RTW Retro Flight #38 Leopoldville to Ndola . . . . 1960 Part 1

Central African Air flight 823 is a Vickers Viscount 739D in a 1956 livery flying from Leopoldville, Congo (now Kinshasa, DRC) to Ndola, Federation of Rhodesia & Nyasaland (FZAA - FLND). Ndola is now in Zambia and Nyasaland is the independent country of Malawi. We have 1,600 gallons of fuel on board and the flight time is about 3 hours and 10 minutes. We are expecting fair weather with scattered clouds for most of the flight. We will be cruising at an altitude of 18,000 feet.

 

Thanks to:

Aircraft: Vickers viscount 739D in a 1956 Central African Air livery. Aircraft by Rick Piper, paint by Andre Reimers and the panel is by Fraser McKay.

Propliner AI & Traffic: CalClassic & FS Aviator - Tom Gibson, Mike Stevens, Jason Krogmann, Manuel Jagmann, Bill Towers, Nikko Yaginuma, Richard Wright, Frederick Coleman, Dave Jones, Paul Haak, Marty Lochmiller, Ake Lindberg, Harland Sandberg, Richard Wright and Gary Harper. www.calclassic.com

Scenery: FS2004 Standard, and:

- Leopoldville and Ndola Airports from the 1960 Africa Scenery Package by Wolfgang Gersch, Harry Biard, Jaap de Baare, Mike Stevens, Tom Gibson, Nikko Yaginuma and Johan Dees. Available at www.calclassic.com

- Rwy12 and EZ Static Object and Scenery Libraries.

- FS2004 Classic Scenery Libraries V3 by Wolfgang Gersch.

- REX FS9 enhancements for sky, cloud, weather, water/waves, runway, taxiway textures, sun and lighting.

- Flight One Ground Environment Pro II.

- HDE 2.0 grass texture enhancement by Pablo Diaz.

 

Click to enlarge . . .

 

1. Passengers loaded and engines running we are awaiting instruction from ground control.

 

2. Taxiing out to Rwy. 24.

 

3. We are airborne and retracting the gear.

 

4. Turning Southeast toward Ndola.

 

5. Climbing through 5,000 feet.

 

6. We are now passing 9,000 feet.

 

7. At our cruising altitude FL180 we see the Kwango River ahead.

 

8. A bit later and about 140 miles out of Leopoldville we leave the Wamba River behind.

 

9. We are near the halfway point over Sacatunga, Angola on the Cosoi River.

 

10. Having crossed the Eastern Angola border we are flying over the Congo again.

 

 

More in the reply . . . . . . . . .

Click to enlarge . . .

 

11. Cruising near Sandumba, Congo.

 

12. The City of Kolwezi and Lake Nzilo are about 40 miles off our port side.

 

13. We have crossed the border into the Federation of Rhodesia & Nyasaland near the copper mining city of Chingola.

 

14. We begin our descent and change course near the city of Kitwe, a commercial center near Ndola.

 

15. Descending through 9,000 feet 20 miles from Ndola.

 

16. Turning toward Ndola Airport passing 4,000 feet.

 

17. With gear and flaps down we are lined up on final just under half a mile from Rwy. 28.

 

18. Touchdown.

 

19. Turning off the runway and heading toward parking.

 

20. Parked and passengers disembarked. Looks like the Viscounts have captured the market here this afternoon. Thanks for flying CAA.

Sensational flight and shots Larry!!!!!!!!!! I sure enjoy viewing your retro pics, brings back so many memories of what I believe was the best period of aviation. With a mixture of props and jets, those were great times to hang out at the airport. Heck today, the business jets make more noise than the airliners. :D

Great shots Larry - love the Viscount:cool::cool::cool::cool:

Love it, love it, love it!!! :cool::cool::cool:

Appreciate your comments Adam, Bill & Jan.

 

My first memories of aircraft was in 1948 when I was in Kindergarten. My dad took me to the local municipal airport to see a WWII B-24 that was being ferried and had to land due to bad weather. It crashed landed when one of the landing gear folded. They towed it to a grassy area of the airport where it remained for years. Saw some old Cessna birds too (probably 120s & 140s) and some Pipers. I've been hooked on propeller aircraft ever since. Jets are OK, but the sound of their engines are not as pleasing as the propeller driven craft. :)

Great set Larry, interesting locales. :)

Nice set of shots !!

Thanks for the kind words John and Peter. :)

Just saw this post Larry and I can say I enjoyed every bit of it!!!!!

I do look forwards to your retro posts. :) Great set.

Glad you enjoyed it John B. :)

Thanks Paul. I Enjoy doing them.

nicely done, love the retro stuff, escpecially with all the era appropriate ai!

Thanks Phil. I agree they have done a terrific job with the retro AI. :)