[Club Chachapoya] Flying East - Panama Canal

[Rupert]

1 minute ago, Nels_Anderson said:

If you want to do this flight in a jet fighter, I think you'll need one of these:

 

NOW WE'RE TALKING!!

[PhrogPhlyer]

8 minutes ago, Nels_Anderson said:

One of the absolutely coolest jets ever built!

[Rupert]

On 5/15/2024 at 12:04 AM, Macroburst said:

  +2!

Hey, can't blame anyone for one or two, maybe more, blunders here.  Those bridges are so enticing!

[Rupert]

6 minutes ago, PhrogPhlyer said:

One of the absolutely coolest jets ever built!

Especially while wet!

[jgf]

I stand corrected, the Nardi 333 is available for MSFS

 

[MAD1]

So, this is everyone disappeared to. First time I've checked back at the top of the FS.com FS2004 site since the Chacapoya thingy. Glad to see all the posts from 'the gang'.

[PhrogPhlyer]

2 hours ago, MAD1 said:

Glad to see all the posts from 'the gang'.

And now time for you to get airborne and join us!

Good to see you.

[MAD1]

Yep PhrogPhlyer, would like to, but RW interference (dang!) plus busted sym means I'm an 'armchair observer' of all you guys and your exploits. However, to the annoyance of all, perhaps that nosy reporter Tim Bowlachilli (I've heard he's always got 'an ear to the ground' or should that be 'to the sky') might lob into this forum sometime, with a report.

[MAD1]

Chachapoya Chronicle, special Aviation Report by Tim Bowlachili, Tuesday 21 May 2024

 

STOP PRESS! 'They can run but they can't hide'. Your intrepid reporter has been alerted to a Panama Canal caper that appears to be happening. It appears that the same bunch of laggard aviators who descended (literally) on Meigs recently, have since May 13 gone into a huddle and are plotting to fly to the Panama Canal. It's unclear currently if the event has been conducted or is still in the planning stages. Bowlachilli will investigate and file an update in the near future. ('Bowlachilli always gets the scoop, even if it's the last scoop'!)

 

[Bossspecops]

Amphibian? NOT flying under Bridges etc? 

 

Sounds just the job for 'Austral Rose', I'll dig her out and get over there, but NOT doing an RW flight this time.

 

On the other hand I also have a jet that may do it.....

 

[Macroburst]

Boss pulling out the big guns!

Exquisite selection sir.

I'll put the kettle on.

[Bossspecops]

I managed the flight in 'Austral Rose' y'day, after a long and successful search for decent FSX scenery for the area. PIREP later, with some quite good pics too.

 

I'll give it a go in the SR.A/1 later on, which should be a LOT faster. 

 

Not sure where Max will sit when I pick him up though.............

[Bossspecops]

Having found some decent FSX scenery for the Canal Zone I was ready to try this one. I was a bit confused to start with as I didn't realise that Panama Pacifico Int. Airport was in fact Howard Air Force Base, and finding that scenery was much easier.

 

Starting off on the ramp at Enrique Adolfo Jiminez (have you noticed how many airfields there are around there that start with Enrique'? LOADS of them!) was OK, lots of space for my little amphib.

 

 

By now, after the Oz Rally, and my out and back flight around the world, I was well used to the Sealand's foibles and she was soon burbling away properly. With the long runway there take-off wasn't a problem and I was tail-up well before 1/3 of the length.

 

 

Making a long turn to port I passed over the pretty complex sea freight terminal making sure I was WELL clear of those hefty cranes!

 

 

I was soon over the Gatun Lock complex, and was till boggled that the canal runs from the Atlantic Ocean in the WEST to the Pacific Ocean in the EAST! 

 

 

Immediately past the Gatun Locks I came across of my USN friends with one of their GINORMOUS carriers, like the one that Melo arranged for me to be a handy refuelling stop in mid-Atlantic on the way home from Oz.   I gave them a fly-by in thanks of course.

 

 

Form that point on the whole of Panama seemed to be water! Everywhere I looked was a lake or a river or similar. Navigation needed a check with FST and Google Earth to find the correct path to the Pacific, but there was a prohibited area on route, so of course I had to check that out! 

 

 

That little sandy area to port seemed to be the source of the prohibition, but if socking great ships can sail right past it, why couldn't I fly over it? Closer in it looks like a small airstrip, but there's no sign of such a place on Google Earth.

 

 

Of course after this point I would be approaching that first bridge that I wasn't going to fly under of course......

 

 

And so I didn't........  And I didn't take a pic of me NOT flying under it either..............

 

 

Then there followed quite a long stretch of relatively bare canal before I came across the first lot of the Miraflores Locks. It seems there's two lots of them, and now they've built a THIRD lot too! But before I reached them I passed a HUGE cruise ship, so gave the thousands of pax a wave as I whizzed past them.

 

 

Then I did come across the second lot of locks, all of which look pretty impressive, and busy too. LOTS of ships heading in both directions.

 

 

And very soon afterwards there was the third lot of locks, another part of the Miraflores set, with a cruise liner using them.

 

 

I was warned about NOT flying under the next bridge, but surely they can't have meant the ones just past the locks, can they? They've only got about 10 ft of headroom and just have to swing or lift to allow the ships through surely?

 

 

 

But no, the other bridge that I wasn't allowed to fly under loomed over the horizon very soon afterwards.

 

 

Of course I had to check out much clearance there was so that I didn't fly under it.............

 

 

And of course as I DIDN'T fly under it I couldn't possibly have taken a pic of me not doing it, could I? But just beyond it there was ANOTHER USN carrier. 

 

 

They're all over the place, so I gave them a fly-by too. 

 

 

But right after that I got Max's SOS over the radio and flew off to find the Flamenco Island Lighthouse to see if I could spot him. I found Flamenco Island OK, but there's no sign of the lighthouse in the FSX scenery.  

 

 

As Max's kayak was bright yellow it was pretty easy to see against the blue ocean, even if a large chunk of the boat was under water, and I put down alongside him, opened up the side doors and hauled Max and his kayak aboard.

 

 

With only a little extra weight, after draining the water from Max's kayak, we didn't take too long to get airborne again and make the long left hand turn back toward Howard AFB. Ooops, sorry, I mean Panama Pacifico Int. of course, and soon I could get the flaps and gear down and line up on the approach.

 

 

With that looooong runway there was no problem in landing and soon I was directed to a parking area specifically for piston engined types, well away from the smelly turbines of course. And here I am parked alongside a few DC3s. We piston engines must sick together, right?

 

 

So that was that, a really interesting flight and I Iearnt a lot more about the Canal Zone than I did before. AND Max got rescued before his kayak sank too. 

[Melo965]

2 hours ago, Bossspecops said:

As Max's kayak was bright yellow it was pretty easy to see against the blue ocean, even if a large chunk of the boat was under water, and I put down alongside him, opened up the side doors and hauled Max and his kayak aboard.

 

 

An excellent flight and write-up!  Well done!

 

[Melo965]

I checked the map after Kit's comment about going East to get to the Pacific along the Canal.  Now it makes more sense.

 

My default go to is to always try and fly a Spitfire or some reasonable variant, so I checked in the hangar and found this beauty.

 

Unfortunately Supermarine never made a true Amphibian, and besides there is no room for Max in this aircraft.  In reality, five Spitfire float planes were produced during the war.  Models used to test the concept were the Mk I, Mk Vb, and the Mk IX.  None of them were used operationally as it turned out.

 

So I will have to decide on a different aircraft for this mission.  Should be able to give the flight a try tomorrow.

 

[Sirrus]

8 hours ago, Melo965 said:

Supermarine never made a true Amphibian

I beg to differ. R.J. Mitchell himself designed the Supermarine Commercial Amphibian which led to the Supermarine Seal II. 

 

Supermarine also designed the Walrus, the Sea Otter and the Seagull, all as amphibians.

Supermarine Walrus models are available for FSX and FS2004 as is the Supermarine Sea Otter.

[Bossspecops]

As Sirrus says, the very last Supermarine prop powered aircraft was an amphibian, the Seagull from 1948.

 

For its time it was very hi-tech, having contra-props driven by a Griffon 29, so it was almost as powerful as a Spitfire PRXIX, and had variable incidence wings even! They only built two of them as the advent of the helicopter rendered the concept of a fixed wing SAR aircraft obsolete.

 

I've been hoping that someone would do one for FS, but sadly it's yet to happen.

 

[Macroburst]

20 hours ago, Bossspecops said:

"Honey,

Why is that plane flying underneath us?"

Arthur had not anticipated that question emanating from Gabby when he reserved the cruise.....

 

[Melo965]

8 hours ago, Sirrus said:

Supermarine never made a true Amphibian

 

What I was thinking and should have said was "Supermarine never made a true Amphibian Spitfire."  R J Mitchell and company made many great amphibians as you and Kit have already mentioned.  Maybe I will find a suitable Supermarine aircraft to fly for this mini-challenge.  Thanks for the nudge in that direction. 

 

[Sirrus]

I was wrong about the  Mike Stone's Walrus.

It wasn't built for FS2004, but actually, the model was for FS2002!!

But it looks fine and flies just as nicely in FSX!!!

 

The Sea Otter is for FS2004/FSX but from various angles, you can see design cues used on the Seagull.

[Bossspecops]

I  tested out the Walrus and the Sea Otter for our trek across Oz, and they6 both flew quite well, but were a little too slow for me, thus the Sealand eventually. 

[Nels_Anderson]

I've been meaning to give this trip a try, and today was finally the day.

 

The weather and scenery were lovely, though a bit disappointing that while the city had some custom built features (buildings) the canal itself was rather lacking in detail, i.e. no actual locks.

 

I used the Bell 47J with pontoons and did my first water landing, which was kind of sloppy but good enough as I was able to continue using the helicopter

 

Here are my trip photos in order:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Melo965]

3 hours ago, Sirrus said:

The Sea Otter is for FS2004/FSX

 

Thanks to you both.  I test flew the Sea Otter and that will do nicely.

 

[Melo965]

3 minutes ago, Nels_Anderson said:

 

 

 

Looking Good!

 

[Macroburst]

You just can't beat a whirlybirds potential for a pilots view....