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Brussels To Madeira Via Ostend And Return By Cedric De Keyser (8 September 2004) Introduction Today I welcome you joining me on a virtual charter flight to one of the most popular holiday destinations for Europeans. This flight will depart from Brussels - National, Belgium (my home airport), we will take some further passengers at Ostend on the Belgian coast, then proceed to our sunny destination, a 459 square miles (741 km sq) island of the Atlantic, located some 310 miles (500 km) west of the African coast (Morocco) and 620 miles (990 km) southwest of the southern tip of Portugal, the country to which the Madeira archipelago belongs. We will fly in a Boeing 737-700 Next Generation (with winglets) 'glass cockpit' modern airliner. If the virtual aircraft model used here is a professional, very accurate replica of its real counterpart, the airline, however, is purely imaginary. 'Horizon Dreams' is a small virtual airline (no website) based at Brussels. The first aircraft flown was a B767-400, which made a virtual world tour (related in a preceding review) in the FS2002 time. When FS2004 came through, I upgraded to the B777-200ER (MelJet), but this aircraft is now being grounded until a professional Triple Seven panel environment is released for FS2004. When the PMDG 737NG was released for FS2004, I decided to add the smaller aircraft to the fleet, and then being able to visit smaller airfields. The PMDG aircraft was repainted in the virtual livery for my exclusive use (no textures upload). It was ferried from Seattle in late April and has now been carrying passengers on charter flights since the beginning of May from its Belgian base. Today the route proposed is, actually, not very original, because BRU - OST OST - FNC FNC - BRU is common to the real Belgian charter airlines (nowadays reduced to only two major carriers, Thomas Cook and TUI Airlines Belgium after the demise of Sobelair, which was the oldest charter company of the country). Charter carriers departing Brussels sometimes complete their load of passengers on a regional airport like Liege or Ostend. The latter was chosen today because of good available (freeware) scenery add-on and an interesting approach following the coast (see further). The final destination, for itself, is modeled by an outstanding and ultra-realistic commercial scenery add-on (see credits), which, up to me, makes the principal interest of this flight review. But first, let's fly the first leg of today's route. We are on Saturday, June 12, 2004. We are scheduled to request push back and start the engines at 13:35 local time and, unless a last minute delay for one reason of another, we should leave the gate right on schedule. Timetable. First Leg Brussels - Ostend Relatively nice weather today in Belgium, we have scattered clouds, light wind and a good visibility. We are though flying a 50 ton airliner and we won't reach the coast by following the Brussels-Ostend highway like we would do with some little aircraft under VFR conditions, but, even if this sector is very short (around 70 nm), we will make a full IFR flight with FMC-programmed navigation. This is so short, actually, that there is no flight plan! The route can be entirely determinated connecting a standard instrument departure (SID) from Brussels with a standard arrival (STAR) at the destination. In that way, taking off from runway 25R, we can follow the DENUT1C SID (EBBR), then proceed with the DENUT1A arrival at Ostend (EBOS). Unfortunately, these procedures are not included in the PMDG FMC database. I will manage with a COA4C departure, whose trajectory is analog and passes slightly north of the DENUT intersection, but we will not reach the COA (COSTA) VOR/DME located on the coast and right on the Belgium/Netherlands border, far behind Ostend's runway axis. Upon reaching DENUT, we will disengage FMC navigation and proceed with autopilot heading select mode in the beginning of the approach. Boarding the last passengers. We are on Pier A (North) at Brussels, departure runway 25R is seen behind For this first leg, we will just load the necessary fuel to fly to Ostend (of course, adding the usual extra fuel for the potential delays, holds or diversions) and the tanks will get their 'full' load at Ostend for the trip to Madeira. That means that we have only 5 tons of fuel on board. Payload, including crew, passengers and luggage is 7 tons, which gives us an aircraft gross weight (GW) of around 49 tons, far below the aircraft operational limit (MTOW) of 78 tons. With a flap setting of 5 degrees, the FMC gives us the following takeoff speeds: V1 = 94 kts, Vr = 98 kts, V2 = 111 kts. These are very low, indeed, because the fuel tanks are almost empty. The rotation speed (Vr) at which the nose of the aircraft rises up, is only 95 knots or a bit more than 180 km/h in this case. At 13:35 LMT (local mean time), we got our pushback clearance. This is also the moment when we start the engines. Everyone that has seen a jetliner from close up at least one time in his life knows that the engines are never started simultaneously. With a twin jet, the right engine (engine 2) is usually started first, then the left engine (engine 1). On this aircraft, we have a third engine located in the rear cone called APU or Auxiliary Power Unit which supplies power for various needs during the different phases of flight and, in particular, the engine start. With the kind of add-on that is used here, the 'CTRL + E' simplistic automatic engine start era is definitely over and we will do that just like they do in real life. First, we assume that the main battery is switched to ON and that the aircraft is under electrical power. We can then start the APU, switching it to START on the overhead panel and checking the EGT parameter in the nearby display that should be rising. You'll notice that the EGT, giving the engine exhaust gas temperature, clearly shows that the APU belongs to the same family as the two main engines for which, off course, the EGT is also given, but on the main panel (EICAS). If we go a little further, let's say that the APU is rather analog to the first twin spool turbojets like the JT8D that equipped the 737-200 or 727 series, the main engines (CFM56 for the newer 737's) are known as turbofans, equipping all modern airliners nowadays. Turbofans have two (sometimes three) spools, basically composed of a compressor and a turbine, rotating at two different speeds: the low pressure spool (N1) and the high pressure spool (N2). The first stage of the low pressure compressor, which can be seen from outside, is the fan, making a great difference with the first generation engines with its big diameter. The fan provides 80% of the engine thrust. This is why the reverse thrust used on landing is only taken from the fan exhaust, a flow of cold air that bypasses the 'hot gasses generator' composed of the combustion chamber and turbines, then also making the engine less noisy. Once the APU reaches a stable rating, the 'APU GEN' will light up and both APU generators can be started. The next step is to turn on the APU BLEED, which will allow pressurized air from the APU to initiate the engine cycle during engine start. Next, the fuel and hydraulic pumps are switched on. We are now able to start the right engine. The right engine start igniter is selected, then the right ignition knob is turned to the GRD position for a ground engine start, as, visibly, we are not in the air yet. At this time, pressurized air from the APU makes the right engine spools start rotating, but no fuel or ignition is added yet. To do that, we have to wait that the N2 spool reaches a determined rate (RPM). At 20% N2 (given by the engine indicators on the EICAS), the fuel cutoff lever for the right engine, located next to the thrust levers, is opened. The air and fuel mixture is then immediately ignited and the engine starts up to idle. The same operation is repeated for the left engine. Left engine start. We are about to reach 20% N2 for the left engine and will open up the left fuel cutoff lever (next picture) within a second. Once both engines are started, the left and right engine generators are turned on, engines bleed air valves are opened (and the APU bleed air turned off). Finally, the APU is switched off and the yaw damper is turned on. Anti-collision and strobe lights are also turned on, we are soon ready to taxi. Horizon 1206, taxi to and hold short of runway two five right by taxiways Oscar six and Bravo one. Contact tower on one one eight decimal six when ready - We are lucky today as the gate assignment leaves us relatively close to runway 25R holding point. After a very short taxi we are reaching the queue and are number two (or three) for takeoff: we are preceded by two US wide bodies (two 767-300 of United and Delta Airlines), but a further 747 of Korean Air Cargo, using the taxiway W4 in a way to get the maximum available runway length for takeoff, could also depart before us. Queue Aerial and passenger views of the holding point when the UA777 already rolls out The 767 of Delta Airlines is lining up. We are now number one in the queue. Behind are 737-300, A320 and BAe 146 types. This picture clearly shows the size difference between the Next Generation 737 and the older 737-300/400/500 series. Before takeoff checklist: RECALL SWITCH.............................................................SET FLIGHT CONTROLS.........................................................CHECK FLAPS.....................................................................SET STABILIZER TRIM...........................................................SET We got the takeoff clearance before the 747. Horizon 1206, taxi into position and hold Horizon 1206, cleared for takeoff runway 25R, wind 240 degrees five knots Cleared for takeoff checklist: ENGINE START SWITCHES................................................... CONT LANDING LIGHTS.............................................................ON STROBE LIGHTS..............................................................ON AUTOTHROTTLE..............................................................ARM* TRANSPONDER................................................................ON PASSENGER SIGNS............................................................ON** AUTOBRAKE.................................................................RTO** Notice: * Slightly diverging here from the reality usual procedures, I don't use the VNAV function of the autopilot, controlling altitude and speeds following the FMC instructions, as I prefer to handle that myself in the simulation. This is why, in this case, the autothrottle will not be armed now. The speed control will however be activated during the cruise flights. ** The passenger signs are set since the cockpit preparation checklist and the autobrake set to RTO since the before start checklist (not published here). Ready for takeoff. The thrust levers were advanced to 40% N1. Checking the engine instruments (N1 end N2 ratings, EGT and fuel flow) normal, full thrust is not applied but only the necessary thrust to make the aircraft fly in this configuration, as calculated by the FMC. The FMC gives us 93.8% N1. The aircraft starts accelerating, we soon hear the calls '80 knots', followed by 'V1' (at this moment, takeoff cannot be aborted whatever happens)...'VR'...'V2' (the scheduled take off target speed). As soon as a positive rate of climb is shown on the PFD (Primary Flight Display), I call 'gear up'. My 1970th or so IFR virtual flight is airborne! Takeoff. Autopilot is directly engaged, first, the V/S function that commands pitch to hold vertical speed, then, once passing 300 feet AGL, the LNAV (Lateral Navigation) function, which makes the aircraft automatically follow the route programmed on the Flight Management Computer. This results in a right turn to the north (first heading to Nicky VOR/DME) immediately after takeoff. Starting the right turn immediately after takeoff. At V2 + 15 (126 kts here), flaps are set back to 1 and once passing 1000 feet the wing is completely cleaned. Thrust is also set back to 80% N1. Climbing in the clouds. The Korean Air 747-400F that took off just after us is seen behind. We are quickly reaching our cruise altitude of 10,000 feet. Autothrottle is then engaged to observe 250 kts IAS (which gives us a true airspeed of around 500 km/h). The confluence of the Scheldt and Rupel rivers south of Antwerp. The flight path above Flanders makes us follow the south bank of the Scheldt estuary. Once approaching the coast, we will turn left, already joining our final approach heading, almost parallel to the Belgian coast, for an ILS runway 26 approach at Ostend. The descent will start a little before the left turn. The Scheldt estuary. Descent has already started. Descent and Approach checklist: FMC...........................................DEP/ARR page set to VREF speeds ANTI-ICE..........................................................As required PRESSURIZATION...........................................Verify cabin descent AUTOBRAKE..........................................................As desired TRANSITION ALTITUDE..................Set altimeter to local altimeter setting FINAL APPROACH COURSE....................................Set course as needed MINIMUMS......................................Set Decision Altitude as needed VHF NAV RADIOS............................ Set as required for final approach The approach reference speeds following the flap setting are given as follow by the FMC: FLAPS VREF 15° 126 KT 30° 122 KT 40° 119 KT NAV frequencies are set as follow: NAV1: 109.5 MHz, this is the ILS frequency at Ostend NAV2: no setting as Ostend is not equipped with VOR/DME ADF is set to 399.5 (ONO NDB right on the runway axis) and course is set to 259° (the runway heading). For this approach procedure, and despite good weather conditions, I decided to perform a full automatic landing as a little exercise. At 26 nautical miles from destination, the localizer signal came alive. The autopilot heading select mode was engaged, the LNAV function then automatically turned off. Once the localizer (LOC) was intercepted, the VOR/LOC function was engaged. This makes the aircraft follow the vertical ideal approach plane (heading). The glideslope (G/S), which materializes the horizontal ideal approach plane (altitude), came alive at 23 nm. Once the glideslope was on its turn captured, the autopilot APP (Approach) mode was engaged. The ideal approach path, intersection of the two planes, is then entirely controlled by the autopilot. We just have to care about the approach speed and flaps setting. On final approach heading. In the distance is the port of Zeebrugge, second industrial sea port in Belgium after Antwerp. In real life, autothrottle should be kept on until the aircraft reaches about 100 ft AGL. Once again, I really prefer handling that myself keeping my right hand on the thrust levers. We have now reached the final approach altitude of 2000 feet. Slats are extended. Landing checklist: ENGINE START SWITCHES......................................................ON RECALL........................................................Checked/Cleared SPEEDBRAKE..................................................ARMED/Green light LANDING GEAR.....................................................DOWN 3 green FLAPS..................................................................40 SET Last seconds in the air. Below is the canal Gent-Oostende and the port of Ostend can be seen in the distance. Lower and lower... Short final. Spoilers armed. As seen on the PFD, AP approach mode is still engaged (LOC and G/S). 500....400....300....200....100....50....40....30....20....10 radio altitude callouts were heard, exactly the same as the real ones. Passing 30 feet the autopilot was disengaged and the aircraft then manually taken into control for the last second in the air. We kissed the ground at 117 kts (216 km/h). Spoilers deployed and reverse thrust was activated. We slowed down rather quickly. At 60 kts, reverse thrust was cancelled. We could exit the runway using taxiway E1, almost at 2/3 of the runway. Touchdown! Braking... on this picture the reverser can be seen in action. Ostend is a small regional airport, mainly turned to cargo activities. No scheduled flights are operated here (unless a liaison to London Stansted by Ryanair that was cancelled a few months ago). After a very short taxi in to APRON 2, we could go on to the shutdown sequence. Read next part

Brussels To Madeira Via Ostend And Return By Cedric De Keyser (8 September 2004) Shutdown checklist: FUEL PUMPS................................................................OFF FASTEN SEATBELTS SIGN.....................................................OFF ELECTRIC HYDRAULIC PUMPS..................................................OFF ENGINE START SWITCHES.....................................................OFF AUTOBRAKE SWITCH..........................................................OFF SPEED BRAKES.............................................................DOWN FLAPS......................................................................UP PARKING BRAKES............................................................SET FUEL CUTOFF LEVERS........................................................OFF TRANSPONDER...............................................................OFF No airbridges here! Arrival time: 14:02 LMT (12:02 GMT), half an hour after engine start. The turnaround time, including refueling, additional passengers and luggage boarding, is around half an hour also. We will then proceed to Madeira, the sunny destination of today. Second Leg: Ostend To Madeira Now that we are on the ground again for a little while, let's go through the FMC programming for our next sector. First, after quickly checking the IDENT and POS INIT pages (pre-flight initialization), we have to fill in the Departure and Destination airports on the RTE (Route) 1/x page, typing their 4-letter ICAO codes on the FMC keyboard, or, we can also call a previously encoded flight plan using the CO ROUTE text line. We can also specify which runway will be used for takeoff at the departure airport. FMC RTE. The FMC then gives us the possibility to ACTIVATE the route. Once this is done, we can press the EXEC button and then proceed with the FMC preparation in the PERF INIT page. On the PERF INIT page are specified various parameters like the aircraft gross weight, the inboard fuel, the zero fuel weight (ZFW), the extra fuel reserve (in tons) and the cruise altitude. As we can see the GW is now around 58 tons and around 12 tons of fuel are loaded for the trip to Madeira. We have an additional load of passengers bringing the payload to 8 tons now. FMC Perf Init. Once this page is complete, we must ACTIVATE it again and then go to the N1 LIMIT page, which is used to select the thrust performance desired during takeoff and climb. Thrust derates, used in real life when the aircraft is lighter than Maximum Takeoff Weight to reduce acceleration forces and deck angle (for economical and structural reasons) when allowed by the runway length and climb clearance, will not be simulated here. FMC N1 Limit. We can then proceed to the TAKEOFF REF page where final aircraft takeoff configuration is programmed. We must fill in the flap setting that will be used for takeoff. In real life, crewmembers must also enter V1, VR and V2 according to the takeoff speeds table (an example is given below). Takeoff speeds. Hopefully, PMDG has automated the process for virtual pilots, kindly populating the V1, VR and V2 with the correct figures. FMC Takeoff Ref. But that's not all! Let's now take a look at our flight plan. The DEP/ARR pages gives us the possibility to specify which SID, if available, will be used at the departure airport (the takeoff runway has already been specified on the RTE page) and which STAR (if available) and runway will be used on arrival. Of course, active STAR(s) and runway(s) at the destination are not supposed to be known from the departure airport and these can be specified later during the flight. Today we will fly a CARLA 2M departure from Ostend, which makes us turn right heading 295° immediately after takeoff runway 26, then, flying over the sea on track 268° bound to the CARLA intersection and then Dover VOR/DME. At the destination, we are likely to expect a SNT 2A arrival from Porto Santo VOR/DME followed by a runway 5 visual approach. Unfortunately and once again, these SID/STAR are not included in the database. We will then fly them using the chart and autopilot heading select mode, prior to engage FMC navigation (LNAV mode) on the departure phase. The flight plan is defined by a succession of waypoints or fixes, either VOR/DME, VOR, NDB or intersections, whose principal information interesting the FMC are their geographical coordinates (latitude, longitude). The FMC, once completely programmed, is able to perform accurate navigation, using the conjunction of the Inertial Reference System (IRS) and the newer Global Positioning System (GPS) and, when available, DME/VOR information to constantly update the position and speed of the aircraft. Today's route, following the High Altitude airways, will be: EBOS CARLA2M CARLA DVR LYD UG27 HAWKE DRAKE UA34 SITET UN859 ETRAT DVL LGL UN872 ROLEN PEPON KURIS BAKUL ERIGA TUROP ATLEN AVS KORET BARKO CANAR VIS FTM ESP UN975 NARTA UN745 GALPA SNT SNT2A LPMA We see that many intersections (like HAWKE), which are not physical objects but only 'coordinates', are used, with a few VOR beacons (Dover, Lydd, Deauville, L'Aigle, Asturias, Viseu, Fatima, Espichel and Porto Santo). The airways used (e.g. UG27) are included also. The route can then be considerably simplified, by eliminating all the fixes located on the same airway, only keeping, for each airway, the last fix before airway change or arrival procedure: EBOS CARLA2M CARLA DVR LYD UG27 DRAKE UA34 SITET UN859 LGL UN872 ESP UN975 NARTA UN745 SNT SNT2A LPMA In a way to prevent the typing of every fix name along a route of flight, the FMC allows crewmembers to define the 'route to follow' in the VIA column of the Route page. This will be illustrated in the return journey. We will first fly to Dover in the UK, then cross the Channel again and reach the French coast near Le Havre. We will then cross Normandy and Brittany and leave France near the city of Nantes, then cross the Gulf of Gascogne. The Spanish coast will be reached at Asturias (near the city of Oviedo). We will then cross the Iberic peninsula and leave Europe above Lisbon, before flying over the Atlantic. Finally, we will pass over Porto Santo (which is our alternate destination for today) and the next dry land will be the island of Madeira. In the beginning of our flight, we will actually make a detour, since no airways directly connect the Belgian coast with western France, which implies a longer way over the Channel. At the present time, aircraft must follow published routes and are not allowed to fly directly from origin to destination. There are projects to consider that in the future. Finally, I check the CRZ (Cruise) page on the FMC. This is were the cruise speed is specified, here as Mach number. FMC CRZ. Since the VNAV function will not be used, specifying the cruise speed on the FMC will not control the autopilot, but is however necessary to ensure proper information on the PROGRESS page, which supplies important information during the entire flight about navigation, fuel and time. FMC Progress. Now, we are still on the ground. The departure airport (EBOS) then appears as the previous fix, with aircraft altitude at time of fix crossing (which is nothing else here than the airfield elevation), the Actual Time of Arrival (ATA) which corresponds, in this case, to the local time, and the fuel on board at the time of fix crossing (the total fuel in this case). The current fix of the flight plan is the CARLA intersection, 33 nm away. Please note that, if the CARLA2M SID had been included in the database and then specified on the Departure page, additional fixes defining the flight path to CARLA would have been added in the flight plan. Next fix will be the DVR VOR/DME with the direct ground track (269°) from current fix. Destination airport (LPMA) is shown at the bottom, with the distance to go (the entire flight distance in this case) of 1490 nm (2756 km), the Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA - the z means Zulu or GMT) and the predicted fuel remaining on arrival. We also see that the Top of Climb (T/C) is 72 nm away and should be reached at around 13:00 GMT, if we assume that we are departing now. At 14:30 LMT (12:30Z) pushback and engine start sequence begin. Runway 26 still being the active runway, a little backtrack will be necessary as no taxiway is connecting to the runway treshold. A view of the overhead panel after the 'After start' checklist. Ready to taxi. Yes Ostend is the place to see old Russian aircraft: behind is an Antonov 12 freighter. Takeoff, immediate right turn on track 295° on the CARLA2M SID. Departure, now on track 268° bound to CARLA and Dover. The Belgian coast is on left side - in this view we can see the Yser river and the coastal city of Nieuwpoort. On climb about to reach CARLA. The ND (Navigation Display) Plan mode clearly shows the detour made on the first legs of today's route. Climbing over the Channel. London Center has now cleared us to our final cruise altitude of 35,000 feet (10500 m). At 13:00z the top of climb was reached. Our cruise speed of Mach 0.8 (278 kts IAS - 461 kts TAS - 850 km/h) was reached seven minutes later. The cruise flight, entirely controlled by the autopilot, was uneventful. Interesting sights of the French, Spanish and Portugese coasts were catched. The ND Map/Arc mode before reaching T/C. Both French and British airports can be seen on the display. London Gatwick (EGKK) appears, N-E of current position. Passing the ETRAT intersection, probably linked to the famous 'Etretat' limestone cliffs just below. The city of Le Havre with Octeville airport can be seen between the clouds. Passing LGL VOR/DME in Normandy. From now on the flight path will look more like a straight line. Since FS2002 we are not alone any more in the skies. Other traffic is an A320 type of British Airways on its way home. The Spanish coast (current fix: Asturias VOR/DME). Passing Lisbon and the Tage mouth. Reaching the Top of Descent. Destination is 90 nm away. Descent started 84 nautical miles (155 km) from destination, first selecting -2500 ft/min as vertical speed. Thrust was directly set back to idle as the little experience I have on the 737NG tells me that the bird is somewhat hard to slow down. The island of Porto Santo, located some 33 nm northeast of Madeira, quickly appeared and grew larger. The SNT VOR/DME located on the island coast - the last fix of the flight plan - is supposed to be crossed at 4000 feet. This is were the SNT2A standard arrival to Madeira airport begins. Descending towards Porto Santo. Madeira island can already be seen in the distance. Approaching Porto Santo. As soon as we touch the coast, we turn right on track 263° (coming from the track 235°) on the first segment of the STAR, which makes us fly over Porto Santo airport, whose 9843 feet (3000 m) runway is almost as long as the island is wide. LNAV is disengaged as AP heading select mode takes place (the STAR cannot be flown using the FMC as it is not included in the database). Porto Santo airport just below. Still descending. Speed brakes, set to FLIGHT DETENT, are extended to their maximum position for inflight use. At 9 nm from SNT VOR/DME, we turn left on track 213° to join Funchal (FUN) VOR/DME descending to 3000 feet. FUN VOR/DME, located on a foreland, is the point were the approach - and the party - begins. Heading to Funchal VOR/DME. This is now Madeira! Speed is reduced and flaps begin to slide backwards. The ND is now turned to VOR mode (EFIS panel) during the approach. Course is set to the runway heading (52°). Passing FUN. We are already very low. Wind turbines can be seen on the top of the cliffs. Speaking of wind, the party would not be perfect without it. To make this approach even more thrilling, a steady 20 kts (40 km/h) crosswind coming from the 120° sector has been added to the fun (if I may say). In real life, Madeira islands are known to be rather windy. This is the very first time I land on this new scenery. My previous visit to Madeira dates back to February 2000, I was flying for Sobelair at that time, still using FS98. The scenery used was then the former Funchal airport, which had a 1800m 06/24 runway. In the real world, in February 1995, a major overhaul of the airport led to what it looks today (and so does the scenery used now), renamed as Madeira airport: the runway has been re-oriented (becoming 05/23) and extended to 2781 meters. The new runway was partially constructed over a concrete platform supported by 180 pillars, constituting the greatest civil engineering work ever carried out in Madeira. Read other parts

Brussels To Madeira Via Ostend And Return By Cedric De Keyser (8 September 2004) The airport is known as a dangerous one. Wind conditions and the surrounding mountains make the approach challenging. Terrain is rising very quickly from the coast, leaving almost no flat ground between the relief and sea. The airport is then mainly constructed on a artificial base. When I first visited it four years ago, flying a B737-400, I landed on runway 24 and two (!) missed approaches are reported in my flight logbook. Let's see how I will deal with the runway 5 approach on the new airport. FUN passed. Serious things are beginning now! The airport is already clearly visible. This is a visual approach procedure. No navaid, at all, is located on the airport. There is no question here of IGS, ILS approaches or automatic landing. In a word, this is a place where the good old hand flying skills are hard demanded. The procedure looks like a tight half turn, mainly above sea, whose downwind leg is about 2 nm (3.5 km) away from the airport and final leg, following the runway axis, is only 1.1 nm (2 km) long. The very first part of the approach, however, is still under instrument rules: we fly on track 213° until reading 3.6 nm at the DME from FUN, descending to and maintaining 1140 feet (recommended) or 940' (minimum). Once this point (named MAP) is reached, the visual procedure begins. Autopilot is then disengaged. Recommended Indicated Air Speed is then 190 kt (350 km/h). Passing MAP, beginning of the visual procedure. Runway platform is visible below the flaps. Next, we proceed on track (theorically under visual) until reading 6 nm at the DME. At this time, the procedure turn will begin. Downwind leg on track 213°. Gear down. The turn path is given, on its end, by the two reporting points of GELO and ROSARIO, which should be crossed at 850' for the first and 460' for the second. They are located at the ends of the arc of a circle that follows the coast line. Between GELO and ROSARIO a curved LDIN approach light system has been installed (which, off course, makes us remember the famous Kai Tak airport at Hong Kong, now closed). Things are happening fast, very fast indeed. I managed to follow, with a rather good accuracy, the turn procedure but I had trouble on the final leg, most probably because of this crosswind! Missed approach? Not so far! Crosswind landings are not an exclusive of Madeira airport and, despite some adrenaline for all the people on board, the bird was safely down a few seconds later. I agree, not right on the runway centerline, but considering the two missed approaches of my distant previous visit, it sounds quite like a good job. Starting the procedure turn. The tight half turn as seen from outside... ... and from the passenger's seat. Between GELO and ROSARIO. Trying to follow the coast line to join the final leg. Almost on final. We will have to deal with the crosswind now. It looks not too bad. We are still able to be successful with this approach, but are still too high. Yes this is a crosswind landing. We've almost made it. Touchdown! Left main gear on runway centerline. Not a perfect landing I agree... Safely down. Engineers have done a great work here. After landing, a backtrack was necessary before exiting the runway via taxiway B (one of the two short taxiways of the airport facilities). We reached our parking position on the apron at 16:20z, after a 3 hour and 50 minute flight. We will take some rest and enjoy Madeira's sun for a little while before getting prepared for our return sector to Brussels in the late evening. Arrival in the sun. Welcome to Madeira! Final Leg: Madeira To Brussels The return sector will be a night flight. Scheduled arrival is around 2:00 am local time at Brussels, a rather usual hour for a medium haul charter flight. The departure will though take place during sunset, at 21:20 LMT. Some CB clouds had gathered above Madeira but the wind, for its own, had calmed down, giving us no major worry for the departure sequence. The bird enjoying the last sunlight of the day. Taking off from runway 05, we'll fly the SNT 3N SID, which makes us turn right on track 089° immediately after takeoff. Once reading 4 nm from the Funchal VOR/DME, a left turn is planned on track 040° to join the PST (Porto Santo) NDB and then the Porto Santo VOR/DME. Let's take a look at our return flight plan: LPMA SNT3N SNT UN745 NARTA MAGUM BARDI UN873 ZMR FERMO PATEL RONIR RUXON NTS ARDOD SORAP EVX BELDI VEKIN UZ173 ARVOL ARVOL2A EBBR As we can see, we follow the UN873 airway from the BARDI intersection, located south of Salamanca in Spain to the VEKIN intersection, somewhere southeast of Lille in France (the airway between VEKIN and ARVOL being used by inbound traffic to Brussels-National only). The flight plan can then be dramatically simplified in this case: LPMA SNT3N SNT UN745 BARDI UN873 VEKIN ARVOL ARVOL2A EBBR ... this short line entirely defines a 1465 nm (2700 km) journey! Return flight plan stands in only one page. Last page (3/3) contains the STAR fixes. A view of the 737NG virtual cockpit just before engine start. Ready for takeoff. So long Madeira. Departure leg on track 089° We're going home! Climbing to FL340. The ARVOL 2A arrival procedure for Brussels makes us pass near the city of Tournai in the Belgian province of Hainaut, then through Flanders via the AKOVI, RODRI and KERKY fixes. Actually, this arrival procedure make us not fly directly to the airport but a rather long westerly detour as soon as we cross the France/Belgium border. From KERKY, located near the Affligem VOR/DME, west of Brussels, we are likely to expect radar vectoring for an ILS runway 25L approach or being asked to follow the published approach path. Weather at Brussels is quite good again, broken stratus at 3000' and good visibility (10 km or more). In that way, arriving from the West and landing in the opposite direction, we requested the base turn earlier than stated on the full ILS official procedure, whose downwind leg leads to Bruno VOR/DME (BUN transition), located almost 20 nm N-E of the airport. This time, the landing was also performed manually. The Nav Display and the FMC PROGRESS page seen as we cross the Belgian border. We have a 25 kts tailwind. Descending, approaching RODRI. Below is the city of Geraardsbergen. Still descending, now on the downind leg. The illuminated road (A12) is one of the two highways connecting Brussels with Antwerp. Brussels could be seen in the distance, but is now hidden by the clouds. Localizer capture. The runway is 3.4 nm (6 km) away. Final. At midnight GMT (2:00 local) we reached the Satellite terminal. If all the children on board may have been asleep, the airport was still awake... The faithful aircraft would rest a while before its next virtual adventure, taking passengers to the endless sun in northern Norway! Welcome back to Brussels, it's 2:00 local time. Please remain seated until the engines and aircraft have come to a complete stop... Credits The following software was used to make this review: Main: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight Commercial aircraft add-on: 737NG The Next Generation by PMDG Commercial scenery add-on: Wonderful Madeira developed by Luis Sa and Jose Fortuna (Aerosoft) Commercial AI Traffic add-on: Ultimate Traffic 2004 by Flight1 Software Soviet AI aircraft taken from My Traffic 2004 (Aerosoft) Freeware scenery add-on: EBBR 2004 Brussels National airport scenery by Robert Buysen V3.2 (beta) Ostend airport scenery by Benoit Facon and Hans Vandale (EBOS2002 Team) Belgium VFR scenery V2.2-patch 3D by Freddy Bridoux FS2002 replacement night textures by Chris Willis (FSW Group) Runway replacement black texture by V. Nauta (RWYBLKNG.ZIP) Portugal PPP scenery V2.2 for FS2004 by J. Diogo, J. Oliveira, M. Kispo, N. Chambel SIDs, STARs, Approach Charts and Airports diagrams were all provided by SimCharts V3.0 by Jeppesen (commercial). Further documents or inspiration sources include PMDG's 737 Flight Manual (Aircraft systems and cockpit overview, Normal procedures and checklists, FMC manual), Boeing official website, Wonderful Madeira's manual, real Jeppesen enroute charts for Europe (published on March 2003) and a real computed flight plan kindly given by the crew after a Virgin Express flight from LEMD to EBBR in July 2002. Many thanks go to the developers of those quality add-ons, and also to the authors of feature articles and other flight reviews published on FlightSim.Com (the latter being 'Golden Argosy' by Tony Vallilo) that may also have inspired this one. Note: some of the images that were given here, being reductions of the original FS2004 screenshots, have been slightly enhanced (contrast, edge) for better rendering. Any comments of questions about this review are welcome. I already give you a rendez-vous in the future with a new trip around the world! Read other parts Cedric De Keyser cdk@ngi.be