Melo965

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.

Me neither. Saw a fair amount of traffic in Australia, but none since I started flying west toward Scotland.

Great pictures. Thanks for gathering so many Canberra's in one place. An awesome lineup!

Glad you like the reports and pictures. Doing all this with FSX Acceleration: My process is to first setup the flight plan in LittleNavMap (free program) on my second screen. (Just start with the ICAO codes for the starting point and the destination) I often add a waypoint or two near the destination airport so I will be lined up for a good arrival on the main runway. After I am happy with the flight plan, then I open Active Sky 2016 and add the flight plan there as well. Then I can look at the weather map and see what real world weather there is to deal with. Then I go into FSX and load the aircraft in the parking place where I left it after the last flight. Do my pre-flight check and load appropriate fuel. Then taxi over to the runway and take off. Some of the others use an autopilot so that they can task the aircraft to follow the set course. My LittleNavMap does not have that ability, so I have to keep an eye on things most of the time, or at least at frequent intervals. For most of the Australia flights I have added a free floating autopilot gauge. I just use that for maintaining cruise altitude and making turns to stay on course. Before the Australia Rally I flew almost everything just by hand real time. And even now all my flights are real time, but I am retired now so that bit is much easier than it used to be. Hope this helps!

RAF Masirah (OOMA) in Oman to RAF Akrotiri (LCRA) in Cyprus Engines started in the rain. Had the brakes recalibrated by the Airframe Fitter. Working perfectly now. This PR9 still wants to keep moving, but it is managable now. And she lands just right, on longer runways of course. Ready for takeoff on runway 17 after a long taxi from the other end of the airfield. Wheels up in a moment. Climbing out and away from the Base. Close to on course and at cruise altitude of 20,000 ft. Had to swing around after takeoff to get on course. 6 minutes this time. One hour of flight. 90 minutes. Spotted the Moon on the left. Two hours elapsed time. Not much to see below. Third hour. Leaving the Middle East behind. Over the Mediterranean now. At Top of Descent point. Destination ahead. Descending. At 3,500 ft. Cockpit view. Airport in sight. Lined up for Runway 28. Over the numbers. Full stop landing, brakes working well. Parked at RAF Akrotiri next to the BIG guy. One more flight to go in this Canberra PR9. She flies very well. I will miss her! The final destination for Marham Rose Canberra PR9 is Tain Airfield (EGQA) in Scotland, UK

Oddly there was not another aircraft in sight anywhere. Yesterday afternoon or this morning. Maybe they were all flying an exercise somewhere? I hope to have more company at RAF Akrotiri.

Sutan Sjahrir Air Force Base (WIMG) in Sumatra to RAF Masirah (OOMA) in Oman Ready to start engines in the rain. Had the brakes tuned up by the Airframe Mechanic. Ready for takeoff. Leaving the Base behind. Steep climb out and into the clouds by 3,500 ft. On course at cruise altitude of 20,000 ft. It took the Canberra 3 minutes to get up here. Not much to see down below with the cloud cover. But the pitch oscillation is minimal at this altitude, which is great. I burned a lot of excess fuel on the last flight with the pitch oscillations. 1 hour flight time. Smooth sailing with no problems this time. 2 hours flight time. Still overcast below. Flying over the Bay of Bengal. Third hour. Over India but you would not know it. 3.5 hours elapsed time. Finally can see India below. 3.75 hours. Leaving India behind and back over the Arabian Sea. Fourth hour. Still over the Arabian Sea. 5th hour. More of the same. Hour Six. Almost there. The wind is from the south so about to swing north and land on Runway 17 at RAF Masirah. Close to 3,000 ft. Still on a long Downwind leg. Hope I break out into the clear air soon. Runway 17 in sight. Over the numbers. Parked at RAF Masirah. A good flight with no problems. Brakes were a bit strong on landing after all, so had the Airframe Fitter adjust them again. Next stop is RAF Akrotiri (LCRA) in Cyprus.

I used to take off in a Cessna from Meigs field, and if I timed it just right - flew between the two radio towers on top of the Sears tower in Chicago.