Top Of The Mark

[jt_dub]

Jeff's Centurion Silver Circuit is complete. A terrific route and great fun. I really enjoyed this event. I'm buying until the next pilot arrives.

Some highlight snaps from run.

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[PRB]

Nice pics Jeff, and well done!

[Willy]

Had a nice flight into Valle AZ at the Grand Canyon

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[Great Ozzie]

Ms. Murphy must be looking at the forums. She called me into the office and made her stance crystal clear.

"There will be no Magic Ship."

Famous last words?

Decided to take Ms. Monroe out to the Sitka & Spruce last night, in hopes of lubing her up before springing my request.

...After 'a few' ales...
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"So uh, Ms. Monroe..."

"Murphy... or Murph... Murph... smurf... surf... ...hey surfing soundsss... like fun... you ever surf?"

"Uh... No... Ok Murph, I got another entry."

"Fire away. Cheers *clink* by the way."

"I was thinking of using the X-15 from Xtreme Prototypes. But I'll need an Altitude waiver.... and I'll need some sort of, ehem, (big) fuel cost adjustment. Also, in the interest of transparency, there are turbines... but those just for some pumps. Got to be some pistons in that engine somewhere."

"Want another ale?"

"No ma'am, thanks... about the X-15..."

"No Problem.... and cut out the 'ma'am' stuff... itsss Murph." "Anywho... I think someone already flying a P-51... you like P-51s?"

"Yes... but.. no problem? What about Berinsky?"

"Burrr who?"

"Berinsky... your chief pilot... won't he have a problem with it?"

"You're my new chief pilot..." *clink*

"No, no... that's not what I want... I'm just looking for approval for a fast plane."

"Fast plane... Fast plane... How about a P-51? I really like P-51s... P-51s are fast planes..."

*Sigh*... (too much 'grease')

"Oh... oh... sure... no problemo. X-whatever you want. You just tell 'em ol' Murph sent ya..."

"Wow great... just one more thing Murph... there's no room for the banker..."

"Don't like bankers anyway... just take good pictures..."

Oh boy... maybe this wasn't such a bright idea.

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Xtreme Prototypes X-15-3B - FSX version

[@ 100,000ft]
KTAS = 2668kts
M = 4.485
Fuel Burn = 46,585lb/hr

max_indicated_speed=2700
max_mach=6.700
Critical Altitude = N/A

No Turbo/Super-charging


Example Flight (OR12 - KSUN):
http://fs-duenna.com/flights/ShowFli...CzrBlZKHzyqXwE

(available in 1080p in selected locations)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CafGbVVwT58

[Willy]

You sure that wasn't Miss Murphy Munson? She's quite the party animal...

[srgalahad]

One of the entertaining things about working undercover as a janitor at the Top of the Mark is getting to listen in to, and learn about the 'encounters' of the guests.

Maybe I shouldn't tell tales, but it seems the "Murph" or Ms Murphy that GO was chatting up was one of the family sales reps for


After he passed out.. err wandered off, I heard her say something to her friend about "how that fella was looking to get his clock cleaned..."

We got to kidding about it in the break room and one of the guys said that when he worked at Santa Anita race track they used Murphy's to wash horses... and then he added 'saddles' but I think he was chuckling about something else

[Willy]

While the banker was doing his business, I did a quick tour of Las Vegas (1959)

[Willy]

Deposited the Banker in San Carlos to end my Gold Class run. Now to prep the CDM for the Bronze....

Drinks are on Moses again!

[PRB]

Moses does owe us a couple of drinks, measured by weight, compared to a couple of cement blocks left on board various planes, here and there...

[Moses03]

Moses does owe us a couple of drinks, measured by weight, compared to a couple of cement blocks left on board various planes, here and there...

Pfft!

[oldpropfan]

So what to do after the event is over and the bar tabs are getting ever higher? Fly again but in another class, a possibility for sure. Maybe fly the course in reverse, now that sounds interesting. Lets get a bigger plane, just to up the challenge some. Have all of our ill gotten Vegas winnings, should be some classic yet sensible. I know, buy a cargo plane to carry stuff from place to place, make more money.

Grabs vintage bottle of Reposado tequila and heads to elevator. Now which floor was Ms. Monroe's room on?

Two days later - Contracts coming in fast and furious, grab half repainted plane ( bought from airline that didn't seem to be using it much ), and head back to Mariposa with 7000 lbs cargo for CDF.





The wholly unauthorized ( he's flying a what? ) plausible deniability run is on!

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[Great Ozzie]

Hi all,

A link to SmugMug of the Beech Duke on the "Gold Course".

-Rob O.

http://greatozzie.smugmug.com/photos...lbumKey=wjw9Nc

Great fun!

[Willy]

Taking off from KHQM in the CDM, it almost lived up to it's nickname. Taxi to the active seemed about normal. The start of the takeoff it seemed a bit slow, but nothing major. Once it got off the ground though, it began to try to kill me. I could just barely stay above stall speed while wobbling through the trees as it wouldn't climb above them. A quick glance at the engine gauges revealed the problem. The rear engine was stuck at idle. A quick reselect of the engines freed it up and I was able to climb out of there and head on to Hood River.

I've heard about pilots in the C337 unknowingly taking off with the rear engine out and single engine takeoffs being verboten in it. Now I know why.

No pics as I was somewhat occupied while all this was going on....

[MM]

Some excitement over the Olympic Peninsula. It started as a routine flight with the usual grumbles from the pilot about headwinds. After passing Mt Olympus, dark clouds started to appear on the Pacific side and the METAR gave 3 miles visibility. So put the Red Baron on autopilot to descend and started to fiddle with the navigation radios. (New stuff here, so I was concentrating…more than I should have been.)

Then I looked out the windscreen to discover a detailed view of the Olympic National Park's finest evergreen trees. Close up. Needless to say, I punched the autopilot and pulled back the stick! Whew!

No worries, mate.

The rest of the flight was uneventful, with the visibility turning out ok and the landing as smooth as a baby's cheek. The only disturbance was the pilot's heart thumping almost loud enough to hear against the wailing screams of the middle-aged banker.

[Moses03]

Needless to say, I punched the autopilot and pulled back the stick! Whew!

POW!

[PRB]

POW!

That'll learn it!

[Willy]

Always keep a sharp stick handy for use on the autopilot. Either that or a 357 Magnum.

[paiken]

The banker needs new underwear, too!

[Craig Taylor]

Always keep a sharp stick handy for use on the autopilot. Either that or a 357 Magnum.

Another game I've played, X3, refers to it as the "auto-pillok." With good reason, too.

[Great Ozzie]

Flying into Page Municipal (very) early this morning... could have been a bit nerve-racking due to the incredibly dark night (despite the new crescent moon) and nearly featureless terrain.

However, trusting the Sectional Chart's MEFs (Max Elevation Figures) and the precise navigation the GPS provides... that and flying the GPS Rwy 15 Approach... comforting to know those "lumberjacks" keep the clearzones free of firs.

And... faith in the recent engine swap to a "Power-By-Victor" Gold Edition of the IO-550 by Victor Aviation. Sounds different and certainly feels different (much smoother) than the previous Continental that was in there. Typically the weird sounds an engine will make grow proportionally with the distance one is away from land (over water) and/or the darker the night becomes.

It's a beauty to look at too (from their website)...

[spokes2112]

Need to put that powerplant in the lawnmower !! Sweet!

[robert41]

strange "hill" near Heber, 36U? In FSX.

[Craig Taylor]

It looks like you found Orthanc. Look for a white robed man at the top.

Seriously though, I'm guessing it's some bad mesh data. Are you using default in that area, Robert? Nice picture!

[MM]

The guys at Orbx did a great job on Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. Here's a tip of the cap to their artistry.

[Craig Taylor]

Very nice shots, Mike. Looks like we really missed out on some nice scenery with the high route. Think I'm going to have to try the Low Course. Probably in the default Mooney. I don't have much time it that one.

Well, I made it to Sequel yesterday. This is probably the first event I was able to finish in a very long time. Whew! I really enjoyed the Duke, but the combination of it plus AS2012 and Orbx scenery almost brought my PC to it's knees. As a consequence I had to move display quality down a little (but still within RTWR specs), so no good pictures to share. Sorry, fellas.

I lost the favorable winds aloft the last few legs, but sometimes you have to fly when you can, not when you want to. Rob beat me in the other Duke by a good margin, and that was with an extra stop! Rob, you must have really flown the heck out of your Duke those last few legs.

Good luck to the rest of the guys still on the course.