retract gears and turn south for the 900-mile flight to Goma, Zaire. Or is it the Democratic Congo now? It is so hard to keep track of politics in this part of the world. Back in 1974 when I was on a mission trip to central Africa Goma was one of my favorite places - really can't tell you why. I was struck with such sorrow last year when the local volcano erupted and the lava flows virtually cut the city in half, destroying much of it. I think I heard that the population at the time was about 200,000 so this is no village in the jungle.
I descend right down over the mountains and can clearly see the volcano and that valley down which the lava flowed, through town and right into Lake Kivu. I cross the VOR and turn west, dropping down to 4000 AGL and fly a 15-mile DME arc out over the lake. Landing is northbound and once I park, I'm sure I would head off into town to sightsee and shop for souvenirs. Sunday is spent right here.
Sunday, 10:00 PM: Was it 1976 that an Air France 707 was hijacked and flown to Entebbe, Uganda (home of the President General, His Highness, Lord of the Land and Liked-To-Be-Called-Honorable Idi Amin Dada)? The Israelis mounted an incredible Special Forces raid to free 101 hostages and the Air France crew. Anyway, in homage to that operation, I depart Goma after dark in a C-130 Hercules, bound for Entebbe. I depart southbound this time, out over the lake but my approach to Entebbe will be northbound, over Lake Victoria, which means I may have a tailwind landing. Entebbe is high too, over 7000 feet ASL. It is a clear night and just as the Israelis did, I use no navaids. But unlike in the raid, I do have those PAPI lights to guide me in. "You'll come in low over the lake and, hopefully still undetected, make one of your famous assault landings here!" the commander points to the end of the runway furthest from the terminal.
Day Nine, Middle-of-the-Night Sunday-Monday: I try my best to keep my radio altimeter under 400 feet as I fly a northbound heading over the smooth waters of Lake Victoria. I have eyeballed a heading off of the southern coast of the lake and now, see nothing recognizable ahead. Speed is 200 knots and I am SO TEMPTED to check the GPS, but I'm good and don't do it. Finally I see the airport at about 11 o'clock and make the left turn to correct. Speed down, flaps and gear in, retrim, retrim, retrim each time. Speed now about 110 knots and I drop to 200 feet AGL. Speed to 100, then 90, then "squeak", I'm down. I don't use any reverse thrust but ride the brakes a bit to stop. There was a great book written by one of the Herc (they call it the "Hippo") pilots who tells about the mission and the hair-raising 90 minutes he sat naked on the tarmac amidst gunfire. A point of note is that according to this guy, after the mission, with a full load of hostages and medics and everything else you need for a Special Forces Operation, they were climbing out at about a 50° attitude. Amazing! There is also a good, '70s-era movie with Charles Bronson called "Raid on Entebbe" which I highly recommend you rent and watch.
My departure is not nearly so dramatic. It is still pre-dawn when I load up what is quite possibly my favorite all time flightsim plane, the Qatar Airways A330. I depart southbound, back out over the lake and then turn north, back to the Mediterranean. You'd think I had some kind of attachment to the Med. wouldn't you? And to think that I'm not even a fan of too much sun or heat! Dawn over North Africa is really something to behold in real-life. If not, flightsim is okay but make sure you watch it from spot plane view. Our destination now is "The Rio of the Mediterranean", Beirut, Lebanon. What a beautiful city, nestled there along the hills, cool waters lapping at the beaches. Tan and white buildings and olive skinned people...I circle the city to make a southbound, crosswind landing which is not nearly a scenic as the city!
After brunch and some sightseeing I am off towards home, sort of. I climb into another Airbus, the Pakistan A300. I depart westward, into the wind and turn toward another city of tragedy, Karachi, Pakistan. Another city-by-the-sea and unfortunately for the world and its travelers, another area torn apart by politics. I am just so thankful that flightsim and its worldwide community can rise above politics!
From Karachi I fly a Saab 340 up the country, about 700 miles to Skardu, Pakistan. Now, Skardu sits in a valley with high (16,000 feet plus) mountains surrounding. I have 18,500 feet listed as my safe local altitude. At Skardu you'll find an NDB and that's it! I set up a circling pattern over the NDB loosing 2000 feet per lap around. As darkness settles over the land I slip, skid and plant my plane down (almost) on the runway! I still struggle with these twin turboprops. I'm not sure what Skardu has to offer in the way of 5-star hotels...but if other Pakistanis are anything like the ones I know, I'm sure I'll find a warm bed and more than enough food for the night.
Day Ten, Tuesday, 07:00: I wait until there is some good daylight in this valley before I try and leave. This is NOT a place to have an engine out departure drill! Another new plane to start the day, the Dash 7. I fly it up the valley north of the airport and slowly work my way over or mostly around the local peaks. What can I say about this area but, "Wow"! If you don't fly here you should. The next stop is another NDB-only place, Gilgit, Pakistan. I fly over the airport, up a ridgeline, down a canyon, banking along the rocky cliffs and finally onto runway 7.
I pull on my G-suit and climb up to the A-10 Warthog AKA "Tank Buster". I like some of these fighter panels because of the great visibility. I leave from runway 7, turn south and climb out above the mountains. I dial the GPS for Kathmandu, Nepal and head east. From 41,000 feet the area looks pretty bland but now I know that down there are some great little airports. Kathmandu is another one of those tricky airports and today is breezy but visibility is good. Still, I watch my DME step-downs closely. This little Close-Air-Support fighter is really stable, easy to fly and nice to land.
I grab lunch in the city and at about 14:00 fire up the Silk Air A320 with a destination of Hong Kong - Kai Tak of course. Kathmandu has this tricky, 4-mile DME arc, looping climb-out procedure, which I use today. The Airbus flies it flawlessly - I just love these little irons. Who can fly to Hong Kong without trying this great old approach? It is a hazy, breezy, warm day in Hong Kong as I set-up for the 43° turning approach. Call it VFR today but as always, I use the IFR procedures to be sure of my set-up. I cross the VOR not far from the new Hong Kong airport and begin marking my step-downs, flying toward the NDB. Little gusts rock the plane gently but we're looking good so far. "Checkerboard in sight!" I call out to no one - the dog lifts her head and looks at me oddly.
"Okay...I'm okay...so far, okay...oh! *($#^!&*@...More Power...Rudder...RUDDER! Yes?...Yikes!...YES!, YES!, Woo Hoo! Hip Hip Hip!" That's just kinda how landings here go, even in these smaller planes.
Having picked myself up off the floor I taxi to the old terminal buildings and then head into the city for the evening. Darkness now approaches and I've had a great dinner downtown. Ready for the home stretch. A UPS A380 sits there near the old terminal and I taxi her out to the end of 13. Engines thundering I climb out of the harbor and head southeast.
Day Eleven, Still Tuesday: I had originally planned on hitting Australia, New Zealand and Tonga on my way back but it's been eleven long days of simming and my back side is getting tired! I dial up the GPS again and set a direct route to Santiago, Chile. I get the great opportunity to hand-fly this beauty of a giant through a 30-mile DME arc as I set up to land out of the north. The smog is heavy down here and although it's mid-morning visibility is only about 5 miles - can't even see the Andes.
I snatch a quick breakfast and climb into another beautifully painted bird, the LanChile A340. This is the second time we've seen Lan Chile on this tour but I love their paint schemes. Next stop is Phoenix, Arizona, back into the US of A. South America, Central America, Mexico...you know, Phoenix is not too far across the boarder is it? I land eastbound and it's nice.
Dinner in Phoenix and I climb into the last plane for this tour. Long yes but I gotta tell ya, I've had such fun doing this. I gotta do more of these. Maybe pick 20 planes randomly and then plan a flight according to which planes I have next? Maybe pick cities from a hat and find planes to fit? Maybe re-fly some of my overseas trips? Wow, I could make ALL of my flights part of a global tour! I'm kinda excited now so I quickly taxi out onto the runway (nearly becoming the cushion for an incoming 737!) Yeow, gotta watch out for those guys. I push the American Airlines MD-90 hard and rocket into the skies.
Another sunset colors the sky as I fly right over my house, then make the left turn toward the Troutdale NDB. Then another left as I make the "River Approach" into Portland's runway 28R. Landing is long, again, but I'm glad to be home safely. Long hot showers and my own bed tonight, "Ahhhhh." But for tomorrow? I think a Dash 8 will run me up to Seattle and then maybe a KLM 747 to Europe again...
So now we know, 11 days and about 29 legs to circle the globe. Sure, an SR-71 'round the Arctic Circle or three stops in an A380 would be faster but what's the point of that? I must say, those that do this in smaller, slower planes are much more dedicated than I and those who do this in the real world, those are the REAL men (and women) of among us!
I want to say a big, fat, THANKS to all who have made this terrific hobby not only possible, but also so addictively fun! Without the dedication and endless hours put in by the panel and aircraft designers, who give back so much of themselves, this would be scarcely more than a game. Also to Nels, who makes this site, and all of it's resources, available to us. You are all more than simple human beings. THANK YOU!
Ron Blehm
pretendpilot@juno.com
