Melo965

I am at Gander International so have the whole North American continent to cross. 10 planned legs 3,212 NM.

Reykjavík Domestic Airport (BIRK) in Iceland to Narsarsuaq International (BGBW) in Greenland Pre-flight done, ready to start the engine. I have other aircraft here at this busy airport. I just wish the cloud cover was not so persistent on these Atlantic ocean flights. Advancing throttle for takeoff on Runway 13. Climbing out. On course and at altitude. Staying between 11,000 and 12,000 feet approximately for these Spitfire flights. Note that I was able to get the Davtron flight time gauge fixed while here in Iceland. Cockpit view ahead. For this longer flight I am also throttling back to about 75% power to have enough fuel to get to the destination safely. 30 minutes of flight. 1 hour of flight. Still nothing to see below but clouds. Half way there at 70 minutes of flight time. 90 minutes elapsed. Steady as she goes, still solid overcast below. 2 hours so far. The Merlin 70 is very reliable, but still glad to see land ahead. Going Feet Dry over Greenland. Lots of snow on the cold landscape below. Top of Descent at 2 hours and 11 minutes of flight. Descending through 7,500 ft. Spotted that ridge line just below and initiated an immediate climb! Staying level at 8,000 feet for a while. Getting close to the airport so added flaps and lowered the landing gear. Finally under the clouds at 5,500 feet. But too close to the airport and much too high. At 4,200 feet now. Initiated a racetrack pattern back to the North to descend toward pattern altitude. Headed South again. At 2,200 ft and runway in sight ahead. Lined up for the runway. Final for runway 25. Landed safely. Parked at Narsarsuaq. My next flight is to Goose Bay (CYYR) in Canada. It will be the longest Spitfire leg at 675 nautical miles. I landed here with 18.5 % fuel remaining for the 668 nautical mile flight so I am not worried about the next leg. No need to call for a tanker the rest of the way home.

A very good writeup, and a very classy aircraft!

Thanks!

Vagar Airport (EKVG) in Faroe Islands to Reykjavík Domestic Airport (BIRK) in Iceland Note that I decided not to land at the larger Keflavík International Airport, also known as Reykjavík–Keflavík Airport (BIKF) airport nearby. Won't have to fight for a landing slot with any Big Iron this way. This flight is also a commemoration of a Compuserve Flight Rally that Kit and I participated in ages ago. Our Compuserve Rally 35 destination was to Reykjavík Iceland. I flew our FS98 Spitfire PR XI PL965 from the USA flying eastward. Kit also flew our PL965 westward from the UK to arrive in Reykjavík. The reason why we were both flying the same aircraft was that we were in the final testing phase before publishing our FS98 Spitfire PL965 here to this web site. Kit had the wonderful idea to do a Photo Reconnaissance camera pass of the Vagar airport on his way past on the way to Iceland. Kit flew PL965 at 500 ft altitude and 330 kts on his photo run past the Vagar airport on a ground track just West of the runway, and his starboard oblique pictures turned out perfect! It was a brilliant sortie! So it is very cool to again be flying PL965 here, although in a much less dramatic fashion. Pre-flight done, ready to start the engine. It was nice to only have a short walk from the hotel to my Spitfire. The crosswind would dictate a takeoff from a perpendicular runway if there was one, but there is not. So I will be taking off from runway 31 as it aims me in the right direction anyway. Just after takeoff. Gear about to retract. Gear retracted and at 400 ft. More town below behind the cliff. Had no idea until I flew over. At 1,900 ft and about to enter the cloud base. After 30 minutes flying time. PL965 from another angle. Head on view. Underside view which shows the two vertical camera ports. A rare glimpse of the ocean below. Almost the whole flight there was a solid cloud layer below. Half way to Iceland. Another Half way angle. Feet Dry over Iceland, but there is no visible evidence of land below. Here is how it looks at this altitude. At Top of Descent. My original plan was to land on runway 01 approaching the airport from the South, but the wind had shifted en route so now I needed to approach from the NW and land on runway 13. Descending through 4,900 ft. Keeping the dive angle shallow with throttle at idle to not bust the 250 knot limit below 10,000 ft. Here is the weather map of the over Iceland portion of the flight. I kept descending in the mirk all the way down to 500 feet altitude without breaking out of the clouds/fog. I was flying over this portion of the map so the terrain did not look too bad. But since I still could not see ANYTHING, decided to stay at 500 ft altitude and turn South and fly straight for the coast to get over the water where I knew what the elevation was. Out over the ocean at 566 ft altitude. Flying West along the coastline. Still flying along the coast. At 2,400 ft altitude. Turning North to get over these small hills just east of BIKF. Back in the clear over the water at 1,500 ft. Runway 13 in sight ahead. Lined up for runway 13. Note the Grand Caravan ahead that just took off. Cockpit view of the runway. Over the numbers. Landed safely. Parked at Reykjavík in the rain. Now for a well earned rest. Next stop Narsarsuaq International Airport (BGBW) in Greenland.

And I was very fortunate to visit PL965 on the day after the original Mk 70 Merlin was reinstalled. Kit and I made plans to see PL965 together earlier that week, but then they called just before I left from the states to cancel. While I was in flight on the way Kit made arrangements with them for me to go one day later than originally planned. Unfortunately Kit had another commitment so he could not join me on the new day. I am really glad Kit finally got to see PL965 up close this year!

Really wish I could have been there with you!

WOW, that is cool! Any more info on who is working on it?

Yes they do! It caused quite a stir at the time! They later heard that the pilot was from 541 squadron. They asked me if I was also in the same squadron. They were also surprised that I only did a normal approach and landing, expecting every blue Spitfire that arrives to do something unusual after all!

Tain Airfield (EGQA) in Scotland to Vagar Airport (EKVG) in Faroe Islands Pre-flight done, ready to start the engine. Enjoyed the hospitality here at Tain very much. Wind direction dictates a takeoff from Runway 08. That is far away on the other side of the airport. Long taxi past the other side of the airport. Parallel to Runway 08 now. Adding throttle for takeoff on runway 08. Climbing out from Tain. Climbing through 6,600 ft and on course. About to enter the clouds. I realized at this point that my flight time gauge was not advancing properly, so shut it off. Will have to do math to calculate flight times. 14 minutes of flight. Finally out of IMC briefly. Trimmed out for flight between roughly 11,000 and 12,000 feet altitude. Therefore no oxygen needed. 20 minutes elapsed. Still solid overcast below and nothing to see. Half way there. Still nothing to see but clouds below. Weather map shows more of the same ahead. Reaching Top of Descent. Throttle to idle and starting down. Broke out of the clouds at 3,300 ft into a driving rain. Purposely descended over water so there would be no surprises. Cockpit view ahead. Turning left to get lined up for the runway at Vagar. Town of Torshavn is ahead. Another good view of Torshavn. Passing by beautiful mountain landscapes. Runway 31 in sight ahead. Cockpit view of the runway. Short final for runway 31. The cliff dropoff below is a bit unnerving on approach. Full stop. Now to taxi over to the terminal. Parked at Vagar. There is one Cessna parked nearby. And the Vagar Hotel is in the background behind the Cessna. Other vehicles on the ramp. And the control tower. For this flight I flew at full throttle just to see how well the Spitfire could do. This was a short enough flight so I had plenty of fuel. Some of the other flights will be longer distances so I will adjust the throttle accordingly. Flight plan distance was 278 miles. I flew 327 miles in 1 hour and 3 minutes. (Takeoff to Touchdown). An average speed of 311 miles per hour. Left my Spitfire buttoned up and walked over to the Vagar Hotel for the night. Can still see the control tower from my room. Cool!

PL965 is my absolute favorite aircraft to fly, as you well know.

As Kit mentioned, various aircraft have flown under those two bridges for years now. The neighbors are used to it, and the local constable has given up trying to do anything official about it. I would never ever do this in the real world! Martha Lunken did in Ohio. She lost all of her many ratings after 14,000 hours of flying and was grounded. It took her 9 months to get her Private Pilot license back. https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2021/04/18/lunken-airport-faa-martha-jeremiah-morrow-bridge/7089271002/

Dean Forest Regional (EGDF) to Tain Airfield (EGQA) in Scotland Pre-flight done, ready to start the Merlin Mk 70 up front. Wind direction dictates a takeoff from Runway 24. Taxi past the VOR and the Terminal. No other aircraft parked here now. Holding short at 24 for takeoff clearance. Note that if you just go straight across the runway here the taxiway goes right down to the water. Perfect for Kit and the Short Sealand or whichever other amphibian he feels like flying today. Ready for Takeoff on Runway 24. Tain is to the North but taking my usual detour South after takeoff to check out those bridges. 300 Knots at 30 feet - Bridge #1. Approaching bridge number 2. 300 Knots at 25 feet - Bridge #2. Circling back around for a farewell pass over Dean Forest. Only added 6 minutes to my flight time. Second picture of the pass. Now headed North to Tain. My office for this journey. The view ahead. About 15 minutes elapsed time. At 14,500 ft. Deciding to drop down under 12,000 ft so I can stop using the oxygen mask. 34 minutes so far. Over the Lake District now. (Where I landed G-KITS on the last leg). Spotted a Cessna 172 below at 7000 ft. 48 minutes of flight. Entering Scottish airspace now. Although there is nothing to see below with the solid overcast. Another Cessna 172 below at 7,500 feet this time. Here is a good view of the main camera port (by the roundel) on this Photo Reconnaissance Spitfire. Flying over Pentland Hills Regional Park. Flying over Edinburgh (EGPH). Almost 1 hour and 10 minutes of flight time. Flying over Cairngorms National Park. At Top of Descent. Just under 4,500 ft altitude. Spotted Kinloss Air Base (EGQK) on the right. Lossiemouth AB (EGQS) is even further on the right. Kit's daughter Anita worked there. Spotted Tain Airfield ahead and on the left in front of my nose. Gear and Flaps (87 degrees) down. Aiming for the Tarbat Ness Lighthouse on the point ahead to make the turn to get lined up for Runway 26. Lined up for Runway 26. Cockpit view of the same. Over the numbers. Parked at the Special Operations Area. THey were glad to see me again and invited me for a delicious dinner and a comfortable billet overnight. Before they fed me though, they insisted that I show them this beautiful Spitfire! It was 1 hour and 31 minutes of flight time to come North to Tain from Dean Forest in the Spitfire. In the CMC Leopard Jet on the way South it took 1 hour and 58 minutes of flight time, although there were two landings during the process. If the Leopard had more fuel capacity, it could have made the flight South in a similar amount of time. My Davron flight time timer works well in the Spitfire, but the stand alone autopilot gauge does not work. I don't mind at all because this Mark XI flies really well and is very easy to keep trimmed out. I will be hand flying all the way back to Washington state.

My planned flight home in the Spitfire: Only about 6,000 miles to go!

Thanks! It will be great to be back in my Spitfire again! And I will keep Anita in mind. But with the PR leading edge wing tanks and the normal fuselage tanks, my 218 gallons per flight should do just fine. A very unusual and interesting machine.

Yes, a very fun airplane to Fly!

Tain Airfield (EGQA) in Scotland to Dean Forest Regional (EGDF) Starting the engines in the rain. Starting this flight from the Albion Special Operations Area at Tain Airfield. Just a bit of information about this aircraft to start. The CMC Leopard was a light personal business jet aircraft. It was a British four seat mid-wing cantilever monoplane of composite construction with all-swept flying surfaces. The engines are in pods on either side of the aft fuselage. Only two prototypes were produced. The excellent repaint to Albion markings is thanks to Kit. Tower view of the CMC Leopard G-KITS. G-KITS sitting on the runway. G-KITS from another angle. Ready for takeoff on Runway 14. Climbing out. Cockpit view. After 15 minutes up at 9,000 ft altitude. A cool perspective view. Half an hour of flight elapsed. Fuel at 54% so I will have to rethink the original plan to ger all the way to Dean Forest Regional in one go. About one hour into the flight. Fuel at 32% so definitely need to find a place to land and refuel. Still solid overcast below. Headed down to find an airport. Just below 2,800 ft and heading West towards the coast. For reference I am flying due East of the Isle of Man. Near the town of Barrow-in-Furness. Side view at the same moment. Yikes! That is what I get for letting down in unfamiliar territory. Levelled out right away and getting closer to the coast as soon as my heart stops thumping. Just over 2,600 ft, still heading West. Down to 2,100 ft, but thankfully coast is in sight ahead. Walney Island (EGNL) runway 17 in sight. Short final for Runway 17. Down safe, but still in the rain. 18% fuel remaining. Fuel tanks full again. Takeoff from Runway 06. Swinging around and heading south again. For the first leg of this flight I flew fairly slow trying to conserve fuel. For this leg there are no fuel worries, so opening up both engines. Just below 7,500 ft and climbing. 15 minutes into the flight, cruising at 13,000 ft. 30 minutes so far. At about 11,000 ft Altitude. Just about to head down toward the airport. At about 5,000 ft. Aiming for that gap in the clouds ahead. No more close encounters with hills! Just under 2,600 ft. Aiming for the River Severn ahead. Even though it is very foggy I am relaxed being in very familiar territory now. The River Severn, at 220 miles long, is the longest river in Great Britain. Kit can attest to the huge tides on this river as well. Just under 1,970 ft altitude. About to make the left turn to get lined up for Runway 06 at Dean Forest Regional. Believe it or not in the fog, I am perfectly lined up for Runway 06. Runway in sight. Short final for 06 at EGDF. About to touch down. Landed with 28% fuel remaining. Parked near the Scanman Airmotive Office and Hangar. Topped off the fuel. Dropped off the keys for G-KITS with Kit's mates. Can barely see the nearby tower in the fog. An eventful set of flights to be sure. Up next are my flights North and West in Spitfire PR Mk XI PL965 Across the Atlantic and North America to get home to Washington state.

Good for you. Enjoy the Hospitality!

In my younger days I used to practically live on my bicycle. The summer before college I put 400 miles on the bike. No good areas to ride here where I live anymore. Only got on the bike once after my right hip was replaced so far.

Oh! Were we meant to head back there? I flew Darwin to Darwin, surely that counts as a circumnavigation of Australia?

Thanks, I will keep that in mind about 26. Just send me the bill for the Avons, got it covered.

RAF Akrotiri (LCRA) in Cyprus to Tain Airfield (EGQA) in Scotland, UK I missed snapping a picture before engine start. In a hurry to get this leg of the flight done. So much so that this flight will be a speed run. I have arranged for a RAAF tanker to meet me half way and top off my tanks for the remainder of the flight. Long taxi out to Runway 28 for takeoff. Takeoff on Runway 28. Climbing out. The guys at RAF Akrotiri took very good care of me and the Canberra while I was there. At cruise altitude of 20,000 ft after 3 minutes. Spotted a Learjet crossing right to left in front and below me. 1 hour into the flight. Still solid overcast below. Finally seeing something other than clouds below. 90 minutes elapsed time. Beautiful Romanian mountains below. Hungry for fuel over Hungary. Met up with the tanker right on time at 1 hour and 52 minutes into the flight. 2 hours elapsed time. Glad to have my tanks topped off. Saw a few contrails from high flying aircraft behind me. 2 and a half hours. Leaving most of the weather behind. The clearer view ahead. Leaving Europe and now flying over the North Sea. Approaching Scotland. Weather does not look very good ahead. 3 and a half hours elapsed time. Carefully descending through 2,100 ft to get under the clouds. Just under 2,200 ft. Cockpit view. Can just see the shore ahead. Going feet dry at just under 2,000 ft. Just under 1,600 ft. Scottish countryside below. Runway 26 in sight ahead. I should have swung around to the West and landed on Runway 14 based on the wind direction, but decided to land on Runway 26 with a crosswind component. Not a decision I would have ever made on a RW flight. (Was in a hurry to get there, because I had a family zoom meeting to attend in about 5 minutes.) Consequently a high and fast final for Runway 26. Finally stopped with no damage, but not a landing I am proud of. Parked at Tain in the Special Operations Area of the airport. Now to find one of Kit's mates to hand over the keys to this classy Canberra. Next aircraft is the CMC Leopard G-KITS for the relatively short hop down to Dean Forest Regional (EGDF). After this quick but intense flight, getting a good rest so I can fly again tomorrow. The guys here have invited me for a hearty dinner and a comfortable billet overnight. I landed with 70.6 gallons of fuel on board or 1.6% fuel remaining. The flight plan distance was 2,038 nautical miles. I flew 2,348 miles in 3 hours and 44 minutes which works out to an average speed of 628.9 miles per hour. This PR9 Canberra sure is a sweet ride!

Actually the same file is here at Flightsim.com.

Kit, I think this is what you are looking for. https://flyawaysimulation.com/downloads/files/13878/fsx-english-electric-canberra/

One more flight to get her home safe to Tain.