Red's Adventures - NAL - DC-6B - North America

Not much to do in Zandery, so NAL is pressing on to Belem. This is another landmark flight, as we'll be south of the Equator at the end of it. Long flight ahead, so no more dilly-dallying.

TOW: 91,560 Pounds
Payload: 18,000 Pounds
 
This one seemed almost exactly like the last flight. Low visibility on takeoff, unrelenting 20 knot headwinds making us tear our hair out, and more low visibility on landing. Another NDB on the runway however, and it was one of my better landings. Got some nice views on the way down, but these blasted headwinds are killing our ground speed.

Admittedly though, considering what our competitors have run into (flying in the wrong direction, dumping loads of gas into the ocean, landing into a mountain in Haiti, etc.) I guess I can live with it. Kind of.

Landing Weight: 85,287 Pounds
Fuel Burn: 6,227 Pounds
Flight Time: 2:42:22

http://www.fsrtwrace.com/track/ShowFlight.php?detail=flight&value=EmYR6oOQ3nVYuw6lRQxTv6MaR70
 
We've got some long haul flights ahead of us, so we're happy to have a short one for today. We're heading down to Sao Luis for this morning's flight. Plan is to be in Rio before the end of the weekend.

TOW: 89,232 Pounds
Payload: 18,000 Pounds
 
Sure would have been nice for that weatherman to tell about about the dadgum thunderstorm at SBSL. More headwinds from beginning to end, and this time the visibility was bad enough that I lost track of where the airport was. Where I expected the airport to be, there was instead a nice big hill I was heading towards. And that hill was where the plane came to rest.

Apparently South America hates me. Can we quit flying here? Please?

'Landing' Weight: 86,122 Pounds
Fuel Burn: 3,054 Pounds
Flight Time: 1:21:49

http://www.fsrtwrace.com/track/ShowFlight.php?detail=flight&value=a3jai7sJvgjtg90epFYm0zOD6E
 
No problem. After being seated so long, the passengers will be delighted to have the opportunity for a brisk walk...1.3nm to the terminal.

A little duct tape and the DC-6 will be as good as new.:icon_lol:
 
Hasn't been a great time to be a part of this National crew. It was bad enough our DC-6B was now scrap metal on a hill in Brazil, but then we learned that many of the competitors had already arrived in Buenos Aires. And Pan-Am's Flying Whale was one of them.

Some of the crew wanted to give up on what's quickly turning into a lost cause, but NAL President George T. Baker sent down another DC-6B and insisted that too much money had already been invested in this cockamanie race, and that we might as well finish it.

So, with a fresh DC-6B (and hopefully the last one we'll need for this trip!) we'll now head to Recife.

TOW: 91,041 Pounds
Payload: 16,000 Pounds
 
Oh how happy we were to finally get out of Sao Luis. Fate still threw the same headwinds and low visibility at the destination airport we've come to expect ever since leaving Trinidad, but it was still great to finally be back in the air. We didn't lose the airport in the soup this time, and it was a very respectable landing. Gives us back the confidence we lost during the last flight. And we still plan to make Rio before the weekend's out.

Landing Weight: 84,540 Pounds
Fuel Burn: 6,442 Pounds
Flight Time: 2:54:21

http://www.fsrtwrace.com/track/ShowFlight.php?detail=flight&value=l1v8hmRtDhetBliOoB5J2eGXWXM
 
Good to see You back.....

Alright!,

Nice to get that confidence builder behind you. Now you can "bring it" on to Buenos Aires where I plan to have a secondary "Gala" event on my arrival that will be kept going untill you arrive.

I know what you're thinking,,,,,"those knuckleheads will have picked over everything by the time I arrive". Nope, guess again! Replenished each day with new supplies ,,,,and plenty to go 'round as well.

Been turning in expenses for steaks and wine while actually existing on potted meat and rol-aids,,,,,,yeah boy, I've got tons-o-money to spend.

Good to see You back in the air,,,,BTW: there's a gal here from Ipanema Beach (hubba hubba...) says she's looking for you?? :kilroy:
 
NAL is planning on making its Wildcard flight today to SBRJ, but weather reports aren't the best. Indications are that conditions are mostly cloudy around Rio, with thunderstorms to the west and north and fog to the west as well.

We may wait a bit to see if the weather clears out, but we probably won't get a better chance to make the run than today. And besides, as Austin mentioned, my Girl from Ipanema is waiting for me.....:jump:

[YOUTUBE]G9U6URQSF6U[/YOUTUBE]
 
Conditions around Rio de Janeiro remain less than ideal, but we're going anyway.

This is National Airlines' Wildcard Leg.

TOW: 92,002 Pounds
Payload: 14,000 Pounds
 
Long, long leg over both sea and land. Slight 8 knot headwind eventually became a 25 knot crosswind at 16,000 feet. I'd heard from others that Rio is one hell of an airport to get into. I'll say, we had a heckuva time trying to find it, and then we were too high on our first try to get on the ground. I could see all the eyes staring up at me watching my rather unorthodox approach. Glad I went light on the Payload, it made getting stopped on that small piece of real estate a little bit easier.

But what a reward, getting to spend a few days of vacation in Rio! Now which way to Ipamena Beach? :jump:

Landing Weight: 81,410 Pounds
Fuel Burn: 10,538 Pounds
Flight Time: 4:27:00

http://www.fsrtwrace.com/track/ShowFlight.php?detail=flight&value=hFCsmR38mbe5Lz4yjyDstgkmZk
 
Great find on the Girl from Impanema video. I really enjoyed watching it. Have a great time in Rio.:ernae:
 
We've had a fun week in Rio, but the bosses at NAL have told us its about time for us to "Move it on Over" and continue towards Buenos Aires.

Next stop is Sao Paulo. For safety reasons we are going very light on the takeoff weight to ensure we get off the short runway at Rio with a healthy amount of runway to spare.

TOW: 87,601 Pounds
Payload: 17,000 Pounds
 
We vastly underestimated the difficulty of getting out of Rio in one piece. We were taking every precaution, including using two extra notches of flaps and backing up several feet behind the runway before we made our takeoff run. And even then, we only managed to get off the ground by the slimmest of margins before our tires would've started to get wet.

Otherwise, the trip was fairly unremarkable. We fought headwinds (as usual) and had low visibility on approach to Sao Paulo (as usual), but the landing was accepetable. This completes all seven of our required commercial centers.

Landing Weight: 84,917 Pounds
Fuel Burn: 2,647 Pounds
Flight Time: 1:07:11

http://www.fsrtwrace.com/track/ShowFlight.php?detail=flight&value=XAUtYvtxaXfa7fjINmcF2XuYk
 
Welcome back

Well,,,,you and that gal have a nice time?

Welcome back!

Continued good luck my friend. Could have been better,,,,could have been worse,,,,still think you've done a fine job. So........

First Class accomodations ..."with all the trimmin's"...await you in Buenos Aires courtesy of Eastern Air Lines.

Won't be long now.

:ernae:
 
Oh yes, a lovely time was had by all in Rio. :wiggle: And when we get to Buenos Aires, we'll show you boys how National Airlines throws a party.

For now, we're going to keep on keepin' on, and leave Sao Paulo behind for Sao Joao.

TOW: 90,560 Pounds
Payload: 17,000 Pounds
 
This flight was bizarre. Downright bizarre. We got to altitude, and there was no headwind to be found. In fact, it was a cross wind with a very slight tailwind. We thought that was odd, but that was nothing compared to when we got to Sao Joao. No fog, no haze, nothing. Perfect visibility all the way to the deck. And I thought conditions were supposed to get worse, the further South we went??? Those were the best conditions we've come across since the Caribbean.

This completes all 11 of our necessary Commercial Centers (it actually gives us 12 altogether, but Sao Joao was a logical stopping point). From here, only one destination remains.

Required Centers
KLGA
KDCA
KMIA
TJIG
SBRF
SBRJ
SBSP

Additional Centers
MUHA
MKJP
TTPP
SBBE
SBPA

Landing Weight: 85,737 Pounds
Fuel Burn: 4,773 Pounds
Flight Time: 2:03:58

http://www.fsrtwrace.com/track/ShowFlight.php?detail=flight&value=p0Enb5VsOPa4yrjBaj4RYPAEvgQ
 
Hard to believe it, but our final leg of the race is about to begin. We've been waiting all week for agreeable weather, and it looks like today will be as good as any. We're looking forward to crossing the finish line in Argentina.

TOW: 90,712 Pounds
Payload: 18,000 Pounds
 
Don't worry about those Flying Whales Red! They are parked on the BA ramp leaking oil, surrounded by a boat-load of mechanics and a dozen accountants calculating how to buy a gasoline refinery. It may well turn out that the Strat is a major contributor to what will (in 60 years or so) be called "Global Warming".

Sadly, they never built a DC-6 with Griffons... and sorry, but the North Stars are all spoken for:kilroy:
 
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