This morning I'm going on an aerial tour of London, seeing the sights that I didn't get to yesterday. But then I've got to move on -- as much as I love London, my trip has barely begun, and I've got a lot of "ground" to cover. So, I'll stop off at Heathrow and pick up 3 Euro Connect passengers and head north, aiming towards Scandanavia.
Got some great shots -- today's tour included Westminster Abbey, Buckingham and Kensington palaces, the British Museum (which is even more fun on the inside!) and Canary Wharf. Very disappointed, though, to find that the Cutty Sark doesn't exist in FSX.
I've been diligently tracking my earnings, and since I hadn't bought fuel until this morning, I felt like I've had no expenses. Since this is a virtual trip, I completely forgot about things like eating and sleeping! So, I'm going to deduct $200 each night to cover (perhaps unrealistically) my living expenses while I'm traveling.
End: EGLL, 0733; $4299.54 and 41gal
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Just a quick stop (at one of the world's busiest airports!) to pick up the non-creatively named "2 Passengers", and then I'm off to Wickenby to drop them off and see what else I can find going northeast.
End: EGNW, 0848; $6103.04 and 33gal
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After taking a break for a few hours (mowing the lawn and eating lunch!), I decide to press on northward to Newcastle, since I found 3 passengers going that way. It's gotten rather overcast, so I'm going to try an IFR flight plan, and not use my handheld GPS for this flight. The FSX flight planner suggested using the appropriately British "LOO" VOR, and how can I refuse an offer to use the loo?! It's 55 miles away, though, so it's dead reckoning to start with....
Once I pass the VOR and adjust my course to head to Newcastle, suddenly ATC is directing me and telling me to expect "vectors" for the ILS approach. This ILS stuff may be all right! The course they had me fly isn't the one I'd have chosen for myself, and there were a few short course changes for no reason that I could see, but it got me where I needed to be. And it was rather reassuring to have someone telling me what to do, just about the time that I thought it was time for me to do something! I do need to get more familiar with ILS procedures. I was fine until it came time to be "on the localizer". I know what it means, but I couldn't seem to get the information I needed from my gauges. So, I flew the landing manually. Worked out just fine, for me and my passengers!
End: EGNT, 1348; $6807.08 and 40gal
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I'm on my own now, heading empty to Edinburgh (the only FSE job is for 4 passengers, and is 120 miles farther than I want to go). I was last in Edinburgh (for real!) in 2005, so I'm looking forward to seeing how familiar things look -- I assume Edinburgh Castle is still there!
As I get within 15 miles of Edinburgh, it starts to rain. But it's not too bad, and ATC is routing me over a path that should take me very close to the castle, so maybe all is not lost for a few quick snaps.
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| Edinburgh Castle |
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For my last leg today, I'm picking up 3 Happy Campers (Not so sure why they're so happy -- it's still raining. Maybe they're happy to be going home!) and taking them to dear old Dundee. It's only 32 miles, but it's in the right direction, and it'll give me someone to talk to. Plus I'd rather have paying customers than be flying on my own virtual dime!
My flight plan took me right over Dunfermline, where my wife and I visited the Abbey in 2005. I couldn't spot it from 3000 feet up, but I'm a bit vague on exactly were it was!
So, as predicted, my route hasn't been the most efficient -- I've flown in a circle around the UK! But I've enjoyed myself, and I'm now ready to move on -- Norway, here I come!
End: EGPN, 1537; $7929.38 and 29gal
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