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Thud Tour 2017


akanishta99

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Sorry to jump in a bit late, FSX wasn't cooperating this last week.

 

I'll be attempting to fly around the world in 80 days in the Republic F-105D Thunderchief, using the livery of Col. Jack Broughton. 

 

 

Route consists of 24 flights covering a total of 21,354 nautical miles. Since I'm flying a military aircraft, I'll be focusing on a lot of current and former military bases, including the home base of Col. Broughton (McConnell AFB, Kansas), and his TDY base during Vietnam (Takhli RTAFB, Thailand). 

 

Flights are:

 

--Segment One--

Duxford, UK (EGSU) - Amsterdam, Netherlands (EHAM)

Amsterdam, Netherlands (EHAM) - Rome, Italy (LIRF)

Rome, Italy (LIRF) - Thessaloniki, Greece (LGTS)

Thessaloniki, Greece (LGTS) - Santorini, Greece (LGSR)

Santorini, Greece (LGSR) - Port Said, Egypt (HEPS)

 

--Segment Two--

Port Said, Egypt (HEPS) - Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (OEJN)

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (OEJN) - Dubai, UAE (OMDB)

Dubai, UAE (OMDB) - Mumbai, India (VABB)

 

--Segment Three--

Mumbai, India (VABB) - Calcutta, India (VECC)

 

--Segment Four--

Calcutta, India (VECC) - Takhli RTAFB, Thailand (VTPI)

Takhli RTAFB, Thailand (VTPI) - Zhuhai, China (ZGSD)

 

--Segment Five--

Zhuhai, China (ZGSD) - Taipei, Taiwan (RCTP)

Taipei, Taiwan (RCTP) - JMSDF Atsugi, Japan (RJTA)

 

--Segment Six--

JMSDF Atsugi, Japan (RJTA) - Andersen AFB, Guam (PGUA)

Andersen AFB, Guam (PGUA) - Wake Island (PWAK)

Wake Island (PWAK) - Midway Island (PMDY)

Midway Island (PMDY) - Hickam AFB, Hawaii (PHIK/PHNL)

Hickam AFB, Hawaii (PHIK/PHNL) - San Francisco, California (KSFO)

 

--Segment Seven--

San Francisco, California (KSFO) - Hill AFB, Utah (KHIF)

Hill AFB, Utah (KHIF) - McConnell AFB, Kansas (KIAB)

McConnell AFB, Kansas (KIAB) - McGuire AFB, New Jersey (KWRI)

 

--Segment Eight--

McGuire AFB, New Jersey (KWRI) - CFB Bagotville, Canada (CYBG)

CFB Bagotville, Canada (CYBG) - Keflavik, Iceland (BIKF)

Keflavik, Iceland (BIKF) - Duxford, UK (EGSU)

 

 

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The crowds were out today for the Duxford airshow, where we have chosen to begin our Around The World in 80 Days journey. Other than some broken clouds at 3000, the weather wasn't bad at all. We spent the morning watching Spitfires and Hurricanes roar across the sky as we waited for our time.


The variety of static aircraft was impressive.

 

 

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We checked the schedule and we were coming up! Time to fire up the engine!

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We waived to the crowd as we taxied out to the runway.

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Here we go!

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We came back around and surprised the crowd with a high speed pass

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550kts @ 290' AGL

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The water looked great from up high

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The weather changed as we got to Amsterdam and hit some rain

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But it stopped by the time we got to our parking spot

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Going to spend the day in Amsterdam and get back at it tomorrow. I have some catching up to do.

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Decided on a late night flight out of Amsterdam to get to Rome early in the morning. 

 

 

Getting ready to go after some coffee

 

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I wave goodbye to EHAM and make my way to the runway

 

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The lights of the towns and cities below slowly fade out

 

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A pair of A321s appear to be doing some formation flying @ FL310

 

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The hint of a new day appears on the horizon

 

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The sky starts to illuminate as we make our initial decent

 

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The lights fade back in

 

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On final

 

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Runway in sight

 

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Just need to keep her steady

 

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Rotate

 

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Dropping the laundry

 

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Took a little while to taxi to our spot, but just in time to head into the city for an espresso

 

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Weather was good throughout the flight. Everything was nice and smooth. Forgot to engage speed hold when leveling off at cruise alt. Went from mach 0.8 to mach 1.3 in no time. My apologies to everyone in western Germany that was trying to sleep. That was my bad.

 

Next stop, Greece!

 

 

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23 hours ago, nmetheny said:

Nice jet! RIP Colonel Jack Broughton! What a career. He's from just down the road from me. Fly safe and check your six!

 

 

Thank you, you too! That's awesome that he is from the same place as you.

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Had a little bit of a delay heading out this morning. Had to have the flight suit adjusted since I had 72 pounds of pasta in my stomach.

 

Once we got underway, everything went smooth.

 

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Pushing back from our parking spot

 

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LIRF was pretty busy today

 

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Making final checks

 

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Off we go into the wild blue yonder......

 

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Climbing out

 

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I wave goodbye to Italy, as I pull a meatball out of my pocket

 

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Starting our descent into Greece

 

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Weather is looking good 

 

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On final into Thessaloniki

 

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Pulling up to our parking spot

 

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Time to go swimming!

 

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After checking in at Thessaloniki, Col. Broughton said he had to go run some errands and that he'd meet up with me later. I watched as the mighty Thud roared into the sky. It wasn't long until I realized that that was my method of transportation. 

 

"Now what?" , I asked myself out loud.

 

"Hmm, I bet the Avis car rental here rents planes too."

 

I congratulate myself on my brilliant idea as I walk through the door.

 

"What do you mean you're all out of flying midsized cars?!" ..... "No, you don't need to call security..."  ...... "can I have one of these pens? OK, OK, I'M LEAVING!"

 

I walk outside before security shows up. 

 

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"Where am I going to find a plane now?" I walk around looking for an idea.

 

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Hmm, those won't do.....

 

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I turn a corner and stop dead in my tracks.....

 

".....is that you, Betty White?"

 

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"Hey!", she said, "I'm looking to go skinny dipping in the Aegean, do you know a pilot that can take me somewhere good?"

 

"But of course" , I told her, "I'm a pilot, actually"

 

"Great! Where's your plane?" , "Uh...... it's... by the water?"

 

We begin walking to the water, which I was hoping would give me enough time to come up with a plan. We walked down the taxiway, staying to our right. Safety first, you know.

 

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We make it to the docks and I still haven't come up with a plan yet. 

 

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"Is that it over there?", she asked. I look around for what she's found. My eyes stop and grow wide. "Yep! That's it, Betty White!"

 

We walk down the dock to what looks like a Hellenic Air Force HU-16 Albatross 

 

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"They won't mind if we borrow this" I say under my breathe. "What was that?" , "Nothing" , I exclaim and hurry towards the plane.

 

"Ok, let's get in this thing"

 

"Ready, Betty White?"

 

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I push all the buttons and flip all the switches. The engine somehow comes to life and we make our way out of the harbor. I smile and pretend I know what I'm doing.

 

We pull up and begin climbing out, when I notice out of the corner of my eye a boat apparently trying to ram us.

 

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"It's those mechanical aquatic alien assassins!", Betty White screams. 

 

"Are you ok, Betty White?" , "Yea, why?" , "No reason...."

 

Goodbye, Tessoloniki!

 

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We fly low in hopes that we don't get noticed

 

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"Are you having fun so far, Betty White?" , "Can we sing some songs?", She asks.  "Do you know Patsy Cline?" , "Sounds good to me, Betty White"

 

"Fly the ocean in a silver plane...."

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We make our way to a secret swimming hole in Fourni

 

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Nice and easy..........

 

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We pull in to our super secret parking spot.......

 

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.......and Betty White opens the door and jumps out.

 

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....."WEEEEE!"

 

This journey is getting weird.

 

 

 

 

 

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I wake to the sound of water gently hitting the side of our boatplane. 

 

I look around for Betty White, but she's nowhere in sight. I notice though that the roof hatches in the cockpit are open. I make my way there and pop my head up and look around. Immediately I have to cover my ears as music starts blaring loud enough to knock birds out of the sky.

 

I blink my eyes, trying to comprehend what vision has hit my eyeballs.

 

Just then, I hear Kid Rock start singing Bawitdaba.

 

"UP JUMP THE BOOGIE!!!!", yells Betty White, as she headbangs on the top of the Albatross. "Calm down up there!" I exclaim, "you're going to hurt yourself!"

 

Betty White looks at me  "in your dreams, sucker!" , then stage dives off the wing into the Aegean.

 

Betty White is so hardcore.

 

After packing up the sound system of doom, we made our way out and got ready to depart

 

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With a push of the throttles, we began our takeoff roll

 

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"I need to head to Egypt", I explain. "Can we stop somewhere first? I need to respond to some haters on Facebook"

 

I look over, not sure what to say to that. 

 

"Where are we going?", I ask. "Kastellorizo", she responds. "I can troll people on Twitter there too. Besides, I heard Alexandra's has good chicken souvlaki."

 

>_>

 

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I can't help but appreciate the beauty all around here.

 

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"Hey!", Betty White exclaims, "what's that swirly thing outside past your head!?"

 

"The propeller?", I answer back a bit perplexed.

 

"It's pretty", she whispers.

 

"Yes it is, Betty White, yes it is."

 

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A large tanker is sailing across The Aegean as we fly overhead.

 

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Candy starts hitting me in the face and ricocheting off the windows

 

"WEEEEEE! I'M THE CANDY BOMBER!!!" I hear from next to me.

 

"Do you think I hit them?"

 

I slowly look over at Betty White.

 

"..........."

 

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We make a low pass over Kastellorizo to setup for an approach into the harbor

 

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Incoming!

 

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"Yay! You basted the ham!"

 

"WHAT?!", I inquired.

 

"Isn't that what they say when you make a good landing?", Betty White asked.

 

"Buttered the bread. It's buttered the bread."

 

".....oh."

 

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We pull in to the harbor and park our boatplane

 

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"I'm gonna go do some dank trolling, I'll meet up with you later, pleb", Betty White says as she walks away.

 

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You're so hardcore, Betty White.

 

 

 

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After a good meal, we decided to walk around the island for a bit before heading to Port Said. Betty White said she wanted to go to the airport so she could dance while planes landed. I didn't ask.

 

I looked around and spotted someone looking around at the end of the runway. 

 

"Who's that?", I asked someone that was seated in front of the terminal building talking to a figurine of Elvis.

 

"They're here looking for a stolen plane", they responded, "would you like to pet my Elvis?"

 

"..........no"

 

 

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I turn to Betty White and try to quickly come up with an explanation for us now having to find another plane.

 

Before I could get a word out she says "over there! Look!"

 

She points to the man with the binoculars, "..it's them....... the alien assassins!"

 

"We need to stay hidden, Betty White. We're not going to be able to make it back to our boatplane, we're going to need a new one."

 

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*click*

 

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"I'm gonna cut him..."

 

"Where did you get a switchblade, Betty White? Nevermind, I don't want to know."

 

"We need to find a new plane"

 

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We walk over to a chain link fence and my eyes grow wide

 

"Is ... that......."

 

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".... a T-28 Trojan?!"

 

We open the gate and take a closer look

 

Some time passes and the sound of Betty White's voice slowly fades in....

 

"...hey! Snap out of it!"

 

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".....pretttyyyyy...."

 

That's all I could get out of my mouth, as I petted the prop.

 

"We need to hide! He's coming this way!", she says as she grabs my arm.

 

I get one last pet in.

 

"We can hide in here"

 

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I hear some shuffling in the dark coming from the other side of the room

 

".....do you think the assassins can still read my thoughts?"

 

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"............."

 

Some time passes and we make a break for it

 

"To the plane!"

 

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"Can you open the canopy?"

 

I tell her that we need to get going as fast as possible

 

"I want to throw candy!"

 

"We really need to go, Betty White."

 

*click*

 

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"OK, FINE! THROW SOME CANDY!!!"

 

I watch as candies bounces across the tarmac, wondering if this is the final farewell to my sanity.

 

"Ok, time to go"

 

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With a light crosswind and clear skies, we zoom away from Kastellorizo 

 

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"Can I try flying?", I hear from behind me.

 

"Ok, let me transfer controls to the back, one second. Ok, she's all yours."

 

 

 

 

"WEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

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Betty White performs a perfect 8-point roll, followed by a double Immelmann.

 

"Are you sure you haven't done this before?", I ask.

 

"I play a lot of FSX", she responds.

 

"Ok, back to our flight"

 

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"...hey.....", she whispers from the back.

 

"...look..."

 

I scan the skies

 

"......which star......."

 

"....do you think the assassins are from?"

 

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"Our imagination can only wonder, Betty White."

 

 

The lights of Port Said fade in

 

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With the runway in sight, we make our way in

 

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We pull in to our parking spot and engage the parking brake

 

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"Is it to late to find some good shawarma?", she asks.

 

"Yea, it's getting pretty late, Betty White. I don't think we're going to find much open at this hour."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*click*

 

 

 

This is going to be a long night.

 

 

 

 

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The knocking on the door wakes me from a deep sleep.

 

I open the door to see who it is.

 

"I found the part for your plane you were looking for. She's all fixed up and ready to go."

 

"That's fantastic!", I say, wondering who this person is. "Where did you find it? The mechanic here told me none existed?"

 

The man looks at me and says ...... "1955"

 

 

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"I have to get going, Marty and Jennifer are in trouble again...."

 

"uh.... thank you.....", I tell him. "Be careful, the roads around here can be dangerous."

 

The man looks at me and smirks, "roads? Where I'm going, I don't need roads."

 

He puts on his sunglasses and walks away.

 

Betty White and I are gathering our things when a bright flash of light fills the room.

 

"Must be a storm coming in, we should get going"

 

We make our way to the plane and get underway. 

 

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"The Suez Canal is to our right, Betty White!"

 

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"I wonder if I can hit it with candy...."

 

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"Betty White......"

 

 

*click*

 

 

*sigh*

 

 

Everything is looking good as we make our way to Marsa Alam

 

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"Can I try landing this time?"

 

"Ok, Betty White, I'll transfer the controls to you..."

 

 

 

 

"WEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

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"BETTYYYY WHIIIIIITE!"

 

 

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"TIME TO LAND!"

 

Betty White enters the pattern and lands perfectly

 

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"Let's go to the hotel, I need to throw up now", I tell her.

 

"Ok, then let's go to the pool!"

 

I agree and try to walk to the bus without falling over.

 

 

 

Some time later..........

 

 

We make our way to the pool at the resort, hoping to be able to relax for the night.

 

"Betty, so good to see you again!", a voice says enthusiastically from the pool.

 

"Vlad! How are you!?", she replies.

 

"Join us in the pool, the water is warm!"

 

"Want to pet my koala? His name is Boris!", he asks.

 

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"Boris and I are on vacation, he doesn't like the snow."

 

He turns to Betty White and asks "Betty, want to sing karaoke like old times?"

 

"I would love to, Vlad!"

 

Music starts playing from out of nowhere.....

 

"Is that The Carpenters?!", I ask

 

Before I know it, they both break into song

 

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"Long ago, and, oh, so far away

I fell in love with you before the second show......"

 

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"DON'T YOU REMEMBER, YOU TOLD ME YOU LOVED ME BABYYYYYY"

"YOU SAID YOU'D BE COMING BACK THIS WAY AGAIN BABYYYYYY"

"BABYBABYBABYBABY OH BABYYYYY"

"I LOVE YOU, I REALLY DOOOOOO...."

 

 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

After a long break in Marsa Alam, Betty White and I make our way to the airport to get underway again.

 

We sit outside and discuss how we're going to catch up.

 

"Excuse me, folks, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation", a man's voice says from behind me.

 

"My friend Harvey and I are on our way to India and we can give you a lift if you're headed that way."

 

I invite him to sit down with us.

 

"It's good to see you again, Betty."

 

"Hi, Jimmy!", she exclaims.

 

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"Your friend Harvey can joins us as well", I tell him.

 

"Well he's right here! Can't you see him?"

 

I look over at Betty White and she's slowly shaking her head.

 

I decide to move on.

 

"I need to make one quick stop in Konarak, Iran on our way, if that's alright", he asks.

 

We accept his offer and make our way to the flight line. 

 

My eyes grow wide....

 

"THAT'S your plane?!"

 

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He smiles and says "she's a real beaut, isn't she?"

 

He hands me the keys, "Harvey and I had a few drinks, do you mind flying her?"

 

I'm in the cockpit before he can finish the sentence.

 

He walks me through the checklists and we get underway.

 

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We climb at a blistering rate and make our way up to our cruise altitude at FL530

 

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I look around outside at how amazing the sky looks from up here

 

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We make our decent into Konarak and get clearance for RWY 9L

 

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We taxi to the ramp and notice how large the base is.

 

I hear Betty White's voice in my headset;

 

"Imagine what humanity would become if we spent this money on helping one another, instead of finding new and improved ways of killing one another."

 

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We pull into our spot for our short stopover before making our way to Mumbai.

 

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"I will not stand for this disrespect!", Jimmy Stewart demands.

 

"You're all treating Harvy like he's invisible!"

 

Our hosts try and apologize when.........

 

 

 

 

 

 

*click*

 

"BETTY WHITE!"

 

 

 

We are escorted back to our plane and we get fired up

 

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As we taxi out to the runway, I hear the canopy behind me open

 

 

"WEEEEE!!!"

 

I look to my left and see candy bouncing across the ground.

 

I don't think they want candy, Betty White!"

 

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Time to go!

 

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We rotate and are cleared to FL480 and make a max performance climb out, pulling vapor as we go

 

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Cruising the dark blue

 

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We watch as Iran and Pakistan rush by as we make our way to Mumbai

 

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We make our descent into Mumbai just as fog start to roll in

 

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Butter.

 

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We park and head into the city for dinner before continuing on.

 

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After a relaxing meal in Mumbai, we continue forth on our journey.

 

As we make our way to the plane, I hear Betty White say from behind me, "I think all that curry is going to lead to a problem in my stomach...."

 

"Ok, Betty White, you sit in the back for this one."

 

I hear some grumbling as we climb in and get ready.....

 

 

Pushing back

 

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Mumbai is a busy place tonight!

 

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No approval for a max performance climb so we made a nice and easy climb into the dark blue

 

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We say goodbye to the day and make our way to Kolkata

 

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It's a nice and quiet flight, as Betty White and Jimmy Stewart are both fast asleep

 

 

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We make our descent into Kolkata and after an uneventful approach and landing, we get parked and head to the hotel for some much needed rest

 

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"I'll tell you what, Harvey and I sure had a great time travelling with you two."

 

I look over to the 'empty' seat next to me and thank Harvey for allowing Betty White and I to join he and Jimmy Stewart to Kolkata.

 

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"This is where Harvey and I will be stopping, but I spoke with a friend of mine and they're going your way."

 

"They said they've heard of your journey around the world and would love for you to join them."

 

"That sounds great, Jimmy Stewart", I say, "when do we leave?"

 

"The plane leaves at 5AM, so you better turn in soon", he said.

 

"Good night, Betty, I look forward to seeing you again."

 

 

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Betty White and I make our way to the parking ramp where we're supposed to meet with our new friends

 

"This must be it", I say, standing next to what I believe is our new ride.

 

"Welcome, friends", I hear from behind me.

 

"Mr. Stewart told me you would like to join us on our mission."

 

I turn around to greet our new host.

 

".........Mother Teresa?"

 

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"We are going on a humanitarian mission with the UN to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and then Vietnam to deliver food and medicine."

 

"Sounds good to me!", I tell her.

 

Betty White smiles and we get seated in the C-130.

 

We get underway with a lot of low level fog

 

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We climb out and can see the sun starting to come through

 

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The fog lifts as we make our way to open water

 

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"I think the alien assassins are trying to upload my thoughts.............."

 

"Betty White, what are you talking about?"

 

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"Not even God knows what she's talking about"

 

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Descending into Car Nicobar Island

 

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On final

 

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I hope they have a lot of bread here, cuz I'm bringin the butter

 

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We get parked and start to unload the supplies

 

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We only have a short time here until we head to Vietnam

 

 

 

 

 

 

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"We sure got lucky", Betty White says to me.

 

"The rain started right after we were done unloading the plane."

 

I look at her and smile

 

She continues, "...and those people must really love being on a boat....."

 

 

 

 

 

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I turn to her, "we need to head back, it's almost time to go."

 

We load up and make our way out of Car Nicobar

 

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We climb out making our way above the clouds

 

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We cross over Thailand as the sun starts to set

 

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The day turns to night as we make our way to Can Tho

 

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We hit a big thunderstorm about 60nm out and setup for the VOR/DME 06 approach and trust our instrumentation as it's nearly pitch black and foggy making visibility near zero 

 

The only light is from the lightning, until we make out the approach lighting

 

 

35 feet to go..........

 

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We get parked and decide to go to bed and start early tomorrow

 

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"......Hello?.. Betty White? What's going on? It's 4am..."

 

"Right now? Ok, sounds fun. I'll be there."

 

I hang up the phone and get ready to head to the airport. Betty White said I was going to accompany someone on some relief flights in Vietnam and Laos and we'd meet back up in Hai Phong.

 

The sun starts to come up as I get there and see this plane sitting on the GA ramps alone and I'm pretty sure this is my new ride.

 

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"Come on in, the water's warm!", I hear from the cockpit.

 

I climb in and get seated and great my new friend.

 

"Name's Murdock. I'm invisible. Don't worry, I can still see!"

 

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"Good to meet, you, wherever you are."

 

I think this is going to be interesting.

 

We get underway and head for our first stop, Gia Nghia, 164nm NE of Can Tho, N 12.01 E 107.41. We have to use LATLON as it's not on any maps.

 

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Just when I start to feel like this is going to be a normal flight, Murdock yells out; "hang on, I wanna try something I saw in a cartoon once!"

 

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His sounds of airplane noises are slowly drowned out by my recognition of my need for therapy sessions as soon as I get home.

 

The flat lands of the Mekong Delta give way to the mountains of the Central Highlands.

 

I make out our small dirt strip off to our 10 o'clock through the fog

 

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On final

 

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Nice and easy

 

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We get parked and unload the food and medicine marked for Gia Nghia

 

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We only have a short time to get back in the air to stay on schedule

 

 

 

 

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We quickly get back in the air as bad weather is starting to roll in. 

 

"I hope it's not too bad up there", I tell Murdock.

 

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If low level fog, clouds, rain, and heavy gusting winds wasn't bad enough, our nav gear stopped working five minutes into the flight (true story).

 

The only thing we have to try and find a tiny dirt strip on a mountain almost 200nm away is a paper map where we remembered about where it sits (also a true story, I'm only using what's in the plane so no gps and following routes on a map).

 

As we made our way, the situation got worse. Not only were we in almost constant fog, but now we had gusting winds that were so high, we had to disengage the autopilot and stick and rudder this thing into the mountains of Laos.

 

"I don't know if I can do this, Murdock."

 

"What's the matter?" he turns to me and asks.

 

"You're a pilot, are you not feeling confident?", he continues.

 

"I don't think so, Murdock. This is pretty extreme, and if we have any problems, there aren't exactly any places to land around here."

 

"Hmm..... I think I know what you need", he tells me.

 

"Have you tried asking for help from the Pilot Mustache God?"

 

"WHAT?", "What are you talking about, Murdock?"

 

"The Pilot Mustache God, man! He watches over us pilots!"

 

I turn to look at Murdock wondering if this is how I die.

 

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"Go ahead, ask him to help with your confidence!", he exclaims.

 

With the situation getting worse, I decide to humor him on this.

 

I ask out loud if he can help me feel more confident with this flight.

 

 

 

Suddenly, the clouds part just above us and a figure appears in the sky.......

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Hey there! I hear you need some help feeling confident that you can complete this flight?"

 

 

 

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"Hmmm..., I see what the problem is...", he says.

 

"...you're a pilot without a pilot mustache."

 

"A WHAT?!?!", I ask.

 

"A pilot mustache. Every good pilot has a pilot mustache."

 

"Admit it....", he continues

 

"...if you board a flight and you see that the pilot has a mustache, you feel better about the flight."

 

I couldn't argue with that logic.

 

"You're right, Pilot Mustache God, but I don't exactly have the time to grow a mustache in time to land this plane."

 

"Don't worry, young aviator, that's what I'm here for, I got your back."

 

Pilot Mustache God does an aileron roll, and then, it happened.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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"WHOA! Thanks, Pilot Mustache God!"

 

"I'm feeling more confident already!"

 

"Ok, Murdock, let's do this."

 

With that, Murdock breaks into song with the theme from 'Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines'

 

We make our way to where we think the runway is, and spot it to our left

 

"I got this", I say out loud.

 

Murdock lets out a loud YEEHAWW!!!

 

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We come in just over the trees and drop down to the runway

 

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We land and taxi to the village and get shut down and start unloading.

 

I get distracted when I see some elephants hanging out.........

 

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"Man, we ain't got time for no ephelants!", Murdock yells, "we gotta be up in the air again in a few minutes if we gonna make it to Hai Phong on time tonight!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

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"Ok, Murdock, where to next?"

 

"Next stop is Pa Doung, Laos", he answers back.

 

"You're going to love this one", he says with a grin.

 

We have to pitch heavy nose up to clear the trees. 

 

"YEEEEE-HAAAAAAW!!!", Murdock howls.

 

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We cruise over the tops of the mountains with the fog blowing across the tops of them

 

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We cross over Thailand with the mountains of Laos to our right and The Mekong River below us separating the two

 

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"THAT'S our landing zone?!"

 

"I told you you would love it!", Murdock says with a big smile.

 

On approach, we see the wreckage of a plane that didn't make it

 

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I turn to Murdock as we taxi to the end of the runway and tell him, "I'm glad this runway is sloped going uphill to help slow us down, this one is pretty short."

 

"It's even more fun taking off!", he responds enthusiastically.

 

"I can't wait."

 

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"I can do this........."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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We charge down the dirt path we're calling a runway, with a drop off at the end

 

We get the main gear off the ground with little runway to spare and make our way to Hai Phong

 

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We say goodbye to the mountains as the sun begins to set

 

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Visibility starts to go away as we make our descent into Hai Phong

 

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The sky clears 5nm out making our landing much easier

 

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We land and taxi in and get parked

 

"Thank you, Murdock. Today was an incredible adventure."

 

"It was my pleasure!", he responds, "thank you for going with me!"

 

"Now......", he continues, "I must turn invisible again....." , "white paper white paper white paper", he starts whispering.

 

"You're one crazy dude."

 

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