salt_air taking the Puss Moth back home ... "Down Under"

Dil52 said:
Good luck, and you're in luck today! Don' forget to look up and behind you this morning. You'll be flying during, a somewhat rare occasion, when the sun and moon are both visible for a couple hours after sun rise.:)

Note that the phases of the moon are not exactly in sync, (with the real world) and rarely are; however the times it rises and sets is always accurate in all versions of MSFS.
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Thanks Fred! .... missed the post until after the flight, but it was later in the morning when I took off anyway.

BTW: Had no trouble at the Navy site getting info ... back same as usual ... all good.

http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/celnavtable.php
 
Baghdad Baby!!

Down safe at the First Compulsory Control Stop.



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Flight Time: 03:15:10
Routine Ground Time: 0:45:00
Special Ground Time: 0:00:00
Penalty Time: 0:00:00



Across a lot of nothingness with little to do or see .... glad to have all the toys to pass the time.

Not only a tailwind for the whole flight, but straight up the ol' whazoo .... little or no correction needed.

Stopped even looking at it after the second sextant shot and wound up very close to the river reference when I got to town .... actually a shorter final than was planned.

Textbook star shots .... just a bit off on the second one (5NM), but that was due to being late on the last shot.

Clear skies the whole trip .... luck? .... I'd say so!


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robert41 said:
Welcome to Baghdad Austin.
Iam relieved that I was not the only one having problems with the USNO site.
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Thanks bud!

Yes and I see on the next jaunt .... (Bushire - OIBB) ... I'll need to access the site again.

At least until the NDB at Khark Island.
 
Baghdad - Bushehr

Clear at the Checkpoint Station ... ready to go.



After some sleep, Jimmy headed out around 0200 for Karachi via Bushehr and Jask.

A tad dark for my taste in aerial touring, but I'll continue follow as close as I can to his 1934 flight.



Two low pressure systems ... one behind Baghdad and one ahead .

The usual nemesis' will always be wind and visibility ... compass, watch, and sextant close at hand, but planning to follow the river out and down a good bit east of Basrah and out of the delta there north and east of Kuwait .... then just wait for the Khark Island NDB to jiggle the gauge.

Back up would be the NDB's at Ahwaz and Aghajari .... way too close to terrain in the dark, nerve pills at the ready .... sunrise, if clear will come after any trouble has been negotiated ... welcomed I'm sure none the less.
 
Down safe at Bushehr ...

VFR at night .... yes sirree Bobba- Lou

Not the straightest line but easy enough to follow the map from one land mark to the other.

There is a highway that runs along the river I wanted to follow, but couldn't see.

The airports I thought I could use weren't lit ... :encouragement: ... need to rethink anymore nightime genius with better planning.

All green anyway and the tailwinds held up for the entire flight.



Flight Time: 03:37:31
Routine Ground Time: 0:45:00
Special Ground Time: 0:00:00
Penalty Time: 0:00:00



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Bushehr - Jask

Back in the air ... headed to Jask.

Coastline cruise .... daylight this time.
 
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Safe landing at Jask.

Watch cutting corners on these coastal routes .... at lower altitudes ... almost busted it up twice.

Lost the great tailwind I have been enjoying for a few minutes to a cross wind.

Marked difference in GS and fuel burn .... Note to self .... fill up at each fueling.


Flight Time: 03:49:37
Routine Ground Time: 0:45:00
Special Ground Time: 0:00:00
Penalty Time: 0:00:00




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Safe landing at Sharea Faisal (OPSF) ... Karachi.

Horrible visibility nearly the entire flight ... finally got a break as I was approaching the Cape Monze (NDB) Peninsula and the clouds broke up.

What? ... yep cleared as I approached land not vice versa .... was so stunned and happy to be able to look around I lost bearing a bit and drifted way South, but still insight of land.

It was a blast of wind on a direction shift that cleared the clouds, but a pretty stiff 20+ kts cross to quartering headwind meant an 18 - 19 degree crab ... glad it wasn't at night.


Flight Time: 04:25:07
Routine Ground Time: 0:45:00
Special Ground Time: 0:00:00
Penalty Time: 0:00:00



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Karachi - Jodhpur

Taking off again ... stopping at Jodhpur on the way to the second Checkpoint at Allahabad.
 
Safe and sound at Jodhpur.


Flight Time: 02:50:21
Routine Ground Time: 0:45:00
Special Ground Time: 0:00:00
Penalty Time: 0:00:00



A miserable flight in the fog all the way.

Came very (too) close to missing the airport altogether .... actually flew by but caught it off the port side of the plane.


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Would have had to stop for directions for sure ... No beacons and the apron blended in with the surrounding turf.


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Jodhpur - Allahabad

Off again .... to checkpoint Bravo at Allahabad.

Dusting off the sextant ... winding up the watch.
 
Allahabad .... Whoot - Whoot!

Down safe at the Second Compulsory Control Stop


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Flight Time: 03:58:39
Routine Ground Time: 0:45:00
Special Ground Time: 0:00:00
Penalty Time: 0:00:00



Same ol' boring low (3NM) vis blues for the first three quarters of the flight, then the sky opens up nicely.

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One sextant shot after the skies cleared up ... pretty much academic at that point, but comforting none the less.

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One enroute NDB (nice 75NM) at Gwalior about half way .... Dead Reckoning towards it and afterwards towards Allahabad ... star shots helped and so did the rivers along the way ... actually close to how they were rendered on the charts.

The two rivers running into town (east - west) worked like a funnel to direct me right into the airport.

Best part of the trip was when the skies cleared up.



A bottle or two of a local beverage and a sit down with the charts to plan .... then to bed.
 
Slight delay in departure .... seems the sim and the computer were having an argument or two.

Ready for take off.
 
Calcutta to Rangoon

Down to Rangoon (VYYY) for the night.

The trek across Indonesia to Australia is always were the "Fun" starts ... terrain where you least expect it.
 
Safe landing at Rangoon (VYYY)!


Flight Time: 05:07:14
Routine Ground Time: 0:45:00
Special Ground Time: 0:00:00
Penalty Time: 0:00:00




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Right, so trying to run a straight line again .... somewhat successful, but lawd what a workout.

Crab crazy crosswinds from Hades ... 15 to 20 degrees for the last half of the trip.

Constant wind checks (E6B and Driftmeter) for differential (crab angle) and if they are varying enough then sextant checks usually with some correction every thirty minutes.

Whew!

Haven't used the sextant in a while and wanted to drag it out and dust it off .... well it's clean now.

If I had to fly this again .... in daylight with the visibility the same ... I would have just flown VFR and used the three NDB's that run right along the coast before jumping across the mountains into Rangoon.

Only when essential like across longer stretches with no navigational signals in range (water, dessert, yadda, yadda) is the sextant really a benefit to what we are doing in this event.

So it will be ...


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Good weather and winds ... ready for a nap.
 
Roger on the sextant use. I have not used it much since last July. Came in handy for the trip straight to Darwin. Cut a couple of hundred NM's off the leg. Much of it over water, just enough land sightings and ndb's to help. Best use was over the long Timor Sea run. Big relief finding Darwin in the dark. Near perfect weather was a godsend.
 
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