I'm a travelin' man

Start: VNKT, 1001; $12005.71 and 40gal

After the exilaration of yesterday's flight (or maybe it's just the bracing Himalayan air), I slept in quite late this morning, so am getting a late start. No big plans today; just a few jobs heading southeast. I'm starting out with 1 Corporate VIP heading to Hashimara, India.

These ATC folks are getting on my nerves. I've checked the charts -- an altitude of 11,500 should be just fine. That's what I file for. But it doesn't take too long for them to tell me to climb to 14,000. Okay, fine, up I go. I'm not climbing fast, but it's the best my little plane can do. Soon, they're pestering me every few minutes to "expedite my climb to 14,000". I'm right at stall speed, with the throttle pushed into the firewall. What more do they expect me to do -- open the windows and flap my arms?! Eventually, I cancel my IFR plan, and calmly climb on my own to 13,500. Then I re-open my IFR plan. All is well for about 2 minutes. Then ATC tells me to descend to 10,000. I figure I'm past the biggest peaks, so I follow their instructions. They holler for me to "expedite my descent". Sheesh. No sooner do I reach 10,000 then they tell me to climb to 13,000!! What is with these jokers?! I think the altitude has effected their brains!

Awfully nice scenery out the left windows, though. One of these peaks is Everest. I just don't know which one!

I guess Everest is the big one?!

End: VE0T, 1249, $13346.81 and 24gal

I knew I was getting close to my 100-hour checkup, and I wasn't sure where I'd get it done (particularly in southeast Asia). It turns out that little Hashimara has a very reasonable price, so I'm going to have it done right here, right now. My next job is 234kg of newspapers and mail, so they don't mind waiting while I eat my lunch and have the Globe Trotter serviced.

I'll also take this opportunity to top-off the fuel tank, since the rest of today's stops don't have any.

Now: VE0T, 1346, $11928.70 and 44gal

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Nothing noteworthy on this leg; just me and some mail bags. The ATC guys are still with it, but not to such a great extent. I'm flying along at 4000, and they have me climb to 4700. Okay, maybe there's some local terrain I don't know about? But then, 5 minutes later, I'm ordered back down to 4000. I no sooner get there, and it's back to 4700 again. What is their problem?

I'm then switched to Calcutta center. After two more cycles of 4000 / 4700 / 4000 / 4700, I cancel my IFR plan. Who needs this headache?

End: VEKM, 1717; $13086.75 and 27gal

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Last leg of the day is taking 122kg of fuel cans to Kyauktu in Myanmar. I'm reluctant to let the ATC guys have their way with me yet again, but I'm sure it's going to be dark before I land, so I guess I'd better.

En route, the clouds really thicken up, and thunder starts to sound. Plus, the sun's about to set. Looks like IFR was a good idea!

End: VYKU, 1947; $14292.75 and 11gal

Total Distance Flown:  16,321 nautical miles

#49 Lukla

Start: VIAG, 0716; $7180.86 and 27gal

My eventual goal is still Singapore, which is southeast. But I'm fairly close to Nepal and the Himalayas. Now I know I'm not going to cross over Everest or K-2 in my little Cessna. But I think I'd like to at least approach them close enough to see them. And as long as I'm in the neighborhood, I really should try landing at Lukla, which I'm told can be pretty exciting! So, I'm off towards Kathmandu and points east (and up!).

My first leg will be to take 145kg of newspaper and mail just across the border into Nepal, to the unappealingly named Nepalgunj!

End: VNNG, 0930; $7917.37 and 27gal

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After a quick stop for refueling (I won't get another chance until Kathmandu) I'm now headed ESE back across the border into India with 3 passengers (Group Charter) headed for Raxaul.

End: VERL, 1141; $9656.37 and 12gal

Wow. I don't know why (perhaps the very low windspeed), but that was one of my smoothest landings ever!

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I couldn't find any jobs headed the right direction, so I'm going to hop over the Kathmandu on my own. It's only 50 miles, so it's no big deal. But it's also the start of my big uphill climb! So far, the India/Nepal border has been surprisingly low and flat, but now I see mountains ahead of me.

I've got the big haul to Lukla ahead of my, so I'll fuel up to my full 54 gallons (both to allow for my extended climb, and because fuel is REALLY expensive at Lukla!).

End: VNKT, 1221; $9474.21 and 54gal

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Now it gets good! I've got 1 Passenger, 1 Frontier Cargo (which is actually another passenger) and a 1kg Express Envelope going to Lukla! Hope my little Globe Trotter is up to the challenge -- I'll be hitting my head on the maximum ceiling for a Cessna Skyhawk!

Between the increasing altitude and my fairly heavy load (myself, 2 passengers and a full load of fuel), my climb rate is pretty low. With a little hindsight, I probably shouldn't have taken on this much fuel. But I'm pretty sure I'll make it if I do some step-climbing!

Forty miles to Lukla, and I'm at 10,000ft (3,600ft AGL). That's the altitude of the airfield, but there's still the question of the mountains between me and Lukla! So, I'll continue climbing, a few hundred feet at a time. Knowing what I know now, I should have flown this leg empty, but I just couldn't resist the challenge (plus the opportunity to make a little more money!).

I aim for the low spots!

Who lives there? And why do they have a pool?!

At 13 miles to Lukla, I pass what I hope is the highest point. I'm at 12,300ft, and was briefly only 430ft AGL. But the terrain mapping of my GPS shows I've now got a "valley" to follow all the way to Lukla. So I should be just fine!

There's this little mountain in my way!

End: VNLK, 1322; $11051.01 and 46gal

That approach was all it's cracked up to be. You have to cross a peak with a few miles of the airport, and then you'd better be lined up pretty well, because you have to dive to get down to 10,000ft to land on the very short runway. That show on the History Channel rated Lukla as "The Most Dangerous Airport in the World", and I can see why. Because of the dive, I was faster than my usual landings (but still only 78kts), and I came very close to overshooting the runway!

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I had planned on stopping here, but they really discourage that. Although not shown in the default FSX scenery, there are only 4 parking spots and no overnight accommodations (unless you brought a tent!). So, it's back to Kathmandu with 2 other Passengers.

End: VNKT, 1425; $12205.71 and 40gal

Total Distance Flown:  15,688 nautical miles

#48 Garage Mahal

Start: OPKC, 0807; $5327.94 and 45gal

[So, I've done some research, and according to airliners.net, the Cessna 172 Skyhawk has a range of 575nm. Adding back in the 45 minute safety margin that figure includes gives an absolute maximum range of approximately 650nm. I examined my aircraft.cfg file, and had a Fuel_Flow_Scalar of 0.88 and a Power_Scalar of 1.05. So I think that gave me artificially better gas mileage, and just a hint more power. I have edited these values to 1.00 and 1.00 (sounds like a good guess for default values, doesn't it?!). This gives me a fuel flow of 13gph during climb, and as soon as I got to 3500ft, a fuel flow of my normal 6gph and a range of 650nm. Those are numbers I can live with. Now back to our regularly scheduled program.]

My next destination is Agra, India, to see the Taj Mahal. It's just over 600 miles, and there are no jobs going there from here. About the best FSE can do is send me 150 miles mostly north, which doesn't really help, but at least it pays the gas bill. So, I'm off with 3 Corporate Charters headed for Moenjodaro (still in Pakistan). There's heavy fog this morning, so it's a good thing I'm flying IFR for now. I just hope things improve as I near Agra.

Fuel may be an issue. With my 3 passengers, I can only load 45 gallons. A quick check doesn't show any fuel available at my two intermediate stops. But with my now realistic fuel usage, 45 gallons won't be enough to get through today's flight (705nm). Thank goodness for the Internet (and FSE) -- a quick search finds an airstrip at Nagaur, India, about halfway along my route to Agra. All is saved!

End: OPMJ, 1012; $6814.69 and 31gal

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A quick inquiry at the cargo desk finds 219kg of canned goods heading roughly my way, so I'm off to Mad Juma (love that name!). Still a bit foggy, so I'm still IFR. I really like knowing that ATC will guide me in, but what's with the frequent course changes? Turn to 90; turn to 60; turn to 90; turn to 65 -- all within 10 minutes. Can they not identify me on their radar screen, and need me to waggle around to figure out which plane I am? There doesn't seem to be much traffic in the area, so I'm not dodging other planes (as far as I know).

End: OP0D, 1201; $7531.69 and 19gal

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Luckily, I packed a sandwich. If I'm not in the middle of nowhere, I'm nearby! Mad Juma is a single dirt strip (and not maintained very well), situated on a vast plain of dirt with some scrub vegetation off to the northeast. There aren't many FSE jobs from here, and none going anywhere near when I'm headed. So, I'm off to enjoy my own company. I'll be making my planned stop for fuel along the way...

On the plus side, the weather has cleared up nicely, so I'm VFR (hopefully for the rest of the day).

End: VI1T, 1402; $7431.49 and 30gal

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I love it when a plan comes together. I'm in Naguar, in northern India. Fuel isn't cheap, but at least they have some! So, I've fueled up for my flight to see the Taj Mahal (which I hope exists in FSX!), and then a landing at the nearby Agra airbase.

Still no FSE jobs going my way, so I'll just enjoy the Taj by myself. And I do enjoy it -- it's rendered quite nicely.

The Taj Mahal

End: VIAG, 1733; $7431.49 and 13gal

Total Distance Flown:  15,103 nautical miles

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

#46 Riyadh #47 Dubai

Start: OEJN, 0706; $9756.14 and 45gal

This is going to be another long day -- a little over 1,000 nm. But I'm eager to get across the Arabian Peninsula, and I found a pretty decent path that will take me to Riyadh and Dubai. I'm starting this morning with 3 Business Charter passengers, headed for Al Kharj (sounds Klingon to me!).

As I mentioned yesterday, I decided to take another look at Mecca. In the light of day, my opinion hasnt' changed. I expected a fascinating and ancient city, filled with unique and ornate architecture. Instead, I got a perfectly generic, modern city, with one large mosque-like building. Very disappointing.

Mecca in the daytime -- doesn't look much different.

Boy, there's a lot of featureless desert between Mecca and Riyadh. And it's difficult to judge distances and heights. I hadn't realized how much I've come to depend upon judging the size of the trees to tell how close I am to the ground. But when it's nothing but tan sand dunes, it's tough to tell! Soon the clouds burn off, and the view out the window just looks like one big attitude indicator! But after about 4 hours, something looms on the horizon. That something turns out to be Riyadh (which is what I was aiming for!). But it was a real let down. Even less "Saudi" than Mecca. Very flat, very generic and suburban in appearance, with 3 unique buildings right next to the airport (one really looks like the control tower, but it isn't!). So much for that.

Riyadh's custom buildings -- 2 out of 3 ain't bad

End: OE47, 1355; $12351.67 and 27gal

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After a quick stop for a vending machine lunch (and to be honest, I was glad to get that -- this is a small airstrip on the outskirts of a small town in Saudi Arabia!), I've loaded my 3 Corporate Charter passengers, and I'm off for a direct flight to my next destination (King Abdulaziz Airbase on the eastern seaboard), with plenty of nothing between here and there.

End: OEDR, 1647; $14094.22 and 45gal

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After a smooth and fairly tedious flight, I've now got 3 I.A.S. Passengers and we're heading for Ras Al Khaimah in the UAE. Just before setting up my approach to that airport, we'll overfly Dubai (my next detailed city target).

En route, I'm over the Persian Gulf and am again reminded that the sun sets early in these parts. It's 6:00pm, and getting dark. So, my Dubai photos will highlight the GEX night lighting effects (and they look pretty good!).

The Dubai skyline

After my photo-shooting detour, I quickly file an IFR flight plan. I can see why a number of pilots suggest that all flights after dark be IFR. Once you get away from the bright lights of Dubai, it gets DARK! And after nearly 12 hours of flying, I'm tired and ready to hit the hay.

By the light of the silvery moon...

End: OMRK, 2037; $15940.12 and 22gal

Total Distance Flown:  13,779 nautical miles

#45 Mecca

Start: HECW, 0815; $6385.22 and 25gal

Gonna be a long day today -- about 9 hours of flying time, by my reckoning. But Mecca is next on my list, with a detour to Luxor, and a few detours for FSE jobs.

To start off, I've got 3 Business Charter passengers heading my way to El Kharga. Thank goodness for GPS; Egypt is flat, and once you get away from the Nile, a fairly featureless desert. There are no landmarks to navigate by, and only by following the "magenta line" was I able to find the airport.

End: HEKG, 1117; $7728.82 and 15gal

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Smooth sailing so far. I've exchange my passengers for 3 Private Shuttle passengers, and I'm now headed to Luxor. Because it's there, I'll be flying over the Valley of the Kings on my way. Don't know that I'll see much (I rather doubt that King Tut's tomb is much to look at from the air!), but I gotta try!

King Tut's Tomb is now a condominium!

End: HELX, 1238; $8681.28 and 45 gal

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Hope this works -- FSE says my next job is at HE0R, but Plan-G shows it as HE26. Both are Wadi Abu Shihat. I'm empty on this leg, so if I have to scramble to find the right destination airport, no one will know but me!

Egyptian ATC leaves a little something to be desired!

End: HE0R, 1323; $8636.60 and 54gal

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Well, that worked like a charm. No matter what it's called, there's only one airport there in the middle of the desert. I landed, and FSE was happy to let me continue on my way. I'm picking up 2 ACI Transient Pilots and we're heading to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. Along the way, we'll oveyfly Mecca for some quick photos. It will be 520 miles, so I've filled the tanks and will try not to dilly-dally too much! Since I normally cruise at 6gph, my 5 hour cruise should only use 30 gallons or so, making this leg long but not worrisome.

Everything's going very smoothly, although I'm getting a bit tired at the end of a long day. What I hadn't counted on was an early sunset as I approach Mecca. It's only 6:30pm, but it's getting pretty dark, so my photos will highlight the impressive night life!

Besides, Mecca was not what I was expecting at all. From what I could see, it's a completely modern city, with high-rises, large, straight streets, etc. Where are all the thousand year old adobe villages; where are all the ornate mosques? If they are there, I couldn't find them. Maybe I'll have to come back tomorrow morning when the sun is up.

The one mosque-like building I could find in Mecca.

So, I turn towards Jeddah, and file an IFR plan.

End: OEJN, 1925; $10045.10 and 17gal

Total Distance Flown:  12,751 nautical miles

#43 Cairo #44 The Pyramids

Start: LLBG, 0654; $4154.69 and 24gal

After a wonderful week touring around Israel with my friend (and another v$10,000 bank deposit), it's time to move on. Despite the local unrest, I am really looking forward to seeing the Pyramids and Cairo. And to make things easy, FSE has provided me with a direct flight. This morning, I have 3 "pasajeros" going to Cairo West.

Couldn't ask for a better start. I got taxi and take-off clearance immediately, the sky is clear, and I'm soon sailing over the sea at 4,500 feet heading straight for the Pyramids, a little over 2 hours away. My pasajeros don't speak much English, so I guess I'll have some quiet "me time".

Suddenly, some green appears in the desert. Next, I see an airport. This must be Cairo! Sure enough, a second airport, and buildings are visible. A nicely rendered city, Cairo definitely tends towards the beige and tan end of the spectrum (as it should). More modern than I expected (more skyscrapers and fewer mosques), but clearly not European. And, there, on the horizon, I see the Pyramids. And they are spectacular!

Cairo

The Pyramids at Giza

End: HECW, 0959; $6668.39 and 6gal

Total Distance Flown:  11,778 nautical miles