Flying Circus / Transocean Air Lines / DC-4 / North America (West)

Time to get high. Off to La Paz and El Alto.

Takeoff Weight: 68,795
Payload: 17,300
 
And now into El Alto at La Paz.

Two thirds of the way in thick air...but the last bit is a real challenge for the DC-4. The drama of the Andes and Altiplano made for a bit of weaving in between the peaks and ridges. The R-2000's did some panting for oxygen at a few moments. But all was well in the end.

La Paz is rather spectacularly set below the plateau with just fantastic vistas.

Landing Weight: 63148.2
Fuel Burned: 5635.0
Flight Time: 02:57:17

Commercial Centers: 10
(KLGA, KDCA, KMIA, MKJP, TJIG, TNCC, MPMG, SEGU, SPLP, SLLP)
 
Leaving the Rare Air of La Paz for the long trek to Los Cerrillos...

TOW: 72,144 lbs
Payload: 17,300 lbs

Edit: Ehem... I reckon this is the wildcard leg... :redf:
 
Hats off to you....

All the cold beer you can drink waitin' on you at Santigo....:ernae:

Looks like a good guess on the fuel.

Hope the visiblity stays good for ya and you can maintain a fairly straight line of flight as this is close to the 1100 NM limit.

Fare well mate,,,,enjoy the trip,,,,should be some great scenery! :running:


Mike, you'll read this I'm sure.

Please take the honors on piloting the DC-4 to Buenos Aires.

I have had a ball, yet again, with this event. Hats off to you and the rest of the Committe.

Excellent work from a great team. Someone here from each of the major websites,,,,guess that would make us an "All-Stars". Transocean has done a very respectable job.

Thanks to Great Ozzie, Moses03, and to you Mike for lighting this candle in the first place.


Warm regards,
 
Thanks Salt,

Just passed the MJL NDB as I type... As far as scenery, well, am in and out of a broken layer at 12.000 and I can't really go to F11 (outside) view as each time I do for some reason my fps drop off a couple fps with each switch (from F10 to F11 back to F10). So this flight my head is buried in the cockpit. :p

Yes this is over the 1100nm limit the way I hoped to fly it... down the coast to the SNO NDB then TAL. I kind of hate a straight-in to Rwy 21 unless visibility stays better than 10. So that or direct CHE and a PT back to Rwy 3 :p

Thanks much! :ernae:
 
Good luck Rob. Quite a challenge, that long leg in the DC-4.

PS. Been scouting the Santiago-Buenos Aires leg. Here's an Aviation Chart of the Andes portion of the route. Aconcagua seems prominent.
 
Thanks Mike,

Crossed over the SER NDB at 15:35 our time (19:35 UTC). Had I seen that chart sooner, I would have left this leg to Buzz as he's quite proficient at those spiraling approaches. :p

Edit: if I crash now because I was teasing Buzz... I'll be so :angryfir:
 
Ok landed safely at Los Cerrillos (SCTI) :chile: :jump:

Landing Wt. 63,212.2 lbs
Fuel Used: 8,891.7 lbs
Flight Time: 05:42:18

Have at it Mike!!! :mixedsmi:
 
Regarding the obvious choice of an Ernest Gann theme, here's a bit of info on the aircraft used in the film. I think you'll appreciate the connection :icon_lol:


"The DC-4 (N4726V; ex-N66694, ex-LV-ABR) used to film the tarmac, passenger boarding (at "Gate 4"), takeoff, and daylight flying sequences was a former C-54A-10-DC (c/n 10315) built as a military transport in 1942 at Long Beach, California by Douglas Aircraft Company under U.S. Army Air Force contract (USAAF s/n 42-72210).


When the exterior and flying sequences were filmed in mid-November 1953, the airliner was being operated by Oakland, California-based non-scheduled carrier Transocean Airlines (1946–1962), the largest civil aviation operator of recycled C-54's in the 1950s. Novel and screenplay author Ernest K. Gann wrote the original book while he was flying C-54s for Transocean over the Hawaii-California routes. The airliner was named The Argentine Queen and had once been the personal aircraft of Juan Perón, the controversial three-time President of Argentina. It was later operated by Slick Airways before being acquired by Transocean in 1953. The film's fictional airline's name "TOPAC" was painted over the Transocean's red, white and yellow color scheme for filming."
 
Yes Rob, It's fascinating to discover the Argentine Queen's unusual story. The C-54A had various post-War experiences in Argentine service, including being fitted out in luxury as Juan Peron's Presidential aircraft. But by 1953 it was out of action. Our friends at Transocean found it in storage and purchased the core airframe. Disassembled to get the fuselage trucked through the narrow streets of B.A., it was shipped to Oakland's Hangar 28 where the technicians re-manufactured the aircraft to "good as new" status.

For a TALOA news story, see: http://www.taloa.org/aircraft_individuals.html
 
Heading over the historic Uspallata Pass, over the Pampas, on to B.A.

Takeoff Weight: 68,818
Payload: 17,300
 
Final arrival at Ezeiza. Great flight scraping through the snow-covered Uspallata Pass and then over the vast Pampas. The eastern bits are dotted with highly productive farms but toward the west one can still find the gaucho spirit alive. At the end of our trip we find one of the most sophisticated cities in the world.

An enjoyable spectacular trip for Gans his co-pilots: Moses03, salt_air, Great Ozzie and MM (Kevin, Austin, Rob and Mike).

Landing Weight: 62832.6
Fuel Burned: 5970.9
Flight Time: 03:05:28

Commercial Centers: 11
(KLGA, KDCA, KMIA, MKJP, TJIG, TNCC, MPMG, SEGU, SPLP, SLLP, SCTI)
Night Legs: 3
(KLGA, LDCA, LMIA)
 
Congrats on completing your run!!! I won’t make it there until tomorrow, so make sure you keep the party going for an extra day. :ernae:
 
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