Ratty's Run

ratty

ratty

SOH-CM-2016
Journal

October 26th

Took a test run down to Innsbruck today. Everything worked as advertised, and I went 520 miles in less than two-and-a-half hours, with a fule burn of only - well, let's not jot down notes that prying eyes may find.

I had hoped to leave yesterday with the first wave but, unfortunately, it looks as though pressures of business will delay my departure until the later part of the week. Probably Thursday or Friday. God knows what the weather will be like by then. Had some very favourable winds today, hauling along at a touch over 220 knots for a bit, but at this time of year who knows what's on its way. Weather: the great equaliser.

Came back flat out, on the deck at 250mph. The most fun I've had all week. And I only nearly hit that mountain.

I should wish "All the Best" to the other chaps (and ladies?) in the race. God speed to them, fair winds and all that. See you in Melbourne!

Innsbruck2.jpg







 
We're off . . . or not.

October 30th

So much for preparation.

I spent almost two hours this morning checking and rechecking everything for my grand adventure. Then, got off the ground at 0600 GMT, up to eleven thousand, settled on course ready to play with my maps and compass and driftmeter and enjoy the ride.

I was past Brussels, nice view, great clouds, clocking about 5 knots of tailwind and a few degrees of drift. Suddenly - well, it was if some unearthly but powerful voice spoke to me.

"Honey," it said, "I need you."

I bailed.

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First stop

Arrived LGTT 1230 GMT
Flight Time: 06:29:33
Routine Ground Time: 00:45:00
Special Ground Time: 00:00:00
Penalty Time: 00:00:00

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Journal

November 9th

And off we go. Left Mildenhall at 0600 GMT, up to eleven thousand, and on course for Australia!
With a few stops along the way.

I toyed with the idea of stretching it with one long hop to Baghdad, the first compulsory stop, but
only the strongest and most persistent tailwinds would make that a viable option. So, on to Athens,
doing what the Gull does best - cruising at a nice steady 200 knots or so. Makes the distance/time
estimates easier, and the world goes by at a satisfying pace.

A bit of excitement south of Brussels when the ASI stopped working and the engine went quiet. I
turned on the pitot heat quickly enough, but the carb heat took a long time to kick in, during
which I waggled the control in frustration and ended up not knowing whether the heat was on or off.
In the ensuing glide I tried a variety of combinations of throttle, mixture, and heat control
before I found the one that got me going back up. I left the carb heat on for another hour just to
be on the safe side. Cost me around 6mph.

Otherwise, a straightforward enough trip. Made Athens in time for lunch.
 
Journal


The refuelling stop went well. Forty-five minutes almost to the second! I was off the ground at 1315 and twenty minutes later I'm set up in cruise at 11,000 with time to jot some notes.


I am increasingly in awe of this little plane. It has some quirky pitch changes with power and flaps, and the ground handling can be challenging, but it's a great little kite for getting places fast. Climbing out at a good rate I can get to 11,000 in four minutes, and cruise at 200 knots with a still-air, no reserve range of 1,400nm . . .


Right now the phrase "bitten off more than you can chew" springs to mind. A few minutes ago I noticed a change in the quality of the light, looked around, and realised that back over my right shoulder the sun was setting. Not actually on the horizon, but definitely headed there post haste. I had been fondly anticipating an evening arrival in Baghdad, but it was clearly time to compute.


Let's see: 1315 GMT must be 2:15pm in Athens. And I think Baghdad is another 2 hours east, so that and a 5-hour flight make it 9:15pm local. Night. I'm sure there'll be lights at the field.


Ran through a bit of weather and had icing to deal with. Pitot and carb heat kept everything humming, but at one point the ASI was down almost 30mph! Went down to 7,000 and picked up speed. Climbed back to 11,000 over the next couple of hours. It will be nice to get to warmer climes; longer days, too!


At night over the Syrian desert I've discovered that the lights of the larger towns look just like the yellow blobs on my map. Pity there aren't any more for 200 miles, but I'm sure Baghdad will be visible. As long as it stays clear.


1830GMT
Well, clear enough, I suppose. I found the city with no trouble but a low haze made spotting the field a little tricky. Got down first try, didn't break anything, so I suppose that's success. Almost 205 knots average speed.









 
Arrived OPSF 0826 GMT


Flight Time: 06:26:17
Routine Ground Time: 00:45:00
Special Ground Time: 00:00:00
Penalty Time: 00:00:00

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Journal

Day 2


After an OK night's sleep I'm off before dawn on the way to Karachi. I had hoped to fly all the way to Jodhpur then make a low-level, high-speed dash to Allahabad, but the winds don't seem to work out. I may revise that after an hour in the air, but there's some sort of weather ahead with questionable winds. There could also be icing (again!) which will make the mountain passage interesting.


With time to think, I've taken another look at the question of how to calculate the distance from an NDB. Frankly, it's more complicated than I can be bothered with - except in one case. At the point at which the flight path is perpendicular to the bearing to the station, measuring the time it takes to change the bearing by one degree (or more) should give a pretty accurate figure for the distance from the station. For a one degree change, the distance is given by vt/60, where v is the ground speed, and t the time in seconds. Passing Yasouj, 200 (knots) times 10 (seconds) divided by 60, gives me 33.3 nautical miles. I was actually on track at the time, a little over 30 miles north of the beacon. Handy when passing abeam NDBs.


The flight through the mountains was mostly uneventful. Spent altogether too long swanning about in the haze over the city trying to find the field!





 
Arrived VIAL 1247 GMT


Flight Time: 03:31:37
Routine Ground Time: 00:45:00
Special Ground Time: 00:00:00
Penalty Time: 00:00:00

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Aaaaargh! I can't find my log file . . .
 
Day 2


Another 45-minute stop (!) and off from Karachi at 0915GMT for the dash to Allahabad.


1000
At 11,000, flat out, I covered the last hundred miles at about 224 knots! Be nice if that keeps up.


1055
Abeam Udaipur. Distance calculation puts me about 47 miles north, 2 miles north of track. Hardly surprising since the wind's been at my back the whole way. And what a wind; on the last leg we bowled along at 230 knots!


I know there's weather ahead, but so far it's pretty innocuous. Some high cloud, and cumulus up to 12,000 feet. Light chop.


1122
Abeam Kota. Ground speed 238. Knots. Wheeeeeeeeeeee!


1247
Down at Allahabad. Three hours thirty-two minutes, for an average speed of about 225 knots. Found the field straight away, too!
 
Arrived VYYY 0214GMT


Flight Time: 04:14:02
Routine Ground Time: 00:45:00
Special Ground Time: 00:00:00
Penalty Time: 00:00:00

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