Seattle to Juneau ...
It's not like I haven't flown this route before.
I actually did this route back when Ken and I were working up our RNP article for FS.com
( www.flightsim.com/main/feature/nav201.htm ) I'd never claim to be as practiced or well-rehearsed at the limited visibility flying (as Ken is) but I was able to safely make it through the channel with Otto flying the plane. I think I may have also flown Kodiak's 737 route into Juneau.
In December I had the opportunity to test and tweak and fly and repaint some EMB-190s. I have really fallen in love with the little plane and wanted to use that as my commuter in 2012.
I arried into Seattle the afternoon of New Year's Day and stayed near the airport overnight and reported the next morning to catch my Alaska Airlines Q400 flight to Ketchikan and Juneau - about 570 miles all told. As one might have expected it was cold and rainy in Seattle but we got everyone loaded and the doors closed, we fired up the engines and taxied out. I noticed that one of the AI A321s was taxiing with his cargo doors still open, I tried to signal him but he only waved back at me.
I departed southbound but was able to turn back onto the route and head over some of the most beautiful scenery FSX has to offer - of course I couldn't see much because of the cloud cover! Almost an hour later I was descending into a foggy Ketchikan but wasn't too worried:
1- It's a straight-in approach
2- I could see the runway lights
Just after my screenshot the world closed in and I was looking at the inside of a ping pong ball. At this point I should post up a link to http://www.plr.org A good pilot would have gone missed, climbed back to 5,000 feet and started the descent and timed approach again with more precision; I did no such thing! I descended to a mear 300 feet and skimmed the treetops looking for lights. Suddenly I saw them off to my right and made the quick corrections to land - long but safely.
An hour later the fog had not cleared but we departed on our continued northward journey into the State Capital and the RNP approach. Real-Weather downloads changed from fog to snow showers but visibility was over 3 miles and having the Autopilot fly the RNP was actually very easy and stress-free. I disconnected the AP as we rolled out of the final turn and landed smoothly, stopping by mid-field.
Ken, it was a pleasure working with you and I hope we can do another online session soon!
I didn't stay but 4 hours in Juneau before taking another Alaska Airlines flight back down to Portland where I'd spend the rest of January resting up at home.
As I sat in Portland for the rest of the month (and watched some YouTube videos featuring EMB-190s) I decided that this would be my flight for the next year. 2012 will feature (so far as possible) the EMB-190; we'll see how long that lasts. Anyway, January 31st I returned to Juneau ready for the next feature flight.
