Spookster's Mew Gull adventure

[Spookster67]

OK, flight testing complete (on the third test flight I landed the Mew Gull without breaking the gear, which is my favourite trick with this aircraft).

Route planned (at least for the first few hops).

And I think I've read the rules (but I'll re-read them as I go, just to be sure...)

[Spookster67]

A night departure for a dawn arrival in Athens, if things go to plan.

[Spookster67]

Aiming to cross the Alps near Innsbruck, then head down the Adriatic coast to Albania and Greece, in around 6.5 hours.

Log:
14mins - over the sea, leaving UK
35mins - over the European coast, just north of Ostende
58mins - over Charleroi
100mins - over Karlsruhe, at around 4500ft. Starting to read the rules about hard ceilings, as I'll need to be much higher before Innsbruck...

2h15m - about 20 mins to Innsbruck, so time to start climbing.
2h37m - passing INN NDB at 11,000.
3h05m - the NDB at Ronchi has popped up, and I'm clear of the alps and descending again.
3h13m - at NDB RON, and the Adriatic Sea. Heading down the coast, with the first signs of dawn sunrise.

[Spookster67]

3h46m - Arrgghh!!! FSX locks up completely! I get the Windows "waiting" circular icon, but no message to say that FSX is closing...
About 8 minutes later, having closed a whole load of other apps that were running, FSX comes back to life, and I'm still flying. Phew!! But by now, Duenna has lost its connection. I may have lost Duenna tracking, or it may still be running...

Anyway, I'll keep going, cross my fingers for Duenna, and make sure I get other evidence of the flight...

[Spookster67]

5h15m - in Albania, climbing over the mountains. Hoping that FSX keeps running smoothly for about another hour...

[Spookster67]

Down safe at LGTT.

Duenna has one error, which was the "Lost connection". Apart from that, the Duenna data looks OK. My flight stopwatch shows a 6:22 flight, so it seems I spent 8 minutes "paused" while FSX decided whether it wanted to carry on, or crash completely. I guess I was lucky! An 8 minute pause is better than a completely lost flight, 3h 46m in.



http://fs-duenna.com/flights/logs/Yn...MsSxtNCFfI.txt

Flight Time: 06:30:41
Routine Ground Time: 00:00:00
Special Ground Time: 00:00:00
Penalty Time: 00:00:00

(I have other flight evidence, in case Miss Nellie would like to see it...)

[Spookster67]

A quick refuel, and on to the next destination, Baghdad.

[Spookster67]

Log:

1h 00m - beautiful day in Turkey, and with a 24 knot tailwind at 8500 feet I'm making great progress.
1h 37m - overhead Antalya (and hence now in Asia, not Europe).
2h 48m - made the coast of Syria, a few miles north of Latakia. From here on, there are not many NDBs, and perhaps none within range. It could be dead-reckoning only from here...

[Spookster67]

4h 00m - I've found the river bend (the Euphrates River), and that's the border of Syria and Iraq. Good tail winds, and clear skies.
4h 39m - past the big lakes, and the Baghdad NDBs have come into range, dead ahead.

[Spookster67]

Down safe at Baghdad, ORBI.



http://fs-duenna.com/flights/logs/Vc...BybEC6bBxI.txt

Flight Time: 04:49:19
Routine Ground Time: 00:45:00
Special Ground Time: 00:00:00
Penalty Time: 00:00:00

[srgalahad]

Cable
From: 119 Piccadilly Lane, London, UK

Msg:
Sir, after investigation re: flt. to Athens this inst. you may continue without a penalty. You are advised you must include the 8 'extra" minutes in your total as no reason can be found for deduction. Miss N unusually abrupt. Additional comments to all found in 119 Piccadilly file forthwith.

In service,
L-M Race staff.

[Spookster67]

Cable
From: 119 Piccadilly Lane, London, UK

Msg:
Sir, after investigation re: flt. to Athens this inst. you may continue without a penalty. You are advised you must include the 8 'extra" minutes in your total as no reason can be found for deduction. Miss N unusually abrupt. Additional comments to all found in 119 Piccadilly file forthwith.

In service,
L-M Race staff.

OK, thanks. The 8 minutes "paused/frozen" time is in the 6:30:41 time I logged above, so I think we're good to continue. I have a larger hammer to hand now, ready for use if my PC/Windows/FSX tries that again!

[Spookster67]

In the 2009 London-Melbourne race I took the coastal route. This time, I'm going to try going direct, which is a very long hop to Jodhpur, and then a shorter one into Allahabad.

Departing now, ORBI to VIJO.

[Spookster67]

Log:

1h 05m - passing NDB DZF, 214nm covered, 1341nm left to go. The fuel range gauge says 1330nm left. Maybe I'll glide into Jodhpur...

[Spookster67]

... or maybe I'll just crash into the mountains.

Went to make a coffee, got distracted by emails, and when I returned I was in pieces strewn across a mountainside in Western Iran. I was only at 8,000, and needed to be more like 10,000 feet.

A penalty of 1:00:00, and I'm back at Baghdad.



http://fs-duenna.com/flights/logs/0J...vBehfxmqNw.txt

[Spookster67]

Launching again, ORBI to VIJO.

[Spookster67]

Well, would you believe it, I've crashed again, into pretty much exactly the same mountain.

For now, I'm going to take a break, and maybe re-think my route.



http://fs-duenna.com/flights/logs/fB...gArj06oqRY.txt

Another penalty of 1:00:00, and I'm still at Baghdad.

[robert41]

That sucks.
Here is hoping for a successful third run.

[Spookster67]

OK, time for a third go at this. Going OVER the mountains, not into them. Departing ORBI for VIJO.

[Spookster67]

Log:

Over the first high ridge, but only just.... needed to be at 11,500 feet, which is a challenge in a Mew Gull 80% fuelled.

1h 46m - overhead Shahre Kord, and the SKD NDB.
2h 42m - overhead Yazd airfield, and the YZD NDB. 516nm covered, so only managing 191 knots average at these high altitudes.

4h 15m - in the middle of nowhere! Miles and miles of high desert. At least the next NDB, Zahedan (ZDN), has popped up. And I've got a reasonable tail wind, so 213 knots over the ground. And I'm over half way...

[Craig Taylor]

I feel your pain, brother, but my trouble has been equipment-related, not terrain. Hang in there!

[Spookster67]

5h 20m - passing Dalbandin, and NDB DB. Low level fog and cloud means no view to the ground, but a few of the tallest mountains are still poking through above 8000 feet.

5h 56m - passing Khuzdar, and NDB KH. About 350nm to run, and enough fuel for 410nm.

6h 25m - overhead Sukkur, and NDB SK. From here it's dead reckoning for the last hour or so to Jodhpur, with another city to spot about half way there.

6h 58m - passing the city of Jaisalmer, which is about all there is to see out here. 120nm and 33 minutes to Jodhpur.

[Spookster67]

Safely down at VIJO. 2.8 gallons of fuel left, or about 3%.



http://fs-duenna.com/flights/logs/vo...uyfoPRpcEc.txt

Flight Time: 07:33:46
Routine Ground Time: 00:45:00
Special Ground Time: 00:00:00
Penalty Time: 02:00:00

[Spookster67]

A quick refuel and I'm pushing on, VIJO to VIAL. Will be dark by the time I get there, but the runways have lights.

(first take-off roll aborted, when I realised I was taking off from VIAL, not VIJO)

[Spookster67]

Down safe at VIAL.




http://fs-duenna.com/flights/logs/tg...wV3HkzfCSg.txt


Flight Time: 02:10:40
Routine Ground Time: 00:45:00
Special Ground Time: 00:00:00
Penalty Time: 00:00:00