Route 66 Air Rally

[PhrogPhlyer]

1 hour ago, meloscanlon said:

looked like a Miles Mohawk at first glance. 

Of course the 1st impression had nothing to do with total immersion in the beer-pong-hula-dancing competition.

[PhrogPhlyer]

After last night's lake effect snow froze on my rotors, and still feeling the effects of the VFW's beer-pong-hula-dancing contest, I decide to wait until tomorrow to get underway. Plus I want the glue on the Shell sticker to set.

 

So I ask one of my student pilot's to review my flight planning, as I  impress him with my exploits from last evening's festivities.

 

He responds "Those moves seem most illogical Jim."

 

"How many times do I have to tell you my name's NOT Jim !!!"

[TomPenDragon]

1 hour ago, PhrogPhlyer said:

Of course the 1st impression had nothing to do with total immersion in the beer-pong-hula-dancing competition.

Those folks at the VFW, they really know how to party, don't they?

[TomPenDragon]

5 minutes ago, PhrogPhlyer said:

"How many times do I have to tell you my name's NOT Jim !!!"

Oh, you're surprised at another vulcan student thinking he's smarter than the instructor?

[TomPenDragon]

3 hours ago, JSMR said:

Oh by the way, the nuns in the background are coming with me.

Are there parachutes on board for all except Sister Bertrille?

[PhrogPhlyer]

14 minutes ago, TomPenDragon said:

Sister Bertrille

Too funny!

 

[PhrogPhlyer]

3 hours ago, JSMR said:

the nuns in the background are coming with me

Keep them away from jgf, lest he try's to see if they need tightening.

[JSMR]

2 hours ago, TomPenDragon said:

Are there parachutes on board for all except Sister Bertrille?

There's a priest, a nun, an Irishman and 2 parachutes onboard. 

[jgf]

1 hour ago, PhrogPhlyer said:

Keep them away from jgf, lest he try's to see if they need tightening.

 

That could be habit forming.

[PhrogPhlyer]

1 hour ago, JSMR said:

There's a priest, a nun, an Irishman and 2 parachutes onboard.

I am sooo not touching that one...

 

said the priest and Irishman, 

Oops

 

[PhrogPhlyer]

1 hour ago, jgf said:

That could be habit forming.

So nuns are cross dressers?

 

Sorry, but this thread has definitely derailed.

[TomPenDragon]

1 hour ago, JSMR said:

There's a priest, a nun, an Irishman and 2 parachutes onboard. 

Just for thinking of the possible continuations to this, I had to say 3 Hail Marys and an Our Father,,,

[TomPenDragon]

5 minutes ago, PhrogPhlyer said:

Sorry, but this thread has definitely derailed.

Nah, we're just on a different track...

And there's a light at the end of the tunnel...

I think it's a northbound express ('cause we're definitely heading south, real quick).

[PhrogPhlyer]

Just now, TomPenDragon said:

And there's a light at the end of the tunnel...

I think it's a northbound express ('cause we're definitely heading south, real quick).

Darned tunnel vision gets you everythime.

[PhrogPhlyer]

Day 1 standings, based upon reported flight times/variances per route leg.

Updated as information gets posted.

 

[PhrogPhlyer]

8 hours ago, JSMR said:

May the time variance be in your favour. 

Someone been watching Loki on Disney Plus?

TVA, Time Variance Authority

[TomPenDragon]

Off-topic, just wanted to wish eveyone Felíz Día de los Muertos - Happy Day of the Dead!

[PhrogPhlyer]

2 hours ago, TomPenDragon said:

Happy Day of the Dead

Let's not add anyone during the rally.

[TomPenDragon]

Rey went into his office and closed the door. Tom grabbed a cup of coffee, sat down in the living room, and turned on the TV. At 10:15, a transit van with HernAviation emblazoned on its side arrived and parked in front of Rey’s hangar. Tom walked to the hangar and poked his head through the door to see three technicians working through the wheel change as if the aircraft was a Formula 1 car doing a mid-race pit stop while holding a slim lead. Marco stood back and directed the action, ensuring that haste never translated into sloppiness. As he was admiring the precision, Marco caught a glimpse of him and, with a lightning-fast motion with his arm and hand, ordered him out. Tom did not dare disobey.

 

At 11:30 sharp, the hangar door went up and one of the technicians rolled out Sierra Hotel, pulling her by the towbar, new wheels and tires gleaming. Marco complemented him on the quality of her rebuild and current condition, and then dropped a bill on her wing that was twice as much as Tom was expecting. So much for, “very competitive prices.” He fished his laptop out of his bag so that he could transfer the money to Marco right away, but it wouldn’t start. He was going to ask Rey if he could borrow a computer, but his office door was still closed. Marco told him that he was fine with 30 days, same as cash, and Tom promised to pay him as soon as he reached Chicago and got his laptop sorted out.

 

 

As Marco headed back toward his home, Tom opened Sierra Hotel’s door to let her air out a little. When he saw Marco’s door shut, he knelt down and inspected the work. At first, he was disappointed because the paint on the wheel pants was slightly misaligned, but then he realized that they were fitted more precisely than they had ever been before and it was the paint that was off. He had noticed that his bags had been moved, he assumed, to lighten the aircraft before lifting it, but he took them out and found that elements of the interior had been re-fitted exquisitely well – elements that covered access panels. So, HernAviation didn’t just give Sierra Hotel a quick look-over; they had done at least a major portion of an annual. The bill, in retrospect, was actually quite reasonable, then.

 

He took his laptop and its charger back to Rey’s and spent until mid-afternoon trying to resurrect it, without success. Rey finally came out of his office, apologized, and asked if the food had arrived yet. As if on cue, they heard a motorcycle pull up outside the door. Rey had ordered Mole Poblano from a little local eatery that still made its mole from scratch, by hand. It was one of the things that Tom missed most about Atizapan.

 

Rey set the table and brought out the only two items that he had in his refrigerator: a pair of non-alcoholic beers. He popped the caps, handed one to Tom, and they clinked bottles. As they dug in, Tom asked Rey about his day. Rey responded with a litany that took up most of the meal. As Tom finished his meal and knocked back the rest of his beer, he asked his friend the most devastating question that he could think of: “Were you Coaching Reymundo Paul Harrison, what would you say to him after hearing all of that?”

 

The young man finished his meal and drink in silence, cleared the table, served coffee that had been sitting in its carafe with the burner on all day, called the gas company about the fuel service for the Cherokee, and said: “’About the client: Rey, it seems as if you already see the problem there. You suspect that she is attracted to you. It is very common in Coaching or therapeutic relationships for this to happen, but your way forward is clear: You absolutely, positively, cannot act on any feelings that you might have, and it’s best if you recommend another Coach to her – preferably female, since she has already shown a propensity for unhealthy transference.’

 

“’Regarding your team, are you not acting like a flight instructor who will not solo his students, despite them having more than demonstrated the aptitudes and attitudes to fly alone? A good leader knows when to let his people spread their wings.’”

 

“You really have come a long way as a Coach,” Tom said proudly, “haven’t you? Have you come far enough to take your own advice to yourself? From an outside perspective, your assessments are spot-on.”

 

“I already sent my client a list of three alternatives – I’m hoping that November will mark a soft break and that she will be satisfied enough with one of them to allow us to end the Coach/Client relationship. As soon as we are done, I’m going to send my team a note telling them to… fork off!” Rey finished as he watched a piece of silverware that was poorly balanced on the edge of a plate slide, bounce on the countertop, and then fall to the floor, leaving a trail of mole spots in its wake.

 

He jumped up and grabbed a rag to clean the spots before they stained. Tom got up as well, brought his coffee cup to the sink, and did the dishes. The pair waited the rest of the afternoon for the fuel truck to show up. After letting his team know, with typical Rey Harrison politeness, that he would be out of pocket for the month of November, he tried to help Tom with his computer, with no success – it was not merely a drained battery, as Tom had hoped. As it was not critical to the flight, Tom decided to look into it when they got to Chicago.

 

 

The fuel truck finally arrived just before 18:00. Rey and Tom discussed whether or not to wait until the morning, but both preferred to fly through the night. They would switch seats at fuel stops, with Rey taking the first stint. Tom pulled his EFB from his flight bag, revised the flight plan for their nine hours delayed departure, and auto-filed it while Rey pre-flighted Sierra Hotel and called the Santa Lucia FSS for a briefing.

 

Rey loaded his luggage and remarked, “What are the two large empty orange juice bottles for… Oh. You brought one for me?”

 

“You’re not going in mine,” Tom said.

[PhrogPhlyer]

55 minutes ago, TomPenDragon said:

“What are the two large empty orange juice bottles for…

Cheaper than the $12.95 ones from Sporty's.

 

Although that might be better than accidentally mistaking the bottle for juice.

[Melo965]

Leg 1.  Lansing Municipal IL (KIGQ) to Zelmer Memorial IL (5K1) - 170 miles.

 

I am using Active Sky 2016 for weather in FSX Deluxe, using default scenery.  My Spitfire PR XI is the excellent Mk IX model from RealAir Simulations - with a repaint to represent PL965 (by Dave Quincey).  I added the modification of the fuel quantity to match the 218 gallons of the Mk XI aircraft.  Flying with both leading edge wing tanks at 50% capacity for this flight.  Also using Little NavMap on a second screen for navigation.

 

It was fun to be back in the air again in Spitfire PR XI PL965.  This flight (and Rally) should be much more relaxing than the 40 operational missions back in 1945.  No one will be hunting us this time. 
 

On the way from KIGQ to 5K1.  Flight level close to 4,500 ft.

 

It is great to hear the original wartime Merlin 70 engine growling steadily and smoothly up front.

 

I swerved a bit over Bloomington to see if I could get some overhead pictures with my underbelly cameras, but the speed was too high and the altitude too low to get a very good pictures.  PR Spitfires usually take the pictures from over 30,000 ft.
 

And I almost blew it as Abraham Lincoln Capital (KSPI) came into view.  I lowered gear and added flaps and then checked my Little NavMap and realized that it was the wrong airport.  I am afraid I busted the  250 knot (288 MPH) limit trying to hurry and get to 5K1 on time.

 

 

As a result, I did not enter the pattern as I should have.  Just did a typical fast curved approach onto final as is typical for Spitfires with the big engine in front blocking the forward view.

 

I used 66 gallons of fuel during this flight.

 

Landed safely at Zelmer Memorial IL (5K1)

 

Took off at 9:40 AM
ETA 10:26
Actual 10:26  (Beginners Luck!)
Variation 0 minutes.
 

 

[PhrogPhlyer]

Just now, meloscanlon said:

Took off at 9:40 AM
ETA 10:26
Actual 10:26  (Beginners Luck!)
Variation 0 minutes.

Nicely done, phew a bit to the left on the runway,

 

1 minute ago, meloscanlon said:

I lowered gear and added flaps and then checked my Little NavMap and realized that it was the wrong airport.  I am afraid I busted the  250 knot (288 MPH) limit trying to hurry and get to 5K1 on time.

We won't tell the FAA.

[Melo965]

 

3 minutes ago, PhrogPhlyer said:

phew a bit to the left on the runway,

Not my best landing regarding the runway centerline.  To be honest, I was watching the clock more than the runway ahead at that moment.

 

[jgf]

On 11/1/2023 at 8:45 AM, PhrogPhlyer said:

your Actual time enroute (ATE) vs your Planned tine enroute (PTE)

 

I guess my question was more towards are the times on my schedule based on landing or flyover?

[TomPenDragon]

1 hour ago, PhrogPhlyer said:

Cheaper than the $12.95 ones from Sporty's

Exactly the same as you'd get in the hospital - so why do the hospitals move the decimal point a couple of places to the right?