Jeff W 112 Posted September 25, 2017 Share Posted September 25, 2017 This sounds like it could be an interesting and enjoyable undertaking. I will fly the PMDG DC-6A in BOAC Cargo livery. The aircraft is in the process of being thoroughly checked out and maintenance items attended to prior to commencement of the event. Please login to display this image. The route planning is underway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff W 112 Posted September 27, 2017 Author Share Posted September 27, 2017 Current Route Plan features north Pacific crossing in multiple legs, but if the winds are favorable I may attempt Tokyo to San Francisco in one long leg: Please login to display this image. Ident Name Distance nm Remaining nm EGLC London City 0 20,664 LFMN Nice/Cote d'Azur 552 20,111 LIBR Casale Mil 510 19,601 HEPS Port Said 892 18,709 OYAA Aden Intl 1,314 17,395 OOSA Salalah 583 16,812 VAJJ Juhu 1,076 15,736 VIAL Allahabad 624 15,112 VEBS Bhubaneshwar 385 14,727 VOPB Port Blair 652 14,075 WIPR Japura 920 13,155 WSSL Seletar 141 13,014 VHHX Hong Kong Intl (old) 1,392 11,622 ZSSS Hongqiao 656 10,966 RJTT Tokyo (Haneda) Intl 959 10,007 UHPP Yelizovo 1,318 8,689 PADQ Kodiak 1,654 7,034 CYZT Port Hardy 971 6,063 KSFO San Francisco Intl 813 5,251 KOMA Eppley 1,242 4,009 KLGA La Guardia 995 3,014 CYQX Gander Intl 952 2,061 EICK Cork 1,743 319 EGLC London City 319 0 Routing chosen based on this map Please login to display this image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff W 112 Posted October 1, 2017 Author Share Posted October 1, 2017 My official filed plan is to take the north Pacific routing to Petropavlosk and then over Bering Sea to Kodiak Alaska before heading south on the west coast of North America to San Francisco. I am however very seriously considering a risky non-stop flight across the Pacific directly from Toyko to San Franciso. The leg is 4473 nautical miles. This is beyond the capability of the DC-6 but can be done by the Boeing 377 Stratocruiser if the winds are right. Please login to display this image. I will make a final decision when I reach Japan and look at the high altitude winds. It will require flying high (FL270+) and very careful fuel management but I have done it before: http://fs-duenna.com/flights/ShowFlight.php?flight=dfamHImWSarWoLPB9N0uCMAQzY RTW80Days Route Distance 20664 RJTT-UHPP-PADQ-CYZT-KSFO Routing RTW80Days Route Distance 20381 RJTT-KSFO Routing Interesting the Tokyo - San Francisco non-stop routing is only 281nm shorter than the filed route. It will however be three legs shorter and will save quire a bit of time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff W 112 Posted October 3, 2017 Author Share Posted October 3, 2017 RTW80 Diary Entry 1 Leg Information: RTW80 Leg 1 The adventure begins. OK, I overslept and missed my morning departure window. So I went down to the Reform Club to see who was still hanging about and found that a large number of participants had not only already departed, many had completed their initial legs, and some were flying on to their second planned airport. Nothing to be done about that, so I settled back in a comfortable chair, had a nice tea, and then took a cab to London City Airport. Please login to display this image. The BOAC Cargo DC-6 was in immaculate condition and ready. Time to start the engines and be on our way. Please login to display this image. Speedbird 6, You are cleared for takeoff, Runway 27. Please login to display this image. Say good bye to Old Blighty. See you again in 79 days or so. Please login to display this image. Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp Power Please login to display this image. Turning to Waypoint 1 - Detling Please login to display this image. Cruising over the Channel at FL120 at 269knts Please login to display this image. Somewhere over France Please login to display this image. View from the front office, approaching the Mediterranean coast Please login to display this image. Co-pilots view of the lights of Saint-Tropez Please login to display this image. Touching down at Nice Heading off now to the Casino for some relaxation and refreshments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puk 72 Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 Hope you didn't loose too much money in the casino last night so that you're unable to pay for the fuel for your next flight. Love to see that you're taking the DC-6 out and of course the great pictures. Puk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff W 112 Posted October 4, 2017 Author Share Posted October 4, 2017 RTW80 Diary Entry 2 Leg Information: RTW80 Leg 2 Enjoyed a very festive and very late night at the Casino de Monte-Carlo, We slept in late again. After a leisurely lunch on a patio overlooking the sparkling sea, we made our way back to the plane and prepared for the next leg. It was cloudy for the first hour but the sun finally came out. It was a beautiful late autumn afternoon. Please login to display this image. Please login to display this image. With the warm sunshine and engines droning away I almost fell asleep. Please login to display this image. Brindisi - Runway 31 in sight. The approach and landing at Bindisi was routine. The DC-6 is a pleasure to fly. Please login to display this image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MM 137 Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 Great photo of your office. And nice to see the Duenna at work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalizzi 53 Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 Love you diary Jeff. The BOAC livery is awesome on the DC-6, by the way. Your screenshots are very nice, too! I still remember when airlines used to gift you a flight bag when you book, like the one shown here: Please login to display this image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff W 112 Posted October 5, 2017 Author Share Posted October 5, 2017 RTW80 Diary Entry 3 - “Piloting the Aircraft is a Full Time Job” Started today’s flight an hour earlier than yesterday. We call that progress. Please login to display this image. Flying across the Ionian Sea we could see the beautiful island of Corfu ahead. Please login to display this image. We got our cameras ready for a few snapshots of this delightful location. Please login to display this image. Drivers View of Ioannis Kapodistrias (Fly Tampa rendition) Please login to display this image. Today’s leg would take us all the way to Port Said and would be the longest yet. The aircraft was established in a nice cruise at FL180. The tanks had been switched from main to alternate, Autopilot was engaged and following the NAV course. Everything was A-OK. I was feeling a bit hungry and left the flight deck to consult the steward and to see what kind of meal he was preparing. Sweet & spicy beef was on the menu accompanied by an IPA. The steward inquired about the boxes on the cargo deck labeled “Ridley’s Old Bob” with a destination label: “Royal Air Force Khormaksar, Aeden, Yemen Arab Republic.” I explained that this was a very special request from a sad RAF airman who was hopelessly homesick for dear Old Blighty. Apparently some friends in Chelmsford took pity on his plight, pooled their quids, and sent this shipment of the local ale to cheer him up. “And that”, I explained, “Is why we are taking the long way around Arabia to get to Bombay.” “Poor, miserable, bastard, I almost feel sorry for him myself” remarked the steward. “Almost”, I agreed and smiled. As I made my way back to the flight deck, I immediately sensed that something was amiss. A glance at the airspeed indicator showed that our indicated airspeed had decayed to140 knts. Looking over at the engine gauge revealed that the outboard engines were not producing power. Damn! I had run the alternate tanks dry. Strapped into the captain’s seat, switched the tanks, the outboard engines immediately began producing power. Switched off the autopilot and aircraft started to climb steeply. Took several minutes of frantic trimming and power adjustments to get back to a straight and level trajectory. Here endith what I shall now refer to as the “incident.” Switched the autopilot back on and continued across the Med to Egypt and Port Said. Please login to display this image. After the "Incident", Cruising at FL200, and the best speed so far. Please login to display this image. Port Said - With this moonlight, I don't really need landing lights The link below will take you to the Duenna tracking page for this leg. A review of the flight data graphs will show exactly when, during the leg, the “incident” occurred. http://fs-duenna.com/flights/ShowFlight.php?flight=4SB5RU90bf9iU6wm1qSQ96Bo Please login to display this image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff W 112 Posted October 12, 2017 Author Share Posted October 12, 2017 RTW80 Diary Entry 4 - “Red Sea coast of Arabia to Aden” Today’s flight will be the longest leg yet in the DC-6. Please login to display this image. Takeoff from Port Said just before sunrise. Please login to display this image. Climbing out of Port Said Please login to display this image. Brilliant Morning Light over the Suez Canal Please login to display this image. Red Sea - Haze Please login to display this image. Mountains near Ta'izz Yeman Please login to display this image. Aden Approach - Speedbird 6 cleared to land Link below will take you to the Duenna tracking page for this leg. http://fs-duenna.com/flights/ShowFlight.php?flight=Yt0SAAXIjiveZr1VeGPglP8orzc Please login to display this image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff W 112 Posted October 13, 2017 Author Share Posted October 13, 2017 RTW80 Diary Entry 5 - “Aden to Salalah Oman” A shorter flight this afternoon, 583nm down the Gulf of Aden to Salalah. Please login to display this image. Departing Aden. Please login to display this image. Yemen Desert, not much to see here. Please login to display this image. Salalah (OOSA) Final Approach Please login to display this image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James50 3 Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 Hi Jeff, saw in the official log when I checked in tonight that you were also in Salalah. I just flew in today from Riyan in Yemen, having flown down from Jazan in Saudi in the morning. I had originally intended to go to Aden but opted to 'cut the corner'. Your diary and screen shots are excellent. I'm flying Majestic's mighty Dash8 in FSX. Good flying! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff W 112 Posted October 14, 2017 Author Share Posted October 14, 2017 Thanks for the good wishes James. I am no longer at Salalah. I am about 2 hr 35min out of VABB at FL200 making 265knts. http://fs-duenna.com/flights/ShowFlight.php?flight=BzbTXNheQYOJuxdaFXioCQTQSsQ I love the majestic Dash 8, am waiting for the P3D4.1 release. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff W 112 Posted October 14, 2017 Author Share Posted October 14, 2017 RTW80 Diary Entry 6 - “Crossing the Arabian Sea” Today’s flight is a longer over water journey that will take us directly to Bombay. Because we will arrive just after dark I have revised my destination airport from the older, smaller, and unlighted Juhu (VAJJ) to Mumbai’s large international airport VABB which is only a couple of miles away. Please login to display this image. Departing Salalah Oman. Please login to display this image. Cruising at FL200 over the Arabian Sea Please login to display this image. Sun setting in the western sea Please login to display this image. Descending into clouds and gloom Please login to display this image. Poor visibility the rest of the way. Airport weather report was 1.6nm visibility and foggy. Runway in sight now. Please login to display this image. Hand flying the magenta GPS line the last 5 miles, I was a bit off the runway course and had to turn late in the approach to land. All's well that ends well Please login to display this image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MM 137 Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 Terrific landing. Hardly anything like long flight over water that is punctuated by a blind landing in fog-enshrouded darkness to focus your attention. Well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff W 112 Posted October 24, 2017 Author Share Posted October 24, 2017 It has been a very pleasant stay in Mumbai. The company has provided us first class accommodations at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. According to my travel guide: The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel is a "Heritage Grand" class five-star hotel and contains 560 rooms and 44 suites. There are some 1,500 staff including 35 butlers. Please login to display this image. When it opened in 1903, the hotel was the first in India to have: electricity, American fans, German elevators, Turkish baths and English butlers. Later it also had the city’s first licensed bar, India’s first all-day restaurant, and the India’s first discotheque. The original clientele were mainly the Europeans, the Maharajas and the elites. Many world-renowned personalities have since stayed there, from Somerset Maugham and Duke Ellington to Lord Mountbatten and Bill Clinton. It was a grand stay but we must continue our journey so I am off the the airport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff W 112 Posted October 24, 2017 Author Share Posted October 24, 2017 RTW80 Diary Entry 7 - “Mumbai to Allahabad” Please login to display this image. Takeoff roll in very thick haze layer with extremely poor visibility at Chhatrapati Shivaji International. Please login to display this image. Takeoff Run - Tower View Please login to display this image. Leaving murky Mumbai and up into clear air. Please login to display this image. Just past the Western Ghats Please login to display this image. Cruising easily at FL180, 277knts Groundspeed. Please login to display this image. Allahabad Allahabad is one of the oldest cities in India. It is crowned in ancient scriptures as ‘Prayag’, ‘Prayagraj’ or ‘Teertharaj’ and is considered the holiest of pilgrimage centres of India. It is situated at the confluence of three rivers- Ganga, Yamuna and the invisible Saraswati. The meeting point is known as Triveni and is very sacred to Hindus. The Kumbh held in every six years and Mahakumbh in every 12 years at Allahabad (Sangam) are the largest gatherings of pilgrims on this earth. Please login to display this image. Please login to display this image. Historically, the city has been a witness to many important events in India's freedom struggle such as emergence of the first Indian National Congress in 1885, the beginning of Mahatma Gandhi's non-violence movement in 1920. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff W 112 Posted October 25, 2017 Author Share Posted October 25, 2017 RTW80 Diary Entry 8 - “Allahabad to Kolkata” Departed Allahabad in late afternoon. Please login to display this image. Afternoon near the Son river. Please login to display this image. Another gloomy evening approach. Please login to display this image. Configured for landing Please login to display this image. Wing view of the final approach. Please login to display this image. Runway in sight. Please login to display this image. Calcutta (Kolkata) India’s second-biggest city is a daily festival of human existence, simultaneously noble and squalid, cultured and desperate, decidedly futuristic while splendid in decay. By its old spelling, Calcutta readily conjures images of human suffering to most Westerners – although that's not a complete picture of this 350-year-old metropolis. Locally, Kolkata is regarded as India’s intellectual, artistic and cultural capital. Although poverty is certainly apparent, the self-made middle class drives the city's core machinery, a nascent hipster culture thrives among its millennial residents and its dapper Bengali gentry frequent grand, old colonial-era clubs. Please login to display this image. Please login to display this image. Please login to display this image. Please login to display this image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MM 137 Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 "..a daily festival of human existence " so well illustrated by choice of photos. Terrific. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff W 112 Posted October 27, 2017 Author Share Posted October 27, 2017 RTW80 Diary Entry 9 - “Kolkata to Port Blair” We continue our journey, eschewing the direct route to Hong Kong, and proceed southeast across the Bay of Bengal, by way of the Andaman Islands, Sumatra, and the Straits of Malacca before reaching Singapore to more closely align our route to Philias Fogg’s itinerary. The Bay of Bengal is the largest bay in the world with waters flowing straight out of the Himalayas through Bangladesh. Roughly triangular, it is bordered by Bangladesh to the North, Myanmar to the East, Sri Lanka and India to the west. Please login to display this image. Please login to display this image. The Sunderbans bordering the Bay of Bengal is the largest single block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the world. Cox's Bazar, the longest stretch of beach in the world. Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands are an Indian archipelago in the Bay of Bengal. These roughly 300 islands are known for their palm-lined, white-sand beaches, mangroves and tropical rainforests. Coral reefs supporting marine life such as sharks and rays make for popular diving and snorkeling sites. Indigenous Andaman Islanders inhabit the more remote islands, many of which are off limits to visitors. Andaman Islands | Drone's Eye | TheVibe Visuals Andaman Islands - Away From Home | Deconstructed | TheVibe Andaman Islands 2.0 | Drones Eye | TheVibe Visuals The Andaman Islands are home to the Sentinelese, who have had little contact with any other people. The Sentinelese are the indigenous people of North Sentinel Island in the Andaman Islands of India. One of the Andamanese peoples, they resist contact with the outside world, and are among the last people to remain virtually untouched and uncontacted by modern civilization. Please login to display this image. The Sentinelese stand guard on an island beach. The Sentinelese maintain an essentially hunter-gatherer society subsisting through hunting, fishing, and collecting wild plants. There is no evidence of either agricultural practices or methods of producing fire. The Sentinelese language remains unclassified and is not mutually intelligible with the Jarawa language of their nearest neighbors. The precise population of the Sentinelese is not known. Estimates range from fewer than 40, through a median of around 250, and up to a maximum of 500. Port Blair Surrounded by tropical forest and rugged coastline, lively Port Blair serves as the provincial capital of the Andamans. It’s a vibrant mix of Indian Ocean inhabitants – Bengalis, Tamils, Telugus, Nicobarese and Burmese. Most travellers don’t hang around any longer than necessary (usually one or two days while waiting to book onward travel in the islands, or returning for departure), but PB’s fascinating history warrants extended exploration. In 1789 the Government of Bengal established a penal colony on Chatham Island named Port Blair in the honor of Archibald Blair of the East India Company. The Indian Rebellion provided the British with a lot of new prisoners, it made construction of the new prison an urgent necessity. As the Indian freedom movement continued to grow in the late 19th Century, an enormous Cellular Jail was constructed between 1896 and 1906 to house Indian convicts, mostly political prisoners, in solitary confinement. The Cellular Jail is also known as Kala Pani (translated as "Black Waters"), a name given to it due to the torture and general ill-treatment towards its Indian convicts. Please login to display this image. Please login to display this image. The building had seven wings, at the center of which a tower served as the intersection and was used by guards to keep watch on the inmates; this format was based on Jeremy Bentham's idea of the Panopticon. The wings radiated from the tower in straight lines, much like the spokes of a bicycle wheel. A large bell was kept in the tower to raise an alarm. The name, "cellular jail", derived from the solitary cells which prevented any prisoner from communicating with any other. Also, the spokes were so designed such that the face of a cell in a spoke saw the back of cells in another spoke. This way, communication between prisoners was impossible. They were all in solitary confinement. Solitary confinement was implemented as the British government desired to ensure that political prisoners and revolutionaries be isolated from each other. The Andaman island served as the ideal setting for the government to achieve this. Screenshots from the flight. Please login to display this image. DC-6 Front Office Please login to display this image. R2800's spinning in the late afternoon sun. Please login to display this image. Turning Base to Final - Port Blair Please login to display this image. Port Blair - Airport in Sight Please login to display this image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff W 112 Posted October 28, 2017 Author Share Posted October 28, 2017 RTW 80 Port Blair to Sumatra Sumatra was known in ancient times by the Sanskrit names of Swarnadwīpa ("Island of Gold") because of the gold deposits in the island's highlands. Arab geographers referred to the island as Lamri in the tenth through thirteenth centuries, in reference to a kingdom near modern-day Banda Aceh which was the first landfall for traders. Late in the 14th century the name Sumatra became popular in reference to the kingdom of Samudra Pasai, a rising power until replaced by the Sultanate of Aceh. Sultan Alauddin Shah of Aceh, in letters addressed to Queen Elizabeth I of England in 1602, referred to himself as "king of Aceh and Samudra", while Marco Polo named the kingdom Samara or Samarcha in the late 13th century. Please login to display this image. Few isles tempt the imagination with the lure of adventure quite like the fierce land of Sumatra. An island of extraordinary beauty, it bubbles with life and vibrates under the power of nature. Eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis are Sumatran headline grabbers. Steaming volcanoes brew and bluster while standing guard over lakes that sleepily lap the edges of craters. Orangutan-filled jungles host not only our red-haired cousins, but also tigers, rhinos and elephants. And down at sea level, idyllic deserted beaches are bombarded by clear barrels of surf. Please login to display this image. Please login to display this image. Today's flight starts out over the Andaman Sea heading southeast towards the Island of Sumatra. We fly south as far as the city of Rengat on the Sundai Indragiri river and land at Japura airstrip. This destination was chosen because it is just south of the equator. Though not a stated requirement of the RTW80, I thought I would add in this additional stop to get in one full stop landing below the equator. Please login to display this image. Flight Level 215 over the Andaman Sea Please login to display this image. Mountains of Sumatra Please login to display this image. Late Afternoon Arrival in Rengat Please login to display this image. Please login to display this image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff W 112 Posted October 29, 2017 Author Share Posted October 29, 2017 RTW80 Diary Entry 11 - “Singapore Strait” The Singapore is a 105-kilometer long, 16-kilometer wide strait between the Strait of Malacca in the west and the Karimata Strait in the east. The strait provides the deepwater passage to the Port of Singapore, which makes it very busy. Approximately 2,000 merchant ships traverse the waters on a daily basis. Please login to display this image. From an economic and strategic perspective, the Strait is one of the most important shipping lanes in the world. About a quarter of all oil carried by sea passes through the Strait, mainly from Persian Gulf suppliers to Asian markets. In addition, it is also one of the world's most congested shipping choke points because it narrows to only 1.5 nautical miles wide at the Phillips Channel (close to the south of Singapore). The depth of the Singapore Strait limits the maximum draft of vessels going through the Straits of Malacca, and the Malaccamax ship class. Maersk Triple E, Malaccamax class, NY Times Video High Quality video of modern Singapore Amazing Singapore 2017 (4K) Short hop from Sumatra to Singapore Seletor Airport across the Singapore Strait Please login to display this image. Thunderstorm leaving Sumatra Please login to display this image. Co-pilots view of Singapore Please login to display this image. Seletor in Sight Please login to display this image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalizzi 53 Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 Enjoying your diary and following the great progress you are making! Keep it up, upvoting! Best wishes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff W 112 Posted October 29, 2017 Author Share Posted October 29, 2017 Thanks for the kind comments. Next leg will be my longest yet. Planning to get to Hong Kong in one hop. Will probably enjoy the hospitality of Singapore a few days before I depart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff W 112 Posted November 5, 2017 Author Share Posted November 5, 2017 RTW80 Diary Entry 12 - “Singapore to Hong Kong” The direct route from Sinagapore to Hong Kong passes over coast of Viet Nam near Nha Trang and fortunatly stays well clear of Hainan Island where in 1954 a commercial Cathey Pacific DC-4 was shot down. The history of this incident is recounted here. VR-HEU's Moment of Truth Please login to display this image. Kai Tak airport Kai Tak was named after two businessmen, Sir Kai Ho Kai and his son-in-law Mr. Au Tak, who were involved in a company formed to reclaim land in Kowloon Bay in 1912 for a residential housing scheme. However the scheme failed and the land was left vacant. The suitability of using this land as an airfield was recognized and the first recorded flight from Kai Tak took place on Lunar New Year’s Day in 1925. Kai Tak was then a simple grass-strip airfield which served the British RAF and enthusiasts from the Hong Kong Aviation Club. In 1935, the first control tower and a hangar were built. The first commercial passengers flight ‘Dorado’ landed on 24 March 1936 from Penang operated by the Imperial Airways. Please login to display this image. Please login to display this image. In the following years, Pan American World Airways began its Clipper flying boat service between Hong Kong and San Francisco. Other air services followed with Air France flights from Indochina, China National Aviation Corporation from Guangzhou and Shanghai and Eurasia Aviation Corporation operating between Hong Kong and Beijing. Please login to display this image. Please login to display this image. The three videos below provide interesting description of development of commercial aviation in Hong Kong. Wings over Hong Kong Part 2 ( Kai Tak Airport Hong Kong Aviation History ) Wings over Hong Kong Part 3 ( Kai Tak Airport Hong Kong Aviation History) Wings over Hong Kong Part 4 ( Kai Tak Airport Hong Kong Aviation History ) Leg Photos Please login to display this image. Over Vietnam near Nha Trang Please login to display this image. Hong Kong - just after passing Stone Cutters Please login to display this image. Checkerboard Approach to Kai Tak Please login to display this image. Runway in sight Please login to display this image. Touchdown seconds away Please login to display this image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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