Frank Betts Search And Rescue Missions

By David Jordan (14 May 2004)

   

Perhaps the reason that they're so difficult to review is that by reviewing them you're giving away secrets. So I've decided to review just one of them fully, and then say that the rest are just as good - because they are. Because it was the first that I flew, I've chosen SAR_180.ZIP "Bad Vibrations".

Each search and rescue mission comes with scenery to place the downed aircraft somewhere in the wilderness, and often an ELT (Emergency Location Transmitter) which you can tune in with your ADF at about 10 miles range. Most also come with a custom designed airfield nearby where you will be taking off from.

If you don't want me to spoil this mission for you, read no further, for the rest of this interview will essentially be a walk (fly?) through with some reviewing thrown in for good measure.

   

Here is the entire scenario file:

Information: Search and Rescue, Piper 180 "Bad Vibrations"
Aircraft: 1966 Piper Cherokee 180. Registration N7203W. Red trim on white. 3 people on board. Pilot has a private license with 125 hours logged time. 4 hours in type.
Flight plan: Filed thru FSS for VMC conditions. Will use flight following.
Distance for flight from WN55 to 4S6 (real world sectional shows WA49) is 37.2 nm straight line.
Time to make flight was recorded at 35 minutes on a heading of 58°
Weather was clear with occasional fair weather clouds at 6500 feet, wind from the east at 12.
Highest point in area is 14800'. Information from Seattle sectional chart.
ELT (NDB) frequency is 409 kHz with about a 10 mile range. It is also positioned away from the aircraft area.

Time line: All times GMT.
22:00 Took off from airport on runway 7. Flew straight out.
22:01 Picked up the Yakima VOR (116.00).
22:04 Called Seattle Control (134.950) requesting flight following. Seattle responded with a radar contact.
22:09 Aircraft overflew Packwood (55S) then turned to a heading of 070° and proceded to climb to 5500'. And flying towards Yakima VOR.
22:16 ATC called N7203W for traffic advisory. There was no response.
22:17 ATC received a distress call which was garbled. The word "bad vibration" was the only inteligible words. Aircraft was 46 miles from Yakima VOR.
22:18 ATC continued to call N7203W but there was no response. FAA was then contacted.
22:35 Aircraft overdue for destination airport. Go find it!

As this mission comes with custom scenery for WN55 (One runway 7-25), let's start off there. I've chosen to take the default Baron.

   

The scenery is pretty sparse, as befits a bush field like this. What this screen shot shows is all that there is to the scenery, but that's not the point of this add on - and it's certainly better looking than the default scenery. There is also included traffic in the form of a Cherokee 180 that does touch and goes of the field. If you don't bother informing traffic of your intent to depart, the Piper has a nasty habit of wandering down runway 25 to line up for runway 7 while you are taking off on runway 7, resulting in a brutal lesson in the importance of radio technique.

Our 'game plan' to find the downed Cherokee is to follow its flight path from Packwood, so the first thing that we will do is set the GPS for a direct flight to Packwood (55S), and head straight out there.

On the way we'll tune in our ADF to 409 kHz, the frequency of the Emergency Beacon, and a NAV radio to 116.00, the Yakima VOR. We shouldn't need the latter, but it may help us to follow the course of the doomed aircraft more closely.

At Packwood, we make a right hand turn to a bearing of 70 degrees. I was using real weather for this flight, so suddenly everything got really misty, adding to the atmosphere but threatening to make this flight a whole lot harder. After a few miles, the emergency beacon is picked up, more or less dead ahead, and so we fly directly towards it, keeping our eyes peeled, ready to spy a crashed plane. Just as I got overhead, the fog suddenly cleared again (reminding me that I ought to buy FSUIPC to smooth these transitions) which helped me to the next part.

We now know that the plane is near by, so we have to think to ourselves: If I had a serious problem here at 5500 feet, where do I dead-stick? A quick 360 degree observation shows a road over on our left - by far the best place to land. Following this road we come to a bend, and a very tight left turn brings us almost immediately into a curious white object in the road. We have found the Cherokee!

   

Just for fun, try to land next to it, as I did, and you'll notice a very detailed model with an instrument panel, especially considering that you are supposed to be looking at it from the air. But this does beg the question... where did the passengers go? I'll leave you to figure that out.

This all sounds deceptively simple, but on my first flight I was wholly unable to find the plane, and on my second it took half an hour, and the other search and rescue missions are just as much of a challenge. If it sounds fun, give it a go - it's different and highly addictive.

David Jordan
davidjordan@talk21.com

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