Day 1:
“Mister Ron?” “Mister Ron, there is a call for you.” While at first I thought it was the nurse from Bill’s May FOTM I quickly woke up enough to realize that it was a messenger from the nearby village. “What?”
“A call for you, sir, on the radio.” I scrambled to find my glasses and sandals in the tent and then followed the young boy the few hundred meters into the local village. It was still pre-dawn, light outside, with what sounded like a million birds in the trees singing and chirping loudly! He led me into a room in a brick and tin building where I found a 1950’s era radio – like the one used on the television show M*A*S*H.
I picked up the mic. “Hello?”
I picked up the mic. “Hello?”
A faint, crackling voice on the other end answered. “Ron…ter…ear me?”
“Peter?” I asked.
“…ssss…eed…et-oo…ornia….july…firm?”
“Peter, repeat please!”
“…on?…several carrier…orld…or training…bay.”
“Where?”
“…e-fore…carrier…air…flight….onth july.”
“Can you confirm? Carrier ops in California for July?”
“…ative…!”
“OK!” Then only static….
“I am very sorry sir,” stated the young man at the radio, “that’s the best I can do for you.” “You’ve done just fine.” I assured him with a pat on the shoulder as I turned to leave. “Thank you.”
It was still the first half of June and I had just returned to Central Africa after working up a future FOTM [ Picture 01 – who can ID the plane?]. It seemed odd to be getting the flight information early from Peter, and over the “wireless” no less? I guess what they say is true, places like this let you step back in time. Being back in Africa again really did make me feel like it was 30 years ago. I had no phone connections here for my laptop so I had nothing to do but go with the information I had.
Since I was comfortable here, I had planned to stay awhile and relax, but I had to tell my hosts that it was time for me to move on. [ Picture 02 ] So I contacted ADRA [ http://www.adra.org/work.html ] for a plane back to Goma. [ Picture 03 – Not from my sim, but from a REAL bush pilot]
LEG I – Day 4: So here we are, June 1974 (That’s when I was in Africa), looking for a flight out of here. I’ll use autopilot for Heading and Altitude control (when AP is available) but navigation will be STRICTLY by NDBs (which means some dead reckoning in between – see, I did read Brad’s article on FS.com. I load real weather and depart southbound in the dim light of pre-dawn [ Picture 04 ] in the Club’s DC-4. As I work my way north I meet up with some of the headwaters of the Nile River and roughly follow that to a nice landing in Luxor, Egypt just before 15:00 local time. [ Picture 05 ]
LEG II – Day 5: I sleep well, deep, here along the banks of the mighty Nile, to awake the next morning in 1970. 24 hours minus 4 years later I make my way back out to the airport to find an old Boeing 737-200 ready for the next leg. I depart southward again (real weather) before turning east across the Red Sea into Saudi Arabia. [ Picture 06 ] The wind is less to deal with today as I hop between NDBs into Bushehr, Iran arriving after dark.
LEG III – Day 7: The next dawn finds me another 5 years in the past, 1965. At the airport I climb up into the Club’s Caravelle for the next leg into Lahore, Pakistan. [ Picture 07 ] The first half of the flight has some nice mountains but then things become awfully flat. ATC again plays a nasty trick setting me up for approach into runway 18L and then clearing me to land on 36R. So I landed fast with a quartering tail wind, on 18R!
LEG IV – Day 9: A couple of days later it is July 1960 and I find the Club’s DC-3 ready and willing to haul me into Calcutta, India. [Pictures 08 , 09 and 10 ] I’m not sure what’s in this Indian tea, but I have to tell you, I’m feeling pretty good about this whole, “hole in the space-time continuum” thing. I land in Calcutta in time for dinner, then, I’m off to find a fax machine and a nice room.
LEG V – Day 12: A warm July morning in 1955 finds me writing my flightplan onto the kneeboard of the “British Commonwealth Pacific Airways” DC-6, for a flight continuing along the famous silk trade routes into Hong Kong. I’ve discovered no fax machines between 1955 and 1960 by the way. I leave about 4 AM, well before dawn, for my trek across Southern China. [ Picture 11 ] This NDB-only navigation is as much sim-fun as I can remember having in quite a while! But I have to stay close by to monitor my progress. Even at 9,000 feet I have to take some detours around towering mountains. I must admit to using 4x Time Compression, but even so, this flight takes several real-world days. My arrival in Hong Kong is under scattered clouds with light showers. [ Picture 12 ] ATC turns me out over the water to land on runway 31 (Similar to my real-world flight into H.K.). While here I send Peter the following telegram:
“Flounder in Hong Kong – STOP
Confirm July Flight California – STOP”
LEG VI – Day 15, PM: No word from Peter so I fall further back, 1950. Into a very pretty DC-7, painted in Club colors by Tony of course! (Who else?) Next stop, Sapporo, Japan.
I leave Hong Kong after dark, looking at a 2,100-mile trip up the eastern coast of China, hop-scotching across Korea into Japan. As I’m checking off my 17 waypoints along the way (using HDG and ALT hold only – manually adjusting to follow the NDB arrows…stopwatch-in-hand) I realize that 5 more years back will place me in Japan in July 1945. “Hmmmm, that’s a problem.” I state audibly to myself.
I arrive 9,000 feet over Sapporo just as the rising sun begins peaking over the distant horizon, I abandon my flightplan and continue north towards the NDB at Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia. [ Picture 13 ] I wonder what to tell my passengers…opting finally for just this: “Ladies and Gentleman, your Captain here. I hope you all have been able to catch a few winks of sleep during the night. According to my calculations we had 17 waypoints to cross between Hong Kong and Sapporo. Unless I’ve missed something, we’ve just turned over number sscrtch-teen and will be setting up for landing soon. Flight Attendants, please prepare the cabin for descent and arrival.” This has been a marathon 10.5-hour flight, now nearing 2,300 miles! Whew, arrival is in the early morning, from the north, a bit fast but nice landing none-the-less.
LEG VII – Day 18, PM: Sakhalin, 1945: Well, it’s July ‘45, which if memory serves me correctly, means I will need to be very careful getting out of here. I wait until well after dark to take the Club’s Super Connie up over the northern route into North America. I had initially looked at Seattle for my destination but since I was tracking NDB to NDB-only, that lengthened the route to over 4,100 miles. So I set sights on Anchorage, AK instead.
Well, I have a confession to make. This time travel, and flying planes that are slower than an A330 is tiring and somewhere, approaching the Kamchatcka peninsula, I must have drifted off to sleep! I awoke the next morning over water…but what water? Judging my last heading and looking that it had been about 6 hours, I guessed somewhere between Cold Bay and Juneau. I turned northeast and began checking NDB frequencies until finally Cold Bay activated. I figured an intercept to the next waypoint after Cold Bay and turned further east. [ Picture 14 ] A quick check of the fuel led me to believe I could push the flight on to Victoria, BC so I turned southeast. A few hours later, as I neared Yakutat, I discovered that I would most likely not have enough gas to get to the Vancouver, BC area. From the March 2003 FOTM I knew that Yakutat has an ILS and a good-sized strip but it’s kind of an awkward approach so I quickly ruled that out. Tony had suggested that “You’ve started the day in Sitka…” and I had also flown a Flight Club 735 out of Sitka (going into Haines). So that was my choice. I looked up the VOR, NDB and ILS frequencies to Sitka and prepared for a straight in to runway 11. I landed at 14:40 local time with only 274 gallons of gas on board! Thirty-Five minutes later I was fueled and taxiing this beast back out to runway 11. I was back on track for the last part of 1945, Sitka to Boeing Field Seattle.
I arrived at dusk, (nice city views)[ Picture 15 ] a direct entry to runway 13 but not out of the woods yet! As I reached decision height that darn MD-80 decides he can go ahead and take off in front of me. As he pulls out onto the runway I ease back on the stick, add a slight bit of throttle, just clearing his tailfin and then float down to a smooth landing ¾ of the way down the runway. Stopping is no problem as my airspeed at this point was about 90 knots! I taxied and shut down as the clouds started rolling in.
Before checking into a room I found a local wireless office and fired off another telegram to the July FOTM host:
“Flounder in Seattle – STOP
Heading to Oakland – STOP
Please confirm plans – STOP”
LEG VIII – Day 21: Before leaving I returned to the telegraph office to find this note waiting for me:
“Options as follows – STOP
New South Wales – STOP
Oxnard California – STOP
Nordholz Germany – STOP
South Africa – STOP
Argentina – STOP”
“WHAT?!” I shout. “I could’ve stayed in Africa! YOU DIRTY ROTTEN RAT!!!” The guy behind the telegraph window was sure I had lost my mind, all this talk about Africa and rats. (I think I’m being punished for publishing this article before Peter had the chance to release the full FOTM details.)
From Seattle the obvious choice is to head for Oxnard California, back a bit further to 1940. This is fine, I went to High School very near here and in 1940, I could check out the farm that pre-dated the school buildings. I take another DC-4, this one in Braniff Livery, Seattle to Oakland, CA. There are plenty of NDBs along this route, [Pictures 16 and 17 ] with ATC finally clearing me into runway 29 just after 13:30 local time.
LEG XIIII – Day 22: It is now July 15th and I head into my last “commuter” leg, Oakland to Oxnard, this time in a Continental DC-3. I arrive at Point Mugu, NAS and pick up my FOTM papers, now finally fully understanding the task Peter has set up for us. Wow, seems like it has taken forever to get here but then again, its not every FOTM takes you back 64 years! So where were we 64 years ago?
I spoke briefly with “Mack” whom I have had the privilege of signing with in church choir. He took flight training in Florida before moving into Corsairs in the early 1950’s with VMF 144.
Next I talked with “Michael” who took his Naval flight training in New Hampshire and North Carolina. “No flying,” he writes, “but just another round of heavy military indoctrination with some general instruction in Navy stuff.” Finally he moved on to the Glenview Naval Air Station on the shores of Lake Michigan where they started in Steadman's and worked their way up through “SNJs” into “…the big old (and) outdated Corsair Dive-bomber.” Finally they moved on to Carrier Ops training for the Grumman Avenger. I talked with “Michael” a bit about landing a WW II-era plane on the deck of a carrier and have to say that he gave me some good tips (I think).
Finally I met “Mallard” who flew with Marine Squadron 115 the “Silver Eagles” in WW II – under the command of Major (later promoted to General) Joe Foss. They were known as “Joe’s Jokers” and flew F4U Corsairs and even received training under the watchful eye of then civilian instructor, Charles Lindbergh. (Yes, the Spirit of St. Louis guy!). He showed me a picture of himself, with Charles and Joe Foss, walking out to the Flight-Line of Emirau (NE of New Guinea) in May 1944. He noted that the Corsair’s nose and cowling was so big that in order to land you HAD to slip the plane so you could look out the side window, “Otherwise you had no idea where you were going!” Right then was when I decided that I should not try the Corsair for this FOTM feature! It was hard for him to admit the part about slipping to land, but he spoke lovingly of how the plane handled, of her power, “Not at all like the sluggish P-40 or TBM” he said. Hardest thing? Carrier Landings in “weather” Best thing? Carrier Landings in “weather” What would you like to do again? Carrier Landings without “weather” Not a Roll or Stall or max Climb? Nope. Carrier Landing!
Day 24: I report for duty, “Ground School” Peter calls it. I find myself wondering, if I was the one who supposedly came up with this FOTM idea, why in the world am I sitting in ground school? Feeling that I have already completed my homework with interviews of REAL carrier pilots I present my “Flounder-One Executive” card (I’ve learned from Bill to always carry a card) and move directly to “Flight Training” in preparation for carrier duty at some distant location.
Just has “Michael” had suggested, first up, something old and slow and very flyable, the DH89 Dragon Rapide. Maybe it’s a little bigger than we need here but something to start working on none-the-less. The goal: 10 landings “on the keyboards” at Mugu. My instructor for this part of the training is a right proper British gentleman by the name of Alastair. While he admitted that he didn’t know the first thing about “trapping a carrier”, he was some sort of an expert with these old, slow and sometimes stubborn airplanes. (Oh, sorry, I meant “aeroplanes”)
Day 26: After a couple of days of practice in the Rapide I had my 10 landings done. (First one a shade long, second one was spot-on, third one was quite a bit short and so on) Alastair and I then moved on to tougher airstrips including the add-on classic strip “Mustang Landing” as well as out to the Channel Islands. [Pictures 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ] The evening of this 26th day I take my first flight in the Douglas Dauntless Dive-bomber. [ Picture 22 ] That first landing, at Camarillo was short!
Day 27: My instructor for this aircraft is, of all things, a German fellow named Hans. He told me about his first experience with the Dauntless just over a year ago (April 2003 PIREP) when he rode in one over his house. Since that time he’s devoted his life to two things, older aircraft (See his Me109 repaint) and tough landings (See the December 2003 FOTM!) Twelve more keyboard landings (which take me 22 attempts) before trying the Aircraft Carrier. For the carrier landing, Hans steps aside for my new “instructor” named Tony. Tony was, I guess, some sort of an expert in landing small planes in little places. I load up with fuel and set off for San Diego, over Santa Catalina Island near Los Angeles and down to CVN-72 off the coast of Miramar. [Pictures 23 and 24 ]
Day 29: Carrier drills with Tony in the Dauntless. Just as “Michael” had suggested, rather than a “float and flare” you want to park up about 200 feet above the water, holding 90 knots. Then as you get lined up you fly the plane ALL THE WAY ‘til the wheels hit. “You have to fly ‘er all the way ONTO the deck, you don’t let her land, you FLY HER IN!” I won’t want to admit how many times Tony got wet – from the seawater I mean (he likely got himself wet a few times too!) [Pictures 25 - 26 - 27 - 28 - 29 - 30 - 31 - 32 - 33 - 34 - 35 ]
Day 31: Since arriving at Pt Mugu, I have just 88 photos to sort through – small stuff for Alastair but none-the-less, it takes me all day!
Day 32: Now with the month nearly over, and the time press on to get this project finished, I press on, “Back to the Future.” (Sounds corny doesn’t it?) From the 1940’s I need to move into the jet era, 20 years at a leap now. One of the more famous carrier based aircraft (and certainly my all-time favorite Military plane) is the F-4 Phantom II. My RIO for the Phantom is Brad, a tall young man who seemed quite bright, a little dry-humored, and ready to take on any challenge. He seemed a good “fit” even if the cockpit was a bit short for his legs.
Brad and I proceed to land at various airports as well as on the carrier. (Don’t get me wrong, we also MISSED the carrier an equal number of times!) All the while I’m getting better at flying the plane all the way into the cables, but Brad will have several more gray hairs after this! We are called out to intercept various bogies and perform some “Top Gun” drills. During our days in the Phantom we meet another pilot named Salina, her RIO’s name is Bill. Seems that they prefer F-14 Tomcats, (something about a former Naval Officer and payback for some old favor or something). Anyway, we’ll take our Phantom up against the two of you and your Tomcat (or Eagle) any day! [Pictures 36 - 37 - 38 - 39 - 40 - 41 - 42 ]
Day 37: Deployment day! Taking another 20-year jump ahead I move into the F/A-18 Hornet, VMF 115, the same Silver Eagles squadron I interviewed from World War II. My assigned RIO for the tour-of-duty is Alejandro from Venezuela. While he is well-versed in the F/A-18 and it’s systems he did mention something about getting airsick at times (See February 2004 PIREPs). I download the scenery add-on that features 18 carriers around the globe, (Why are they only American Carriers??) I placed all 18 locations into a “hat” and blindly drew out one card…we’d be heading to the USS Stennis, CVN-74, off the coast of Nicaragua. [Pictures 43 - 44 - 45 - 46 - 47 - 48 - 49 - 50 - 51 ]
Day 44: After a 7-day Central American deployment, “AIr” and I are ready to head back to San Diego, and 2004. Back at Miramar we finally get to meet Cmdr. Nervous, a bearded, middle-aged hippie with an accent that I can’t quite place. Regardless…he presented AIr and I (along with some other pilots from other groups) with our “wings” and then handed us our discharge papers. We were free to go, finally.
Day 49: Once I am able to eat solid food again, I make my way to San Diego’s Lindbergh field where an Airbus A318 will take me, and my stuff, back home. I leave about 18:20 local time and fly High-Altitude Jetways, at FL 260, back to an overcast and rainy ILS into KPDX runway 28R arriving at dusk. (Yes, it has been known to rain in Portland in July.) [Pictures 52 and 53 ] An airliner flight, plus the fact that I can again tune into http://www.plr.org/ , make this the perfect ending to an incredible month of challenges.
Peter, you’re absolutely right, this may not be the flight for everyone’s liking, but I sure had a lot of fun doing it. I am also proud to say that I have received a bit of an education along the way as well, which makes it even more special.
Disclaimer: I swear that other than the F-15 / F-4 photo I did NO doctoring/editing of screenshots. I also assure you that I DID NOT use the SLEW mode at any time during this FOTM.
MANY THANKS are to be passed around:
To Peter for this FOTM (and to my RIOs)
To my REAL pilot friends for their help and advice
To FSFCI for giving us all this venue to share our virtual flight experiences
To Microsoft for the “game” we play
To the add-on developers/painters for making the “game” more real
To FS.com for publishing our articles and giving us downloads to enjoy
To the wives/others who allow us to GET OUT once in awhile
To the good Lord who gave each of us such a strange sense of imagination
To the Wright Brothers…To Charles Lindbergh…To the men and women of VMF 115…To Newton…To the Douglas, Boeing, McDonnell-Douglas and Airbus companies…To ADRA and Positive Life Radio…To the people who so warmly hosted my virtual trek half-way around the world…To Alastair for the newer video card…To my Brother-in-Law for hosting the family during my “tour of duty” [ Don’t’ tell my wife ;-) ]… Oh, and I almost forgot. I guess Peter had SPECIFICALLY asked to see the photos of the FIRST Carrier Landings. For me, that’d be in the Dauntless. I’ve done some carrier ops before, not too successfully I might add, but my FIRST landing for this FOTM was quite good. [ Picture 54 ] Except that I missed the cables so had to get onto the brakes pretty hard. [ Picture 55 ] I guess that’s why they came up with the “Bolter” huh? [ Picture 56 ]
