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Post by raphael on Sept 17, 2017 13:54:07 GMT
Regarding LEG 4 SECTOR 2 (Mackenzie to Fort Graham), I think that there is an error in the flightplan (pdf doc) : the flight distance is 86 nm and not 66 nm.
Mind this when planning your flight.
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Post by raphael on Sept 17, 2017 11:51:39 GMT
Thank you David. I hope other pilots will upload their screenshots too.
Don't know why, but I can't see paughco's images in previous post...
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Post by raphael on Sept 16, 2017 23:33:21 GMT
Hello everybody, so the Rally started... Here is flight 1 from Pitt Meadows to Port Hardy, in the great Turbo Mallard by Milton Shupe & team. Beautiful West Coast Air livery and fast aircraft to save time in this busy life, as usual. Taxiing to Rwy 26L Lined up Rally started ! Vancouver Approaching Nanaimo Campbell River airport Descending as we're approaching Port Hardy Turning base for Rwy 11 at Port Hardy In final Short final over the fence Taxiing to the parking Hope you enjoyed the flight, See you in Bella Coola.
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Post by raphael on Mar 18, 2017 15:25:42 GMT
Wonderful sunset atmosphere, Thom ! A few hours from the closing time of this great GAAR 2017, here is Leg 10, from Strahan to Cambridge. No replay with FSRecorder today, just shots taken during the flight. I had to edit them so that we can actually see something. Ready to take-off on runway 36 in Strahan Start of take-off roll Quiet cockpit - luckily the flight was short so I did not fall asleep Approaching Hobart along River Derwent Hobart International in the background while flying downwind leg for hardly visible runway 32 at Cambridge (runway 09/27 clearly appears in the foreground) Base and final turn over the sea and then I really struggled to see the runway 32 as there were lots of confusing lights on the ground. I had to pause the sim and check the GPS to locate the airport... There were no fireworks during all the approach, although date and time were correct - but I know my RAM was full at this time and I had a CTD shortly after landing (luckily I wrote down my time seconds before). I restarted the sim to taxi to the parking and heard the fireworks in the cockpit ! Beautiful half moon is rising Here they are ! I kept watching them and taxied too far, so had to come back... Taxiing back Engines cut, but landing lights still on for the picture That's it, my GAAR is over now. I'll now take a flight back home and a friend will ferry the Avro all the way to LSGG, as it's much too long for me... A big thank you to Allan and Rob for the organization, flight planning and flight stats. I enjoyed flying the Rally as much as I enjoyed watching other pilots' screenshots on the forum. I wish we were more participants to post, though. Enjoy Spring (or Autumn in Autralia). Raphael
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Post by raphael on Mar 14, 2017 21:56:18 GMT
Beautiful shots, guys ! This time, I waited to see your pics before flying the leg. And as everybody is saying "Good Bye", we're still flying the Rally. Leg 9, from St Helens to StrahanI hoped the airfield would be a bit more quiet today than when we arrived, but as soon as I entered my cockpit, the Piper Cub started taxiing and then the Curtiss did too while I was doing my checklists Lined up on runway 08, ready to go. I know the flight instructions mentioned runway 26, but I did not want to take-off against all other aircrafts in the pattern. Was frightened enough the other day when I landed here against other traffic !!! 97 knots : rotate Leaving the east coast on our way to Launceston Climbing to FL100 - too high for such a short distance to Launceston (bad flight planning, for which I'm the only responsible) Launceston tower cleared me for a touch and go on runway 14R (and not 32L as in the flight docs). I did respect the instruction but of course it increased distance. Together with a longest departure route in St Helens, this will make impossible to reach Strahan within schedule... But safety comes first, of course ! Short final I did not want to mess up with my logbook (I'm not sure it understands touch and go - have to test this once) so I kept flying a few feets above the runway before pushing throttle back to full power. Turning to heading 232 to Strahan Lots of nice clouds, I like this sky ! One of the lakes Urs told us about Hills become lower as we approach the west coast so we started our descent from FL100 Fast approach to avoid a too big delay. No runway 30 in FS9, so we'll be landing on runway 18. In long final for runway 18. We're not flying the pattern this time, as we're late - but please keep the secret. Touchdown : I jumped on the brakes and used reverse thrust. Almost one minute late - the Swiss boy will need more beers tonight to get through this great shame... Parking is small. One more challenge : parking the aircraft without damage. We made it ! Let's get these beer cases out and drink some before joining our friends for the debriefing and the BBQ (I feel bad for the delay). :-) To those still here : see you for the last flight, although I'm afraid that it might be too dark to see anything... or anybody. Good luck for the last leg, it appears challenging.
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Post by raphael on Mar 10, 2017 21:57:51 GMT
Thank you Thom and Dick !
I think I understand what you mean, Dick, with Orbx : their sceneries look so beautiful and so real - and they're only for FSX. I've seen many videos that made me want landing on these Orbx airfields, be it in Australia or Pacific Northwest. On the other hand, I appreciate the almost infinite number of freeware addons for FS9 and the fact that it is running smoothly on my aging computer (9 years now and no plan to change it in near future).
And I love flying the DC3 too !
See you for the last two legs.
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Post by raphael on Mar 10, 2017 18:11:21 GMT
Last, but not late. Here is flight 8, from Devonport to St Helens. I prefer to wait in the shade until they finish loading whatever they have to load in the plane. I don't ask questions except about the total weight of those boxes, and I don't pay for the fuel, the food and overnight stays... We'll be cleared before the Baron, as we were first Hmmm, the plane seems heavy - I wonder if I have been told the correct weight... Or maybe I forgot to add the seventy beer cases I'm myself transporting for the barbecues (there were five hundreds of them at the start of the Rally, as I estimated we would need 50 cases per leg) Anyway, these Dart Mk536-2 engines are powerful and we finally lift-off Georgetown and Tamar River mouth Hills and plenty forest reserves in the area (Swiss boy is happy) St Helens airfield is in sight but we're early, so we'll fly a full left pattern to land on runway 08 Turning base In final for runway 08 but the situation was a bit chaotic as other aircrafts were all landing on runway 26, which was not suitable for my schedule... I had to quickly land between two other arriving planes and then some of them had to go around while I was taxiing back to the parking. Landed ! This could have gone much more wrong than just a flat tire... Taxiing back, and now we'll have to wait that the Piper Cub clears the taxiway so that we can park - which he won't do, of course : "artificial intelligence" aircraft in fact means very stubborn pilot. No problem, I just drove THROUGH it ! Now the guy took off, I did not damage his aircraft. And who comes ? A Curtiss JN-4 ! What a busy little airfield ! OK, let's see if Thom brought a spare tire or if we'll have to manually sew the rubber.
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Post by raphael on Mar 7, 2017 23:58:17 GMT
Thank you proptwister. You're right : this is a great airplane and beautiful cockpit.
Are you flying FS9 too ?
Thank you Philippe & bonne soirée, dans le nord !
Raphael
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Post by raphael on Mar 6, 2017 23:41:14 GMT
Hmmm, always last to post, although I've got one of the fastest birds of this rally... Probably doing too many things in the same time ! Here is leg 7, from wet Phillip Island to Devonport. It was early for me too, this morning and as I left all doors open while enjoying beers with all the friends, I had to mop the cabin and cockpit before starting my engines : wind pushed rain inside and it was flooded everywhere... Short runway, so I loaded minimum required fuel and offloaded a few beer cases. I taxied as far as I could on runway 04, trying not to get stuck in the mud. And finally, with flaps at 15, I stood on the brakes while advancing throttle to full power... The bird jumped... ... and was airborne early enough I cannot fly long in these conditions (I hate flying blind - or IFR if you prefer) Cool, it gets much better higher up Beautiful sunrise I enjoy a peaceful cruise in this great cockpit From time to time I can see the ocean below Time to work again : Devonport airport is in sight and I'm turning downwind for runway 06 I'm a bit early, so flying this half pattern will allow me to do some sightseeing - here we're approaching Devonport harbour Mersey River mouth Turning Base over Don River mouth Back over Mersey River, in a long final Almost perfectly lined up (no crosswind today) As I still was early, I touched down as late and slow (70 kts !!!) as possible and avoided to use the brakes before really necessary Parked in Tasmania - wow, rather far from home !!! Let's look for this jazz concert !
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Post by raphael on Mar 4, 2017 17:22:29 GMT
Canada, what a cool destination ! Hope I can fly the rally in September, although I'll be even busier by then - it will be mountain biking season...
Thank you Rob for the interesting and sometimes challenging flights in Australia.
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Post by raphael on Mar 4, 2017 17:07:56 GMT
Thank you Urs.
David, I also like flying low and slow, for instance with the DC-3, but I'm often pretty busy and that's why I choose a powerful and fast aircraft for the GAAR. 10 flights in a month is a lot for me - especially when you add the time for this screenshot business, replaying both departure and approach with FS Recorder to get pics I'm unable to take while flying the bird...
By the way, the replaying in FS Recorder is the reason for cloud and sky differences between pics shot more or less at the same place. Although I save a .flt situation just before recording and reload it before replaying, weather is never quite the same in FS Rec. Don't know why...
Anyway, see you at the bar, guys.
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Post by raphael on Mar 4, 2017 14:05:59 GMT
Wow, what a challenging flight, Thom ! On my side, it was a really cool afternoon journey across the most beautiful and varied landscape among the first seven flights. I enjoyed it very much. Leg 6, from Cooma (not) Snowy Mountains to Phillip Island. Lining up on runway 18 Landing lights on, flaps 7 1/2, we're all set for take-off Turning to heading 238 towards Mansfield NDB Lake Dartmouth (too late to look for Mt Kosciuszko - I should wait for Urs' screenshots and valuable tourist information before flying the legs...) As the mountains become lower, we fly across several valleys Turning to heading 195 at Mansfield NDB Enroute to Cowes VOR with Lake Eildon in the background Cardinia Reservoir, not far from Melbourne Approaching the coast, French Island ahead Cowes pier Phillip Island airfied in sight The gravel runway looks really short Phillip Island Nature Park Turning Base for runway 22 The road bridge linking Newhaven with San Remo In final Full flaps and I had to fight a bit with the stick to get properly lined up with the runway, as the aircraft is not responding well at such slow speed Landing went well though, we could stop well ahead of the runway end Carefully taxiing to the parking, as the taxiway is rather narrow Now, let's go for a beer with the others - this loooong post made me thirsty. I told you I liked this leg !
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Post by raphael on Mar 2, 2017 11:11:47 GMT
Oh yes, I forgot that February-March is summer in Australia, while it's presently snowing heavily in the Alps... Thank you for the reminder, Rob !
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Post by raphael on Mar 1, 2017 23:11:50 GMT
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Post by raphael on Feb 26, 2017 22:23:11 GMT
Beautiful shots, proptwister !
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