Summary
Date flown:     2023-10-28
Distance:         899 km    
Flight time:      2 hrs 56 minutes

Flying around the world is mainly about flying long stretches on more or less the same heading. So, what makes it interesting? Well, apart from the fact that flying around the world has something special, we think it is interesting because you have to prepare your flight and execute it according to plan, taking into account the specifics of the aircraft you are flying with.

The first thing you have to prepare are the airports. The Latecoere cannot land on land-based airports, so you have to create sea-plane-bases using the Devmode of MSFS.

After a few flights we have created a kind of standard sea plane base:

•    runway length        3000 meter,
•    runway width           200 meter,
•    VOR with DME        in the centre of the runway,
•    rwy heading            fitting in the surrounding area.

For Haifa I found out that the runway fitted quite nicely in the harbour and, when coming from the west, runway 10 gives a nice final descent over the city.

Initially I wanted to create a sea plane base in one of the big lakes to the west of Baghdad, but after taking a closer look at the Tigris flowing through Baghdad, I found a a nice stretch a bit south of Baghdad Center.

The second thing to prepare is the route. If you don’t want to follow the magenta line of the VFR Map or the GNS530, the Latecoere gives you only one option: flying from VOR to VOR using the option of the GNS530 to set two VOR frequencies: one active and one standby.

Because we fly low I have to check the range of each VOR by slewing the whole trip and check the coverage. If necessary I add my own VOR’s.

The last thing to plan is the arrival. In this flight the cruising altitude was 1500 meter ASL and the field elevation in Baghdad 27 meter. The total descent was divided into three phases:

•     A cruise descent at max 150 meter/minute to descent from 1500 meter to 500 meter,
•     A speed reduction phase to slow down from about 300 km/hr to around 220 km/hr,
•     A final descent at a 2.4 degree angle to the water runway in Baghdad.

To learn how to fly a cruise descent we did a few testruns to find out how we could come into a stable 150 meter/minute descent. We got a working procedure by setting the altitude hold switch of the autopilot in it’s off position and than gradually lowering the manifold pressure.

After doing all that it was time to fly the actual flight. Some screenshots:

Ready for engine startup at Haifa.

To get a nice screenshot, we are flying in formation.

Safely landed in Baghdad. We can land in tighter spots than we thought at the beginning.

Next flight will be to Bahrain. With 1056 km the longest flight so far. Expected flying time 4 hours.