The mighty DC-10. It was 1987 when I had the chance to fly on it, Porto Alegre to Rio de Janerio. A short walk from boarding lounge to stair afforded close up acquaintance with the cavernous number 1 engine nacelle, the massive bulk of polished aluminum in the livery of now defunct Varig, looming tall on the tarmac. By then I was finishing my Private Pilot course and was flying either a Cessna 150 in the real world, or the - crude by today's standards - Sinclair Flight Simulator or early PC versions. Then again I was seduced rather by fighters than those lumbering trucks.

And here I find myself several decades later virtual flying the MD11, contemplating the Pamir plateau from a vantage point at FL360, bound from Almaty to Mumbai. This story started a few months ago by mere chance. Save for that initial DC-10 flight, and for having both DC-10 and MD11 models in my FS inventory for the sake of completeness, I had no particular interest in the big trijet.

The DC-10 has had a rocky history; high profile crashes tainted the brand, not fairly. Take the 1979 flight 191 O'Hare tragedy, because of what was later found to be an unauthorized engine replacement procedure, engine number 1 separated from the left wing on takeoff, resulting in fatal loss of control. This accident could not be blamed on design or any other DC-10 specific issue but to handling procedures in a way specifically advised against by McDonell Douglas. The 1989 Flight 232 crash may be arguably connected with a design issue. Uncontained failure of number 2 engine - the one at the back - severed all tail surface control lines. Against all odds and in what was later raised as an exemplary case of Crew Resource Management, the plane could be reined in and almost did it to Sioux City, crash landed at the last moment. Over half on board survived, which is remarkable under the circumstances. Vulnerability to loss of control due to catastrophic engine failure is not exclusive of DC-10's, all tail mounted engine jets like the B727 or private and regional jets are equally susceptible yet this is rarely an issue.

Back in the cockpit, we pass Multan, Pakistan's third largest city and over 6000 years old. I have made a point of looking whatever may come of interest below the flight path. Time and again I was rewarded with unexpected gems or just new knowledge.

Circumstances allowing, I will be sharing bits and pieces in future stories. As it was to be expected Multan, and more broadly the Punjab region, has been historically witness to persistent struggle. Being squarely in the middle of major conquest routes leading from Central to Southern Asia and a major entry point to India, warriors from Alexander the Great to later Muslim rulers have subjected inhabitants to all suffering to be expected when war knocks at the door. Today, Multan enjoys relative peace and is better known for its many Mosques and religious sites as well as for being an industrial and commercial center. Talking about the MD11, it was in mid 2016 that I stumbled across something unexpected, which led to what I am now sharing with you dear reader, hopefully drawing your interest. Like so many aviation nuts, I keep a regular eye with flightradar24 on whatever may be flying around my home city Montevideo, Uruguay. Flights arriving from a northern general direction and bound for runway 06 approach to Carrasco Int'l, usually pass above my house. So, whenever something interesting pops out, I go out to have a look. It was late afternoon, dusk setting in, when I spotted an unfamiliar GECxxxx callsign coming in. It was a Lufthansa cargo from Curitiba, an MD11, but what made it interesting was its previous scale, Dakkar... Out I went and up there it was, a shadowy outline against the darkening sky, gliding oh so stately down at about 5000 feet, landing lights and strobes ablaze. A distant yet deep rumble signaled this was not the run of the mill A320 or 737, but serious heavy hauling. A spell of mystery, of distant exotic places somehow was cast on me by this ghostly apparition, and sows a carving to learn more.

Some background now, beg your patience. Boeing made it first serious entrance to the transport airplane category in 1933 with model 247, a modern looking all metal twin radial engine plane. Affording 188 mph for 10 passengers, this retractable gear monoplane with a 740 mile reach was a big step forward from the staple 1926, 8 passenger and 107 mph Ford Trimotor good for 570 miles. Now, while this should make a good recipe for a passenger air travel revolution, Douglas happened to have a different idea, enter the DC-1 also in 1933 at 190 mph and 18 passengers with a 1000 mile range. Somehow Boeing did not seem to notice or to be able to rise to the challenge, not only that, the following year Douglas unveiled the DC-2 which entered service with KLM. While it was not much of an improvement over the DC-1, a KLM DC-2 entered second place (in front of ... a Boeing 247 piloted by legendary Roscoe Turner) in the McRobertson race London to Melbourne. Winner was a de Havilland Comet - history has those ironies - which delivered a tired, cramped Jim and Amy Mollison. KLM crew flew in shirtsleeves and tie, with ample room behind to stretch and relax. Then the DC-3 in 1936, up to 32 passengers, 207 mph (180 kt) and 1500 mile range, it is the classic airplane credited to have single-handedly invented the air travel industry.

Boeing was not, neither is, a company to cede the field without a fight. Why am I talking about Boeing? You will see later. With no viable designs to challenge the DC-3 it turned its attention to large 4 engine airplanes, a process crowned by the iconic B17 and B29 long range bombers of WWII. B29 wings and pressurization went on the postwar model 377 stratocruiser, but still playing catch up with DC-6's and DC-7's from Douglas, and Constellations and Super Constellations from Lockheed in the passenger arena. Great technology, but not so good engine reliability deprived the 377 of widespread acceptance; things were to turn dramatically around coming the jet age as we'll see later.

As dusk hints from the East, Mount Abu signals we have been overflying Indian airspace for a while. Mount Abu is associated with the Gurjar ethnic group, reaching as minorities into Afghanistan and Pakistan besides India. Gujars ruled for a long time what now are the Gujarat and Rajastan states. As it should be expected, a turbulent past of fighting, invasions and rebellion mark the history of this place. Sort of a peculiar place geographically speaking, an oasis of lush vegetation atop a 22 by 9 km mesa stuck on an otherwise semi-desertic environment, turned into a flourishing tourist attraction. Not far ahead lays Ahmedabad, former capital of Gujarat. Ahmedabad is currently rated as the best city to live in according to The Times of India. Cotton trade used to be its main economic force, textile industry, transport, communications and services ranking high now. With over 7 million inhabitants, Ahmedabad is the sixth largest city in India; cricket of course is the sport of choice as elsewhere in the subcontinent.

Back to aviation, de Havilland kicked the ball first as of passenger jet air travel, 1958, with the Comet 4 crowning a project started in 1949 with the Comet 1. The Comet delivered fast, smooth and above the weather air travel like it was not formerly known of. But after the third mysterious in-flight breakup, the fleet was grounded until a painstaking investigation could sort out the cause. Eventually an unexpected weak point was found in the rather squarish window frames. Fatigue under repeated pressurization cycles led to cracks growing up to catastrophic failure. Redesign and reinforcements cleared the issue but by then the Dash 80 from Boeing which had made its first flight in 1954 had led to the introduction of model 707, 1958 and as the saying goes, the rest is history. We'll be back with the tale of Boeing, Douglas and the MD11.

With the rapidly waning daylight, the Gulf of Khambhat announces the Indian Ocean and the last stretch for this trip. If Ahmedabad is the best place to live in India, Mumbai wins as the richest no matter the appalling cloak of contamination. Economic hub of India, Mumbai grew around the port built by reclamation of land gluing the seven islands originally held by the Portuguese and ceded to the British crown as dowry, which subsequently rented them to the East India Company, 1668 (£ 10/year). It is no coincidence I will next retrace current Lufthansa cargo route form Mumbai to Sharjah and on to Frankfurt. Mumbai port handles more than half of India's container cargo and is a major hub for all of Asia trade, which is to say something pretty big by any standard.

And now, with night solidly set in, I ease down to a visual approach on runway 14, Mumbai Int'l Chhatrapati Shivaju airport.

You may have now some hints about how I ended up here. The serendipitous arrival of that Lufthansa cargo MD11 to Montevideo triggered my interest in the type and in the routes covered. If Dakkar did sound exotic, Almaty blew the scale. Deep in central Asia, in the remote and alien land of Kazakhstan and at the foot of the Tian Shan Mountains, Almaty is another major trade hub harking centuries back to the Silk Road. So I had to fly Montevideo - Dakkar - Frankfurt - Almaty - a frequent schedule, to fulfill that craving for at least virtually get to see and learn. Going places. Hopefully I will be sharing more as this adventure unfolds. And to share more about the DC-10, the fierce competition between Douglas, Lokheed and Boeing and how strange outcomes turned out, like Boeing building the last MD11, which by coincidence is being flown by Lufthansa, D-ALCN and is a regular to Montevideo.

Rodolfo Astrada
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