As I sit here staring at the computer screen I'm really not sure where to start.
Sure, I'll be starting out in Bergamo Italy where I left off last month but beyond that it occurs to me that it's been ten years and 120 Feature Flights. It is quite simply phenominal. You all are amazing!
Looking back to our first FOTM it occurs to me that I really had little clue as to what I was doing when I set up this flight the end of 2002. For one thing, I simply looked up, watched the Dash8-300s flying over downtown and gave some some navigation suggestions. I'm sure that we have all come far enough along that we are better able to flight plan our routes or even lay in more accurate, real-world routes. I also gave some manually-set weather from an early morning in late December whereas now, technology allows us to quickly and thoughtlessly download real-world weather. So it was that in late December I set out from Bergamo to head "back home" for the holidays. I took the train from Bergamo down the coast to Rome and reflected back on our last ten years together.
From Rome I found a right seat on an old DC-10 flying to Chicago. I then caught an EMB-190 to Portland. Come January 2nd I made a pre-dawn flight in a Dash8-200 down to Medford.
Horizon (now mainly Alaska) only uses the Q400 now, having phased out all the smaller Dash and Fokker turboprops. But since this is a look back, I'll be flying the -200 this AM. Alaska Airlines is likely the world's largest (certainly they were the first) user of RNPs - Required Navigation Procedures. A very specific, GPS-type of flightplan which does not rely on NDBs, VORs or even High-Alt Jetways. In the real world they can program in specific speeds and altitudes allowing aircraft to fly very precise routes. While FS Flightplanner does not allow me to program altitudes (as yet) I can lay in some very precise lateral navigation and then opt to use the autopilot or simply hand-fly the magenta line.
Having loaded in my RNP (set to intercept the ILS to Rwy 10R), my pax and topped off the fuel I was ready for a pre-dawn pushback. I set time to an hour before "dawn" and set-off to repeat our first FOTM.
Cruise was FL190 and I disconnected Otto at 25 miles south of Portland. I still struggle to hand-fly the glideslope when I cannot see outside landmarks, but I managed a safe and relatively smooth landing.
Two hours later I was back to real-weather and had laid in a new RNP into .... Walla Walla, WA. Why the change in location? Because this is where I was when I actually FORMULATED the vision that has become TOOMUCHFS.
