December 2011 - Ryanair Flights

We come to December 2011 at much the same place as December 2010 - flying only Flight Club International Liveries. I vowed to use only our new liveries between FOTMs and for the most part I have done that in 2011. (Other than Joao, no one has requested any aircraft so I assume that JoMario and I are really the only one's flying our liveries these days). Anyway...
This FOTM sounds much like Salina's "El Euro LoCo" from 2004 and for these final flights of 2011 I have decided to use the Flight Club 797.
The What?
One of the proposed 797 options will be as an entirely new aircraft to replace the 737NG family. Rather than a further 737 derivative, this aircraft will use much of the systems, structural and design technology of the 787. New technologies expected to be introduced include composite aerostructures and more fuel-efficient turbofan engines. It is expected that this aircraft will feature a wider cabin than the Boeing 737 or the Airbus A320; a twin aisle, 2-3-2 configuration has been suggested (in contrast to the 737's single-aisle profile). This option had been suggested to fill the 130 - 180 passenger nitche but late in the year Boeing announced instead to continue work on the 737MAX project with new engines, new wings and new components to the more "traditional" 737 design.
I have several of these aircraft in my hangars and have taken to calling them "737-10s". This is what I'll be flying this month and then next year you'll see only Pan Am liveries from me.
Marco's Leg One: DUB/EIDW – KIR/EIKY FR4446 07:20 – 08:10 In December in this part of the world, this is a "night flight." Pushback was ontime. A rather short leg meant low load and fuel weights so take-off and climb to 12,000 feet was easy. (pict1) Approach and landing were pretty much "straight-in" though I did have a lot of bumps and then some gusting rain on the way down. (pict2) (pict3) Kerry seems awfly small for 737 ops! Granted, I'm flying a little wide body but it felt very cramped. Shut down was a bit early at 08:02. (pict4)
Marco's Leg Two: KIR/EIKY – STN/EGSS FR 702 09:25 – 10:50 Real weather had cleared out a bit by 9:20 though there was still gusting wind. (pict5) I again note the small feel to this area as I had a long back-taxi on the runway and a tight turn-around at the far end. (pict6) Again, light loads meant an easy take-off though I did violate the 250-knot rule as I was outside taking screenshots rather than watching my speed. (pict7) The weather seemed to improve all the way to Stansted (pict8) and I was able to follow a 738 for landing from the north. (pict9) (pict10) (pict11) I parked next to an A321 which gives you a look at the size difference between these two aircraft. (pict12) Shut down was again a bit early at 10:48.
Marco's Leg Three: STN/EGSS – HAU/ENHD FR2254 11:45 – 14:30 Well ... I didn't quite complete this leg due to some time limitations. Instead I flew from Stansted to Luebeck without the Norway leg. (pict13) I pushed back at 11:50 (pict14) (pict15) and arrived into northern Germany (pict16) and shut down at the gate at 14:05. (pict17)
Marco's Leg Five: LBC/EDHL – BGY/LIME FR4392 11:10 – 12:45 Picking up the story again from Luebeck, (pict18) I departed the next morning after 21 hours in the city. Pushback was, of course, on time and the flight over the Alps was truly scenic! (pict19) (pict20) The airport at Bergamo is pretty close to the mountains and I wasn't able to get down that fast so I flew over the airport and took a 30-mile leg to the east. (pict21) (pict22) Shut down at the fuel station was at 12:45 - right, smack, on time! (pict23)
Marco's Leg Six: BGY/LIME – DUB/EIDW FR9429 20:20 – 22:05 This leg is in total darkness and opting for something a bit smaller I used the Flight Club's EMB-190 for this leg. Pushback at 20:21 and arrival at 22:12 - just a bit late. (pict24) (pict25)
A big THANK YOU to Marco for submitting this feature to us and then waiting patiently for it to come about. It was fun and, as expected, scenic. Next month/year we start off in Seattle Washington and have another new Guest as our Host for January 2012.