What do you mean before? Oh well ... looks like you made it anyway PP ... and glad you're still with us!
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The Staff of SOH
**The OFFICIAL All Sims Air Tour Thread**
- Thread starter ViperPilot2
- Start date
What do you mean before? Oh well ... looks like you made it anyway PP ... and glad you're still with us!
Melo965
Members +
My wife Lenia and I have been to the Spruce Goose restaurant at Jefferson County airport for breakfast or lunch numerous times since we moved here in August 2019. I never knew how close we were to G-AFTL until after she moved back to the UK. Tailspin Tommy's hangar is easily spotted from the restuarant. How I wish I knew that G-AFTL was there before she left to go back overseas.
Recent history of G-AFTL in Washington state:
DEC 2003: Purchased by Sally Runyan as a present for her husband Ben Runyan, a retired Delta Airlines pilot who delivered it from Georgia to their private airstrip, Green Mountain Airport in Clark County WA. The aircraft was known to the Runyan family as "Sidney" in honour of Sidney Cotton.
MAY 2004: "Sale Reported", Vancouver, WA, sold to Ben Runyan.
AUG 2015: Sold by Sally Runyan to a private collector in France.
APR 2016: Due to be delivered by air to the new owner in France.
MAY 2019: The aircraft was reported to be "in pieces in Tailspin Tommy’s hangar at the Jefferson County Airport in Port Hadlock, Washington. ... Cotton’s plane came to Tailspin Tommy’s for what is called annual maintenance after it was purchased by three French antique collectors."
MAR 2022: Arrived at Ultimate Warbird Flights, Sywell Aerodrome, Northampton, UK for restoration on behalf of a new unannounced owner.
MAR 2022: The aircraft returned to the UK Register under its original registration G-AFTL registered to Fighter Aviation Engineering, Dunmow, UK.
Melo965
Members +
Air Tour flight 1: Oshkosh (KOSH) to Willow Run (KYIP)
For this event I am flying in MSFS 2020. Using Active Sky FS for weather and Little Navmap for navigation.
Flying the Percival Mew Gull of Alex Henshaw fame. Only my second flight in the Mew Gull, so I decided to do a test flight before the official Air Tour.
Ready to fly at Oshkosh with full tanks. Fuel will definitely not be an issue after Alex Henshaw's record setting flight in this aircraft.
Lined up for takeoff on runway 27. Here at Oshkosh it was pretty quiet, unlike how it was earlier in the summer. This past year at Oshkosh a new attendance record of approximately 704,000 was set. And there were 2,543 total show planes, including 995 vintage aircraft, 910 homebuilt aircraft, 361 warbirds, 101 ultralights and light planes, 75 aerobatic aircraft, 74 seaplanes and amphibians, 18 rotorcraft and 9 balloons.
Climbing out from KOSH. This paint scheme is good camoflage in these weather conditions.
Flying south along Lake Michigan. I decided to fly past Meigs field to see what condition it is in in this version of the simulator. I know it is recreated in my FSX version, but could not remember if it was loaded here.
Meigs field in sight. I will probably add a stop here during the Air Tour.
Headed east over Lake Michigan. The best spot of weather on the whole flight.
More nasty weather ahead. Staying low enough to not loose sight of the ground. I am glad to have a closed cockpit, unlike some others who are very brave on this wintertime Air Tour.
Lined up for Runway 23 at Willow Run with gear down (non-retractable) and full flaps.
The same location from inside the cockpit. This bird has a worse forward view even than my favorite Spitfire. My respect went up for Alex Henshaw on his record setting flight in this aircraft!
Parked at Willow Run and ready for the first official flight of the Air Tour. Not a lot of gauges on the panel, but enough for the job at hand. The Percival Mew Gull flew really well. I even pushed the throttle close to red line a few times to really give the engine a workout, and it was very reliable throughout.
Visibility on final approach will be somewhat challenging, and the rudder is a bit twitchy on the ground, but I am very happy with this aircraft.
After landing, there was still 73% fuel on board so no worries. I flew 648 nautical miles in 2 hours and 24 minutes. I did use the active pause in MSFS 2020 for 1 hour and 15 minutes to help my wife with dinner so that screws up the flight calculations. But my estimated speed was 177 MPH for the flight.
Next stop Kalamazoo (KBTL) with a touch and go at least at Meigs Field (KCGX) further down the line.
For this event I am flying in MSFS 2020. Using Active Sky FS for weather and Little Navmap for navigation.
Flying the Percival Mew Gull of Alex Henshaw fame. Only my second flight in the Mew Gull, so I decided to do a test flight before the official Air Tour.
Ready to fly at Oshkosh with full tanks. Fuel will definitely not be an issue after Alex Henshaw's record setting flight in this aircraft.
Lined up for takeoff on runway 27. Here at Oshkosh it was pretty quiet, unlike how it was earlier in the summer. This past year at Oshkosh a new attendance record of approximately 704,000 was set. And there were 2,543 total show planes, including 995 vintage aircraft, 910 homebuilt aircraft, 361 warbirds, 101 ultralights and light planes, 75 aerobatic aircraft, 74 seaplanes and amphibians, 18 rotorcraft and 9 balloons.
Climbing out from KOSH. This paint scheme is good camoflage in these weather conditions.
Flying south along Lake Michigan. I decided to fly past Meigs field to see what condition it is in in this version of the simulator. I know it is recreated in my FSX version, but could not remember if it was loaded here.
Meigs field in sight. I will probably add a stop here during the Air Tour.
Headed east over Lake Michigan. The best spot of weather on the whole flight.
More nasty weather ahead. Staying low enough to not loose sight of the ground. I am glad to have a closed cockpit, unlike some others who are very brave on this wintertime Air Tour.
Lined up for Runway 23 at Willow Run with gear down (non-retractable) and full flaps.
The same location from inside the cockpit. This bird has a worse forward view even than my favorite Spitfire. My respect went up for Alex Henshaw on his record setting flight in this aircraft!
Parked at Willow Run and ready for the first official flight of the Air Tour. Not a lot of gauges on the panel, but enough for the job at hand. The Percival Mew Gull flew really well. I even pushed the throttle close to red line a few times to really give the engine a workout, and it was very reliable throughout.
Visibility on final approach will be somewhat challenging, and the rudder is a bit twitchy on the ground, but I am very happy with this aircraft.
After landing, there was still 73% fuel on board so no worries. I flew 648 nautical miles in 2 hours and 24 minutes. I did use the active pause in MSFS 2020 for 1 hour and 15 minutes to help my wife with dinner so that screws up the flight calculations. But my estimated speed was 177 MPH for the flight.
Next stop Kalamazoo (KBTL) with a touch and go at least at Meigs Field (KCGX) further down the line.
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Just a quick 58 nm leg from Kellogg to South Bend.
"Drove" my Waterman out of the hangar, and I'm in the air a few minutes after sunrise.
Passing Long lake, on course.
Perfect day for IFR (I fly roads), following Route 60. Below is Barron Lake, with Tyler Memorial Airport a couple miles out the window.
Lined up on 27R at South Bend. Brief but enjoyable little hop.
Well, they parked me on the NW ramp with the other old guys. At least I'm with friends.
Now time for a good breakfast... eggs, bacon, grits, and COFFEE.
"Drove" my Waterman out of the hangar, and I'm in the air a few minutes after sunrise.
Passing Long lake, on course.
Perfect day for IFR (I fly roads), following Route 60. Below is Barron Lake, with Tyler Memorial Airport a couple miles out the window.
Lined up on 27R at South Bend. Brief but enjoyable little hop.
Well, they parked me on the NW ramp with the other old guys. At least I'm with friends.
Now time for a good breakfast... eggs, bacon, grits, and COFFEE.
bosspecops
Members +
I got into Willow Run at last, after the wind chopping and changing direction at Meigs, causing me to re-write my flight plan more than a few times. Eventually it steadied at around 160 deg. so just for a change I got take-off to the south, the first time I think I've ever done that at Meigs.
The Audax has such a low wing loading that it positively LEAPS off the runway and I turned off to the east across the Lake. That view astern looks SO familiar of course.
After that the scenery was a little boring for a while, not exactly a mid-ocean view, but close.
But before very long Upper Michigan hove into view. For this short leg I was running at almost full throttle the whole way, radiator full down too, to see what the worst possible fuel burn would be, so my cruise speed was just over 140 kts, which felt VERY quick indeed in that cold air!
Upper Michigan was very flat, for some reason I thought it would be hillier, and I've been there a couple of times, but a LONG time ago now. The largest city of any importance was Lansing and I flew just south of there prior to turning for the approach to Willow Run.
Virtually the only major turn on my whole flight plan was this jog south o'head New Hudson Airport Y47, one of those 'airports' in the US which consist only of a runway and lots of small hangars full of Cessnas and Pipers, something that's very rare in my part of the world.
They did have a controller there who was as astonished as his colleagues elsewhere to see my Audax right above him, and he later sent me this lovely shot from directly below me as I turned!
Before long I could see Willow Run over to port, and it sure is a BIG place! Runways everywhere, so I should find at least one to land on!
Lining up the Audax was a matter of moments with such a plethora of tarmac to chose from, and picked O5R as it had a working ILS. Not that I had a working instrument to read its signals, but it gave me some sort of confidence that the tarmac would be in good shape!
My landing could have been better as the Audax's wing loading is SO low that I always bounce or get hung up in ground effect and she just WON'T land, but with all that runway, 6650 ft, to play with I did eventually get her down. At which point FSX refused to play any more and froze solid!
I seemed to have some scenery interaction going on as when I tried to turn onto the taxiway another, totally different version of Willow Run appeared! After a re-start I had to resort to Slew Mode to get K2006 somewhere where I could taxi properly and finally made it to the ramp by the BIG hangar, and it sure was big! Apparently that's where FoMoCo built a zillion B-24sa in WWII, and it certainly looks large enough.
So that's that, this time it took me 1.5 hrs to fly the 223 nms and I averaged 148 kts! I must have had a bit of a tailwind too I reckon, but the fuel burn was an appalling 61.3 galls/hr, almost TWICE what it was at a sensible cruise speed, but at least I have the fuel burn data that I needed to plan my proper Air Tour legs.
All I need to do now is head back the way I came and chase you lot round the whole of the USA!
The Audax has such a low wing loading that it positively LEAPS off the runway and I turned off to the east across the Lake. That view astern looks SO familiar of course.
After that the scenery was a little boring for a while, not exactly a mid-ocean view, but close.
But before very long Upper Michigan hove into view. For this short leg I was running at almost full throttle the whole way, radiator full down too, to see what the worst possible fuel burn would be, so my cruise speed was just over 140 kts, which felt VERY quick indeed in that cold air!
Upper Michigan was very flat, for some reason I thought it would be hillier, and I've been there a couple of times, but a LONG time ago now. The largest city of any importance was Lansing and I flew just south of there prior to turning for the approach to Willow Run.
Virtually the only major turn on my whole flight plan was this jog south o'head New Hudson Airport Y47, one of those 'airports' in the US which consist only of a runway and lots of small hangars full of Cessnas and Pipers, something that's very rare in my part of the world.
They did have a controller there who was as astonished as his colleagues elsewhere to see my Audax right above him, and he later sent me this lovely shot from directly below me as I turned!
Before long I could see Willow Run over to port, and it sure is a BIG place! Runways everywhere, so I should find at least one to land on!
Lining up the Audax was a matter of moments with such a plethora of tarmac to chose from, and picked O5R as it had a working ILS. Not that I had a working instrument to read its signals, but it gave me some sort of confidence that the tarmac would be in good shape!
My landing could have been better as the Audax's wing loading is SO low that I always bounce or get hung up in ground effect and she just WON'T land, but with all that runway, 6650 ft, to play with I did eventually get her down. At which point FSX refused to play any more and froze solid!
I seemed to have some scenery interaction going on as when I tried to turn onto the taxiway another, totally different version of Willow Run appeared! After a re-start I had to resort to Slew Mode to get K2006 somewhere where I could taxi properly and finally made it to the ramp by the BIG hangar, and it sure was big! Apparently that's where FoMoCo built a zillion B-24sa in WWII, and it certainly looks large enough.
So that's that, this time it took me 1.5 hrs to fly the 223 nms and I averaged 148 kts! I must have had a bit of a tailwind too I reckon, but the fuel burn was an appalling 61.3 galls/hr, almost TWICE what it was at a sensible cruise speed, but at least I have the fuel burn data that I needed to plan my proper Air Tour legs.
All I need to do now is head back the way I came and chase you lot round the whole of the USA!
bosspecops
Members +
I've never heard of the Waterman before, but I LOVE it!
I've just downloaded it and I'll give it a try later today. Thanks so much for bringing it to my attention.
As I've stated before, this is what keeps so many of us in FS9 or FSX, the depth of available aircraft, especially historical and/or vintage.
Glad you liked the Waterman. And you pulled out the Audex!! Well done.
I'll be flying a different aircraft for each leg, so more fun to come!
For those, like me, who never heard of the Hawker Audex...
bosspecops
Members +
I've known about the Audax ever since I knew about aeroplanes.
Dad would go on and ON about how good they were all the time, and he liked K2006 the best.
Dad would go on and ON about how good they were all the time, and he liked K2006 the best.
Another couple of legs were knocked off again last night. The view down runway 21 might be a bit off-putting for kerosene burning 'self-loading freight' jockeys who probably pray that they get enough lift to clear the cranes but it was no problem for our vintage birds.
In fact we turned it into a game of 'chicken' to see if we could fly the 'gap' (we could....and did!)
Along the way we found this meandering beast of a river. Could you imagine paddling a canoe along that river for a full 8-10 hour day and then discovering you were only 4-5 miles from where you started in a straight line!
Oh, be still my beating heart, what is this I see before me! I am starting to see strange green and brown coloured ground beneath me instead of dirty white! Have we finally flown out of the 'snow-belt'?!
We got down safely at Wichita (KAAO) and then had to find out which taxi way led to the fuel pumps!
Tanks are full so off we go again.
On the way out we got to over-fly the Beechcraft factory and off in the far right corner of the shot you can just make out the VASI lights at the airport that is home to the Cessna factory!
For the rest of the flight Rob and I were busy discussing the meaning of life, the universe and everything on TeamSpeak instead of taking Kodaks! We did conclude that 'forty-two' is probably the best answer you can get and then it was time to land and find somewhere to park.
The old girl is looking good in the afternoon sun on the apron but there may be another aircraft change imminent as we have the longest leg of the event to do next.
In fact we turned it into a game of 'chicken' to see if we could fly the 'gap' (we could....and did!)
Along the way we found this meandering beast of a river. Could you imagine paddling a canoe along that river for a full 8-10 hour day and then discovering you were only 4-5 miles from where you started in a straight line!
Oh, be still my beating heart, what is this I see before me! I am starting to see strange green and brown coloured ground beneath me instead of dirty white! Have we finally flown out of the 'snow-belt'?!
We got down safely at Wichita (KAAO) and then had to find out which taxi way led to the fuel pumps!
Tanks are full so off we go again.
On the way out we got to over-fly the Beechcraft factory and off in the far right corner of the shot you can just make out the VASI lights at the airport that is home to the Cessna factory!
For the rest of the flight Rob and I were busy discussing the meaning of life, the universe and everything on TeamSpeak instead of taking Kodaks! We did conclude that 'forty-two' is probably the best answer you can get and then it was time to land and find somewhere to park.
The old girl is looking good in the afternoon sun on the apron but there may be another aircraft change imminent as we have the longest leg of the event to do next.
bosspecops
Members +
At last I started on the Rally proper, trailing well behind most of you, but someone has to be last.
Taking off from Willow Run was easy, finding a runway from which to do it was diabolical! Thanks to my scenery miss-match I couldn't even see the runway from the Spot View or the cockpit and had to use the somewhat unconventional system of keeping FSTramp open at large magnification and using it as a 'moving map'!
It worked OK, as you can see as here I am climbing out of Willow Run.
Turning onto track, almost due west, and climbing to my 5000 ft cruise altitude took me right across Ann Arbor, which looked to be a fairly substantial city, much larger than I thought.
Unlike my inbound transit flight to Willow Run I was using partial throttle, running the engine at 1900 rpm which gave me a cruise speed of around 120 kts. Good enough for Government work I thought. Before very long I was passing just south of Jackson, which I though was in Mississippi, but it seems there's one in Michigan too.............
Jackson seemed to have quite a nice looking regional airport and if I wasn't miles behind everyone else I may have dropped in there to sample the local coffee and donuts, but as it was I just trundled on past.
On this very short leg it was no time at all before I'd got within sight of Battle Creek, but almost immediately I ran into heavy cloud.
Luckily it didn't last for long and soon I was turning southwest to enter the STAR for KBTL's 05 runway, which I could see over to my right.
The STAR for 05 was quite a complex series of turns but I followed them through OK and soon started on my descent. For the last few minutes K2006 had been tossed around quite a bit by wind gusts and something must have come loose in the engine as suddenly it cut dead!
I checked my fuel and it was fine and went through the re-start procedure which went OK, but resulted in clouds of smoke coming out of the starboard side of the cowling! More than a little disturbing, but I figured I could just about glide in from my current altitude and position.
Again the engine cut dead, and I tried the re-start a second time and it caught OK but not for long! I went through this procedure a few times, and eventually gave up and trimmed for glide to put her down on the long runway at KBTL deadstick.
Yet again FSX threw a wobbly and CTD me once more, so I had no fuel burn figures at all, but I did capture the touch down time so I was able to calculate my average speed as 122 kts for this 106 nm leg.
I rather doubt I'll be able to find anyone who knows their way round a Rolls Royce Kestrel III engine here, or even ANYwhere in the US, so I could be in a bit of a problem, so my next leg may have to be flown with another type.
(The engine cut and the smoke really did happen, and I have no idea why. Who knows?)
Taking off from Willow Run was easy, finding a runway from which to do it was diabolical! Thanks to my scenery miss-match I couldn't even see the runway from the Spot View or the cockpit and had to use the somewhat unconventional system of keeping FSTramp open at large magnification and using it as a 'moving map'!
It worked OK, as you can see as here I am climbing out of Willow Run.
Turning onto track, almost due west, and climbing to my 5000 ft cruise altitude took me right across Ann Arbor, which looked to be a fairly substantial city, much larger than I thought.
Unlike my inbound transit flight to Willow Run I was using partial throttle, running the engine at 1900 rpm which gave me a cruise speed of around 120 kts. Good enough for Government work I thought.
Before very long I was passing just south of Jackson, which I though was in Mississippi, but it seems there's one in Michigan too............. Jackson seemed to have quite a nice looking regional airport and if I wasn't miles behind everyone else I may have dropped in there to sample the local coffee and donuts, but as it was I just trundled on past.
On this very short leg it was no time at all before I'd got within sight of Battle Creek, but almost immediately I ran into heavy cloud.
Luckily it didn't last for long and soon I was turning southwest to enter the STAR for KBTL's 05 runway, which I could see over to my right.
The STAR for 05 was quite a complex series of turns but I followed them through OK and soon started on my descent. For the last few minutes K2006 had been tossed around quite a bit by wind gusts and something must have come loose in the engine as suddenly it cut dead!
I checked my fuel and it was fine and went through the re-start procedure which went OK, but resulted in clouds of smoke coming out of the starboard side of the cowling! More than a little disturbing, but I figured I could just about glide in from my current altitude and position.
Again the engine cut dead, and I tried the re-start a second time and it caught OK but not for long! I went through this procedure a few times, and eventually gave up and trimmed for glide to put her down on the long runway at KBTL deadstick.
Yet again FSX threw a wobbly and CTD me once more, so I had no fuel burn figures at all, but I did capture the touch down time so I was able to calculate my average speed as 122 kts for this 106 nm leg.
I rather doubt I'll be able to find anyone who knows their way round a Rolls Royce Kestrel III engine here, or even ANYwhere in the US, so I could be in a bit of a problem, so my next leg may have to be flown with another type.
(The engine cut and the smoke really did happen, and I have no idea why. Who knows?)
Carb/engine icing maybe? I had one engine burst into smoke and flames on my first trial flight in the Electra 12A and I don't have engine damage turned on!
srgalahad
Charter Member 2022
So, we're at Tulsa and T_K is whinging about long legs and slow airplanes. After some discussion and much coffee we decided we'd grab acouple of Travelaire 400 Mystery Ships. But dang, 216 miles of hand-flying???? Then I saw a truck with signs purporting to be "Honest Sam's Radios and Electronics" A bit of chitchat and sure enough he's got a working antique autopilot with a steampunk face. A few bucks change hands and between the tech ( calls himself Achmed) and I we get it wired in, hooked up to some cables and call it good.
Got airborne and, nope, doesn't work. So I trimmed and then got out a small hammer I keep in my flight bag... 40 whacks and... Eureka!! it lights up, grabs a heading, holds altitude and, well, we'll see.
Now, do we have enough fuel for 216 nm at high power??????
Got airborne and, nope, doesn't work. So I trimmed and then got out a small hammer I keep in my flight bag... 40 whacks and... Eureka!! it lights up, grabs a heading, holds altitude and, well, we'll see.
Now, do we have enough fuel for 216 nm at high power??????
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K5083
SOH-CM-2024
For the Chicago to Milwaukee leg, I decided to class things up for the big city with the Staggerwing and switch to MSFS to enjoy the scenery. I got an early start to watch the lights of Chicago as dawn broke.
The Staggerwing implementation in MSFS is pretty to look at, but I don't much like the way it flies. On takeoff it has that signature MSFS oversensitivity to crosswind and ridiculous ground traction. On landing, it seems to spring back into the air no matter how gently I set it down. With practice you can do a good landing, but the technique is not the same as landing a real plane, so it makes it feel like mastering an arbitrary video game rather than a flight simulator. Anyway, it isn't too bad while en route.
For the leg from Milwaukee to Wausau, I felt like sticking with the Staggerwing but switching to the Alabeo product for P3D5, which flies so much better. Not a bad looker either, within the parameters of the sim. I enjoyed this leg so much that I took off again and did a few gratuitous circuits and bumps at Wausau, despite the snow.
The Staggerwing implementation in MSFS is pretty to look at, but I don't much like the way it flies. On takeoff it has that signature MSFS oversensitivity to crosswind and ridiculous ground traction. On landing, it seems to spring back into the air no matter how gently I set it down. With practice you can do a good landing, but the technique is not the same as landing a real plane, so it makes it feel like mastering an arbitrary video game rather than a flight simulator. Anyway, it isn't too bad while en route.
For the leg from Milwaukee to Wausau, I felt like sticking with the Staggerwing but switching to the Alabeo product for P3D5, which flies so much better. Not a bad looker either, within the parameters of the sim. I enjoyed this leg so much that I took off again and did a few gratuitous circuits and bumps at Wausau, despite the snow.
As Rob hinted above we decided to switch planes for the longest leg on the tour and the TAMS 400 it is!
It's quite the looker in a blue winter sky with a blazing sun!
The clear blue skies didn't last for long though as I started to see gathering haze in the distance. We were also starting to keep a close watch on fuel burn and amount remaining as I was running into a 20 knot plus direct headwind and it was a looooong flight for racers!
The further we went the thicker the haze became which made us look at navaids at the destination, just in case!
Thankfully the haze disappeared as we approached Fort Worth (KFTW) but then we had a whole bunch of new concerns!
I had only landed the 400 once during testing (Rob had a few more under his belt) and my first one was not pretty!
I think that someone swapped out my oleos for pogo-sticks without telling me! I bounced eight times on that first landing and they were BIG bounces too! I eventually came to a stop with white knuckles on the stick and the prop almost touching the airport boundary fence! This time I was going to come in slow and put it down on the grass instead of the hard runway in the hope that it would bounce less. Slowing down a racer with no prop pitch and no flaps or spoilers is not easy! It was built to move fast, not slow!
I got the speed down and then it was a fight between the throttle and the trim to control the descent rate. I got over the fence and down to about 10-15 feet above the grass and it just floated and floated and floated but eventually it sank the last bit into a perfect 'greased' touchdown on the mains. Phew! I could not believe it after how bad the first landing was!
We had a long discussion about whether we should refuel but after checking fuel remaining and miles covered against fuel and distance for the next leg we decided to be brave and go for it. We could always make a refueling stop along the way if need be, right!?
I had been battling a +20 knot headwind all the way down to FW but when I turned left for Shreveport it turned into a slightly pushing, quartering tailwind, from about 4 o'clock. I was in real weather provided by ASP3D but Rob was using a static weather scheme on his recently downloaded and very vanilla FSX:SE on his laptop. It also meant that he now had the stronger headwind to contend with!
We decided that discretion was the better part of valour and pulled back a bit on the throttle to conserve fuel so that Rob had a better chance of making it (I was OK with the tailwind helping me). As it turns out the 400 is actually quite frugal with fuel if you back it off a bit. Rob went from doubting if he could make it to having fuel to spare by reducing the power by just 200 RPM! It did mean that he started to slip behind a bit due to his reduced speed though. I could only see his 'label' at this point!
We arrived at the destination as the shadows were getting long and the sun was setting fast but we managed to get refueled and were good to go again. Not sure if we will be flying the 400 again though so watch this space for updates!
It's quite the looker in a blue winter sky with a blazing sun!
The clear blue skies didn't last for long though as I started to see gathering haze in the distance. We were also starting to keep a close watch on fuel burn and amount remaining as I was running into a 20 knot plus direct headwind and it was a looooong flight for racers!
The further we went the thicker the haze became which made us look at navaids at the destination, just in case!
Thankfully the haze disappeared as we approached Fort Worth (KFTW) but then we had a whole bunch of new concerns!
I had only landed the 400 once during testing (Rob had a few more under his belt) and my first one was not pretty!
I think that someone swapped out my oleos for pogo-sticks without telling me! I bounced eight times on that first landing and they were BIG bounces too! I eventually came to a stop with white knuckles on the stick and the prop almost touching the airport boundary fence! This time I was going to come in slow and put it down on the grass instead of the hard runway in the hope that it would bounce less. Slowing down a racer with no prop pitch and no flaps or spoilers is not easy! It was built to move fast, not slow!
I got the speed down and then it was a fight between the throttle and the trim to control the descent rate. I got over the fence and down to about 10-15 feet above the grass and it just floated and floated and floated but eventually it sank the last bit into a perfect 'greased' touchdown on the mains. Phew! I could not believe it after how bad the first landing was!
We had a long discussion about whether we should refuel but after checking fuel remaining and miles covered against fuel and distance for the next leg we decided to be brave and go for it. We could always make a refueling stop along the way if need be, right!?
I had been battling a +20 knot headwind all the way down to FW but when I turned left for Shreveport it turned into a slightly pushing, quartering tailwind, from about 4 o'clock. I was in real weather provided by ASP3D but Rob was using a static weather scheme on his recently downloaded and very vanilla FSX:SE on his laptop. It also meant that he now had the stronger headwind to contend with!
We decided that discretion was the better part of valour and pulled back a bit on the throttle to conserve fuel so that Rob had a better chance of making it (I was OK with the tailwind helping me). As it turns out the 400 is actually quite frugal with fuel if you back it off a bit. Rob went from doubting if he could make it to having fuel to spare by reducing the power by just 200 RPM! It did mean that he started to slip behind a bit due to his reduced speed though. I could only see his 'label' at this point!
We arrived at the destination as the shadows were getting long and the sun was setting fast but we managed to get refueled and were good to go again. Not sure if we will be flying the 400 again though so watch this space for updates!
falcon409
SOH-CM-2025
I had fully intended to jump right on this when it started, yet here I am late to the dance. Oh well! I was going to start with the Mew Gull but then found the DH-88 Comet so I'll fly that for a few legs then switch periodically to other "Old-Timers".
Screenshot 2025-12-12 103628 by Ed Wells, on Flickr
Screenshot 2025-12-12 111749 by Ed Wells, on Flickr
Screenshot 2025-12-12 112625 by Ed Wells, on Flickr
Screenshot 2025-12-12 103628 by Ed Wells, on FlickrScreenshot 2025-12-12 111749 by Ed Wells, on FlickrScreenshot 2025-12-12 112625 by Ed Wells, on Flickr
After a late night dinner at a local Italian restaurant, antipasti followed by lasagna, followed by gnocchi, followed by tiramisu, and several glasses of limoncello... I just had to fly an Italian aircraft for the next leg.
So it's noon and I'm in the air at Lansing, with a low pass at the request of the tower.
Lucked out with a 45deg F day, sun shining, and overflew Meigs, then a photo op over the Navy Pier.
A tip of the wing to Gen. Mitchell Field.
Great view from on top of this barrel.
About to touch down at Timmerman. 97 nm and 1.5 hours today.
Taxiing is a bit tricky, not good visibility over the nose.
Had a fun run along the lake. Now it's time for lunch... I'll bet there's a good Italian restaurant nearby.
So it's noon and I'm in the air at Lansing, with a low pass at the request of the tower.
Lucked out with a 45deg F day, sun shining, and overflew Meigs, then a photo op over the Navy Pier.
A tip of the wing to Gen. Mitchell Field.
Great view from on top of this barrel.
About to touch down at Timmerman. 97 nm and 1.5 hours today.
Taxiing is a bit tricky, not good visibility over the nose.
Had a fun run along the lake. Now it's time for lunch... I'll bet there's a good Italian restaurant nearby.