Around the world in 175 days.

[blanston12]

I have recently been inspired by a virtual around the world by Peter McLeland that he had been posting on the CBFS forum. I began to think about doing something similar, but did not want to just copy what he was doing. My research on alternatives and came across the story of the very first flight around the world. In March/April of 1924 a team from the United States Army Air Service, started there attempt to be the first to fly around the world. The aircraft they used was the 'Douglas World Cruiser', a modification of the Douglas DT-2, an early 1920's torpedo bomber being built at the time for the US Navy. It was a two seat, open cockpit bi-plane powered by a 400hp surplus Liberty engine that on average had to be replaced every 60 hours of flight time. It could be easily converted from wheels to floats and was modified to carry 644 gallons (2,438 liters) of fuel (up from 115 gallons).

They started there adventure in Santa Monica California, the site of the Douglas Aircraft factory and flew to Seattle where the trip was to officially began. They made 74 stops, travelled 26,345 Statute miles (22,893 nm) and took 175 days, passing through Alaska, Japan, China, French Indochina (now Vietnam), India, Persia, Turkey, Austria, France, Britain, Iceland, Greenland and Canada (and several other countries along the way) before returning back to the United States. Along the way they lost two aircraft, one crashed in Alaska, one force landed in the North Atlantic and sank but all the crews survived.

Most of my information on the trip came from the book “Around the world in 175 days” by Carroll V. Glines and will liberally quote from this book while writing my descriptions.

In planning this first thing I discovered was I could not find a Douglas World Cruiser that was really up to the standard I wanted to use. I found one that was a FS2002/2004 model that looked pretty primitive in FSX/P3D and whose panel was way to modern, the original aircraft only had four gauges in the cockpit. Besides I don't think I would have the patience to fly this single slow aircraft for the entire trip, so instead I will make the trip around the world also a trip through the history of aviation, starting with something early from the Wright Brothers and ending with something very modern. Trying to make sure that whatever aircraft I use was still in production after all the previous aircraft were introduced. This will give me an excuse to dig into my large collection of aircraft I have amassed.

I will try to fly the original route as close as possible. Many of the early legs will be broken up into multiple shorter since many of the early aircraft I will be using are not as capable as the DWC. When possible I will try to fly at 1x speed with real world weather. Most of the flights will be flown using P3D v3.4 or FSX but some may be flown in X-Plane depending on what works best for the aircraft/location. I worked out a plan that involves 85 stops covering 25,875 statute miles/22485 nm, we will see how many days it takes me.

I do reserve the right to patch in the hand held GPS/Radio on aircraft not equipped, and to install a period appropriate autopilot on aircraft that are not equipped but could plausibly have been so.

The entire trip will be recorded using the FSAirlines.net flight tracking client. FSAirlines has mostly been used as a system for users to manage the economics of running there own virtual airline and to keep track of there flights. But they have a new feature in beta testing where you can rent just about any aircraft you want for a short period.

Having said all that, the adventure begins.....

Note and apologies in advance, I broke the first leg of the flight into five parts and wanted to finish all five parts before posting so it may seam like I am bombarding the forum in this post, but I won't do it again.

[blanston12]

March 17, 1924. The four pilots had assembled at the Douglas Factory at the airport in Santa Monica California. Over the previous few months they had completed there training, each pilot had selected a mechanic to fly with them and done a test flight from Santa Monica to ¬San Diego and back. Major Frederick Martin had selected Sergeant Alva Harvey to be his mechanic and co-pilot. Lt Lowell H. Smith had selected Lt. Leslie P. Arnold, Lt. Leigh P. Wade had selected Sergeant Henry H. Ogden, and Lt. Erik Nelson had selected Lt. Jack Harding. Lt. Nelson had experienced engine problems on his test flight to San Diego and decided to have the engine on his aircraft replaced. The other three crews loaded up there aircraft and started flying for Sacramento California, Lt Nelson would catch up with them later.


May 25, 2017. For this first leg I was using the Wright Model B, created by First Class Simulations. Of all the aircraft I plan to use, this one scares me the most. The Model B was the first mass produced aircraft by the Wright Brothers, and when you read about the number of pilots killed flying it, in the few years it was actually used you get the feeling its a death trap. You are literally sitting in a seat attached to the leading edge of the wing with very little frame around you. The window of speeds between stalling and over speed is pretty small and the aircraft is very underpowered. I had too increase the propeller efficiency from .6 to .75 just to give enough power to get off the ground and stay airborne. This morning the weather was perfect for flying, clear, winds 3-4kn, perfect for flying an aircraft that cruises at 45mph. I did not think this aircraft would get over the Tehachapi mountains north of Los Angeles so I decided to fly up the California coast instead. So today my destination is the city of Santa Barbara, 73 nm away. The flight was thankfully uneventful, and I arrived at the Santa Barbara Municipal airport 1.4 hours later. Here are a few pics from the flight.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.11/wc.0.1.1.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.11/wc.0.1.1.2.jpg
Climbing out of Santa Monica, the trip is finally started!


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.11/wc.0.1.1.3.jpg
Flying over Santa Monica heading for the coast

[blanston12]

Here are a few more pics from the first part.

https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.11/wc.0.1.1.4.jpg
Heading up the coast.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.11/wc.0.1.1.5.jpg
The harbor in Ventura California.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.11/wc.0.1.1.6.jpg
My destination, the Santa Barbara Airport.

[blanston12]

March 17, 1924. “The three planes departed Santa Monica as scheduled but ran into low clouds over the Tehachapi Mountains so they had to zigzag through the passes”. Lt. Smith with his accurate knowledge of these mountains was assigned to lead the way.


May 26, 2017. The aircraft I decided to use is the Morane-Saulnier H, a french sport monoplane that was produced from 1913 up until the beginning of World War 1, and in the war saw limited service as a reconnaissance aircraft. It was widely copied in Germany and was the basis for the Pfalz E.I-E.VI and the Fokker 'Eindecker' monoplane fighters, with more powerful engines and a synchronized machine gun.


The aircraft model I am using today was created by Jean-Michel Castagne, which is greats. Another great flying day in Santa Barbara California, clear, few clouds, winds steady at 7kn. I need to fly down the coast a short distance before turning inland to get over the mountains that are north the city, after that it was an easy flight, I picked up the freeway that runs trough this area and followed it to my destination, the San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport, 63 nm away, which I arrived at after 1.1 hours of flying. Here are a few pics from the flight.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.12/wc.0.1.2.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.12/wc.0.1.2.2.jpg
Climbing out of Santa Barbara, need get some altitude to get over the hill.

[blanston12]

A few more pics on the way to San Luis Obispo

https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.12/wc.0.1.2.3.jpg
Over the hill, Santa Maria is just on the Horizon


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.12/wc.0.1.2.4.jpg
Pismo Beach and my destination of San Louis Obispo are now in sight.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.12/wc.0.1.2.5.jpg
On Final.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.12/wc.0.1.2.6.jpg
Parked at the airport, Hey there are people here to greet me!

[blanston12]

March 17, 1924. The three aircraft piloted by Major Martin, Lt Smith and Lt Wade are on there way to Sacramento.


May 27, 2017. San Luis Obispo, California. For the next leg I decided to fly the Curtiss JN-4 Jenny. The Jenny first flew in 1915 and many thousands were produced during WW1. After they war surplus Jenny's flooded market and did much to fuel the barnstorming ear and the growth aviation in early 1920's. The model I am using was the one originally in FS2004 and was upgraded to FSX by David Grindele. When I first tried it in P3D it had a hard time getting enough speed to take off so I converted the rear skid to a steerable tail wheel, and gave it brakes while I was at it, and then it worked like a champ. Weather today in SLO was mostly clear, good flying weather except for a 17 kn head wind. My destination for today was the Monterey Regional Airport, 100 nm up the coast. Now flying an aircraft that has a cruise speed 52 kn and an endurance of 2 hours (range = 104 nm), I figured I may not make it in this aircraft, but I read that some Jenny's were modified to increase there fuel capacity from 21 gallons to 31 gallons, I figured I could make that field modification and hope that would be enough, but I did not have to worry, I think the fuel consumption in the old FS9 model was too low to start with and neither David nor myself had noticed or updated it so I got there with plenty of fuel. I did have P3D crash on me when I was 25nm out so I had to restart and I used x16 to get myself back to where I was. I arrived at KMRY after 1.7 hours of flying. Here are a few pics from the flight.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.13/wc.0.1.3.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.13/wc.0.1.3.2.jpg
Climbing out of San Luis Obispo


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.13/wc.0.1.3.3.jpg
Morro Bay Harbor with Morro Rock at its mouth.

[blanston12]

A few more on the way to Monterey.

https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.13/wc.0.1.3.4.jpg
Heading up the California coast.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.13/wc.0.1.3.5.jpg
Hearst Castle


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.13/wc.0.1.3.6.jpg
The city of Monterey with the airport in sight!

[blanston12]

March 17, 1924. The three aircraft piloted by Major Martin, Lt Smith and Lt Wade are on there way to Sacramento.


May 27, 2017. Took a bit of a rest in Monterey, then pulled out the Albatros D.III for the next leg of the trip. The D.III first flew in 1916 and was one of the leading fighters the during the period of German aerial dominance known as "Bloody April" 1917. The model I am using for this leg is the A2A Simulations 'Aircraft Factory' model, which is very nice. Compared to the previous aircraft I have used on this trip, the extra power in the Albatros will be very useful getting over the Santa Cruz mountains that are between me and my destination, the Oakland International Airport, 70.5 nm away. The weather was again excellent for flying, 12 kn winds with scattered clouds. Here are a few pics from the flight.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.14/wc.0.1.4.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff.

https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.14/wc.0.1.4.2.jpg
Climbing out of Monterey


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.14/wc.0.1.4.3.jpg
Up the coast toward Santa Cruz

[blanston12]

A few more on the way to Oakland.

https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.14/wc.0.1.4.4.jpg
Cruising along.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.14/wc.0.1.4.5.jpg
On final into Oakland.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.14/wc.0.1.4.6.jpg
Landed. I would have taxied to parking but since the AC has no brakes and just a skid in back, I will stop here.[/quote]

[blanston12]

March 17, 1924. The three planes arrived at Mather Field, Sacramento California after 4.5 hours of flying and were greeted by the Mayor and a crowd of several hundred, after servicing there aircraft they were taken into town to a dinner in here honor given by the Chamber of Commerce.


March 29, 2017. I was busy yesterday and could not fly, this morning I get the Avro 504K ready for the next leg. The Avro 504 first flew in 1913 and almost 9000 were built before the last variant was produced in 1932. The K model was built staring in 1917 and was widely used as a trainer and even a fighter for Home Defense squadrons. Many hundreds were sold for civilian use after the war. I will be using the 504K from the A2A Aircraft Factory.


Weather today is wet and foggy, 700 foot ceiling and 10-15kn winds, the control tower denied by VFR take off request so I will have to go without permission. I had originally picked Oakland as a destination because from here I could do a tourist flight over the city of San Francisco before heading to Sacramento, at first I though it would be too foggy but I see the clouds over the city are not so bad. After taking a few selfies by the tourist spots I headed up the bay, staying over the water since the tops of the hills were mostly in clouds, it did not clear up till I was through the bay and over the Sacramento Delta, then it was a short flight to Sacramento Mather Airport, formerly Mather Air Force Base, formerly Mather Field. As the crow flies Mather is 58 nm from Oakland Airport but my round about route took me 1.2 hours. My scenic route took 6.1 hours of flying compared to the 4.5 in the original flight but since I broke it up into 5 parts I am now four days behind. Here are a few pics from my flight.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.15/wc.0.1.5.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.15/wc.0.1.5.2.jpg
Maybe the clouds over SF are not so bad after all.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.15/wc.0.1.5.3.jpg
Flying over the Golden Gate Bridge.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.15/wc.0.1.5.4.jpg
Flying under the Golden Gate Bridge

[blanston12]

A few more on the way to Sacramento.

https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.15/wc.0.1.5.5.jpg
Alcatraz


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.15/wc.0.1.5.6.jpg
Finally out of the clouds!


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.15/wc.0.1.5.7.jpg
My destination is in sight!


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.15/wc.0.1.5.8.jpg
Parked at Mathers.


Sorry for bombarding with all these pics all at once. I wanted to finish the entire first leg before posting, to make sure I have the drive to continue. I hope you will find this interesting.

[Anthin]

Hey.

That is one epic trip you have going there.
Looking forward to more.

Anthin.:ireland:

[Roger]

Love these adventure threads...carry on Joe!

[Willy]

Cool! I've flown it probably about a half dozen times in FS9 over the years. I started one in FSX flying the Alabeo Gee Bee Z. I took off from the local airport here (KTGC) and I think I left it parked in Edinburgh Scotland the last leg I flew.

Good Luck and may your winds be tailwinds!

[manfredc3]

Loving these "adventure" threads and historical info as you go.

Keep it up

[Portia911]

Great idea, Joe - and nicely presented.
I really like the aircraft update for each leg - hope you continue to include a note on the source of each 'weapon of choice'.
Best wishes for your expedition - I'm already looking forward to the next installment! :applause:

[blanston12]

Thanks for all the encouragement! It means a lot. I did not want to just make this about some personal achievement but exploring history and shining a light on part of it that is not well known. I should have the next leg ready pretty soon. After that i will slow down, the holiday weekend was good for getting this project rolling.

[blanston12]

March 18, 1924. They had originally planned to fly from Sacramento to Portland Oregon but in the morning there were very strong head winds so Major Martin decided that they would instead try to reach Eugene Oregon. After an hours flying they were only 40 miles from Sacramento...


March 29, 2017. Getting ready fly this next leg I got ready the Nieuport 24. The Niewport was a French built biplane fighter (actually a sesquiplane if you want to be technical). While its performance was not really much better than the aircraft it was supposed to replace, But it was still built in large numbers and used by French, British, Russian and American Units as either a fighter and trainer. Today I will be using the model by FlySimWare. Its a pretty good aircraft, flies well but has a nasty twist on takeoff. And its one of the few good French aircraft in my collection (I already used the other).


The Nieuport will not make it to Eugene so instead my destination is Redding in Northern California, 126 nm away. Flying conditions today are good, clear with 10nm winds. Flight was fine but when i landed I learned I did not start the FSA client to record it, so I had to do it again (with acceleration to make up time). Flight time 1.2 hours. Here are some pics from the flight.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.21/wc.0.2.1.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.21/wc.0.2.1.2.jpg
Climbing out of Mather field.

[blanston12]

A few more on the flight to Redding California.

https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.21/wc.0.2.1.3.jpg
California's central valley can be a pretty boring place at times.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.21/WC.0.2.1.4.jpg
It does have a some interesting features though.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.21/wc.0.2.1.5.jpg
Redding airport, terrain around here is a bit more interesting as we are getting closer to the mountains.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.21/wc.0.2.1.6.jpg
Parked at the Redding Municipal Airport.


That's all for now, thanks for reading.
Happy Flying.

[YoYo]

I congratulate the patience ! :applause:

[Bjoern]

Consider me subscribed to this thread.

[Ganter]

Well done to you.

I flew around the World just this last Winter in a Diamond DA-42 (Alabeo).
It was wonderful - the PC was blowing cold air and for some of the time I actually had to wear my yachting oilies to keep warm - "As real as it gets"!

It was a great trip. I flew 3-6 hours a day and I kept a paper log and I'll always remember it as an accomplishment worth doing.
p.s: Watch out for India - textures are very repetitive!

Here's my route:

https://s3.postimg.org/7vrk0ado3/the_route1.jpg (https://postimg.org/image/em819q0tr/)

Here's the beautiful aircraft I did it in: Dear Old: "Papa Hotel - Lima Uniform Echo" - my favourite Aeroplane. She and I have flown around the World together and the trust is there. Blindfold me...and I'll fly her by feel and sound. When MIL COMBAT gets jaded I know it's high time to pull this airframe out of the hangar and start her up. On TO she yaws like a broken jib in a storm, and when you bring her in for a short final she flaps about like a glider but she hasn't let me down yet. Every time, you bring her down to a knot or two above the stall and she floats just to give you a sensation of fear and then she settles onto the tarmac and behaves herself.
I've got loads of exotic aircraft in my hangar - this is the one I KNOW I know how to fly. Bless her.

https://s8.postimg.org/9f6wpy2gl/wtw2.jpg (https://postimg.org/image/r58lazg1d/)

Here's the front page of my log:
https://s30.postimg.org/k1tqtu7w1/IMG_434812.jpg (https://postimg.org/image/n8oadgsbx/)


And here's the last page of the Log;
https://s4.postimg.org/ajftawb31/IMG_43501.jpg (https://postimg.org/image/q4x4uun15/)


Highlights:

Ducking and diving into 80 knot headwinds when approaching Alaska (plain frightening)
Flying into New York and Los Angeles. (Incredible sight)
Chasing the Sunset down to land at Lukla, Nepal as the sun was sinking. (scenery available in library)
Goose Bay to Narsarsuaq, Greenland - and the landing. (Cold, dark, tired and hungry and crap viz on approach - quite real)
Opening a bottle of Champagne when I returned to my home airfield of EGHF (South coast of U.K.)

I had a real feeling of accomplishment, I was tired and worn out, etc, but, more than anything; a desire to do it for real. (It's on the Bucket List, actually, it IS the Bucket List)

And lots of other moments that I will never forget.
And you won't either.

Fair winds!

Jim

[blanston12]

Very cool Ganter, the route you took is similar to the route I am using, within at least a 1-2 hundred miles all the way around, except that I am going the other way around. Hopefully I will make it.

[Ganter]

My only advice would be: keep it manageable with real world activities.
I chose the aircraft because I could get a reasonable distance for time spent in the sim. Legs averaged about 2-3 hours and that would get me 300-500 miles further along.
Sometimes I deliberately chose much shorter legs as I knew I'd do a second leg later that day.
The shortest legs were the hop across the channel to France at the start of my journey at 105 miles and the trip from Tofino down to Seattle at 116.
The longest leg was 1237 miles from Mandalay to Hai Phong in Vietnam which took just under 7 hours (vicious head wind)
Sharm El Sheik to Lamerd in Iran was just over 1009 and just over 5 hours.

I took my collapsable BMW 7 series with me so I could land and then drive off to do some touristy sight-seeing.

https://s12.postimg.org/x3rn4bja5/2016-10-30_16-44-44-286.jpg

Other times I'd plan the leg so that I overflew something interesting at a certain time of day like Mount Fuji with the famous pink sunset.

https://s9.postimg.org/dxhw8wnpr/Mount_Fuji_Japan.jpg (https://postimg.org/image/89bli0jd7/)

Mix it up a bit too. Fly at night, do a before dawn take off and chase the sun up into the sky. Chase it down again with a night landing.
When it gets a bit tedious hang up your goggles for a few days and do something else. Keep a paper log - apart from anything else it will nag you to continue when you've lost a bit of momentum. Just after the half way mark I really got flu so I didn't fly for about a week but I don't recommend you do that!

ASN16 took charge of the real world weather throughout so I never knew what I was going to get into - apart from the METAR and the briefings. Here in the UK I can read a METAR and make a pretty good guess what the flyings going to be like for the whole day. Out in India you can take off into clear skies and 20 minutes later you're battling 50 knot winds and thunderstorms; all courtesy of Active Sky!

https://s11.postimg.org/77evdlndv/2016-11-23_14-2-14-958.jpg (https://postimg.org/image/kbkfqaffj/)


The mile stone is when you get half way and it's quicker to go on than go back.

Above all else you will feel genuinely pleased with yourself when you get back to where you departed from. Hey, guess what? you're a Circumnavigator!

Go for it!

https://s11.postimg.org/nxf3dqgub/2016-10-27_16-41-29-569.jpg (https://postimg.org/image/joadbkdkv/)

[blanston12]

March 18, 1924: As they flew on the winds gradually decreased. Lt Wade was forced to land near Cottonwood California because a radiator leak. Major Martin decided not to land to prevent any damage to the other to planes and proceeded with Lt Smith to Eugene, they arrived after more than six hours, Lt Wade arrived three hours later. Again they were met by the city leaders and a large crowd, and were again the guests of honor at a dinner by the Chamber of Commerce.


June 1, 2017. Today I prepared the Junkers F.13 for flight. The F.13 first flew at the end of WW1 and was introduced in 1920, it was the world's first all-metal transport aircraft and was very advanced for its day. Well over 300 were built and production continued until 1932. The model I am using was made by Craig Richardson and is available on the classicwings.net website.


The flight started out as a pretty easy flight, light winds and clear skies for my next flight to Eugene Oregon, 221 nm away. I just had to get enough altitude to get over the mountains to the north. Things were going well when flying through the mountains in southern Oregon and also some puffy clouds near the top of the ridge, not wanting to loose altitude i decided to go over it, only to discover that it was not just a small cloud, it was the edge of a very large stretch of overcast. Once I knew I was past the ridge I decided it was not a good idea to be above the clouds in a VFR aircraft, so I tried to drop down in a hole in a cloud that was not really a hole, finally came out of the could at about 3000 feet only to see a 4000 foot ridge in front of me, up over the ridge, back into the clouds. Fortunately I brought a pocket GPS and when it looked like I was over a valley again I dropped down to get under the clouds and made my way the remainder of the trip at about 2000 feet until I reached Eugene, after 2.4 hours of flying. Here are a few pics from the trip.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.22/wc.0.2.2.1.jpg
Climbing out of Redding California


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.22/wc.0.2.2.2.jpg
Heading on over the Mountains


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.22/wc.0.2.2.3.jpg
Mount Shasta from the cockpit, cold!


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.22/wc.0.2.2.4.jpg
Flying past Mount Shasta

[blanston12]

Flying to Eugene, continued.

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.22/wc.0.2.2.5.jpg
Southern Oregon.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.22/wc.0.2.2.6.jpg
Finally under those clouds. Sorry I did not take more pics while i was in the clouds, but I was a bit preoccupied not crashing into a mountain.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.22/wc.0.2.2.7.jpg
Finally the clouds are breaking up.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.22/wc.0.2.2.8.jpg
Eugene Airport, my destination.

[blanston12]

March 19, 1924: The three planes left Eugene next morning for Vancouver Washington, on the way they were intercepted by five JN-4s from the Vancouver Barracks Aerodrome. When they arrived they were greeted by a large crowd from the cities of Portland and Vancouver. They motored into Portland for a luncheon with the city leaders. They had intended to fly to Seattle that afternoon but shortly after departing the ceiling dropped to 500 feet and Major Martin decided they should return to Vancouver. That evening, Lt Nelson arrived in Eugene, flying directly from Santa Monica after 9 hours 45 minutes of flying.


June 10, 2017. The aircraft for the next leg is the Fokker F.VIIa, by Jens B. Kristensen. The Fokker was the aircraft of choice for many early airlines, both in Europe and the Americas and it dominated the American market in the late 1920s.


My Progress has been delayed by the fact that I just received a new computer to use for flight sim and I need to transfer over and re-install enough software so I could get flying again. Today flying conditions are good, 7 kn winds, ceiling 2000-4000 feet with clear terrain between me and my destination of Pearson Field, Vancouver Washington, 93 nm away.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.3/wc.0.3.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.3/wc.0.3.2.jpg
Climbing out of Eugene Oregon.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.3/wc.0.3.3.jpg
Central Oregon.

[blanston12]

Continuing to Vancouver Washington.

https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.3/wc.0.3.4.jpg
Clouds getting thicker.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.3/wc.0.3.5.jpg
Make sure you avoid the radio antennas.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.3/wc.0.3.6.jpg
My destination, I'm flying over KPDX but my destination is just beyond the river.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.3/wc.0.3.7.jpg
Arrived at Pearson Field.

[blanston12]

March 20, 1924: The morning the three aircraft left Vancouver for Sand Point Field in Seattle (now the site of Magnuson Park), arriving by Noon. Lt Nelson arrived from Eugene two hours later. Once again they were meet by Local Dignitaries and were motored into town for a Luncheon. The flyers would then spend the next three weeks getting the aircraft ready for the trip including swapping the wheels for floats, protecting all metal surface with either varnish or oil and getting there supplies in order.


June 10, 2017: This afternoon I got ready the de Havilland DH.60 Moth by Golden Age Simulations, which I like a lot. The DH.60 was a two seat training and touring aircraft built from 1925 in many different versions until 1932 when it was replaced by the DH.82 Tiger Moth. “By 1929 it was estimated that of every 100 aeroplanes in Britain, 85 were Moths of one type or another”.


My 114nm flight to Seattles Renton Municipal Airport was pretty smooth, most interesting thing was this was the first real flight I did on the new computer using P3D V4, with autogen turned up to the max and the screen at 3840x2160 I was still getting 60 fps, hopefully you will see a difference in the screen shots.


So far I have had 12.1 hours of flight time compared to 13.5 by the flyers, and they arrived in Seattle after 4 days while I took 16, but I won’t have to take 3 weeks getting my aircraft ready for the next leg.


Here are the pics:


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.41/wc.0.4.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.41/wc.0.4.2.jpg
Last look at Oregon for a while


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.41/wc.0.4.3.jpg
Central Washington


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.41/wc.0.4.4.jpg
Mount St Helens, hiding in the clouds.

[blanston12]

Flying into Seattle.

https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.41/wc.0.4.5.jpg
I can't tell you how many times I flew under this bridge in FS2004.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.41/wc.0.4.6.jpg
SeaTac Airport with Seattle in the distance.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.41/wc.0.4.7.jpg
My destination, Renton Municipal Airport.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg.0.41/wc.0.4.8.jpg
Aircraft Secured, time for dinner!

[blanston12]

April 6, 1924: The preparations had been made and the flyers were ready to start their flight. The route had been organized into seven divisions for planning purposes and the first division was from Seattle to Attu in the Aleutian islands. The pilots had been instructed to name there planes after American cities on the four points of the compass, Major Martin named his plane ‘Seattle’, Lt. Smith named his plane ‘Chicago’, Lt Wade named his ‘Boston’ and Lt Nelson chose ‘New Orleans’. Sgt. Turner became ill just before departure and felt to weak to continue so Lt Smith chose alternate pilot Lt Leslie Arnold to be his co-pilot/mechanic. They wanted to depart on April 4th but bad weather reports caused them to cancel. On April 5th Major Martin tried to take off but his propeller broke with a loud crack and repairs took till the next day. Finally on the 6th, in front large crowds, the four planes taxied out and one by one took off. The planes were at maximum weight and Boston could not get airborne. Lt Wade taxied back to the dock, where they made some adjustments and unloaded some gear including their rifle, a small anchor and some extra clothing. An hour behind the others they took off and were on there way to Prince Rupert Canada, 650 miles away.


June 11, 2017: The flyers took about 8 hours to fly from Seattle to Prince Rupert, not having that much time today I decided to break the trip into three smaller legs. Since they had switched there planes from wheels to floats, I will use float planes on these first legs. The aircraft I have chosen is the Ryan B-5 Brougham by Golden Age Simulations. The Brougham was a very popular small airliner that was used in Alaska but also China and Central America. The model is very good, flying it is easy but side visibility is a bit restricted, but thats the way it was built. My destination for today is Comox, British Columbia, on the eastern coast of Victoria Island, 170 nm away. Flying conditions are again good, scattered clouds and 5-6 kn. winds, the flight was uneventful and I arrived after 1.7 hours of flying. Here are a few pictures from the flight:


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.11/wc.1.1.1.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.11/wc.1.1.1.2.jpg
Climbing out of Renton Municipal Airport.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.11/wc.1.1.1.3.jpg
Flying over Downtown Seattle


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.11/wc.1.1.1.4.jpg
View along the way.

[blanston12]

Flying to Comox BC, continued.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.11/wc.1.1.1.5.jpg
Another along the way.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.11/wc.1.1.1.6.jpg
Yet another along the way.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.11/wc.1.1.1.7.jpg
The destination is in site.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.11/wc.1.1.1.8.jpg
Landing at Comox


PS. Sorry for waiting so long to post this, its been a busy week.

[blanston12]

April 6, 1924: Lt Wade few solo to Prince Rupert through thick fog an dead calm. “I flew right down on the water so glassy that I was constantly fearful of slapping the surface.” Wade said. “I used the tree line on my left as a guide and followed it for a long way. In skimming over Johnstone Strait, we almost collided with ships twice”....


June 15, 2017: Today I got ready the Monocoupe 90, a two seat cabin monoplane, which first flew in 1927. Various versions were in production until the late 1940's, and over 300 were built. The version I am using today was made by Golden Age Simulations and is very good, the package includes the Monocoupe 90, 110 and 125 and has both wheeled and float versions.


I readied for flight the float plane version of of the 90 in a nice blue color. I had tried this flight two days before but the sim crashed so to make up time I did resort to some time acceleration. My plan today is to fly to Bella Bella, British Columbia, 191 nm away. Weather today is a bit more challenging than the previous flights, conditions in Comox were 14kn winds with cloud level at between 800-3000 feet. I headed north west following the Discovery Passage to the Johnstone strait, keeping between 1000-1500 feet to stay below the clouds, in the Johnstone strait the clouds got heavier and in I dropped to 800 ft and spent some time flying through rain. Once I reached the pacific things cleared up a bit, however once I reached the Burke Channel the clouds closed in again and I had to drop to about 500 feet to stay in clear air. I found the passage on the south side of Denny Island and followed it around to Bella Bella. The Monocoupe came in a bit fast and it took a few attempts to get the landing right. One problem with sea plane airports is its a bit harder to identify them, there are two of in this little bay and I ended up stopping next to the wrong one, but they are all pretty close together and as far as the FSAirlines client was concerned it was close enough and the flight got recorded. Flight time 1.9 hours. Here are a few screen shots from the flight:




https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.12/wc.1.1.2.1.jpg
Ready to depart.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.12/wc.1.1.2.2.jpg
Up the Discovery Passage


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.12/wc.1.1.2.3.jpg
Down the Johnstone strait


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.12/wc.1.1.2.4.jpg
Still flying down the Johnstone strait

[blanston12]

On the way to Bella Bella, continued.

https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.12/wc.1.1.2.5.jpg
Over the Pacific


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.12/wc.1.1.2.6.jpg
Getting Closer


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.12/wc.1.1.2.7.jpg
Up the Burke Channel


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.12/wc.1.1.2.8.jpg
Arrived.

[Portia911]

Bravo, Joe.
Loving your aircraft choice. I've been flying the Brougham and the Monocoupe float versions recently - around Prince of Wales Island.
Best wishes for your next leg! :ernaehrung004:

[blanston12]

Bravo, Joe.
Loving your aircraft choice. I've been flying the Brougham and the Monocoupe float versions recently - around Prince of Wales Island.
Best wishes for your next leg! :ernaehrung004:

Thanks Portia, your encouragement means a lot!

[blanston12]

April 6, 1924: Major Martin initially though a photo graphic airplane was Lt Wade in Boston so the first three aircraft headed for Prince Rupert, only later did he discover his mistake. After flying though haze so thick they had to drop to 100 feet to pick their way around the numerous small. After passing the Johnstone strait they emerged from the fog just in time to avoid a Steamer looming just ahead. Back into fog and over increasingly heavy seas. They arrived at the entrance to Prince Rupert Harbor and encountered a heavy snow storm. As Martin was about to land he could see he had too much momentum to stop before hitting the beach but not enough power to go around so he cut power and pulled up to make a stalled landing, he avoided the beach but landed with enough force to damage the left wing struts and some of the wires. The other pilots landed safely, Lt Wade in Boston landed an hour after the others. Lt Arnold wrote in his diary, “125 miles of fog, 275 in rain and snow, hell of a day”. Seattle was hauled into the Prince Rupert Dry Dock for repairs.


June 17, 2017: Today I prepared the Waco UBF-2 for flight. The Waco F-Series first flew in 1930 and was a very popular sport and training aircraft. Many of this classic aircraft are still flying and versions the aircraft are still being built. The model I am using was made by Golden Age simulations and it is very nice to fly. I think it’s the fourth Golden Age aircraft I have used so far.


The weather was calm but hazy, visibility between 5 and 8 miles. I was always worried that the fog would roll in so I stayed low at around 1000ft but full fog never arrived. I few along the west coast of Princess Royal and Pitt island before arriving at Prince Rupert Harbor. The 155 nm flight from Bella Bella took 1.5 hours.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.13/wc.1.1.3.1.jpg
Ready for flight.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.13/wc.1.1.3.2.jpg
Hazy conditions.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.13/wc.1.1.3.3.jpg
Princess Royal Island.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.13/wc.1.1.3.4.jpg
Along the way.

[blanston12]

Continuing to Prince Rupert, British Columbia.

https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.13/wc.1.1.3.5.jpg
Flying between McCauley and Pitt Islands.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.13/wc.1.1.3.6.jpg
The town of Prince Rupert.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.13/wc.1.1.3.7.jpg
Nice view of the cruise ship.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.13/wc.1.1.3.8.jpg
Safe landing.

[blanston12]

April 10, 1924: It took about 3 days to complete the repairs to the damaged Seattle. It was raining on the morning of the 10th but reports from along there route were encouraging so Major Martin decided they would attempt the 282 mile flight to Sitka Alaska. That moring for the first time all four planes took off together, an hour later they passed Ketchikan at low altitude in light rain. Passing the Clarence strait about 60 miles from Sitka they encountered thick haze and had to fly low over 30 foot swells with only 100 yard visibility. As they approached the there destination, Wade recalled “The harbor sight was exhilarating, mirror like water, tiny city, snow capped peaks, and a sky full of soaring seagulls”.


June 19, 2017: Today from Prince Rupert I prepared the Fairey Swordfish for the flight. The Fairey Swordfish was a British torpedo bomber that first flew in 1934 and is probably the closest aircraft to the Douglas World Cruiser I am likely to use, unless of course someone decides to make a P3D/FSX compatible version of the DWC (please?). Despite being considered obsolete at the start of the WW2, it was still in service when the war ended. Produced until 1944, it sank more ships than any other allied aircraft and survived past several aircraft designed to replace it. The model I am using today is made by 'Flying Stations' and is quite nice.


It was cloudy in Prince Rupert so as I left I stayed low as I headed North west over the channel. After about an hour of flying the cloud lifted and I climbed to 6000 ft so I could head directly over the mountains rather than weaving my way through the many channels. Once I had flown over the lower peninsula of Baranof island I descended to 1500 feet and followed the along the coast to Sitka Alaska and landed after 2.3 hours of flying.


Here are a few pics from the flight.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.20/wc.1.2.1.jpg
Prince Rupert, BC. Ready to go


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.20/wc.1.2.2.jpg
Climbing out of Prince Rupert, BC.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.20/wc.1.2.3.jpg
Turning toward Ketchikan Alaska


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.20/wc.1.2.4.jpg
Flying over Ketchikan Alaska

[blanston12]

Continuing to Sitka....

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.20/wc.1.2.5.jpg
Ah! Good flying weather.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.20/wc.1.2.6.jpg
Flying along the coast of Baranof Island.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.20/wc.1.2.7.jpg
Coming into Sitka Alaska.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.20/wc.1.2.8.jpg
Landed Safe!

[blanston12]

April 13, 1924: They could not leave on the 11th because of heavy rain. It rained, hailed and snowed on the 12th. The flyer were kept busy keeping trying to protect there aircraft that kept loosing there anchors, but on the 13th it was clear and calm so they took on extra fuel so they could reach 625 miles to Steward in case the weather was clear at their initial destination of Cordova. With Lt Wade in the lead they took off, the good weather did not last long and they flew in violent snow storms. Wade flew at 100 feet over the shore line with the others in formation behind as they tried to avoid the mountains that would loom up in their way…


June 24, 2017: Today I will by flying the de Havilland DH.82 Tiger moth. The tiger moth first flew in 1932 and was an evolution of the earlier DH.60 Moth. It was used as the primary trainer for the RAF and many other Air forces until the late 50’s and is still operated by many private individuals and flying clubs. Well over 8000 were built. Today I will be using the model built by Ant’s Airplanes and I like this model enough that it is setup as the default aircraft when I load flight sim.


There are many more capable aircraft from the early 30’s I could have used but I did not want to pass up the TM, but it does not have the range to make Steward so instead the destination will be Yakutat Alaska, 201 nm away. Conditions at Sitka were good for flying, light winds and about a 8k ceiling and started off happily around 4000 ft but soon had to drop to 1000 ft as the clouds got heavier and it started to rain. Lots of cool glaciers to see as we headed along the coast. The weather lighted up as we got close to Yakutat and the flight took 2.3 hours later. Here are a few pics from the flight.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.31/wc.1.3.1.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.31/wc.1.3.1.2.jpg
On our way, good flying weather near Sitka.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.31/wc.1.3.1.3.jpg
Weather is closing in, our first Glacier along the way.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.31/wc.1.3.1.4.jpg
More glaciers.

[blanston12]

Continuing to Yakutat...

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.31/wc.1.3.1.5.jpg
Weather is clearing up.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.31/wc.1.3.1.6.jpg
Scenery along the way.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.31/wc.1.3.1.7.jpg
On approach to Yakutat.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.31/wc.1.3.1.8.jpg
Secured.

[blanston12]

April 13, 1924: The planes continued on 10 feet above the breakers, "The beach was covered in snow and the air around us was filled with it", Nelson Wrote. Arnold wrote in his diary "I hope we never have to fly through such thick weather again". The weather broke into clear skies and unlimited visibility as they approached Cordova, so instead of landing there they continued on to Seward. Major Martin late sent a letter of apology to the Mayor of Cordova when he learned they had prepared a reception and dinner in there honor.


June 25, 2017: Today I planned to use the De Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide. The DH.89 first flew in 1934 and went on to become perhapse the most successful British built short-haul commercial passenger aircraft of the 1930s. The model I will be using today id by Dave Garwood and the CBFS design team and is excellent.


Flying weather today was excellent, Clear, scattered clouds, easy flying until I got close to Montague island when the clouds started to thicken up. Knowing the island was in front of me I decided to go over the small cloud in front of me but then saw that the clouds extended for quite some distance beyond i headed for the nearest hole in the clouds to head back to low level., I had to drop to 600 feet to get below the clouds. The clouds broke about 15 minute later and I could climb back to 1500 ft and cruised along the coast until i reached the mouth of Resurrection Bay, then up the bay and a landed at Steward. I travelled the 297 nm from Yakutat to Seward in 3.1 hours.


Here are the pics:


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.32/wc.1.3.2.1.jpg
Where did these guys come from, well there the passangers, looks like they are headed to a Grunge concert or something, hope they enjoy the flight.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.32/wc.1.3.2.2.jpg
Climbing out over Yakutat Bay.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.32/wc.1.3.2.3.jpg
Glamour shots.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.32/wc.1.3.2.4.jpg
Clouds starting to close in.

[blanston12]

Rapide to Seward continued...

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.32/wc.1.3.2.5.jpg
Trying to get under them.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.32/wc.1.3.2.6.jpg
Clear skys again.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.32/wc.1.3.2.7.jpg
Resurrection Bay


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.32/wc.1.3.2.8.jpg
The town of Seward Alaska.

Thanks for viewing, feel free to comment if you like, dislike or have any questions about this series.

[Portia911]

Another great aircraft choice, Joe. That Rapide is a lovely add on. I flew the float variant for a while - mostly because it came in Queen Charlotte Airlines livery - very proximate, eh!

You could dip back into the GAS hangar soon and try their Stinson Junior - one of which comes in McGee Airways livery (a 1930s Anchorage-based forebear of Alaska Airlines).

Oh and I think your destination there is Seward, rather than Steward - but either way, keep on keeping on! :encouragement:

[ryapad]

Your getting close to my home! Just wondering, do you have a map of all of the places you have stopped buy? you can make one here if you want:
https://www.zeemaps.com/
It's free too!

Keep on flying, no matter how slow these old planes are!:fat:

[blanston12]

Another great aircraft choice, Joe. That Rapide is a lovely add on. I flew the float variant for a while - mostly because it came in Queen Charlotte Airlines livery - very proximate, eh!

You could dip back into the GAS hangar soon and try their Stinson Junior - one of which comes in McGee Airways livery (a 1930s Anchorage-based forebear of Alaska Airlines).

Oh and I think your destination there is Seward, rather than Steward - but either way, keep on keeping on! :encouragement:

Thanks for the comments. Portia! I will fix the Seward name issue (oops!). I had seriously considered the Stinson Junior when planning this flight, comparing it to what was in my mind a very similar Ryan B5, also by GAS. I finally ended up going with the Ryan mainly because I already had it and it was P3D compatible, but maybe if I can find the JR on sale somewhere I can fit it in.

[blanston12]

Your getting close to my home! Just wondering, do you have a map of all of the places you have stopped buy? you can make one here if you want:
https://www.zeemaps.com/
It's free too!

Keep on flying, no matter how slow these old planes are!:fat:

Thanks Ryan!, pretty cool site, I will definitely check that out and thanks for the encouragement.

[Portia911]

Thanks for the comments. Portia! I will fix the Seward name issue (oops!). I had seriously considered the Stinson Junior when planning this flight, comparing it to what was in my mind a very similar Ryan B5, also by GAS. I finally ended up going with the Ryan mainly because I already had it and it was P3D compatible, but maybe if I can find the JR on sale somewhere I can fit it in.

Sure, Joe - if it came down to choosing between the Brougham or the Stinson Jnr. I think you chose well!

[blanston12]

Your getting close to my home! Just wondering, do you have a map of all of the places you have stopped buy? you can make one here if you want:
https://www.zeemaps.com/
It's free too!

Keep on flying, no matter how slow these old planes are!:fat:

FSAirlines.net (http://FSAirlines.net) Just added a feature where you can export as a Google Earth KML file, information about the flights you have done on there site. They say its still beta but I used it to create this.

https://fsairlines.net/private/WorldCruise2017.06.28.jpg

[blanston12]

April 15, 1924: By 11 am they were ready for the 425 mile flight to Chignik. Only Major Martin in Seattle had difficulty taking off and had to take three attempts to get in the air. For the next four hours, the flight was uneventful and enjoyable but stiff head winds slowed them down. Harding recalled “The clear deep blue water below, clear skies above, and snow covered peaks and glaciers on our right were beyond description in beauty and splendor” . The other crews noticed that Seattle had dropped down to lower altitude and was staying near the rear of the formation. All but Martin decided to go over a mountain while he tried to go around it. When they reached Cape Igvak Seattle could not be seen in the thick haze, but with the strong head winds they did not have the fuel to go back and search for them. After 6 hours 38 minutes of flying they landed in Anchorage Bay at Chignik they immediately rushed ashore to radio that there leader was missing and believed down on Portage Bay. The Navy immediately ordered the destroyers Corey and Hull to the area.


June 27, 2017: Today I will be flying the Douglas DC-2 for the 364nm flight from Seward to Chignik Alaska. Built in response to a TWA specification for an all metal tri-motor, the Douglas response was more radical with twin engines, retractable landing gear and two 690 hp Wright radial engines driving variable-pitch propellers. Although overshadowed by its ubiquitous successor, it was the DC-2 that first showed that passenger air travel could be comfortable, safe and reliable. It even came in second in the MacRobertson Air Race between London and Melbourne while carrying mails, making scheduled passenger stops.


The model I am flying today is by UIVER Team and is quite nice. Its nice but touchy to fly, if you lower the gear when your flying to fast the hydraulics will fail and the engines cut out on me once as I probably over-revved the engine. But the flight was uneventful for me, even if it was quite rainy when I left Seward and the scenery along the way was quite dramatic. I arrived after 2.3 hours of flying. Here are a few pics from


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.40/wc.1.4.1.jpg
Ready as Seward, Active Sky said this was light rain.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.40/wc.1.4.2.jpg
Back out Resurrection Bay.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.40/wc.1.4.3.jpg
I did say there was 'light rain' didn't I.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.40/wc.1.4.4.jpg
Glaciers.

[blanston12]

Continuing to Chignik...

https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.40/wc.1.4.5.jpg
Not sure what this rock is but it is dramatic.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.40/wc.1.4.6.jpg
After flying through some fog the weather finally cleared up.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.40/wc.1.4.7.jpg
Approaching Chignik.


https://fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.40/wc.1.4.8.jpg
Secured.

[Willy]

The Uiver Team DC-2 is a long time favorite of mine. One of these days, I need to get the FSX native version as I'm still flying the ported FS9 one.

[blanston12]

The Uiver Team DC-2 is a long time favorite of mine. One of these days, I need to get the FSX native version as I'm still flying the ported FS9 one.
I used the FSX version for this post, and good news, it is forward compatible with version 3 and 4 of P3D. It's a very nice aircraft.

On a side note, I re-read the post I wrote at 11pm last night and wanted to make a couple minor edits but today I can't figure out how to do that. A few days ago I was able to go back and correct some misspellings, am I missing something or did something change.

[Ganter]

Well done for sticking it out.Following with great interest. :very_drunk:

[blanston12]

April 15, 1924: After 4 hours of flying Sargent Harvey yelled to Major Martin that the oil pressure gauge had dropped to zero and they immediately looked for a place to land, spotting a sheltered cove in Portage bay. As soon as they had slowed sufficiently Harvey leaped onto the pontoon to check the engine and found a three inch hole in the crank case. Martin and Harvey slept in the cockpits of the airplane, so sure assistance would arrive soon they did want to swim ashore, and at 5am the next morning the destroyers Corey and Hull arrived after steaming 312 miles to reach them. They were towed 10 miles to the village of Kanatak to await fuel, oil and a new engine being brought to them by the Coast Guard Cutter Algonquin.


April 19, 1924: At the same time Algonquin was heading to the disabled Seattle, Martin ordered Smith to proceed with the other aircraft to Dutch Harbor, where they had better facilities for taking care of the planes. A stiff wind was blowing as they untied there aircraft, along there flight to UnAlaska they flew around, over, under and through snow squalls, experienced the fierce Williwaw winds, flew over rocky islands, volcanoes and looked up at ice-capped mountains. After flying 390 miles in 7 hours and 26 minutes they landed in Dutch Harbor where the Coast Guard cutter Haida was waiting for them.


July 8, 2017: Today I got ready to fly the Heinkel He-51. The He-51 was a German single seat biplane figher that first flew in 1935 that was used by both the Luftwaffe and Spanish served as a fighter, seaplane, ground attack and trainer until 1952. Over 700 were built. The aircraft I am using today was by Craig Richardson and will be using a civilian repaint by Bernhard Lechner. The aircraft is very nice but it does tend to nose over if you apply the brakes to hard.


I decided to break this leg into two parts in the interest storytelling and using a couple smaller aircraft before the long oversea routes. My destination for this flight is Cold Bay, 161 nm away. The weather in Chignik for the start of the flight was great, 5 kn winds and clear. I climbed up over the low mountains and headed down the Alaskan peninsula at about 4000 ft. The weather got cloudier and windier as we flew on, eventually having to drop down to 1500 ft to stay below the clouds. I also became quite concerned about my fuel usage, the aircraft is supposed to have a range of 300 nm but when I reach 50% fuel I estimate I will get to my destination with very little fuel to spare. As I reach Cold Bay the winds have climbed to 31 kn and I had difficulty getting the biplane to settle on the runway especially since I was being very careful with the brakes not wanting it to nose over. Fortunately, Cold Bay airport has a very long runway and was able to make a safe stop with only 5% fuel remaining. Here are a few screen shots from the flight.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.51/wc.1.5.1.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff at Chignik.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.51/wc.1.5.1.2.jpg
Heading out over the mountians.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.51/wc.1.5.1.3.jpg
Beautiful flying weather, so far...


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.51/wc.1.5.1.4.jpg
Flying down the Alaskan Peninsula.

[blanston12]

Sorry it took so long from the last flight, I out of town for the Holiday weekend and could not get much flying in until the next weekend. Here are a few more.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.51/wc.1.5.1.5.jpg
But the good weather did not last.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.51/wc.1.5.1.6.jpg
Flying low to stay under the clouds.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.51/wc.1.5.1.7.jpg
Cold Bay airport in sight.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.51/wc.1.5.1.8.jpg
Landed in Cold Bay.

[Portia911]

Seems unfriendly weather dogged your real-world counterparts on every leg - very interesting to read the history instalments, as well as your aircraft desctpriptions.
Don't know how your virtual pilot can cope with the swapping from an enclosed cabin (even heated in the DC-2 I think!) and then back to an open cockpit biplane. I know it's summer up there, but even so . . . :untroubled:

[Bomber_12th]

I just wanted to add that I have been enjoying following your posts, Joe. These posts also have commonly inspired me to dust off some of these classics and take them out of the virtual hangar and go and 'fly' them again.

[blanston12]

Seems unfriendly weather dogged your real-world counterparts on every leg - very interesting to read the history instalments, as well as your aircraft desctpriptions.
Don't know how your virtual pilot can cope with the swapping from an enclosed cabin (even heated in the DC-2 I think!) and then back to an open cockpit biplane. I know it's summer up there, but even so . . . :untroubled:

Thanks Portia, At least my virtual pilot is doing it in June/July. I can't imagine doing it in an open cockpit in April which is when the original flyers did it. But I think I have only one more open cockpit on the road map and I am reconsidering that one after the fuel issues on the He-51 since that leg will be over water at close to its maximum range.


I just wanted to add that I have been enjoying following your posts, Joe. These posts also have commonly inspired me to dust off some of these classics and take them out of the virtual hangar and go and 'fly' them again.

Thanks Bomber! I was hoping a few pilots would be inspired to get out some of these classic aircraft!

Well I think i'm ready for the next leg, stay tuned!

[blanston12]

April 23, 1924: On the 19th Algonquin arrived at Kanatak with the new engine for Seattle. In blowing snow they managed to install by the morning of the 22nd. On the morning of the 23rd the men of the village helped Martin and Harvey break up the ice that was forming around the floats and tow the Seattle from the pond they had been working, down the stream to the bay where it was now calm enough to take off. Visibility was too bad to fly a direct compass heading to Chignik and at one point the weather became so bad they landed in a protected cove until the weather cleared. After waiting an hour and a half the storm eased and they then few the remaining distance to Anchorage bay and the village of Chignik.


July 9, 2017: Today I got ready the Grumman Gulfhawk II ready for flight. The Gulfhawk was a custom civilian conversion of the F3F-1 fighter. The F3F was the US Navy’s last biplane fighter, with retractable landing gear, and enclosed cockpit and a 1,000 hp Wright Cyclone engine. It first flew in 1935, only 147 were built and it was retired from front line squadrons before world war 2 started but it eventually evolved into the much more successful F4F Wildcat. The model I’m using today was made for JustFlight by Airplane Heaven and is remarkably similar to the AH F3F-2. It’s nice to fly, lot of torque on takeoff but it takes off so fast it does not matter much.


My flight today from Cold Bay to Dutch harbor was uneventful, cloudy with a 3000 foot ceiling and 6 kn winds. This is probably the fastest aircraft I have flown so far and it made short work of the 155 nm flight. I landed after 51 minutes of flying.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.52/wc.1.5.2.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.52/wc.1.5.2.2.jpg
Flying over the Alaska Peninsula, canopy open.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.52/wc.1.5.2.3.jpg
Scenery here is not as dramatic as other parts of Alaska.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.52/wc.1.5.2.4.jpg
At least now we can close the canopy when the weather gets bad.

[blanston12]

Continuing to Dutch Harbor...

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.52/wc.1.5.2.5.jpg
Weaving around the islands while staying below the clouds.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.52/wc.1.5.2.6.jpg
Finally figured how to turn the navigation lights off.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.52/wc.1.5.2.7.jpg
On approach into Dutch Harbor/Unalaska.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.52/wc.1.5.2.8.jpg
Secured.

[blanston12]

May 3, 1924: Major Martin waited in Chignik until he finally received favorable weather reports from Dutch Harbor on April 30, when and Harvey finally departed, but they never arrived. A search was started using ships from the Navy and Coast guard, boats from local canneries and even dog teams from Chignik. On May 2 General Patrick, Chief of the Army Air Service designated Lt Smith leader and told them “Do not delay longer waiting for Major Martin” and “Proceed to Japan at earliest possible Moment”. On the morning of May 3, the crews got there aircraft ready for flight and proceeded to Nazan on Atka island, 365 miles away. Although they flew through rain and snow showers it proved to be an easy flight and they arrived after 4 hours 19 minutes of flying.


July 9, 2017: This afternoon I got ready the Spartan 7W Executive for flight. The Spartan first flew in 1936 and was designed as a fast comfortable aircraft for rich executes. Only 34 were built but had some notable owners including Howard Hughes, J. Paul Getty and King Ghazi of Iraq. The model I am flying today was made by our own Milton Shupe and was recently updated by him to be FSX Native. It’s a very nice aircraft to fly and I highly recommend it.


My flight from Unalaska to Atka was uneventful. Out over the mountains to the west of the town and out over the sea. I stayed mostly under the clouds sometimes staying as low as 800 feet to stay under the weather. Since the route is mostly over water at one point I climbed to 10,000 feet to try to get above the clouds for a while but did not stay up there for long. Approaching Atka, staying low to keep below the clouds, the town and airport are pretty small and I did not spot them until I was almost on top of the airport, I ended up coming in fairly fast and my landing was a bit rough but got on the grounds safe.


Here are a few pics of the flight.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.60/wc.1.6.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.60/wc.1.6.2.jpg
Over the mountains west of Dutch Harbor.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.60/wc.1.6.3.jpg
Heading out from Amaknak Island


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.60/wc.1.6.4.jpg
Weather is getting pretty bad, better climb over it for a bit.

[blanston12]

Continuing to Atka

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.60/wc.1.6.5.jpg
Looks like its calmed down enough to head back down.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.60/wc.1.6.6.jpg
Atka Island.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.60/wc.1.6.7.jpg
I almost missed the airport.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.60/wc.1.6.8.jpg
Landed!

[Portia911]

Bravo Joe.
Bet you had no trouble keeping warm and dry in that lovely Spartan. :applause:

[blanston12]

Bravo Joe.
Bet you had no trouble keeping warm and dry in that lovely Spartan. :applause:

Thanks Portia, yes, the Spartan is a quite civilized way to fly :mixed-smiley-010:

[blanston12]

May 9, 1924. Wade asked an old trapper when the seasons changed, he replied “We have only two seasons here, winter and next winder”. Having no word on what happened to Martin and Harvey, the flyer waited in Atka for fuel and for weather to ease, by the 9th weather was better and they started for Attu at 9am. Winds from a williwaw hit just as they were taking off and almost caused Nelson to crash but they were soon all in the air. The 555 mile flight was long and cold with occasional snow squalls, the only life they saw along the way were birds and whales, They arrived in Attu after 7 hours 52 minutes of flying.


July 13, 2017. Today we will be flying the Lockheed L-10 Electra. The Electra was a twin engine all metal airliner that first flew in 1934. It was built to compete with the Boeing 247 and Douglas DC-2. The Electra was the type of aircraft used by Amelia Earhart on her ill-fated flight around the world. The aircraft I will be using today was made by Just Flight and can now be found as a default aircraft in Prepar3D Version 4.


The weather for my flight was overcast with a 2000 foot ceiling and winds around 12 kn. I saw few of the scattered islands as I was heading in and out of the low clouds continually adjusting the Sperry autopilot to keep my altitude between the clouds and the sea but since there was not much to see I was mostly in the clouds over open ocean. Those Islands I did see were were not much to look at (I have now left the land of ORBX). I arrived at Attu after 2.8 hours of flying. Here are a few pics from the flight.




https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.70/wc.1.8.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.70/wc.1.8.2.jpg
Heading out from Akta Island.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.70/wc.1.8.3.jpg
Most of the time it looked like this.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.70/wc.1.8.4.jpg
Flying in and out of clouds.

[blanston12]

May 10, 1924 Martin and Harvey walked out of the wilderness near the Port Moller Cannery. On the 3rd they had been climbing in thick fog trying to get to Dutch Harbor. Martin was thinking he should turn back but thought he saw water ahead so he pressed on, a moment later they crashed into a gentle slope on the side of a mountain and crunched to rest in the snow. They were unhurt but the plane was a total wreck. They knew they in trouble as the area they were in was mostly uninhabited and for food all they had were two sandwiches made for them by Mrs Osborne in Chignik and two thermos bottles of condensed food they had bought in Los Angeles. They wandered though the wilderness for several days until they found a campers cabin on the 7th that looked like it had been recently vacated. They rested there for three days, eating what food was in the cabin and then followed the beach until they saw the Cannery at Port Moller. Martin sent a cable to General Patrick that they were safe and they stayed there till the 14th when they were given transport on the company steamer back to Bellingham Washington.


July 13, 2017. Continuing to Attu...


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.70/wc.1.8.5.jpg
Islands along the way, definatly not the land of ORBX.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.70/wc.1.8.6.jpg
The occasinal clear weather, time for a glamour shot.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.70/wc.1.8.7.jpg
Our destination.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.70/wc.1.8.8.jpg
Secured.

[blanston12]

May 15, 1924. The original plan was to fly 870 miles directly to Paramushiru, Japan, a flight that under normal conditions would take 10 hours. But there was concern as very rough weather was expected so the flyers decided to fly to the Russian island of Komandorski instead. The Russians had denied the Americans permission to fly through their territory but it was felt that the risk of being arrested by the Soviets was better than flying through the storm. Bureau of Fisheries boat Eider proceeded to Komandorski to wait for the flyers off shore, They were ready on the 12th but high winds, snow and fog prevented there leaving. Finally on the 15th Eider signaled that conditions at Komandorski were favorable and the flyers departed. “For three hours we flew out of sight of land, wondering all the time what the Russians would think when they saw three giant planes swoop down out of the sky in this remote region where even ships come about once a year”. They arrived around 2:30 in the afternoon. Eider had secretly placed buoys for them out of sight of land. As they landed a small boat came out with five people, two in uniform with rifles as soon but there was no hostility. The Russians informed them they would have to stay on the ship and could not come ashore and offered them a flagon of Vodka. The flyers settled in on the Eider for the night.


July 15, 2017: Originally I wanted to use Polikarpov Po-2 by Swingman which is a very nice plane and I thought it would be good to fly into Russian territory in a Russian aircraft, but became concerned that the flight from Attu to Komandorski was just at the limit of the Po-2’s range, then discovered that neither FSX or P3D had the Komandorski island airport. I created a seaplane airport with a water runway and a USCG cutter to mark it using Airport Design Editor by ScruffyDuck software. Since I don’t have a float plane version of the Po-2 its out.


Instead we will be using the Beechcraft Model 18. Beech built over 9000 model 18’s between 1937 and 1969 and they were used worldwide in many different roles, many are still in use today. I will be using an amphibious version of the D18s created by and recently updated to FSX native by Milton Shupe.


Weather was not the best, 300 foot ceiling with fog that kept moving in and out. I waited till I could see the end of the runway and took off and was almost immediately in the clouds. I tried to fly straight out at a consistent climb and heading until I was sure it was safe to turn west. Once up at 8000 feet we navigated to Komandorski. As the island came into view we descended through a break in the clouds and proceeded up the coast until we found the cutter, safely landing next to it after 1.8 hours of flying.


Here are a few pics from the flight.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.80/wc.1.9.1.jpg
Ready to go at Attu, but the weather is not.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.80/wc.1.9.2.jpg
Now we are ready.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.80/wc.1.9.3.jpg
Climbing out through the clouds.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.80/wc.1.9.4.jpg
Finally above the clouds.

[blanston12]

Continuing to Komandorski...

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.80/wc.1.9.5.jpg
Glamour shots.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.80/wc.1.9.6.jpg
Komandorski in sight!


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.80/wc.1.9.7.jpg
Our destination.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg1.80/wc.1.9.8.jpg
Landed.

[blanston12]

May 17, 1924: The pilots awoke at 4:30 am and prepared for takeoff. It was an ideal spring morning, there plan was to fly west toward the Kamchatka peninsula then south along the coast, 585 miles to Paramushiru. The weather started off ideal, but occasional fog and snow squals built up and they had to fly lower and lower until they were just skimming the water. Eventually they were flying through fog and heavy snow which became heavy rain and high winds by the time they approached Paramushiru.


The American Destroyers John D. Ford and Pope had been waiting for the flyers in for some time. They expected them two weeks after they left Seattle, it was now almost 6 weeks. The Japanese were not very cooperative, not allowing the americans to go ashore or take photographs. In addition to requiring a Japanese officer to remain on board, they were escorted by Japanese warships at all time. The destroyers had been taking turns waiting at waiting at Paramushiru, returning to Hakodate to refuel and supply. They battled fog, show, icy winds and rip times that kept the ship the ships swaying continuously like a pendulum. At one point in a storm Pope had collieded with the Japanese destroyer Tokitsukaze but fortunalty there was not serious damage. On a gray afternoon May 17, Ford was in Kashiwabara bay with the Japanese destroyer Tokitsukaze and Amatsukaze when the three aircraft arrived, they circled the ships several times before landing. They had difficulty mooring to the buoys Ford had placed because of the strong currents, riptides and fierce winds. Cold and wet they were welcomed aboard the Destroyer by Lt Commander Frost its Captain, representatives from the Japanese Navy and Army. They soon received Congratulatory messages from General Patrick, Secretary of War Meeks and the General Ugaki, the Japanese Minister of War. They were the first aviators to fly across the Pacific ocean.


July 16, 2017: Now that we have reached Asia and the aircraft have reached the late 30’s I am going to start using aircraft for than one leg at a time rather than changing every time. So we will be using Milton Schup’s Beach D18S again. There is no airport at Paramushiru in either FSX, P3D or real life as far as I can tell, so I will create another simple seaplane port using Airport Design Editor. The island of Paramushiru was taken over by the Soviet Union after World War 2, now part of Russia and is called Petropavlovsk.


It was raining when we departed Komandorski with a 2000 foot ceiling. We climbed up to 8000 feet to get above the clouds and it was an easy cruise, over the Kamchatka peninsula and into the bay where the Coast guard cutter was waiting for me. Here are a few pictures from the flight.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.01/wc.2.1.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.01/wc.2.1.2.jpg
Up above the clouds.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.01/wc.2.1.3.jpg
Glamour Shots.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.01/wc.2.1.4.jpg
Lots of clouds.

[blanston12]

Sorry the descriptions have gotten a bit long but there was a lot happening back then and I want to make sure I told there story. They should get shorter again.

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.01/wc.2.1.5.jpg
Hey, thats Asia!


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.01/wc.2.1.6.jpg
That bay between the two islands is our destination.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.01/wc.2.1.7.jpg
There is the cutter!


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.01/wc.2.1.8.jpg
Landed.

[blanston12]

May 19, 1924: In there narrow bunks the flyers did not get much sleep that night as 45 mph winds rocked USS Ford roughly side to side that night, the same winds kept them from refueling and servicing there aircraft the next day. They did get badly needed haircuts and were treated to dinner with ‘strong libations’ on one of the Japanese destroyers. The following morning they were off at 7:30 am for the 595 mile flight to Hitokappu bay on Yetorofu Island. This proved to be one of the coldest days flying since they left Seattle, Wade recalled often having to “stamp his feet just to see if they were still with us”.. They started in biting wind and fog, plunged in and out of snow squalls as they passed over one Japanese island after another. After more than seven hours of flying the arrived at Hitokappu bay where the destroyers Tokitsukaze and USS Pope were waiting to great them.


July 19, 2017: For the next flight we will be using the Consolidated PBY Catalina. The legionary Cat was one of the most widely used seaplanes and amphibians of world war 2, It first flew in 1935 and over 3300 were built and was used by every branch of the US Armed forces and at least 27 other nations in many different roles until 1980. Many are still in service with civilian operators. The model I am using today was created by Aerosoft and is very nice. The USN 5A I am using today came equipped with a Sperry autopilot that is much more realistic than I am used to and took some practice before I was ready to use it on a real flight. I found the rudder control on it a bit useless, instead just using the bank control to turn with and control direction.


The weather today was better than I had seen in some time, 12 kn winds with scattered low clouds. Like many islands in this area, at the end of world war 2, Soviet forces took possession of Yetorofu Island and it is now controlled by the Russian Federation and is called Iturup island. The flight was uneventful and I landed at Iturup island after 4 hours of flying.


Here are a few pictures of the trip.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.02/wc.2.2.1.jpg
Getting ready to depart at Dawn.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.02/wc.2.2.2.jpg
Head into the wind before takeoff.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.02/wc.2.2.3.jpg
Heading out.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.02/wc.2.2.4.jpg
Glamour shots.

[blanston12]

Continuing to Iturup island.

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.02/wc.2.2.5.jpg
Small island along the way.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.02/wc.2.2.6.jpg
Cruising.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.02/wc.2.2.7.jpg
There the cutter marking our destionatin, get ready to land.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.02/wc.2.2.8.jpg
Landed.

[blanston12]

May 22, 1924: Smith had hoped depart early the next morning but here old enemy fog prevented that. They visited the local village and were invited on board one of the Japanese destroyers where invited to watch a Sumo match. Weather was again unfavorable the next day but by the 22nd they were able to depart. They had wished to depart at midnight but fog prevented them leaving till 5:30am, they encountered light fog as they flew along the mountainous islands, 495 miles to the Village of Minato on the north east corner of the Japanese main island of Hanshu where USS Ford waiting for them.


July 22, 2017: Again I am flying the Aerosoft PBY, this time flying Jacques Cousteau’s converted PBY-6A. Weather today was overcast with a 1200-2000 foot ceiling. Still trying to use VFR rules I stayed at around 1000 feet for most of the flight. The engines on the a bit more finicky than most sim aircraft and I was trying to be careful with them but for reasons I can’t explain the right engine kept shutting down on me and I probably restarted it a dozen times trying various combinations of the settings trying to keep them running, some worked better than others but I never found the right combination as it shut down again as I was on final. I flew to the airport at Omitato which is on the bay where they flyers landed. I should have landed in the bay as the airports 2000 foot runway was a bit short for what I needed and overran the end before coming to a stop. I landed after flying 361 nm in 2.8 hours.


Here are a few pics from the flight:


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.03/wc.2.3.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.03/wc.2.3.2.jpg
On our way.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.03/wc.2.3.3.jpg
Staying low.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.03/wc.2.3.4.jpg
Making our way around Hokkaido island.

[blanston12]

Continuing to Japan!

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.03/wc.2.3.5.jpg
Selfie!


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.03/wc.2.3.6.jpg
Around the last ridge on Hokkaido, and the engines are running again!


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.03/wc.2.3.7.jpg
Our destination is in sight!


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.03/wc.2.3.8.jpg
Landed, just got to the place I wanted to park before both engines decided to quit on me.

[Portia911]

Kudos to you, Joe - especially running the variety of craft you are.
Some - like the Uiver/Flight 1 DC-2, and (as you've reported) the Aerosoft Catalina - are far from simple 'Ctrl E and off you go' types. I've never been able to sort out the Catalina procedures to start or keep the engines running - much to my frustration as it clearly is a terrific add-on.
Good luck for your next sector. :encouragement:

[blanston12]

May 22, 1924: Although Lt Smith had wired ahead that he did not want any party arranged, A welcome arch and reception tents had been erected and large crowed lined the shore and warfs ands everal hundred school children waved american flags. As soon as they came to a halt a giant fireworks display lit up the sky. While a celebration was planned the flyers were behind schedule and Lt Nutt, the advance officer for the flight in this region went ashore to give there regrets while the flyers refueled there aircraft. By 1pm they were back in the air again. They plunged into fog and rain, but after two and a half hours the weather cleared and became ‘balmy’ according to Wade. They continued flying down the eastern short of Hanshu. At 5pm they turned inland and landed at Lake Kasumigaura, Home of the Japanese Navy Air Base, 50 miles north of Tokyo, They were met by thousands of spectators and news correspondents and photographers from all over the world. The Admiral in command welcomed them and assured them they would get all the assistance they would need. After their planes were made secure they were taken to the Naval Air Service Club where local officers hosted a dinner in their honor and were each shown to private rooms with there own orderlies, they also received there first mail since they left home.

July 22, 2017: For first few legs over Japan I wanted to use some Japanese planes, but there are only a few I could find that worked well in FSX (or later). The first one I found is the Nakajima B5N2 Kate. The B5N was the standard torpedo bomber if the Imperial Japanese navy for much of world war 2. It first flew in 1937 and over 1100 were built and was used throughout the war. The model was first made for CFS-2 by Thicko and converted to FSX by Erik Hertzberger. The exterior model is pretty good but the VC shows its age.


My flight to Hyakuri Airport started off in weather that was best unpleasant, Cloud level was at 1500 feet so I stayed below at about 800 feet and continued down the coast toward Tokyo, About half way down the coast the clouds lifted a bit and was able to climb to a safer altitude and made my way and landed safely after flying 306 nm in 2 hours.


Here are a few pics from the flight.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.04/wc.2.4.1.jpg
Ready to go.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.04/wc.2.4.2.jpg
On our way.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.04/wc.2.4.3.jpg
Staying low while flying up the coast.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.04/wc.2.4.4.jpg
Glamour shots.

[blanston12]

Continuing to Tokyo.

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.04/wc.2.4.5.jpg
Its clearing up.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.04/wc.2.4.6.jpg
Getting closer to civilization.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.04/wc.2.4.7.jpg
On final into our destination.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.04/wc.2.4.8.jpg
Landed.


By this point in the flight they had flown 5,657 miles and logged 76 hours in the air. At this point I have flown 5493 nm and logged 47 hours in the air and based on our start dates I am 8 days ahead of them.

[blanston12]

Kudos to you, Joe - especially running the variety of craft you are.
Some - like the Uiver/Flight 1 DC-2, and (as you've reported) the Aerosoft Catalina - are far from simple 'Ctrl E and off you go' types. I've never been able to sort out the Catalina procedures to start or keep the engines running - much to my frustration as it clearly is a terrific add-on.
Good luck for your next sector. :encouragement:

Thanks Portia, The thing that baffled me the most was that I had flown the Aerosoft Cat for the previous leg also and had not had the same problems, and I did basically the same thing, fuel pumps on, map 35, rpm ~2200. Only real difference was that on the first flight the weather was better so I was around 5000-7000 feet and on the second I was lower at around 1000 feet, where its warmer so maybe it was overheating.

[blanston12]

June 1, 1924. The base at Lake Kasumigaura was a major supply point for the trip and the site where they planned to overhaul there aircraft and get them ready for flying in the tropics, Including replacing the engines and installing larger radiators. The Japanese had planned two weeks of events, but the Lt Smith, concerned that they were at least 30 days behind schedule asked for the celebrations to be compressed to 48 hours. A Japanese admiral hosted them to a traditional Japanese dinner, the flyers were very impressed by the geisha girls who served the meal. After ten days of mechanics and diplomacy they were ready to leave at 5:30 am on June 1 for Kushimoto, 305 miles away in ideal weather, As they passed Iro point they plunged into a severe rain storm that became a mild typhoon, that became more severe as they landed at Kushimoto, where USS Pope was waiting for them. A welcome party tried to come out to the ship to greet them but the weather was too rough and the flyers retired for the night on board the destroyer.


Still wanting to fly a Japanese aircraft over Japan I decided to fly the Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero. The A6M first flew in 1939 and at the time it was introduced it was considered the most capable carrier based fighter in the world with excellent maneuverability and long range, over 10,000 were built. The model I am using today was made by Aeroplane Heaven for JustFlight and I think it is the best FSX/P3D compatible Japanese aircraft model from that era available.


It was pretty overcast when I took off, I had to stay under 1500 feet for most of the flight to stay below the clouds. I decided to fly to Nanki-Shirahama airport which is the closest airport I could find to Kushimoto. I followed the coast for a while, climbed over one large peninsula, then weaved around the various islands as I headed toward my destination. Then at some point I zoomed out on the GPS to see how far I had to go and realized I had made a fairly serious navigational error. At some point in my planning process I had recorded the code for the destination airport at RJDB where I should have used RJBD and I was at this point about 140nm off course. I could continue on to Kanoya which is the destination for the next leg, which is almost as far as going back to Kushimoto but instead headed for the closest airport which was at Matsuyama. I had flown 405 nm in 2.6 hours, at least 100nm further than I planned.


Here are a few pics from the flight:


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.05/wc.2.5.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.05/wc.2.5.2.jpg
Yes, we are ready.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.05/wc.2.5.3.jpg
Fireworks over Tokyo. They must be celebrating our trip.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.05/wc.2.5.4.jpg
Mount Fuji showed itself.

[blanston12]

Flying over Japan continued...

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.05/wc.2.5.5.jpg
Brief period of good weather.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.05/wc.2.5.6.jpg
Glamour Shots.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.05/wc.2.5.7.jpg
Just before I realised I was headed in the wrong direction.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.05/wc.2.5.8.jpg
Secure at Matsuyama

[blanston12]

June 2, 1924: By morning the storm had subsided and they went ashore to meet with the leaders of the town. They were presented with souvenirs and decorations “enough to start an Oriental museum” according to Arnold. Some of the decorations were only given to the pilots but Lt Smith asked that they be given to all six of them since “We were simply six American airmen flying around the world together” and the Japanese agreed. By noon they were off into a stiff head wind for the 360 mile flight to Kagoshima, the southern most city in Japan. Along the way they flew over may steamers, junks and fishing boats. They also flew over the destroyers Perry and Steward that were patrolling the route for them. While flying along the coast of Kyushu island Boston’s engine began overheating so Wade landed the plane in a well protected harbor, while the other two plane circled overhead Ogden filled the radiator with salt water and the three planes continued Kagoshima where the repair ship USS Black Hawk was waiting for them. A large crowd with at least 2000 school children were waiting for them on the beach, many waving home made flags, The flyers went ashore briefly where a few short speeches were made and souvenirs handed out.


July 29, 2017: For the next flight I will continue to use the JustFlight A6M2 Zero. Because of my navigational error on the previous flight I was now in Matsuyama instead of Kushimoto and only 175 nm from Kagoshima. Weather was better today, 12 kn winds with scattered clouds at 3000 feet. The flight was pretty easy, I flew down the east coast of Kyushu island at about 3000 feet. As I got closer to the haze started to build up. I turned inland near Miyazaki where there were some heavier patches of fog to fly over/through but as I got to Kagoshima the weather cleared up and I was able to make a safe landing at Kagoshima airport despite touching down a little short of the runway. In the fast A6M2 the flight time was only 57 minutes.


Here are a few pics from the flight.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.06/wc.2.6.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.06/wc.2.6.2.jpg
Climbing out from Matsuyama airport.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.06/wc.2.6.3.jpg
Glamour shots.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.06/wc.2.6.4.jpg
Kyushu island

[blanston12]

Continuing to Kagoshima...
https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.06/wc.2.6.5.jpg
Getting hazy.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.06/wc.2.6.6.jpg
Kagoshima


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.06/wc.2.6.7.jpg
On final, yes I am a little low.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg2.06/wc.2.6.8.jpg
Secured.

[Bjoern]

Don't be discouraged by the lack of replies; for my part I'm still following this.

[blanston12]

Don't be discouraged by the lack of replies; for my part I'm still following this.

Thanks Bjoern, hope your enjoying it. I done times wonder if I am boring everyone with this so your encouragement is greatly appreciated

[jmbiii]

You better keep posting your progress. I am following you both figuratively and virtually (albeit in a single aircraft - PC-12).:wavey:

[cavaricooper]

Joe-

I check often- thank-you for your efforts.

Best- C

[blanston12]

June 4, 1924: They stayed aboard Black Hawk the next day while they waited for the Navy ships to get into position at Shanghai. On the 4th they awoke to excellent weather, the water was so calm and the winds so light that there heavy aircraft had great difficulty getting airborne. Lt Smith was not able to get Chicago in the air, he waved the other aircraft on toward China. He taxied back to the mooring and spent the rest of the of the day swimming under there plane repairing a strip of metal that had torn away from one of the pontoons. The next morning Black Hawk sent two motor boats to kick up the water so Chicago could get airborne and follow the other two aircraft toward China.


Boston and New Orleans continued in the best weather they had experienced since they left Seattle, As they approached the Yangtze river they could see thousands of junks, sampans, river boats and large steam ships all trying to avoid each other. Several miles of water front had been cleared for there landing space, Once they landed and battled the rapid river currents to tie their craft up to the buoy’s, an excursion boat containing hundreds of Americans and Europeans came to welcome them and give the flyers a historic reception, a huge crowd of people were on shore clamoring to meet them. After they flyers finished their work on the planes they were taken to the luxurious Hotel Astor in downtown Shanghai. Smith arrived the next day to the same reception.


July 30, 2017: For the next couple legs I will be flying the Douglas DC-3. The DC-3 started life as an enlarged 14 bed sleeper version of the DC-2 but it revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s, it could carry more passengers in greater comfort than ever before, over 600 were built before world war 2 and more than 16,000 were built during the war, about 2000 are still in service around the world today. The model I am using today is version 3 of the C-47 made by Manfred Jahn and team and is one of my favorite aircraft. My flight from Kagoshima to Shanghai started off with low clouds and 4 mile visibility, Flying at 3000 feet over the hills to the west and out over the East China Sea. The overcast changed to scattered clouds and the rest of the flight was pretty easy as we cruised at 5000 ft into Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport. The 459 nm flight had taken 2.9 hours to complete.


Here are a few pic of the flight.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.01/wc.3.1.1.jpg
Ready at Kagoshima.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.01/wc.3.1.2.jpg
Take off.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.01/wc.3.1.3.jpg
Heading out over the hills.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.01/wc.3.1.4.jpg
Clear weather.

[blanston12]

on to China!

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.01/wc.3.1.5.jpg
Glamour Shots.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.01/wc.3.1.6.jpg
First sight of China!


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.01/wc.3.1.7.jpg
On Final.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.01/wc.3.1.8.jpg
Parked, Pudong International Airport

[blanston12]

June 7, 1924: The original plan was to fly to 600 miles to Amoy (Xiamen) but not wanting to try to take off with a heavy load of fuel in the crowded harbor Lt Smith worked out with the destroyer captains that they would take off with only five hours of fuel and fly 350 miles to Tchinkoen bay where one of the destroyers would be positioned for refueling, they would then continue Amoy. On the morning of the 7th the harbor master was not able to clear a path. All three planes had to abort there first takeoff attempts to avoid colliding with a unheeding sampans Smith and Wade finally saw an opening and took off, but when Nelson in New Orleans tried again he had to swerve right to avoid a Junk, then plunging up river at high speed had to pull up hard to avoid a large sampan, missing it by inches. Flying along the coast they arrived at the destroyer off the china coast after four and a half hours of flying.


August 1, 2017: I will again be flying Manfred Jahn’s C-47. Best I could figure Tchinkoen is actually Yueqing Bay, and the closest airport is at Wenzhou, about 25 miles away. Even then P3D did not have that airport but I found a simple scenery file on Flightsim.com created by Kevin Wynn that would meet my needs. The weather started out nice, 18kn winds a few clouds at 2400 feet. Temperature read at 93F/34C. Took off from Shanghai and headed south along the coast at 5000 feet. The clouds built up as I approached Wenzhou and I dropped to about 1500 feet in the rain to stay below the weather before dropping into the Wenzhou airport for a safe landing. The 201 mile flight took 1.7 hours.


Here are a few pics.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.02/wc.3.2.1.jpg
Ready for a dawn takeoff.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.02/wc.3.2.2.jpg
Climbing out of Shanghai.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.02/wc.3.2.3.jpg
Heading out over the coast islands.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.02/wc.3.2.5.jpg
Glamour Shots.

[blanston12]

Continuing down the Chinese coast.

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.02/wc.3.2.4.jpg
More islands.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.02/wc.3.2.6.jpg
Weather ahead.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.02/wc.3.2.7.jpg
Our destination.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.02/wc.3.2.8.jpg
Secoure.

[blanston12]

June 7, 1924: By 2:45 they were refueled and back in the air. Flying down the coast they could see hundreds of villages along the shore and thousands of sampans filled with families and animals. The weather was excellent and there planes were responding perfectly. At Amoy the destroyer USS Preble was waiting. They had great difficulty keeping the many small boats away from the planes. Only after an officer in a motor launch, capsized a few sampans running straight at the boats only to swerve at the last minute to swam the boats did they keep there distance.


For the next couple legs I plan on using the Vickers Wellington. The Wellington was a British twin engine medium bomber that first flew in 1936. It was mostly used as a night bomber but also for anti-submarine patrols. Over 11,000 were built and was the only British bomber to be produced for the duration of the war. The model I am using today is made by First Class Simulations. I will be using the Coastal command Mark X version. I chose this version because it was the only one in the package painted for daylight operations.


The flight was pretty easy. A few clouds at 3000 feet, I spent most of the flight at between 5000 and 2500 feet dodging clouds, flying along the coast to Xiamen. The Wellington made short work of the flight, doing the 250 nm flight in only 1.3 hours. Here are a few screen shots.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.03/wc.3.3.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.03/wc.3.3.2.jpg
Heading down the coast.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.03/wc.3.3.3.jpg
Dodging clouds.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.03/wc.3.3.4.jpg
Coastal Islands

[blanston12]

Continuing to Xiamen...

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.03/wc.3.3.5.jpg
Glamour Shots


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.03/wc.3.3.6.jpg
First view of Xiamen!


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.03/wc.3.3.7.jpg
Our destination.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.03/wc.3.3.8.jpg
Landed, but for some reason there are cars running through the airport, think I will park somewhere else.

[blanston12]

June 8, 1924: The flyers wanted to get off early the next morning but curious locals again crowded there boats around the planes, again the navy came to there assistance but it was not until 10:30 in the morning that they were able to get off. They were warned they would run into a typhoon on the 310 mile flight to Hong Kong but they took off into darkening skys, They flew into winds and lightning, at one point they were hit by 100 mph tail winds but it did not last long and they emerged out over a calm sea, fog forced them down so they were flying just over the tops of the hundreds of boats of all descriptions in the waterways. The number of boats increased as they got to the crown colony of Hong Kong, as they few over they bay they could see a vast number of boats and anchored in the middle was a navy destroyer. They could not see there yellow buoy’s but were signaled to go to the other side of the bay, where the Standard Oil Company dock was located in a small cove. The landed there and with the help of there machine shop they spent the rest of the day working on there aircraft.


August 4, 2017: Again I am using the First Class Simulations Vickers Wellington. I actually did this flight twice. I wanted to fly into the old Kai Tak airport so yesterday I did the flight and landed at Kai Tak but ended up crashing into an invisible building while taxing to parking and I aborted the FSAirlines client before it recorded the flight so it would not save it as a crash. I restarted the flight today, compared with the scattered clouds of the day before today it was clear and I flew at 5000 feet along the coast. Clouds started to appear as I got closer to Hong Kong, after yesterdays ‘accident’ at Kai Tak I proceeded to the new Chek Lap Kok International Airport and made a safe landing. Most of the pictures are actually from the previous days attempt as the weather is a little more dramatic, but the last few are from today’s. Here are the pics.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.04/wc.3.4.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff, the airport manager really needs to do something about these AI cars running all over the place.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.04/wc.3.4.2.jpg
I managed to avoid hitting a car or truck on takeoff.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.04/wc.3.4.3.jpg
Heading out over the bay.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.04/wc.3.4.4.jpg
On our way.

[blanston12]

Continuing to Hong Kong.

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.04/wc.3.4.5.jpg
City of Hong Kong!


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.04/wc.3.4.6.jpg
Fog ahead, better get lower.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.04/wc.3.4.7.jpg
Our destination.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.04/wc.3.4.8.jpg
Landed and secured.

[blanston12]

June 10, 1924: It was extremely hot as the flyers got there planes ready for the flight to Hai Phong, there route would take them over the Lanzhou peninsula that separated the South China Sea with the gulf of Tonkin, it was the shortest distance but it was covered by jungle that contained more tigers and leopards than any other place in China. Also for a sea plane any mechanical problem would result in a crash in the Jungle. They traveled down the coast and over the peninsula. They flew at around 500 feet and could see the locals scattering in all directions as they passed over. Wade wrote of the flight, remembering all the tiny islands that “rival our thousand islands if not surpassing them in beauty”. They landed near the mouth of the Red River at sundown. A group of french men and women came out to welcome them, one particular Frenchman tried several times to come aboard Chicago to give a welcoming speech, but Smith not done working on the engine pushed the boat away each time. When the crews were done servicing there aircraft they finally came ashore and that Frenchman was still waiting for them, turns out it was the French Governor General who wanted to invite them to a formal reception. Smith apologized for any unintentional discourtesy and accepted.


August 5, 2017: For the next couple legs I will be flying the Grumman G-21 Goose. The Goose first flew in 1937 and was intended as an eight passenger commuter aircraft for businessmen in the Long Island area and Grumman's first aircraft to be used in airline service. It was used in world war 2 by the United States and many other nations as an effective light transport. About 345 were built and at least 30 are still airworthy. The model I am using for this flight is the one that comes default with FSX. I know many of us discount the default aircraft but this one I has always been one of my favorites and I think it as good as many payware aircraft out there.


My flight to Hai Phong was uneventful. Weather was warm, few clouds at 2000 feet with 10 kn winds, and those clouds cleared half way into the flight. I followed the coast till I reached the Lanzhou peninsula and crossing over to the gulf of Tonkin proceeded down the coast to Hai Phong. The default airport there was just the runway and the tower so I taxied off into the grass and stopped, it probably would have been more fun to landed in river that was close by. Here are a few pics from the flight.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.05/wc.3.5.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.05/wc.3.5.2.jpg
Heading out over Zhujiang River Estuary


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.05/wc.3.5.3.jpg
Glamour shots.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.05/wc.3.5.4.jpg
Lots of pretty islands.

[blanston12]

Continuing to Vietnam!

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.05/wc.3.5.5.jpg
More islands.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.05/wc.3.5.6.jpg
Not sure if this is supposed to be river sediment or polution.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.05/wc.3.5.7.jpg
City of Hai Phong and my destination.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.05/wc.3.5.8.jpg
Secured.

[blanston12]

June 11, 1924: The next day they all had trouble getting airborne in the calm waters of Hai Phong's river, they zigzagged down the river trying to avoid all the Junks and sampans that kept trying to get in there way, they all got off but it took wade 12 miles at full throttle before the pontoons would break loose. The 410 mile flight to Tourane French Indochina (Later Da Nang, Vietnam) was looking like it would be an easy one as they flew over the rice fields, jungles and out over the Gulf on Tonkin, but 30 miles off the coast Chicago's engine started to overheat, Smith quickly found a quiet lagoon where they could land and add water to the radiator. They were off again but 30 minutes later there engine started to pound ominously, again they searched for a safe place to land and found another lagoon 3 miles inland. This time they found a broken connecting rod sticking out the side of the crank case. After seeing Smith signal that the engine could not be repaired both Wade and Nelson landed to give what help they could, they gave them all the food and water they could and promised to get a new engine to them as soon as they could, so New Orleans and Boston took off and proceed to Tourane to get help, leaving Smith and Arnold stranded on this small lake, far from any visible habitation.


August 6, 2017: Continuing in the Grumman Goose, my flight from Hai Phong to Da Nang was much lest eventful than Smiths. The weather was good, a few clouds at 1800, 4kn wind, warm with temperature of 31C. Staying along the coast of the Gulf of Tonkin, I cruised at about 2400 feet until the city of Da Nang was in sight. Rather than landing at the airport, I decided to put this sea plane to good use and landed in the River in the center of the city. The river was only 2 miles from the airport and the FSAirlines client would record this as landing at that airport. The 299 nm flight took me 2.4 hours.


Here are a few pics from the flight:


http://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.06/wc.3.6.1.jpg
Ready to go at Hai Phong.


http://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.06/wc.3.6.2.jpg
Climbing out of Hai Phong.


http://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.06/wc.3.6.3.jpg
Selfie!


http://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.06/wc.3.6.4.jpg
Rear view.

[blanston12]

Continuing to Da Nang!

http://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.06/wc.3.6.5.jpg
View of the coast.


http://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.06/wc.3.6.6.jpg
Front view.


http://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.06/wc.3.6.7.jpg
My destination, lets land in the river instead of the airport.


http://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.06/wc.3.6.8.jpg
Landed at Da Nang.


For some reason I did not take any interior shots, sorry about that, good thing I did so on the last flight.

[blanston12]

June 15, 1924: Wade and Nelson arrived in Tourane hurried aboard the destroyer USS Noah, Onboard was Lt Lawton, advance officer for this region and M. Chevalier, representative from the Standard Oil Company. They checked there maps and determined to Lagoon Smith had landed on was outside the city of Hue. After conferring, Nelson and Chevalier proceeded by car to Hue find Smith while Noah would sail to Saigon to bring back a new engine for Chicago. Smith and Arnold had spent the rest of the day battling thirst and too much curious locals. After arriving in Hue, Smith and Chevalier proceeded by car and then by boat until about 3am they reached the Lagoon where Smith and Arnold waited exhausted. At daylight they arranged for Chicago to be towed, 25 miles up river to the city of Hue. By the 13th, Noah had returned from Saigon with a new engine and it was driven by truck to Hue along with Harding, Ogden and four volunteer sailors from Noah, The old engine was disconnected from Chicago and the new one installed, after a taxi test Smith and Arnold were back in the air for the 60 mile flight to Tourane, the entire episode from landing in the lagoon to getting back in the air had taken only 71 hours.


August 11, 2017: One thing the flyers did not do on this trip was cross the Equator, which is one thing that gave Australian Charles Kingsford Smith one of his claims to fame when in 1929 he finished the second around the world flight and the first that crossed the equator. While the flyers were working to help Smith and Arnold get out of the Jungle, I think I will make a short excursion to the City of Pontianak in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, which is 976 nm from Da Nang and whose airport is about 8 nm south of the Equator.


For this longer flight I getting ready a Boeing model 299 better known as the B-17. First designed to a 1934 requirement for a multi engine bomber, it ultimately lost the competition for that contract because the prototype crashed but its clear superiority let to 13 more being ordered for evaluation and eventually over 12,000 being built between 1938 when it was introduced and 1945 when production ended. Despite having a smaller bomb load and shorter range than the more numerous B-24’s it proved to be more durable and much better liked by the crews that flew them.


For my flight to Pontianak I will be using a B-17F by Aeroplane Heaven, which is very nice. The weather for takeoff was not bad, few clouds at 1500 feet, very light 1kn winds and temperature of 37C/99F. We flew at around 2500 feet along the coast until we were near the city of Vinh Tan, where we turned south out over the South China Sea. We stayed at 2500 feet until flying into a thunderstorm when I climbed to 8000 feet to try to get out of the worst of the turbulence, proceeded to Supadio Airport for a safe landing. Here are a few pics from the flight.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.07/wc.3.7.1.jpg
Ready for a dawn departure.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.07/wc.3.7.2.jpg
Climbing out of Da Nang.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.07/wc.3.7.3.jpg
Heading down the coast.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.07/wc.3.7.4.jpg
Nice profile.

[blanston12]

Crossing the Equator...

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.07/wc.3.7.5.jpg
Out over the south China Sea.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.07/wc.3.7.6.jpg
First sight of Indonesia.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.07/wc.3.7.7.jpg
On Final.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.07/wc.3.7.8.jpg
Secured.

[blanston12]

June 16, 1924: Nelson and the others had arrived back in Tourane just before nightfall. They were all up early the next day and were in the air by 5am. The weather was favorable but Boston had troubles with its generator, not having an extra Nelson rigged up a second battery and a switch so one battery could be used for a while then the other. They arrived over the Mekong River at 1:30 and landed at the French Hydroplane station on the Saigon River, just north of the city of Saigon.


August 12, 2017: Again I will be flying the Boeing B-17. This time will be flying the G variant, also by Aeroplane Heaven. I made a detour the day before to Pontianak Indonesia and today’s flight will take me back to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, formerly known as Saigon. The weather was not as favorable as when I arrived. Scattered clouds at 1200 ft with less than 4 miles of visibility, 3 knot winds with a temperature of 23C/73F, fairly cool for just south of the Equator. I stayed at around 800 ft to stay below the clouds and follow the coast until near Singkawang City we turned north west and back out over the South China Sea, The weather soon cleared up but we did have to dodge some thunder clouds along the way. We came in over the Mekong river and delta, as often happens the clouds built up as we approached Ho Chi Minh city but we were able to make a safe landing at Tan Son Nhat International Airport. The 680 nm flight had taken 3.7 hours.


Here are a few pics from the flight::


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.08/wc.3.8.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.08/wc.3.8.2.jpg
Flying along the coast of the island of Borneo.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.08/wc.3.8.3.jpg
The weather has improved a little.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.08/wc.3.8.4.jpg
Out over the South China Sea, dodging clouds.

[blanston12]

On to Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.08/wc.3.8.5.jpg
Comming in over the Mekong Delta.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.08/wc.3.8.6.jpg
Hi Chi Minh city in the haze.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.08/wc.3.8.7.jpg
My Destination.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.08/wc.3.8.8.jpg
Secured.

[blanston12]

June 18, 1924: As they continued there adventure the flyers did not bring there dress uniforms with them in there cramped aircraft, instead they would usually they would be lent cloths by the officers on the Navy ship that was there to help them. They would borrow shirts, socks, pants and ties, but not Jackets, since those would have Navy insignia on them and they were members of the Army. In Saigon this led to a less than friendly reception from a very french waiter at a street side cafe who despite there explanations, would not serve them because they were not wearing jackets. There destination for the day was Bangkok Siam (Thailand), They could have saved 100 miles if they had flown across the souther part of Indochina (now Vietnam) but felt continuing along the coast while longer would be much safer with the many lagoons they could land on in emergency. To avoid the long take off runs in the crowded rivers they decided to not leave with full fuel and fly 410 miles to Kampong Som Bay (Cambodia) before continuing to Bangkok. They flight was uneventful, they landed in the Kampong Som river which was protected from the high winds and were refueled with the help of the crew from the destroyer.


August 15, 2017: I had originally wanted to use Virtavia's Heinkel He 111 but discovered the empty weight was was off by about 1/3 so the FSAirlines tracking client would not accept it unless I fixed it, plus it is one of the worst I have seen for nosing over when you hit the breaks. Not wanting to mess up the flight characteristics by increasing the weight I switched instead to the Hawker Hurricane. The Hurricane is one of those legionary aircraft that should need to introduction, it first flew in 1935 and formed the bulk of the RAF fighter force in the early parts of the second world war, over 14,000 were built before production ended in 1944. It accounted for 60% of the victories in the Battle of Britain and it served in every major theater of the war. I am using the Just Flight Battle of Britain package and am using a Hurricane Ia, which looks and flies great but I had a big problem with fuel usage during the flight. The weather was not bad, 6 knot winds, broken clouds at 1500 feet, Temperature of 30C. I intended to follow there path down the coast of the South China Sea and around but as I approached the mouth of the Mekong river I noticed I was already down to 80% fuel, I reset the engine to a lower power setting and turned due west across the countryside to head directly for Sihanukville, Cambodia, the closest airport to where I think they originally landed. By the time I reached the west coast of Vietnam I still had 100 miles to go and was down to 25% fuel. Looking for the closest airport I landed at Rach Gia airport, refueled and was on my way again. The clouds got a bit thicker as I approached my destination but made a safe landing and taxied off the runway to stop in the grass with 50% fuel remaining. My 200 miles of flying had taken me 1.7 hours.


Here are a few pics:


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.09/wc.3.9.1.jpg
Ready at sunrise


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.09/wc.3.9.2.jpg
Sunrise over Ho Chi Minh City.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.09/wc.3.9.3.jpg
Flying along the coast.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.09/wc.3.9.4.jpg
Low on fuel, landed at Rach Gia

[blanston12]

Unplanned stop Rach Gia, Vietnam....

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.09/wc.3.9.5.jpg
Refueled and off again.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.09/wc.3.9.6.jpg
Flying along the coast in the Gulf of Thailand.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.09/wc.3.9.7.jpg
Just a little rain.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.09/wc.3.9.8.jpg
Landed at Sihanukville, Cambodia.


Thanks for reading, hope you have enjoyed these so far, as always your comments are always welcome.

[jmbiii]

Still with you, Joe !:wavey:

[BrittMac]

Good stuff! Keep going. I am enjoying the history lesson and the screenshots quite a bit.
Thanks!

[blanston12]

Good stuff! Keep going. I am enjoying the history lesson and the screenshots quite a bit.
Thanks!


Still with you, Joe !:wavey:

Thanks for the encouragement! Have the next leg almost ready to post.

[Taco]

Yep, keep it going! Enjoying Your Flights.

[blanston12]

June 18, 1924: After refueling at Kampongson bay they flyers continued along the coast of the Gulf of Siam for 245 miles until they reached Bangkok and landed in the Menam river. Again they had to dodge junks, sampans and houseboats to get to there moorings. The heat and humidity wad debilitating as they serviced there craft. They continually had to try to protect the cruisers from being rammed by wayward boats until the Siamese police strung a circle of boats around each cruiser.


August 16, 2017: After the fuel problems with the JF Hurricane decided to switch to something else for the 268 nm flight to Bangkok Thailand, the Messerschmitt Bf-109. The 109 is another aircraft that should need to introduction, first flown in 1935 it was one of the most advanced of its day with all metal construction, an enclosed cockpit and retractable gear. Serving in the Spanish civil war and then world war 2. Almost 34,000 were made and it was in service until 1965. The three top German aces of the war all few the 109 and between them had 926 victories. The aircraft I am flying today is also from the JustFlight Battle of Britain collection and is very nice. In Sihanukville I switched planes and was off again for Thailand. Weather was not the best, Clouds at 1500 feet and light rain, I continued up the coast of the Gulf of Thailand at 1000 feet, gradually the weather improved and I climbed up 2500 feet as we continued our easy flight landing at Don Mueang International airport after 1.4 hours of flying.


Here are a few pics:


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.10/wc.3.10.1.jpg
New plane, full fuel, ready to go.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.10/wc.3.10.2.jpg
Climbing out.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.10/wc.3.10.3.jpg
Not the prettyest, but flys well.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.10/wc.3.10.4.jpg
Coast of the Gulf of Thailand.

[blanston12]

Continuing to Thailand...


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.10/wc.3.10.5.jpg
Island hoping.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.10/wc.3.10.6.jpg
Selfie!


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.10/wc.3.10.7.jpg
I think Bangkok is in site.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.10/wc.3.10.8.jpg
Landed.


Thanks for reading, off for a road trip so no more flights for at least a week.
As always your comments are welcome.

[Bjoern]

Thailand? That 109 is way more than lost. :untroubled:

[blanston12]

Thailand? That 109 is way more than lost. :untroubled:

That's probably true. Maybe I should have used the paint that had Japanese markings, that would at least have been more plausible, but instead flew with the markings of Adolf Galland's plane.

[blanston12]

June 20, 1924: The flyers were given a tour of the city of Bangkok which included many temples and palaces, the king was out of town but they did meet the ranking prince. They were offered the opportunity to view a beheading bee but they declined that. Some of the flyers took advantage of the comfortable Royal Hotel of Bangkok, while the others decided to sleep on the Destroyer. The next major stop was to be Rangoon Burma, they decided to fly to Tavoy to refuel. A direct flight would require a 130 mile flight over the Malay Peninsula, the safer alternative would be to fly along the coast and around but that would require another two days of flying so Lt Smith decided to take the risk. The flight over the peninsula was not as easy as they expected, In trying to fly over one ridge New Orleans kept getting hit by dangerous down drafts that caused it to turn around try again.Several attempts were made before they finally made it over. After 200 miles of flying they arrived at the Tavoy, Burma where the destroyer USS Picard was waiting for them.


August 20, 2017: For the next leg I got ready the Lockheed L-18 Lodestar, The Lodestar was an enlarged version of the L-14 Super Electra, which was an enlarged version of the L-10 Electra. The Lodestar had two more rows of seats compared to the L-14 which gave it similar per seat cost to the DC-3 with better performance. Over 600 were built between 1940 and 1957. They aircraft I am using was made by Milton Shupe and is very nice, but it’s not V4 compatible. Tavoy is now Dawei, Myanmar. Weather for this leg was not bad, 4 knot winds with a few clouds at 4000 feet and a temperature of 28C/82F. The flight to Dawei was uneventful except that P3Dv3.4 crashed on me twice before I could finish the flight. I few most of the flight at 4000 feet and had to weave though the mountains near Dawei to stay below the clouds. My 141 nm flight took only 48 minutes.


Here are some pics:


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.11/wc.3.11.1.jpg
Ready for dawn takeoff.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.11/wc.3.11.2.jpg
Flying over the Thai country side.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.11/wc.3.11.3.jpg
Just a few hills/mountians to get through.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.11/wc.3.11.4.jpg
Glamour Shots.

[blanston12]

Continuing to Burma!

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.11/wc.3.11.5.jpg
Weaving through the mountians.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.11/wc.3.11.6.jpg
Dawei ahead!


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.11/wc.3.11.7.jpg
Our destination is in sight!


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.11/wc.3.11.8.jpg
Landed!

[blanston12]

June 20, 1924: The stop at Tavoy was only to refuel. While the sailors of USS Picard where helping them refuel a monsoon wind suddenly engulfed them with high winds and rain. As there were no sheltered coves nearby, Smith signaled the others that they should all take off. As they were taking off Boston was hit by a big wave that caused one of the wing wires to break, Wade decided it was better to fly to Rangoon rather than risk landing. In New Orleans two wing wires broke and Nelson decided it was better to taxi back and fix them, this took half an hour and they were then on there way behind the others. They landed in the Irrawaddy River in Rangoon where the destroyer USS Pruitt was there to assist them. They found the river as crowded with boats any other they had visited. Arnold fell in the river as he was reaching for the buoy, Smith not noticing had to taxi away quickly to avoid being rammed by a boat but soon saw he was missing and taxied back so he could climb back on the pontoon.


August 20, 2017: For the next leg I got ready the Lodestar’s military cousin the Lockheed PV-1 Ventura. The Lodestar was developed into the Ventura as a replacement for Lockheed Hudson’s in service with the RAF, and was later developed into the B-34, B-37, PV-1 and PV-2 for use as both light and patrol bomber, A total of 3028 were built. The model I am using today is also one of Milton Shupe’s and is very nice but also not V4 compatible. The weather started off nice, 4 knot winds with light rain, a few clouds at 11000 feet and a temperature of 25C/77F. After switching planes we took off from the Dawei airport along the coast at about 2500 feet. The clouds got heavier as we headed north, eventually having to drop to 1500 feet to stay out of the clouds, near Mawlamyine turned west out over the Gulf of Martaban. Once we reached the mouth of the Yangon river up to the city of Yangon (formerly Rangoon). The clouds had built to the point where the city seamed fogged in but using the GPS to navigate we found the airport and made a safe landing. The 206 nm flight had taken 1.4 hours.


Here are a few pics of the flight:


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.12/wc.3.12.1.jpg
Ready to go.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.12/wc.3.12.2.jpg
Heading out over the coast.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.12/wc.3.12.3.jpg
Glamour shots.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.12/wc.3.12.4.jpg
Along the coast of the Andaman Sea.

[blanston12]

Continuing to Yangon.

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.12/wc.3.12.5.jpg
Low clouds ahead.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.12/wc.3.12.6.jpg
The city of Yangon.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.12/wc.3.12.7.jpg
Finally the airport.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.12/wc.3.12.8.jpg
Landed.


Thanks for reading

[SabreAce]

Please consider this another vote for you to keep going. It's been great following along, and I love the idea of the flights following a rough timeline of aviation.

You've got me thinking of putting together my own round the world flight now.

[Ganter]

Please consider this another vote for you to keep going. It's been great following along, and I love the idea of the flights following a rough timeline of aviation.

You've got me thinking of putting together my own round the world flight now.


Definitely keep going. I might not have posted but am following.

Man, what a hangar you have!

:encouragement:

[blanston12]

Definitely keep going. I might not have posted but am following.

Man, what a hangar you have!

:encouragement:

Thanks, always good to know someone is enjoying it.

Yes I tend to be a bit of a collector when I get into a hobby and have been into flight simming for some time. Plus planning this trip gave me an incentive to collect more, to fill in those gaps in aviation history that were in the hanger.

[blanston12]

June 25, 1924: The river traffic at Rangoon nearly ended their flight that night, a large river boat under full sail, apparently sailed by a careless helmsman was heading right for the cruisers, but the Navy was there to save the day. Sailors from the destroyer that were guarding the planes boarded the wayward hulk, clipped the helmsman in the jaw and took charge, The resulting collision ended up being fairly gentle but New Orleans required five days to repair the damage before they could leave for there next destination. They left on the 25th for Akyab, Burma and the Bay of Bengal. En route they flew through one of the heaviest rain storms they ever experienced. They arrived in Akyab seaport and hurriedly refueled, they wanted to leave as soon as possible as the area had the distinction of averaging over 400 inches of rain a year but they got a message that the moorings at there next stop were not ready so they would have to wait till the next day.


August 22, 2017: For the next flight I got ready the de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito. The Mossie was another of those legendary aircraft that should need not introduction. It first flew in 1940 with an airframe made almost entirely of wood and when it was introduced was one of the fastest aircraft in the world. It was used as a bomber, day and night fighter, photo-recon and fast transport for up to one passenger. Over 7,700 were built before production ended in 1950. For this flight I will be using an aircraft with the colours of the RAF India and was produced by JustFlight and Aeroplane Heaven.


Akyab Burma is now Sittwe Myanmar. Weather for the flight started off less than promising. 4 knot winds, broken clouds at 1500 feet and 30C temperature but pretty hazy/foggy, with only 4 mile visibility. I headed mostly west at 1000 feet until I reached the coast, as we approached the shore the clouds let up. Climbing to 2500 feet to get over the coastal hills we turned north and followed the coast in great weather until we reached Sittwe, making a safe landing at there airport. The 269 nm flight took 1.3 hours. Here are some screen shots.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.13/wc.3.13.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.13/wc.3.13.2.jpg
Low clouds over the city.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.13/wc.3.13.3.jpg
Weather improves at the coast.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.13/wc.3.13.4.jpg
Turning north to Sittwe.

[blanston12]

Continuing to Sittwe.

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.13/wc.3.13.5.jpg
Cruisin.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.13/wc.3.13.6.jpg
Nice weather now.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.13/wc.3.13.7.jpg
The city of Sittwe, todays destination.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.13/wc.3.13.8.jpg
Secured.

ATB.

[blanston12]

June 26, 1924: Despite the heavy rain at Akyab the flyers were in the air at 7am for Chittagong Burma. They noticed the rain was heaviest at the shore so they ended up flying 15 miles out in the Bay of
Bengal. They landed in the Chittagong river and were quickly refueled by the destroyer USS Preston. They were soon in the air again bound for Calcutta India. This was going to be a more dangerous leg as they had to take a compass heading over the delta of the River Ganges, known to be inhabited by Tigers and Crocodiles, If a plane went down it might take months to locate. They spotted the Hooghly river and followed it 80 miles to the city of Calcutta, then the second largest city in the British Empire. They then flew sixteen miles north of the city, to an area they hoped would have less boat traffic, landed and tied up to moorings used by ocean going ships. Here they would overhaul there craft and swap the large floats for wheels before continuing on there journey.


August 24, 2017: The next couple legs were the last before they switched from sea planes to land planes so I wanted to use an amphibian so I chose the Grumman G-44 Widgeon. The Widgeon first flew in 1940 and was designed for the civil market, smaller but similar to the Goose. During World War 2 it was used as a small patrol and utility aircraft by the USN, Coast Guard and Royal Navy. 317 were built before production ended in 1955. The aircraft I am using today is by FlySimWare in civilian colors. We started at Sittwe airport with a 7am departure for Chittagong Bangladesh. The weather was great, clear below 20,000 feet, 4 knot winds and a temperature of 29.7C/85F. We followed the coast of the Bay of Bengal north at 3000 feet. As we approached our destination it suddenly became quite cloudy with 3 mile visibility. We found the mouth of the Chittagong River and landed. For some reason when I landed the engines stopped and I could not restart them. So I switched aircraft, now using the G44 in US Navy colors we did a quick refuel. The weather was now calm, 3.1 mile visibility with clouds at 1800 feet. We were now back in the air and off for Calcutta India, now called Kolkata. Apparently it was always pronounced that way and in 2001 the spelling was officially changed to match. This time we flew at 1500 feet on compass heading directly for the city of Kolkata. As we few over the Bay of Bengal the weather improved and we soon had blue skies again. Once over the city we found the main river and headed north to the Barrackpore Air Force Station. Since I was in the amphibian we landed in the river right next to the airport.


At this point I have finished what they called the “Third Division” of the flight. I have flown 11024 nm with 81.3 hours of flight time. Based on start dates I am 10 days ahead of them.




https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.14/wc.3.14.1.jpg
Ready to go in Sittwe Myanmar


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.14/wc.3.14.2.jpg
Kutubdia Island.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.14/wc.3.14.3.jpg
Flying along the Bay of Bengal


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.14/wc.3.14.4.jpg
Glamour Shots.

[blanston12]

Flying around Chittagong.

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.14/wc.3.14.5.jpg
Suddenly Fog.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.14/wc.3.14.6.jpg
Landed in Chittagong Bangladesh


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.14/wc.3.14.7.jpg
Switch to the Navy paint scheme.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.14/wc.3.14.8.jpg
Off into the fog.

[blanston12]

On to India!

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.14/wc.3.14.9.jpg
Glamour shots.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.14/wc.3.14.a.jpg
Flying over the country side.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.14/wc.3.14.b.jpg
Over Kolkata, think I will land in the river near the airport.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg3.14/wc.3.14.c.jpg
Landed.


Thanks again for reading, as always your comments are welcome.

[blanston12]

I put together a couple maps showing my flights. On FSAirlines you can export a google earth KML file showing your flights, which I then used to create these images. Here are the maps of my progress so far.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/maps/wc_part1_crop.jpg


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/maps/wc_part2_crop.jpg

[Roger]

Enjoying your trip Joe:ernaehrung004: I too have the Widgeon and really like it.

[Portia911]

Seriously impressive progress shown on the globe there, Joe. Keep it up! :ernaehrung004:

[BrittMac]

That Widgeon looks nice. Whose is that?

[blanston12]

Thanks for all the complements! I am going through my hanger right now looking at all the aircraft I want to use and how many slots I have coming up and realizing I am going to have to do some careful selections.

The Widgeon is by FlySimWare and its pretty nice.

[blanston12]

July 1, 1924: Much work had to be done to overhaul there aircraft for the next part of the journey. After discussion with local officials it was decided that they could move there aircraft to a park in the center of Calcutta called the Maiden. There under the shade of the trees they would do the needed work including swapping the floats for wheels, installing larger radiators, repainting the fabric, scraping off grease and on and on. Even though the engines needed replacing they decided to send them on to Karachi instead so they could get through the monsoon regions as soon as possible. While they were in Calcutta they stayed in the Great Eastern Hotel, Smith as flight leader was assigned luxurious suite of rooms so large and posh he asked Arnold to join him there so he did not feel so unaffordable. On the night of June 29, after yet another dinner hosted in there honor, Smith fell into a hole in the walkway and fell heavily on the ground, he was in intense pain but refused to admit it until the next morning when a British doctor examined him and found he had a broken rib. They taped him up and although still in obvious pain he was determined that they would leave on schedule July 1. The flight to Allahabad was relatively pleasant, the planes handled much easier without the large floats and the weather was not as bad as their previous few flights. They followed the Hooghly river, crossed the plains of Bengal and eventually reached the large RAF flying field outside of Allahabad after six and a half hours of flying.


August 26, 2017: For the next leg of the flight I will be using the Bristol Beaufighter. The Beau first flew in 1939, intended as a heavy fighter it proved its worth in many roles. Almost 6000 were built before production ended in 1946. The version I am using today was made by Dave Garwood and the CBFS team and is one of my favorites. My flight stated in excellent weather, few clouds at 12000 feet, light winds and a temperature of 28C. Heading west toward Allahabad at 3000 feet, eventually the clouds built and visibility dropped to about 4 miles. We descended to 1500 feet to stay under them and followed a compass heading until we found the Sone River, there was a ridge of hills on the far side of that so we followed the river until the ridge ended and at about the same place the clouds lifted and we were able to climb again to a safe altitude and continue to Allahabad Airport. Alas a safe landing was not in order because P3D registered a crash into some invisible object as we crossed the runway threshold, but FSA still recorded it as a flight to the right destination so that’s good enough for me, I did go back and capture a shot of the AC on the ground to finish the sequence. The 397 nm flight took 1.7 hours of flying.


Here are some images from the flight.




https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.01/wc.4.1.1.jpg
Ready for Takeoff.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.01/wc.4.1.2.jpg
Heading out of the plains.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.01/wc.4.1.3.jpg
Glamour shots.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.01/wc.4.1.4.jpg
Weather closing in.

[blanston12]

Continuing to Allahabad...

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.01/wc.4.1.5.jpg
Following the river Sone.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.01/wc.4.1.6.jpg
Weather cleared.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.01/wc.4.1.7.jpg
On final.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.01/wc.4.1.8.jpg
Secured.


Thanks for reading, ATB.

[blanston12]

A fun historical fact I forgot to mention. After the crash of Major Martin and Sergeant Harvey in Alaska, Sergeant Ogden was the only enlisted man left on the flight. When they were in Japan Smith cabled Washington stating his lack of rank was causing some embarrassing problems. When the arrived in Shanghai, a cable was waiting from them from General Patrick promoting Ogden to 2nd Lieutenant. For the rest of the flight they never stopped kidding Lieutenant Ogden about his "Social Promotion".


Carry on.

[blanston12]

July 2, 1924: At 7:30 that morning, the flyers were off for the 480 mile flight to the city of Ambala, where the Royal Air Force had its main base on the Indian Frontier. Along the way they passed near Agra, home of the Taj Mahal, and the city of Delhi, crossroads of the ancients. During the flight New Orleans engine developed a leak in one of the cylinder jackets. Nelson asked the British for help finding a new one. The RAF quickly volunteered to get them a new one airlifted from from there supply depot in Lahore, where they had a stock pile of 2000 liberty engines with parts. The plane carrying it unfortunately crashed but the pilot was unhurt. He rented a bullock cart to take him to the closest town where he could then get a train to take him the rest of the way. By 3am he had arrived so Nelson and Harding could install it the next morning.


August 30, 2017: For the next flight we will be using the Curtiss C-46 Commando. Introduced in 1941, the C-46 started as the Curtiss CW-20, intended to compete with the new Douglas DC-4 and Boeing Stratoliner, it had a pressurized hull and was powered by two 2000 hp R-2800 engines. Compared to the DC-3 it could fly higher and carry a heavier payload but was more complex to maintain and cost 50% more to operate. 3181 were built before production ended in 1945. After the war it did not do well in its intended role as a passenger aircraft but saw success in cargo operations, used by the USAF till 1968 and some are still in service with civilian operators. The model I am using today was recently released by Aeroplane Heaven and is quite nice.


Weather for the flight was good, 8 knot winds with few clouds at 3000 feet and a temperature of 28.5C/83F. Flying at 3000 feet I was not sure what river or landmarks the original they followed so we first set a course for the city of Agra. We few around till we spotted and few over the Taj Mahal then headed for our final destination of Ambala. The flight was uneventful and we landed after flying 395 nm in 2.2 hours. Here are a few pics from the flight.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.02/wc.4.2.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff.
Glamour Shots!


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.02/wc.4.2.3.jpg
Cruising.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.02/wc.4.2.4.jpg

[blanston12]

Flying over India.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.02/wc.4.2.5.jpg
Site seeing.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.02/wc.4.2.6.jpg
Nothing to see here, move along.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.02/wc.4.2.7.jpg
Our destination.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.02/wc.4.2.8.jpg
Secured.


Thanks for reading, ATB.

[blanston12]

July 3, 1924: That night in Ambala the temperature stayed between 102 and 106 and the flyers got very little sleep despite the Indian servants waving “Punkas” over them all night. The British pilots, concerned about the Americans and there flying suits gave them RAF pith helmets and British shorts and light shirts which the fliers would use until they left the desert countries. In the morning they left for Multan and climbed to 6000 feet to escape the heat, following the railroad tracks to guide them. They soon encountered a sandstorm that completely obscured both the earth and the railroad, they descended to 50 feet to keep the tracks in sight. The sand stung their eyes and sifted through their clothes. They flew right over Multan without seeing it, when Smith noticed they had passed the airport they returned to the area, made several passes over head and landed. Once they had parked there planes the men had difficulty getting out of there planes. As Colonel Butler, the British commander, shook the hand of each of the lobster-red faces, bloodshot eyed man, he handed them a glass of Ice cold lemonade that Arnold wrote was one of the most delicious drinks in his life.

September 2, 2017: For the next flight I got ready the Hawker Typhoon. Designed as a successor to the Hawker Hurricane but had several design problems that delayed its introduction. When the FW-190 was introduced the Typhoon was the only aircraft that could catch it at low altitude and the Tiffy went on to become one of the most successful ground attack aircraft of WW2. The aircraft I am using today as recently released by Aeroplane heaven and is very nice. With it I am using the ‘Silver Bullet’ repaint by Peter Watkins. The flight to Multan, Pakistan started with great weather, 5 knot winds, Scattered clouds at 8800 feet and a temperature of 25.5C/78F. The flight was fairly easy, flying at 4000 feet, the Typhoon made short work of the 280 nm flight, cruising at just over 300 knots. Things were going well until 15 miles from the destination the visibility dropped to about 4 miles and I had difficulty finding the airport, I actually few over it before spotting it and circling back to make a safe landing. The trip had taken 1 hour to complete. Here are some pics.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.03/wc.4.3.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.03/wc.4.3.2.jpg
Flying out over Ambala.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.03/wc.4.3.3.jpg
Glamour Shots.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.03/wc.4.3.4.jpg
Flying over the Indian countryside. Does not look much like desert.

[blanston12]

Continuing to Multan, Pakistan.

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.03/wc.4.3.5.jpg
Selfie!


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.03/wc.4.3.6.jpg
Nice flying weather.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.03/wc.4.3.7.jpg
Visiblity drops as we get close to Multan.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.03/wc.4.3.8.jpg
Safely on the ground.

[blanston12]

July 4, 1924: It was 120 degrees in Multan; Arnold thought the name should be Molten instead. The reporter Wells who was following the flight reported that “No sensible person would ever go there voluntarily” and “only the constant threat of revolt by fanatical, unfriendly Indians makes the place endurable”. They were off the ground a 6am headed for Karachi. They flew over the Sind Desert this time there were no sand storms although they could see them swirling in the distance. They were cruising at 4000 feet to escape the heat when about a hour out of Karachi the engine in New Orleans started to rattle and bang as if it was coming apart. White smoke trailed the aircraft as oil spewed dpwm the sides of the engine and pieces of the engine itself started being ejected from under the cowling and ripping holes in the fabric of the aircraft. But the engine continued to respond and Nelson later reported that it continued “to run very nicely on eleven cylinders” He was able to nurse it all the way to the RAF field in Karachi, home of the best repair depots in the world at that time.


September 3, 2017: For the next leg I got ready the Grumman TBF Avenger. The Avenger first flew in 1941 and was designed as torpedo bomber, first seeing action at the Battle of Midway, and despite the fact that 5 of the 6 Avengers there were lost, it survived in service to become one of the outstanding torpedo bombers of World War II. Greatly modified after the war, it remained in use until the 1960s. Over 9800 were built. The aircraft I am using today was made by Vertigo Studios and is nice but the engine is a bit touchy if you run it at full power for too long. The weather was not the best when I started, 4 knot winds, 3.1 mile visibility, and scattered clouds at 4000 with a temperature of 33C/91C. We started off at 2000 feet to keep the ground in view but the clouds soon cleared up and we had great visibility. I climbed to 4000 feet and followed the Indus river valley, the clouds got a bit thicker as we approached the coast and we dropped to 2000 feet to stay under them but visibility stayed good. At some point I accidently hit the throttle lever on the joystick and before I knew it the engine was stuttering and trailing white smoke behind it, I decreased the throttle and tried to keep it in the air long enough for the engine to cool down and keep flying, almost crashed a couple times it finally recovered and I was able to follow the coast to Masroor Air Base in Karachi. The 398 nm flight took 3.1 hours of flying. Here are a few pics:


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.04/wc.4.4.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.04/wc.4.4.2.jpg
The visiblility is a little limited.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.04/wc.4.4.3.jpg
Glamour shots over the River Indus.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.04/wc.4.4.4.jpg
Following the Indus River Valley.

[blanston12]

Following the Indus River Valley.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.04/wc.4.4.5.jpg
You can see the desert beyond.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.04/wc.4.4.6.jpg
Finally reached the coast.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.04/wc.4.4.7.jpg
Karachi and my destination.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.04/wc.4.4.8.jpg
Landed.

[BrittMac]

Nice! I got to ride in a TBM two years ago. Fantastic experience. Peachtree DeKalb Airshow, called "Good Neighbor Day". Gave me enough of a spark to start taking lessons instead of finding reasons not to.
Looking forward to more shots and story! I'll do the shots, and read the story.

[blanston12]

July 7 1924: In Karachi the flyers were hosted to a dinner by the RAF officers, the first time they had dinner with ladies* present since leaving the states, in a speech the base commander reminded them they had traveled 12,577 miles since leaving Seattle, father than anyone before, but still had over 14000 to go. With the help of the British mechanics they spent two days replacing the engines on there three aircraft, they worked during the day and spent the evenings having dinners at the homes of various British officials. The morning of July 7 they were up at 3am for breakfast and were in the air by 6:30 for Chahabar Persia (now Iran). They flew over sand, ancient lava flows and mountains which Arnold described as the “most lonesome, barren and desolate place imaginable”. Shortly after noon they crossed into Persia and descended on a small port city on the Gulf of Oman.


* I assume 'Ladies' means upper class women of European extraction.


September 7, 2017: For the next flight we will be using the Consolidated B-24. As I am sure you all know, the B-24 is a four engine bomber that first flew in 1939. Designed with a efficient high aspect ratio Davis wing, the B-24 could had a high cruise speed, long range and a heavy bomb load at the expense of being difficult to fly and having poor low speed performance. While the aircrews preferred the B-17, the general staff preferred the B-24 and it was produced in very large numbers, over 19000 were built making it the most produced multi engine American military aircraft in history. The aircraft I am using today was produced by Virtavia and despite being a FSX model works well in P3Dv4. It’s a bit difficult to fly but once you remove the bomb payload it becomes much easier. My flight to Chabahar was pretty easy, weather was good, 9 knot winds with scattered clouds at 3000 feet and a temperature of 27.8C/82F. We flew at 4000 feet along the coast of the Gulf of Oman and landed at Konarak Airport, the 358 nm flight had taken 2.2 hours.


One historical note, after crashing in Alaska, Sergeant Harvey completed flight training in 1926 and was commissioned as an officer. In September 1941 he flew over 3150 miles in a B-24 to carry a lend-lease delegation to Moscow, he then continued around the world through India, Australia, Wake island and Hawaii,


Here are a few pics from the flight.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.05/wc.4.5.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.05/wc.4.5.2.jpg
Engines running.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.05/wc.4.5.3.jpg
Airbourn.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.05/wc.4.5.4.jpg
Check the gauges.

[blanston12]

Flying over the Gulf of Oman.

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.05/wc.4.5.5.jpg
Selfie!


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.05/wc.4.5.6.jpg
Along the gulf of Oman.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.05/wc.4.5.7.jpg
Glamour shots.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.05/wc.4.5.8.jpg
Landed

[blanston12]

July 7, 1924: In Chahabar they were met by a representative of the Indo-European telegraph company who had arranged there supplies. The fliers quickly refueled there aircraft as they ate the sandwiches supplied by the wife of the British. They were in the air again at 2:35 for Bandar Abbass. The four hour flight was uneventful and when they landed in Bandar Abbass they were greeted by Mr Richardson, the British Consul who had volunteered to act as there advance agent in the area.


September 8, 2017: For the next flight we will be using the Supermarine Spitfire. As I am sure you all know the Spitfire was the star fighter of the RAF for most of World War 2. First flying in 1936 the Spitfire was produced in greater numbers than any other British aircraft and the only British fighter to be in continuous production throughout the war with the last being built in 1948 after over 20,000 were built. The model I am using today is a Mark IX and was produced by RealAir and is one of my favorites (great shame they shut down). The weather for takeoff was good, 6 knot winds, few clouds at 2000, temperature of 27.7C/82F I flew along the coast of the Gulf of Oman at 4000 feet and after a short time ran into increasingly thicker cloud layer that forced me to descend to 1000 feet to keep the coast in view. I landed at Havadarya Airport, Bandar Abbass after flying 249 nm in 1.3 hours.


Here are a few screenshots:


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.06/wc.4.6.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.06/wc.4.6.2.jpg
Selfie!


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.06/wc.4.6.3.jpg
Glamour Shots


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.06/wc.4.6.4.jpg
Flying along the Gulf of Oman

[blanston12]

Spitfire Fun!

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.06/wc.4.6.5.jpg
Clouds ahead.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.06/wc.4.6.6.jpg
Staying low to keep under the clouds.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.06/wc.4.6.7.jpg
Following the coast.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.06/wc.4.6.8.jpg
Landed.


Thanks for reading
ATB

[Bjoern]

With a C-87, you could have channeled Ernie Gann for the intra-India leg. Passing on his near run-in with the Taj Mahal or any other building of worldly or spiritual importance would have been totally acceptable though.
I'm still amazed how desperate the transport squadrons were for aircraft back in the day, considering what a piece of junk the C-87 was.

[blanston12]

With a C-87, you could have channeled Ernie Gann for the intra-India leg. Passing on his near run-in with the Taj Mahal or any other building of worldly or spiritual importance would have been totally acceptable though.
I'm still amazed how desperate the transport squadrons were for aircraft back in the day, considering what a piece of junk the C-87 was.

thanks Bjoern, I seriously considered using the C-87 for this leg as I feel I may be using too many combat aircraft on this voyage but my reading confirmed your opinion of "what a piece of junk the C-87" and figured I should something else.

[jmbiii]

Joe,

Still following about a day behind. In v3.4 Konarak is bare.
Two runways, a tower, and fuel (thank goodness).

Joe

[blanston12]

Joe,

Still following about a day behind. In v3.4 Konarak is bare.
Two runways, a tower, and fuel (thank goodness).

Joe

Nice Joe.

I have the completed the next two legs and have gotten as far as Baghdad, almost had the write ups finished last night but it was getting too late. Should have them up in a day or two.

[blanston12]

July 8, 1924: The pilots did not refuel the aircraft the night before when they noticed the gas was all stored in two gallon cans. The next morning they were up by 3:30 am to get ready, they hired a group of locals help them refuel. The formed a line from the pile of gas cans and passed them up to the fliers who poured them into the planes fuel tanks. It worked well enough that in 2 hours they were done and off without breakfast. By 9:30 they had arrived at Bushire, considered the most important port in the Persian gulf. They were met by American Consol who sent into town for sandwiches while the pilots refueled for the next leg.


September 10, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the Douglas DC-4. The DC-4 was developed from the DC-4E when proved to be too complicated and large to be economically operated. The new designed had a simpler unpressurised hull and a single rudder, but in June of 1941, before it could be delivered to customers US War department took over all orders for military use as the C-54. During the war it was one of the most common long range transports with 1170 being built, they continued to serve in the Berlin airlift and Korean war. After the war many were sold to civilian operators and another 79 were built post war.


I was holding out hope for the new DC-4 from Flight Replicas but after contacting them it was clear it would not be available in time, so I am using model by Jens B. Kristensen with updates by Bob Chicilo and a new VC panel by Vladimir Gonchar. While the model is showing its age I have always liked this model and have flow many hours in it. The weather for the flight was not great, Foggy with 11 knot winds and 2.5 mile visibility and a temperature of 33C. We took off and followed the coast into the Persian Gulf at 800 feet. Around Bandar Lengeh the fog lifted and we were able to climb to 4000 feet for the rest of the flight to Bushire Iran. The 303 nm flight took 2 hours.


Personal Note, with this flight done, I am now half way around the world!


Here area few pics:


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.07/wc.4.7.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.07/wc.4.7.2.jpg
Climbing out of Bandar Abbass.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.07/wc.4.7.3.jpg
Heading out over town.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.07/wc.4.7.4.jpg
Along the Persian Gulf.

[blanston12]

Cruising the Persian Gulf.

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.07/wc.4.7.5.jpg
The fog has lifted.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.07/wc.4.7.6.jpg
Cruisin...


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.07/wc.4.7.7.jpg
Coming into Bushire.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.07/wc.4.7.8.jpg
Landed.


Thanks for reading
ATB.

[blanston12]

July 8, 1924: After 90 minutes of working the sandwiches had not arrived so the fliers and departed for Baghdad Mesopotamia. There route took them over a vast desert to Basra, they followed the Euphrates river to the city of Hilla where they then took a compass course to the RAF field in Baghdad. They were surprised by the large croud of British civilians and military personnel who greeted them. They were immediantly given sandwiches as they tended there craft. Later they were taken to the RAF officers club for dinner. They were so tired when they finally got to there rooms that Arnold wrote “I remember getting to bed but don’t remember lying down”.


September 10, 2017: For the next leg we will be using the Curtiss SB2C Helldiver. The Helldiver's introduction was plagued by problems that delayed its introduction, poor handling characteristics even caused the plane to be rejected by the Royal Navy, but the problems were eventually ironed out and had a good record for the last two years of the war with over 7000 being built. The last retired from service in 1958. Its reputation was not enhanced by the fact that it was the last dedicated dive bomber when improvements in level bombing and rockets was eliminating the need for the type. The aircraft I am using is made by Aeroplane heaven and is nice.


The weather for the next leg was not bad, no wind or clouds, 5.0 mile visibility and a temperature of 31C/88F. We took off and headed north along the coast of the Persian Gulf until we found the mouth of the Euphrates river. I followed it until I finally lost the main channel of the river and then made a compass heading for Baghdad International airport. The 427 nmi flight had taken 2.1 hours.
Here are a few pics.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.08/wc.4.8.1.jpg
Ready to go.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.08/wc.4.8.2.jpg
Heading out over the Persian Gulf.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.08/wc.4.8.3.jpg
Out over the sea.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.08/wc.4.8.4.jpg
Mesopotamia.

[blanston12]

A Mes-o-Potamia!


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.08/wc.4.8.5.jpg
Trying to follow the Euphrates river.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.08/wc.4.8.6.jpg
I feel like I should be flying an A-10.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.08/wc.4.8.7.jpg
Baghdad!


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.08/wc.4.8.8.jpg
Landed.


Thanks for reading!
ATB.

[blanston12]

July 9, 1924: The Flyers were used to getting up before day break but this day the slept in till after 7am and were not in the air until after 11am for there flight to Aleppo Syria, escorted for the first hour and a half by British Fighters. There route followed the Euphrates river and more monotonous desert They landed at the French Airfield northwest of the city and were greeted by laughing French pilots who insisted on toasting them with a special Champaign they had been saving for the occasion. After servicing there aircraft they were taken into town and to a reception and dinner that lasted until 2am.


September 13, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the Vought F4U Corsair. The Corsair first few in 1940 and was the first US Fighter to fly faster than 400 mph but it did not enter combat until 1943. Over 12,500 were built before the final delivery in 1953, the longest production run of any piston engine fighter in US history. I am using the ‘Birdcage’ model by JustFlight, which is quite nice. My flight to Aleppo was uneventful. Weather was good, clear with 5 knot winds and a temperature of 23C/73F. We cruised at 4000 feet, mostly following the Euphrates river, the Corsair made short work of the 388 mile flight cruising at over 290 knots and landing at the Aleppo International Airport after 1.4 hours of flying. I am happy that the civil war that has engulfed Syria does not invade the virtual space I fly in because I know the people of Aleppo have suffered quite a bit and as far as I can tell there airport is still closed because of the fighting.


Here are my pics;


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.09/wc.4.9.1.jpg
Climbing out of Baghdad.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.09/wc.4.9.2.jpg
Heading out over the desart.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.09/wc.4.9.3.jpg
Not much out there.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.09/wc.4.9.4.jpg
Selfie!

[blanston12]

Heading into Syria.

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.09/wc.4.9.5.jpg
No eclipses here.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.09/wc.4.9.6.jpg
Following the river.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.09/wc.4.9.7.jpg
Over Syria.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.09/wc.4.9.8.jpg
Landed.


Thanks for reading.
ATB

[blanston12]

July 10 1924: Despite the dinner than ended at 2am the night before the flyers were up at 6am and in the air by 9am for Constantinople (now Istanbul). Ahead were the 10,000 foot Taurus mountains that they planes could not fly over, so flying single file at 4000 feet they followed the Berlin-Baghdad railroad that cut through the valley, often uncomfortably close to the to the Mountain walls. Here they experienced the first real cold air since they left the Kurile islands. At 2:30 pm they landed at San Stefano aerodrome in Constantinople. To greet them was Admiral Bristol the American ambassador and few other American and Turkish officials but not the large crowds that would have been there had the cables Smith sent from Baghdad and Aleppo arrived, the telegraph system in this part of the world had not caught up to the technology of the day. After servicing there aircraft they went into the city but there were no dinners or receptions to attend since nobody really knew when they were coming. That evening they had dinner at the hotel and went to a Cabaret.


September 14, 2017: For the next flight I will be using the Lockheed L-049 Constellation. The Connie came out of a reqirement from TWA for an aircraft that could fly 3500 miles with 40 passengers. It used four R-3350 engines had a pressurized hull and wings similar to that used on the P-38. The aircraft first flew in 1943 and by then all civilian orders were taken over by the military. Designated the C-69 it was used as a high-speed, long-distance troop transport. Production was slow because the B-29 program had priority for the engines and by the end of the war only 22 had been built. Eventually 856 of all models were built by the time production ended in 1958. It set the standard for speed and luxury until replaced by Jet aircraft. A Connie still holds the record for a flight between New York and Washington, a record that will probably not be broken because it was done before the FAA speed limit below 10000 feet was imposed. The version I am using is made by JustFlight and is included as a default aircraft within P3D. As much as I would love to keep flying WW2 aircraft for the rest of the flight, history moves on and I figure this aircraft will be a good transition between that era and the post war aircraft I will be flying next.


The weather for the flight from Aleppo to Istanbul was good, Clear with no wind and a temperature of 23.4C/74F. Being able to cruise higher than the Douglas World Cruiser I flew at around 10000 feet over the mountains on a direct course for Ataturk International Airport. Landing safely the 489nm flight had taken just 2 hours.


Here are a few pics.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.10/wc.4.10.1.jpg
Getting ready to takeoff.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.10/wc.4.10.2.jpg
Climbing out of Aleppo


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.10/wc.4.10.3.jpg
Heading out of Syria.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.10/wc.4.10.4.jpg
Flying over Turkey.

[blanston12]

On to Turkey.

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.10/wc.4.10.5.jpg
The Taurus mountians.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.10/wc.4.10.6.jpg
Cruisin.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.10/wc.4.10.7.jpg
Our destination is in site.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg4.10/wc.4.10.8.jpg
Secured.


Thanks for reading,
ATB.

[blanston12]

July 12, 1924: They had hoped to get off early the next day but the Turks had requested that members of there air force be allowed to inspect there aircraft, given how reluctant the Turkish government had been to allow them to land Smith agreed and they spent much of the day sightseeing and visiting the Ambassador and pilots of the Turkish air force. They were up before dawn the next day and were off by 7:45am for Bucharest Romania and the start of the fifth division of there trip. They flew over battlefields of the great war where the trenches, ruined towns and destroyed bridges were still visible. They landed at the Franco-Romanian aerodrome around noon, strangely there was no official party to greet them. That evening they were given an impromptu dinner from members of the foreign colony, while there chief of the Romanian Air Service rushed in and apologized on behalf of the government for not welcoming then they arrived.


September 16, 2017: For the next leg I will be flying the Douglas A-1 Skyraider. Designed as a carrier based dive/torpedo bomber during World War 2, it did not enter service until late 1946. Able to carry more payload than a B-17, the A-1 was considered on of the best attack and close air support aircraft ever built. Over 3180 were built before production ended in 1957 and it was used in both the Korean and Vietnam War. The last was retired in 1985. The model I am using today was produced by Tim “Piglet” Conrad (Tim we miss you) and is excellent. My flight to Bucharest was uneventful, weather was good, 12 knot winds with a few clouds at 3000 feet and a temperature of 26C. I did a little sightseeing over Istanbul before heading up Bosphorus strait and along the coast of the Black sea, crossing over Bulgaria and into Romania and landed at Băneasa International Airport, the former Franco-Romanian aerodrome, the oldest continuously operating airport in Eastern Europe. The 243 nm flight had take 1 hour.


Here are a few snapshots.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.1/wc.5.1.1.jpg
Ready to go.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.1/wc.5.1.2.jpg
Sightseeing over Istanbul.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.1/wc.5.1.3.jpg
Time to get going.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.1/wc.5.1.4.jpg
Along the Black sea.

[blanston12]

Speaking of Piglet...

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.1/wc.5.1.5.jpg
Over Bulgaria.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.1/wc.5.1.6.jpg
Glamour Shots.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.1/wc.5.1.7.jpg
Over the Danube River.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.1/wc.5.1.8.jpg
And landed.

Thanks for reading
ATB.

[Portia911]

Bravo, Joe. Still loving this thread - and your great choice of 'steeds' to carry you around the world.

[blanston12]

July 13, 1924: They left Bucharest at dawn and headed west to the Danube River, through the Transylvanian Alps to Belgrade Yugoslavia. The weather had been remarkably good and the aircraft well so with plenty of fuel remaining they flew over the airport where the diplomatic officials were waiting and continued to Budapest Hungary (Smith later sent an apology). They landed at Maryasfold aerodrome after nearly 7 hours of flying where a small crowd was waiting to greet them, there had been a large crowd but a rumor went around saying the flyers were not coming. But they were welcomed by the diplomats who were there, a few speeches were given and they were invited to a nearby hanger where lunch was provided.


September 16, 2017: The aircraft I will use next is the Antonov An-2, aka "Annushka". The AN-2 is a Soviet built single-engine biplane utility/agricultural aircraft that first flew in 1946. Its remarkable durability, high lifting power, and ability to take off and land from poor runways have given it a long service life. Produced up to 2001 and remains in service operators around the world, over 18000 were built. The model I am using today I was made by SibWings and is very nice but it its not P3Dv4 compatible. Weather started off good, clear with 6 knot winds and a temperature of 22C. I flew west till I intercepted the Danube and followed it through the mountains, then north to Budapest where the weather had turned to thunder storms, but I landed safely at Tököl Airport after 4.1 hours of flying.


Here are the images:


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.2/wc.5.2.1.jpg
Ready to go.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.2/wc.5.2.2.jpg
Climbing out of Bucharest.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.2/wc.5.2.3.jpg
Glamour Shots.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.2/wc.5.2.4.jpg
Following the Danube.

[blanston12]

I'm getting Hungary.

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.2/wc.5.2.5.jpg
Into Hungary.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.2/wc.5.2.6.jpg
Good weather still.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.2/wc.5.2.7.jpg
Desination in site.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.2/wc.5.2.8.jpg
Landed.

[blanston12]

July 13, 1924: After lunch they were back in there planes and on their way to Vienna Austria, arriving two hours later and were greeted by a huge crowd, which was mostly made up of American Tourists, all of which seemed to have new Kodak cameras and wanting to get pictures of the flyers and there craft. It took until almost dusk to finish working on there planes, camera’s snapping the whole time, they were then taking on a quick tour of the city and then to the luxurious Imperial Hotel, which they were told had once been the home of the prince of Wittenberg until he had lost it in a game of cards.


September 16, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the de Havilland DHC-1 Chipmunk. Designed by de Havilland Canada in 1946 to replace the Tiger Moth. It was used as a basic trainer by the RAF and RCAF and many others, the last was retired in 1996, over 1200 were made and many are still used by civilian operators. The aircraft I used was made by JustFlight and is nice. By the time I finished my real world tasks the weather had cleared and was now just broken clouds at 5000 feet with 5 knot winds and a temperature of 16.1C. The flight to Vienna was very easy even thought he clouds get a bit thicker and I had to stay below 2000 feet to keep the ground in site. The 108 mile flight to the Vienna International Airport took 52 minutes.


Here are the images:


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.3/wc.5.3.1.jpg
Ready to go again.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.3/wc.5.3.2.jpg
Climbing out of Budapest.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.3/wc.5.3.3.jpg
Glamour shots!


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.3/wc.5.3.4.jpg
Selfie!

[blanston12]

Chipmunk Fun!

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.3/wc.5.3.5.jpg
Fall colours already.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.3/wc.5.3.6.jpg
Lots of fall colors.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.3/wc.5.3.7.jpg
Our destination.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.3/wc.5.3.8.jpg
Secured.


Thanks for reading,
ATB

[blanston12]

June 14, 1924: The rooms of the Imperial hotel had 20 foot ceilings and beds so soft when you were in then you sank out of sight. For breakfast they were served bowls of raspberries and cream so delicious Arnold said “it was almost worth flying around the world to eat them”. Despite the luxuries they all wanted the holiday in Paris Smith promised them if they could get there ahead of schedule, so before 7am they left the Ancient city of Vienna for Strasbourg France. It was raining heavily when they left, which kept them low over the Danube river as they followed it into Germany, They emerged into bright sunshine as the crossed over the Black Forest and landed in Strasbourg after 6 hours of flying, where despite the festivities planed for them, they hurriedly had lunch and got there planes ready for there next leg.


September 19, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the Cessna 195. The 195 was one of Cessna’s first post war aircraft, there last with a radial engine and there first one that was all aluminum. Because of the big radial engine it was larger than other Cessna models and more expensive to buy and operate so was marketed as more of a Business aircraft. First flying in 1945, about 1180 were built before production ended in 1954. The model I am using today was made by FlySimWare and is nice.


Weather for the flight from Vienna started off good, 11 knot winds with a few clouds at 1300 feet and a temperature of 12C/53F, quite a change from the 31C/88F five days ago. It was a bit cloudy so stayed between 2000-3000 feet while I found the Danube and followed it west to hear the city of Linz and then west into Germany. Ran into a fierce thunder storm over Munich but soon emerged from that as I approached the Black Forest, we crossed over the river Rhine and descended into Strasbourg, the 358nm flight had taken 2.4 hours.


Here are the pics:


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.4/wc.5.4.1.jpg
Ready to go.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.4/wc.5.4.2.jpg
Staying low, where is that river.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.4/wc.5.4.3.jpg
Following the Danube.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.4/wc.5.4.4.jpg
Lightning is very close.

[blanston12]

Invading France!

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.4/wc.5.4.5.jpg
Clear weather again.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.4/wc.5.4.6.jpg
Over the Rhine river and into France!


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.4/wc.5.4.7.jpg
Our destination.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.4/wc.5.4.8.jpg
Secured.


Thanks for reading
ATB.

[blanston12]

July 14, 1924: Although elaborate arrangements had been made to entertain them, they stayed in Strasbourg only long enough to refuel the aircraft and get a quick lunch before being back in the air bound for Paris. A hundred miles from Paris a flight of planes from the French joined them to escort them to the city. Fifty miles out they could see the Eiffel Tower and the great buildings of the city, as they got nearer they could see thousands of people in the streets celebrating Bastille day, with there French escorts in tow they flew past the Eiffel tower, made a circle around the Arc de Triomphe to pay tribute to the French tomb of the French Unknown Soldier and proceed to Le Bourget Airport where more than five thousand Parisians were crowding the airport. They landed and were quickly mobbed by the throng while diplomats and French officials tried to shake there hands, it took an hour before they could get there aircraft into the hanger to do there post flight servicing. After they were taken to there hotels they accepted an invitation to the famous “Folies Bergere”, as the lights went down for the show they promptly fell asleep.


September 19, 2017: The North American F-86 Sabre, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept wing fighter that could counter the Soviet MiG-15 and was considered one of the best and most important fighter aircraft in the Korean war. Although it first flew in 1947 and was outdated by the end of the '50s, the Sabre proved versatile and adaptable. The last was retired by the Bolivian Air Force in 1994. Over 9800 were built in the US, Canada, Japan and Italy.


I tried to use the very nice Milviz model but it proved a bit beyond my skills. I started the flight but part way to Paris noticed the gauges had stopped, I fiddled with the power switches and got them back but then the engine was running at 100% and I could not get it to power back. Fiddling with the switches some more the engine stopped and I could not get it restarted, finally aborting before it crashed into a field. So instead I tried with the Virtavia model, which does not look as nice, especially the VC but it is much easier to fly. Started the flight with light rain, 7 knot winds, a few clouds at 700 feet, overcast at 6000 and a temperature of 10C/50F. I headed northwest toward Paris, at about 5000 feet to get over the first bank of hills and then dropped to about 2300 to stay below the clouds. It cleared up a bit as I approached Paris but I did not see the Eiffel tower as far away as Lt. Smith and the boys did . I finally spotted it and did a few passes by the tower and the Arc de Triomphe before landing at Le Bourget. The F-86 just ate up the 207nm flight in just 35 minutes, often cruising at over 540 knots.


Here are the pics:


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.5/wc.5.5.1.jpg
Ready to go.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.5/wc.5.5.2.jpg
Climbing out of Strasbourg.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.5/wc.5.5.3.jpg
Try to stay between the clouds and the hills.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.5/wc.5.5.4.jpg
Its clear and I am good on fuel, drop the tanks.

[blanston12]

"We will always have Paris!"

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.5/wc.5.5.5.jpg
There is the Eiffel Tower


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.5/wc.5.5.6.jpg
Never sean so few cars around the Arc


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.5/wc.5.5.7.jpg
Another pass by the tower.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.5/wc.5.5.8.jpg
Landed.


Thanks for reading
ATB.

[blanston12]

July 16, 1924: While in Paris the flyers “met more generals, ambassadors, cabinet ministers and celebrities that we had encountered in the rest of our lives”. They had lunch with General John J. Pershing, american commander during the great war, accompanied the President of France to the Olympic games, who offered to bestow on them the French Legion of Honor but they had to decline as they were forbidden from accepting foreign decorations without the consent of congress. So without having any real time off, by 11am the morning of the 16th they were in the air bound for London. As they flew two airliners joined them, followed by a French fighters, all flying in a loose formation toward the England. They climbed above the clouds to 7000 feet. Through brakes in the clouds they could see the English channel below, the clouds thinned as they got closer to London and they landed at Croydon Airport. It took some time for the London bobbies to control the enthusiastic crowd, but once the welcomes were made and the planes serviced they were taken to the RAF club at Piccadilly, where they were given excellent quarters. Later that evening, at a dinner hosted by the top officials of the British Air Ministry, Lt. Wade fell asleep, snoring at the table sitting between a General and “Lord Somebody”.


September 19, 2017: For the next leg I am going to use the de Havilland Dove. The de Havilland DH.104 Dove was a British short-haul airliner as successor to the Dragon Rapide biplane. The Dove was a popular aircraft and is considered to be one of Britain's most successful postwar civil designs, in excess of 500 aircraft being manufactured between 1946 and 1967. It was also used by the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy and a number of overseas military forces. The model was made by JustFlight.


The weather started off great, no winds or clouds, and a temperature of 6.1C/43F. I headed north at about 4000 feet but soon the clouds started to build as I approached the channel and I dropped to 1500 feet to keep the land/sea in view. After crossing over into England the clouds cleared and I had a nice flight into London. Since Croydon is long closed I landed in London City airport after a quick view of the sites over the center of the city. The 178 nm took 1.1 hours.


Here are a few pics:


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.6/wc.5.6.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.6/wc.5.6.2.jpg
Glamour Shots.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.6/wc.5.6.3.jpg
Clouds ahead.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.6/wc.5.6.4.jpg
Heading out over the channel.

[blanston12]

London Calling...

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.6/wc.5.6.5.jpg
England!


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.6/wc.5.6.6.jpg
London!


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.6/wc.5.6.7.jpg
Sightseeing!


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.6/wc.5.6.8.jpg
Landed.


Thanks for reading
ATB.

[blanston12]

July 17, 1924: The next morning they were back at the airport and in the air. They flew over the Tower of London, Parliament, Buckingham palace and other famous land marks before heading north toward Brough near Hull, 165 miles away. A number of small planes came up and few briefly in formation with them before waving and flying away. Finally they landed at the aerodrome of Blackburn Aeroplane company, where they would replace all the engines, convert them back into seaplanes and prepare there aircraft to cross the Atlantic, what was most certainly going to be the most dangerous part of the entire trip.


July 17, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the Gloster Meteor. The Meteor was the first British fighter jet and only Allied jet to see combat in World War 2. While not as fast or as aerodynamically advanced as the German Me-262, it had much more reliable engines and ended up having a fairly long career, over 3900 were built between 1943 and 1955. The model I am using today is and F8 and was made by JustFlight.


The weather for my next flight was good, 6 knot winds, clear below 20,000 feet, and a temperature of 16.0C/61F. Took off from London city and headed north at about 5000 feet. At times I went up to 7000 feet and descended down to 2500 feet to avoid the clouds, I finally landed at Carlisle Airport, the 231 mile flight took 35 minutes. Only after I was getting the information together to write this post did I realize I had mixed up the GPS code, going to EGNC rather than EGNB and was about 75 miles off course. Oops!


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.7/wc.5.7.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.7/wc.5.7.2.jpg
Heading north.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.7/wc.5.7.3.jpg
Interesting clouds.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.7/wc.5.7.4.jpg
Trying to keep the ground in view.

[blanston12]

Over the green fields of England!

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.7/wc.5.7.5.jpg
Heading north.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.7/wc.5.7.6.jpg
Selfie!


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.7/wc.5.7.7.jpg
Trying to find the airport.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg5.7/wc.5.7.8.jpg
Secured.


Thanks for reading,
ATB.

[BrittMac]

Nice reading, as always. Took me a minute to catch up!

[blanston12]

July 30, 1924: At Brough they would overhaul the aircraft to prepare then for the north atlantic. The cowlings, radiators and engines were all removed and replaced, all the metal parts of the planes were covered with rust-resistant oxide, all the fabric that was damaged by the hot and humid climates they had passed through was repaired and the wheels were replaced by floats. The flyers were invited to a formal banquet in London they night after they arrived but as Arnold wrote “we were about as well equipped with clothes as the head-hunters of Borneo”. Eventually Arnold was sent with a shopping list to London to get what they needed. The banquet was held at the Savoy hotel with many with many Lords, Earls and Dukes in attendance. Many speeches were given, Smith said in his that the flight was being made for personal glory but to further aviation progress. They were invited up to meet the Prince of Wales in his suite who said he was going to sail to New York in a few days and bet each of them five dollars he would beat them there. They waited until the 29th when they received word from the U.S. Navy that there ships were in position and the weather was favorable, so they were up at 4am on the 30th to launch there planes into the humber river and fuel up the planes. There was a low fog that hung over the area and they could not get away until 10am as they headed north to the Orkney Islands. They flew over Drunkensberry point and then Scapa Flow and landed near the Village of Kirkwall where the Cruiser U.S.S. Richmond was waiting in the harbor for them.


September 24, 2017: For the next leg we will be using de Havilland Heron. The de Havilland DH.114 Heron was a small propeller-driven British airliner that first flew on 10 May 1950. It was a development of the twin-engine de Havilland Dove, with a stretched fuselage and two more engines. It was designed as a rugged, conventional low-wing monoplane with tricycle undercarriage that could be used on regional and commuter routes. 150 were built, also exported to about 30 countries. They model I am using today is by Flight Replicas and is quite nice.


The weather was reasonable for the flight, we flew north at 3000 feet to stay under the clouds. Flying over the Scottish highlands, I flew past patches of fog, hoping a hill would not appear in front of me, they did appear through the clouds but fortunately stayed below me, heading out over the sea we arrived at Kirkwall, visibility dropped to about 5 miles but managed to find the airport and make a safe landing. Since I few from Carlisle instead of Brough the flight was a little shorter, the 242nm flight took 1.5 hours.
Here are the pics.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.1/wc.6.1.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.1/wc.6.1.2.jpg
Climbing out of Carlisle.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.1/wc.6.1.3.jpg
Glamour shots.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.1/wc.6.1.4.jpg
Heading into Scotland.

[blanston12]

Flying (over) Scotsmen!

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.1/wc.6.1.5.jpg
Taking a break in the cabin.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.1/wc.6.1.6.jpg
Out over the sea.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.1/wc.6.1.7.jpg
Our destination.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.1/wc.6.1.8.jpg
Secured.


Thanks for reading
ATB.

[blanston12]

August 2, 1924: After arriving on the 30th they had expected to be able to leave for Iceland the next day but heavy fog prevented them from leaving until the 2nd. Five miles out they ran into heavy fog. After 30 minutes of flying Lt. Nelson flying New Orleans, not being able to see the other planes got into the propeller wash of one of the other aircraft and went into a spin, coming out of it just above the water. Now being just under the fog they continued to fly until they were out of the fog, but there was no site of the other planes. After circling for a period waiting for them they continued toward Iceland. They continued to Horna Fjord Iceland where sailors from the Cruiser Raleigh had established a base for them. They radioed that they had arrived and learned that Chicago and Boston had turned around in the Fog and returned to Kirkwall.


September 25, 2017: For the next leg I am using the Douglas A-20C. I know by using this aircraft I am breaking my own rule of not going back in time for the aircraft I am using but Milton Shupe finally released a beta of his new model that I had been waiting for it for a long time and could not pass it up. They A-20 first flew in 1939 and almost 7500 were built before production ended in 1944. It saw service with the USAAF as well as the Soviet, British and French air forces and was used as both a Light Bomber and night fighter. At least I am using the Aeroflot photo mapping livery from 1953 so at least that is not going back in time.


Weather for the flight was foggy with 14 knot winds and 1000m visibility with a temperature was 12C/53F. I tried to stay low but the fog was too thick, after flying past a hill where I could see the windmill was higher than me I climbed to 7000 feet to get above it. Eventually the fog cleared and it was a pretty easy flight into Hornafjörður Airport. The 475nm flight took 1.7 hours. Note to tell the story properly I am breaking this into three parts so I can better tell the story of each aircraft better.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.2/wc.6.2.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.2/wc.6.2.2.jpg
Its quite foggy.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.2/wc.6.2.3.jpg
Finally above the fog.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.2/wc.6.2.4.jpg
Observer selfie!

[blanston12]

August 3, 1924: The weather the next day was excellent at Kirkwall, anxious to join Nelson and Harding in Iceland, they were in the air by 9:30, with the still tail wind Lt Smith estimated they were going at least 100 mph. At around 11am Lt. Arnold looking back could not see Boston, they circled back looking for them and found them floating in the sea, smothered in oil leaving a oil trail in the water behind them. Wade was waving at them to not try to land as the water was too rough. Smith circled a few more times then headed for the Destroyer Billingsley 100 miles away. Arnold wrote two notes describing Wade and Ogdon’s situation and position and the tried to drop them on the deck of the destroyer, the first missed, the second tied to Arnold's only life preserver also missed the deck but a sailor dived overboard to get it. “Never have I seen a vessel jump to high speed so quickly”. Later they learned they traveled so fast they burned all the paint off there smoke stack. Having did what they could Smith turned toward Iceland. They flew through light rain and fog before sighting the Raleigh off Horna Fjord and they knew they were at there destination.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.2/wc.6.2.5.jpg
Finally past the fog.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.2/wc.6.2.6.jpg
Glamour Shots.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.2/wc.6.2.7.jpg
A little rain.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.2/wc.6.2.8.jpg
Please fasten your seatbelt.

[blanston12]

August 3, 1924: Although Wade ditched seemingly without difficulty he knew the water was too rough for Smith to take off again so he frantically signaled him not to land. Boston’s oil pump had failed they had no replacement and the left pontoon had been damaged when they landed in the rough water so even if they could repair it they could not take off. So feeling very alone in ocean, they waited for help to arrive. Three long hours later they were spotted by a British fishing boat who took them in tow. Billingsley arrived and took over the tow, followed shortly by Richmond and the line was passed to the larger ship. After emptying everything they could from Boston to make it lighter they prepared to hoist the plane onto the ships deck. When she was 3 feet in the air the ship rolled suddenly and the boom came down on top of the plane with a thunderous crash, damaging the propeller, upper wing and center section of the hull. With the increasing storm they decided the safest course of action was to tow Boston to the Faeroes islands to attempt repairs there. In the night Boston’s front spreader bar had collapsed allowing the pontoons to squeeze together and with the storm Richmond was having difficulty maintaining a safe speed while towing the plane. Wade agreed they should abandon the plane, she was pulled alongside the cruiser where sailors climbed down and chopped holes in the pontoons and she was then set loose. At 5:30 am as the two flyers saluted, Boston capsized and sank.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.2/wc.6.2.9.jpg
Iceland in site.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.2/wc.6.2.10.jpg
The town of Hofn.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.2/wc.6.2.11.jpg
Our destination.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.2/wc.6.2.12.jpg
Landed.


Thanks for reading, as always your comments are welcome and appreciated.
ATB.

[Portia911]

Wow, Joe - that account of the r/w drama on the high seas was great!
Also pleased to see the new Milton Havoc/Boston model looks great in civvies. I had the impression it was a military-only model with nose and turret guns etc.
Best wishes for the remainder of your adventure. :wavey:

[blanston12]

Wow, Joe - that account of the r/w drama on the high seas was great!
Also pleased to see the new Milton Havoc/Boston model looks great in civvies. I had the impression it was a military-only model with nose and turret guns etc.
Best wishes for the remainder of your adventure. :wavey:

Thank Portia, I struggled for some time trying to figure the best way to tell this part of the story so I am glad you enjoyed it.

I get so few comments on this thread I sometimes feel I am doing something wrong, but I double checked my plan and as of now am more than 70% complete, I won't bore you all for too much longer.

[Daveroo]

you are not boring anyone,i myself have been enjoying reading along ( and imagining myself do it as well) i dont post on it as i dont want to clog up your thread with silly comments,i will comment more often,i know encouragement can be a great motivator.and i feel remiss for not having to have commented.

id personally think when done with this one,you should do a different route.even though i have nothing but time,id not do what you have just because im lazy i suppose.

[Roger]

Joe, I keep popping in to this thread and it's always interesting to see which plane you're flying next. Keep it up please.

[Mr_Dirt]

Definitely not boring I have read every part of it and have enjoyed it all. Thanks for sharing your adventure with us. I can only imagine what it was like for the pilot adventurers doing the trip in an open cockpit plane.

[blanston12]

Definitely not boring I have read every part of it and have enjoyed it all. Thanks for sharing your adventure with us. I can only imagine what it was like for the pilot adventurers doing the trip in an open cockpit plane.


Joe, I keep popping in to this thread and it's always interesting to see which plane you're flying next. Keep it up please.


you are not boring anyone,i myself have been enjoying reading along ( and imagining myself do it as well) i dont post on it as i dont want to clog up your thread with silly comments,i will comment more often,i know encouragement can be a great motivator.and i feel remiss for not having to have commented.

id personally think when done with this one,you should do a different route.even though i have nothing but time,id not do what you have just because im lazy i suppose.

Thanks Daveroo, Rodger and Mr_Dirt, I do appreciate the kind words. I don't know what I am going to do after this, this was much more work that I had expected. I might try again some day following the Amelia Earhart route but will defiantly take a rest. That route won't have quite as dramatic a history behind it, except of course for that last leg where she crashes into the sea or is captured by the Japanese Army

[blanston12]

August 5, 1924: At mid-morning the two remaining planes departed for Reykjavik, a 290 mile trip with a stiff head wind, the harbor at Horna Fjord was very shallow and they had difficulty finding a long enough area to take off. They followed the coast were very few safe harbors could be seen, the engine on New Orleans began to run rough and oil pressure dropped from 60psi to 27, but decided to continue rather than risk landing along the rocky coast. They flew past the destroyer Billingsley at Portland Point and into Reykjavik harbor where 25,000 cheering people were there to greet them onshore. As the launch arrived to take them in, the cruiser Richmond arrived, with Wade and Ogdon onboard.


For the next leg I will be using the Ryan Navion. The Ryan Navion is a single-engine, retractable gear, four-seat aircraft originally built by North American Aviation in the 1940s. It was then acquired by Ryan Aeronautical Company and finally the Navion Aircraft Company. The Navion was envisioned as an aircraft that would perfectly match the expected postwar boom in civilian aviation, since it was designed along the general lines of, and by the same company which produced the North American P-51 Mustang. Over 2600 aircraft were built between 1948 and 1976, most of them are still in service. The model I am using was made by LDR Development and is excellent


Weather for the next leg was not the best, Light rain with 12 knot winds. 3.7 mile visibility, overcast at 1000 feet and a temperature of 12C/54F. With the low cloud level I stayed at 500 feet and followed the coast, making sure to keep an eye out for those big hills that would appear in front of me. As the clouds cleared up I was able to climb up to 2000 feet and fly over the peninsula that at the west end of Iceland and fly into Reykjavik. The 176 nm flight took 1.6 hours.


Here are the pics.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.3/wc.6.3.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.3/wc.6.3.2.jpg
Heading out of Hofn.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.3/wc.6.3.3.jpg
Flying along the coast.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.3/wc.6.3.4.jpg
Dont fly into the hills.

[blanston12]

We come from the land of the ice and snow
From the midnight sun
Where the hot springs blow


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.3/wc.6.3.5.jpg
Coastal Iceland.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.3/wc.6.3.6.jpg
Heading inland to Reykjavik.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.3/wc.6.3.7.jpg
Our destination.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.3/wc.6.3.8.jpg
Secured.


Thanks for reading,
ATB.

[Bjoern]

Commenting to show appreciation for the Led Zep reference.

[jmbiii]

Joe,
Don't stop ! I'm still a day or two behind you.
If you stop posting I'll be lost !

Joe B

[blanston12]

Joe,
Don't stop ! I'm still a day or two behind you.
If you stop posting I'll be lost !

Joe B

Not to worry Joe, I have come to far to quit now, should have time for another leg or two this weekend.

18
Bjoern, thanks for getting the Zeppelin reference, but did you get that the song itself is an iceland reference :listening_headphone

[blanston12]

August 21, 1924: At Reykjavik they flyers made repairs to there aircraft and waited for the ice to clear at there next destination, Angmagssallik Greenland (now Kangilinnguit). While they waited a forty foot boat named the ‘Leif Ericson’ with four men onboard, they were attempting to replicate the voyage of Eric the Red when he crossed over to North America around the year 1000, the flyers went to the dock to see them off, they reportedly reached Greenland but were never seen again. Also arriving was Italian Lt. Antonio Locatelli with a crew of three in his Dornier Wal twin engine sea plane who was also attempting to fly around the world. At Lt. Smiths request, General Patrick gave permission for Locatelli to fly with them. After two weeks of waiting and fearing conditions at Angmagssallik would not improve they decided to fly directly 830 miles to their next destination of Fredricksdal (Narsaq Kujalleq) Greenland. They were ready to go on the 18th but as they were lining up to take off a large wave swept over the planes shattering New Orleans propeller and Chicago’s front pontoon spreader.


Finally at 6:55 am on the 21st and with five navy ships patrolling the route, the two cruisers followed by the Italian headed for Greenland. Locatelli tried to stay information with the two Douglas’s but they were too slow for his Dornier so he saluted and forged ahead. After flying past the destroyers Billingsley and Barry they ran into heavy fog but continued on course at wave height. About 70 miles from Greenland they started encountering large Icebergs that they would only see when they were upon them. When dodging an iceberg the two planes got separated when Smith turned right while Nelson turned left. Smith continued to dodge icebergs until he reached the rocky coast of Greenland and then continued on a compass course to Fredricksdal, Black smoke coming from the Danish coastguard cutter Island Falk told them they were at their destination. Smith landed, tied up and started to inspected and refuel there plane. There was no sign of New Orleans or the Dornier until as Smith and Arnold finishing their tasks the sound of a Liberty engine echoed across the harbor and Nelson circled and landed. They had both survived the longest and most dangerous leg of the entire flight, but there was no sign of Locatelli and his crew. Once they Americans were safely aboard the Danish vessel, the ships of the US Navy started searching a 12,000 square mile area to try to locate the Italians.


September 30, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the Grumman G-73 Mallard. The Mallard first flew in 1946, it followed on the success of the Goose and Widgeon but was larger with a tricycle gear and a two step hull. It was designed for regional airlines but postwar surplus aircraft limited the market potential. Most of the 59 built were used as corporate use, before production was neded in favor of the larger G-111 Albatross. Many have been converted too turboprops, 32 are still registered in the united states with many more are active around the world. The aircraft I am using was made by Milton Shupe and updated to FSX by LDR Development. The plane is one of my favorites (yes you can tell I like these Grumman Amphibians). If I was to do a trip like this for real I would probably want to do it in a Mallard.


Weather for the next flight was partly cloudy, 7 knot winds with a temperature of 10C/50F, a few clouds at 2100 feet and scattered clouds at 6600 feet. I started off just before dawn and headed at 2000 feet but because of clouds quickly dropped down to 1000 feet. About 2 hours in the skys cleared and I climbed to 4000 feet until we got within sight of Greenland. Dropping to 2000 feet we flew along the coast and then up Prince Christian Sound and followed the channels to Narsaq Kujalleq. There is no airport here in P3D so I used ADE to create a simple seaplane airport in the harbor with a Coast Guard cutter to mark it. The 681 nm flight took 4.3 hours to fly. Here are the pics.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.4/wc.6.4.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.4/wc.6.4.2.jpg
Sunrise colors.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.4/wc.6.4.3.jpg
Glamour shots.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.4/wc.6.4.4.jpg
Greenland in sight!

[blanston12]

And YOU: friendless, brainless, helpless, hopeless! Do you want me to send you back to where you were? Unemployed, in Greenland?

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.4/wc.6.4.5.jpg
Flying along the coast.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.4/wc.6.4.6.jpg
Flying up Prince Christian Sound.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.4/wc.6.4.7.jpg
Making our way along the channels.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.4/wc.6.4.8.jpg
Landed.


Thanks for reading,
ATB.

[Bjoern]

Bjoern, thanks for getting the Zeppelin reference, but did you get that the song itself is an iceland reference :listening_headphone

More a reference to vikings in general, eh?

[blanston12]

More a reference to vikings in general, eh?

I remembered reading that they wrote the song after a gig in Iceland. Robert Plant said in an interview.


We did come from the land of the ice and snow. We were guests of the Icelandic Government on a cultural mission. We were invited to play a concert in Reykjavik. ...'Immigrant Song' was about that trip.

[blanston12]

August 24, 1924: The five navy ship had been searching for the Italians since they disappeared on the 21st, they were about to abandon the search as they were running out of supplies when an observer on the Richmond spotted a flicker of light on the horizon from the Italians. Locatelli landed in the sea rather that risk flying into an iceberg in the heavy fog, he planned to resume when the fog cleared, but heavy seas and floating ice damaged there craft so badly that she could not take off again. The four Italians were so seasick from their ordeal that they had to be lifted up to the ship using the cargo nets.


The fliers next prepared for there next leg to the village and mining camp of Ivigtut, 150 miles further up the coast, they waited until the 24th when reports of good conditions at Ivigtut so despite the fog and rain at Fredricksdal, Smith and Nelson decided to go. They flew for two hours along the fringed coast, through freezing rain, snow, fog and winds that increased to gale force before they sighted the fairly well protected harbor of Ivigtut with the cruiser Milwaukee anchored waiting for them.


For the next leg I am using the DHC-2 Beaver. The de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver is a single-engine STOL aircraft that has been used for wide variety of utility roles. Over 1657 were built between 1947 and 1967, hundreds are still in use around the world. The model I am using today was made by Milviz and is very nice. My flight today to Kangilinnguit Greenland, which is 5km away from Ivigtut, which was abandoned in 1987 when the mine closed. There was no airport in P3D here so I created a simple seaplane port using ADE. The weather for the flight was light snow with 7 knot winds, a temperature of -1C/29F and clouds at 6600 feet, relatively it was not bad weather for flying. I flew along the coast at around 3000 feet and except for one time when the engine quit and I had to restart it they flight was uneventful and I flew the 125nm in 1.2 hours. A shout out has to go to FlightSim Greenland where I got the scenery for the area around Narsaq Kujalleq.(Narsarsuaq X)


Here are the pics:


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.5/wc.6.5.1.jpg
Ready to go.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.5/wc.6.5.2.jpg
Climbing out of Narsaq Kujalleq.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.5/wc.6.5.3.jpg
Looks cold.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.5/wc.6.5.4.jpg
i did mention snow, didn't I.

[blanston12]

"It was a nightmare. The band had to tour Greenland by bus."
Author: Fred Schneider

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.5/wc.6.5.5.jpg
Heading along the channels.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.5/wc.6.5.6.jpg
You can see the remains of Ivigtut to the right and Kangilinnguit is center in the distance.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.5/wc.6.5.7.jpg
Landing by the cutter.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.5/wc.6.5.8.jpg
Secured.


Thanks for reading,
ATB.

[Bjoern]

I remembered reading that they wrote the song after a gig in Iceland. Robert Plant said in an interview.

Oh. Well, that ruins the mood of the song a bit.

[blanston12]

Oh. Well, that ruins the mood of the song a bit.
Sorry about that.

[blanston12]

August 31st, 1924: The town of Ivigtut consisted “of a few men and women and about 150 Danish miners” (apparently the miners do not count as men), and billions of tiny biting gnats who Nelson described as “the most troublesome brutes you ever saw – worse even than tropical insects”. There were some repairs needed to the aircraft and Smith decided that since they had engines available they would replace them as a safety precaution. The work was done by the 28th but until the 31st that the navy was in position and the weather reports favorable for the 560 mile flight to Icy Tickle in Labrador, Canada. Ten minutes out they hit heavy fog that required them to stay low until they broke into clear skies after thirty minutes. Two hundred miles from Labrador they ran into head winds and Chicago’s fuel pump suddenly failed, a few minutes later the wind driven fuel pump failed also and oil started to leak out of the engine. Smith switched to the 58 gallon gravity feed reserve tank but that would only allow 2 hours of flying, he yelled at Arnold to start using the hand pump. He would pump for the next three hours, knowing staying airborne was his responsibility. After what seemed like a lifetime to both men, Richmond was sighted in the calm bay of Indian Harbor. It had taken them 6 hours and 55 minutes of flying to reach North America from Greenland.


For the next leg I will be using the Grumman HU-16 Albatross. The Albatross first flew in 1949 and was used as a search and rescue aircraft by the USAF, USN and USCG. Developed from the Mallard to be able to land in open ocean situations. At least 466 were built when production ended in 1961. The model I am using today was made by Virtavia and is nice. The weather for the flight was cloudy; 18 knot winds a temperature of -2.7C/27F and clouds starting at 3085 feet. I tried to find out more about ‘Icy Tickle’ but did not find much, helipaddy.com list an “Aerial Point of Interest” with reference to the world cruisers that allowed me to fix the location. I used ADE to create a simple seaplane airport at the location and got ready to fly.


Heading out over the Ocean, we had to drop to 2000 feet to stay under the clouds but it was a fairly uneventful flight and the Albatross had no problem despite the 25 knot cross wind that became a head wind. The 499 nm flight took just over 3 hours.


Here are the pics:


http://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.6/wc.6.6.1.jpg
Ready to go.


http://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.6/wc.6.6.2.jpg
Climbing out.


http://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.6/wc.6.6.3.jpg
Heading to the coast.


http://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.6/wc.6.6.4.jpg
Glamour shots.

[blanston12]

And he says “Wow. If you’re from Canada? Do you like, play hockey?”
And I says “Do I play hockey?



http://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.6/wc.6.6.5.jpg
Few more small islands then open ocean.


http://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.6/wc.6.6.6.jpg
Clear finally.


http://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.6/wc.6.6.7.jpg
Our destination with the cutter waiting.


http://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.6/wc.6.6.8.jpg
Landed.


Thanks for reading.
ATB.

[Bjoern]

Sorry about that.

Not your fault. I blame Wikipedia with its absurdly detailed articles. Did you know that Keith Moon loved to blow up toilet bowls in hotels?

[blanston12]

Not your fault. I blame Wikipedia with its absurdly detailed articles. Did you know that Keith Moon loved to blow up toilet bowls in hotels?

I was aware that Keith was shall we say "Very Hard" on his hotel rooms but was not aware he blew up bits of it. :very_drunk:

[blanston12]

September 2, 1924: Upon there return to North America they were greeted on the deck of Richmond by Admiral Magruder, commander of the Atlantic Scouting fleet who had a series of cables he read from General Patrick, Secretary of War Davis and President Coolidge all congratulating them on there achievement. They spent the next day preparing there planes for the next flight to Hawks Bay Newfoundland. In the afternoon Richmond left the harbor to be replaced by Milwaukee, where they would spend the night. Despite the fact that the weather reports were not favorable they left Icy Tickle around 11am. After three hours following the Newfoundland coast they ran into heavy fog, and as they always had they dropped to wave top level above the heavy swells, at one point they zoomed over a coastal steamer, missing its bridge by 30 feet. They passed many small fishing villages and were surprised to see the inhabitants waving at them. After nearly six hours of flying they landed in Hawkes bay where Ashburne was waiting for them.


October 2, 2017: I had planned on using the DHC3 Otter but the AH/FJ version is not out yet, I tried another payware version who I won’t name but after experimenting with it I can’t endorse it by using it here so instead I will again use the Grumman Albatross by Virtavia. Since I have been using Coast Guard cutters at all my seaplane ports I will use a USGC paint in their honor. The weather for this is Partly Cloudy with 10 knot winds, a temperature of 4C/40F and clouds starting at 3100 feet. We flew along the Labrador coast and down the west coast of Newfoundland to Hawkes bay and the town of Port au Choix and landed at its tiny airstrip. The 228nm flight took 1.5 hours.


Here are the pics:


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.7/wc.6.7.1.jpg
Ready to go.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.7/wc.6.7.2.jpg
Climbing out of Icy Tickle.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.7/wc.6.7.3.jpg
Along the Labrador coast.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.7/wc.6.7.4.jpg
Tiny Islands.

[blanston12]

Take off! To the Great White North!
Take off! It's a beauty way to go.

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.7/wc.6.7.5.jpg
Coast of Newfoundland.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.7/wc.6.7.6.jpg
The town of Port au Choix.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.7/wc.6.7.7.jpg
Looking back and my destination.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.7/wc.6.7.8.jpg
Secured.


Thanks for reading.
ATB.

[blanston12]

September 3, 1924: At dawn the weather at Hawkes Bay was discouraging but it cleared up quickly and they flyers were off by 11am for Pictou, Nova Scotia. Along the way they flew past Milwaukee, McFarland, Cogland and Richmond as they were sailing home. They were met by an aircraft from the RCAF who escorted them to the harbor, there they were greeted by a several American and Canadian destroyers all blowing there whistles and crowds of people along the waterfront waving. Also floating in the harbor was a Douglas World Cruiser labeled Boston II. At Lt Smiths suggestion, General Patrick ordered the prototype DWC prepared and flown to Nova Scotia so that Wade and Ogden could continue the flight. Smith also requested that there be no entertainments, receptions or escorts be arranged for them prior to the completion of there mission in Seattle. Despite that request they were placed into cars that joined a parade through town, taken to the park where short speeches given welcoming them to the town and finally to a hotel for a Lobster dinner and dance, a pattern that would continue for the rest of there trip.


October 5, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the North American, T-28C Trojan. The Trojan is a trainer used by the USAF and USN in the 1950's. Over 1900 were built between 1950 and 1957 and saw service in many countries in trainer and counter insurgency roles. The last was retired in 1994 but many continue to fly in civilian hands. The model I am using today is made by Ant's Aircraft and is one of my favorites, It's not released yet for V4 but I hope it will be soon.


The weather for the flight was clear, temperature of 3.3C/38F and 8 knot winds. It was an uneventful flight as we flow along the coast of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia at about 2400 feet. I landed at Trenton Airport (closest to Pictou), flying 371 nm in 1.8 hours.


Here are the pics:


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.8/wc.6.8.1.jpg
Ready to go.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.8/wc.6.8.2.jpg
Heading south.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.8/wc.6.8.3.jpg
Flying along the coast of Nova Scotia.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.8/wc.6.8.4.jpg
Glamour Shots.

[blanston12]

Beauty!

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.8/wc.6.8.5.jpg
The co-pilot looks happy.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.8/wc.6.8.6.jpg
Cruising.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.8/wc.6.8.7.jpg
Getting close to my destination.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.8/wc.6.8.8.jpg
Secured, look a welcoming committee.

Thanks for Reading,
ATB.

[blanston12]

September 5, 1924: The 4th was windy and rainy to fly, so they were treated noon concert of Bag Pipers and a lobster dinner on the Canadian Destroyer Patriot. The original plan was to go to St. John Newfoundland to refuel and then proceed to Boston, but Lt Smith disagreed and wanted to fly directly to Boston. They left the harbor of the 11:15 am flying along the coast of Nova Scotia in a rain squall but soon came into good weather. They passed St. John in good weather but soon ran into fog that got thicker as they flew on. They tried to climb over and under but no avail, after a few narrow scrapes with trees Smith decided getting to Boston when the city leaders expected was not worth the risk, just before they got to Portland Maine they turned back and headed inland finding a sheltered cove on Casco Bay near Mere Point Maine, they spent the night in cabins offered by local residents.


October 7, 2017: For the next flight I will be using the Douglas DC-6B. The DC-6 project started in 1944 as a lengthened and more powerful version of the DC-4 with a pressurized hull. After the war the design was reworked to compete with the Lockheed Constellation, it first flew in 1946 and 704 were built before production ended in 1958. The DC-6 was regarded by many as the ultimate piston-engine airliner from the standpoint of ruggedness, reliability, economical operation, and handling qualities. The model I am using is by JustFlight/Aeroplane Heaven and is one of my favorites. I have previously done RTW flights using this aircraft.


The weather for my flight was good, clear with 7 knot winds and a temperature of 9C/47F. They flight was uneventful, I flew at 4000 feet and landed at Brunswick Executive Airport (formerly NAS Brunswick, closest airport to Mere Point), the 329 mile flight took 1.6 hours.


Here are the pics


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.9/wc.6.9.1.jpg
Ready to go.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.9/wc.6.9.2.jpg
Along the coast of Nova Scotia.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.9/wc.6.9.3.jpg
Selfie!


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.9/wc.6.9.4.jpg
I hope she does not get board back there by herself.

[blanston12]

Back in the USA!

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.9/wc.6.9.5.jpg
Along the coast of Maine.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.9/wc.6.9.6.jpg
Lots of little Islands.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.9/wc.6.9.7.jpg
On final into Brunswick.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.9/wc.6.9.8.jpg
Secured.


Thanks for reading
ATB.

[Portia911]

Welcome 'home', Joe.
Now you've just got the continent to traverse to reach your goal! :ernaehrung004:

[blanston12]

September 6, 1924: The flyers had not seen a newspaper since they left Scotland and expected the same passing interest when they arrived as other record setting Air Service flights. They got fuel from commercial gas stations in Brunswick so they would have enough to make it to Boston without having to stop again. As they were waiting a flight of ten DH-4’s arrived overhead, wagging there wings in greeting, they had been flown north to escort them to Boston and were lead by General Patrick, chief of the Army Air Service. Smith held up a funnel and gas can to signal the reason for the delay. After circling for a while they DH-4’s headed to Old Orchard main to wait for them. They were in the air by noon and after an uneventful flight they arrived over Boston two hours later, there was a great crowd milling around the airport, fireboats spouted water, navy ships fired there guns and every boat was blowing its whistle in salute. The cruisers landed in the harbor while the escorts landed at the airport. There planes were lifted by crane onto the navy dock where the pontoons would be swapped for wheels for the last time. The six men signed the airport entry book and were taken by automobile to the state capitol, escorted by cavalry guard, where they were welcomed by the Governor, Mayor and other military and political officials, all who whom gave short speeches. As they were lead through the city, there were cheering crowds on every street they passed. They were finally taken to the Plaza hotel were an entire floor was reserved for them. That night they dined with General Patrick, they general posted guards so it would be a quiet affair.


October 7, 2017: To make a grand entrance into Boston I chose the North American F-100D. The North American F-100 Super Sabre was the first USAF fighter capable of supersonic speed in level flight. 2294 were built between 1953 and 1959, it served with the USAF until 1972 and the last was retired in 1988. The Model I am using is by Milviz and it is nice.


It was foggy in Brunswick, 5 knot winds with a temperature of 16C/61F. Clouds were supposed to go up to 6000 feet so I climb up through it and proceed to Boston. The cloud thinned as I got closer to city and was able to make an easy landing at Logan Airport. They 103 mile flight took only 24 minutes.


Here are the pics.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.a/wc.6.a.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.a/wc.6.a.2.jpg
Climbing through the fog.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.a/wc.6.a.3.jpg
Finally above it.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.a/wc.6.a.4.jpg
Glamour Shots.

[blanston12]

More than a feeling...

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.a/wc.6.a.5.jpg
Selfie!


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.a/wc.6.a.6.jpg
Decending into Boston.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.a/wc.6.a.7.jpg
My destination is ahead.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg6.a/wc.6.a.8.jpg
Landed.


Thanks for reading.
ATB.

[Portia911]

Good to see Boston is where it should be - and not encased in a glass dome, mounted on an intergalactic guitar!

[blanston12]

Good to see Boston is where it should be - and not encased in a glass dome, mounted on an intergalactic guitar!

:jump: Thanks Portia, I agree and glad you got the reference.

[Bjoern]

Starting to wonder how many muscial references Joe has snuck into the reports and how many of them I've scrolled past...

[BrittMac]

Starting to wonder how many muscial references Joe has snuck into the reports and how many of them I've scrolled past...

LOL, agreed.

[blanston12]

LOL, agreed.
I'm going to have to be sneakier, well maybe not.
:running:

[blanston12]

I'm in a New York state of mind

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.01/wc.7.1.5.jpg
The Big Apple.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.01/wc.7.1.6.jpg
Statue of Liberty flyby.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.01/wc.7.1.7.jpg
Looking back at the city as we head down Long Island.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.01/wc.7.1.8.jpg
Landed.


Thanks for reading
ATB.

[blanston12]

September 9, 1924: The three cruisers and there ten escorts left Mitchell at 9:30 am headed for Washington DC, and immediately ran into stiff head winds that slowed there ground speed to 35mph. They flew over Philadelphia and stopped at Aberdeen Maryland. As the short range DH-4’s refueled they were met by General Billy Mitchell, assistant chief of the air service.


October 9, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the Lockheed L-188 Electra. The L-188 was the first large American turboprop airliner, with its large flaps and high power to weight ratio it had short field performance unmatched by jet transports even today. Only 170 were built between 1957 and 1961 and was later developed into the even more successful P-3 Orion. I remember when I was small, PSA in California used Electra’s to fly into the Lake Tahoe airport in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Even though the airline had converted all its other routes to jets the Electra could better operate in the hight aititude and confinded spaces between the mountains and the airport. The model I am using was made by Team FS KBT and is excellent. The PSA repaint was by Fabio Cabral.


The weather started off foggy, 1.8 visibility with clouds extending to 6600 feet, 6 knot winds and a temperature of 22C/72F. To get over the clouds I tried to climb to 7000 feet and then 8000 feet as I made a direct course to the Aberdeen proving grounds. Eventually the clouds cleared a bit and I could descend to 4000 feet as I flew over Philadelphia. As descended down to 2000 feet as I got closer to the airport I got hit by fog again and had to go down to 800 feet so I could see anything. I finally came around and landed but it was far from pretty, but at least I was down safe. The 148 nm flight took 39 minutes.


Here are the pics:


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.02/wc.7.2.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.02/wc.7.2.2.jpg
Climbing out of Farmington.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.02/wc.7.2.3.jpg
Up above the clouds.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.02/wc.7.2.4.jpg
Starting to clear up.

[blanston12]

It is always sunny in Philadelphia!

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.02/wc.7.2.5.jpg
Philli.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.02/wc.7.2.6.jpg
Following the Delaware.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.02/wc.7.2.7.jpg
Back into the fog.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.02/wc.7.2.8.jpg
Landed.


Thanks for reading.
ATB.

[Bjoern]

Mysteries of the modern world: Will KBT ever update the Electra's cockpit with more working switches?

[blanston12]

Mysteries of the modern world: Will KBT ever update the Electra's cockpit with more working switches?
That's a very good question. They have done many updates of the P3 but not the L-188. Guess civilian stuff is not there priority.

[EasyEd]

Hey All,

What was the high wing twin you flew by the statue of liberty? A dehavilland? There was no commentary.

-Ed-

[Bjoern]

That's a very good question. They have done many updates of the P3 but not the L-188. Guess civilian stuff is not there priority.

I've replaced the cockpit model with the one from the P-3C once and only realized the pointlessness much too late.

[hairyspin]

Since you're back in the US, perhaps they'll all come to look for America?

[Portia911]

Hey All,

What was the high wing twin you flew by the statue of liberty? A dehavilland? There was no commentary.

-Ed-

Looks like the (Aeroplane Heaven/Just Flight) Fokker F27 to me.

[blanston12]

Looks like the (Aeroplane Heaven/Just Flight) Fokker F27 to me.

That was a pretty big goof on my part! The first half of the post did not get recorded. will do so immediately.

[blanston12]

This got recorded out of order, sorry about that.

On the 7th they were up at 4am to spend the day the exchange of pontoons for wheels, refueling and checking the planes for the next leg to Mitchell field on Long Island New York. A large crowd gathered but were kept away by solders and police. They were off at noon on a exceptionally clear day, they flew over New London Connecticut, Arnold's home town, and after passing Bridgeport they were joined by an escort of ten DH-4's carrying General Patrick, Senator Wadsworth of New York and Lt Nelsons Brother Gunnar. They flew over Manhattan, over the Statue of Liberty and then east to Mitchell field. A large crowd had gathered, the General and Senator landed first and the mob surged forward thinking they were the cruisers. The flyers had to circle overhead as solders cleared the field so they could land, as they taxied to a stop the crowd again broke through, it took great effort to prevent the souvenir hunters from cutting up the planes fabric. The Prince of Wales was escorted through the crowd and congratulated each flyer with a hand shake and said “Shall we settle our bets, Gentlemen”.


October 8, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the Fokker F-27 Friendship. The F-27 is a twin engine turboprop airliner made by the Dutch Fokker company. 586 were built between 1955 and 1987 and it was one of the most successful european airliners of the era. The model I am using is by JustFlight and is nice. The weather for my flight was cloudy, 7 knot winds with a temperature of 23C/73F and a cloud level of 2004 feet. The cloud level kept dropping on me and I ended up flying at around 800-1500 feet along the coast of Connecticut and up Long Island Sound. I flew over Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty and turned left toward Long Island. Mitchell field is long gone so the closest airport so I instead landed at Republic Airport, Farmingdale, 9 miles east, my 146mn nm flight took just over 1 hour.


Here are the pics:


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.01/wc.7.1.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.01/wc.7.1.2.jpg
Heading out of Boston


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.01/wc.7.1.3.jpg
Fall colors.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.01/wc.7.1.4.jpg
Long Island Sound.


Thanks for reading
ATB.

[blanston12]

September 9, 1924: After refueling at Aberdeen, they flyers and there escorts were off again for Bolling field, Washington DC. Eight miles south of Baltimore the engine on New Orleans suddenly quit and Nelson made a smooth forced landing in a pasture. General Patrick and several of the escorts landed while the other two cruisers circled. Knowing the president and cabinet were waiting at Bolling field had Nelson take the escort carrying his brother in the passenger seat while Harding would stay with New Orleans.


The President Coolidge had been waiting with his wife and most of the cabinet in the rain since 11am, when one of them suggested they leave he said “Not on your life, I will wait all day if necessary”. It was still raining when they arrived over Bolling field. The cruisers circled a couple time and landed, followed by there escorts. They were warmly greeted by the President who asked many questions of the flyers. Overnight Harding was able to repair New Orleans and it flown to Bolling field the next day. The flyers would stay in Washington for the next three days to grant interviews, meet with Generals and officials, and participate in the Defense day activities September 12th.


October 10, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the Aero Commander 500. The Aero commander is a series of twin engine utility and business aircraft that were introduced in 1952. Over 3100 of all variants were built before production ended in 1986. The model I am using was made by Milton Shupe and is one of my favorites. I was planning on flying to Washington the same day as Aberdeen but decided against it after landing in the fog. The weather the next day was better, Broken clouds at 3500 feet, no wind and a temperature of 20C/68F. The flight was uneventful, I stayed between 1000 and 2000 feet before arriving over the capitol. Bolling field is long gone, but right across the river from its former site is Reagan national airport so thats where I landed. The 55nm flight too 27 minutes.


Here are the pics:


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.03/wc.7.3.1.jpg
Ready to go.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.03/wc.7.3.2.jpg
Heading out over Baltimore.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.03/wc.7.3.3.jpg
Just a few clouds.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.03/wc.7.3.4.jpg
Chesapeake Bay.

[blanston12]

Take me to your leader!

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.03/wc.7.3.5.jpg
Just afew more clouds.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.03/wc.7.3.6.jpg
The capitol ahead.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.03/wc.7.3.7.jpg
I probably could not fly here in real life.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.03/wc.7.3.8.jpg
Landed.


Thanks for reading.
ATB.

[blanston12]

September 13, 1924: The previous day they had flown over the city and taken part in the parade of troops in the Defense Day activities. “The reception and applause given to us all along the line of march was wonderful.” Arnold wrote. “And to be so received by our own people thrilled us all, it was probably the greatest moment in our lives.” The weather was marginal the day they departed for Dayton Ohio, but they were fatigued by all the attention they had received and were ready to press on. Five escorting planes joined them but they left when they ran into near Harpers Ferry. The flyers continued on, flying low over the telephone poles and tree tops as they followed the rail road through the valley. About 80 miles from Dayton the first planes joined them, there numbers increased to about 20 flying information into McCook Field, then the Air Services major aircraft evaluation center. A crowd of nearly 10,000 waited at the airfield to greet them, Two men quickly emerged from the crowd to extend there congratulations, Major Martin and Sgt Harvey, who had piloted Seattle before they crashed in Alaska. For the next two days in shifts, mechanics went over every part of the aircraft and replaced anything that showed any wear or tear, it was the first time the flyers had allowed anyone to work on the aircraft without them being present since the flight started.


October 13, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the Hawker Siddeley HS-748. The HS-748 is a medium size turboprop airliner originally designed by Avro as a replacement for aging DC-3’s. With good STOL performance it found a dedicated market, About 380 aircraft were built between 1961 and 1988. The aircraft is by JustFlight/Aeroplane Heaven. Weather was not the best, cloudy with 6 knot winds a temperature of 17C/63F and clouds from 700 feet extending up to about 6000 feet. Knowing I had to fly over the Appalachian Mountains I climbed up to 8000 feet and headed west over the clouds. McCook field closed in 1927; instead I landed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, about 7 miles to the east. The 331 nm flight took 1.4 hours.


Here are the pics:


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.04/wc.7.4.1.jpg
Ready to go.

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.04/wc.7.4.2.jpg
Climbing out of DC.

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.04/wc.7.4.3.jpg
Climbing up over the clouds.

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.04/wc.7.4.4.jpg
Over the Appalachian Mountains

[blanston12]

I went back to Ohio, But my city was gone.

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.04/wc.7.4.5.jpg
Cruising.

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.04/wc.7.4.6.jpg
Crossing the Ohio river.

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.04/wc.7.4.7.jpg
Coming into Dayton.

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.04/wc.7.4.8.jpg
Secured.


Thanks for reading
ATB.

[Bjoern]

Every time the JF HS.748 pops up on sale, I'm close to pressing "Buy", but a look into the support forum always gets in the way.

Wish I had time to convert Rick's budgie.

[Roger]

Regardless of "The worst developer ever's" comments...still enjoying your world tour and see you have many of the same aircraft that I have.:applause:

[blanston12]

Regardless of "The worst developer ever's" comments...still enjoying your world tour and see you have many of the same aircraft that I have.:applause:

Thanks Roger, good to see that great minds think alike. :applause:

Personally I like the JH/AH 748, obviously or i would not have used it here. I have done more than a few flights in it and have found it enjoyable, which I can't say for all of there recent releases. I think Bjoern has more willpower than me, something new and shiny comes around I have a hard time not pushing "BUY IT". Right now there are a couple on my list where the question is not "yes" or "no" but "now" or "when it goes on sale".

[Portia911]

Love Chrissie - guess you couldv've used '2000 Miles' somewhere along the way too! :adoration:

[Bjoern]

I think Bjoern has more willpower than me, something new and shiny comes around I have a hard time not pushing "BUY IT". Right now there are a couple on my list where the question is not "yes" or "no" but "now" or "when it goes on sale".

A decent amount of time of living around the poverty line is great training. :)

[Mr_Dirt]

Your city is still there it is a parking lot now. Thanks for the journey.

[blanston12]

September 15, 1924: The three cruisers left McCook field for Chicago and followed the railroad lines that all seemed to point in the direction of their destination. A huge crowd had seen them off and an even larger crowd was waiting for them at the Maywood Airmail field outside the city. They were taken by limousine with motorcycle escort to the Drake hotel where a large banquet was planned for that evening.


October 14, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the Boeing 737-200. Originally planned as a smaller twin engine airliner derived from the 707 and 727, it has become the best selling commercial airliner in history with over 9700 delivered by 2017 with over 4000 still on order. The 737 was one of the first airliners I remember flying on, as a young lad I was very impressed by the air-stairs that came out of the fuselage from under the door. The model I am using was made by Captain Sim and is quite nice.


The weather started off nice, clear with 6 knot winds and a temperature of 26C/79F. Maywood Airmail field closed in 1927, so instead I will fly to Midway, which opened around the time Maywood closed and is the closest airport that can handle the 737. I climbed out of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and headed to Chicago at 9200 feet, trying to stay plausibly VFR. The clouds started to build as I neared Chicago and thunder clouds hung around the city. About 15 miles out I ran into clouds that went to below 2000 feet, I had to use the ILS to find the correct path to the runway and made a respectable landing. The 206nm flight took 54 minutes.


Here are the pics.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.05/wc.7.5.1.jpg
Ready for takeoff.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.05/wc.7.5.2.jpg
Climbing out of Dayton.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.05/wc.7.5.3.jpg
Just a few clouds.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.05/wc.7.5.4.jpg
Lots of farmland.

[blanston12]

Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.05/wc.7.5.5.jpg
Is that lightning?


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.05/wc.7.5.6.jpg
Can't see much in these clouds, better get lower.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.05/wc.7.5.7.jpg
Airport found, on final! Yes I noticed that I need more flaps.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.05/wc.7.5.8.jpg
Secured.


Thanks for reading.
ATB.

[blanston12]

September 17, 1924: They had hoped to get off early the day but heavy fog lasted all day. The next morning they were off for Omaha Nebraska, landing at Jarvis Offutt field at Fort Crook. Again crowds converged on the flyers, being held off by solders. Again there was a dinner with speeches by local dignitaries, but this time the citizens of Omaha chose a queen and five ladies in waiting who were to be the flyers hostesses for the evening. Instead of shaking hands and expressing thanks for the welcome for hours, they got to hold one hand the whole evening and communicate “in the more eloquent language of eyes”, the idea met with their enthusiastic approval.


October 15, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the BAe Hawk T1. The hawk is a single engine advanced trainer used by the RAF and many other nations. It first flew in 1974 and is still in production with over 1000 being built. The flight to Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha was uneventful. Weather was cloudy with 13 knot winds gusting to 23, overcast at 3900 feet and a temperature of 12C/43F. I climbed up to 3500 feet and headed west. I was cruising along happily at 440 knots when my fuel calculations told me I would not make it the 370 miles (I should have installed the drop tanks) so I slowed down to 240 knots. The weather cleared up as I got to Omaha and I landed after flying 1.5 hours with plenty of fuel remaining.


Here are the pics:


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.06/wc.7.6.1.jpg
Ready to go.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.06/wc.7.6.2.jpg
Climbing out of Chicago.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.06/wc.7.6.3.jpg
Heading west.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.06/wc.7.6.4.jpg
It all sort of looks the same.

[blanston12]

On a long and lonesome highway, east of Omaha
You can listen to the engine moanin' out its one-note song


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.06/wc.7.6.5.jpg
Over a lake some where.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.06/wc.7.6.6.jpg
Our destination is in sight.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.06/wc.7.6.7.jpg
On final.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.06/wc.7.6.8.jpg
Secured.


Thanks for reading.
ATB.

[THibben]

I was in Boeing Flight Test during the certification testing of the 737. I was assigned to the second one built and was an instrumentation engineer. I had many flight hours and loved them all. Occasionally the "pucker" factor got a little high but it was all great fun.

I spent my whole career starting in 1956 at Boeing and all but a couple of years of it in flight test.

Tom

[blanston12]

I was in Boeing Flight Test during the certification testing of the 737. I was assigned to the second one built and was an instrumentation engineer. I had many flight hours and loved them all. Occasionally the "pucker" factor got a little high but it was all great fun.

I spent my whole career starting in 1956 at Boeing and all but a couple of years of it in flight test.

Tom

That's a great story thanks for sharing. The early 737's were one of my favorite aircraft when I was growing up, PSA and AirCal had the best paint jobs and those fun built in air-stairs.

[hairyspin]

I well remember how monotonous the mid-west is from airliner altitude on a flight with completely clear skies all the way from Niagara to the west coast. I’d still like to do it again for what comes next!

[blanston12]

September 18, 1924: The original plan was to follow the airmail route over the Rocky Mountians through Cheyanne Wyoming and Salt lake city but the lowest point in the continental divide was 6500 feet and the airmail planes often had to fly between 8000 and 9000 feet to safely pass. Lt Smith wanting to avoid the risks of flying at that altitude decided, with General Patricks approval, to fly through Dallas Texas and San Diego California before returning to the 'official' starting point of Seattle Washington. So instead of continuing west from Omaha that morning they headed south following the Missouri river 125 miles to the town of St Joseph Missouri, there they would be treated to a luncheon by the civic leaders and watch an aerobatic show by Lt Rubin Moffatt before heading to there next stop.


October 15, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the Cessna 177 Cardinal. The 177 was a “futuristic successor to the Cessna 172 with both fixed and retractable landing gear versions. Although it never really replaced the 172, at least 4295 were built between 1968 and 1979. The model I am using is the 177RG version by Alabeo and it is quite nice. Weather for the flight was clear and calm, temperature of 4C/39F. The flight itself was uneventful, followed the Missouri River south to the Rosecrahs Memorial Airport in St Joseph Missouri. The 93mn flight took 44 minutes.


Here are the pics:


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.07/wc.7.7.1.jpg
Ready to go.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.07/wc.7.7.2.jpg
Everything looks good.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.07/wc.7.7.3.jpg
Cruisin.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.07/wc.7.7.4.jpg
Following the Missouri River.

[blanston12]

You have got to show me.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.07/wc.7.7.5.jpg
Selfie.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.07/wc.7.7.6.jpg
Nice view of the river and the fall colors.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.07/wc.7.7.7.jpg
On Final.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.07/wc.7.7.8.jpg
Landed.


Thanks for reading
ATB.

[blanston12]

September 18, 1924: After the luncheon in St Joseph, the flyers were back in the air for Hatbox field in Muskogee, Oklahoma, where they were welcomed by a large number of planes and chartered passenger busses that had converged on the small town to welcome them. At the evenings banquet they were given gold medallions for there “Intrepid flying skills”.


October 18, 1924: For the next leg I will be using the Handley Page Jetstream 200. The Jetstream is a two engine turboprop small airliner that first flew in 1967. About 67 were built by Handley Page and Scottish Aviation before the design was acquired by British Aerospace who developed it into the Jetstream 31 and 41. The model I am using is an almost finished beta by Rick Piper, and despite the fact that he did not finish the pilot seats is a great model and nice to fly.


Biggest dilemma for this flight was the destination airport to use, originally they used Hatbox field, but Hatbox closed in 2000 and even though it still exists in P3D its runways are pretty small, so following the rule of what airport would I use today I will use Davis field which is the current airport for Muskogee. They weather was good for flying, clear and calm with a temperature of 10C/50F. The flight was uneventful except that ActiveSky started giving strange error messages and I had to shut it down, switching instead to the 'fair' weather scheme. The 248nm flight took 1.1 hours.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.08/wc.7.8.1.jpg
Ready to go.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.08/wc.7.8.2.jpg
Get the selfie out of the way.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.08/wc.7.8.3.jpg
Out over the plains.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.08/wc.7.8.4.jpg
Glamour Shots.

[blanston12]

Oklahoma where the wind comes sweeping down the plain

https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.08/wc.7.8.5.jpg
Everything looks normal.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.08/wc.7.8.6.jpg
Fair weather.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.08/wc.7.8.7.jpg
Flying over Davis Field.


https://www.fsairlines.net/private/Leg7.08/wc.7.8.8.jpg
Landed,


Thanks for reading.
ATB.

[hairyspin]

Do they still wave Old Glory at the courthouse in Muskogee? No, they don’t, as a friend discovered on a road trip last year: he wanted a photo of himself next to the courthouse complete with flag but the pole was bare.

[jmbiii]

The flag still flies at the courthouse and across the street at the post office. :US-flag: :loyal:

[blanston12]

Do they still wave Old Glory at the courthouse in Muskogee? No, they don’t, as a friend discovered on a road trip last year: he wanted a photo of himself next to the courthouse complete with flag but the pole was bare.

Man, those budget cuts are brutal!