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Everything posted by Melo965
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My Leg 1. Lansing Municipal IL (KIGQ) to Zelmer Memorial IL (5K1) ETA = 46 minutes. Actual = 46 minutes. V0 My Leg 2. Zelmer Memorial IL (5K1) to Jones Lebanon MO (KLBO) ETA = 44 minutes. Actual = 43 minutes. V1 So my current total of V1 is correct. Regarding Kit (BossSpecOps), all the votes I saw allowed him to redo Leg 1 so his record should be: Leg 1. Lansing Municipal IL (KIGQ) to Zelmer Memorial IL (5K1) ETA = 1hr 20 minutes. ToT (Time on Target) = 1hr 20 minutes. V0 Please correct Kit's leg 1 to V0. My chief mechanic is complaining that I throw his aircraft around in the sky too much. After he gets done, I hope to have my controls overhauled and recalibrated properly. Then I can get back in the air and work on Leg 3 to Claremore Regional OK (KGCM). And I agree, reading all the stories and adventures is great fun!
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Great work! Congratulations Kit!
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Missed the centerline again. Maybe by Santa Monica I will get it right at least once. My sister is visiting for a few days. I will be back on the flight line by Sunday or Monday. Have safe and enjoyable flights all!
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Our Spitfire Mk XI was published in FS98 in the year 2000, which is ages ago in the flight simulator franchise. Kit was a Superb test pilot for that endeavor, his flight test input and animating all the moving parts was invaluable.
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I am also fine with Kit getting a redo. Everyone should have at least one practice flight before attempting the real thing. The spirit of this Rally is to have fun together after all!
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Welcome Kit! I keep forgetting to start with the canopy open on the Spitfire, thanks for the reminder.
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Leg 2. Zelmer Memorial IL (5K1) to Jones Lebanon MO (KLBO) 164 miles. Same setup as before, using FSX Acceleration. Flying with both leading edge wing tanks at 50% capacity for this flight also. Starting with just under 180 gallons of fuel. Lined up and ready to start engine at Zelmer. On the way from 5K1 to KLBO. Flight level close to 4,500 ft. Same position from external view. Still on the way, climbed to 6,500 ft. A cloudy day today. Winds from the south strengthening as the flight progresses. Cutting through between clouds and staying VFR. More than half way there. My leg 2 route. Down and stopped at Lebanon. Landed 1 minute early. I thought my joystick and rudder pedals were fine, until I got close to the landing approach. But on final it was hard to control the aircraft and I barely made it down, almost ran out of runway. Before leg 3 I will do a full re-calibration of my Thrustmaster joystick and MFG Crosswind rudder pedals. Note to self: Don't reinstall Acceleration during an event next time! Second note to self: Slow flight on final approach is much easier in a Cessna 172 than it is in a Spitfire. Used 52 gallons of fuel this leg. Took off at 3:45 PM ETA 4:29 PM Actual 4:28 PM Variation 1 minute.
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No ammunition at all. Flying the Photo Reconnaissance version. Just cameras on board, so still behave yourself.
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Sorry to hear that. Hope to see you next time. Good luck with the real world stuff.
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Every time you mention them, I think you are talking about de Havilland Vampires.
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That sure is a beautiful aircraft!
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My friend appreciated the invite, but he is still sorting out his flight simulator equipment and programs. Thanks for the offer!
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I sent him an invitation email. I will let you know. And yes, my joystick and trim are working fine again. Will for sure do a Leg or maybe 2 today.
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And to think i was taught left was the side/hand or the devil. Hmmm... Really?! Ok, I will try harder to hit the centerline on the next leg. Will be back in the air tomorrow for leg 2. Spent the last two days helping a friend to get his FSX up and running relatively smoothly now that he has a new SSD drive. It is a good thing that I did not hop right in for leg 2 this morning. After reinstalling FSX Acceleration myself in the process of helping my friend, my joystick calibration was way off and the Spitfire trim and balance was wonky too.
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In a helicopter - no way! You would come in last with me at the controls.
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Thanks, but just beginners luck. I did win $42 dollars once in the lottery ages ago. With those normal odds, save your money.
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That is very impressive! I can't imagine being anywhere close to the expected arrival time if I flew a leg in a helicopter. Well Done!
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My joystick of choice is the Thrustmaster T.16000M FCS. I still have my original as a backup, but the new one has HallEffect sensors which are more precise. I also like that the stick is ambidextrous so I can fly with the left hand on the stick like in a real Cessna. The stick moves very smoothly and does not need much tension to hold the stick. Thrustmaster quote: "The helical spring inside the stick provides firm, linear and smooth tension." The only down side of the new joystick is that I ordered it during the pandemic and just after MSFS 2020 was announced, so it took over 9 months to receive the joystick.
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No it was not the rabbit's fault, all on my piloting skills, or lack thereof.
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Yes, a very cool story! I eagerly watch anything I can find about Photo Reconnaissance Spitfires. An older book these days, but "Spitfire in Blue" by Hugh Smallwood is an excellent history of PL965 in particular. Snatch that up if you ever spot it in a used book store.
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I do plan to land at every airfield along the route. Hope to see you when I get there.
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It looks to be about that wide in my sim too. Most of my flight simulator flights are either in a Cessna 172 or in a Spitfire, so I have had a lot of practice. Thanks! I did land a Cessna 172 on a 25 ft wide runway in Port Orchard Washington in the real world once.
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Yes, it is a Mk IX, but I am pretending it is a Mk XI as I love the PR Spitfires the most, and especially PL965. And yes it was an easy landing to walk away from.
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Not my best landing regarding the runway centerline. To be honest, I was watching the clock more than the runway ahead at that moment.
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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.
