Rob O. / Golden Age / DH.88 Comet

G

Great Ozzie

Charter Member
From Kiwi Aircraft Images:

"The creation of the Comet was a response by de Havilland to the prospect of a non-British aircraft winning the 1934 England - Australia air race. De Havilland proposed to build the racer for 5000 pounds and three were ordered off the drawing board in February 1934. The aircraft introduced new technology to de Havilland aircraft including retractable undercarriage, split flaps, and variable pitch propellers. It is credited as providing vital experience to later war work. The first Comet was flown on September 8, and all three started the race at Mildenhall on October 20."

"G-ACSR (c/n 1995) Built for Bernard Rubins. First flown October 12, 1934, the CoA was issued the same day. G-ACSR came in 4th in the England - Australia race, but went on to set an England - Australia return record. After the 1934 air race the aircraft was named "Reine Astrid". Sold to the French government and reregistered as F-ANPY, the aircraft (set) a Croyden - Le Bourget record of 52 minutes for mail delivery, on July 5, 1935. The aircraft was then used for mail proving flights. After the occupation of France by the German Army, the aircraft was destroyed in a hangar fire at Istres in 1940."

And from Wikipedia:

"The DH.88 might have been the last of the high performance wooden aircraft but for a shortage of metal for aircraft construction during World War II. As it turned out, experience with the DH.88 would be put to use in designing one of the war's finest aircraft — the de Havilland Mosquito."
 
[race commentary]
even by Hollywood Starlet Standards, that's a Long leg.
10 hrs in one go, whoa nellie.
 
Thanks Sir Bry :ernae:

and yes bp... quite long but great fun the entire route (except the thunderboomer in Turkey :p ).



Taking the Baton from Aleppo to Baghdad (OSAP-ORBI)
 
Be sure and check out the Taj Mahal while at Agra! I'm just amazed at the length of the legs here. My comp throws a bucking fit at about the 3 1/2 hour mark.
 
wlxk3n.jpg
 
Willy said:
Be sure and check out the Taj Mahal while at Agra! I'm just amazed at the length of the legs here. My comp throws a bucking fit at about the 3 1/2 hour mark.
Click to expand...

Hmmm... speaking of which... I was just discussing with my co-pilot the idea of giving a rebel yell over Agra (instead of landing :icon_eek: ) and continuing straight on to Allahabad. Nothing but clear skies and tail winds (well for the most part).

But he says he's got a wife and kids (needs the money from the race) and a reputation to protect (pffff). So what else to do but land, have a few beers and see the sites?

(btw, I don't dare tell him the "Western Union" from the Organizers "softened me up"... I have an image to protect :p:)


epwatson said:
Seriously Rob, your gonna get to the end before i can get in the air.
Click to expand...

:p: :p: :p:

I have a CFI Renewal Course I must attend this weekend, EP (or I lose my ticket... FAA mandated every 2 years :frown: ) so you'll have "plenty" of time to finish before me.
 
Have successfully released the Baton at Agra (VIAG :india:)

Exceeded the 12.000' "soft-ceiling" to avoid mountainous terrain (17min @ 14,000)... a more detailed description to follow.
 
I'd like a Race Committee ruling (please) on the following:

I have been flight planning "Direct" then defining my route by NDBs e.g. this last flight:

ORBI -> BH -> DZF -> ESH -> YZD -> ZAL -> QT -> BW -> AG -> VIAG

For the route, ORBI direct VIAG, FSX Flt Planner gives a Cruising Altitude of 15.500MSL which I have assumed, for all intents and purposes, as an MEA.

In this case, one can naturally assume a climb above 12.000'MSL will be necessary.

As I said above (at approx. 1:20 into the flight) I climbed to 14.000'MSL to avoid mountainous terrain and was above 12.000'MSL for a period of approx. 17 minutes. Also there was a brief excursion to 12.500'MSL (approx. 7hrs 50 into the flight) for a just a few minutes to avoid one peak.

My understanding of the rules is/was this is an acceptable procedure, in fact, how the rules were designed. My logic came from the FARs for the (Part 91) requirement for supplemental oxygen. If intent is considered, there was no desire or intent to skirt either the letter or spirit of the rules. However, after discussing this with fellow flyers, and my re-reading the rules, particularly the phrase "—but not as a standard operating procedure” I can see how there may be a violation.

The Question:

Does this Flt Planning Procedure fall within the Rules / spirit of the Rules i.e. knowing beforehand a climb will more likely than not be required? Does "—but not as a standard operating procedure" refer to routinely exceeding the soft-ceiling of 12.000'MSL in practice or does it also include in flight planning expecting that climb will be necessary?

Thanks...
 
Your description and your Duenna log match. That was the intent of the soft ceiling rule.

Brief periods of higher than 12K altitude are allowed due to terrain avoidance. However, the 15K ceiling is a hard one. It cannot be exceeded. That makes the flight invalid.

I also had to exceed 12K on my flight over the Alps - and just as you did - noted the reason in my post.

The MS Flight Planner can get you in trouble. It sets the flight minimum altitude as 2,000 ft higher than the highest grid cell on the route.

FS does not has have as flexible a MSA as the real world because the girds are square. Some parts of a grid can be over the ocean, yet have a MSA of 8K because of a 5.9K peak 10 miles inland.

Also, as in my case - a detailed terrain mesh can raise the peaks by a couple thousand feet. So flying at the MS 'safe' altitude can still put a pilot into a granite cloud.
 
The only added point, implied in Reggie's informative explanation, is that a pilot may not legally climb above 15,000ft--even if he encounters higher obstacles. He will want to go around.
 
Yes sir... am clear on that... a pilot climbing, hits 15,001' MSL, that constitutes a rule violation.

There is no: "Sir, I had him in my sights. He saw me move in for the kill. He proceeded 'above' the 'hard-ceiling'. We were 'above' for just a few seconds. I had the shot. There was no danger, so I took it." :bump:

Thanks Mike
 
Last night, the Sim-Outhouse Forum was not accessible by either myself or Buzz (I couldn't access from roughly from 2300 UTC? to approx. 1000 UTC fwiw). We posted our "I have the baton/baton is released" in this AVSIM post (AVSIM RTWR Forum) to have a recorded time stamp.

This is for the hop: VIAG - VIAL

See also: Flight Tracker Link
 
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