Holy Cow.............. All my nightmares in one basket.....
As Bruce rightly said, taxi lights proved utterly useless.........
After being given my clearance for take off, it was all I could do to pick out the center line, wind was pretty strong, so all my flying experience was put to the test..... I checked my GPS prior to take off, and it looked like there were some pretty big mountains right on my flight path, on closer inspection, there looked like there was a gap in the mountain range, none of my charts gave me any idea of the hights involved, so I decided to play safe and divert slightly off my track, I informed the tower what my intentions were, and clearance was given under these extreem circumstances.
As soon as the Maddie's wheels left the ground, I climbed as steeply and banked hard right, and aimed for the gap............ All I could do now was to pray I made the right decision.......
My eyes strained through the screen, for any signs of terra firma..... in which case, all I could do was to put my head between my legs, and kiss my ass goodbye.
After a while, I was pretty sure I made the gap....... At which point, I swung round to intercept my correct course, clouds began to thin out, and I could see at last where I was........... that *beep* scary.........
Now at least I was above all the crap, and began to settle once again, .... but I wondered........ Was this the lull before the storm......... Time will tell..!
Comments from Flight 10 .Yelizova UHPP to Galena PAGA.
After filing my flight plan I walked out of the airport building carrying the Thermos and an insulated bag containing a couple of hot bacon rolls .
It was snowing heavens high and the met forecast was for solid cloud and heavy snow up to about 10000feet. It was just after 4am and the airport vehicle with the anti-freeze wash down equipment had just completed the removal of the snow which had accumulated on the flying surfaces overnight,there was no room in the hanger apparently!!.
After a quick walk-round I entered the cockpit switched on all the lights and started the engines hoping the cabin heating would soon increase the temperature ,set-up the autopilot ,switched on the GPS as always,and contacted ATC for their permissions . While taxiing to runway34L it was difficult to make out the centre-line which made for a slow taxi ,the cross wind didn't help either .
When I got to R/W 34 I aligned carefully ,set the flaps one notch, got a "cleared for take-off" from ATC and applied full power for a quick and short roll and when I was airborne and in a positive climb with gear and flaps up ,switched on the preset autopilot I set the GPS to terrain mode and saw what appeared to be high ground directly ahead on my course ,so I went on to manual control and did a steep climb up to the ATC cleared altitude of 9000 feet when I went back onto auto-pilot . The clouds started to break up at 12000 feet where some of the hill tops were visible just as ATC cleared me up to 19000 ft ,I then requested 25000ft and the cloud tops were about 24000ft. I then had an easy time where I ate my bacon rolls and drank coffee in peace .The Bering Sea below looked very clean and cold . After a while Savaronga Island airport PASA showed up on the GPS to Port side ,I noted the airport info in case I may have to divert there and although it had gravel runways they would not be a problem.
When we were about 300 nm from Galena the sky started to darken and stars appeared I had forgotten days are short at these latitudes ,I then started to slowly descend from 25000 to 7000 feet and at 85nm to go I was in thick cloud with some turbulence . Atc gave me a course correction and I noticed that the reading of the heading selector instrument didn't tally with the GPS and was 30 degrees out .I decided that the GPS would be the most reliable and used it for any further course corrections ,At this time it was very dark . ATC advised me the runway in use for an ILS approach was R/W 25 so I tuned the radio for 109.50 Mh and set up the GPS for R/W 25 to give me visual cue's on the approach .At this time an automatic weather forecast was being transmitted for Galena which informed me the there was a wind blowing at 45 knots from 335 degrees as the approach was on 247 degrees this meant I would be blown to Port, or the left side of the runway . A short distance from the threshhold I saw the runway light to the Starboard or right side of my approach so I banked over to the right and into the wind and landed on the snowy airfield .As I taxied in to the airport buildings I noticed the windsock was horizontal showing a very high wind .After parking the Maddie the propellers was feathered to prevent windmilling of the engines and the chocks and covers fitted to prevent blowing snow entering any orifices .As usual the Maddie performed brilliantly .I reported the unserviceable heading instrument to the maintenance crew who are to change it ready for the next flight .An interesting flight.
Location: COMFORTABLY NUMB, in U.S.A. *** KOFF ***
Age: 51
Gender: Male
Mel, that 4th shot is awesome..... I likey alot.
I didn't like what I went through to get it ....
RD
PS: Just to let you know, I didn't exactly have a fun time either. I don't preflight these at all. I fly them when they are up for everybody. And this one, I knew was going to be somewhat a SOB. I also checked the terrain charts, and thought, " OMG, I can't see a dam thing." Then I decided a quick rotation and bank was in order. And it ended up being a wise choice. After leveling off at 27,000, things started to look alot better. I'm 2 hours into the flight, and will finish it tomorrow night. I'm just hoping I didn't *beep* myself with the upcoming destination.
@ RD. It's okay by me that you haven't been pre-flighting the various "Maddie" missions that you've been creating for this event! The flights have been mild, difficult and challenging and then sometimes downright near impossible!
I think you deserve more credit than you are getting! Especially given your time constraints and other MOD duties, to say nothing of managing home and work affairs. Sometimes I think you out-Marine yourself!
@ Team SurClaro. My hat is off to each one of you for your participation and dedication to this project! When this go-round is finished, I hope we'll start up afresh and take on other humanitarian projects and chalk up our experience's accordingly. Change the scope and nature as (other subsequent designer's) see fit.
Departed Sendai, the weather wasn’t bad, massively humid for the temperature but beyond that, nothing that was mentionable. About a third the way into the flight crossing onto North Hokkaido and later over the Kuril Islands, everything was snow covered to the beaches so I knew the air was going to get colder the further North I went. I as a precaution staged my life raft and slipped on my exposure suit. It made it a bit more difficult to move about but better that than to possibly have to jump into it in a raft on the water when already soaked.
Interesting geography along the route, and I was really amazed with the number of still subsurface sea-mounts, reefs and volcano’s. I know this area is in the “rim of fire” but I never thought about it much beyond that.
Something just to mention though... for some reason at times the engines would drop about 5 rpm for seconds to a minute and then pick back up to the power setting. There was no sign of turbulence or other winds causing this, I think I might need my fuel filters checked once I get to a PT6 friendly area.
Upon landing at UHPP, this Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Airport is vacant, there really are little signs of life here except for a few tenders, who met me right after I landed and stopped by to give me mostly the wave and pour the fuel in the Maddie, it really seems as if they want me to get going with all haste, I don’t understand them, I come no where close to understanding the language here.
I was always lead to believe that this was a paramount airport with the main military operating unit being the 865 IAP (865th Interceptor Aviation Regiment), which operates MiG-31 “Foxhound” interceptor aircraft which replaced the MiG-25 “Foxbat” that was previous to it.
I was also lead to believe that Naval operations have also taken place here, most notably with the 317 OSAP (317th Separate Composite Aviation Regiment) operating Tupolev Tu-16R “Badger” aircraft as late as 1992, and Beriev Be-12 “Mail” a twin turboprop flying boat and Tupolev Tu-95MS “Bear”. Even recent high-resolution imagery revealed that the base continues to serve as an important military focal point, with 29 MiG-31 aircraft dispersed throughout the airfield and a large number of prop transports and helicopters… But there isn’t a single aircraft on this airport other than mine as of this moment… Much waving of hands and shouting of orders is occurring, all in a language that I don’t know the first thing about. I can see the frustration of trying to explain on their faces, but no one speaks English, except for the Tower folks and they apparently left… Three people have brought me a bit of food and handed me slips of paper that have “шторм” written on it, I don’t know what it means… But they are giving me sign language that they want me to go. I’m still not 100% back to strength, so I may take a nap and see what the dawn brings, even though it’s only mid morning here… Thought that rudimentary sign language, I have communicated that I want to sleep and this has caused another flurry of activity… There's four individuals sanding down my props, and filing/filling the edges. I really wish I knew what was going on, I don’t know how sanding and filing/filling the props is going to help me sleep but they are going at it with fervor like I have never seen.
It’s now mid evening and I still haven’t got to sleep any time I try to curl up there is knocking on one part of the plane or another. The props have been refinished, and the paint is a flawless gloss black and gloss white that matched the previous pattern. The whole blade package is now repainted and has a finish that would win a show and shine competition in the States. They are hand buffing the prop blades, spinners, and the first half of the wings both upper and lower side to include the rudder and tail planes. It’s now nearly mid-night and there are still people buzzing around the aircraft doing what ever it is that they are doing.
Wow, this is so weird! I only asked for fuel and I am getting a detail job out of it. I have to send them away it is so late and I am so tired, I have to get some sleep.
I did manage some screens on the flight to UHPP though...
Enjoy
NOTES/DISCUSSION:
1. I just installed FS9 (SP2) onto its own dedicated (D:/ Seagate Barracuda ES.2 ST3250310NS 250GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive aboard my new Vista rig, including both Maddie mission aircraft. For years, I've been so anxious to finally see the best that FS9 has to offer with all settings maxxed out! That being said, I'm going to fly Mission 10 UHPP - PAGA all over again! And all in glorious 5.1 surround sound! I'm hoping that I'll get a better landing result in PAGA than I did on my XP rig. Couldn't do it! I had to drop out of RD's built in weather system and switch to clear weather before I could make a successful landing. Hey, if nothing else, I'm honest!
2. Frame rate report: Locked my frames to 40 fps and getting 39.9. Will be monitoring this over various scenery areas.
3. Isn't the snowfall effect in FS9 supposed to create a rain drop melting effect on the front windscreen? Oddly, with all settings maxxed out, I'm not seeing it that way.
@ Cat1. Where's RD's weather in your Mission 10 screenshots?<-- Haven't flown Leg 10 yet...Sorry Cat1, I've been in a bit of a funk lately.
@ Cat1. To get screenshots in proper order, you have to enter them in reverse order. I'm just learning that when taking lots of screenshots the key is to take copious notes and times that each screenshot was taken.<-- The only one that is out of order is the fist one shown, it should have been the last one shown but I didn't feel like deleting and re-adding them.
MY STORYLINE (continued):
I couldn't get the hell out of Kamchatsk fast enough! That's one place I'll never revisit anytime soon if ever! I [realistically] filed an IFR flight plan to Pitka (PAGA) Alaska. ATC had me cruising at 19,000 feet AGL and I chose to climb out at 2,000 fpm.
Within minutes, I was passing over what I believe to be none other than Mt. Koryaksky, a 3,456' volcano!
At 0729 Hours, I passed out of the snow into broken clouds at 11,500 feet AGL. Encountered mild turbulence for approximately two minutes in duration. Otherwise clear sailing. At 1400 hours the Alaskan coastline came into view.
At 1600 Hours, I picked up the Bishop (Galena) NDB at 331.0 kHz. Another few minutes of sunlight remaining finds me snapping photos like a wildman while the weather holds in spite of the gathering weather system just ahead!
In the soup at 1620 hours, fifteen minutes out from PAGA.
1633 hours and 39 miles west of PAGA I began receiving the first of what will most likely be many ATC course corrections vectoring me for the ILS runway 25 approach. My big problem at this point is that "I don't do ILS" effectively yet. Arrghh! Slowing to 180 knots. At 2,700 feet, 8 minutes out. Still very much in the soup!
Turning on final and flying by the seat of my VFR pants! 16:55:24 hours, saving flight (Landing PAGA), just in case! Auto Taxi Speed After Landing engaged at 25 knots (initial).
16:57:25 hours, landing lights on, gear down, flaps one, AutoPilot turned off! Bag of potato chips: on hold. Attitude: Check! Gumption: Check! Pucker Factor: Military Power!
16:58:55 hours, Flaps 2. No runway in sight! C'mon, c'mon you #$*^&!
Runway visible right ahead! I'm bit right and high. Compensating...compensating...nose up a little...like it, like it.....! Up a little more....Kawhump-whump! Back on earth! Engaging reverse thrusters.
Slowing...flaps up. Taxi speed acheived. Several times, I attempted to contact ground handling to parking, but no dice. I tried the tower but got no response. That's funny. The runway lights are turned on, but who's minding the shop?
I turned my radio over to the Maddie (shared) Emergency frequency and tried to raise Cat1 there.
"Cat1, Jaeg. How read, over!"
"Cat1, Jaeg. I'm on the taxiway and looking for you...how read, over!"
Hmmm! That's funny! Well, he must be asleep in his Maddie, or in a hangar somewhere about. I'll just taxi to the General Aviaton parking area and see if I can't roust him with the sound of my engines.
At the Gen Av parking area, I discovered one old, cold and dark Beech Baron, covered with snow and ice. No sign of Cat1's Maddie anywhere! I parked and shut down beside the cold and dark Baron, dropped my exit door and banged out three, ear-shattering blasts from my hand held, compressed air horn. I waited five minutes and repeated another three blasts!
This place is spooky! And the fact that there's no sign of Cat1 anywhere about spooks me even more. Griping to myself that I'm too old for this *beep*, I put on my cold weather gear and went traipsing a quarter mile through the snowpack for the dimly lighted control tower. Only to find it padlocked shut!
WTF! I circled the tower structure. No foot prints, no tire tracks. I raised my compressed air horn and let out another three short blasts over my head. I lit a cigarette and waited for a response for several puffs.
From somewhere behind me there came a loud, metallic clatter that nearly had me jumping out of my Sorel (brand) snow boots! I concentrated the beam of my flashlight toward the sound and circled the tower structure once more, only to find a loose section of aluminum siding rattling in the wind!
A series of completely uncontrollable shivers ran up and down my spine. Thoughts of large, carniverous polar bears began running through my head. A polar bear attack might very well account for a missing man, but it sure as hell can't account for a missing Beech B300!
OMG! Did I land at the wrong airport? No! No! I was vectored in on my final approach from someone or something in the tower at this very airport! So where is everyone? And more important, where in the hell is Cat1?
Jaeg-
PS: I'll post my photos later once I get a handle on what's going on here! Until then, I'm holed up in my Maddie, trying to scrape up a Cornish Game Hen and a few sides for dinner.
My Photos from my FSX flight UHPP to PAGA:
Sunrise UHPP.jpg
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Sunrise 2 UHPP.jpg
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Sunrise 3 UHPP.jpg
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Clouds 2.jpg
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Weather System Right Ahead.jpg
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Descending 2,700 near PAGA.jpg
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Shutting Down PAGA.jpg
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Last edited by jaeger52 on Fri May 30, 2008 10:13 pm; edited 2 times in total
Now............. I thought the departure from was bad enough....... but even I know, you dont get sandstorms is this part of the world.
Before I started my decent to Galena..... I was above the clouds, everything was going just dandy........ untill I hit....... Well, you tell me... !
Whatever is was, I thought, soon at least I should be under it........ But, Oh No..... All the way down to the runway, was this thick yellow Whatever !
It was by more luck than judgement, that I found the runway, just slightly off to my port... and enough time and distance to make a final correction, No way was I going around in this weather (I think thats what you call it). No responce from my call to Parking, it seems like the radio just went dead, so I had no choice but to find my own way.
There does not seem to be anyone around, made my way over to the tower, but thats locked.
Nothing else here....... it seems deserted.
Climbed back into the Beech, and made myself a brew..... maybe whatever this is, will clear pretty soon .......... I hope !
Have you installed XP Service Pack 3 as I have? Could your issues in any way be related to SP3? So far I'm running smooth on SP3. (knock wood). Reformatting at this stage is not possible for me unless I get a system crash big enough to force the issue. So far, I'm peaches and cream! But I'm burning critical file copies like a wildman just in case.
Bruce, I'm sure we are all at the same place, you may not be able to see me, cos I could be under 10' of sand..... Cant speak for Clay though..
What you have to remember about me and the maddie flights.....
If a tree falls, it falls towards me .... When it rains, it only rains on me .... if there is a sandstorm in Alaska, it will find me....
But hey man......... it's all good fun..
Mel.
UPDATE: @Bruce, yes I did install SP3, but as soon as I saw it had interfered with a few things, I dumped it, one in particular, was Windows Movie Maker.
It has always been my theory, and I also think someone confirmed, that having Active Sky, regardless of it being active or not, FS9 does use the graphic cloud formations, you may have seen it in some of my screenshots, well, I produced a short vid, so you can compare mine with yours......... Feedback on this welcome..
This one was just before I started my decent at PAGA (RD's Flight 10), sorry I could not get any video shots of the take-off, but the crap that RD threw at us... gave me more to think about than controlling Fraps at the same time...
I do intend to make a much longer video of one of the up and coming flights........ Now we all know how RD's brain works... this could include just about anything...
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