Those who have been around this club any significant period of time and those who know me, know that I have a certain affinity for things Mediterranean. This is, after all, why Peter based LGFC in the Greek Isles! Well, we’ve had feature flights based from LGFC, flights into Samos Island and Malta and this month we’ll be exploring another part of the Mediterranean Sea. Our host nation this month offers scenic vistas (pict1) (pict2), big bright cities (pict3), and a wealth of history and culture (pict4). So, wherever you are coming from, get yourself to our VA hub in Beirut, Lebanon (pict5) (pict6) and get ready to explore this land of beauty and diversity (pict7). Oh, and one more thing, it is December so you may be able to get in some snow skiing as well! (pict8) Yep, “Ski Lebanon”, not something I imagined hearing but it’s true!
In college I had the privilege of knowing several Lebanese students; Nadji was my roommate for one quarter after my former roommate got married. Ever since knowing these friends I've been intrigued by this land, its beauty (pict9) and its food – I’ve wanted to visit but have had to be satisfied instead with simming. Nadji used to call Beirut "The Rio of the Mediterranean" and this month we’ll cover this eastern Mediterranean nation pretty thoroughly.
Let me confess that I’ve been working up this feature for over a year so I have plenty of photos and videos I could be sharing. First off, a rundown of some of my arrivals into Beirut: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imJyEf7Phgw (pict10) )
Unfortunately FS has only given us four airports in the whole of Lebanon (and at least half of those appear to be military bases). The first thing I did was to take a fast and "stealthy" repaint of a BizJet to all of the airports (just under 150 miles). (pict11) Really though, you can’t see much at 395 knots, so I returned to Beirut and loaded up a Turbo Beaver commemorating the Beirut hub of our Virtual Airline, Flight Club International Airways. I then flew "low and slow" along those beautiful Lebanon beaches up to Wujah Al Hajar. (pict12) At that point I changed over into Piper Comanche (pict13) and headed back south, along the hills and then dove down over Beirut (pict14) before continuing south to the border. (pict15) I then turned east and dipped over into the Baka’a Valley (pict16) and headed back north toward Rayak AB. (pict17) At this point I took an old A-7 Corsair II from Rayak AB up to the far north end eventually landing at Rene Mouawad AB. (pict18) (pict19) (pict20) From here I took a Saab 340 back down the coast to Beirut. (pict21) (pict22) (pict23) All this mountain hopping got me to thinking about summer-time firefighting, so I loaded up some fire bombing aircraft and again took to the skies: (pict24) (See the video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMFAh9T5MzE )
I had another thought ... if you fly south along the Baka'a Valley, that eventually leads into the Jordan River Valley, the Sea of Galilee (you may have heard of that place before) and eventually the Dead Sea. This is your chance to fly at -1,200 feet and still be in the air! To that end, I made some round trips in various “regional” aircraft into Syria, Southern Turkey, Israel, Egypt and Cyprus. Basically, over the past year if I’ve needed to fly somewhere I took a short round trip out of Beirut. (pict25) (pict26) So, all this flying is great, but what of the details of your FOTM? This will be a rather simple undertaking ... all I ask is that you simply make SEVERAL flights in, through and around Lebanon. Choose something scenic and/or fun and enjoy your flights over this beautiful and historic country. I know this can be a crazy and hectic time of the year so please do what you can.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
04 December 2008
December 2008 - Lebanon
09 November 2008
November 2008 FOTM - Meigs Field Chicago
This route passes me not too far from Scranton, PA where I had planned to stop for Nels' sake but after a week-long PC failure I ... sorta forgot to load in that waypoint. As I flew northwesterly the weather slowly deteriorated with wind, then clouds, then turbulance and finally lightning. My landing into Ithica, NY was surprisingly easy considering the crosswind!
I made this 170-mile jaunt in 1:13 minutes.
After an hour on the ground at Fort Wayne I was anxious to finish up, despite the weather - only 124 miles to Chicago plus a time zone change! I was thrilled to note that the heavy industries Nels noted for Gary, IN were there in FS too! Then, on to the goal of this FOTM - Meigs Field.
Extra Credit:
06 October 2008
October 2008 FOTM - Kenora, Ontario
Step Two: Get from Duluth, MN to Kenora in an Air Canada Dash-8 (Like you've never seen me use one of those before...)
Step Three: Decide what to fly for this FOTM:
Okay, leg one: Kenora to Red Lake I loaded up the "Raven" and Real Weather for Sunday October 5th. Looking at the map view there's not just a lot of lakes out there - we're in the middle of SWAMPLAND!! (pict4) As I taxied out I was looking up and reading more about this area of the world (always try and learn a little something along the way) and found this real-world photo to share (pict5). Okay, anyway, I taxied out to the active, (pict6) called ATC and requested VFR - Flight Following and took to the skies. (pict7) I cruised along happily at just over 2,000 feet. (pict8) (pict9) (pict10) Real weather showed progressively decreased visibility but using the VOR and NDB I was easily able to find the Red Lake airport (pict11) and landed (pict12) in the water nearby. I parked on the edge of the shoreline for an hour or so while I strolled up to the airport for some lunch. (pict13)
The final conclusion to this FOTM is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T5Ix54ZNTQ and I gotta tell you, I think it will be worth watching!
pretendpilot@yahoo.com
17 September 2008
September 2008 - Experimental Aircraft
04 August 2008
August 2008 - Alaska's Deadliest Catch
The voice on the other end was heavily accented, French. "Mr. Flounder?" "Yes, sir, how may I help you?" "Pardon, I am Francois DeLaland Metereaux Bordeaux ... something, something, something ..." Basically he was noting that I had used the Dash-8 on a recently uploaded video on http://www.youtube.com/pretendpilot called "Goma to M'bala." I had also used the Dash-8 last March in Pakistan. I had also used the Dash-8 last year in Colombia as well as flying between Sydney and Melbourne. I had also featured the Dash-8 in our very first FOTM way back in January of 2003. Besides that, he pointed out, I was the one .....
As we approached the GPS waypoint given I dropped back down to 300 feet and began searching the sea for our capsized ship. (pict7). With flaps down I was able to settle into a nice, comfortable 120 knots loitering speed - this allowed any turn I needed to make without fear of stalling out! (pict8). It appeared to me that the weather front was right at the waypoint so the question was whether the stranded vessle was ahead of the storm or in it. At just 32 minutes after departure from Kodiak we spotted the vessle and one survivor in the water. (pict9) I guess I was lucky to be able to find the ship on my second pass through the area - I had burned just under 15% of my gas.
(pict14) The weather cleared again just at the threshold and I got some good bumps of wind - which the Dash-8 is made for. (pict15) Check out the windsock in the background. As we shut down we had used just under 83% of our gas in a bit over 2 hours flight time. I think the Executives were impressed? During the little break I checked in with Victoria ... only three of them had lost their breakfast over the shipwreck! Two hours later the storm had officially moved in and we headed out, to Dutch Harbor.
(pict16) (pict17) This time we cruised very nicely at 19,000 feet - I think the Euros were impressed. (pict18) This is what we looked like coming into a clear and windy Dutch Harbor ... (pict19) where we landed a bit long but very smoothly. We put the European Security Experts up in the finest little cottage we could find.Early the next morning we set out back to Kodiak. (pict20) Weather was calm. (pict21) The flight was scenic. (pict22) We even passed right over top of a past FOTM - Cold Bay. (pict23)
Reports from Kodiak were not good! Winds were 20, gusting to 37! Temps were -15*F, heavy snow and limited visibility. I headed in ... (pict24) Tony wanted runway 11 and, well, the first time by I missed. (pict25) The second time into runway 11 was no better! (pict26) Maybe it's cheating (take note Bill) but in order to see I minimized the panel. It really wasn't much help! Notice the white streaks in the view? Those are waves! You'll see that I could see waves but no runway ... so I went missed again. (pict27)
With the Official Observers calmed down in back and the ILS needles moving into position in front I was set up for landing WITH a strong quartering tailwind.
(pict29) With the wind scooting me along I planned on deploying the spoilers early but this workhorse was ready for the challenge. 
(pict30) (pict31) (pict32) (pict33) There are cheers from the back of the plane! (pict34)
The Cub Flounder
21 July 2008
July 2008 - Amazon Adventure
"Boa Vista is the capital of the Brazilian state of Roraima and is situated on the western bank of the River Branco - only 136 mi from Brazil's border with Venezuela. It is the only Brazilian capital located entirely above the Equator and an equatorial climate predominates. These hot and wet conditions are ideal for the growth of plants so the vegetation is both dense and varied."
"The name Boa Vista means Nice Sight or Nice View. It is also the most populous municipality in the state - Approximately one third of the people in the state live here. Its business is done mostly with Manaus, capital of the State of Amazonas, and with the city of Bonfim, in Guyana. These are the only two cities linked by road in this state so the airplane is the only way of transportation."
"This modern city is distinguished among the capitals in the North Region of Brazil as a planned city with a radial plan similar in fashion to that of Paris, France. The main avenues converge at the Civic Center Plaza, where the headquarters of three governmental branches reside (legislative, judiciary, and executive). Aside from the cultural attractions (theaters and palaces), there are hotels, banks, post offices, and cathedrals all worth seeing."
I spent several days just wandering the city like some sort of vagrant just trying to get hydrated and trying to orient myself to what I was doing here. I must be getting older because I used to just pop into these FOTMs with no difficulty! By Monday July 6th I was ready to roll ... I got up at 06:00 and just less than two hours later I had fired up the Flight Club's Twotter and was ready to head out on the first leg.
LEG 1: Boa Vista to Sao Gabriel da Cachoeira via Maturaca At 170 knots this is a trip of just under three hours. Really, other than the "PICO DA NEBLINA" (which I thought would never show up) there was nothing to see but flat jungle down there. I mused as I cruised along that a couple of sim versions ago I had thought about an Amazon Flight. I had even gone so far as to fly from Belem to Iquitos but hadn't seen much back then but water and flat green. Now the sim was better and Joao actually knows something about the area! Finally I got to SBZ3 and made the turn to Sao Gabriel da Cachoeira.
At this point a new PIC arrived - that being my seven-year old son. With our route already being pretty well in line with the runway he took over and finished the leg, stopping off responsibly at the fuel station. The idea of flying something fast and sporty up to Iquitos quickly passed and I spent the rest of the day relaxing in Sao Gabriel da Cachoeira as suggested.
LEG 2: Sao Gabriel da Cachoeira to Tapuruquara Mid-Day Tuesday I took the Flight Club's Cessna Caravan down to Tapuruquara,
following the river VFR (or was that VOR?) 
LEG 4: Barcelos to Moura Seems that this far up the Amazon, the only aircraft available to me are old timers. That's okay as the whole life here seems to move by very, very, v-e-r-y ..... slowly. Only 83 miles this time, actually not too bad in the old Rapite.
Much faster but unremarkable flight. Joao, still pretty flat along the Nigro and Amazon Rivers, MSFS lacks the REALLY THICK jungles I'd like to see but it's far better than earlier versions and the rivers are pretty accurate according to the maps I've seen. Thank you for the chance to again tour your country - hummmm, I wonder if FS.com has any Amazon Add-ons?
Okay, so until next month my sim will be hanging out in Colombia - in real life I'll be finishing up flying the Seychelles.
02 July 2008
June 2008 -Seychelles Shuttle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiBqXK4pG20
Late afternoon on Monday June 2, I took Flight Club Virtual Airways Flight 176 Hong Kong to Mumbai, India, arriving at sunset.
I loaded the Air Maldives Twotter on floats and took a quick interisland tour . Later that afternoon I took a Kenya Airways DC-9 down to Victoria, Seychelles for the real FOTM .With the scenery add-ons downloaded and installed I set about to pick some planes for this month's tour - my goal here was just that, to "tour" the area . Here's what I came up with:
Seychelles > Bird Island > Denis Island > Praslin
Fregate > Coetivy > NDB down south in the middle of nowhere > Platte > Eagle Island > Darros
Desroches > Marie-Louise > Alphonse > Farquhar > Andrakaka Navy on Madagascar
Cub Flounder
May 2008 - Florida Sea Planes
April 2008 - Isle of Malta
The Birds!" "Those birds and their STUPID SCREECHING!" I just wanted them to SHUT-UP!
As I lay there under my pillow I could swear that one of them sounded like the "death aria" from Mozart's Magic Flute Opera ... "Damn Birds!"
Finally I realized that it was not a bird, but was Geert calling on my cell phone. (Duuh~) I reached out through the mosquito netting and retrieved the phone.
"Hello?"
"Hey Flounder, Geert here ... from The Netherlands?"
"Yes Geert. You are the only Geert I know. What's up?"
"The FOTM boss ... you always want to know early where it will be ..."
"And .........?"
"You can head to Oslo or Amsterdam or Hamburg!"
"That's great Geert. What day is it anyway?"
"Sunday Boss. March 23rd."
"Geert, do you have any idea what time it is?"
"Sure Boss, it's 7 AM here - but I know how you like to plan ahead and all ..."
"Thank you Geert." I said, "I'll meet you in Hamburg in about a week."
My head was reeling. Okay, 7 AM in Holland means it must be about .... 8 o'clock here in Rwanda. The birds have been peeping and chirping and squawking and SCREECHING for about 4 hours!
"Aaaargghhhh!" The air is warm and heavy, kinda smells like wet dirt ... with a hint of sweet flowers and ... is that ... maybe ... rotting bananas? If I really listened I could also hear the buzzing of the flies and mosquitos in my room. The two friendly Geckos on the wall had done little, it seems, to decrease the insect population! Yet even so, despite this verbal picture, this area(Rwanda, Eastern Congo, SW Uganda, Burundi) has to be one of my favorite, most "natural" places on earth.
Those who actually follow these stories and keep track will wonder how I ended up here, outside Kigali, when I last left off in Beirut. Well, that's a story unto itself but suffice it to say that an acquaintance of mine who works for an undisclosed international aide organization invited me to pay a visit (and help out) so, here I am. On the up side, even here in the middle of Africa I can tune into http://www.plr.org/.
I had planned on leaving Kigali on Sunday March 30th but by Saturday afternoon I was ill - some tropical something had gotten the better of me. Saturday night was a miserable night of fever and .... ummmm, ... well, "voiding my system of toxins!" Sunday I was pretty wiped out so I didn't leave. I spent Monday stressing about getting to Hamburg and by the middle of the afternoon I figured I may as well just wait out the official FOTM information.
On schedule, Tuesday, we learned that, "Malta is more than just sunshine." This sounded really good because Tuesday afternoon we were having one of those big, fierce, tropical thunderstorms which left everything soppy, muddy and wet. The rain and lightning was amazing as my Air Malta 737 departed on it's nearly 2,500-mile flight from Kigali to Malta International. Yes, it's a VERY LONG flight but I figured with few passengers and really full fuel tanks I could make it.
Enroute, I began planning this month's adventure. Nothing against Geert or his suggestions of six possible flights but he makes it sound like once we arrive in Malta and maybe take a general tour of the area we'll be done - I like more. Some say I like TooMuchMore but I opted to make this more like one of Dick's past FOTM in the Philippines where I could spend the month flying commuter hops out of Malta. Fly more ... fly less, we'll see how things come about.
As usual, I was anxious to begin! I've flown into Malta a time or two before but the scenery always seemed to be lacking ... something. I hoped that a month-full of adventures based from here would be something exciting. (I believe there is at least one Virtual Airline out there based from Malta) I figured I'd start out looking to the four compass posts: NORTH; SOUTH; EAST and WEST, then we'll see how I was feeling. As we cruised along high over the North African deserts I did some additional reading - who knew that Malta was "The Land of Honey"? Cool. (I also found the quotes Geert had taken from Wikipedia.) As the sun set I concluded that I would indeed be SHORT on the fuel so I had to make a quick "Gas-and-Go" in Hamada Nc-8 (HLNM).
After arriving I made arrangements to see the island(s) from a "Tucano" Military plane which I had learned about from Joao Mario and found thanks to "The Collector."
This would be my first real introduction to Malta before starting my regional flights for the month. Flight One = North to Zurich: I flew an Avro RJ in old Swiss livery up
and a Dash-8 in Swiss livery back to Malta. To quote Dick, "nominal flight." Flight Two = South to Libya:
I flew into the FOTM from the south and really, there isn't a whole lot to see down that way. (Granted, I arrived after dark but trust me, there's not much there) So I took a Do328 turboprop on a little tour into Libya finally landing for lunch and fuel at Tripoli before heading back to Malta. (The Biblical Apostle Paul is famous 'round here - in fact, he was shipwrecked on Malta at one point)
livery to Greece and a JS-31 in "LGFC" livery back. 
Flight Four = West to Alicante, Spain: A pre-dawn flight over Tunisia and Algeria using an Air Catalonia ATR-72 going and an Air Catalonia Do328jet returning after lunch.
on some additional hops around the western Mediterranean (pict32). In fact, I have some landing videos at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwISnJsjACkTHANKS MUCH!
March 2008 - Northern Pakistan
Arriving to the FOTM - B787 PIA: 
After four GLORIOUS days on my rented boat in Melbourne (pict1) I was ready to head to our next FOTM feature. Early on Sunday March 2nd I departed in a brand new Boeing 787 in PIA livery for Islamabad. (pict2) I headed diagonally across the continent passing north of Adelaide (pict3)and leaving the land of Oz near Broome. My route closely followed the legs I had flown down in the Electra - only this time I was twice as high and doing nearly 500 mph ground speed! I passed over Bali ... then switched airways over Changi Singapore. (pict4) Continuing up the coast I passed over an overcast Kuala Lumpur and was streaking at 494 mph nearly 9 miles over Phuket, (pict5) Thailand.
My first contact with Ali was back in 2000 after this ( http://www.toomuchfs.com/2mfs/showtext.php?dsn=379 ) piece appeared on FS.com. We have been in regular contact since that time, he was included on the very first e-mail invitation launching the notion of a Flight of the Month Club and has, in the past, submitted a flight for us: Karachi to Cairo on a 742. I was anxious to get to Ali's (pict6)(depite the political situation there) for some of his mom's home-cooked curry and to try these flight adventures!
From Thailand my route in the 787 took me over The Indian Ocean and I made landfall at Bhubaneshwar(south of Calcutta/Kolkata) (pict7). We then tracked across India, over Delhi (pict8) and into Islamabad from the south. (pict9) We landed at 10:44 (pict10) and were off the plane by 11 AM.
We drove staight-away to Ali's home (pict11), not too far from the airport for lunch and an afternoon of catching up. That evening we went up to the roof to enjoy the views and the sunset (pict12) (pict13) (pict14) (pict15). At that moment, noticing the chronic haze (this is consistent with real-weather downloads from our Flight Club International Airways hub in Mumbai as well) I opted to use some of my three-dozen weather themes for the FOTM features.
Islamabad to Peshawar via Tarbela Dam - Jetstream-31 PIA: Departure 8:30 AM
I loaded up the little Jetstream-31 (pict16) and taxied out under VATSIM's direction for a northbound departure. Shockingly (he says with sarcasm) there was no one else flying in the area and ATC was covering India so he cleared me "per pilot's discression" and left me alone. I took an extra 360* turn over the city whilst climbing above 8,000 feet before crossing the mountains. (pict17) About 10 miles out from Tarbela Dam I dropped back down to 4,000 feet, in the haze, and had a quiet and uneventful flight west - roughly along the path of the Kabul River (pict18), landing to the north. (pict19)
Peshawar to Islamabad - Dash-8 Q200 Flight Club: Evening Departure
After a virtual day in the frontier I set the sim clock to 1 minute before "dusk" and loaded a direct route back to Islamabad. Again, VATSIM said, "cleared per pilot's discression" leaving me to taxi and take-off (pict20) on my own. Shortly after departure I heard a 777 landing in Islamabad (pict21)- the bloke sounded British but he was long gone before I arrived nearly 30 minutes later. (pict22) (pict23) Again, landing to the north - then back to Ali's house for a few days rest.
Islamabad to Gilgit via MF NDB - Do-328 Pakistani: Noon Departure
(pict24)Call it Friday that I headed north into the mountains, (pict25) over the MF NDB (pict26)(is this the highest NDB in flightsimdom?) (pict27) (pict28) and on in to Gilgit. (pict29) While default ATC had me all twisted around (pict30) on finals first directing me to expect runway 25 and then clearing me to runway 7, (pict31) the landing itself was fine ... long but fine, I popped up the spoilers early (pict32) and settled down smoothly. 
My question is, "We have this nice pleasant valley, why put the runway ACROSS it as opposed to length-wise?"
Gilgit to Islamabad - Beechcraft 1900 Mountain Air Express: Late Morning Departure
After spending the entire weekend here in the warm hopitality of the mountains, I headed back to Islamabad in a turbo twin that is not on my favorites list (pict33) - but it looks good and flies okay. Somehow it seemed less scenic than my flight up had been (pict34) and just for kicks I landed (on purpose) on the southeast-heading taxiway at Islamabad (pict35). Now speaking of odd layouts in Gilgit, why would they give us this nice, long, straight taxiway with NO ACCESS to the runway? So, just to raise cane I landed there - and it favored the winds too!
Islamabad to Skardu via MF NDB - Saab 340 in Horizon Livery: 6:00 AM Departure
The next Friday I left Islamabad (pict36) and again headed north for the MF NDB. (pict37) Still pretty scenic but this time we took a slightly eastern turn at the NDB (pict38) and I got to see a whole new set of scenery from the FS world! (pict39) I can't wait to see the FSX screenshots! (pict40) While breezy, the visibility in Skardu was good (and having flown into here before) I descended into a high, narrow mountain valley (pict41) and followed the river round the bend into the more sprawling Skardu Valley. (pict42) This approach was wide and straight and easier than any approach to Skardu I've yet done. (pict43) My very first flight into here in 2000 was in a Saab and it was nearly dark and I couldn't slow down and the landing was rough and not quite on the runway......today was oh so nice! (pict44)
Skardu to Islamabad - Do-328jet Il Divo: Afternoon Departure
(Okay, this one not a Turbo but still fun to fly!) (pict45) After another weekend in "the high country", in this place reminiscent of Shangri La, (pict46) I headed back into the smog and haze of the big city. I suppose the jet engines helped but this flight just seemed too quick and before long I was 39 miles out from the Islamabad DME and throwing out the spoilers and flaps and diving for the deck! (pict47)
Islamabad to Karachi - Dash-8 Q400 Flight Club: Early AM departure
After the last evenings in Islamabad, and my last home-cooked meal by Ali's Mother, I was back out to the airport and loading into our Flight Club's Q400 for the 655-mile flight over the Pakistani Flat-lands to the coast. Fog had again limited our visibility but weather was calm and departure was smooth. (pict48) We climbed up to 21,000 feet and spent about 3 hours cruising south over the rivers and low-lying hill country. (pict49) Finally ATC cleared me to descend (late as usual) and we approached from the east (after a 270* left turn to loose more altitude). This time I got a bit of a "kick" when AP was disengaged (pict50)but the landing on 25L was smooth as glass (pict51) and we parked up right next to my departing flight.
More photos of all my Pakistan flights at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyYu2F3XCZI
One of the most scenic features we've had - made better in that it comes from a good flight simming friend, a brother in spirit! Thanks for the outline Ali, stay safe!
pretendpilot@yahoo.com
