Jess B

[Jess-b 36]

There are few trips one could take that have the potential to envigourate the soul. While Mr Fogg, now Lord Fogg of course, has happily retired, sequestered away on his country estate, safe and secure with his charming wife, I feel more than able to follow in his footsteps. The years have passed, the world has grown smaller, but the spirit of adventure still remains strong. a chance to revisit the epic journey around the world is far to good for this lady to pass up. 

 

For now there is much to do. I need to track down my own Passepartou, source an aircraft to make the trip, and take care of my Affairs for the coming months. Then there’s the route to sort. Time is short, let the games begin. 

[Aerosoft Team [Inactive Account] 51558]

Mr Fogg only needed 9 hours to get ready....

[Jess-b 36]

True Enough, but he never had to worry about finding Avgas in the middle of nowhere

[Jess-b 36]

Ok so the main route has been planned and split up into their respective legs.Since I'm flying the DH dove 105, I'm relying on a lot of VOR's to get em down to Suez. LAter in the route though, those VOR's will swap to NDB's and some legs will see me needing to 'stay on heading' until I hit a new Navaid. 

 

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For the First Leg, and in keeping With Mr. Fogg, I'm departing London From Biggin Hill. From there its a hop across the channel and on to overfly Paris. There's its south the coast and into my first fuel stop at Rivanazzano. With fresh tanks, the route takes me down to Brindisi for my second Refuel. From Here Mr. Fogg took a steamer to cross the Med. I'll be crossing into Greece and heading ever further south across the myriad of tiny islands, stopping for my final refuel at Iraklion. Then it's just a shortish flight across the water to Egypt and on to Port Said.

 

Total distance just 3nm shy of 2000nm. 

[Jess-b 36]

Here's a picture of the full route. This is going to be challenging to say the least.

 

 

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[Aerosoft Team [Inactive Account] 51558]

In what aircraft?

[Jess-b 36]

The de Havilland DH.104 Dove. It’s gonna be a fun trip. Sooooo many VORs.

[James50 3]

Hi Jess, I was interested to know what the flight planner was you showed in your screen grabs? Whilst I'm a long time user of Flight Sim, I haven't some any serious flying for over a year and have lost touch with planners. I like your route. I also opted for a Biggin Hill start and end at Port Said after a couple of days break in Heraklion. Good luck in the Dove; I opted for the Majestic Dash8 (jimbo_uk)

[Jess-b 36]

Hi James, 

Sorry I missed this post. The Planner I'm usign is called Plan-G. It's great freeware planner that is perfect for VFR plans. Its simple but effective, and still having new features added. Here's a link. Enjoy. http://www.tasoftware.co.uk/

[Jess-b 36]

    While Mr. Fogg needed but a few hours to get ready, I decided to take my time. When my friends offered to ‘see me off’ in the traditional manner, I expected nothing more than a few handshakes and a glass of champagne before I headed off into the night, right on time. What I got was a dozen beers, a selection of silly hats a d the phone number of a young German man called Hans for whom I couldn’t seem to get him to understand that he ‘wasn’t my type’. The worst gift of all however is a cracking hangover and the knowledge that I’m now 12+ hours behind schedule in a race where time is of the essence. I Need yo get to Biggin Hill and get my Aircraft checked and loaded up. Time is pressing. 

The weather is unexpectedly good for the time of year and although the 10kt wind will make take off a bit of a handful, I’m not expecting to much fuss en route. My aircraft is the venerable Dehaviland DH 104 Dove. I’ve always had a sweetspot for this old girl. She’s very much everything you think of in a post war/early 1950’s civil airliner. Is small, the cockpit it compact but elevated and the looks are both stylish and functional. The type 8 aircraft I have is on loan from Germany and wears the colours of LTU. It’s cockpit has been modernised and features a GPS, transponder and other goodies that make the Dove more ‘comfortable’ for modern day use. Whilst the aircraft has a name, I’ll be calling her Nellie, in honour of Nellie Bly who replicated Fogg’s trip around the world for the New York World newspaper, and in a era where Women were expected to stay home and not vote. 

 

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    There’s precious little time to stand and admire though, and quickly I get the aircraft loaded for myself, my paspartou and the luggage. That’s all. I’m trying to limit the weight so I can really stretch out the range for those longer legs to come. With everything loaded, the tanks brimmed and the door shut, I Start the engines and taxi out. At just before 1400 local time, we lift off, saying goodbye to London and making for the coast. 

    The trip to Dover isn’t long, and with the weather being so nice, we’re treated to a great view of the cliffs of Dover and to the coast of France all in one go.

 

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By the time we reach the Abbeville VOR, the weather begins to worsen. Cloud starts to build ahead. I’m hoping we can get on top of it, but the Dove isn't really that happy above 8’000 feet. As we approach Le Bourget, I spot a gap and we make for the clear skies. Passing over Paris the clear skies afford us a nice view of the city, but it isn’t long before the weather closes in and I’m reliant on my instruments. I’m really hoping the weather improves as we push south. 

 

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    By the time Geneva comes into sight, I’m starting to get to know Nellie a bit better. The Dove is superb to hand fly, and trimming out for altitude is easy. The only thing I miss is the ability to lean my engines. But she’s proved to a much quicker aircraft than expected so far, with my cruise averaging a nice 180kts indicated. Whilst Nellie is proving a hit, Geneva does throw up a few issues. Namely cloud and the Alps.

 

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I’m going to need to climb from my comfortable cruise altitude of 7000 feet and the Dove isn’t keen. We barely make it to 12000 as Mont Blanc passes above us to the left. I’m not saying I’m nervous, but with cloud covering the peaks ahead, I’m a little more alert than normal.

 

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With the last of the peaks clear, I can start my descent nice and early for our first fuel stop. Italy calls and to take on fuel I’m stopping at a gorgeous little airfield just the other side of the Alps. Rivanazzano will be a overnight stop.

 

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Tomorrow we push on to Brindisi and then into Greece. For now, a lingering headache means the strongest thing I’ll be drinking tonight will be tea.

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The weather for the approach isn’t the best. Overcast at 1000 and possibly raining. It’s not the welcome I was expecting. Still, with the light fading, I’m looking forward to getting on the ground and into a nice hotel. The airport is a bit difficult to find but I use the Vor to lead me in. The rain kicks in just a few miles from touchdown, hampering visibility but In the end the landing is routine and I park up at the terminal building. I need tea. Tomorrow can wait. For a first leg though, things aren’t going to badly. Let’s hope they stay that way. 

 

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[Aerosoft Team [Inactive Account] 51558]

Such a fine aircraft.... 

 

[James50 3]

Hi Jess, thx for reply & link. Lem (quaxpilot) also saw question and sent the link. Planner is installed, but will have to wait for the break at the weekend to get it going. Your flight over the Alps looks great. That will be me tomorrow in the comfort of my Q400

[kalizzi 53]

Hi Jess! An awesome diary, how did you get those panoramic shots? is it a P3D thing? best of luck and Godspeed.

[Jess-b 36]

Hi guys. Just finishing breakfast before I push in to Brindisi. Kalizzi, the shots are taken directly from my three screen system, hence the stretch. It’s resolution is 6000 x 1080 and it makes flying incredibly immersive. 

 

I’m hoping to reach Suez tomorrow as I’m heading back to the U.K. this weekend to go to the big flight sim show in Cosford. If anyone is coming, I’ll be in the PC Pilot stand. 

[kalizzi 53]

Oh wow you don't go by half measures! 6000x1080 wow. Thumbs up, best wishes.

[Jess-b 36]

Day two starts with a nice Italian coffee. The plan today is to push on to Greece, then be all set for the arrival into Suez on the 5th. The weather doesn’t look to bad along the route, thougbit could be nicer at Rivanazzano, where a low overcast layer will make the climb out into the mountains very interesting. Nellie is just where I left her last night, and the ground crew have topped off the fuel, brimming the tanks. I don’t quite have the range to make it to Iraklion in one go, so Brindisi will serve as a refuelling stop. Today’s route will track south through the mountains before Florence, then we head across Italy to the Adriatic coast, following it all the way to Brindisi. Then it’s a short 106 nm hop across to Greece, where I pass to the West of Athens and on to Iraklion. 

The wind is calm at 1kt if a little variable, so I choose to leave on runway 16, heading almost straight out on course.

 

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As expected, the low overcast cloud is obscuring the mountains, and as I pass 1000 feet the whole world disappears from view.

 

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I make sure my rate of climb is more than sufficient to get clear the hills, especially as I won’t see them until I hit ‘em. At 6000ft through I break through and I can see peaks poking though the cloud layer ahead.

 

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I keep climbing, levelling off at 11000 for cruise and a fairly nice ground speed of just over 200kts. The wind appears to be absent today as Nellie and I slip though the air smoothly. Even after reaching the coast, the ride is serene. 

 

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Along the coast though I discover a terrible error in my plans. That coffee i enjoyed at the start of the day has cost me, and rather than arriving into Iraklion at dusk, I find myself scrambling for the tarmac at Brindisi as the light begins to fade. It’s not that I can’t fly at night. Nellie is fully equipped for Airways work. It's more a case that I don’t fancy crossing the Adriatic and island hopping in the dark in an aircraft I’m still getting to know. It’s best to save such experiences for those long Pacific days. 

 

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At Waypoint VIE , I’m just 36 minutes away from Brindisi, and the sun is starting to get low in the sky. Ahead, the moon is starting to rise above the horizon and with the skies fairly clear, it shouldn’t be completely dark for the approach. The weather ahead is good, with the wind sitting at 090/9kts, almost perfect for a straight in approach to runway 14. Hopefully there’ll be enough light for a visual by the time I get there. 

 

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As the light is getting dimmer and the sight of street lamps along the shoreline, I catch sight of the runway and damn. I’m a little high. I close the throttles and the Dove makes for the ground.

 

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With the flaps set to full and my profile looking good, everything looks good. I really love the approach speed on the Dove. I’m holding at 70kts the old girl feels like a Big Cessna. Over the threshold and I land with a gentle bump. It’s dark, but I’m happy to have landed. We taxi up to the And Park up. It’ll Be a hasty plan to book a hotel for the night and it’ll be a mad dash tomorrow to get to Suez. Hopefully, the day will run smoothly, after all, what could possibly go wrong?

 

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[akanishta99 27]

Love the shots. The Dove is a fantastic plane.

[Jess-b 36]

The day begins much earlier today. I’ve got a lot of ground to cover and I’m relieved to see the weather is just perfect. Still, at I prepare Nellie for departure, a sense and I’ll wind. Not sure what s wrong exactly, but I’m pretty sure I’m going to be glad I didn’t continue on last night. Let’s call it women’s intuition.  It isn’t long until my intuition is proved to be right. Right after takeoff I hit a problem with a VOR. It’s just not pointing in the right direction. Turns out I’d missed dialled the frequency. However, switching to the next VOR causes the same issue. The frequency is right this time, but something is interfering with it, or the charted frequency is wrong. Rather than taking me out to sea and across the Greece, it’s pointing back inland. Quickly I dig out my charts and dial up another VOR along the route that thankfully points in the right direction. I really hope that’s my bug for the trip. 

 

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    It isn’t long until I spot the islands off to my left, poking though the morning mist. The journey across the Adriatic is thankfully uneventful, with just a single cloud threatening to get in the way of Nellie. Either way we’re making great progress and I get comfortable and grab a coffee from the galley. 

 

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    The smooth air soon runs out and as we pass to the west of Athens and start to get bumpy. Any liquids are quickly stowed and I spend the next hour making small corrections to keep us on course. The rest of the flight continues with me fighting the odd updraft.

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Eventually Iraklion wanders into view. The fuel tanks aren’t dry, but I don’t have enough range to make the crossing to Suez. The wind is 310/9 so I select runway 30 for my approach. It’s short but the Dive needs so little it’s hardly worth bothering the much longer runway 27.

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I start my descent after I cross the mountains and then stay right for the downwind into 30. The approach is simple and the Dove once again proves to be a delight. I land easily and slow with plenty of room to take the taxiway to my left. It’s just a quick fuel stop and I manage to grab a quick sandwich and a fresh coffee before the ground crew finish topping up the tanks.

 

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It’s about a two hour flight from here, and the Mediterranean calls. I take off from the Intersection of 30 with ease. Flaps up I tune the VOR and climb to 10000. This is going to be a long cruise. As I leave Greece behind me the Med stretches out before me. For an hour I see nothing. No ships, no land, no clouds even. eventually the Ägypten coast appears and the VOR springs to life. After the nothingness of the Med, it’s all go as the last part of leg one strolls into sight. 

 

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The last 59nm Pass quickly and the Suez Canal comes into sight just as the sun begins to set.  The weather is ok but the wind is a bit gusty at 320/11 gusting to 21. A runway 28 approach is best. I pass over the city and make my turn.

 

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That wind makes for a bouncy approach and I need a lot of rudder to keep straight. It’s not so much the wind as the Dove’s low speed which causes the rudder to be a little ineffectual. With a heavy left boot, I land and taxi to my parking spot. And that’s it. 1996 Miles flown and the weekend to recover. Not a bad start to the trip so far. 

 

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[James50 3]

Hi Jess, your screen grabs are amazing. Although I'm flying the Dash8, time constraints mean I've got as far as Brindisi today. Pushing onto Iraklion tomorrow. Very detailed diary, great read

[Jess-b 36]

Thanks everyone.  Can’t wait to push in to leg two. 

[Jess-b 36]

It seems I’m destined so far to play catch up. I started this journey almost 12 hours late in london, but today I find I’m two days late leaving Suez. I am not a happy bunny that’s for sure. Nellie greets me at the airport with a look that says ‘what time do you call this?’ There’s no time to fret though, and I quickly get Nellie flight ready and fuelled. This leg of the journey spans nearly 3500 nm and since I’ve lost so much time,  I need to get cracking. Taking off just after 11am local time, I track down to Cairo to catch a glimpse of the Pyramids at Giza before heading back to the straight and down the coast.

 

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Unlike Europe, there’s precious little to see except for vast swathes of sand in every direction.

 

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Today I’m hoping to make Port Sudan as an overnight stop. To get there I’ll need to refuel at Marsa Alam international. It’s a long trip covering just over 800nm, over which 700nm is sand. The day is clear at least and the weather is warm and pleasant. Landing at Marsa Alam is a fun experience as the wind sits 360/13 giving my approach to 33 a little bit of a side on feel. The fuel stop is quick and it’s back in the air for around another 2 hours flying. Along the way though a few mountains appear to my right, breaking up the monotony of the desert. Hour after hour the and continues and I’m thankful that in the end I'm relived to reach my destination for the night.

 

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Tomorrow I’ll push on to Aden. 

[SeanG 76]

1 hour ago, Jess-b said:

Tomorrow I’ll push on to Aden. 

 

Loving your trip in the Dove!

 

Remember to wave as you pass us, we should be rounding the Aden coast some time today!

 

SeanG

[Jess-b 36]

The dawn has broken as I add the fuel and taxi Nellie out to the runway. Like yesterday, there’s a strong 10kt crosswind today and the take off roll requires a little left boot on the pedal to keep straight. Once I’m in the air though, things settle down into a now familiar feel. Today’s route will take me down the coast through Eritrea into the north east corner of Ethiopia and on into Djibouti. Then it’s just a quick hop across from Africa and I’m into Yemen and the Middle East. 

    

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The en route weather is as clear as yesterday, with not a cloud in the sky. Entering Eritrea though I find my flight path strewn with mountains. After yesterday’s sand fest, the mountains offer a welcome change of scenery. They also come with a challenge. So Far on leg 2, a cruise altitude of 8000ft has been pretty nice. The Dove for all its beauty and great handling lacks in important thing,  A way to adjust the mixture. 8000ft offers a good speed to fuel/air mix but the mountains ahead suggest I climb. At 12000ft I’m clear of the terrain, but my ground speed has dropped 10kts and the engines are sounding much rougher than I’d like.

 

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It beats smashing into the mountains, but it is slowing me up. Approaching Asmara though the mountains below fall back a little and I take the opportunity to head down a little, hoping to claim back a bit of speed. Plus I want Nellie to sound better. Just as I start a gradual descent, clouds on the far hills threaten to make life more interesting by hiding the hills. How nice of them.

 

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I hold my nerve and soon enough, I’m over Asmara and turning towards Djibouti. I do have one last climb though, back to 10000ft to clear the last of the mountains before the plains open and the land falls away back to desert. 

 

 

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300+nm means it’s time to settle in and grab a coffee from the galley. There’s not much to see now. The coast is off to the left and out of view, and save for the odd small ridge here and there, there’s not a lot to get excited about. The right engine, now down at 8000ft once more continues to run hotter than its sibling, but temps are in the green and all is well.  

 

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Fuel is now my main concern. The tanks aren’t dry by any means, but I’m hoping to have enough fuel to make Aden without having to splash and dash at Djibouti.  

 

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Djibouti arrives in front of me looking fantastic. The sun is shining and the blue sky meets the glistening sea save for a light blue seam to separate the both. After nearly two hours of desert terrain, it’s beautiful. Time to push on with the final sector. At 137nm this is the shortest prt of today’s flight. I hurl Nellie out into the blue ocean and prepare for an ILS landing at Aden. The weather there is fine, clear and with very little wind, so the ILS is just for practice. I bid farewell to Africa, a continent I’ve not really flown to, but I must say it’s been interesting in parts. Yemen may be in the Middle East but I suspect the terrain will be just as dry as Africa. 

 

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The Approach is clear and to my surprise I find the Dove doesn't really have an ILS gauge, just VOR. That's going to make some airports a really joy to land at. anyway the landing goes well and the I park up to go in search of some strong Persian coffee. Next flight will take me to the edge of the Middle East and on into Pakistan. 

 

[Aerosoft Team [Inactive Account] 51558]

Seems the images are missing captain.

[rupert 20]

1 hour ago, Mathijs Kok said:

Seems the images are missing captain.

 

Which images are missing?  The last post I saw included what I took to be final into Aden.  That post was made Friday.  I didn't see another post mentioned but Friday's post was full of screenies.

 

Rupert