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Spookster67
October 24th, 2009, 23:51
The Percival Mew Gull, G-AEXF, is ready to go. Panel all working, flight testing complete, time to leave Mildenhall. :wavey:

Spookster67
October 24th, 2009, 23:52
Flight 1, leaving EGUN for LRBS (Bucharest).

Spookster67
October 25th, 2009, 05:22
Down safely at LRBS.

Quite cloudy over Germany, but some good tailwinds as well. Cleared over Czech, and had a nice view of the mountains crossing into Romania. Navigation worked nicely, although at one stage I was confused by there being two NDBs quite close together with the same frquency - ARD on 517.0, and another one quite close but in the wrong direction!

MM
October 25th, 2009, 07:19
Good to see a fellow Mew doing so well!

SWSucceed
October 25th, 2009, 07:21
Down safely at LRBS.

Quite cloudy over Germany, but some good tailwinds as well. Cleared over Czech, and had a nice view of the mountains crossing into Romania. Navigation worked nicely, although at one stage I was confused by there being two NDBs quite close together with the same frquency - ARD on 517.0, and another one quite close but in the wrong direction!
Cool start Martin ... hope success stays with you :applause:

Spookster67
October 27th, 2009, 10:57
Flight 2, LRBS to ORBI (ORBS). Rain and localized thunder at Bucharest for an early morning start, fingers crossed. Estimating 5:05 to Baghdad.

Spookster67
October 27th, 2009, 12:43
Real life interuption - wife needed me to cook dinner, and her to check emails on the PC. Controlled flight into terrain! :frown:

Will have to re-fly tomorrow morning.

SWSucceed
October 28th, 2009, 01:13
Real life interuption - wife needed me to cook dinner, and her to check emails on the PC. Controlled flight into terrain! :frown:

Will have to re-fly tomorrow morning.
Bad luck ... worse still your beers are now warm and flat ... :icon29:

Spookster67
October 28th, 2009, 02:01
Bad luck ... worse still your beers are now warm and flat ... :icon29:
Well, that's the way I like my beer! :icon_lol:

OK, trying again, this time without interuptions. LRBS to ORBI, in a bit more than 5 hours. Starting pre-dawn local time, to try to get 2 or 3 flights done in daylight today.

Spookster67
October 28th, 2009, 07:19
Safely down at ORBI. A reasonable flight, but I hit some bad thunderstorms over northern Iraq which last 45 minutes, with low vis, turbulence and rain. Anyway, cleared up nicely for the arrival at Baghdad. Came in very hot on the runway, but there's plenty of it, and I must have glided half its length just losing speed before I dared put the wheel on the tarmac.

Just time for a kebab for lunch, the (now warm and flat) beer that Stuart bought me yesterday, and we'll be refuelling and off to the Persian Gulf.

Flight time 05:12:16
Cumulative 10:37:34

Spookster67
October 28th, 2009, 07:50
Flight 3. And the next one, ORBI to OIBB. Target 2 hours.

Actually I would like to have routed straight over Iran to VIJO (Jodhpur), but at 1573nm that is at least 100nm further than the range of this little Mew Gull. It would have needed some good tail winds, a bit of fuel leaning, and a lot of luck!! So instead, it's a series of "lightly loaded" sprints around the Gulf coast.

SWSucceed
October 28th, 2009, 08:55
Well done :)

I had crap weather over Baghdad too, not written the flight report yet, but it was very rough in places and I am surprised that I'd not received structure damage.

Testimony to the DC-3, no wonger she lasted such a long time in aviation terms.

As for the warm flat beer reaching the parts others do not, you know that with all the expense on fuel and provisions for the flight that I only bought you half a Fosters, so if warm cat-pee is your thing ... ... ... :blind:

Spookster67
October 28th, 2009, 09:54
Safely down at OIBB, just a minute quicker than I guessed. Completely uneventful flight, which in a way is nice. :icon_lol:

Flight time 1:58:59
Cumulative 12:36:33

Spookster67
October 29th, 2009, 07:41
Flight 4. OIBB to OIZJ. I'll be following the coast, and hoping for around 2 hours.

Spookster67
October 29th, 2009, 09:52
Landed safely at Jask (OIZJ).

It would have been a nice VFR flight around the coastline, but I picked up coastal fog almost immediately after departure, so I was relying on bearings and stopwatch at times rather than following the coast. Anyway, it cleared, and it got a lot easier. Jask was easy to find - not a cloud in the sky.

Flight time 2:03:31
Cumulative 14:40:04

Spookster67
October 30th, 2009, 07:32
Flight 5. Continuing along the coast to Karachi, OPKC. Maybe 2 hours 25 ish.

Spookster67
October 30th, 2009, 10:06
And down at Karachi (OPKC). Had to try lots of different flight levels to avoid some fairly gentle headwinds. With the Karchi NDB popping up at 122nm out, navigation on this one was relatively easy. Just a little misty on arrival, otherwise weather quite nice.

Flight time 2:25:06 (oooh, just 6 seconds out... :p:)
Cumulative 17:05:10

Spookster67
November 3rd, 2009, 11:00
All set for the next hop, to Allahabad. OPKC to VIAL.

Vicious
November 3rd, 2009, 11:27
I was watching your flight on the race tracker. It looks like you're having to work pretty hard to find favorable winds. Keep up the good work!

Spookster67
November 3rd, 2009, 14:55
I was watching your flight on the race tracker. It looks like you're having to work pretty hard to find favorable winds. Keep up the good work!

Yes, I had thought that it would be a case of finding the right altitude, and then going with the flow, but in fact within 5 minutes of finding a tail wind I lost it and had to go searching again. In the end I think I ended up with slightly more headwind than tailwind.:isadizzy:

Spookster67
November 3rd, 2009, 14:59
Safely down at Allahabad (actually about an hour ago, but the forum has been offline. I posted on the AspireFSX.com forum at the time, but am now repeating the post here).

Every tailwind I found was quickly followed by a headwind, so in the end it wasn't as quick as I had hoped. Like many others have found, India is often fogged in, so there was not much to see. It was clear at Allahabad though, so the approach was easy. :icon_lol:

Spookster67
November 3rd, 2009, 15:17
Until this event, I had thought that NDB navigation was just a case of "joining up the dots", with the flight plan consisting of overflying every beacon. Having read about the navigation techniques on some of the websites linked from this forum, I've learnt that there's much more to it than that! Being able to quickly establish "distance from station" means that you can plot and fly a much straighter course, but still be confident of knowing whether you are drifting to the left or right of the line.

My first couple of hops in Europe included overflying some NDBs, and checking distance to others. This most recent flight from Karachi to Allahabad is I think the longest hop I have done without actually crossing any NDB, until the final one a couple of miles from the field. En-route I had 6 NDBs to monitor, ranging from 24 miles left of my track to 59 miles right. According to my calcs I was occasionally up to 5 miles off track, but on a leg of 800nm length that really wasn't a problem.

I've learnt a new skill, and am having a lot of fun practicing it...! :jump:

Vicious
November 3rd, 2009, 17:42
I was telling Ozzie (Rob) the other night we should dump this GPS stuff and go back to NDB it's so much fun!

But seriously, the technique you described is exactly what I've done in all my races. Using Super Flight Planner (SFP) I determine the compass headings at both fields to determine my course. I then plot the straight line route between the two airports and take NDB readings as they pass 90 degrees to my flight path. I then check the calculated distance to the station with the distance that SFP shows, if I were on the ideal flight track. If I’m off by more than a mile or two, I’ll adjust my path by a few degrees and fly on the new heading until my trig shows me I should be back on the flight path.

What’s even more fun that NDB is dead reckoning. I plot the ideal flight path in Google Maps and then use the terrain map as a guide for the various landmarks. The Google terrain map matches very well with the terrain in FS9, so it’s easy to find large landmarks like lakes and cities, but I’ve even been able to navigate by roads and rivers.

Enjoy!

Spookster67
November 5th, 2009, 08:57
Moving on again, this time to Rangoon, VYYY.

Spookster67
November 5th, 2009, 13:40
Safely down at Rangoon, VYYY. A nice flight, good weather the whole way, with a mixture of head and tail winds. I missed a couple of NDBs (too far off my track to receive them I guess), but my speed and heading calcs had me in about the right place most of the time. :mixedsmi:

Flight time: 4:33:02
Cumulative: 25:26:29

SWSucceed
November 6th, 2009, 01:18
Way to go Martin!! 3rd place thus far and the first outing in that airplane!! Is that a little bead of sweat on Mr Vicious's brow??

Well maybe not but the pressures on you now, may your wings be light!

:applause:

Spookster67
November 6th, 2009, 02:26
Thanks Stuart. Vicious has set some very challenging times, no doubt. But I am hoping to be 40 minutes up on handicap at Singapore, and 60 up at Darwin, if I get good winds, good weather, I find the airports and avoid any crashes.

Still a long way to go to Melbourne, in fact I'm only just half way. Lots can happen... :icon_lol:

Vicious
November 6th, 2009, 06:35
Yep, I watching Spookster very closely. If he can catch the right winds I think he has a good shot. :jump:

Spookster67
November 8th, 2009, 04:31
OK, time to head to Singapore. I'll be looking to find some tailwinds, and duck under any headwinds. A coastal route will help me keep low if I need to.

VYYY to WSSL, in a little under 5 hours.

Spookster67
November 8th, 2009, 09:35
Down at Singapore (WSSL). I never found the tail winds I hoped for, but at least I managed to avoid the headwinds, so the flight time was about what I aimed for. Plenty of NDBs, and a coastline, so no problems with navigation. Ran into a few thunderstorms off the east coast of Malaysia, but flew under them no problem.

Just 3 gallons of fuel left on arrival - my estimates are getting better, albeit more risky!

This little Mew Gull is purring long nicely. :mixedsmi:

Flight time: 4:55:39
Cumulative: 30:22:08

Vicious
November 8th, 2009, 10:01
Nice job getting to Singapore and making up time on your handicap. :applause:

It looks like it could be a close finish.

SWSucceed
November 8th, 2009, 10:14
Nice job getting to Singapore and making up time on your handicap. :applause:

It looks like it could be a close finish.
Yep, great job that Martin ... my headwinds were screwy and I had no respite this afternoon ... 10,000ft and upwards :(

Spookster67
November 10th, 2009, 09:59
This time I'm heading for Selaparang, WADA (WRRA). The plan is to fly direct over the sea rather than stay closer to NDBs on the islands to the south. Headwinds may be an issue, so I may be staying low to get under them. I have sufficient fuel for the extra burn rate at low altitudes.

Target is 4:30.

Spookster67
November 10th, 2009, 14:35
At WADA (WRRA). Wow, what a flight! I picked up a 6 knot tailwind as I climbed out of Singapore, and it just got stronger and stronger as time went on. At one stage it was 14 knots directly behind me.:jump:
It got a bit turbulent at times, and I had a scary moment when taking some pictures of the volcanoes over the last few miles. I hit Z rather than C (for capture). Z disengages the autopilot and the turbulence flipped me 90 degrees over before I knew what was happening :icon_eek:. Anyway, I got the picture... and grabbed the flight yoke in time to level things out.

Flight time: 4:22:32
Cumulative: 34:44:40

Spookster67
November 11th, 2009, 12:44
The westerly winds still look good over Indonesia, so I'm heading over to Kupang, WATT (WRKK). Only a couple of hours, with under half fuel load.

Spookster67
November 11th, 2009, 14:58
Down at WATT(WRKK). Sure enough, the tailwinds were good. Another fast flight, with plenty of turbulence to keep me watching. Not much to see, just lots of water, and occasional islands. One more hop to go to Oz. :mixedsmi:

Flight time 2:07:12
Cumulative 36:51:52

Vicious
November 11th, 2009, 16:47
If you keep catching those tail winds you're going to blow me away in the handicap. Excellent run so far!

Good Luck

Spookster67
November 11th, 2009, 23:53
Thanks, let's see what happens, and how we compare at Port Darwin.

Next hop coming up, WATT to YPDN. About 2:10 is the estimate.

Spookster67
November 12th, 2009, 02:21
Well I had a feeling my luck might change, and it did. The first half of the flight was great, lots more tailwind, and not too much turbulence. Then the winds swung round, but I dropped down to stay underneath the headwinds. The Darwin NDB popped up straight ahead with 75nm to run, but at about the same time the clear skies started to change to cloud. As I got closer to Darwin it was clear I was going to arrive during a storm.

I spent the next 10 minutes getting thrown around in thundery and blustery conditions, but pushed on. Lightning was flashing all around me. Visibility was now 3nm in rain, so I could just see the main runway 11/29 ok, but the winds were now out of the north, and although they were getting less as I descended, I think I still had a 16 knot crosswind on finals.

Of course I should have gone around and set up for the much shorter runway 36, where I would have had much less of a crosswind. Hmmm...

Anyway I tried to put the Mew Gull down on runway 11. One bounce, no problem, airspeed a little high but reducing, but the second contact with the tarmac was a little hard and I broke the undercarriage. Crash, Red Duenna. :frown:

So, it's a crash landing, 1 hour penalty, and my challenge for the handicap race may have been scuppered by the Ozzie weather.

Flight time: 2:04:40
Penalties: 1:00:00
Cumulative: 39:56:32

teson1
November 12th, 2009, 03:07
Never mind, Martin.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I guess it's all or nothing.
Cautious people come second place.

Looks like some nice cosy weather down there. :d

epwatson
November 12th, 2009, 05:11
Martin,

Had you not have crashed your handicap at YPDN would have been -1:15:35.. Tough break.. Looks like Vicious might take it.. :(

Vicious
November 12th, 2009, 06:31
What a bummer! I thought for sure you were going to take the top spot, although I'm not sure you're out of it yet. If you wait for ideal wind conditions you might be able to catch me over the last few legs, or at least get within 5 minutes, which would be a huge achievment with a 1 hour penalty.

Good Luck!

Spookster67
November 12th, 2009, 07:15
Thanks guys. I was hoping to be an hour under handicap at Darwin, but those great tail winds through Malaysia and Indonesia got me an extra 15 minutes. As Eamonn says, it would have been 1:15 under, but now its just 15 minutes. I now need an average of about 212 knots for the remaining legs, to match Vicious. Through Europe I was only managing 206, but the last legs averaged 216. So it's not quite all over...

I have a dilemma now though. I was hoping to have a spare 5 minutes for a nice careful circuit of Essenden airfield, and then a crack at the precision landing. Now it looks like I'll be flying straight in with the throttle wide open until short finals...! What fun this is. :icon_lol:

Vicious
November 12th, 2009, 11:21
Glad to hear you're not giving up on taking the lead. When I was looking at your times yesterday, before the Darwin incident, I was amazed to see that you might beat me by about an hour. So now that you've got the hour penalty, it should be fun to see if you can still catch me. I can't wait to find out. :jump:

Spookster67
November 23rd, 2009, 03:10
OK, the wheel gear is fixed, and G-AEXF is ready to continue. I thought long and hard about whether an intermediate stop at YCCY would be better, allowing for lower fuel loads, but in the end I've decided to get right across to Charleville in one hop. It's just within range (I think!).

So, YPDN - YBCV, in around 5:45.

Spookster67
November 23rd, 2009, 08:56
Down safely at YBCV, Charleville. I arrived slightly ahead of schedule, and there's not much at Charleville to see on approach, so I was taken by surprise when the runway came into sight! Anyway, a few S-turns scrubbed off the speed, and I put the Mew Gull down safely, having used most of the runway.

A nice blue-sky day, not many headwinds, but nor many tailwinds either it seemed. There really isn't much to look at in the middle of Australia - just miles and miles of desert and bushland.

4 gallons of fuel left in the tank - plenty! :icon_lol:

Flight time: 5:38:04
Cumulative: 45:34:36

Vicious
November 24th, 2009, 06:40
So what's the magic time you need to catch my time on your last leg? It's looks like you gave yourself a bit of a cushion on the previous leg with your 214+ average GS.

Good Luck!

Spookster67
November 24th, 2009, 08:13
So what's the magic time you need to catch my time on your last leg? It's looks like you gave yourself a bit of a cushion on the previous leg with your 214+ average GS.

Good Luck!

Thanks. I still need all the luck I can get...

If my spreadsheet is right, I reckon 3:17:02 on my final leg to Melbourne would have us tied in the handicap race. That's still around 208 knots average, which won't be possible if I hit headwinds.

Essendon airport always seems to have fairly strong winds, so I'll need to make sure I get the right runway and don't try to force it down again. I certainly can't afford another crash landing!!

Vicious
November 24th, 2009, 17:45
Well for what it's worth, my money is on you at the moment. If your graph is correct you've made up the difference in one leg. Must be that high octane gas you've been using. :mixedsmi:

I'll be praying for headwinds.

Spookster67
November 29th, 2009, 05:46
Time for the final leg. The weather over Melbourne seems reasonable, though there's a low pressure and strong southerly winds. Hope they don't extend too far north.

With only 60 gallons of fuel on board I reckon 210 knots average is possible, as long as the winds work out ok. If there are headwinds I'll be staying very low.

YBCV - YMEN. :wavey:

Time estimate for the precision flight is 3:15:00.

Vicious
November 29th, 2009, 08:20
Good Luck!

Vicious
November 29th, 2009, 08:27
Looking at your latest tracking data, It looks like I'm in trouble. :applause:

Spookster67
November 29th, 2009, 09:09
Well that worked out nicely, no significant winds enroute, reasonable weather on arrival (plenty of cloud but no rain), and a nice steady 10 knot southerly wind to land into. :jump:

Flight time: 3:15:01 :icon_lol:
Cumulative: 48:49:37

That was a lot of fun - thanks to everyone involved in organising it!! :applause:

Now, where's this bar...

Spookster67
November 29th, 2009, 09:13
Looking at your latest tracking data, It looks like I'm in trouble. :applause:
Well, I reckon I'll wait until the "official officials" work this out, but I may have just squeezed in with the handicap time. Thanks for your support, Tom, and great race yourself!

Vicious
November 29th, 2009, 09:42
3:15:01!!!!! Now you're just showing off.

Great Job!!! :ernae:

MM
November 29th, 2009, 09:58
Well, truly excellent Martin. Congratulations.

Now, how about buying a round of drinks? :icon29:

Great Ozzie
November 29th, 2009, 10:01
3:15:01!!!!! Now you're just showing off.

Great Job!!! :ernae:


Here is Vizzini's Opinion (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D58LpHBnvsI)on that time btw.

CG Spookster! :ernae:

Spookster67
November 29th, 2009, 10:49
Now, how about buying a round of drinks? :icon29:
It would be a pleasure, Mike!

:ernae: :guinness::icon29::guinness::icon29::guinness: :ernae:

SWSucceed
December 1st, 2009, 02:48
Well done Martin - some good choices clearly made there :medals: :applause:

donlimpio
December 1st, 2009, 05:31
wow!, j-just wow! belated congratulations!