Grosvenor House - Page 2
Page 2 of 3 FirstFirst 123 LastLast
Results 26 to 50 of 56

Thread: Grosvenor House

  1. #26
    Charter Member 2022 srgalahad's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    CYYC or MMSD (GMT -7)
    Posts
    5,080
    So many stops... I guess these young fellas just can't sit still long enough to really fly an airplane...

    Having finally gotten some of the issues out of the way I figured it was time to get started on the marathon. A pre-dawn departure from Mildenhall precluded any photos (and strangely no press types with their fancy flash bulbs).

    Attachment 14228

    A passably good morning with sunshine welcoming me over the Belgian coast and a trouble-free passage of western Europe. Occasional clouds obscured the scenery and of course began to get thicker as we neared the Alps.

    Attachment 14223

    This was worrisome as the Miles may be a stout bird and has thusfar performed flawlessly, but she strains at heights and there was also the admonishment From 119 Piccadilly to take care not to break Miss Nellie's 12,000 ft glass ceiling. That means possibly winding through the southern Alps to the Italian frontier while dodging cloud and rock!. Fortunately, there was a clearing trend that lasted until the greatest peaks were passed.

    Attachment 14224

    Thank goodness I chose this northern route and avoided the really tall mountains as 11,749 ft was just sufficient. The maps are just not quite correct...

    From the Italian border to southern Croatia it was just a concerted effort to navigate and maintain focus on the tasks at hand. Fortunately the weather remained benign and I was treated to a pleasant sunset as the route eased away from the coast

    Attachment 14225

    ... and finally, fighting exhaustion and cramps from the rudimentary seat I was able to negotiate final approach past the Acropolis and, with a firm bounce, a landing at Hellinikon.

    Attachment 14226 and now, Ouzo and sleep (Thanks MM)

    "To some the sky is the limit. To others it is home" anon.
    “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” -Albert Einstein


  2. #27
    Senior Administrator PRB's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    MO (KSUS)
    Age
    61
    Posts
    9,410
    Couple kodaks of my flight across Iraq and down the Persian Gulf to the airport at Bushehr (OIBB). One shows my little plane lost in the vast middle eastern desert. The other as I past buy Kharg island. It has an airport and an NDB station.
    MB: GIGABYTE GA-X299 UD4 PRO ATX
    CPU: Intel(R) Core™ Processor i9-10900X Ten-Core 3.7GHz
    MEM: 64GB (8GBx8) DDR4/3000MHz Quad Channel
    GPU: RTX 3080 Ti 12GB GDDR6
    OS: Win 10 Pro 64bit
    HP Reverb G2

  3. #28
    SOH-CM-2019 MM's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Chapel Hill NC USA
    Age
    75
    Posts
    1,760
    As a parachute instructor once told us, when you are falling over water it is impossible to gauge your distance from the surface.



    This innocuous shot of the Beech, at 3,000' over the Bay of Bengal, marks that truth. Flying from Allahabad to Rangoon, after passing Calcutta and changing course, I handed the aircraft to my co-pilot Lear. After a few minutes in the back, freshening up, I returned to scan the gauges. But the first thing was the sound, or the lack of sound. Then a quick glance at the altimeter suggested that all was not right in the world. While Lear was dutifully following the course and holding pitch, he had forgotten to switch from the nose to the wing tanks. Don't know what he was thinking when confronted with the loud deafening silence. We had lost 8,000' and were sinking toward the sparkling sea below.

    Tanks switched, engines restarted, and altitude regained. Made for an entertaining and instructive "I learned about flying from that" story. If you happen to live from these experiences…"never again."

    Let's see, flying over the Bay of Bengal on the way to Burma. A close shave. We might call this a B-Shave … a Bur-Shave. …I've got it. A Bengal Shave! No. Must be something in there, though.

    Flew on to land at Rangoon. After a quick lunch, departed southward through Siam and down the Malay Peninsula to Singapore. Lots of thunderstorms over the Gulf, but I managed to check and switch my tanks on schedule.



    On approach to Singapore, thunder, lightning, and low thick clouds made me quickly find cross-referencing NDBs. If I landed in the impenetrable mist, I wanted to pick the right aerodrome. Got the needles set up and was frantically shifting my glace from the ADF to the opaque grey ahead, straining my eyes looking for the field.



    Suddenly, the little Beech popped out of the muck and into the clear. There were the centerline lights of RAF Seletar! No worries.

    -Mike

  4. #29
    Charter Member 2022 srgalahad's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    CYYC or MMSD (GMT -7)
    Posts
    5,080
    Quite the adventure, but

    we all know fliers chew gum. However you should have been using




    instead of that


    (Symbol of Neptune, God of the Sea whom you apparently wished to visit)

    A proper choice would have probably prevented that
    feeling
    as you found yourself silently heading for the drink...

    "To some the sky is the limit. To others it is home" anon.
    “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” -Albert Einstein


  5. #30
    Flying from Allahabad to Rangoon, after passing Calcutta and changing course, I handed the aircraft to my co-pilot Lear. After a few minutes in the back, freshening up, I returned to scan the gauges. But the first thing was the sound, or the lack of sound. Then a quick glance at the altimeter suggested that all was not right in the world. While Lear was dutifully following the course and holding pitch, he had forgotten to switch from the nose to the wing tanks. Don't know what he was thinking when confronted with the loud deafening silence. We had lost 8,000' and were sinking toward the sparkling sea below.
    All I can say is "Eek!"

  6. #31
    Charter Member 2022 srgalahad's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    CYYC or MMSD (GMT -7)
    Posts
    5,080

    Another long day

    Athens to Baghdad.

    Eight and a half hours - an hour less than estimated thanks to mostly good weather and 15 Kt tailwinds all the way.

    Attachment 14386

    Turkish thunderstorms are not a delight but they cleared eventually.
    Approaching Adana (LTAF) I was a bit south of course, but that worked out well as I might have had to scratch or break Miss Nellie's ceiling As it was, 11,000 just worked.

    Attachment 14387

    It's difficult to fly in cruise for 8, 10, 12 hours with nothing to do but monitor fuel and check navigation, then suddenly it's time to gather thoughts, get oriented and remember how to hand-fly to a landing. Rasheed is not the easiest place to find but I finally picked out which straight, grey bit of asphalt was the runway, only to turn final and discover they plunked the airport rotating beacon right on the centerline at the threshold!
    So, stay a bit high, a bit right and once it feels good, reduce power and float... float... float. Good thing that runway is 8800 ft long!

    Attachment 14388

    Now time to contemplate the next segment -- 2005 miles to VIAL -- one leg or two??? Hmmmm...

    "To some the sky is the limit. To others it is home" anon.
    “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” -Albert Einstein


  7. #32
    SOH-CM-2019 MM's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Chapel Hill NC USA
    Age
    75
    Posts
    1,760
    A few shots of the Beech's journey through the Indonesian Archipelago.

    An early morning departure from Singapore led to this rain squall being lit up by the pink sunrise.



    Passing along the Ring of Fire made for good landmarks off the starboard side. Here is a picture of the Beech passing the high caldera on the legendary island of Bali. (In 1934 Bali retained its mystical aura of enchantment. Today the southern part of the island has become a jam-packed tourist magnet for Japanese, Chinese, and especially Australians.)



    Landed in thick haze at the Dutch aerodrome at Rambang where the locals set up a wonderful luncheon. (They fondly remember Jean Batten's stopping here on her record flight from Australia to England.) And then took off to the southeast, turning into the Timor Sea. In the 1930s, the sea was rather empty--carrying very little ship traffic except for a few pearling boats below. Here the image captures the hours of vast emptiness as the pilot alternates periods of boredom with moments of nervy worry about the arrival of the Australian coastline.



    Then over Cullen Bay and short finals into Parap Aerodrome, just north of Port Darwin. Here you can see the Eucalyptus trees that line the western edge of the field. The Beech 18 will stop here for a few days…as the pilot has commitments ten thousand miles away.



    The Beech 18 will stop here for a few days…as the pilot has commitments ten thousand miles away.
    -Mike

  8. #33
    SOH-CM-2019 MM's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Chapel Hill NC USA
    Age
    75
    Posts
    1,760
    A few shots of the Beech's journey through the Indonesian Archipelago.

    An early morning departure from Singapore led to this rain squall being lit up by the pink sunrise.



    Passing along the Ring of Fire made for good landmarks off the starboard side. Here is a picture of the Beech passing the high caldera on the legendary island of Bali. (In 1934 Bali retained its mystical aura of enchantment. Today the southern part of the island has become a jam-packed tourist magnet for Japanese, Chinese, and especially Australians.)



    Landed in thick haze at the Dutch aerodrome at Rambang where the locals set up a wonderful luncheon. (They fondly remember Jean Batten's stopping here on her record flight from Australia to England.) And then took off to the southeast, turning into the Timor Sea. In the 1930s, the sea was rather empty--carrying very little ship traffic except for a few pearling boats below. Here the image captures the hours of vast emptiness as the pilot alternates periods of boredom with moments of nervy worry about the arrival of the Australian coastline.



    Then over Cullen Bay and short finals into Parap Aerodrome, just north of Port Darwin. Here you can see the Eucalyptus trees that line the western edge of the field.



    The Beech 18 will stop here for a few days…as the pilot has commitments ten thousand miles away.
    -Mike

  9. #34
    Some great screenshots of some beautiful planes!

  10. #35
    Charter Member 2022 srgalahad's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    CYYC or MMSD (GMT -7)
    Posts
    5,080
    I decided to break the run to Allahabad into two segments. Bagdhad to Jask and then onward.

    The flight was smooth but as many have discovered the mixture of desert and sea can produce a heavy, stable fog along the coast. All was fine until about half an hour out of Jask when the fog ( some 8000 ft thick) reduced forward visibility to seemingly nothing although the locals said it was 2.5 miles. Forced to descend quite a way out to maintain reference, I then crept along the coast at 70 knots until I finally found the airport
    Attachment 14576

    Tired after the strenuous approach I found a lounger on the beach and fell asleep. I suppose it was the strange noise that woke me, or perhaps I just was dreaming but I swear there was a giant moth that landed on the beach beside the airport. Apparently one of the crew saw the same apparition and had a camera and caught this...
    Attachment 14577

    Darkness descended and we all finally found sleep.
    This morning we awoke and decided to get as far from this place as we could, so the Miles launched with a plan that I would go to Karachi, and if able would carry on to the heart of India. Through Pakistan all was fine, but soon after crossing into INdia I was enveloped once again in thick fog. We had discussed this and some wag offered that it would come and go in 15-30 minute cycles, but only after 90 minutes did it clear. Then an hour or so later and just before sunset, again comes the fog. With great trepidation I began planning what was likely to be a difficult approach and landing in Allahabad. Amazingly, and to my great joy, the skies cleared about 45 miles west of the city and I was able to make an easy and speedy descent to the airport which stood out clearly amid the city lights.

    Attachment 14578

    Almost halfway now and over an hour ahead of my flight plan estimate for time.

    "To some the sky is the limit. To others it is home" anon.
    “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” -Albert Einstein


  11. #36
    Rasheed to Allahabad

    A great flight and a feeling of accomplishment knowing all system are working properly at last.

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	OR0G-VIAL1.jpg 
Views:	0 
Size:	34.1 KB 
ID:	14607 Click image for larger version. 

Name:	OR0G-VIAL2.jpg 
Views:	0 
Size:	59.4 KB 
ID:	14608

    After meandering through the canyons of the mountains, just after entering Iranian airspace, there’s nothing but dessert until just after passing over the boarder of Afghanistan/Pakistan there is another mountain range.


    Unfortunately shortly after the silhouette of those mountains came into view we hit scud for over a couple hours.
    There were some tense moments or, should I say hours, looking out into nothing but a white cloud, which was none other than a thick fog-like atmosphere.

    We were just waiting to crash into the side of a mountain as just to the north of the flight plan there are peaks over 9000 feet, and with no means of knowing just exactly where we were, usning only DR for that long period of time, we had no choice, but to climb up higher than the highest point showing on the navigational charts and maps.


    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	OR0G-VIAL3.jpg 
Views:	0 
Size:	7.4 KB 
ID:	14609











    Once we were clear of the mountins darkness set in and we we able to navigate a fix once again.

    About an hour out of Allahabad we hit thunderstorms and low clouds.



    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	OR0G-VIAL4.jpg 
Views:	0 
Size:	37.4 KB 
ID:	14611
    Just after breaking underneath the clouds wha la Airport in Sight with all the little brown bags with candles lining the RW! THANKS GROUND CREW!!






    It's fun again!

  12. #37
    SOH-CM-2017
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Arlington, VA (KDCA)
    Age
    70
    Posts
    405

    Icon26 Modern Era Mildenhall Arrival

    The final leg of the MacRobertson in Reverse ended much like it started. Lot's of agreeable banter and laughter and more than a few strong oaths.

    Ron agreed to join us in a multiplayer session for the final leg into Mildenhall. After a few glitches we got setup on Ron's FSX multiplayer server. Nick and I were in Split LDSP and Ron was starting from Venice about 200 miles closer to EGUN. I setup my flight quickly and took off without making an announcement hoping to delay Ron's departure so I could close the gap a bit before he departed, but Beech Boy 1 did not know my plan and revealed my departure on teamspeak. The game was up and Ron took off and headed into the Alps climbing quickly and strongly to cruise altitude, where with the aid of good tailwinds he achieved his highest groundspeed of the event.

    Lively banter ensued at we progressed across the Alps and into Germany, but the VAS time bomb was ticking away on Ron's FSX session. Nick and I had experienced the dreaded OOM while practicing with the F1 King Air while flying over Orbx Europe and England. The only fix was to pull sliders to the left. I had a revised display config loaded before I started the session and forgot to mention the OOM danger to Ron. As Ron was passing over France he sudenly exclaimed OOM!!! He said he would continue to fly but he was more than 120 miles from EGUN. Ron's world became progressively blurrier as FSX could no longer display the higher resolution tiles. Nick suggested that Ron try to land at the nearest airport and then start another leg with reduced settings to finish. But it was not to be. FSX terminated before he could land. He did rejoin the multiplayer from the airport he was attempting to land at and continued on from there to Mildehall for the finish of our session.

    Here is a picture of the Beech Boys with Ron's Lancair in the middle.

    Jeff
    "Providence Permittin"

  13. #38
    Congrats to you guys on your arrival!

  14. #39
    Senior Administrator Willy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Location
    West Tennessee, near KTGC
    Age
    67
    Posts
    11,622
    Left Batavia for WRRA about a half hour behind Moses. Nice flight dodging volcanoes and caught up to him at WRRA. The new ADF radio set is working great. Now to get ready for the leg to WRKK. 450+nm with only one NDB enroute.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails L-M 2014-2014-nov-9-002.jpg   L-M 2014-2014-nov-9-003.jpg  
    Let Being Helpful Be More Important Than Being Right.

  15. #40
    SOH-CM-2024 Craig Taylor's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
    Age
    60
    Posts
    659

    Finally getting to experience those headwinds...

    Finally got to experience the weather all the "Modern Era" pilots were talking about over the radio - 28 knots straight in the teeth almost the entire way from Allahabad. Speaking of which, this is apparently what passes for 'high noon' at this time of year. Very bleak!
    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	VIAL-noon.jpg 
Views:	0 
Size:	62.0 KB 
ID:	14844

    I figured I would be able to climb out on top of it for a sunny afternoon jaunt to Karachi, but Mother Nature was having none of it.
    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	VIAL-climbout.jpg 
Views:	0 
Size:	35.5 KB 
ID:	14843

    At least Karachi's arrival wasn't as foggy as Allahabad. Must be those soft breezes off the water to keep the air so clear.
    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	OPKC-arrival.jpg 
Views:	0 
Size:	70.2 KB 
ID:	14842

    Off to find a nice hotel for my layover.
    Craig "CB" Taylor
    Team AVSIM RTWR

  16. #41
    SOH-CM-2016 ratty's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Lakeside, California KSEE
    Age
    74
    Posts
    122

    Finally on the way

    Dawn over the Channel

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	P1000583.jpg 
Views:	0 
Size:	55.4 KB 
ID:	14934


    Sunrise over Belgium

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	P1000584.jpg 
Views:	0 
Size:	43.1 KB 
ID:	14935


    Approaching Brussels

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	P1000585.jpg 
Views:	0 
Size:	64.2 KB 
ID:	14936

  17. #42
    Senior Administrator PRB's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    MO (KSUS)
    Age
    61
    Posts
    9,410
    I made a video of my flight to Singapore, condensed into three minutes. I'm trying to figure how to use AVS Video Editor. It's a pretty cool program. I glued some scenes together, taken with Fraps, with simple smooth transitions of 0.3 second duration. It was a fun filled flight to the tip of the Malaysian peninsula. A little lightning and thunder, a couple of hills. Nothing to write home about.

    MB: GIGABYTE GA-X299 UD4 PRO ATX
    CPU: Intel(R) Core™ Processor i9-10900X Ten-Core 3.7GHz
    MEM: 64GB (8GBx8) DDR4/3000MHz Quad Channel
    GPU: RTX 3080 Ti 12GB GDDR6
    OS: Win 10 Pro 64bit
    HP Reverb G2

  18. #43
    Senior Administrator Willy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Location
    West Tennessee, near KTGC
    Age
    67
    Posts
    11,622
    Made it to Melbourne in the Gee Bee. If it wasn't for the crash landing penalties, I'd probably have done pretty good. But I knew going in that I'd collect a few of those. Here's a few kodaks of the final leg.

    Now to go collect up that Spartan that was stashed down here for the return trip to England.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails L-M 2014-2014-nov-14-001.jpg   L-M 2014-2014-nov-14-002.jpg   L-M 2014-2014-nov-14-003.jpg  
    Let Being Helpful Be More Important Than Being Right.

  19. #44
    SOH-CM-2023
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Chacombe, not far from Silverstone
    Age
    85
    Posts
    1,588
    Well done & no broken bones, just one h**l of a repair bill! How much remains original of the kite?
    Keith

  20. #45
    Senior Administrator Willy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Location
    West Tennessee, near KTGC
    Age
    67
    Posts
    11,622
    Started back to England in the Spartan. Nice flight from Melbourne to Charleville.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails L-M 2014-2014-nov-15-001.jpg   L-M 2014-2014-nov-16-002.jpg  
    Let Being Helpful Be More Important Than Being Right.

  21. #46
    Charter Member 2022 srgalahad's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    CYYC or MMSD (GMT -7)
    Posts
    5,080
    Well, I'm finally in Oz. One more leg to go and it's so short I don't know if I can stay awake...

    The last few days have been a lot of this
    Attachment 15386

    Followed by a lot of this
    Attachment 15387

    Followed by an awful lot of this..
    Attachment 15388

    "I got plenty of nuthin' and nuthin's plenty for me..."
    IF this is normal then I don't think the idea of air tourism to Australia will ever be a success.

    "To some the sky is the limit. To others it is home" anon.
    “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” -Albert Einstein


  22. #47
    Charter Member 2022 srgalahad's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    CYYC or MMSD (GMT -7)
    Posts
    5,080

    Such a deal!

    Special offer for those interested in long-range flying!

    Attachment 15514

    Keys are in the right wheel well.

    "To some the sky is the limit. To others it is home" anon.
    “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” -Albert Einstein


  23. #48
    SOH-CM-2016
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Sheffield, UK (EGSY)
    Age
    56
    Posts
    1,488
    Quote Originally Posted by srgalahad View Post
    Special offer for those interested in long-range flying!

    Attachment 15514

    Keys are in the right wheel well.


    Well done Rob!
    Martin (FS RTW Race pilot 2009-19)
    Win7 x64 | MSI X79A-GD65 | Intel Core i7-3820 Quad-Core 3.60 GHz | 16GB DDR3/1600MHz Quad Channel Memory | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 2GB

  24. #49
    SOH-CM-2023
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Chacombe, not far from Silverstone
    Age
    85
    Posts
    1,588
    Well done Rob, glad she came up to spec, now how about trying to break H L Brooks return flight record!!!!!
    Keith

  25. #50
    Charter Member 2022 srgalahad's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    CYYC or MMSD (GMT -7)
    Posts
    5,080
    Quote Originally Posted by Dev One View Post
    Well done Rob, glad she came up to spec, now how about trying to break H L Brooks return flight record!!!!!
    Keith
    Not likely! I figure 93 flight hrs plus another 60 for sleep and I could do it in 6.5 days (better than Brook's time) but.. no.. absolutely NO! The seat in the Falcon lack sufficient padding and I have to pack for a trip to warmer climes (MMSD).

    Thanks for the ride Keith. It was fun!

    "To some the sky is the limit. To others it is home" anon.
    “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” -Albert Einstein


Members who have read this thread: 0

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •