Team United - Golden Age - Boeing 247D

Well, Charles hasn't posted about going to LGAT yet...

And since I got back from working on a Sunday, I have an extra hour to work with thanks to Daylight Savings Time....

You thinking what I'm thinking?:wiggle:

If it involves taking a 247D from LIBR to LGAT, you're on the right track!
 
Leg #6 off to Baghdad

Ready to depart LGAT Athens for ORBS Baghdad.
Racing for Team United in the Boeing 247D "City of Oakland".
Is there an “Iron Butt” Award for seven hour long
Flights?
 
Leg #6 Baghdad. Landed!!

Landed safely at ORBS Baghdad!!

Took off 0630 local time (Athens).. Red must have slept-in 'cause he and all those almost-toga wearing female "mechanics" he had working? on his plane never showed up to see me off..
Flight was basically unevenful (aka LONG!) except for some 7000' tall mountains where the map said they were 5000' instead (and I'm cruising at 5000' in thick clouds.
At one point, I was at 8500' and decided to get under the thick clouds.. Was down around 3000-3500 "hunting" for clean air.. Instruments said I had a 30Kt tail-wind but I was being slapped around more than a drunk sailor at a church social. Finally went back to 8500'.
The "last NDB's in the known world" were in Cypress, I think (Banias & Latakia).. From there is was compass heading only to Baghdad. Salt-Air fitted my plane with a Wind-Drift/Compass/Heading Bug/Beer Dispenser gizmo that I can only say is worth it's weight in gold.. The "first" NDB to pick-up in Iraq is ten miles north of Runway 15R and has a whopping range of 22nm.. I got a 22nm wide "bullseye" to hit from 400nm out... And I did!! I had the timer going and had roughly computed how long it "should" be to pick-up the NDB.. I was sweating it until that RMI needle swung from it's 3 o'clock position to "Twelve O'Clock High!". I had already dropped altitude from the 8500' down to 4000', but I had to dump another 2500' in a hurry without incurring the wrath of the "Overspeed Cops"..
I landed long (and a little fast), let it roll on out, bleeding speed before I even thought about tapping the brakes.. Damn sure didn't want to "nose over" after a six+ hour flight!!
Bottom Line: Green Duenna!!!
 
Nothing like 7000 foot hills to wake you up when motoring along at 5000 feet! Gotta get me one of those drift meter/beer dispensers...
 
Great Recovery!!

Well Ol' Buddy,

You got your payback for the first trip. Excellent stats for this trip,,,,the "Ol' Motorcycle Racer" came out for this leg.

Ya hung in there and smashed all of the previous Avg/GS's at 168.5. That's the fastest trip yet and the bonus is it was also the longest.

Very impressive Charles,,,,, Well Done!.....:ernae:

Go Team!!
 
EdGeneer said:
Good Job Charles!!!

Thats alotta flying... :)
Click to expand...

Ed G;
It's all your "fault"!!:jump: After we did the "Falls to Falls Maple Run", you "got me hooked" on Radio Range navigation (NDB's are sorta like RR but without the fancy tower arrays and the left/right tones).
When the MacRobetson was announced, I was going to run solo and had planned to do the distance in eight "legs".. that is, until I did a couple of practice legs.. My Dad was an Army Air Corps/Air Force pilot during WWII & Korea:kilroy:, he ferried B-29's to Guam.. I don't care what auto-pilot you have, those were loooong flights!! But he was in his mid-twenties.. and I'm not!
I'm glad I did this leg.. really glad it turned out so well (after my first flight/fiassco, I was really worried I'd end up over Saudi Arabia, out of gas and no place to land. I was sweating bullets, tho.. Still haven't got this figuring "speed/distance/time" thing "down", yet (Yes, Salt, I've been trying to study the E6B stuff.. I never was any good in "foreign languages" in school!:isadizzy:).. The up-side is, using a hand-made chart, I can figure a "rough time" to cover a certain distance.. my times are a bit longer, so I come in "under time".. I believe my computations, tho based on IAS tend to work on actual Ground Speed..
Thanks to all for the kind words about my flight.. To be honest, it was totally "Beginner's Luck":blind:.. Skill had nothing to do with it..
 
Did he say E6-B's?

Next time I see you on a long flight,,,,,and,,,,on TS, I'll get on and fly along with ya. You can take your feet down from the proped up position and we can do some E6-B navigatin'.

Radio Navigation has evolved over the years and will continue to do so, but the ol' E6-B has been around in pretty much the same configuration since it's onset and is still a mainstay in pilots flightbags as well as required for even the lowest level of any licensing.
 
Charles,
excellent flying there! :applause:
Hitting a radio beacon from 400 nm out is neat. Makes my hands sweaty just thinking about that.

Go, team, go!
 
salt_air said:
Next time I see you on a long flight,,,,,and,,,,on TS, I'll get on and fly along with ya. You can take your feet down from the proped up position and we can do some E6-B navigatin'.

Radio Navigation has evolved over the years and will continue to do so, but the ol' E6-B has been around in pretty much the same configuration since it's onset and is still a mainstay in pilots flightbags as well as required for even the lowest level of any licensing.
Click to expand...

Salt;
Yeah, I figured, on that long stretch from that last NDB to Baghdad, I'd have time to see if you were on TS.. I did a quick "run out to the mailbox" and back and a couple of other "must do" chores, and the next thing I know, my AFD Radio came alive & the RFI Needle swung to "12 o'clock" (actually, it swung to 2 o'clock, I had to "turn into" the NDB).. I had "just enough" time to lose some altitude and airspeed (although not enough.. was still at 100Kts when the wheels touched down)..
I really thought I would be "kicked back", feet-up, beer in hand:guinness: (you know, Red's "Flight Position"), but such was not the case..
I do wish I could find my Dad's E6B (I have not seen it in decades) and a smaller "Whiz-Wheel" he had.. Using them in these, or any, flights, would be "Way Cool"..
I was thinking ORBS-VIAG.. an estimated twelve hour, 2005nm flight:sleep:.. Then I woke-up, screaming!:pop4:
 
teson1 said:
Charles,
excellent flying there! :applause:
Hitting a radio beacon from 400 nm out is neat. Makes my hands sweaty just thinking about that.

Go, team, go!
Click to expand...

Thanks.. It gives me the shakes to think about it now.. Like I said, pure beginner's luck.. I shot an arrow thru a keyhole.. I don't think I'll be trying anything like that, again..
I'm looking at the next possible leg.. It has one area that has about 375nm of "dead air".. I'm thinking "zig-zagging" to different NDB's instead of trying a "straight shot".. Maybe going to Karachi (OPKC) instead..
I don't think I can capture that lightening bolt in a bottle a second time..
 
Leg #7 off to Allahabad

Ready to depart ORBS Baghdad for VIAL Allahabad.
Racing for Team United in the Boeing 247D.
Wake me up in ten-twelve hours :sleep:
 
Charles....I hope this reaches you in time, but you can't go straight from Baghdad to Allahabad!

From the Rules:

Additional stops required. [FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]Until reaching Darwin, pilots must make at least one landing at an intermediate airport between each pair of compulsory checkpoints. This interme-diate airport must be located at least 200 nm from the compulsory airports. The Darwin-Charleville (YPDN-YBCV) and Charleville-Melbourne (YBCV-YMEN) segments may be flown in one flight.[/FONT][/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]You need to stop at one of the following airports.[/FONT][/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]
[FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]Bushehr, Persia. [OIBB] [/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]Jask, Persia. [OIZJ] [/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]Gwadar, Sultanate of Oman (now Pakistan) [OPGD] [/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]Karachi, India (Britain) (now Pakistan). Jinnah Intl [OPKC] [/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]Jodhpur, India (Britain). [VIJO] [/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]Agra, India (Britain). [VIAG] [/FONT]

[/FONT]
Sorry if we didn't make this clear beforehand.
 
Leg #7 Aborted Flight to Allahabad

Abort Leg due to no control over my plane.. I'm holding a heading of 094, plane swings to 060.. I want to climb, it noses down.. Probably the settings got "lost" again..

Red;
Thanks for the info (had I not had to abort, I would not have seen your post).. I guess I misunderstood about the 200mile limit (now I remember reading about the intermediate stop.. forgot, I guess!).. I was simply going to fly from one "Compulsory Checkpoint" to another.. Best laid plans.. Maybe my plane was telling me something..
Back to the drawing board..
Do I need to post the Aborted Duenna?
 
Leg #7 off to Agra (VIAG)

Ready to try this flight again...
Departing ORBS Baghdad for VIAG Agra, India
Racing for Team United in the Boeing 247D.
 
Charles,

We can't tell from your post just what happened over Iraq. It sounds as though there were some sort of controller issue...or something else. Unless we hear otherwise, we'll put it down as a "computer glitch," note the event, and then ignore it for Race scoring.
 
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