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Everything posted by Melo965
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That is a great view from inside the cockpit. Awesome visibility!
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I was a southpaw in gradeschool. The nuns tried to force me to write right handed, until I rebelled! Happily writing left handed ever since.
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Hello PP, All of my other entries are correct, but I have not flown Flagstaff Pulliam AZ (KFLG) to Needles CA (KEED) yet so there is an extra V0 in my listing. Hope you have a crystal ball and I can match your prediction though! Thanks again for all you do to moderate and keep track of everything. Much Appreciated!
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Best of luck! Hope all the bad weather was only pestering me. Just to forwarn you, Leg 7 0E0 to KGUP has Mount Tabor on the way at an altitude of 11,301 ft.
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I love the pictures of your aircraft inside and out! Rooting for you to get at least one V0 by the end of the Rally. Maybe you can get a cargo hold full of nuns to pray for you, then it will happen!
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Nope, not a one. If I got close enough to recognize a mountain goat then I would surely be in BIG trouble.
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This is my favorite picture of the leg. Cool photos!
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More sheer luck than skill on my part.
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I am going to again fly first and write the report later as the end of the month is fast approaching. Leg 8. Gallup Municipal NM (KGUP) to Flagstaff Pulliam AZ (KFLG) 143 miles. Estimated time = 39 minutes. Here is the final picture from this leg, more to follow. Parked at Flagstaff Pulliam AZ (KFLG). This flight was fairly routine, getting used to these Rally flights - and really enjoying them. Leg 8. Gallup Municipal NM (KGUP) to Flagstaff Pulliam AZ (KFLG) 143 miles. Estimated time = 39 minutes. Actual time = 38 minutes. V1 I touched down 5 seconds too soon but that still counts as V1
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Leg 6. Tradewind TX (KTDW) to Moriarity NM (0E0) 206 miles. Estimated time = 55 minutes. Same setup as before, using FSX Acceleration, Active Sky 2016 for weather, and Little NavMap for navigation. Flying with fuselage and wing tanks full as this is the longest leg of the Rally. After seeing the weather for this leg, my initial plan was to fly at 10,500 feet. Allowing for the increasing terrain elevation as I fly west with a big margin for safety. It did not work out that way as you will see. Holding short for ATC clearance to cross Runway 23-5. They had me sit here a while even though I could not see any arriving or departing traffic on the runway. Maybe the tower just wanted to have a good look at this beautiful aircraft that is not usually seen in these parts. Holding short at Runway 35 waiting for ATC clearance to take the runway. This time they were prompt to give permission to proceed. Ready to add power and take off on the longest leg of the journey. At cruising altitude of 10,500 ft. More clouds ahead close to my altitude. Leaving the city behind. Amarillo International is on the left in this picture and Tradewind is on the right. Dropping down below 10,000 ft to stay clear of the clouds. Getting fed up with this pesky weather. Initiated a full power climb through the murk just to see how high the clouds go so I know what I am dealing with on this flight. Finally broke through on top at 19,000 ft. Glad I topped off my Oxygen supply before this flight. At this point I am about 1/4th of the way to the destination. Back down underneath again, settling in to 8,500 ft cruise altitude. On the way down I brought the throttle to idle to not overstress the engine during the descent. The trustworthy Merlin up front stuttered once, which is very rare. Applied more power and the Mk70 settled down to normal operation again, thankfully. Not sure how the Air Rally Official would score an emergency landing situation. Saw that I was a bit ahead of schedule so veered right a bit to pass overhead Tucumcari Municipal NM. That would also have been a reachable emergency landing spot. Still close to 8,500 ft altitude. The terrain is getting higher ahead though. Approaching Santa Rosa lake. About 2/3 of the way there. Still just under 8,500 ft altitude. Forced to drop down near 7,500 ft to stay below the clouds. Weather map shows a region of reduced visibility ahead, just what I need right now. I've had enough of this sh- er, I mean stuff. Climbing through 8,500 ft so I don't have an unexpected close encounter with a mountain. Out in the clear at around 7,500 ft. but it did not last. Got swallowed up by another cloud bank right after this. Here is the weather picture. Right in the middle of a low visibility area. Climbed to 10,500 ft. Just hoping to break clear of the clouds before Moriarity or else I will be late for sure. Getting close so started a gradual descent toward pattern altitude of 7,200 ft just in case I break out of the clouds in time. I wonder if this airfield is named after Prof. James Moriarty, the criminal mastermind who was a formidable enemy for Sherlock Holmes. The clouds here sure are diabolical! Here is where I was when I finally broke out of the soup. Almost on top of the airport. What a relief to see this in front of me and just in time. Turning crosswind for landing in the left traffic pattern. On downwind. At one point during downwind I got swallowed up by a small cloud, but just held steady and came out the other side Ok, sheesh! Base leg. Finally on Final. Down safe at last. And miraculously spot on the target time. Here is my flight path in the traffic pattern. My leg 6 route. Used 64.4 gallons of fuel. Parked and engine shut down. Total flight time from engine start to engine shutdown was 1 hr and 33 minutes. I tend to taxi the Spitfire pretty slowly on the ground. Keeping that powerful engine under control. Would not want to run into a Lysander or a Cherokee. Another view of the Spitfire parked. Time to get some grub and have a well earned good night sleep. Leg 6. Tradewind TX (KTDW) to Moriarity NM (0E0) 206 miles. Estimated time = 55 minutes. Actual time = 55 minutes. V0 (Wheels up to Wheels down.)
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Another cool picture of the Lysander camo blending in.
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Great shot of your departure.
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I am going to again fly first and write the report later as the end of the month is approaching. Leg 7. Moriarity NM (0E0) to Gallup Municipal NM (KGUP) 140 miles. Estimated time = 38 minutes. Here is the final picture from this leg, more to follow. Parked at Gallup Municipal NM (KGUP). This flight, in hindsight, was about Aeronautical decision-making (ADM) as you will see when my report is posted. Leg 7. Moriarity NM (0E0) to Gallup Municipal NM (KGUP) 140 miles. Estimated time = 38 minutes. Actual time = 36 minutes. V2
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I could not agree more. Getting setup for leg 7 from Moriarity to Gallup Municipal, and really hope the weather is better than it has been the last few legs.
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I sincerely hope that things are back more on an even keel for you and your family!
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That Lysander really blends in well with the scenery. You could easily sneak around just about anywhere with the July scenery. Still making better textbook approaches than me.
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Great picture, love the frost on the window. The Caribou talking about goats and cows. Did you see any white fluffy sheep up there?
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Beautiful picture of the Caribou in flight!
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I belong to a Virtual Airline called Platinum Airways. It is an open sky airline, basically fly anything you want, any where, or any way you want. I often fly in that last category! When I went to log the flight from Tradewind TX (KTDW) to Moriarity NM (0E0) the reported distance between the airports was 6775 miles! The actual distance is about 206 miles. It turns out their Latitude and Longitude coordinates for 0E0 were reversed in the database.
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I am going to take a page from Tom's playbook and fly first and write the report later as the end of the month is approaching. Leg 6. Tradewind TX (KTDW) to Moriarity NM (0E0) 206 miles. Estimated time = 55 minutes. Here is the final picture from this leg, more to follow. Parked at Moriarity NM (0E0). This flight definitely did not go as planned as you will read later, but the result was good as far as the contest goes. Leg 6. Tradewind TX (KTDW) to Moriarity NM (0E0) 206 miles. Estimated time = 55 minutes. Actual time = 55 minutes. V0
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Hi PP. I know the original Route 6 Air Rally is slated to end at midnight on November 30th. I plan to make that deadline, I can just do it if I fly one leg every day (and even have one day to spare) Which I might need as I will be at the Dentist on Tuesday for work on three teeth. My reason for this post is to ask if Kit, etc. - All the people who got started after November 1st can have a full 30 days to complete their flights. What say YOU, or anyone else, please comment.
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Found this on a previous page. Is this what you were looking for?
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Glad to oblige.
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Got my films developed from the last flight. Nice to see a classic car on the field. The pilot must be both flying and driving in style!
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Nice smooth teardrop entry into the pattern.
