Perixon
01-02-2002, 10:07 AM
Hey everyone,
I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays. I know I am (although the extreme weather with temperatures ranging from -10 C to -40 C (yes, that's -40 C!) we're currently having in Scandinavia is making any outdoor activities pretty tough right now).
Now, I thought it would be a pretty neat idea to follow up my [link:www.flightsim.com/dcforum/DCForumID8/2590.html|first post] to this forum by treating you guys to something more exotic; flying some Japanese tourists to Kiruna (ESNQ), a mining colony at the north of Sweden. For everyone geographically impaired, I've enclosed a picture of my VFR flight plan:
http://www.acc.umu.se/~petah/fs2002/screenshots/ESNU-ESNQ/Map.jpg
Although the map projection is somewhat distorted, it still gives you a good view of the distance and direction of this trip. The leg is about 450 kilometers. As some of you guys may know, I'm trying to get the feel for the Learjet; an aircraft that's real fun to fly in comparison to any prop I've tested so far (read as: the Cessna Skyhawk). The following screenshots were taken last Friday (December 28th 2001). Annotations are put below the pictures.
http://www.acc.umu.se/~petah/fs2002/screenshots/ESNU-ESNQ/Txi.jpg
On taxi at Alvik/ESNU, Umeå - Sweden The thin layer of clouds sprinkles some snowflakes over Umeå. The local temperature at the time (11:50 CET) of this screenshot is -15 C! I hope my Japanese passangers have brought a lot of goretex wear, because I promise you - it won't be getting any warmer as we go north!
http://www.acc.umu.se/~petah/fs2002/screenshots/ESNU-ESNQ/3.jpg
Leaving ESNU's runway 32 What you see in at the horizon is the Gulf of Botnia (The Finnish western seaboard should be about ten minutes away in the Learjet). What looks like a bay a few hundred meters beyond Alvik/ESNU is actually Umeälv, a pretty big river running all the way from the range of mountains (Skanderna) in the middle of the Scandinavian peninsula. The river actually cuts Umeå in half, but it doesn't really show in Flight Simulator 2002, as the next screenshot will show.
http://www.acc.umu.se/~petah/fs2002/screenshots/ESNU-ESNQ/3-Departure.jpg
Departing Alvik/ESNU My Learjet is quickly gaining altitude. At about 3500" above ground level, you can't even make out the houses down below (at least not in the resolution I'm running Flight Simulator 2002 in). As the photo shows, the Umeälv river is really getting narrow. In real life, it's way bigger than this. In fact, one of the largest hydroelectrical powerplants in Sweden is located some 15 kilometers upstream. At this point, I had to tell my passengers their virtual eyes were playing tricks with their virtual minds. :)
http://www.acc.umu.se/~petah/fs2002/screenshots/ESNU-ESNQ/5.jpg
12:27 CET: At cruise altitude doing Mach 0.79 Pretty slick, huh? Although the sun may be basking the aircraft in dim light, it isn't in warmth. My cockpit thermometer displayed -59 C when this screenshot was taken! 35000" below, you'll find the Swedish soil.
http://www.acc.umu.se/~petah/fs2002/screenshots/ESNU-ESNQ/6.jpg
Sunset at 12:43 CET Notice how fast the sun sets as my Learjet races north? At these latitudes, the sun barely climbs over the horizon, and as your teacher in elementary school probably told you - it doesn't rise at all north of the polar circle. Now, I've never been that far myself in real life so I was getting as excited over this as my Japanese passengers were. Fortunatly for me, I was actually getting paid for this. Well, in a virtual currency at least. :)
http://www.acc.umu.se/~petah/fs2002/screenshots/ESNU-ESNQ/7.jpg
Bidding farewell to the sun Back at Alvik/ESNU, you still have daylight. Half way to Kiruna, the sun is dropping fast. Just a few minutes after this shot was taken, the sun had dropped completely below the horizon. Too bad the engines of my Learjet blocked the view for the tourists (not that they would have seen anything anyway considering I never equipped my aircraft with rear mirrors for the passengers).
http://www.acc.umu.se/~petah/fs2002/screenshots/ESNU-ESNQ/8.jpg
Engulfed by the polar night Kiruna/ESNQ is well within sight. Runway 12 is all lit up for my Learjet. The time is 12:53, and I'm getting ready to configure my aircraft for landing. Ron's words from flightschool echoes thru my head: Red over red, you'll soon be dead.... With a bit of luck, no one back in the cabin knows how to read my mind. :)
http://www.acc.umu.se/~petah/fs2002/screenshots/ESNU-ESNQ/9.jpg
PAPI gives thumbs up ATC, be advised - extremely skilled pilot on short final! Gears down, flaps up, spoilers armed... and eight unfastened tourists eagerly wanting to get of the aircraft for a snowfight on the parking area. Telling everyone to sit down and behave themselves, I pulled back the throttle setting the twin jets to 44% thrust for the last few hundered meters.
http://www.acc.umu.se/~petah/fs2002/screenshots/ESNU-ESNQ/10.jpg
At ESNQ 12:58 CET, and my Learjet rests on the ground again. Like I said, I've never been this far up north before, so everything here felt pretty exotic, even by my own terms. This screenshot in the middle of the day - and the airport has to be fully lit! Well, at least the habitants of Kiruna get to see the moon more than most of us do. In fact, Kiruna sports the Esrange rocket pad for astronomical research. Unfortunatly to say, I couldn't spot it in the faint "daylight". :(
http://www.acc.umu.se/~petah/fs2002/screenshots/ESNU-ESNQ/11.jpg
Taxi complete - unfasten your seatbelts13:00 CET, clear skies, light winds and -26 C! If this isn't artic conditions, then I guess I'll never experience any! Now, I really hope those tourists brought appropriate clothing. At this point, there will be no refund. :)
By the way, observe the aircraft in the foreground of this shot. I was puzzled to see another Learjet parked at ESNQ. I've never seen any AI Learjets before. Even more strange, that bird has the same ATC callsign as I do: N700MS. I tried to ask Mr Hakomutzu (one of the passengers) if he had ever had a deja vu, but it was already too late. Mr Wahazie, Mr Rendoro and Mr Hetzumitu had him already surrounded. I knew the air would soon be filled with icy snowballs and I knew I hadn't paid the insurance of my Learjet yet, so I decided it was probably a good idea to ask ATC to clear the runway for me again. :-lol
Happy New Year,
Peter Eriksson
--
Greetings från Umeå, Sweden - The European Union
I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays. I know I am (although the extreme weather with temperatures ranging from -10 C to -40 C (yes, that's -40 C!) we're currently having in Scandinavia is making any outdoor activities pretty tough right now).
Now, I thought it would be a pretty neat idea to follow up my [link:www.flightsim.com/dcforum/DCForumID8/2590.html|first post] to this forum by treating you guys to something more exotic; flying some Japanese tourists to Kiruna (ESNQ), a mining colony at the north of Sweden. For everyone geographically impaired, I've enclosed a picture of my VFR flight plan:
http://www.acc.umu.se/~petah/fs2002/screenshots/ESNU-ESNQ/Map.jpg
Although the map projection is somewhat distorted, it still gives you a good view of the distance and direction of this trip. The leg is about 450 kilometers. As some of you guys may know, I'm trying to get the feel for the Learjet; an aircraft that's real fun to fly in comparison to any prop I've tested so far (read as: the Cessna Skyhawk). The following screenshots were taken last Friday (December 28th 2001). Annotations are put below the pictures.
http://www.acc.umu.se/~petah/fs2002/screenshots/ESNU-ESNQ/Txi.jpg
On taxi at Alvik/ESNU, Umeå - Sweden The thin layer of clouds sprinkles some snowflakes over Umeå. The local temperature at the time (11:50 CET) of this screenshot is -15 C! I hope my Japanese passangers have brought a lot of goretex wear, because I promise you - it won't be getting any warmer as we go north!
http://www.acc.umu.se/~petah/fs2002/screenshots/ESNU-ESNQ/3.jpg
Leaving ESNU's runway 32 What you see in at the horizon is the Gulf of Botnia (The Finnish western seaboard should be about ten minutes away in the Learjet). What looks like a bay a few hundred meters beyond Alvik/ESNU is actually Umeälv, a pretty big river running all the way from the range of mountains (Skanderna) in the middle of the Scandinavian peninsula. The river actually cuts Umeå in half, but it doesn't really show in Flight Simulator 2002, as the next screenshot will show.
http://www.acc.umu.se/~petah/fs2002/screenshots/ESNU-ESNQ/3-Departure.jpg
Departing Alvik/ESNU My Learjet is quickly gaining altitude. At about 3500" above ground level, you can't even make out the houses down below (at least not in the resolution I'm running Flight Simulator 2002 in). As the photo shows, the Umeälv river is really getting narrow. In real life, it's way bigger than this. In fact, one of the largest hydroelectrical powerplants in Sweden is located some 15 kilometers upstream. At this point, I had to tell my passengers their virtual eyes were playing tricks with their virtual minds. :)
http://www.acc.umu.se/~petah/fs2002/screenshots/ESNU-ESNQ/5.jpg
12:27 CET: At cruise altitude doing Mach 0.79 Pretty slick, huh? Although the sun may be basking the aircraft in dim light, it isn't in warmth. My cockpit thermometer displayed -59 C when this screenshot was taken! 35000" below, you'll find the Swedish soil.
http://www.acc.umu.se/~petah/fs2002/screenshots/ESNU-ESNQ/6.jpg
Sunset at 12:43 CET Notice how fast the sun sets as my Learjet races north? At these latitudes, the sun barely climbs over the horizon, and as your teacher in elementary school probably told you - it doesn't rise at all north of the polar circle. Now, I've never been that far myself in real life so I was getting as excited over this as my Japanese passengers were. Fortunatly for me, I was actually getting paid for this. Well, in a virtual currency at least. :)
http://www.acc.umu.se/~petah/fs2002/screenshots/ESNU-ESNQ/7.jpg
Bidding farewell to the sun Back at Alvik/ESNU, you still have daylight. Half way to Kiruna, the sun is dropping fast. Just a few minutes after this shot was taken, the sun had dropped completely below the horizon. Too bad the engines of my Learjet blocked the view for the tourists (not that they would have seen anything anyway considering I never equipped my aircraft with rear mirrors for the passengers).
http://www.acc.umu.se/~petah/fs2002/screenshots/ESNU-ESNQ/8.jpg
Engulfed by the polar night Kiruna/ESNQ is well within sight. Runway 12 is all lit up for my Learjet. The time is 12:53, and I'm getting ready to configure my aircraft for landing. Ron's words from flightschool echoes thru my head: Red over red, you'll soon be dead.... With a bit of luck, no one back in the cabin knows how to read my mind. :)
http://www.acc.umu.se/~petah/fs2002/screenshots/ESNU-ESNQ/9.jpg
PAPI gives thumbs up ATC, be advised - extremely skilled pilot on short final! Gears down, flaps up, spoilers armed... and eight unfastened tourists eagerly wanting to get of the aircraft for a snowfight on the parking area. Telling everyone to sit down and behave themselves, I pulled back the throttle setting the twin jets to 44% thrust for the last few hundered meters.
http://www.acc.umu.se/~petah/fs2002/screenshots/ESNU-ESNQ/10.jpg
At ESNQ 12:58 CET, and my Learjet rests on the ground again. Like I said, I've never been this far up north before, so everything here felt pretty exotic, even by my own terms. This screenshot in the middle of the day - and the airport has to be fully lit! Well, at least the habitants of Kiruna get to see the moon more than most of us do. In fact, Kiruna sports the Esrange rocket pad for astronomical research. Unfortunatly to say, I couldn't spot it in the faint "daylight". :(
http://www.acc.umu.se/~petah/fs2002/screenshots/ESNU-ESNQ/11.jpg
Taxi complete - unfasten your seatbelts13:00 CET, clear skies, light winds and -26 C! If this isn't artic conditions, then I guess I'll never experience any! Now, I really hope those tourists brought appropriate clothing. At this point, there will be no refund. :)
By the way, observe the aircraft in the foreground of this shot. I was puzzled to see another Learjet parked at ESNQ. I've never seen any AI Learjets before. Even more strange, that bird has the same ATC callsign as I do: N700MS. I tried to ask Mr Hakomutzu (one of the passengers) if he had ever had a deja vu, but it was already too late. Mr Wahazie, Mr Rendoro and Mr Hetzumitu had him already surrounded. I knew the air would soon be filled with icy snowballs and I knew I hadn't paid the insurance of my Learjet yet, so I decided it was probably a good idea to ask ATC to clear the runway for me again. :-lol
Happy New Year,
Peter Eriksson
--
Greetings från Umeå, Sweden - The European Union