Around the world in 175 days.

[BrittMac]

Nice! I got to ride in a TBM two years ago. Fantastic experience. Peachtree DeKalb Airshow, called "Good Neighbor Day". Gave me enough of a spark to start taking lessons instead of finding reasons not to.
Looking forward to more shots and story! I'll do the shots, and read the story.

 

[blanston12]

July 7 1924: In Karachi the flyers were hosted to a dinner by the RAF officers, the first time they had dinner with ladies* present since leaving the states, in a speech the base commander reminded them they had traveled 12,577 miles since leaving Seattle, father than anyone before, but still had over 14000 to go. With the help of the British mechanics they spent two days replacing the engines on there three aircraft, they worked during the day and spent the evenings having dinners at the homes of various British officials. The morning of July 7 they were up at 3am for breakfast and were in the air by 6:30 for Chahabar Persia (now Iran). They flew over sand, ancient lava flows and mountains which Arnold described as the “most lonesome, barren and desolate place imaginable”. Shortly after noon they crossed into Persia and descended on a small port city on the Gulf of Oman.


* I assume 'Ladies' means upper class women of European extraction.


September 7, 2017: For the next flight we will be using the Consolidated B-24. As I am sure you all know, the B-24 is a four engine bomber that first flew in 1939. Designed with a efficient high aspect ratio Davis wing, the B-24 could had a high cruise speed, long range and a heavy bomb load at the expense of being difficult to fly and having poor low speed performance. While the aircrews preferred the B-17, the general staff preferred the B-24 and it was produced in very large numbers, over 19000 were built making it the most produced multi engine American military aircraft in history. The aircraft I am using today was produced by Virtavia and despite being a FSX model works well in P3Dv4. It’s a bit difficult to fly but once you remove the bomb payload it becomes much easier. My flight to Chabahar was pretty easy, weather was good, 9 knot winds with scattered clouds at 3000 feet and a temperature of 27.8C/82F. We flew at 4000 feet along the coast of the Gulf of Oman and landed at Konarak Airport, the 358 nm flight had taken 2.2 hours.


One historical note, after crashing in Alaska, Sergeant Harvey completed flight training in 1926 and was commissioned as an officer. In September 1941 he flew over 3150 miles in a B-24 to carry a lend-lease delegation to Moscow, he then continued around the world through India, Australia, Wake island and Hawaii,


Here are a few pics from the flight.

Ready for takeoff.

Engines running.

Airbourn.

Check the gauges.

 

[blanston12]

Flying over the Gulf of Oman.

Selfie!

Along the gulf of Oman.

Glamour shots.

Landed

 

[blanston12]

And now for something completely different.

July 7, 1924: In Chahabar they were met by a representative of the Indo-European telegraph company who had arranged there supplies. The fliers quickly refueled there aircraft as they ate the sandwiches supplied by the wife of the British. They were in the air again at 2:35 for Bandar Abbass. The four hour flight was uneventful and when they landed in Bandar Abbass they were greeted by Mr Richardson, the British Consul who had volunteered to act as there advance agent in the area.


September 8, 2017: For the next flight we will be using the Supermarine Spitfire. As I am sure you all know the Spitfire was the star fighter of the RAF for most of World War 2. First flying in 1936 the Spitfire was produced in greater numbers than any other British aircraft and the only British fighter to be in continuous production throughout the war with the last being built in 1948 after over 20,000 were built. The model I am using today is a Mark IX and was produced by RealAir and is one of my favorites (great shame they shut down). The weather for takeoff was good, 6 knot winds, few clouds at 2000, temperature of 27.7C/82F I flew along the coast of the Gulf of Oman at 4000 feet and after a short time ran into increasingly thicker cloud layer that forced me to descend to 1000 feet to keep the coast in view. I landed at Havadarya Airport, Bandar Abbass after flying 249 nm in 1.3 hours.


Here are a few screenshots:

Ready for takeoff.

Selfie!

Glamour Shots

Flying along the Gulf of Oman

 

[blanston12]

Spitfire Fun!

Clouds ahead.

Staying low to keep under the clouds.

Following the coast.

Landed.


Thanks for reading
ATB

 

[Bjoern]

With a C-87, you could have channeled Ernie Gann for the intra-India leg. Passing on his near run-in with the Taj Mahal or any other building of worldly or spiritual importance would have been totally acceptable though.
I'm still amazed how desperate the transport squadrons were for aircraft back in the day, considering what a piece of junk the C-87 was.

 

[blanston12]

With a C-87, you could have channeled Ernie Gann for the intra-India leg. Passing on his near run-in with the Taj Mahal or any other building of worldly or spiritual importance would have been totally acceptable though.
I'm still amazed how desperate the transport squadrons were for aircraft back in the day, considering what a piece of junk the C-87 was.

thanks Bjoern, I seriously considered using the C-87 for this leg as I feel I may be using too many combat aircraft on this voyage but my reading confirmed your opinion of "what a piece of junk the C-87" and figured I should something else.

 

[jmbiii]

Joe,

Still following about a day behind. In v3.4 Konarak is bare.
Two runways, a tower, and fuel (thank goodness).

Joe

 

[blanston12]

Joe,

Still following about a day behind. In v3.4 Konarak is bare.
Two runways, a tower, and fuel (thank goodness).

Joe

Nice Joe.

I have the completed the next two legs and have gotten as far as Baghdad, almost had the write ups finished last night but it was getting too late. Should have them up in a day or two.

 

[blanston12]

July 8, 1924: The pilots did not refuel the aircraft the night before when they noticed the gas was all stored in two gallon cans. The next morning they were up by 3:30 am to get ready, they hired a group of locals help them refuel. The formed a line from the pile of gas cans and passed them up to the fliers who poured them into the planes fuel tanks. It worked well enough that in 2 hours they were done and off without breakfast. By 9:30 they had arrived at Bushire, considered the most important port in the Persian gulf. They were met by American Consol who sent into town for sandwiches while the pilots refueled for the next leg.


September 10, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the Douglas DC-4. The DC-4 was developed from the DC-4E when proved to be too complicated and large to be economically operated. The new designed had a simpler unpressurised hull and a single rudder, but in June of 1941, before it could be delivered to customers US War department took over all orders for military use as the C-54. During the war it was one of the most common long range transports with 1170 being built, they continued to serve in the Berlin airlift and Korean war. After the war many were sold to civilian operators and another 79 were built post war.


I was holding out hope for the new DC-4 from Flight Replicas but after contacting them it was clear it would not be available in time, so I am using model by Jens B. Kristensen with updates by Bob Chicilo and a new VC panel by Vladimir Gonchar. While the model is showing its age I have always liked this model and have flow many hours in it. The weather for the flight was not great, Foggy with 11 knot winds and 2.5 mile visibility and a temperature of 33C. We took off and followed the coast into the Persian Gulf at 800 feet. Around Bandar Lengeh the fog lifted and we were able to climb to 4000 feet for the rest of the flight to Bushire Iran. The 303 nm flight took 2 hours.


Personal Note, with this flight done, I am now half way around the world!


Here area few pics:

Ready for takeoff.

Climbing out of Bandar Abbass.

Heading out over town.

Along the Persian Gulf.

 

[blanston12]

Cruising the Persian Gulf.

The fog has lifted.

Cruisin...

Coming into Bushire.

Landed.


Thanks for reading
ATB.

 

[blanston12]

July 8, 1924: After 90 minutes of working the sandwiches had not arrived so the fliers and departed for Baghdad Mesopotamia. There route took them over a vast desert to Basra, they followed the Euphrates river to the city of Hilla where they then took a compass course to the RAF field in Baghdad. They were surprised by the large croud of British civilians and military personnel who greeted them. They were immediantly given sandwiches as they tended there craft. Later they were taken to the RAF officers club for dinner. They were so tired when they finally got to there rooms that Arnold wrote “I remember getting to bed but don’t remember lying down”.


September 10, 2017: For the next leg we will be using the Curtiss SB2C Helldiver. The Helldiver's introduction was plagued by problems that delayed its introduction, poor handling characteristics even caused the plane to be rejected by the Royal Navy, but the problems were eventually ironed out and had a good record for the last two years of the war with over 7000 being built. The last retired from service in 1958. Its reputation was not enhanced by the fact that it was the last dedicated dive bomber when improvements in level bombing and rockets was eliminating the need for the type. The aircraft I am using is made by Aeroplane heaven and is nice.


The weather for the next leg was not bad, no wind or clouds, 5.0 mile visibility and a temperature of 31C/88F. We took off and headed north along the coast of the Persian Gulf until we found the mouth of the Euphrates river. I followed it until I finally lost the main channel of the river and then made a compass heading for Baghdad International airport. The 427 nmi flight had taken 2.1 hours.
Here are a few pics.

Ready to go.

Heading out over the Persian Gulf.

Out over the sea.

Mesopotamia.

 

[blanston12]

A Mes-o-Potamia!

Trying to follow the Euphrates river.

I feel like I should be flying an A-10.

Baghdad!

Landed.


Thanks for reading!
ATB.

 

[blanston12]

July 9, 1924: The Flyers were used to getting up before day break but this day the slept in till after 7am and were not in the air until after 11am for there flight to Aleppo Syria, escorted for the first hour and a half by British Fighters. There route followed the Euphrates river and more monotonous desert They landed at the French Airfield northwest of the city and were greeted by laughing French pilots who insisted on toasting them with a special Champaign they had been saving for the occasion. After servicing there aircraft they were taken into town and to a reception and dinner that lasted until 2am.


September 13, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the Vought F4U Corsair. The Corsair first few in 1940 and was the first US Fighter to fly faster than 400 mph but it did not enter combat until 1943. Over 12,500 were built before the final delivery in 1953, the longest production run of any piston engine fighter in US history. I am using the ‘Birdcage’ model by JustFlight, which is quite nice. My flight to Aleppo was uneventful. Weather was good, clear with 5 knot winds and a temperature of 23C/73F. We cruised at 4000 feet, mostly following the Euphrates river, the Corsair made short work of the 388 mile flight cruising at over 290 knots and landing at the Aleppo International Airport after 1.4 hours of flying. I am happy that the civil war that has engulfed Syria does not invade the virtual space I fly in because I know the people of Aleppo have suffered quite a bit and as far as I can tell there airport is still closed because of the fighting.


Here are my pics;

Climbing out of Baghdad.

Heading out over the desart.

Not much out there.

Selfie!

 

[blanston12]

Heading into Syria.

No eclipses here.

Following the river.

Over Syria.

Landed.


Thanks for reading.
ATB

 

[blanston12]

July 10 1924: Despite the dinner than ended at 2am the night before the flyers were up at 6am and in the air by 9am for Constantinople (now Istanbul). Ahead were the 10,000 foot Taurus mountains that they planes could not fly over, so flying single file at 4000 feet they followed the Berlin-Baghdad railroad that cut through the valley, often uncomfortably close to the to the Mountain walls. Here they experienced the first real cold air since they left the Kurile islands. At 2:30 pm they landed at San Stefano aerodrome in Constantinople. To greet them was Admiral Bristol the American ambassador and few other American and Turkish officials but not the large crowds that would have been there had the cables Smith sent from Baghdad and Aleppo arrived, the telegraph system in this part of the world had not caught up to the technology of the day. After servicing there aircraft they went into the city but there were no dinners or receptions to attend since nobody really knew when they were coming. That evening they had dinner at the hotel and went to a Cabaret.


September 14, 2017: For the next flight I will be using the Lockheed L-049 Constellation. The Connie came out of a reqirement from TWA for an aircraft that could fly 3500 miles with 40 passengers. It used four R-3350 engines had a pressurized hull and wings similar to that used on the P-38. The aircraft first flew in 1943 and by then all civilian orders were taken over by the military. Designated the C-69 it was used as a high-speed, long-distance troop transport. Production was slow because the B-29 program had priority for the engines and by the end of the war only 22 had been built. Eventually 856 of all models were built by the time production ended in 1958. It set the standard for speed and luxury until replaced by Jet aircraft. A Connie still holds the record for a flight between New York and Washington, a record that will probably not be broken because it was done before the FAA speed limit below 10000 feet was imposed. The version I am using is made by JustFlight and is included as a default aircraft within P3D. As much as I would love to keep flying WW2 aircraft for the rest of the flight, history moves on and I figure this aircraft will be a good transition between that era and the post war aircraft I will be flying next.


The weather for the flight from Aleppo to Istanbul was good, Clear with no wind and a temperature of 23.4C/74F. Being able to cruise higher than the Douglas World Cruiser I flew at around 10000 feet over the mountains on a direct course for Ataturk International Airport. Landing safely the 489nm flight had taken just 2 hours.


Here are a few pics.

Getting ready to takeoff.

Climbing out of Aleppo

Heading out of Syria.

Flying over Turkey.

 

[blanston12]

On to Turkey.

The Taurus mountians.

Cruisin.

Our destination is in site.

Secured.


Thanks for reading,
ATB.

 

[blanston12]

July 12, 1924: They had hoped to get off early the next day but the Turks had requested that members of there air force be allowed to inspect there aircraft, given how reluctant the Turkish government had been to allow them to land Smith agreed and they spent much of the day sightseeing and visiting the Ambassador and pilots of the Turkish air force. They were up before dawn the next day and were off by 7:45am for Bucharest Romania and the start of the fifth division of there trip. They flew over battlefields of the great war where the trenches, ruined towns and destroyed bridges were still visible. They landed at the Franco-Romanian aerodrome around noon, strangely there was no official party to greet them. That evening they were given an impromptu dinner from members of the foreign colony, while there chief of the Romanian Air Service rushed in and apologized on behalf of the government for not welcoming then they arrived.


September 16, 2017: For the next leg I will be flying the Douglas A-1 Skyraider. Designed as a carrier based dive/torpedo bomber during World War 2, it did not enter service until late 1946. Able to carry more payload than a B-17, the A-1 was considered on of the best attack and close air support aircraft ever built. Over 3180 were built before production ended in 1957 and it was used in both the Korean and Vietnam War. The last was retired in 1985. The model I am using today was produced by Tim “Piglet” Conrad (Tim we miss you) and is excellent. My flight to Bucharest was uneventful, weather was good, 12 knot winds with a few clouds at 3000 feet and a temperature of 26C. I did a little sightseeing over Istanbul before heading up Bosphorus strait and along the coast of the Black sea, crossing over Bulgaria and into Romania and landed at Băneasa International Airport, the former Franco-Romanian aerodrome, the oldest continuously operating airport in Eastern Europe. The 243 nm flight had take 1 hour.


Here are a few snapshots.

Ready to go.

Sightseeing over Istanbul.

Time to get going.

Along the Black sea.

 

[blanston12]

Speaking of Piglet...

Over Bulgaria.

Glamour Shots.

Over the Danube River.

And landed.

Thanks for reading
ATB.

 

[Portia911]

Bravo, Joe. Still loving this thread - and your great choice of 'steeds' to carry you around the world.