Dr. House meets Smokey The Bear

[srgalahad]

This little exercise came as a result of more test-flying my system to see if it still works.

The place: central Idaho, USA

The scenario (I felt creative):
At the end of the forest fire season the crews are ready to return home but a serious (possibly) communicable disease has been detected among one or more of the crews. Blood-test kits have been airdropped to the sites and it is your task to depart from the Fire Base at McCall, ID (KMYL), fly to each strip, land, collect the kits and return to KMYL so they can be tested and the source of infection identified. Obviously speed is of the essence but safety is paramount!

Ten legs with an average of 21 (direct) miles each but some may require navigation through mountain passes or circuitous routing.

As this is a test of aircraft selection, your piloting skills and the ability of your hardware to withstand the rigors of RTW flying in tough situations I've set the time limit to include two weekends. If all things work right, it's possible to complete the exercise in less than 90 minutes elapsed time (with no rest for the wicked).

Details follow...

Rob

[srgalahad]

Things you need to know:

Real weather, RTW-allowed aircraft/helicopters/autogyros, Daylight Ops (time-shifting is allowed) --All strips are unlighted except KMYL. Time for each leg is the "Flight Time" reported on the Duenna.

A crash is fatal - in the event of a crash the whole mission must be flown again with a different type of aircraft (Computer failure is exempt from this rule -post Duenna and attach explanation - but does not include crashes due to frame-rate issues). Abandonment is allowed (buy beer for the Fire Base staff) but the same type of a/c may not be used for any retries of the mission.

Each pickup requires a full-stop landing and must be in the order listed -- Diversions are allowed due to Weather BUT the route sequence must be maintained AND the Duenna times must be combined in your report. (The same applies to landing at the wrong strip...).
NO refuelling is allowed (you want to risk being infected by the disease???) so if you shut down the system between flights, check your fuel load at landing and start-up and adjust as necessary before starting the Duenna.

The entire area is capped due to a Homeland Security exercise overhead (10,000 ASL and above) so be careful of Altimeter Settings and altitudes! (Winds and mountainous terrain can change altimeter settings significantly enroute) A Ten (10) Minute penalty is applied to any leg that exceeds the listed Max Enroute Altitude as shown on the Duenna. The caps have been tested but do NOT guarantee terrain clearance for a direct route.

Destination Airport
FROM -- TO -- Distance -- ELEV -- RWY - SURFACE -- Max Enroute Altitude

KMYL -- 0U0 --28.5 ----- 6662 -- 16/34 - 4000x100 Grs -- 8500 ft ASL
0U0 --- ID86 --21.5 ----- 5489 -- NE/SW 1800x50 Dt ---- 8500 ft ASL
ID86 -- 02ID --21.0 ----- 5634 -- NE/SW 2000x100 Grs --- 8500 ft ASL
02ID -- 13ID --21.7 ----- 6400 -- N/S -- 1600x100 Grs --- 9500 ft ASL ***
13ID -- 0U1 -- 15.4 ----- 4831 -- 02/20 - 2850x135 Grs -- 9000 ft ASL ***
0U1 -- U72 --- 34.5 ----- 4742 -- 04/22 - 2500x75 Grs --- 8500 ft ASL
U72 -- ID67 -- 13.1 ----- 4200 -- 13/31 - 1100x75 Grs --- 8500 ft ASL
ID67 -- ID41 -- 23.1 ----- 6539 -- 06/24 - 2450x175 Grav - 8500 ft ASL
ID41 -- 24K -- 17.6 ----- 3982 --- 17/35 - 1500x150 Grs -- 8500 ft ASL
24K -- KMYL -- 16.6 ---- 5021 --- 16/34 - 6107x75 Asp ---8500 ft ASL

TOTAL 213.0nm

NOTE: more than one strip is very short and/or narrow. All have obstacles in the vicinity and most require steep descents/climbs or tight approaches. BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!!!

Test was flown using FS2004. In FSX if Autogen Scenery slider is set to higher than "Normal", excessively tall trees will likely render at least two airports unmanageable (if not impossible for most aircraft). Arrival & departure tests are highly recommended in any case!

If all things work right, it's possible to complete the exercise in less than 90 minutes elapsed time (with no rest for the wicked).:cost1:

Begin now…
End before 2359 Zulu Friday Oct. 25th

Rob

[MM]

An excellent challenge. (Some rather clever parts here!)

Those who like interesting flying may want to set their autogen-tree-setting as high as is reasonable--to increase the beauty of the fall foliage that "adorns" each field's final approach. :d

[Tako_Kichi]

I just tried this for a bit of fun and what a white knuckle ride it was. I am glad I had crash detection off and no Duenna running for the first attempt as I would have pranged my kite on several legs.

Mind you I was facing 25 knot gusts, mostly cross winds, snow squalls, cloud base below mountain top height...it was nasty! :isadizzy:

I will certainly try it again when the weather around there clears up a bit. :icon_lol:

[buzzbee]

Giving it a go in the Real Air Scout with Tundra tires, but the weather does not look so good. Winds at KMYL 21 at 40 kts, blowing me backwards.

Looks like a good test of Skyvector.com planning feature.

[Dangerousdave26]

That stinks it was nice and clear earlier there but I can't figure out what plane to use. This is not standard RTWR material. It is more like a Bush Pilot's Extreme Adventure. I had to go around twice on the second airport before I could get it down and still racked it up in the tress (P-38) just could not get it stopped.

Looking threw the hanger now but may have to do some online shopping.

[PRB]

Did some scouting of this course myself and bent up an otherwise perfectly good OV-10. I think the Idaho Air National Guard will get a lot of spare parts out of this one...

[Tako_Kichi]

I used a Beaver with tundra tyres and even that was struggling to get into some of them.

I finally developed a technique where I 'crabbed' in sideways at barely above stall speed and just above the ground and when I was over the runway I shut the throttle and dropped the last 10 feet or so! The roll out on some landings was about 20 feet! :costumes:

Full rudder wasn't enough to keep the nose lined up in a few places too.

A helicopter might be a vehicle of choice here although the altitude might give lift problems. :icon_lol:

I will try it again when the winds drop and the snow clears as it is certainly a bush flying challenge.

[PRB]

I'm actually contemplating a helicopter for this, which is quite amazing since I'm such an expert at crashing helicopters! When I "sober up" I think I'll do some scouting with the Aerosoft DHC-6 Twin Otter. That ship has reverseable props and can land on very short strips...

[Tako_Kichi]

I considered the 'Twotter' too after seeing the problems I was having with the Beaver. The reverse thrust would certainly help. Hmm...a Britten-Norman Islander might work too (if a little slow on top speed) but I don't have one in my latest rebuild of FSX which I am trying to keep to non port-over aircraft. It may be time to try FS9 again...lol.

Another possibility could be an aircraft with speed brakes and STOL capability.

[Dangerousdave26]

While not a speed deamon she is Handling the short fields and snow rather well....

:icon_lol:

If you shut the engine off on touch down.

This is my scouting vehicle to feel out the airstrips

[buzzbee]

Family duties delayed me.

[Willy]

This looks like it might be a job for one of the Russki specials...... :d

[Flyin Bull]

Gave it a whirl in Scottish Aviation Pioneer.

[Flyin Bull]

Some nice tricky fields.

[Flyin Bull]

Passed a couple of lazy Sunday flying.

[Flyin Bull]

Total time 01:58:11
Thanks Rob for a nice little event. :ernae:

[MM]

Good time to learn a new aircraft, eh?

Supporting local industry...Bill's Quest Kodiak looks a useful piece of machinery.

Hey, what's with this Garmin glass cockpit stuff in bush country?:isadizzy:

[Willy]

Took a run at it in Piglet's An-2. When I got up to 175kts, I remembered that I'd souped up the engine a wee bit, so I'll have to find something else to fly this in.

Wondering if I can fit the Beech 18 into some of those short strips.... :d

[Dangerousdave26]

Wondering if I can fit the Beech 18 into some of those short strips.... :d

I tried Willy was not a good site after airstrip 4 :redf:

[srgalahad]

FB...

I didn't check your flight time numbers but does that 1:58:11 include penalty times for the busted altitudes in legs 1, 4, 8, 9, & 10?
"A Ten (10) Minute penalty is applied to any leg that exceeds the listed Max Enroute Altitude as shown on the Duenna."
** I just shoved the numbers into my spreadsheet and got 1:54:53 (flight time, not Duenna time) -- plus 0:50:00 would be 2:44:53
As may be noted, deviance of <10 ft was ignored to compensate for instrument error:kilroy:

Teaser for all:
Test was done in FS9, a/c was RTW2008-approved, time was under 1:15:00

Go ahead.. call me names!

Rob

[MM]

Nice day for practicing mountain flying and STOL operations in Idaho.

[Willy]

I tried Willy was not a good site after airstrip 4 :redf:


Sometimes, ya just gotta do what ya just gotta do..... :d

[srgalahad]

A few thoughts from the torture master....

MM,
"Those who like interesting flying may want to set their autogen-tree-setting as high as is reasonable--to increase the beauty of the fall foliage that "adorns" each field's final approach." ... and each tree subsequently adorned with aluminum tinsel?? Mike, did you recently invest heavily in a helicopter logging & aircraft salvage firm in the northwest?? :d

Tako, good to see you take on the challenge (RTW is only a few short months away)...
"I finally developed a technique where I 'crabbed' in sideways at barely above stall speed and just above the ground and when I was over the runway I shut the throttle and dropped the last 10 feet or so!" Much as we discovered how to land the default Comet without a fatal groundloop (deadstick & gear up) - necessity is the mother of invention!

Dave, you're right... "This is not standard RTWR material. It is more like a..." maniacal Extra Bonus Points Mission (like the Antarctic?). So we investigate the go/no-go choices? Risk vs Reward?

FB, I love the Pioneer!!

which brings to mind Pilatus Porters, OV-10's (PRB, talk to MM about salvage) maybe PAD Single TurboOtters with reverse? There are some fairly fast helicopters and altitude shouldn't be an issue (53 years ago Cessna made one that was certified to hover at 11,000 ft. "The plaque inscription is as follows: "SEPTEMBER 15, 1955 PIKES PEAK 14,110 FT. CESSNA CH-1 HELICOPTER. First successful landing and take-off ever accomplished by any aircraft from this peak was on September 15, 1955. The aircraft was a Cessna CH-1 helicopter..."

Maybe crash-worthy aircraft will work...?? but you have to get out of where you just got in...

For those who'd like it, attached is the small Excel spreadsheet I use to record and calculate the times (normal deal - download, rename removing the .txt, open) - just plug minutes & seconds into the appropriate cells. Final total reconverts to H/m/s and shows the average speed for each leg.

Rob

[Tako_Kichi]

Tako, good to see you take on the challenge (RTW is only a few short months away)...
I was totally drawn into last year's race and followed it daily via all the reports and the online tracking site (cheering for SOH of course! ;) ) Even my wife got hooked and she was following it on her computer too.

Unfortunately I couldn't take part last year as I was knee deep in testing the then top secret A2A 377 and didn't have any spare time for racing. By the looks of what is in the pipeline for the next few months the '09 race may be a no go for me too, at least as a participant.