After the glory of Paris, I'm not sure what to expect. Today I'll zig-zag across France, heading southerly until I end up crossing the Pyrenees on my way to Barcelona.
I'm going to be ultra-serious today. I have filed an IFR flight plan (created with Plan-G), and have included intermediate VORs and NDBs so I'm never out of range, and therefore won't use the GPS for navigation (which is only used as a "moving map" anyway, since it's just a handheld unit). I'll be quite a bit busier than usual, switching to and from navigational beacons en route. My goal is to make it "as real as it gets". So, that means no time compression, either.
I'll also not take any shortcuts once I land. To be honest, I usually just pull off the runway and hit the parking brake, and then immediately taxi back to the runway and take-off again. But this time, I'll be getting ground clearance, taxing to gates or parking as appropriate, and doing everything "by the book".
By the way, another $10,000 deposit at the ATM today!
So, surprise number 1: soon after take-off, with my approved IFR plan and a cruise altitude of 3,000, the controller directs me to climb to 12,000! I request a decrease to 6,000 (seemed like a good compromise to me) and my request is denied! So, off we go into the wild blue yonder!
Surprise number 2: ten minutes into the flight, FSX crashes (it rarely does this on my machine)! I usually fly with the mini-panel, and I'm using the full cockpit this time. Otherwise, nothing's different. Just kismet, I guess! So, I restart FSX, retake-off, and get an altitude of 10,500 this time. Okay, I'll be a good boy.
Surprise number 3: In creating my flight plan, I selected NDBs rather than VORs, so most of my flight will have to be down manually rather than using the NAV function of the autopilot. Ick!
Surprise number 4: With three passengers and 45 gallons of fuel, I don't climb too good! I'm 25 minutes into the flight and I'm at 9500, still climbing to 10500. ATC has asked me to expedite my climb. Hey, I'm going as fast as I can!
Holy altitude, Batman! After 30 minutes of climbing, I'm just about at 10500. So, ATC calls and tells me to climb to 12000!! I'm at full throttle, climbing at 200 ft/min, and they want more!
As if that weren't enough, although the sky is crystal clear, the wind is blowing at 16 knots. Is it blowing the way I want to go? NO! I've got a nice crosswind to deal with.
Well, this may be the last straw. I'm flying along, happy as a clam, but I'm wondering when ATC is going to have me start descending so I can land. I'm only 20-some miles from the airport, and still way up there at 12,000 feet. It finally dawns on my that my IFR flight plan has my FINAL destination as Barcelona. I think FSX doesn't understand that the intermediate airports are stops, not just navigational points. So, I'm cancelling my IFR plan and descending rapidly. Once I land, I'll alter my flight plan to have only one airport at a time. I suppose this explains why I got assigned this altitude. ATC thought I was going 600 miles (a good trick in a Cessna Skyhawk with 3 passengers!).
To top it all off, as I'm lining up for my final approach, I can see something funny at the end of the runway (nearest to me). Someone planted a blasted tree!!
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| What a rotten place for a tree! |
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So much for ultra-realism. LFJB (as you can see above) turned out to be a single runway, with no taxiways, no buildings, no nuthin'! Still, I taxied to the end of the runway, and then turned around. I've off-loaded my passengers, and am taking on 3 new passengers. I've created a new IFR flight plan, and will use 2 VORs on my way to Limoges.
So far, it's smooth sailing. I picked up the signal from POI right after take-off, and the NAV system has me heading straight for it. I could get used to having the plane correct for wind drift all by itself!
Flying more realistically makes me appreciate pilots of small planes just that much more. It really is a lot of work to navigate and stay on course, juggling the NAV frequencies and vectors. Flying "the heavies" seems like more of a computer game -- just program your flight plan, and let the autopilot do the flying. But a little Cessna really makes you work for it!
End: LFBL, 1022; $4155.46 and 23gal
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I've exchanged my 3 passengers for 3 different charter passengers, going to Lourdes. I've filed my next flight plan, and things are going pretty smoothly. I'm still getting used to having my next NAV point be far enough away that I don't currently receive the signal, so have to fly "from" my previous point, or just use dead reckoning. The GPS has really spoiled me, even when it's not "built in" to the navigation system of the plane; with a GPS, it's not too much different than driving a car (but with fewer turns!).
Really nice scenery as I fly over Bordeaux and Aquitaine. But, from what I've seen so far, much of Europe is composed of this nice, gently rolling farmland scenery. It looks really good, but it seems like it could use more variety. In the distance, though, I can see the Pyrenees (which I'll have to cross over soon enough).
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| French farmland, with the Pyrenees on the horizon. |
Well, I'm in Lourdes and it's lunchtime. Guess I'd better grab something to eat, and some of that special water! No passengers on my next flight (just 140kg of fuel), so my schedule's a bit more flexible.
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I'm heading to Barcelona, so after a fantastic trip over the Pyrenees, I'm expecting some good shots of the city.
The Pyrenees themselves are stunning. 2-D photos really don't do it justice, and the 3-D effect is quite believable.
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| Crossing the Pyrenees |
Barcelona turns out to be nice enough, but after some of the spectacular cities I've just visisted it's a little tame. It's funny how the most noticable buildings from the air are churches and football stadiums.
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| Barcelona is beige?! |
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| Downtown Barcelona |
Total Distance Flown: 5,897 nautical miles (plus 6,333 miles to get to Europe, and 1,771 touring the UK)
Grand Total: 14,001 nautical miles so far!
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