left off the story in July, when I had landed the Boeing Clipper near Kona in
Hawaii. I knew that the next FOTM was going to be in sunny / warm Venezuela. I
remembered Alejandro's first feature ten years ago and thought about the gliders
and the sky-divers. I've flown a lot of stuff in the last ten years and have
just sort of settled on the Regional Commuter Jets and larger Turboprops as my
preferred aircraft. I hoped to take an expanded tour of Venezuela in August.
The Commute:
Closer to 01-Aug I loaded up a Boeing "737-10" (Looks
like a 787 but it's the size of a 734) and flew non-stop to Simon Bolivar,
arriving just before sunrise. (pict1)
(pict2) (pict3)
Reporting to the domestic pilot's lounge I found Alejandro waiting with my
FOTM packet. I asked if I couldn't fly some additional legs and he told me to
"Download the sceneries and stick to the flightplans." (When have I ever done
that?) Dejectedly I headed over to find some breakfast. As I sat there with my
egg and cheese wrap I pulled out a map and the FOTM instructions. I quickly
sketched out a plan for the month, hitting all of Alejandro's airports and
adding in a few favorites or curiosities as well. (pict4) This would
give me 1,715 miles and let me fly at least a couple different kinds of
aircraft.
Flight One - Simon Bolivar (SVMI) to Paraguana (SVJC):
Since I
have been liking to fly the EMB-190s, Alejandro has asked if I was going to come
work for Conviasa? What better place to start than a Conviesa flight along the
coastline to the official start of this FOTM? (pict5)
(pict6) (pict7)
(pict8)
Flight Two - Paraguana (SVJC) to Charallave (SVMP):
It was my
understanding that were all supposed to MEET in Paraguana but as I was taxiing
in other Flight Club Members were already departing! "Hey! Don't leave without
me!" I parked up and checked in at the little terminal but there were no Club
Members to be seen. I climbed back into the EMB-190 and set sights on the next
destination. (pict9) (pict10) (pict11) (pict12)
Flight Three - Charallave (SVMP) to Valencia (SVVA):
Although
there was theoretically enough pavement to land and take off from the approach
and the trees made it a bit too dangerous. I headed onward to Valencia. (pict13) (pict14) (pict15) I then loaded up a Turbine-Powered Supervan and
headed back to SVMP. (pict16) (pict17) (pict18) I then "sprinted" back to Valencia - This things
does 220 knots!!
Flight Four - Valencia (SVVA) to Maracaibo (SVMC):
I spent
Thursday night (01-Aug) in Valencia. Other than Alejandro there weren't any
other Club Members around. "How come guys aren't flying anymore?" We recalled
the days, ten years ago, when there were several PIREPs each month. Where has
everyone gone these days?
The next morning I set out in another EMB-190. (pict19) (pict20) As I approached I knew ATC was talking to a CRJ
also coming in to land but he was making a straight-in approach from higher
altitude. I was cleared to land and immediately turned onto finals. As I rolled
out of the turn ATC cleared the RJ to land as well. "How's that going to work?" (pict21) (pict22) (pict23) (pict24)
Flight Five - Maracaibo (SVMC) to Merida (SVMD):
Now was an
opportunity (or another excuse) to make a short flight into one of my favorite
FS airports (one that Tony forced me to fly into with a 767!) Up the alpine
valley and into SVMD. (pict25) (pict26) (pict27) (pict28)
At this point I switched again into my third EMB-190 of the month, a Flight Club "Executive Shuttle" and headed back for Lake Valencia and one of Alejandro's destinations. (pict29) (pict30) (pict31)
Flight Seven - Maracay (SVBL) to Guayana (SVPR):
Next up was a longer, cross-country flight to a location I had been curious to see. (pict32) (pict33)
Flight Eight - Guayana (SVPR) to Canaima (SVCN):
After nearly an hour at Guayana I headed on for Canaima. I remembered flying a P-51 here on that first FOTM ten years ago! It was a short and uneventful flight. (pict34) (pict35)
Flight Nine - Canaima (SVCN) to Icabaru (SVIC):
This was a big reason for this FOTM - to see Angel Falls! I loaded up another Turbine-Powered Supervan and headed south. I could see the rocks already from the airport and turned that direction. (pict36) As I approached the falls I was in for a surprise; the water started falling from the sky! (pict37) The water came from the sky and fell onto the top of the rocks, then splashed and continued down into the river below. I circled the falls taking photos and it was then than I got my next, even bigger surprise. (pict38)
Suddenly the screen went all WONKY! I had plates of color splashed across the screen. Intermittently I'd get glimpses of ground and terrain but it was very sketchy. Apparently my video was dying? (pict39) I was able to turn away from the surrounding terrain and advance the trottles. The sound responded to my inputs and I was catching just enough horizon to tell I was climbing - thank goodness I had all that excess power!!!! Finally, after a ten-minute battle for survival I was far enough away from the falls that the video and flight controls returned to normal. I was through 21,000 feet and heading southwest. "Perfect." (pict40) I had not had this kind of problem since Beta Testing for FSX back in 2006 on a 2003-era machine. I've never had any such issues with FSX on my 2010 machine (although I can tell that the video card is pushed sometimes which is why I'm not too big on huge add-ons or landclass scenery "fixes"; Apparently just Angel Falls was a bit TooMuch.)
Still a bit shaken I continued on to SVIC which, come to find out (as Alejandro mentioned) is an airport-in-a-crator. I passed and continued on to my final destination for the month.
Flight Ten - Icabaru (SVIC) to Kavac (SVKA):
It is a short and easy flight in a Supervan to Kavac and I had no further video card issues, leading me to believe it was just the Angel Falls add-on. Well folks, I can live without that! I approached over the local village, set in my flaps and made a spectacularly smooth landing on the sand strip. I parked off to the side and enjoyed the local hospitality. (pict41) (pict42) (pict43)
Post Script: Heading for September
Just before dusk I reloaded the supervan (having deleted the Angel Falls add-on) and flew direct back to Canaima. I stayed there overnight before loading up a .... well, you'll have to wait until next month to see where I headed next.
Alejandro, thank you for again sharing your beautiful country with us. I'm sure that the add-ons add a lot of "Been There" kind of realism to the sim but obviously my system is just not up to specs on too much of that kind of load - sorry to say.
