No Mariachi in Karachi

Start: OMRK, 0804; $5635.58 and 54gal

Another v$10,000 to the bank. I wouldn't have believed that this journey of my would be so profitable. I suppose if I were just flying on my own dime, my route would be a bit more direct. But diverting to places I've never been and normally wouldn't go is part of the fun!

Starting today, this tour presents a problem. I am in the UAE, which is not a country I'd probably visit in real life. In fact, I think I'd likely avoid this entire region, especially with the current uneasy situations. My next destination is Singapore, more than 3100 miles away. To get there in my Cessna, I'll have to make stops in either Iran or Pakistan, countries which I'd definitely not visit in real life.

So, do I keep up the pretense that this tour is real, or do I thank my lucky stars that I can visit places with my virtual plane in the safety of cyberspace?

Compounding the issue is the fact that there is not a single detailed city in the entire sub-continent of India! There are a number of sights I'd like to see, but if they are just random auto-gen, it seems a bit pointless.

So, as a compromise, I'm going to fly empty (except for every last drop of fuel I can squeeze in) to Karachi in Pakistan. It's 610 miles, so I may not make it. But I gotta try! I'll fly VFR, just in case I need to divert to a closer airport to re-fuel.

Soon after take-off, I find that the gods are with me -- I've got an 8kt tailwind, which increases to 16kts at 5500ft. So far, so good!

[Four hours into the flight, I discover that there's either a problem with FSE's specifications, or my plane's configuration, because I am not burning through the fuel as expected. FSE says my Cessna should use 10gph and cruise at 100kts, but I find I only burn at that rate at full throttle. I seem to cruise at 6gph and about 90 knots. So, the reported range of 540nm (nautical miles, not nanometers!) is much too short -- my actual range is approximately 810nm. I'll have to see which figure agrees with specs for actual Cessna Skyhawks.]

End: OPKC, 1451; $5635.58 and 17gal

It's getting rather late in the day for another long flight (600 miles to Agra), so I'm going to hunker down here in Karachi. I'll see what local facilities are available, or if necessary, I'll just sleep in the plane!

Total Distance Flown:  14,389 nautical miles