Post by uhug on Dec 4, 2019 16:39:23 GMT
EARC Flight #14 VIAL (Allahabad) to VECC (Kalkota)
And we are back again. Thom from his island and me from the mountains. Our planes are ready and we too!
Oppressive heat weighs over the airfield here in Allahabad.. 37°C, but for once no haze and wind from the east. We are planning the next part of our journey: to Kolkota in West Bengal. Flight time: just under three hours.
Who starts first? "See you in a minute, in the meantime you can leave," says Thom and disappears grinning in his cockpit. How did he mean that?
I like these small airfields, friendly people and perfect handling.
Is this an airfield or golf course? Milimeter grass clippings!
But I do a bit of dust during the run-up..
"See you in a minute".. ok! (I'm sure Thom will overtake me somewhere on the track or otherwise is up to something..)
8 o'clock in the morning, the throttle sticks go forward!
The rainy season is over and everything is dusty and dry as a bone!
Farewell and thank you!
Allahabad's main attractions is the "Triveni Sangam" because of its religious significance. In addition, the city has a number of monuments from both the Mughal period and the era of British rule.
Towards the East!
The city of Varanasi..
.. or eralier, Benares. Varanasi is considered the city of the god Shiva Vishwanath ("Lord of the universe") and one of the holiest sites of Hinduism. For more than 2,500 years, believers have made a pilgrimage to the city, which is also a center of traditional Hindu culture and science.
It is particularly desirable for devout Hindus to bathe in Varanasi in the Ganges, as well as to die there once and be burned.
The city of Dehri on the river "Son" in the Ganges plain. Here is the "Grand Trunk Road". A long distance trade route in South Asia. It is one of the oldest and most important transport links in Asia. The approximately 2500 km long road follows in large parts of the North Indian Ganges plane and has been a traffic route between the present states of Pakistan, India and Bangladesh for centuries.
On the way towards my next waypoint the city of Gaya. The surroundings of Gaya are highly agricultural and are interspersed with irrigation canals.
Little is known about the medieval history of Gaya; it was certainly shaped by the conflict between Hindus and the advancing Islam, to which all ancient temples fell victim and also any remaining traces of Buddhism were destroyed.
A certainly noteworthy waypoint is the 1365 meters high Parasnath. It is the highest mountain in this area.
In the area of the city Dhanbad. At the time of Captain Ross, coal was and is still mined here.
West Bengal is heavily influenced by agriculture and is a center for the cultivation of tea and jute.
The first suburbs of the city Kolkata. And .. Kolkata is not located on the river Ganges .. as many think!
It is the river "Hugli", a Tributary of the Ganges.
I still have enough time for a short sightseeing flight.
With the establishment of a base of the British East India Company in 1690 Calcutta became a center of British possession in India. Until 1911, Calcutta was the capital of British India. (Of course there is much more to write and terribly complicated )..
The airfield is located a few miles north of the city. In the suburb Dum Dum. In my imagination, the area might have looked like this.
A simple approach..
.. often there is a dense haze here! All set for landing.
15 minutes after eleven.. Landing in Kolkata!
I already suspected that.. An Austrian airplane in Kolkata..
That is it for today! I learned a lot..
"Where did you overtake me?" I ask Thom .. "Ohh .. in a cloud" he says .. disappears and gets two beers. (That cant be true.. .. there were no clouds on the route.)
What does our chronicler say? "When they reached Calcutta they found that Poulet had not long left for Akyab, Burma."
let's have a beer Urs and talk about your holidays!!!
Waiting for clearance runway 34 at Pangkalpinang airport.
A beautifull view on the airport and the mountains behind while turning to course 109 to Tanjung Pandan.
Halfway between Bangka Island and Belitung Island with a view on Cape Berikat (Tanjung Berikat).
A nice island for Thom? But he would nead a DC3 with floats.
Some islands close to Belitung Island in Gaspar Strait.
The airport of the city of Tanjung Pandan with the first waypoint, VOR TPN.
Leaving Belitung Island and starting to cross some 260 NM of water.
The crossing is beautifull and monotonous at the same time.
Arriving at the island of Java.
The airport of the city of Semarang with the second waypoint, VOR ANY.
Immediately after Semarang a beautifull view on three mountains: Gudung (Mountain) Ungaran (2050m) in front, Gudung Telomoyo (1894m) in the middle and Gunung (mountain) Merbabu (3145m) as the most distant.
Descending to Surabaya with a view to the vulcanic mountains south of Surabaya.
And a view to the bay and waters surrounding Surabaya.
Descending to 1500 ft at VOR SBY, airport in sight.
Turning to final with vaguely one of the vulcanos ahead, probably Gudung Wilis.
On final. 
Airport WADB in default FSX.
The same default FSX airport WADB, but now with FreeMeshX as mesh. WADB is situated on a kind of plateau. I did not like that.
Taxi to runway 10 at Surabaya.
Climbing out and making a small turn to course 120.
My first good look at the vulcanos of Indonesia! In fact it are two vulcanos. The somewhat hazy peek at the back is the Gunung Semeru (3676m). The broad peak in the foreground is the Gunung Penanjakan (2782m).
Gunung Argopuro (3088m) surrounded by clouds.
On to the next one: Gunung Raung (3332m). We will fly over the top and I started to worry about my cruising altitude of 10.500 feet: 3332 meters is 10.932 feet. So I started to climb again. To 11.500 this time.
Very close to the top of the Gunung Raung. The new cruising altitude proved to be enough.
After passing the top of the Gunung Raung and looking at the Bali Strait I started descending to my usual 8500 feet cruising altitude. I used the descent to gain some extra speed above the 150 NM ground speed (my target speed) to make up for the slower speed to reach the higher cruising altitude of the first part.
The island Bali.
The airport of Bali with the first waypoint, VOR BLI, is in sight.
The eastern tip of Bali with the Gunung Agung. With 3142 meters it is Bali's highest peak. The Balinese believe that the Gunung Agung is the residence of the gods and is therefore a sacred place.
The island Lombok with Selaparang Airport. Close to the airport is the second waypoint, VOR MTM. 
Leaving Lombok and approaching Sumbawa island. In between is the Alas Strait.
Over Sumbawa island, the island of our destination, looking at the second crater our route is crossing. This is the crater of the Olet Sangenes.
Looking at eastern shore of Saleh Bay Sumbawa
Past the TOD and descending to Airport Mohammed Salahuddin. A cloud layer is blocking our view.
With the clouds behind us, there is the bay where our airport is situated.
The papi's of runway 13 in sight, but I will not fly a straight-in. First to VOR NMA and than the procedure.
Turning to downwind runway 13.
On final, but still too much to the left side of the runway. As mentioned earlier I did not stick to "the plan".
Parked in front of a tower of the earlier days.
,...but in the end we landed safely and Urs touched down like a Swiss clockwork just minutes behind us....
