Around the world in 175 days.

[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.



Ready for takeoff.



Its quite foggy.



Finally above the fog.



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.



Finally past the fog.



Glamour Shots.



A little rain.



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.



Iceland in site.



The town of Hofn.



Our destination.



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.

[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.

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.



Ready for takeoff.



Heading out of Hofn.



Flying along the coast.



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



Coastal Iceland.



Heading inland to Reykjavik.



Our destination.



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

[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.



Ready for takeoff.



Sunrise colors.



Glamour shots.



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?


Flying along the coast.



Flying up Prince Christian Sound.



Making our way along the channels.



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

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:



Ready to go.



Climbing out of Narsaq Kujalleq.



Looks cold.



i did mention snow, didn't I.

[blanston12]

"It was a nightmare. The band had to tour Greenland by bus."
Author: Fred Schneider


Heading along the channels.



You can see the remains of Ivigtut to the right and Kangilinnguit is center in the distance.



Landing by the cutter.



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:



Ready to go.



Climbing out.



Heading to the coast.



Glamour shots.

[blanston12]

And he says “Wow. If you’re from Canada? Do you like, play hockey?”
And I says “Do I play hockey?




Few more small islands then open ocean.



Clear finally.



Our destination with the cutter waiting.



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?