Here's how April went down: The FOTM in the Mirage (and subsequent deleting of that aircraft from my hangar) took one day. I spent the next week flying the Lear35 into and out-of some of the smaller Swiss airports. It was pretty fun I guess. I spent the next week relaxing along the shores of Lake Geneva.
While in Europe I was introduced to the An-148, a regional jet from the Russian builder. So I took that on an introductory flight from Zurich to Tivat Montenegro. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmRs7fcK1NE
Now we come to May and another rescue/aide mission (some of my favorite simming scenarios) - this time in the Caribbean. May also brought the first PC upgrade to our house in about five years and with that I dusted off my FSX and tried to get that flying.
Needless to say, more advanced sims require more advanced tweaking so after a day of tinkering I loaded up a 727 (special livery for Tony) and departed for a short flight over to Milan.
So far I'm still not happy with the framerates or the lack of scenery - if I'm going to pull to sliders back to a point where Milan looks like five tall buildings in a field of grey stones I'd rather use FS2004! (pict2) (pict3) Now, I will concede that the ground and trees and buildings and road traffic all look better (pict4)- but this is a FLIGHT sim and I must have aircraft that look and function well! As I taxied to the gate I enjoyed the catering and bagage trucks driving around but considering my framerates I won't be seeing those again. (pict5)
During my time in Milan several donors from across the EU sent supplies and volunteers for the ongoing relief efforts in Haiti and they were loaded into an old L-1011. Meanwhile I continued to tweak computer and sim settings and hunted around for an FSX panel that wouldn't make me load each gauge one at a time when I selected the aircraft. Finally I just loaded up the default 737 panel, the default A321 sound and set off. (pict6) We departed in real-weather to the north and 12 miles out from the DME turned to pick up our GPS routing. (pict7) (pict8) Over the French alps and climbing I was getting framerates in the teens.
Military flights were going via Guantanamo Bay. Civilian flights were going direct to Port au Prince. My plan was to fly into San Juan, Puerto Rico and from there I'd shuttle workers and/or supplies in smaller aircraft over to Haiti. I climbed up to 38,000 feet before crossing over the northwest tip of Spain and I held that altitude (cruising north of Azores) until 150 miles out from San Juan. Cruise with real-weather and winds aloft had me at 23 fps. (Overall I was about 50% less than FS2004 on the old PC - I'll be anxious to see FS2004 on the new PC!)
Real weather in Puerto Rico showed afternoon showers (what a surprise) and I hurridly set up the ILS while dodging rain cells through the last 25 miles. (pict9) Just like in Milan, I found that I had a hard time seeing out in FSX. Either I'm slower or I'm lower or the eyepoint is somehow different in FSX. (pict10) (pict11) Regardless, the landing was smooth and the water effects off the wheels was briefly entertaining (I wish there was a water-spray effect for the engine reversers!) (pict12) I parked up and shut down in a centrally located area ready to start delivering the aide. (pict13)
It was now May 10th and I had only just arrived in the area of the FOTM. I slept that first night on one of the medical cots in the L-1011. The next morning we loaded up a KingAir350 with medical supplies, water and a couple of relief workers and departed about 11:00 AM.
I set in a direct route from San Juan to Port-au-Prince figuring as I got closer I could divert north or south to the area in need. Our first delivery was to Jacmel on the southern coast. An hour later we were over the city and looking for the damp, grass runway. (pict16) We worked in Jacmel until dusk leaving the aide workers in their tent for pick-up on another day. (pict17) I then flew solo back to San Juan arriving well after dark. (pict18) It was quite bumpy and real-weather had some thunder and lightning along my route. Framerates happily in the 20's.
By May 13th I was ready for another flight, this one in a real-live aide-delivering Mission plane! I departed in the PAC-750XL on that Thursday morning,
heading to Les Cayes Airport. (Google Maps shows the nearest village is called "Mercy") It was a generally smooth flight and a great landing! Again, we spent the day working in the area before I flew a solo back to San Juan.
Next up, on May 18th, was a C-119 Boxcar. I flew from San Juan to Jeremie, spent the day unloading supplies and providing some medical care and flew back to Puerto Rico that evening.
Yes, Alastair, I know how to read directions. I know that you asked us to fly DC-3's (or similar) this month. So by the 23rd I had a default FSX DC-3 all loaded with supplies and ready to go for the final legs. (pict26) (pict27) I flew from Puerto Rico to northern Haiti. (pict28) That evening I flew to Port au Prince.
From the Haitian Capital I made the short hop over the Gitmo (pict31)and then I was off to Costa Rica for a future FOTM.
Alastair, thank you very much for the opportunity to fly some relief aide to those in need - it was a great intro to my new sim!
