srgalahad
Charter Member 2022
Well, it may be 2018 with hundreds of jets a day crossing the Atlantic, but it was a bit more of an adventure back in the 1950's. So when Moses03 suggested the holiday lull might be a good time for him to attempt a Trans-At flight in the Virtavia XB-46, I thought it would be a good idea to tag along in a B-47, take photos and, if needed, act as a 'mother hen' should a ditching be required (hey, one should think positively but prepare for the worst ).
Thus it was that we assembled the crews and the equipment (add-on wx programs, Duenna, TeamSpeak) at Loring Int'l (formerly Loring (SAC) AFB). Turns out the XB-46 wasn't particularly fuel-efficient so we flight-planned to St. Magwan (EGDG) as the nearest British military airfield. with Shannon, Ireland as an alternate. Only 2460 nm but even that would require favorable winds.
Departure was set for 1300 LCL - giving us a night arrival in the UK, but that can't be helped when the 'domestic' environment had to be maintained in a happy state. We were 'wheels up' at 1320 and set course for the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The nav guys had plotted a route that took us across the northern tip of Newfoundland and well south of Iceland, but far enough to the north that we made a mental note that Keflavik could be an alternate-of-last-resort. We found a quartering tailwind as forecast and things were going as planned as we passed St. Anthony, NL but we were well aware of the "Murphy Factor" and sure enough, about an hour later the winds started to drop... and drop. OK, so it's going to be close, but Keep Calm and Carry On!
We also got word that a chartered B747 had departed Gander to join up with us (it's interesting to fly two a/c on two computers simultaneously - in cruise).
See that little jog in the course south of Greenland? Right about there -3:20 into the flight - is when Kevin's FSX decided it would be fun to freeze up solid. First thing to go was his connection to Duenna so he lost his flight tracking. As we were in a loose formation (visual contact) I could confirm that the XB-46 had indeed paused in space-time and was frozen in the midst of a clump of contrail. The jog in the track is from my turns to orbit and stay in sight. We're hoping the warp in space-time would be mended and after about eleven minutes he declared that the world was back to normal so we pressed onward. Unfortunately the winds didn't want to pick up so about 45 minutes later we elected to divert to Shannon. Adjust course, start briefing for a new destination and watch as the winds gradually swing to the southwest and increase - but not enough to tempt us to think about St. Magwan.
The 747 finally joined up and as a loose gaggle we continued without incident into Shannon. Well, Kevin did sound a bit nervous every time he checked his fuel...
Six hours, 55 minutes flight time, a little over 7:25 spent chatting and enjoying each other's company.
All in all, a pretty nice day!
http://fs-duenna.com/flights/ShowFlight.php?flight=qIN4jU5NhtYP5uPuAAKfrnSI
Thus it was that we assembled the crews and the equipment (add-on wx programs, Duenna, TeamSpeak) at Loring Int'l (formerly Loring (SAC) AFB). Turns out the XB-46 wasn't particularly fuel-efficient so we flight-planned to St. Magwan (EGDG) as the nearest British military airfield. with Shannon, Ireland as an alternate. Only 2460 nm but even that would require favorable winds.
Departure was set for 1300 LCL - giving us a night arrival in the UK, but that can't be helped when the 'domestic' environment had to be maintained in a happy state. We were 'wheels up' at 1320 and set course for the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The nav guys had plotted a route that took us across the northern tip of Newfoundland and well south of Iceland, but far enough to the north that we made a mental note that Keflavik could be an alternate-of-last-resort. We found a quartering tailwind as forecast and things were going as planned as we passed St. Anthony, NL but we were well aware of the "Murphy Factor" and sure enough, about an hour later the winds started to drop... and drop. OK, so it's going to be close, but Keep Calm and Carry On!
We also got word that a chartered B747 had departed Gander to join up with us (it's interesting to fly two a/c on two computers simultaneously - in cruise).
See that little jog in the course south of Greenland? Right about there -3:20 into the flight - is when Kevin's FSX decided it would be fun to freeze up solid. First thing to go was his connection to Duenna so he lost his flight tracking. As we were in a loose formation (visual contact) I could confirm that the XB-46 had indeed paused in space-time and was frozen in the midst of a clump of contrail. The jog in the track is from my turns to orbit and stay in sight. We're hoping the warp in space-time would be mended and after about eleven minutes he declared that the world was back to normal so we pressed onward. Unfortunately the winds didn't want to pick up so about 45 minutes later we elected to divert to Shannon. Adjust course, start briefing for a new destination and watch as the winds gradually swing to the southwest and increase - but not enough to tempt us to think about St. Magwan.
The 747 finally joined up and as a loose gaggle we continued without incident into Shannon. Well, Kevin did sound a bit nervous every time he checked his fuel...
Six hours, 55 minutes flight time, a little over 7:25 spent chatting and enjoying each other's company.
All in all, a pretty nice day!
http://fs-duenna.com/flights/ShowFlight.php?flight=qIN4jU5NhtYP5uPuAAKfrnSI
Hey there!!! Great to see part of flight 19 flying again. Please let me know when you are taking off again. Thanks
