Oldpropfan's Antics in the Andes

[oldpropfan]

And so the fun begins on another glorious adventure. Got our maps ( mostly on tp and in pencil but guaranteed accurate to the meter ), got our super radio rdf thingies ( not that there's anything to tune them to ), and most important have our case of Tums for when things go really wrong.

Departing La Chinita for Bocono
TOW : 26869
Fuel :3999.5
Cargo :6000

Two adventurous souls at a slim 170 each and 405 lbs of super secret P&W oil.

[oldpropfan]

That wasn't so bad, found the secret entrance valley just like the map said and slid into Bocono without having to break 10000 ft.

Fuel used: 675 lbs
Flight time: 58 min 50 sec
Maint pts: 0

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[oldpropfan]

Now that I'm mostly recovered from my dental visit yesterday time to fly the parabola from Bocono to Merida.

TOW: 26194
Fuel: 3324.5
Cargo: 6000

[oldpropfan]

Old girl started to get a little cranky at 12000 ft so I cut over to the south side of the ridge line and skipped the high passes. Came into Merida up the valley from the west, flew up past the field, turned around and dropped in between the buildings.


Fuel used: 534
Flight time: 45 min 58 sec
Maint pts: 0

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[oldpropfan]

Time to head out on the first long leg, departing Merida for Bucaramanga.

TOW: 25661
Fuel: 2791
Cargo: 6000

[oldpropfan]

Wow, can't believe I made it out of Merida alive. Foolishly decided to takeoff with only 3/4 mile vis at the field, figured just the bottom of the valley was socked in and I would break out fairly quickly. Wrong, just enough vis to let me see one side of the valley. Flew runway heading till I could see ominous shapes to the left then started a very slow turn to the right since the valley curves that way. When I picked up the NDB from the El Vigia field it was 305 deg straight to it and we were in the clear.

Smooth flying the rest of the leg and an easy landing at Bucaramanga.

Fuel used: 799 lbs
Flight time: 1:09:57
Maint pts: 0

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[oldpropfan]

Back at it again, departing Bucaramanga for Bogota.

TOW: 24849
Fuel: 1979
Cargo: 6000

[oldpropfan]

Landed Bogota, nice flight.

Fuel used: 871
Flight time: 1:07:58
Maint pts:0

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[oldpropfan]

After a quick refreshment replentishment may as well make the hop over to Manizales.

TOW: 23972
Fuel: 1102
Cargo: 6000

[oldpropfan]

You know, sometimes FSX is a frakin pita. Got a lock-up on base leg into Manizales, had to abort flight, 42 minutes down the tubes. Now I have to try to remember the location of the secret pass that let me sneak through at 12000 ft.

Done for the night, will try again tomorrow.

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[salt_air]

You're doing fine oldpropfan!


You know if you have or take the time ... say with that second cup of coffee ... you can go back through the text file and map or pin the coordinates for your "trip through the pass" .... or just wing it :icon_lol:


Good Luck!

[oldpropfan]

Thanks for the encouragement, having what was a really nice flight end like that sometimes just kills the fun of it all. It just takes a little breather and I'm fine.

After finishing some maintenance work on the casa it's time to give it another try. Think I've got the location of that pass nailed, let's hope the vis over there is as good as yesterday.

Departing Bogota for Manizales.

TOW: 23972
Fuel: 1102
Cargo: 6000

[oldpropfan]

Ahhh, the sweet smell of success and burning brakes. Found the pass at the last minute and made a fast descent to Manizales.

Time: 45 min 29 sec
Fuel used: 572 lbs
Maint pts: 0

Need to see what I can round up for fuel before the next leg, we're almost on fumes.

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[oldpropfan]

Found some fuel but probably paid triple the regular rate for it. Think I used up alot of my food budget for this run, anyone know what the South American equivalent to Ramen is?

Departing Manizales for Pitalito:

TOW: 24558
Fuel: 1688
Cargo: 6000

[Moses03]

Ahhh, the sweet smell of success and burning brakes. Found the pass at the last minute and made a fast descent to Manizales.



Good deal! :salute:

[oldpropfan]

At least I got one flight in. FS lockup again. Why can't this happen on departure instead of 10 minutes before landing?

41840

Will try it again in the morning.

[oldpropfan]

Onward we go again.

Departing Manizales for Pitalito:

TOW: 24558
Fuel: 1688
Cargo: 6000

[oldpropfan]

Think I finally figured out what's been causing my lock-ups, somehow while playing around with some freeware weather progs my weather settings were all maxed out, dialed draw distance down a few notches and coverage down one notch.

On ground at Pitalito.

Time: 1:22:00
Fuel used: 1032 (fighting a 10 knot headwind sure burns the juice )
Maint pts: 0

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[oldpropfan]

Departing Pitalito for Pasto.

TOW: 24469
Fuel: 1600
Cargo: 6000

[oldpropfan]

Arrived Pasto, interesting location for an airfield.

Time: 44 min 10 sec
Fuel used: 523
Maint pts: 0

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[oldpropfan]

Time to move on, departing for Quito. Should be an interesting flight as it looks like there are many high mountains to dodge around. Haven't been able to get much good local intel on the best route through the rocks so we'll be doubly careful on this leg.

TOW: 24669
Fuel: 1799
Cargo: 6000

[oldpropfan]

Arrived Quito. Great flight, had clear weather all the way, no problems finding a route through the mountains.

Time: 55 min 10 sec
Fuel used: 645
Maint pts: 0

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[oldpropfan]

Departing Quito for Riobamba.

TOW: 24469
Fuel: 1600
Cargo: 6000

[oldpropfan]

Kind of scary when you're at 13000 ft and you still have to look up at the high terrain all around you. Nice short little jaunt down the valley and we arrived at Riobamba in one piece.

Time: 36 min 47 sec
Fuel used: 451
Maint pts: 0

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[oldpropfan]

Departing Riobamba for La Toma.

TOW: 24469
Fuel: 1600
Cargo: 6000

[oldpropfan]

Got a little lost on this one but finally found La Toma.

Time: 1:16:40
Fuel used: 956
Maint pts: 0

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[oldpropfan]

Departing La Toma for Jaen.

TOW: 24669
Fuel: 1600
Cargo: 6000

[oldpropfan]

What was that line in Top Gun, " crashed and burned the first time around but it's looking pretty good so far", or something like that anyway. Crash is what happens when you're in a high speed descent, looking at your chart, and the wind shifts on you. Overspeed and off come the wings.

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So what do we do? Bail out, jump on the first bus back to La Toma, pick up another plane and load of cargo, try it again. Sent a cable to Nellie to contact Douglas and have them review their QC, wings on a C-47 should be good to the redline of 190 knts, not give up at 185.

Made it into Jaen fine the second time around.

Time: 41 min 32 sec
Fuel: 503
Maint pts: 4 - locals said they would put the salvageable stuff to good use and not to worry about the two burros

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[oldpropfan]

Departing Jaen for Cajabamba.

TOW: 24669
Fuel: 1600
Cargo: 6000

[oldpropfan]

Don't know who carved this field into the side of the mountain but there are definitely no go-arounds here. Landed, barely, at Cajabamba.

Time: 57 min 58 sec
Fuel used: 768
Maint pts: 0

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[oldpropfan]

Departing Cajabamba for Huaraz.

TOW: 24669
Fuel: 1600
Cargo: 6000

[oldpropfan]

Arrived at Huaraz, not my best approach ever but made it in.

Time: 46 min 31 sec
Fuel used: 585
Maint pts: 0

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[oldpropfan]

After taking the weekend off to visit my daughter and her family it's time to run the gauntlet again.

Departing Huaraz for Huanuco.

TOW-24669
Fuel-1600
Cargo-6000

[oldpropfan]

Got a little lost on the way, turned up the wrong canyon and had to bust altitude to stay out of trouble. Finally made it into Huanuco once I figured out where I was.

Time: 51 min 31 sec
Fuel used: 602
Maint pts: 1

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[oldpropfan]

Onward to Vicco.

TOW-24469
Fuel-1600
Cargo-6000

[oldpropfan]

Much better flight but hard to believe people can function everyday at this altitude, made it into Vicco.

Time: 33 min 25 sec
Fuel used: 365
Maint pts: 0

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[oldpropfan]

Now from over 13000 ft to almost sea level, what was Nellie thinking?

Departing for Las Palmas.

TOW: 24469
Fuel: 1600
Cargo: 6000

[oldpropfan]

What a sleigh ride, too bad the coast was all clouded in once I got over the mountains. Unfortunately, I think our time at lower altitudes is short lived and soon we'll be sucking at the O2 again.

Arrived Las Palmas.

(edit: please cancel the maintenance point in my flight to Huanuco, forgot the altitude cap was raised to 17500 once we hit Peru)

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[oldpropfan]

After a little break it's time to take to the sky again, departing Las Palmas for Ayacucho.

TOW: 24469
Fuel: 1600
Cargo: 6000

[oldpropfan]

Made it in after seriously testin the side slipping abilities of the Dak ( yes, you too can descend at 1500 fpm and yet maintain only 90 knts IAS ). Happy to be on the ground at Ayacucho after crossing what I'm now going to call "the wall", climb from sea level to 17000 ft then turn right and start counting canyons till you find the right one to begin your descent. Tell Miss Nelly some of this route planning might need a little going over.

Time: 1:17:10
Fuel used: 934
Maint pts: 0

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[oldpropfan]

Off to test the abilities of my trusty Dak once again, departing for Cuzco.

TOW: 24469
Fuel: 1600
Cargo: 6000

[oldpropfan]

Ah, the fun never ends. Hit an air pocket climbing out of Ayacucho, caught my copilot off guard and he showed the mixtures into full rich. Not such a good thing at 10500 ft, engines immediately lost power, stalled and didn't have enough altitude to recover. Luckily the field was mostly soft and after replacing the props the locals used a tractor to tow us out to the nearest road where we were able to takeoff again.

Racked up 4 more maintenance points.

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[oldpropfan]

After our quick field repairs we continued on our way and safely made it to Cuzco.

Time: 1:02:56
Fuel used: 719
Maint pts: 4

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[rtoolooze]

I sure do enjoy getting up, helping the wife with her lunch and on her way to work, then after grabbing my coffee, reading these posts. You guys make a nice adventure out of it.

[oldpropfan]

Thanks rtoolooze, glad you're enjoying following along.

[oldpropfan]

Departing for Puno.

TOW: 24469
Fuel: 1600
Cargo: 6000

[oldpropfan]

Arrived Puno after an uneventful flight but beautiful scenery to keep us ohhh'ing and ahhhh'ing. Followed the valley south out of Cuzco till we hit the Altiplano. Lake Titicaca is bigger than I thought it was going to be, fantastic views as we made our approach.

Time: 1:10:32
Fuel used: 796
Maint pts: 0

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[oldpropfan]

Departing Puno for La Paz.

TOW: 24069
Fuel: 1200
Cargo: 6000

[oldpropfan]

Except for some turbulence this flight was a real sleigh ride, no valleys to climb out of or big granite to dodge. Does that mean something really bad is coming up? Guess we'll find out as this adventure continues.

Arrived La Paz - El Alto.

Time: 45 min 37 sec
Fuel used: 543
Maint pts: 0

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[oldpropfan]

Old cargo out, new cargo in, some quick grub, and a once over of the old girl to make sure she's doing ok brings us to departure time again. Outbound La Paz for Cochabamba.

TOW: 24069
Fuel: 1200
Cargo: 6000

[oldpropfan]

Alot of cloud cover on this flight, made for some hairy moments as I tried to slide in between the high spots. Cross your fingers that you got the WCA right and get ready to react fast when you come out of the clouds. Made it into Cochabamba alright though, will take a little break and continue on.

Time: 51 min 44 sec
Fuel used: 582
Maint pts: 0

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[oldpropfan]

Refreshed and refueled, cargo strapped down, moving on down the airways. Departing for Sucre.

TOW: 24069
Fuel: 1200
Cargo: 6000

[oldpropfan]

Still alot of cloud but not much granite to dodge except on the approach, had to swing around and land rwy 5 due to wind. Arrived at Sucre.

Time: 44 min 35 sec
Fuel used: 518
Maint pts: 0

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[oldpropfan]

More cargo and a quick turn-around has us heading on to Potosi. Let's hope the cloud clears as this one is straight uphill and it's getting dark.

TOW: 24069
Fuel: 1200
Cargo: 6000

[oldpropfan]

I think that'll be the last time I try flying through the mountains at dusk, way too nerve wracking. Also, tell Nellie we need to put some radio activated lights at Potosi, I was almost over the field before I saw it. Got her down anyway and after taxing in and parking realized everyone had gone home for the day. Tower was empty and cargo dock locked up tight, guess we're sleeping in the plane tonight.

Time: 22 min 14 sec
Fuel used: 264
Maint pts: 0

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[oldpropfan]

Finally heading out again. Forgot it was Sunday, had to pay triple to get someone out to the field to unload and fuel the plane then everyone went home for lunch and siesta so we had to load the cargo ourselves. Will forward the bill for the added expense to accounting. Departing for Coposa.

TOW: 24069
Fuel: 1200
Cargo: 6000

[oldpropfan]

Cut it a little close on the fuel planning I think, made it into Coposa with only 35 1/2 gallons of fuel left. Was going to come in through the valley from the north but threw that out the window and risked finding a pass so I could go straight in, got lucky.


Time: 1:26:18
Fuel used: 986
Maint pts: 0


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[oldpropfan]

Time to make the downhill run to Iquique, departing Coposa for the coast.

TOW: 24069
Fuel: 1200
Cargo: 6000

[oldpropfan]

Well that was a fail, flew the whole flight and never realised the Duenna autostarted ( or maybe never started? ) after I was already airborne so it failed my on ground state and <5kts state. Wonder if the 19 knt headwind at Coposa had something to do with it. Anyway, the flight didn't register so I'll try a redo later today.

[salt_air]

Well that was a fail, flew the whole flight and never realised the Duenna autostarted ( or maybe never started? ) after I was already airborne so it failed my on ground state and <5kts state. Wonder if the 19 knt headwind at Coposa had something to do with it. Anyway, the flight didn't register so I'll try a redo later today.


Sounds like it didn't start ....

In other duenna events if there is a problem with your duenna files generation or irretrievable then we have used a screenshot of the MSFS flight analysis available at the end of each flight.

Check with Paul on the legality of that for this event, but it will save you from having to redo a perfectly good flight in the others.

[oldpropfan]

Thanks Salt_air but I didn't think to save any screenshots as verification that I had completed the flight. No big deal really, I was just getting ready to redo the flight tonight anyway, so here we go again:

Time to make the downhill run to Iquique, departing Coposa for the coast.

TOW: 24069
Fuel: 1200
Cargo: 6000

[oldpropfan]

And we made it, even if the vis at Iquique wasn't more than 2 miles, thank goodness they have NDB's on approach. Grab some quick grub while they unload and then it's on to Calama.

Time: 45 min 12 sec
Fuel used: 512
Maint pts: 0

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[oldpropfan]

These guys at Iquique are fast, unloaded and a new load set to go for Calama. Grabbed some snacks and coffee, we're ready to roll.

TOW: 24069
Fuel: 1200
Cargo: 6000

[oldpropfan]

Made it into Calama with some daylight left. What a desolate landscape between Iquique and here, will have to do some research and see if it's really like this. Nothing like flying over the desert to give you a case of the nods.

Down to the homestretch, if anyone's left in Salta first 5 are on me as soon as I get in.

Time: 55 min 34 sec
Fuel used: 735
Maint pts: 0

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[teson1]

Way to go!
All the best for your last leg into Salta, and put a few into the fridge for me. I'll be inbound soon as well.

And yes, for once FS is representing the scenery exactly as it is - the Atacama is considered the driest desert on earth. Nothing but barren earth and dust.

[oldpropfan]

Got your tab for you when you get in teson1, wonder when the last time was they had any rain down here?

Loaded and fueled up, plane up to snuff, heading out for Salta! Hope the rest of you guys left us some frosties.

TOW: 24469
Fuel: 1600
Cargo: 6000

[oldpropfan]

Made it in, on fumes that is!!!! Thought I'd found a quick route by going NE then cutting across through the high peaks, wrong again. Had to wind my way up, down, and across to find a way out of the mess I was in. Plane parked and unloaded, I'm heading to the bar for shots and some cold ones. Thanks to everyone for putting on a great event and giving us stragglers extra time to make it in, enjoyed every minute of it and reading about the escapades of my fellow pilots.

Time: 2:10:21 ( should have gone SE )
Fuel used: 1468 ( trying to make up for lost time didn't pay off )
Maint pts: 0

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[jt_dub]

Congrats and welcome to Salta:salute:

The crowd awaits your arrival.

:icon29::icon29::icon29::guinness::guinness::guinn ess:

[salt_air]

Hat's in the air Al !!

Well done ... Belly up to the bar ... the tab is open and on me.


Great Job!

[teson1]

Hooray! Congratulations on a job well done ! :salute:

And well done finding a way out of that maze without busting the ceiling ! Be sure I'll keep the heck out of there.

I'll be in soon, then we can continue our private party of last night. I want to hear some more about the adventures of your trip.

[oldpropfan]

Thanks everyone, this is the 2nd event I've flown at SOH and they've both been alot of fun and challenging at the same time. Also a great group of people to fly with/against, glad I decided to give the format here a try.

Al

[MM]

Well done, Al. We are just delighted to have you join the crew...you're buying, right?

--M

[robert41]

Congrats Al. :icon29:

[Dil52]

Way to go Al! Nice job! :medals:
Another great pilot who's deserves some R&R ! :icon29::icon29: