Christmas (Holiday) Flight!!!

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Deacon211

SOH-CM-2022
Tis' the season!

There had at one time been the tradition on another sim forum to conduct a Christmas Eve flight to help Santa. I have decided to try to resurrect it there and thought that perhaps it might be fun to start the tradition here as well.
The flight was traditionally flown from the airport nearest you in the real world to the northernmost airport of your choosing and back, in real time, under real weather, on Christmas Eve.

However, in the interest of trying to be as inclusionary as possible and in the spirit of the season, let's keep the rules as simple and open as possible.

1. If you choose to only fly a portion of the distance, that's fine. Let's just say that you are part of Santa's distribution network.
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2. The plane type is of your choosing.

3. Real time would be fun, but should not prevent those who are busy from participating...no one will be put on the naughty list.

4. Real weather is part of the challenge, but again see number two if in doubt.

5. If you need to split up the flight over multiple days, do what you wish although you should ideally be back at home (or your intended present dropoff location) by Christmas morning...for obvious reasons.


and lastly,

6. Since not every simmer celebrates Christmas, feel free to contribute as you see fit. Fly gifts and food to Africa? Packages to the troops? Pilgrimage to Mecca? Visit to the Wailing Wall? Disaster relief?

As long as it's done in the spirit of good will, indulge yourself!

I will likely begin flying the weekend before Christmas, but you all can start whenever you like. I will post pictures in this thread and everyone else is welcome to as well or we can start a fresh thread for the occasion.

Have fun and Happy Holidays!

Deacon
 
Glad to hear that others are giving it a try and, if you couldn't do it up till now, don't let that stop you :)
OK, here we go! I checked the weather and NOTAMs for the flight. No problems in Louisville and no Sigmets or Airmets to worry about along the route. Luckily I didn't need to go farther east as the remnant of a particularly nasty weather system was still just off the coast.



The mount I chose was the lovely B-377 Stratocruiser. It didn't quite have the payload of my last year's choice, the 747-400.
Of course, the 747 freighter doesn't have a full lounge or Heidi...'nuff said!



Here we go!

 
Climbout over the Ohio River with downtown Louisville close aboard.



Not really having access to a normal set of planning tools, I was a little concerned at first about the 100kt headwind I was picking up on climbout. Luckily, the winds swung around to a little bit of a quartering tail and I thought I could make it all the way to Thule. There would be no alternate however and Thule was calling it less than a mile in haze. The things I do for Santa!
Eventually, I made it feet wet over the enormous Hudson Bay.



I had originally chosen Thule as my destination since my last year's flight to Resolute Bay was mostly spent flying hours over the generally featureless, Great White North. I thought the mountains of the Northwest Passage and Greenland would prove to be a more scenic photo op, especially as the sun went down.

Well, the best laid plans as they say. By 1430 local time, it was apparent that I had forgotten that it was winter in the arctic and my dusk photo op was going to come much sooner than I had anticipated...



Well, no problem. I'd make it a lovely night flight...
Hmmmm,



Basically, in all my FSX flying, I had never seen it so completely dark.
It was darker than a snake's tukas on a moonless prairie night.
 
Luckily, it was brighter (and warmer) in the cockpit as the crew and I considered landing amidst the hills of Thule without any approach plates and with an increasingly wonky acting map (I don't think that FSX liked the northern latitudes much).



But, with a little luck I broke out of the clouds and haze at the last minute to land at Thule. It was pretty creepy. Dark as flying around the carrier, misty with snow blowing across the runway. Pretty nicely captured by FSX and REX.



Continued....
 
A few hours later, I loaded my Stratocruiser up with gas (I didn't land with an abundance the previous night) and as many presents as I could fit. No passengers this time, just wall to wall fruitcake...the cockpit crew notwithstanding!



Thule was still dark and cold with a low overcast and my Seasonal Affective Disorder was already kicking in.
Get me outta' here!!!



Once again it was crazy dark for the first several hours, but the sun finally rose a little after 9 in the morning over the heart of Hudson Bay. Nothing like watching the sun come up at altitude.



 
The rest of the return flight was mostly uneventful. The winds were favorable until the last few hundred miles where there was a bit of screaming from Heidi as we got into a bit of severe turbulence passing over the Great Lakes.
Still, the gas was no problem this time with plenty of diverts available but unneeded as we crossed the Ohio for the second time...



...and over the numbers of runway 17L just in time for Christmas dinner.



Thanks for coming along. I'm looking forward to see what adventures others have had this holiday season and, if you haven't started yet, there's always still time!
Merry Christmas to all!
Deacon
 
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