RTW Retro Flight #R71 Zurich to Athens . . . . . . . . . 1962

Swissair Flight 61 is a Douglas DC-7C on a flight from Zurich to Athens’ Hellinikon Airport (LSZH - LGAT). We have 5,500 gallons of fuel on board for this flight of about 3 hours and 55 minutes. Zurich is experiencing thunderstorms with heavy rain, but the weather should begin to clear as we clear the Italian Alps. We will be cruising at an altitude of 17,000 feet.

Thanks to:

Aircraft: Douglas DC-7C model and original textures by Greg Pepper and Tom Gibson. The 1957 Swissair paint is by Wayne Tudor.

Propliner AI & Traffic: CalClassic & FS Aviator - Tom Gibson, Mike Stevens, Jason Krogmann, Manuel Jagmann, Bill Towers, Nikko Yaginuma, Richard Wright, Frederick Coleman, Dave Jones, Paul Haak, Marty Lochmiller, Ake Lindberg, Harland Sandberg, Richard Wright and Gary Harper at www.calclassic.com

Scenery and Add-ons: MS FS2004 v9.1 Standard and:

- Zurich Airport 1961 from Central Europe by Wolfgang Gersch, Harry Biard, Michael Schneider, Jaap de Baare, Nikko Yaginuma, Tom Gibson, Bernard Leuenberger and Mike Stevens at www.calclassic.com

- Athens Hellinikon Airport 1962 is Tom Gibson’s backdated version of the original modern airport by Moraitis Vangelis. At www.calclassic.com

- Rwy12 and EZ Static Object and Scenery Libraries.

- FS2004 Classic Scenery Libraries v4a by Wolfgang Gersch at www.flightsim.com.

- REX FS9 w/Overdrive SP5 for sky, cloud, weather, water/waves, runway, taxiway textures, sun and runway lighting.

- Flight One Ground Environment Pro II, FS Genesis Europe and UT Europe.

- HDE 2.0 grass texture enhancement by Pablo Diaz.

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Flight plan approved, passengers loaded, buttoned up and starting number one.

Taxiing out to runway 16 for departure from Zurich.

Takeoff and wheels coming up.

Turning on course for Athens.

Climbing through the lower foothills of the Swiss Alps at 7,000 feet.

Continuing to climb through 14, 000 we will soon be skirting the border of the Principality of Liechtenstein.

Now at our cruising altitude of 17,000 feet over Italy with the nearly 12,000 foot peak of Thurwieserspitz Mountain just ahead.

We are leaving the Italian Alps behind and the weather is clearing. The City of Trento and the Adige River valley is below us.

Now over the city of Venice we see the Venetian Lagoon and the Adriatic Sea beyond the breakwater.

340 miles down the Adriatic passing near the historic city of Dubrovnik on Yugoslavia’s Dalmatian Coast.

Having traversed 450 miles of the Adriatic Sea we make landfall near Kavajë, Albania.

More in the reply . . . . . . . . .

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Cruising near the Village of Allkaj, Albania we see the Murrizit Reservoir off to the right.

Having crossed into Greece some time ago we are passing over the City of Karditsa with Lake Plastiras off our right wing.

About 100 miles from Athens we are over the Gulf of Euboea with the Aegean Sea in the distance.

Descending through 11,000 over the Gulf of Athens.

With Kea Island in the background we are descending through 5,000 feet turning toward the north.

At 2,100 feet several miles from Raftis bay we turn to intercept our approach to runway 34 at Athens Hellinikon.

With the runway in sight flaps 40 and gear down we begin to line up our final approach.

Less than 3 miles out at 500 feet we are lined up with runway 34.

Touchdown.

Pulling off the runway and heading to the terminal.

Parked and passengers disembarked. Thanks for flying Swissair.

Gotta love those rotary recips! Thanks for that presentation! As I recall, there was also plenty of room per passenger back then.

Michael