Around the World in a Learjet.

CRJ-Simpilot: Thanks. I have already flown high and economically twice with 2.6 and 2.7 Lb/Nm. So I think that with the more than 6000 Lbs I will get the 2200 Nm and with a little reserve at least 2000 Nm. But for Hawaii-USA, I'm switching to the Learjet-60 for safety. My economical speed is Mach 0.81 ~ 270 Kts, at an altitude of 37000 ft.

Good luck Joop with your fuel planning. And if you get it wrong, you'll be enjoying a nice swim in the Pacific Ocean!

MAD1. Good news. Bamaga Injinoo Airport included in my World Tour. So I added Australia from Ambon.

Stage 10 Nov. 25th. From Sri Lanka to Sumatra some problems (Dist. 1076 Nm)

Nov. 25th. the “City Tour” above Colombo and surroundings on Sri Lanka. I took to the skies with a Beech King Air 350. A nice plane. With the ILS at 109.9, GPS and the FlightPlan in the picture and the Autopilot it would be a simple round…. But .. the screens regularly went black. Everything off? No, the motor and steering are working. Without the electric power supply it becomes VFR instead of IFR. But made a quick emergency landing. The ILS also stopped working. Booting each time helped for 10-20 seconds. What is the problem with this airplane? Must be a bug somewhere. With my good old Learjet-45 I then flew over the northern tip of Sri Lanka and with an HDG of 105 to the northern tip of Sumatra, Banda Aceh AirPort Int. WITT "Sultan Iskandarmuda". I made the crossing at an altitude of 37,000 ft. and a max. speed of 270 Kts. (Mach 0.81). It became a night flight because this water crossing has little to offer. It was also a great exercise to fly as economically as possible. (It became ~2.7 Lb/Nm). The descent is always a bit a guess. From 37,000 ft. must start the descent at 3x 37 = 111 Nm. But how do I measure 111 Nm? So keep an eye on the NRST AirPort via the GPS. In the middle of the water, however, there is no NRST AirPort on my GPS. According to FlightPlan I have 600 Nm, more than 400 Nm.!!. VOCX was the first to appear at 150 Nm. This is the airport of Car Nicobar, an island north of Sumatra. WITT came into the picture at 177 Nm. Nice still 165 Nm to the descent. The ILS of runway 17 is at 111.3 Hz. That's right. But.., I came out too high at the airport and had to make another round for a good landing.

The link to 10 - Sumatra ..

Edited November 29, 2022 by Joop Kruize

I'm thinking of doing Amelia Bearhart's around-the-world trip... I have the Electra and her flight plan I just need the right frame of mind..... Edited November 29, 2022 by daspinall

Wow Joop, over to the Aussie continent (contrary to what some people claim, Aus IS the largest island in the world as well as being a continent), to Bamaga, Cape York, Queensland. IATA: ABM, ICAO: YNPE. I'll have to clean up the place to welcome you, and (in my imagination) get to Bamaga to welcome you on landing with a beer and a tour around the local area!

 

Here is the local info https://www.nparc.qld.gov.au/services/airport and by the way, I work (from home) in a Queensland government department, in geographic data management (GIS) for water management. So, your original route map will need updating.

 

Also, daspinall, the Amelia flight would be very interesting to follow. I recall she disappeared over the Pacific, is that right? Yes, Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amelia_Earhart : 'During an attempt at becoming the first woman to complete a circumnavigational flight of the globe in 1937 in a Purdue-funded Lockheed Model 10-E Electra, Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the central Pacific Ocean near Howland Island. The two were last seen in Lae, New Guinea, on July 2, 1937, on the last land stop before Howland Island and one of their final legs of the flight. She presumably died in the Pacific during the circumnavigation'.

 

Just read the local council blurb. Interesting, especially the WW2 history and the two wrecks - Beaufort and DC3. Wikipedia has the airport listed https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Peninsula_Airport and Cape York IS a very remote area, and that area is has a very high indigenous population. I haven't been to Cape York (been to Cairns and Atherton Tableland, at the southern end, but would like to go someday). In the Wet season (monsoon) in summer, huge rainfalls occur and many places get cut off for months.

 

Now, serendipitty, just reading the Wikipedia article re Howland Island, much content relevant to airmen. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howland_Island. I didn't know anything about the island or neighbouring islands. There are so many stories, unknown, about islands in the Pacific, and the WW2 and subsequent history is unknown to most folks. Fascinating!!! And this is our 'near north'!

Edited November 30, 2022 by MAD1

The island is US territory, and much US activity in the 1930s and WW2.

Also, daspinall, the Amelia flight would be very interesting to follow. I recall she disappeared over the Pacific, is that right? Yes, Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amelia_Earhart : 'During an attempt at becoming the first woman to complete a circumnavigational flight of the globe in 1937 in a Purdue-funded Lockheed Model 10-E Electra, Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the central Pacific Ocean near Howland Island. The two were last seen in Lae, New Guinea, on July 2, 1937, on the last land stop before Howland Island and one of their final legs of the flight. She presumably died in the Pacific during the circumnavigation'.

 

Yes Mad1 it a very interesting piece of aviation history... sadly some of the airstrips they used do not exist anymore... So will have to improvise some of the way.... The Electra and crew Amelia and Fred started the trip in Oakland, California then flew to Miami Municipal Airport where Amilia then announced her around the world trip.... So it would be accurate to start at Oakland which is now an international airport.... I have to figure out how to work this into my weekly routine... And like Joop I want to learn as much about the history and crew and trip before making the flight... I do know quite a bit already like the Navy ship at Howland Island.... the equipment that triangulated where the Electra was had been left on from the previous day and the batteries were flat when they came to use it on that fateful day... Were the Navy against a female flying around the world, would it damage the male image of the Navy, and so one of the crew sabotaged the equipment .... we will never know!

Thanks daspinall for the info. Interesting that the radio direction finding equipment wasn't working. Perhaps an accident, perhaps not (many good things e.g. discoveries, and bad things e.g. tragic events, happen via an accidental alignment of random events). Suggest it'd be good for you to start your own thread re the Amelia circumnavigation attempt (so as not to steal Joop's thunder in this thread). Doesn't matter if you don't get to do the flight for a year etc., am sure like me, many simmers worldwide would find your flight planning interesting to follow, plus the related geographical and historical tidbits.

Hi Joop. Are you including either built-in ('canned') or real-time weather in your sim? Interesting to consider it. Of course, in the Learjet you fly way above the soup, however as not all airports in your flight plan have ILS e.g. Bamaga, departing and more critically landing could be a challenge. You might have to wait a few days for a particular leg to be VFR conditions at your destination airport at least. Here is the current satellite imagery of cloud (via our Australian Bureau of Meteorology and the Japan Meteorological Agency satellite Himawari 8) http://www.bom.gov.au/australia/satellite.

http://www.bom.gov.au/australia/satellite/?tz=AEST&unit=p23&domain=15&view=06&satSubmit=Refresh+View

'IDY28000 Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology

Bureau National Operations Centre

 

Satellite Notes for 1800UTC Chart

Issued at 9:14 am EDT Thursday on 01 December 2022 ... Another trough lies off the Top End coast and connects to a low moving east over the western coast of Cape York Peninsula ... Showers and thunderstorms can also be seen over the Arafura Sea, Gulf of Carpentaria, Cape York Peninsula including the Torres Strait ...'.

Edited November 30, 2022 by MAD1

Aah, Ambon to Bamaga, about 1780 km, 960 nm. I just looked at your original route, and see that you're heading across the north of Indonesia 'Sumatra North - Java Jakarta - Celebes south - Moluccas - West Papua - New Guinea - Marshall Islands'. And instead of West Irian / northern Papua-NewGuinea, down to Bamaga. Do you do real-life planning, with alternative/emergency strips planned in case of having to divert due to engine trouble or bad weather? Pretty remote territory you're heading into, if you do do alternate planning, some of the strips I would have thought might be a problem for the Learjet.

 

Bamaga, tropical, so hot and dry or hot and wet. You're in the early Wet season (Nov-Apr). You might find interesting the two flags: Aboriginal - black, red, yellow symbolising the red earth, the yellow sun and the black for the people; Torres Strait Islanders - green for the islands, blue for the sea, and a traditional headdress.

 

Joop, post the day and time you expect to land at Bamaga, and I'll take a flight up there to welcome you with that beer! I'll drive to Brisbane (2.25hr), take a commercial flight to Cairns (2hr), then another to Bamaga (2hr) via either Rex or Skytrans (Dash8 or Cessna Caravan).

 

Airport interesting 'Airport History. Bamaga Airport was created late 1942, in WWII as a substitute base for bomber planes, replacing the Horn Island Airport which was receiving heavy Japanese fire and rapidly deteriorating due to flooding. Initially known to the Americans as 'Red Island Point', and as 'Jacky Jacky' to the Australians, it was later renamed to 'Higgins Field', in honour of Flight Lieutenant Brian Hartley Higgins 400620, RAAF, killed in air operations, May 1943. There are two aircraft wrecks located near the airport, a Beaufort A9-190 Bomber lies North of the runway and a Douglas DC-3, VH-CXD now preserved as a war memorial can be found 3km North-West.'

 

By the way, I can spend all this time on this stuff because I'm on annual leave currently, normally am too busy.

Edited December 1, 2022 by MAD1

Thanks daspinall for the info. Interesting that the radio direction finding equipment wasn't working. Perhaps an accident, perhaps not (many good things e.g. discoveries, and bad things e.g. tragic events, happen via an accidental alignment of random events). Suggest it'd be good for you to start your own thread re the Amelia circumnavigation attempt (so as not to steal Joop's thunder in this thread). Doesn't matter if you don't get to do the flight for a year etc., am sure like me, many simmers worldwide would find your flight planning interesting to follow, plus the related geographical and historical tidbits.

 

 

Not trying to steal anyone's thunder, God didn't make me that way and it's sad to learn you see it that way....... It's merely a mention prompted by the thread of another trip around the world........ Do you also think if I start the trip I would post it in here.....

Edited December 1, 2022 by daspinall

Apologies daspinall if you took offence at my suggestion, it wasn't meant as a criticism, just thought that your idea of the Earhart trip would be a very good thread that'd be interesting to follow by FlightSim members, I would for one, and would be interested to see how the trip planning might unfold over time. Sorry. (PS: I'll stop posting too much stuff e.g. in this thread, just got a bit over excited I suppose, and being on holiday too much time on my hands, so will let Joop have the floor in this his thread.)

Hi all, daspinall and I 'made up' in a private message between us. All good! Back to Joop's trip. Very interesting. Had to look up in Google Maps the Marshall Islands, found Amata Kabua International Airport. Is interesting to second-guess where Joop will go, will take some days to do it all across Indonesia into the Pacific.

 

His posts, answers my question re weather, and the videos are interesting re the ATC:

09-23-2022, 01:13 AM #1 'Stage 00 - Travel preparation. “Flying around the World”, and my rules of the game. ... I do assume to fly in the real weather, so with local weather and wind. ... Whenever possible, the ATC, Air Traffic Control, is activated and the orders are followed.'

 

#3 'Sumatra North - Java Jakarta - Celebes south - Moluccas - West Papua - New Guinea - Marshall Islands and Amaranth Kabua'. My snip from #1 route plan:

1 Sumatra North: WITT Banda Aceh International Airport "Sultan Iskandarmuda". #29 video 10 (8m54s).

(Oops, video at 7m35s, landing, ATC 'World Travel 12, you were not cleared to land'!)

2 Sumatra: Medan?

3 Sumatra: Padang?

4 Java: Jakarta

5 South Kalimantan (Borneo): ?

6 Sulawesi (Celebes): ?

7 Maluku Islands (Moluccas): Ambon

Detour Ambon-Bamaga.

8 Irian Jaya (Papua): Nabiri?

9 New Guinea: Madang?

10 Bougainville Island?: Buka Town?

11 Solomon Islands?: Honiara?

12 Marshall Islands: Amata Kabua

 

Without making a project 'bigger than Ben Hur', is interesting to ponder adding in the realism of getting international travel permits, customs and immigration clearances etc. Some airports are restricted e.g. they are joint military fields etc. Of course the 'International' ones are open. Also, to ponder alternate airports if a problem and needing to divert, also maintenance available at airports if the Learjet needs anything repaired.

Edited December 3, 2022 by MAD1

Daspinall: Amelia’s Lockheed Electra is the famous twin engined like a Beech Baron. Nice planes. Succes.. I think you have to take the northern tour over Alaska Bering Sea. The max. flying range is not that far.

Stage 11 Dec. 1th. From Banda Aceh, North Sumatra to Singapore (Distance 612 Nm)

 

I did the City Tour with a Cessna 337, my favorite in Flight Gear. But in FS9 it's an unfinished copy with no real Cockpit. After a short section over inhabited areas, the tour went over the northern islands, Palau-We, -Breueh, -Nasi and back to Banda Aceh AirPort. In my Learjet 45 I started up and took off along the eastern coast to the south-east. This time a low flight route over the sea, coast and the hills to Medan. Here turn to the left over the Malakka water. The crossing to Malaysia gave a surprise. A TV tower and the Twin Tower of Kuala Lumpur. Wonderful this recognition. So flew by for a while. Splendid. Then the stretch to the southern tip and Singapore. A complex ATC procedure here, but after landing it became quiet. No guidance for taxiing and to the gate? Forgot to switch to “Ground” or something else?

The link to 11 - Singapore ..

Edited December 3, 2022 by Joop Kruize

Thanks to Daspinall and MAD1: How many stories. Amelia's Electra was supposed to go to Howland or Baker islands and was possibly found near Nikumaroro? way too far south. I'm going from Bamaga to Salomon Honiara, Majuro, Johnston, Hawaii. That should be possible. Then to the USA comes the big challenge. But in Bamaga I land IFR or VFR or just on the beach. Don't make it a big event. I am not multiplayer. Now I'm in Singapore doing flyinglessons on a B-747. The movie will follow. And regarding the weather… I fly with real real time weather, update every 15 minutes.

MAD1: Landing on a military base not allowed? I started at Edwards AirForcebase. Endless runways and very wide. Now I think the Hawaii-USA route will fly via Vandenberg Space Force Base. But San Francisco is also a beautiful city to enter the USA.

Hi Joop, thanks for the update including your intended legs. Yes, my numerous comments are just my musings (totally all in my imagination), wondering about all the issues involved in doing such a flight as yours in real life. That's the great thing about the sim, one can set up any scenario and actually fly it.

 

My wife and I flew on an A380 from Sydney to Singapore in Dec 2018, landing in early evening, interesting views out the window seat of the islands on the south-eastern approach. Similarly, we came home in Jan 2019 on a night departure from Singapore to Sydney. Also, spent time in India, and enjoyed a nice day flight of about 5 hrs Mumbai to Singapore on Singapore Airlines in Jan 2019, interesting to sight ships in the sea and islands, including the Malayasian coast on approach to Singapore. I don't enjoy long flights, so the Syd-Sing of over 8 hrs is too much in the tight economy seats. Next time, will be Darwin - Singapore, only 4+ hrs. 4 - 5 hrs max is my comfort zone. My first trip overseas was in 1980 as a 25 yr old, on a QANTAS 747 Darwin to Singapore day flight (on way to Athens), window seat of course, good views, and tracked my progress on a map. As I was a recent glider pilot, asked if I could visit the cockpit, they let me, whilst we were over Indonesia. Had a nice 10 min in cockpit, chatting to captain and copilot. Those were the days! Not possible anymore.

Edited December 5, 2022 by MAD1

Stage 12 Dec. 9th. From Singapore to Surabaya Indonesia. (Dist. 887 Nm)

 

First I flew a reconnaissance round here with a Cessna 172. Looking for the New Big City.!!?? But there is nothing from Big City Singapore in this standard package FS9. So back to the AirPort. A City Tour with a Boeing B-747 was on the program (yes, already planned). But I don't like these "tourist buses". A Jumbo Cargo then? I have never flown such a big thing …. So let’s try. After a crash course, a B-747 started up, taxied and took off. Landed again after a nice round. With my Learjet 45 I flew from Singapore via Jakarta to Juanda Surabaya Indonesia. And then you think you can land directly in that direction? No. Just an other lap to runway 28 instead of 10. The link to 12 - Surabaya ..

Edited December 12, 2022 by Joop Kruize

Hi Joop. Interesting video Singapore surrounds and then Singapore to Surabaya. Interesting also as you were interested in, to see what is in the FS9 scenery etc. When you flew past the Petronas Towers (Petronas is the Malaysian state-owned oil company) in Kuala Lumpur, they were in probably because they were opened in 1999. Was interested to see if in Singapore the very futuristic Marina Bay Sands Skypark, but no, it was opened in 2010.

That's pretty cool. Almost looks like a mini golf course up there.

 

And pfft, it's only like $6 billion...

Edited December 15, 2022 by CRJ_simpilot

Stage 11 Dec. 1th. From Banda Aceh, North Sumatra to Singapore (Distance 612 Nm)

 

I did the City Tour with a Cessna 337, my favorite in Flight Gear. But in FS9 it's an unfinished copy with no real Cockpit. After a short section over inhabited areas, the tour went over the northern islands, Palau-We, -Breueh, -Nasi and back to Banda Aceh AirPort. In my Learjet 45 I started up and took off along the eastern coast to the south-east. This time a low flight route over the sea, coast and the hills to Medan. Here turn to the left over the Malakka water. The crossing to Malaysia gave a surprise. A TV tower and the Twin Tower of Kuala Lumpur. Wonderful this recognition. So flew by for a while. Splendid. Then the stretch to the southern tip and Singapore. A complex ATC procedure here, but after landing it became quiet. No guidance for taxiing and to the gate? Forgot to switch to “Ground” or something else?

The link to 11 - Singapore ..

[ATTACH=CONFIG]231823[/ATTACH]

 

Wasn't the Twin Tower of Kuala Lumpur shown and part of the movie Entrapment?

 

That was a great movie.

MAD1 and CRJ_Simpilot .. Thank you. Maybe I should have downloaded Singapore updates first with extra buildings, etc. Now I have flown to Ambon and landed with VFR. No ILS on some fields. The movie is still in progress. I am looking for a Learjet 60 to take me to de USA with dry feet. (Exchange my L45)