764 replies to this topic

[Martin Hunter]

Hi gang,

OK, I love the RealityXP Baron 58. In fact, I'm going to fly around the world in it. Now, things like this have been done on this forum in various forms but as best as I can tell, no one's done it exclusively using fspassengers flights from station to station on the way. So here's what I've done...

I started up a new company ("World Tour" being the name - what else?) and a new pilot to go along with it. I then went and bought a 4000+ hour used Baron in 90% condition at had it brought to 100%. This gives me the added excitement of having an old ship that may or may not make the whole trip without breaking down. Also, since I don't yet have fsnav or anything like that, it lets me keep close tabs on flight times and distances covered. My setup for each leg will include one "passenger" (assumed to be the copilot) and as much baggage as I can carry with full fuel (typically 120 lbs).

The trip started out from essentially a random location in the US. I entered the K then tapped three letters at random, coming up with KHAF, or Half Moon Bay just south of San Francisco. Set the sim to real world weather, and off we go.

My first stopover was Victoria, BC. The trip took a total of 3:57 covering a distance of 669nm. Lo and behold, the added excitement factor kicked in on this first leg. When on descent, I flipped the flap lever and they only dropped about 10 degrees, with my copilot (the one passenger I take along) reporting a major problem and that the flaps are stuck. Indeed they were.

After nearly overshooting CYYJ, I taxiied to parking and proceeded to dish out over $20,000 for repair of the system. All I can say is I'm glad it wasn't an engine Very Happy

Here are some pics of the first leg.

Martin

ps. I'm glad to see this forum has a "subscribed threads" feature, unlike a few others - good amount of traffic too.



Cold and dark - about to get an early start in the dawn light.


Taking off into the soup that rolled in between pre-flight and taxiing out


A spectacular California sunrise


A nice buildup blocking my view of Victoria and CYYJ itself


High on the glideslope on final for rwy 09. I wish I had more flap here!


Tied down in the rain

[Martin Hunter]

Leg #2 was from CYYJ (Victoria) through CYDL (Dease Lake). My original destination was CYPR (Prince Rupert) but at about 80nm out I found I still had over 3/4 of my fuel left so on I pressed. In fact, after landing at Dease Lake I still have about 5/8 fuel so I could have gone on and on. Total distance covered by this leg was 631nm in a time of 3:15. I was helped along nicely by a 30 to 50 knot wind off my back quarter most of the way as well.

Here are some pics.

Martin



Flying out of the muck over Victoria I discover a big friend


Above the swampy mess


A speckling of small islands thanks to Ultimate Terrain.


A glimpse of Prince Rupert (CYPR) 12000 feet below


Hmmm... this wouldn't be a good place to have to walk from


A beautiful sunset over the peaks


The approach was a little unusual in that there was a decent sized hill to pass over on final for rwy 02.


Parked, unloading, and enjoying a light snowfall. Now to find a hotel...

[Martin Hunter]

The third leg was from Dease Lake (CYDL) to Whitehorse Intl (CYXY). I would have preferred a smaller strip around Whitehorse but it's not lit. This leg was meant to be only an hour or so but through ATC having me go around, it took a total of 1:45 over a total distance of 205nm. The northern lights were spectacular.

Martin


Leaving Dease Lake behind in the snow


A glimpse of the northern lights. They were with me for the whole trip.


Tied down in Whitehorse

[Martin Hunter]

Time for leg #4. I'm keeping these legs up north rather short as the weather doesn't always allow me to get in where I want to. This leg was from Whitehorse (CYXY) to Dawson (CYDA). I've just (finally) installed ASV6 so I'm enjoying some fantastic new sky textures. They really make the socked in clouds feel more threatening. Distance for this leg was 229nm, flown in 1:17. I'm glad I was able to spot CYDA through the muck as there aren't any other airports nearby.

I'm off to takeoff for Alaska. Good thing I installed new mesh files so I can enjoy them through the cloud cover

Martin


Light snow at Whitehorse


The end of the runway is out there somewhere.


Enjoying the new ASV textures when Dawson pops up in front of me. ATC did their job on this one


Wouldn't you know it - it's clear on the other side of Dawson.

[one.one.six]

nice shots and welcome
i live in foster city, near KSQL

Edited by spartan.one.one.six, 14 January 2006 - 11:34 PM.

[Mr. Schutte]

All I can really say is wow....

You must have put so much effort into that, and what a spectacular result, fabulous shots mate! Can't wait to see the rest of them. But that was a real treat, thank you very much.

Jonathon

[Martin Hunter]

Ol' N6510F has taken some more damage and required more repairs. This time it wasn't an inflight failure so much as bad judgment on the pilot's part. After leaving Dawson, my field of choice was a 2 !'er from www.dangerousairports.com - Bald Mountain (2AK7). This 1000ft dirt strip is located a few miles north of Anchorage and sits precariously perched on the top of a mountain.

I did two missed approaches, one even with the wheels touching down, before finally getting low enough to pin her on the numbers. Well, I was too low and clipped the tree off the end of the runway. The plane ground to a halt, only vaguely looking like a Baron still.

As myself and my copilot were uninjured, a quick phone call to my sponsors answered my inevitable question: do we repair it? The answer was a quick "Yes" despite the $285,000 price tag for repairs. Thus, N6510F keeps on ticking. Needless to say, my copilot was less than impressed and I've had to look for a replacement.

This leg (#5) took 2:17 and covered 305nm. Unfortunately, my pilot rating is now in the red at a -200 or so after the -1200 for the crash.

My next challenge is getting out of this field though I do have a nice long runoff beyond the end of 24.

Martin


Departing Dawson airport


Crossed over into Alaska and the clouds are clearing


ASV and Alaska at their best


On approach into a taxiway - oh wait, that IS the runway!


Go around...


Going around again after touching down briefly


A month and a half later, here's a pic of the newly restored N6510F sitting at Bald Mountain. Look closely and you'll note that the tree is missing some branches. Any airplane parts you find under/next to it are yours to keep.

[Martin Hunter]

Thanks, guys! I'm still over the islands southwest of Alaska so we're nearly caught up. After this post and the next, all updates will be as they happen.

The Baron flies again! We departed 2AK7 (barely) and picked our way through the mountains to another little dirt strip, Toksook Bay. This one is gloriously long, though, at 1800 feet. As it happens, the biggest challenge with this leg was the landing itself as it happened over a small rise an into a 25knot crosswind.

This leg (#6) took a total of 2:32 over a distance of 452nm. There's a good chance this is my last north american destination as my next stop over will likely be in the far east.

For anyone keeping track, the running total for the whole trip is now 2494nm and 15 hours, 11 minutes all flown without time compression and with real weather.

Martin


1000 feet of runway ahead of us


Wheels off the ground 50 feet past the end of the runway. 1000 feet at 3900 ASL is just too short for a fully loaded Baron.


Off into the wild blue yonder. The copilot didn't like the tail scraping noise


Landed in Toksook Bay and leaning heartily into a 25 knot crosswind to take this picture

[Fsimfan]

Great shots, and love the story!   Lucky you made it in one piece after clipping that tree.  Good thing the sponsors covered the massive repair bill.  

And welcome to the forum, by the way!  

[Martin Hunter]

Well I was wrong about Toksook Bay being the last NA stopover before hitting Russia. In fact, I've taken a major turn southward to follow the Aleutians. It's really quite amazing how tall some of these peaks are despite being relatively small islands.

Leg #7 took me from Toksook Bay (OOK) to infamous Adak, AK (PADK). This was another long one at 4:13 flying time covering 644nm. Upon landing, I had about 1/4 fuel left in each tank. Of course, a 10-20 knot headwind the entire way didn't help any. Luckily Adak was experiencing only partial cloud cover as there's no alternative within 1/4 fuel range. Temps were down as low as -25C at FL110 but it was a balmy 0C on the ground at Adak itself. The local inhabitants greeted me wearing T-shirts and shorts

Martin


Departing Toksook Bay, again in a 25 knot crosswind


Cloud and miles of open ocean


A glimpse of one of the Aleutians through what's becoming to be typical weather for this trip


A view of Unalaska airport from 11000 feet up - not a good strip to under or overshoot


First glimpse of Adak


Turning onto base for rwy 05, Adak


Parked and tied down, ready to check out Adak's night (afternoon) life

[Martin Hunter]

Fsimfan, thanks! Adding FSPax into the mix really livens things up. I'm never really sure if the plane will make each leg. For what it's worth, so far this trip has cost my sponsors around $250,000 and that's factoring in "income" from my copilot/passenger

Martin

[Martin Hunter]

Leg #8 will be my final North American destination before hitting the far east. We flew from Adak (PADK) to Eareckson As (PASY). It wasn't a huge jump but the next one appears long enough that I thought a fuel stop would be in order. One thing I am learning along the way is how hard my newfound interest, fspassengers, is to please each and every time. This time I increased my descent rate to 1200fpm and neglected to throttle back enough. Well, the 600 point deduction from my flight score taught me that lesson.

This leg did bring a bit of tension as my GPS up and quit though I naturally had the Shemya NDB tuned in and after a bit of dead reckoning, we were back on a bee-line course.

Now the question that comes up is - do I head south once hitting Asia or continue into Russia for a while? Needless to say, this will not be a direct line, straight-across-the-contrinent style crossing as I intend to see the sights.

Say, does anyone know of a good mapping program I could use to overlay my route, preferably in color? I'd like to be able to show the current section as well as past legs.

Martin

Departing Adak


A show-off shot turning onto course


Adak at its best.


My attempt at a mildly artistic shot


M-O-O-N. That spells moon!


Eareckson / Shemya shows itself - not much more than a strip on a barren lump of land.


Parked at Eareckson but just long enough to get fuel and go. The 10,000 foot runway here was truly a treat compared to the dirt strips in mainland AK.

[Saabdriver]

Wow, beautiful aircraft and shots!

[king-air]

Martin Hunter, on Jan 15 2006, 06:53 AM, said:

M-O-O-N. That spells moon!

you may not know it, but that was a famous quote from the like 6hour film the stand.

wierdest film i have ever seen

nice shots, keep it up.

[Sonnova]

what a great journey. Keep it up    Looking forward to next leg.

[Mr Smooth.]

very nice and that sure is alot of shots

[Martin Hunter]

Thanks, guys! I'm winging my way from Eareckson to Yelizovo on the Kamchatka peninsula. It's a nice long 500 nm journey over nothing but open ocean. I'm due in 2:10 so you can expect more pics then

King-air, I know it. The Stand is my favorite book of all time - one which I've read four times (yes, all 1500 or so pages)

Martin

[simo_x35]

Nice flights and plane

great shots !

[N3123V]

You have youself some amazing shots there! Keep it up!

[FL050]

Cool shots.  That is a lot of them