The Windsor's Watering Hole

**Milton Shupe** · October 24th, 2009, 14:12

Neat results HERE

**Milton Shupe** · October 24th, 2009, 14:15

Originally Posted by Dangerousdave26

The start of the leg was what was planned for but the rest was just difficult.

The trip threw the Alps was turbulent at one point I had a 180 degree 18kts wind shift that launched me up almost 200'. Putting me closer to the altitude cap of 12,000 than I cared to be.

Visibility and winds starting about 400nm from LGAT were conspiring against me. First I could not go down to the lower altitudes because head winds were robbing me of speed. Up higher they were crosswinds but I had to contend with lower power settings because of drop in manifold pressure.

Later the winds below were more favorable but I could not go down because visibility was the standard 6.2nm. Again this forced me up higher and in the 20 to 30 kts head wind / cross wind.

The last three hours were more challenging because I could not get myself in a position to increase my speed but we made it.

This gives us a whole new appreciation for C.J. Melrose's accomplishments.

Thanks for sharing the details Dave.

**bpfowler** · October 24th, 2009, 22:02

great shots and wild ride,DD.
nice vc in the moth. can one customize the vc on this dh80?

***Dangerousdave26*** · October 25th, 2009, 05:38

Yes the VC is very user friendly in this model. It loads up fine in FS Panel Studio. I added the Driftmeter and Dual RMI to the panel to keep from having my add on navigation panel from popped up all the time.

This is not really completely accurate as the Puss Moth had no electrical system so it could not have run any radios.

I had a crack crew install a simple wind driven generator and battery to run my radio system.

(not really it was already in the aircraft.cfg file)

For NDB navigation the Dual RMI and drift gauge are not optional. You must know where you are in relation to NDB's around you (preferably two of them one on each side) and you must know what direction you are going because of the effect wind will have on the aircraft.

It seems that flying never happens in a true straight line.

With all of this said...

Dang there is no way I would fly this plane from London to Melbourne with out Radios. That's just crazy talk. :isadizzy:

**bpfowler** · October 25th, 2009, 06:04

Thanks Dave. got my real wx online last nite. dont think I can make this race, but might some duennna tests for practice. You inspired me, but as Milton ahs pointed these sim flights amplify the feat of Melrose; how did he pull off these flights without radio nav? Using the original instruments I can barely get from scotland to ireland in a straight line. :-p

cheerio
brady

***PRB*** · October 25th, 2009, 06:50

Flew from Brindisi (LIBR), in southern Italy, to Athens, Greece (LGAT). The weather on this leg was a bit more “dynamic” than it has been so far. That, and the Pindos Mountains of Greece combined to make quite an interesting flight. They go almost up to about 9000 feet you know. Almost. I know that because that’s how high I was and I almost bumped into a fine example of Greece’s geology. There couldn’t have been much more than 500 feet of “radio altimeter” between the bottom of the Lockheed and the trees on top of the hill. But the real fun began when I arrived in the airspace around Athens. I hadn’t been paying full and complete attention to my navigation duties for some time, you see, but I had set ADF1 to a long-range station nearby LGAT, and ADF2 to the 22 NM station even closer to LGAT. Well, time just kind of flew by, if you know what I mean, and by the time I turned my attention back out the window, I could see a huge airport directly ahead. I knew I was looking for a large airport with parallel runways, and this one fit that “general description.” I was about to start down when I remembered landing at the wrong airport at Singapore one time long ago… So I got the binoculars out and put the L9 into a steep turn. I focused the glasses down over the left wing at the end of the runway 9000 feet below, fully expecting to see “33” painted on one end and “15” on the other. What I saw instead was “21” and “3”. What the… I put the Orion’s wings back level, and looked around frantically for another airport. Nothing. I punched the autopilot button, and opened the chart box, looking for the one with Greece on it. Not grease, mind you, but Greece. They all have grease on them, after all. After tossing several useless charts around the cockpit I found the right one. Ha! This giant airport was LGAV! LGAT is south, and behind me (doh!) I stabbed the auto-pilot button again, nudged the power up and stood the little Lockheed on her right wing. There! On the coast! Surely that is LGAT! I chopped the power and began my descent. I decided to fly over the field and visually confirm the numbers here too. As I got closer, I noticed there were no numbers on any of the runways, but there were big “X”s painted on both ends… Closed? Huh? This can’t be LGAT either! But I turned and flew parallel to the runways and looked at the compass – 150. This had to be it! Well, closed or not, I snuck in and landed. It was indeed LGAT, and it’s closed. I parked the L9 inside a deserted hanger for the night and went to find a bar to hang out in.

Kodaks: 1) The geology of Greece. 2) Hells bells, what airport is this? 3) LGAT or bust and hide the Lockheed!

**Bry Rosier** · October 25th, 2009, 07:03

Well arrived at Gwadar Intl and a welcome relief to go for a paddle in the sea , not seen the coast since crossing the channel a long time ago . Has been a pleasant journey so far . Had a little argument in Bucharest when the ground Marshalls bought me to a stop well short of our parking location !! The signaller crossed his arms above his head informing me to stop , which I duly did , and on exiting the plane and discussing the event in somewhat broken english , it appears it wasn`t time to stop , he was merely covering his eyes from the horrific, blinding glare from the "Citrus" paintwork

no problems since then , reasonable winds and generally good viz at the airports

***PRB*** · October 25th, 2009, 07:08

Bry, is that a drift meter you've got screwed to the instrument panel of your brightly painted Savoia? That's cool! Where did you find it?

**Bry Rosier** · October 25th, 2009, 07:30

I wish it was Paul , but it doesn`t move and is only fitted to the Torpedo version , so I guess it is a static "Range finder" for targetting the enemy

***PRB*** · October 25th, 2009, 07:50

Ah... Too bad! Thanks, Bry!

***Willy*** · October 25th, 2009, 11:49

Meanwhile back at Mildenhall.......

***PRB*** · October 25th, 2009, 12:57

Mediterranean crossing: 1) Arriving over Nikos Kazantzakis airport (LGIR), Crete. 2) Akrotiri Air Base, Cyprus (LCRA). Actually, you can’t see the airport in that shot, but it’s on that peninsula sticking out to the south. 3) In the soup! Heavy duty haze over the eastern Mediterranean. 4) Final approach to Beirut (OLBA).

MM · October 25th, 2009, 17:24

Three flights between the Baghdad and Allahabad checkpoints. Some Kodacks.

Haze covered Iraq as I left Baghdad, making for a nerve-racking day. There were no live NDBs going southward and ended up having to go visual through Basra and the coast. Decided to abort to Bushehr, discretion being the better part of valor. And the promise of better cuisine than Jask.
Dawn departure the next morning in the cozy Mew cockpit.
Strange smokestacks on the outer edge of Bushehr. The authorities the night before said it would be better if a Britisher kept his eyes and ears closed and his mouth shut. New chemical plant?
The sun rises over the Iranian mountains ahead. The Mew does not like altitudes, so need to keep at 7,000 wherever possible.
Many peaks at just above the critical altitude, many obscured with the little white puffy clouds. Made for some anxious moments.
Some dark granite-filled clouds ahead--had to quickly bank to the left to avoid some solid parts of the darkness.
Eventually, the terrain dropped below critical altitude and one could admire the swirling formations above.
Happy to see clear weather in Karachi--not the usual state.
Over Rajasthan and crossing the Aravalli Range. You can see Mount Abu in the distance. The Gura Shikhar peak hosts both a Hindu shrine and a scientific observatory. Modern India!

***Willy*** · October 25th, 2009, 19:18

The first leg in the Twin Beech is done. Mildenhall to Marseilles bypassing Paris and Lyon. On to Italy! (tomorrow)

**EdGeneer** · October 25th, 2009, 21:34

The hills of Southern Iran...

Gorgeous morning flight over Iran, 12knot tailwind most of the leg into Jask. Few clouds, less turbulence and steady tailwind....

I'll take this for the whole race, Thank You....

**Bry Rosier** · October 26th, 2009, 14:22

A planned routine flight from Rangoon down to Singapore turned into anything but... Nice smooth departure and headed for the Myeik ndb , climb to 9000`and hit a little turbulence and a small thunderstorm , then cleared up through Myanmar and Thailand passing the ndb`s as planned . Then passing the Samui NDB i could see more storm clouds looming , then WALLOP.... 1 1/2 hrs of the most violent weather I`ve had in FSX . Otto had no chance so had to hand fly through some of it and was convinced my plane was going to be broken into many little pieces . The IAS was swinging +/- 30 kts !!! Active Sky depicts Hurricanes and I`ve flown through them for a giggle but they were nothing like this turbulence

Then it passed and the weather was lovely all the way to singapore

Great fun this leg

***PRB*** · October 26th, 2009, 17:40

Some Kodaks. 1) Headed for Baghdad in darkness. 2) Headed south from Baghdad the next day. 3) Final approach to Bushehr (OIBB). 4) Parked the Lockheed next to the Motel 666 by the airport for the evening.

***Willy*** · October 26th, 2009, 20:35

Here's the pics from my Marseilles to Brindisi flight.

1) First sight of Corsica
2) Had to airdrop a package to the Chief's Mess on the Lexington (CV-2) off the coast of Italy
3) Just to show that I'm flying with a load of cargo instead of an empty plane
4) large crate behind the copilot
5) somewhere over Italy
6) the parking ramp at LIBR

**AussieMan** · October 26th, 2009, 22:40

Looking at the crate in pic 4 Willy I would be very wary of turbulence and heavy landings :isadizzy:. Would make sure the landings were verrrrrrrry smooth.

Cheers
Pat

***Willy*** · October 26th, 2009, 22:58

Great thing about that crate..... Customs don't even want to open it up for a look

Some historical data on nitroglycerine...

http://cprr.org/Museum/Newspapers/Nitroglycerine.html

The last seen of these gentlemen alive, they were standing near the box, with several other employees, having tools as if about to open the box. It is supposed they made the attempt, when the explosion took place by concussion, which resulted in a terrible loss of life and destruction of property

Don't mess with my crate....

**teson1** · October 27th, 2009, 16:52

Some Kodaks from a great flight Lyon - Rome.

1. Waving hello to the family.
4. Meige and Rateau mountains.
6. Flyby Monte Viso.
7. Down the italian coast.

**bpfowler** · October 27th, 2009, 19:03

great kodaks...I envy your mesh for the alps and the italian coast.

**Haitun** · October 27th, 2009, 21:07

Had a good uneventful flight from Miildenhall to Marseille. Upon passing somwhere over Lyon saw a beautiful tower on a mountain (my wife sais it's called Toure le Flambeau or something like this). Was flying in pure DR, but I know the area and had a good paper map of France - +Made some kodaks of LFML from a heli before the flight. Anyway, hit the Mediterranean shore right near Marseille. Was worried about the fuel, but still hadabout 20% of it left. Will continue to LIRA soon.

**Spookster67** · October 28th, 2009, 03:04

This flight was a few days ago, but I now have time to post a few pictures. Navigation was fairly easy as there were plent of NDBs to keep track on. Weather was fine to start, then got very cloudy over Germany, but then cleared again crossing into Czech Republic and Romania.