How Much Flightsimming Is Too Much?

Note: This is a good read. Get some popcorn, soda, and have your plane on autopilot. This may take more than 300 miles to get through at 600 mph, but it's worth it! -- editor, FlightSim.Com

Perth International Airport
Friday, January 19, 2001
Time: 7:15 AM

A dorky-looking guy bids his family an awkward farewell at the departure gate. The family presents their boarding passes to go through to the departures area. The dorky guy's wife has no idea how her husband intends to enjoy himself at home alone for the next few days while the rest of the family are in Singapore.

There are quite a few options open to a man in pursuit of hedonistic pleasure. But of course we're talking here about a domesticated male. We are of course talking about me. And I had a plan. I had planned the ultimate act of sheer self-indulgence: four and a half days non-stop!

I was about to embark on a veritable orgy of uninterrupted flight simulation. The aim was to zigzag my way eastward all the way around the globe, using the broadest mix of freeware aircraft as was practicable, given the available time frame. To this end, I had been busily downloading and flight-testing all of the aircraft that I needed for the task.

Would 108 hours be enough time to get back home? Would I screw up and crash halfway through the trip? Would I discover that it was all too much and get sick of it? I dashed home from the airport, and fired up the computer, ready to begin the first leg of my journey.

Sector 1
Perth-Melbourne
Boeing 737-400
Qantas
Registration: VH-TJI

My Australian scenery package for FS98 has all the taxiways and terminal buildings for over 50 Australian airports. QF 626 was parked at the domestic terminal with 30,000 lbs of fuel on board. The panel that I have downloaded and installed into this aircraft is amazing. There are so many features over and above the default 737 panel.

The engine start procedure involves the starters in the overhead panel and the fuel switches near the throttles. There are switches for air-conditioning as well as seat belt and no-smoking signs. There are plenty of sounds to tell you about too but I'll save that for later...

I must have been a little too tense as I taxied along runway 11 on the way to runway 21. I nearly jumped when I heard a radio call to another aircraft "...runway one-one, cleared for takeoff". That's about the only drawback of the pre-recorded ATC chatter that comes with this scenery package. It sounds too real at times. There's a great rattling sound that I love to hear on the takeoff roll. It ceased immediately I left the ground, at 8:04 AM. I banked left and climbed away, leaving a hot and sweaty Perth behind me. I proceeded to step-climb the 400 up to FL330.

Looking back, I remember that I was in a serious, determined mood at the start of this journey. I had no idea of the kind of situations that I was destined to encounter. I thought that the only unknown factor would be the weather. I was wrong. Jumping from one type of plane (and panel) to the next in quick succession was going to create difficulties. Insufficient planning, incomplete knowledge of each aircraft's capabilities and my own innate silliness were all going to play their part in making this journey a real endurance test. At times, all these factors were going to come together to make me feel completely ridiculous. But it was going to be about as much fun as a middle aged sociopath could have!

As I made my approach into Melbourne, I was already thinking ahead to the next sector. This was a mistake. I turned too late onto final and was forced to execute a missed approach. This was not good. My first landing on this epic tour and I'd already messed up! Much later on I would have some really difficult airports to contend with including Quito and Hong Kong's Kai Tak. Regaining my composure I began setting the plane up much more carefully for a second attempt to land on runway 34.

I must tell you that navigating with this panel is a breeze! There are digital readouts for everything. The VORs are spelled out with letters, rather than beeped out in Morse code. The ground speed and true airspeed are displayed along with the IAS.

On final again, autobrake set to medium, spoilers armed; at 500 feet AGL I turned off the autopilot. This set off an alarm. "Whoop whoop whoop". There then followed the height callout " 400...300...200..." You see why I love this panel? After a smooth touchdown, I pulled in at the domestic terminal after a flight time of 3.6 hours.

Sector 2
Melbourne-Canberra
BAE 146
Ansett Airlines
Registration: VH-EWR

45 minutes after arriving in Melbourne, I had re-familiarized myself with the panel that I had matched to this aircraft. Not nearly as exciting as the 737's panel, but much better than the one (Learjet style) that originally came with this plane. Now somebody once quipped that the 146 was the only plane ever built with five APUs. (Four of them are slung under the wings). Nevertheless they are in daily use by regional airlines all over Australia. They have a very distinctive sound as they climb out over my house. "Look; up in the sky! Is it a bird? Is it a vacuum cleaner? ...No, it's a BAE 146!"

I pushed back with 7000 lbs of fuel on board. To save a bit of time, I decided on an intersection departure from runway 34. On the taxi out, the computer got the stutters. Time to tell you about my cure for the stutters. Press P to pause the simulator. Click on the screen minimization icon (top right) .Go and get a glass of water, or feed the goldfish; whatever takes about 2 minutes. Restore screen and un-pause. You see? The stuttering has ceased. Works every time.

I took off, turning northeast and inched my way up to a cruising height of 25,000 feet on my way to Canberra, Australia's national Capital. Maximum speed was mach .66. Any faster and there would be an overspeed warning. Did you know that in Australia, there is a relatively low maximum cruise height imposed on the operators of the 146? This is as a consequence of a flameout of all four GE engines due to ice, high up over northern Australia. I'm told that General Electric also make excellent light bulbs.

From the sunny skies over Melbourne, I descended into cloudy Canberra. I used up far too much of runway 35 during a really crap crosswind landing, shutting down with 2400 lbs of fuel remaining. Elapsed flight time: 1.1 hours. Time for a lunch break while I explain a few rules to you.

I had previously decided that this great voyage would be conducted entirely in real time. I didn't know how well the simulator would cope with time zone changes during my eastward passage. So I will avoid all references to clock times during the course of this story. I planned to make 21 takeoffs and 20 landings. No that's not a misprint. You'll have to wait till we get to Florida to find out what I had in mind. There were going to be a couple of really long haul sectors included, enabling me to get some sleep.

Sector 3
Canberra-Sydney
Beech King Air 200
Registration: N50JJ

This type of aircraft is used in Australia by the Royal Flying Doctor Service. I love the exterior of this plane. If it were a car it would be one of those new compact Mercedes. I remember how I was disappointed in the look of the panel when I first downloaded it. It looks like a composite of Learjet bits and pieces. But it's very easy to read and according to one flight simulation guru (who shall remain nameless) it should never get the "stutters" because it uses only default gauges.

Obviously a one-hour break between flights was not enough for me, because I took off without correctly setting up the navigation radios, and began heading off in the wrong direction! It took a few minutes to get my bearings but soon I was back on track (049 degrees) and heading towards the Woolongong NDB. My cruising height was 9000 feet. At about 20 miles out from the Sydney VOR, I turned northwest, descending toward the Bankstown NDB. Bankstown is Sydney's general aviation airport, located about 9 nm west of Sydney's Kingsford-Smith International Airport. This particular King Air doesn't like to fly at low speed. (It gets a bit too "nose-up".) So with high speed, low visibility due to rain and a lack of any VOR, I surprised myself by making a pretty smooth touchdown at Bankstown's runway 11C. I had used only 600 lbs of fuel during this 48-minute flight.

Sector 4
Sydney
Bankstown-Kingsford Smith International
Bell Jetranger Helicopter
(Microsoft Default)

It was some 40 minutes after landing before I could head off to KSA (just 20 minutes away). I mentioned something earlier about "uninterrupted flightsimming" right? Yeah well, I forgot that the cleaner comes in on Fridays and I couldn't have her dusting around my desk while I was flying an imaginary helicopter could I? I would have felt such a fool!

At last she took off, and so did I, swinging the chopper northwards, passing over the Olympic stadium in Homebush at 1000 feet, then turning right to follow the river along towards the city center. As the Sydney Harbour Bridge loomed up out of the haze, I descended to just 150 feet and flew under the bridge's roadway. (There's no fool like a flightsimming fool.) Then I turned right again, sweeping up over the sails of the Sydney Opera House towards KSA. I set it up for an approach to land very gently next to the international terminal. It's hard to believe now that it took me so long to learn to fly this thing.

Sector 5
Sydney-Auckland
Boeing 767-319ER
Air New Zealand
Registration: ZK-NCL

The panel that I had installed into this plane has a couple of nice features, one of which is a pop-up window for the engine starters and fuel switches. Taking time to re-familiarize myself with this panel, I might just mention something about SODPROPS.

It sounds a bit rude, but it's just plain crazy. To my knowledge, Sydney is the only airport to have it. It stands for Simultaneous Opposite Direction Parallel Runway Operations. If that doesn't send a shiver down your spine, then you haven't caught on to what it means. It's all about directing approaching and departing aircraft away from the city's center, in spite of the prevailing wind conditions. An Australian Federal Government initiative designed to strike anxiety into the hearts of controllers and pilots alike. It's an operation that is impossible to simulate with FSTraffic, (the best utility add-on ever) because it is illogical.

One hour after arriving at the international terminal, flight NZ 104 was ready to pushback. It was a long taxi out to runway 16L for a "KEVIN ONE" departure. I had downloaded my departure track from a brilliant web site for aircraft enthusiasts. You can see it for yourself at http//www.acay.com.au/~willt/yssy/enthus/ I would love to know if there are any similar sites for other airports.

I had to hold short for an Air France 747-200 cargo plane to land and clear the runway before I could take off. KEVIN ONE involves tracking 155 degrees until reaching 500 feet. Then left turn to intercept the SYR 128 radial until 15 DME. Then left again to 080 degrees for vectors to pick up the outbound radial for Auckland. Now call me unnecessarily suspicious but can a B767 with 66,000 lbs of fuel on board really climb to FL370 in just 20 minutes? As I headed off into the darkening sky it was time for my evening meal. Tonight it would be frozen pizza, the first refuge for a deserted husband.

I decided to begin my descent into Auckland as soon as I picked up the AA VOR. (About 150 nm out) I reasoned that if this plane shot up so easily to its cruise height, then I would probably have a problem slowing it down and descending. The descent through the cumulus clouds was a little bumpy, but once below them, there was 40 miles of visibility. I made a smooth landing on runway 23, completely missing the touchdown zone, but I had the autobrake set to maximum so I pulled up real quick! I shut it down with 26,000 lbs of fuel remaining, after a flight time of 2.8 hours. Just in time to watch Dilbert on TV. (I used to work for Dilbert's boss, but then, didn't everybody?)

Sector 6
Auckland-Los Angeles
Boeing 747-400
Qantas
Registration: VH-OJL

This was to be a marathon 13 hour flight, during which I planned to get six hours sleep. It was very important to get the fuel load correct for the Pacific crossing. I knew from previous experience with this plane that it would use about 17,000 lbs of fuel per hour at FL410.

One hour and thirty five minutes after my arrival in Auckland, I had re-acquainted myself with the beautiful "glass cockpit" that I had previously installed in this aircraft. The APU doesn't actually seem to do anything, but it makes a very satisfying humming sound. Flight QF 25 was ready to leave with 310,000 lbs of fuel.

Half an hour after departure I had established a cruise speed of mach 0.82 at FL370. Half an hour later, I was cruising at FL410. The digital fuel flow readout is in gallons per hour. But at 6.6 lbs/gallon this gave me 16.5 hours of fuel remaining. I waited up until the auxiliary tanks drained, then it was time to sleep... It was like trying to sleep with a newborn baby in the house. I kept waking up to make sure that Oscar was still breathing.

24 hours after departing Perth, I was about 3 hours away from LAX. At Los Angeles, it was cool and cloudy and the wind was blowing in off the ocean. I descended for an ILS approach to runway 25L via Catalina & Seal Beach. When I was sure that I had the plane "locked on" to the approach mode, I reset the altitude and vertical speed settings, in readiness for a go-around in the event of anything untoward. But the landing was mercifully uneventful, and I taxied to the ramp and shut down with 70,000 lbs of fuel remaining.

I had intended to take a drive out to visit Malibu Barbie while I was in town, but unfortunately I had more important matters to attend to. In the real world, there were some overdue library books to return. Now of course a real airline captain would delegate this task to the first officer, but what could I do? I emerged, blinking into the sunlight to go and do my duty.

Sector 7
Los Angeles-Miami
Boeing 727-200
Delta Airlines
Registration: N282WA

One hour and fifty minutes after shutting down the 747, I was lined up to leave LAX on runway 24R. Delta usually runs this flight as Delta 1420, using a B767 with a stopover at Atlanta, Georgia. But that day, as a special treat, we flew a 727 direct to Florida. Which no doubt annoyed the hell out of the citizens of LA as it climbed out over the city with its characteristic ear splitting screech. It's a handsome looking plane all right; looks like a jet fighter. The trouble is it sounds a bit like one too.

I stepped it up through various levels, FL290, FL330 and finally FL370. Navigating was easy. A very simple to use GPS is included as part of the exquisite panel that I have matched to this plane. If you like tri-jets and analogue panels, this is the one to get! With the autopilot locked to the coordinates for Miami International, it was time for lunch, followed by a nap.

After sleeping for just one hour, I was surprised to find that it was now quite dark. It seems that FS98 compensates for time zone changes as it crosses the USA. By the time I began to descend into Miami, the clock had jumped forward by 4 hours. The ATIS warned of thunderstorms in the vicinity. It was going to be a bumpy ride! I configured the plane for an ILS approach into runway 09L. The airspeed was all over the place as the turbulence rocked the plane around. At some point, I must have come too close to a storm cell, because the airspeed momentarily dropped to just 120 kts. I was really stating to sweat! You see, loading up just 32,042 lbs of fuel at the start of this sector was a miscalculation. I did not now have enough fuel to divert, or maybe even to go-around if necessary. I just had to ride it out! At last, I burst through the bottom of the clouds at around 1500 feet, switched off the autopilot and made a manual approach. I did not set the autobrake, just to simulate a wet runway. I touched down a little late, but really smoothly.

After I taxied to the ramp and shut it down there were only 2800 lbs of fuel remaining. Total flight time: 4.6 hours. Time to falsify the log sheets and pretend it never happened! I needed to go for a swim to cool off.

Not only did I have a swim, I ate a meal while watching an "in the cockpit" video all about Lufthansa aircraft. (Says a lot about my outside interests doesn't it?)

Sector 8
Miami-Key West
Cessna 182S
(Microsoft default)

I'd been looking forward to this sector with great trepidation. It was probably highly unorthodox to depart Miami International in a Cessna 182, but that is a small matter considering what I had planned at the end of this sector. I felt extremely vulnerable taxiing around amongst the "heavies" in such a tiny plane as this one. Taking off from runway 09R, I climbed to 1500 feet, turning south to pass over the Art Deco waterfront buildings. Then turning southwest, I began the climb to get clear of the rain clouds. The same storm clouds that had rocked the 727 an hour and 45 minutes before were now throwing the Cessna around so violently that I feared the plane would break up. The stall warning came on a few times but at last I broke clear of the clouds at 6000 feet. I still had to skirt around some gigantic Cumulonimbus clouds that topped out at around 15,000 feet.

I was over Key West one hour and 15 minutes after leaving Miami. I began to circle around the airport, which was somewhere there below the clouds. (The Key West VOR is located about 3 nm northwest of the airfield.) So here goes... I closed the throttles and lowered the flaps. Anyone with FSTraffic will now be able to guess what I did next: Select aircraft: CSfreefall skydiver. Now I hadn't planned on doing this parachute jump in the dark, and I certainly hadn't planned to do it from 6000 feet, passing through rain clouds on the way down. This was all a bit too "James Bond" for me.

As soon as I went into the clouds I started to tumble wildly. I had no idea which direction I was going, except downwards of course. But I didn't even know which way was up. I was completely helpless. It was hard not to laugh, I felt like such a clown. When at last I broke through the bottom of the clouds, I took a look around, and steered the chute to the left to face the airport. I was too far away from it to land there, so I tried to steer around towards a road. But I ended up landing in a swamp. Did I mention James Bond? Of course I meant Daffy Duck, but then I always get those two mixed up.

To quote Daria: "Well I think my humiliation is complete now..."

Sector 9
Key West-Quito?
Cessna Citation
Registration: OE-GSW

There were a couple of things about this plane that I had not reckoned on. Combined with the fact that it was getting late and I was tired, this sector could have easily been my last.

I had it fully loaded with 8000 lbs of fuel when I departed Key West International from runway 09, two and a quarter hours after parachuting in. I had estimated a flight time of 3 hours to Quito. Unfortunately, this plane doesn't fly as fast as a Learjet, and when I reached 33,000 feet I realized that at mach 0.7 it was using too much fuel to comfortably reach my planned destination. My only hope was to climb to FL370 and see if there was any significant improvement in the fuel flow rate. As I reached 37,000 feet, the plane suffered a two-engine flameout. "What the...?" I managed to restart them as soon as I began descending. Out of curiosity, I tried to climb to 37,000 feet again. Same problem.

Back down at FL330, I had to make a decision. Quito would be difficult enough to land at without worrying about running out of fuel. FS98 offered me two alternative destinations. One was Colon (but I didn't like the sound of that), and the other was Panama City. I had a homemade runway chart for Tocumen International at Panama, so I chose that one. Unfortunately the thunderstorms over Panama City gave me a very hard time as I swept out over the bay for an ILS approach into runway 03R. I was so concerned about stalling in the severe turbulence that I made the approach far too fast. I was way too high on the glideslope but I eventually touched down more than halfway down the runway. Full reverse thrust and spoilers pulled me up just before the end of the runway. I taxied to the terminal and shut it down, ready to sleep.

And for six hours I did, blissfully unaware of the commotion that awaited me the next morning.

Sector 10
Panama-Santiago
Boeing 767
Lan Chile
Registration: CC-CZW

I never cease to be amazed at the tricks that computers can get up to. Just when I think that I have seen every stunt that this box of circuits can throw at me, it comes up with a new one. When I selected the 767 to fly this sector, I couldn't believe my eyes. The panel was an analogue type for a twin turboprop. Was I dreaming? Was this an hallucination...the inevitable result of too much flightsimming? I selected various types of aircraft and saw that a number of them had also substituted their correct panels for something else. I shut down and restarted the computer. I saw that this time some of the correct panels had been reinstated, but as I continued to check through each one, FS98 performed an illegal operation and shut down. I said something like "oh bother" and restarted the machine. This time I checked through the aircraft files in the Windows Explorer to see that everything was in order. It seemed to be. I started the simulator and checked first the DC-10, 777, 737, and 767 and yes they were all ok. If you know what happened then please tell me. (Only non-technical explanations please, as I have only limited intelligence.)

So the flight was delayed for a half-hour "due to a technical fault". Most of my virtual passengers took the delay in their stride. Except for one Malcolm Kenworthy who started shouting that he'd had enough delays and couldn't take it any more, so the check-in staff shot him. It seemed the kindest thing to do. With 112,000 lbs of fuel on board (and the correct instrument panel) I took off into the cloudy skies over Panama City, just 48 and a half hours after leaving Perth. I was almost halfway around the globe.

This 767 must have the same flight model as the Air New Zealand plane that I flew on sector 5. Half an hour after takeoff I was at FL370 cruising at mach 0.82. Maybe a 767 really flies like this? The mountain scenery was really spectacular as I tracked over Quito and past Lima. (I'm dimly aware of a scenery bug somewhere in the vicinity of Lima so it's wise to give it a wide berth).

Turning onto the 165 radial outbound from Salinas, I experimented with speed and fuel flow. Mach 0.82=9820 lbs/hour (leaving me with 7.0 hours remaining). I increased speed to mach 0.85=16820 lbs/hour (4.0 hours fuel remaining). I compromised at mach 0.84 (14300 lbs/hour).

I began my descent as soon as I picked up the Quintero VOR. (I had previously scribbled a memo about this plane having the flight characteristics of a glider). So I slowed to 0.74 and began to descend at just 1800 feet/minute. I aimed to be at 10,000 feet at Quintero, before turning left and heading towards the airport.

At 80 degrees F, Santiago was the hottest place I'd come to since I'd left home. The light in the cloudless sky was just beginning to fade as I turned left on 115 degrees for vectors into runway 17.

In spite of all my precautions, I still had to use the spoilers to get the plane to slow down. I turned onto the final too high and too fast, making an incredibly steep approach and touching down late. Spoilers and reverse thrust saved the day once more.

Total flight time 6.2 hours. There was just time for a swim and to answer email from a flightsimmer in the UK before preparing for the next trip.

Sector 11
Santiago-Buenos Aires
Douglas DC3
Aerolineas Argentinas
Registration: LV-ACD

I had the next plane ready to go again just forty minutes after arriving in Santiago. The chosen panel looked suitably decrepit for a 50-year-old plane. In the interests of authenticity, there are no navigation radios, but there is a simple GPS to enable me to navigate, and I had set the coordinates for Buenos Aires. The on board readout of wind speed and direction is pretty handy too. It's like having your own windsock with you wherever you go. 3600 lbs of fuel should be plenty for a distance of 620 nm.

I turned the auto coordination off to begin taxiing this tail dragger out to the runway. For once I was glad of a lack of airport scenery. Taxiways would have been useless as I blundered around in circles on the ground trying to steer this beast to the end of the runway. Eventually I lined up (more or less) on runway 17. I turned the auto coordination on again to begin the takeoff roll. 1 notch of flap saw it leave the ground after only a short distance.

It was quite dark as I turned due west. Yes, I was going the wrong way! Well spotted. But you see, immediately to the east of Santiago are mountains. Bloody high ones! So I had to give myself a fighting chance to get over the top of them. Upon reaching 6000 feet I turned north. At 9000 feet I set a new heading of 101 degrees as determined by the GPS. The Jeppesen map indicates a minimum safe altitude of 20,800 feet along this track. But we flight simmers laugh at danger right? I inched my way up to a cruising height of 17,000 feet.

Over the course of the next hour I juggled the throttle and propeller controls to get a maximum IAS of 145 kts with the engines revving at about 2100. I began a powered descent at about 180 nm from Buenos Aires. Below 6000 feet the maximum IAS had increased to 180 kts. I tracked along the final 80 nm at just 5000 feet, using up plenty of fuel in the process. At about 20 nm from the airport, I descended in the moonlight to just 1500 feet. My "portable windsock" showed me that there was a stiff breeze blowing from the northeast so I elected to use runway 05 to avoid a crosswind landing. I was right over the top of the airport before I could even see 05. It was the only runway that wasn't lit! Now with no navigation radios to guide me in, I wanted to maintain visual contact with the runway. So I turned away to the south, trying to execute a nice tight circuit. But if you try any tight turns in this old crate, the airspeed washes off alarmingly quickly. I could see what was occurring, so I instinctively lowered the nose to get some more airspeed. I can remember that at some point during this near-disastrous circuit, I had dropped to just 200 feet at 80 kts with the throttles wide open! I had to untangle this mess fast. Straightening up, I climbed to 1000 feet and using the GPS as a guide, gradually turned right the way back to the airport on 050 degrees. After all that, the landing was an anticlimax: very gentle without even a single bounce.

When you shut the engines off in this plane, the rear passenger door pops open. I jumped down and kissed the ground. Total flight time: 5.0 hours.

Sector 12
Buenos Aires-Rio de Janeiro
Fokker F27
Tam
Registration: PT-LAJ

Time to slip into something slightly more comfortable... The analogue panel that I teamed with this aircraft is a real beauty. If you're a fan of the older turboprops, this is the one to get. The GPS is an essential feature for this sector, because my Jeppesen route maps stop at Buenos Aires. Fully loaded with fuel, I set off from Buenos Aires on runway 35, barely an hour after arriving there. I step-climbed to 15,000 feet to cover the distance of 1070 nm. With an IAS of 185 kts, it was going to be a long flight.

Plenty of time to daydream about my next destination. Rio has a reputation as a party town. Imagine; streets filled with gorgeous half naked women gyrating to the relentless rhythm of live Brazilian music. Just thinking about it caused my glasses to fog up. And three of the pens in my top pocket started to leak! I started rehearsing some sure-fire pick-up lines: "Hallo, would you like to come back to my house and see my flight simulator?" Or how about this one... "Maybe you've read some of my articles at FlightSim.Com? ... Yeah, they pay pretty well for stories like mine." I started to have doubts. Have they ever heard English spoken with an Australian accent? They might think I was a Bostonian with a speech impediment.

Back to the flight...The first tinges of morning pink were lighting the cloudless skies over Rio, as I descended into a light southerly breeze to land on runway 15. By the time I taxied to the terminal after a five-hour flight, I had convinced myself that Rio was probably a bit too scary for a scrawny little nerd like me. I might just sleep at the airport and catch the next plane out.

Sector 13
Rio de Janeiro-Gran Canaria
Boeing 747 200 Cargo
Air France
Registration: N18815

72 hours after departing Perth and I was making preparations set off from Rio. I took a long time checking out this panel before I was satisfied that I knew where all the controls were. (They are scattered all over the place.) I knew that it was risky to fly this plane on this sector, because of the inherent difficulties of climbing out with a near-maximum fuel load of 320,000 lbs. Even though the wind was still blowing in from the south, I elected to takeoff on runway 10 because I figured that I'd need every foot of the longer runway.

I had one Brazilian souvenir to take with me: a hat decorated with plastic fruit, in the style worn by Carmen Miranda. That I chose not to wear it that morning is a measure my lack of confidence in even getting off the ground. I reasoned that if the takeoff was unsuccessful, then the virtual crash investigators would drag my body out of the bay still wearing this stupid hat and jump to the conclusion that the accident was an obvious case of pilot error.

After only an 8 hour stay in Rio I nervously accelerated down the runway, using up most of it before lifting off. Almost immediately, I engaged the autopilot with a vertical speed of 500 feet/minute. Almost immediately after that, the stall warning came on, so I disconnected and flattened out the climb even further.

I allowed the left wing to drop ever so slightly, and began banking round to the northeast. I wanted to use the full length of the bay to gain some height before encountering any high ground. (By now, I realized that I should have asked a grown up to help me.) Little by little, the airspeed increased along with the altitude and I began to retract the flaps. Clearing the hills, I began a gradual climb to 19000 feet.

It took 3 and a half hours to step-climb to FL370. I can hardly believe that I used up 62,000 lbs of fuel in the first hour. By the end of the fifth hour the fuel consumption rate was half that amount.

To get an idea of just how complex a plane the 200 series is, you must read an audit report on Korean Airlines, compiled by Delta when they were considering a code-share arrangement with KAL. It is an understatement to say that Delta were not happy with KAL's operational procedures, particularly in relation to the B747-200.

You will find the report at http://www.vision.net.au/~apaterson/aviation/korean_audit.htm

The approach into Gran Canaria was made much more difficult than it needed to be by my own ham fisted technique of turning too steeply onto the radial for runway 03L. The resultant loss of airspeed forced me to disconnect the autopilot and make the approach manually. I made one of my characteristically late touchdowns and shut down with 34,000 lbs remaining. (Better than the last time I flew this beast when I ran off the end of the runway before I could stop)

Total flight time: 8.1 hours.

Sector 14
Gran Canaria-Paris
Boeing 727- 200 Air France
Registration: F-BPJL

This is a very handsome visual model and the panel is the same one that I matched up to the Delta Airlines plane in sector 7. 30,000 lbs of fuel were loaded. I set the tower view to Charles De Gaulle but I set the GPS coordinates for Nantes. I would let the GPS take me across the ocean leg, then fly to Paris by VOR navigation. I departed the Canary Islands just one hour and 40 minutes after my arrival.

I step-climbed to FL330 and let the autopilot do its job, while I watched an hour of TV. So what TV program could drag me away from the simulator? It's LAX and there are a lots of planes in it. The highlight of the show for me was watching a passenger trying to stuff a giant chandelier into one of the overhead lockers.

Paris was as far north as I dared to venture at this time of the year. I had no intention of getting snowed in anywhere and having to abandon the whole voyage. In the dead of night, I began to descend into Paris at about 80 nm from Nantes outbound on the 045 degree radial. I tracked in via L'aigle, Evreux and Pontoise. I was kept very busy switching the NAV 1 and NAV 2 frequencies. I didn't notice that I was approaching Paris far too fast until I was about 10 nm from the airport.

The missed approach and right hand circuit provided an unexpected bonus. The shimmering lights of Paris looked spectacular from 2000 feet up. I circled back around the Eiffel Tower to land smoothly onto runway 10R. I parked up and sat for a while watching all the planes that I never see back home. (Like Swissair and Lufthansa.) Total flight time: 3.8 hours. Fuel remaining: 7800 lbs.

Sector 15
Paris Charles De Gaulle-Orly
Bell Jetranger
(Microsoft default)

8 and a half hours after arriving in Paris, I took off for an air taxi ride to Orly Airport. Does a 20-minute sightseeing tour over Paris count as a sector?

Sector 16
Paris - Istanbul
DC-10
Aerolyon
Registration: F-BTDD

96 hours after leaving Perth I was preparing to depart Paris, and I realized that I was on borrowed time. Firstly, in the real world it was Tuesday morning and I knew that as soon as any of my clients rang with something urgent, I was going to have to end this epic voyage. Secondly, I had established a new personal safety record: Four consecutive days full-time flightsimming without a crash. (Ask about our frequent near-miss program.)

Another tri-jet, but bigger and scarier than the 727, this DC-10 had an authentic looking semi-photorealistic panel to go with it. It was kind of eerie parked at Orly in a DC-10 bound for Istanbul. Anyone who can remember the reputation that this aircraft earned for its manufacturer back in the 1970s will understand why I had a good look outside to check the that rear cargo door was properly latched.

Taxiing out, I was interested to note how this plane pitched forward markedly as I touched the brakes. Just like one of those big horrible American cars of thirty years ago that I used to think were so great. Almost as soon as I began the take off roll on runway 08, the gremlins struck. The plane nearly veered off the runway as the number one engine died. (I later remembered that there was a very small amount of fuel in the auxiliary tanks, and the shut down must have occurred as it switched to the main tanks.)

I restarted it, lined up again and took off. I began a wide, almost 360 degree right hand climbing turn to arrive back over the airport at 9000 feet, heading for CLM 112.90. The first of 10 VORs along the way to Istanbul. By mid afternoon (simulator time) it was depressing to see the winter skies over Europe already starting to grow dark. Descending into Istanbul, I turned south at about 20 DME to configure the plane for an instrument approach into runway 36. I could see nothing out of the windows on account of the rain clouds, but with the map window switched on, I could see traffic ahead and below, cutting across my path on its way into runway 06. A pretty ordinary landing and I taxied to the ramp with a total flight time of 3.2 hours.

Sector 17
Istanbul-Port Said
Cessna Caravan
Registration: LN-SEA

One hour after arriving, I was ready to go again. Not from the airport, but from a huge lake, right next to it. This seaplane has special sounds and a panel to go with it, which are all available in separate files to save downloading time. It's a really neat package. To look at, it reminds me of one of those compact four-wheel drive cars so beloved by suburban housewives. (My wife has one, and every time I drive it I feel a strange crisis of identity... As though I have the mind and body of a man, trapped in a woman's car.)

In the darkness, I took off from the southern end of the lake into a stiff northerly breeze. Once airborne, I had to press G to see the floats in their entirety. (In the water, they have the bottoms cut off them to look more realistic). I turned and climbed out over the airport and on up to 13000 feet. When I planned this sector I somehow had in mind bright sunshine and picturesque scenery. But it was not to be. Below me, there was almost a complete blanket of cloud. It was so boring that I actually fell asleep at the wheel...

The rain at Port Said was being blown in on a strong northwesterly wind. I passed over the airport at 1500 feet heading southeast, and began a right hand bank around directly over the mouth of the Suez Canal. I turned back towards the airport, with the aim of splashing down as close to the airport as possible. One great thing about a seaplane is not having to worry about crosswind landings. You just choose the direction you want to land in. I amazed myself by landing smoothly and pulling up right on the beach. This plane is really easy to fly. Total flight time: 4 hours.

Sector 18
Port Said-Cairo.
Bell Jetranger.

Just 35 minutes after splashdown I was off again. I kept the helicopter at a low level, and made my way back toward the mouth of the Suez Canal. There's a road that runs alongside it, and I followed it at a very low level (75-150 feet) with the chopper's spotlight trained onto the center of the road. Low level flying really focuses the mind! I know that there are some tankers parked along the canal, but I was concentrating too hard to see them in the gloomy conditions. A strong headwind makes landing the helicopter easy. But at Cairo the wind was calm. I landed smoothly anyway. Total flight time: 55 minutes.

Sector 19
Cairo-Hong Kong
Airbus A330
Cathay Pacific
Registration: B-HAT

Yes, I know that Cathay Pacific doesn't go to Cairo. That's why I had to put 150,000 lbs of jet fuel on my Visa card. (Mental note: Increase Visa card limit.) The visual model of this A330 is very smooth, but it's the panel that I love. There are a couple of features on it that are a magnet for gadget freaks like me. Firstly, the movements of the sidestick correspond to my mouse movements. Secondly, and best of all, it has "pushback". I can select distance and direction and pushback does the rest. The call out even tells me when to release or set the parking brake. As I am relatively new to downloading and adding on panels, I find this all terribly exciting. (Mental note: I really need to get out more.) Oh yeah, and there is a really cool sucking sound as the engines start. The big drawback is that it was designed for a different display resolution to the one that I run, so some of the instruments are extremely difficult to read.

Three and a half hours after arriving in Cairo, I pushed back from the terminal and taxied out to runway 05L.

I need to explain something here so please bear with me. Up to this point in the world tour I had let the simulator do its thing with the clock times. But as my next destination was actually in a time zone one hour ahead of my home town of Perth, I decided to "correct" the simulator clock time to current Cairo time (4:00 PM). I wanted to see if the simulator clock would jump ahead 7 hours as it moved across the time zones on my way to Hong Kong. (Remember, it did this as I headed east across the USA in Sector 7!)

After lifting off, I headed south east first of all towards Sharm El Sheik (114.20). At SHM, it was then safe to use the GPS to head towards Kuwait, without crossing Iraq airspace. Upon reaching Kuwait, I reset the GPS coordinates for Lianshengwei, the point at which I would have to begin configuring the plane for an approach into Hong Kong. I retired to sleep and let the autopilot do the work...

Back on deck six hours later, I saw that the simulator had not compensated for the time zones and was showing a time of midnight. Later on, at 5000 feet over Lianshengwei, I jumped the clock forward seven hours. I wanted to see Hong Kong as it really looked at that particular time (8:35 AM HK time). Of course the sense of realism that I was anxious to create was thrown out the window by the fact that Kai Tak Airport is well and truly de-commissioned. And now for the current weather: Partly cloudy, with winds from the east at 17 mph. Time to circle out over the South China Sea, before heading back towards Cheung Chau at the start of an approach into runway 13. I really had the wrong panel for this difficult task. I just couldn't see the glide slope bug at all! Fortunately the weather was good and so I was able to make the approach visually. I continually checked my height on the way down toward the checkerboard, all the while muttering to myself "don't screw up, don't screw up, don't screw up."

Time to dig out my customized checklist designed specifically for this unique final approach. You might like to copy this one down... 800 feet: Disconnect autopilot. Turn right NOW! ...Oh God... OH GOD! ... OH SH**, ...SH**, ...SH**! ... OH YES... YES...YES!... OH THANK GOD! (With the correct inflections it sounds quite sexy in a frantic kind of way).

From this checklist you will probably realize why, 24 years ago I reluctantly decided that I was not psychologically suited to flying. But I have remained an aircraft enthusiast ever since.

And if you have been following this story all the way from the start you can probably guess that I touched down quite gently, albeit a little late. But with the autobrake set to maximum and with full reverse thrust I came to a halt with a bit of runway to spare. (I've just now decided that when my time is up, I want the words "A little too high on the approach" engraved on my headstone.)

As I exited the runway and taxied back toward the terminal. I took some time to enjoy watching all the other Asia-Pacific airliners taxiing in from and out to the runway. (These are all my own previously recorded traffic tracks.)

I had arrived in Hong Kong 120 hours after departing Perth. I still had two more sectors planned to get me back home. (Flights SQ 001 to Singapore, and QF 78 to Perth.) But in the real world, work commitments dictated that "The Great Voyage" had to end here.

And what had I discovered? Was five days continuous flightsimming too much? Well, to tell you the truth I felt quite happy to give it a rest for a few days (I never thought I would hear myself say that), while I typed up all the hand written notes that I'd scribbled down over the previous five days.

And the fact is I'm waiting for my sister to return from the U.K, bringing with her a new FS98 scenery package for Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. I can hardly wait!

Sincerely,

Bill Smith / Perth, Western Australia

leesmith@ca.com.au

Discuss This in our Outer Marker (Feedback) Forum.