#99 Glasgow, #100 Dublin, then Home!

Start: EGPC, 0743; $9017.40 and 54gal

Well, this is a bittersweet day. I'm very excited, but a little sad. For today, I will see my last two destinations and then land at the airport I started from back in early July. Today, I will reach home!

But first, I've got 111kg of Priority Courier material that has to get to Glasgow. So, up up and away!

Glasgow

End: EGPF, 0933; $9948.90 and 40gal

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I've got a little bit of time to wait until my passengers are ready, so the kind folks at the BAI Flight Group performed my 100-hour inspection. Everything's looking good -- after almost 800 hours, compression is still at 99% and the engine is clean. So, I'm ready to take my 3 Private Shuttle passengers on to St. Angelo in Enniskillen.

End: EGAB, 1139; $9227.36 and 35gal

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I'm within shouting distance of home now (well, there is the small matter of the Irish Sea, but you know what I mean). There are no FSE jobs going to Dublin or Leeds, so I'll finish out my journey in quiet introspection. Or maybe I'll whoop and holler the whole time. In any case, I'm off on my FINAL LEG!

Dublin

Bradford-Leeds = Home (for now!)

End: EGNM, 1433; $9227.36 and 16gal


Total Distance Flown:  59,374 nautical miles
Total v$ Deposited: $240,000 (and I ended up with just over $9,000 in cash)

#98 Iceland

Start: BIKF, 0831; $5153.90 and 45gal

That was one long marathon of flying yesterday. But I'm now so close to the end that I'm energized to keep going. I've also managed to find paying jobs all the way today, so I'm excited to get started. To begin, I've got 1 Midsommar Transatlantic passengers. I'm not going to take him across the Atlantic, though! But we will go to Vagar on the Faroe Islands. This is a bit nostalgic, because when I first brought this plane (as CHKN-HK) from Idaho to the UK, I came via Iceland, the Faroes and Scatsta.

As I take-off and fly over Iceland, I can appreciate the rugged scenery, but I decided that an extended stay is not in the cards for mid-November!

Appropriately-named Iceland

End: EKVG, 1339; $6045.24 and 40gal

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I now have 3 Scatsta passengers, going to (believe it or not) Scatsta!

End: EGPM, 1528; $8531.94 and 27gal

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For today's final leg, I'm taking 1 Air Photographer to Wick. Then, I'll have to arrange for another 100-hour inspection before I can bed down and prepare for tomorrow's flight to Glasgow.

End: EGPC, 1709; $9368.04 and 16gal


Total Distance Flown:  58,819 nautical miles
Total v$ Deposited: $240,000

East to Iceland

Start: CYMX, 0632; $5805.46 and 54gal

I need to go to Iceland. It's a long way, but thanks to the miracle of FSX, I'm going to go for it! It will be pushing the GlobeTrotter to her limits, but according to Plan-G and my own calculations, I should be able to pull it off. It's just over 2,000 miles, and will take 17 hours of flying. But I am determined.

In order to do this, I am selecting destinations as far apart as possible, in as straight a line as possible. If FSE can provide a job, great; but I'm doing this, all by myself if I have to. First stop, Goose Bay, 700 miles to the northeast.

Once I pass 5500 ft, I find things are going my way -- notably, the wind. I have a 45kt crosswind, but it's coming from behind and to my left, so it's helping me along my way. With 672 miles to go, my fuel gauge tells me I've got an expected range of 835 miles!

As I land, I still have 11 gallons of fuel left -- gotta love helpful tailwinds!

End: CYYR, 1243; $5647.36 and 54gal

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Well, that's the way the cookie crumbles. My next destination is Narsarsuaq (say that three times fast!). Here at Goose Bay, there's an FSE job going there, too. But it's for 5 passengers -- too many for my little Cessna. So, as I take-off, I'll wave to them out the window!

It's only 4:30 in the afternoon, but this far north in November, it starts to get dark early!

End: BGBW, 1942; $5497.34 and 50gal

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One more long leg, and I'm in Iceland! It's been a long day, but it's only 7:30, and I'm excited to be getting near my final target. So, I'm going to keep on going.

After an all-too-exciting beginning (the terrain rises VERY steeply), I'm at my cruising altitude of 8,500ft and expect a smooth (and very dark) flight to Iceland.

End: BIKF, 0331; $5497.34 and 4gal

Whew, that was one long day! I'm going to the closest bed I can find. Then, in the morning, I'll put the last two flag decals (Greenland and Iceland) on the side!


Total Distance Flown:  58,058 nautical miles
Total v$ Deposited: $240,000

#95 Toronto #96 Niagara Falls #97 Montreal

Start: KFPK, 0654; $2207.87 and 27gal

Another day, another v$10,000 bank deposit! That was the easy part. Planning today's route, that was a little trickier. It was simple enough to find passengers coming to the oddly named Beach (it's in the middle of Michigan!), but I can't find anyone that wants to leave heading east. So, I'm off on my own for now to pick up a job at good ol' Romeo State.

End: D98, 0747; $2207.87 and 21gal

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I now have paying customers! 3 PCA-dPAX (not sure exactly what or how those are!) going to Goderich in Ontario.

End: CYGD, 0848; $4244.42 and 54gal

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Smooth sailing; uneventful flight -- pick your metaphor. I'm now in Ontario, and will be taking 2 Private Shuttle passengers to Toronto. Nice to see the winter textures in use.

Toronto

Toronto in November

End: CYKZ, 1002; $4987.82 and 45gal

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I now have 1 Corporate VIP going to Massena, New York. We'll be going via Niagara Falls. I've been disappointed with waterfalls in FSX (so far, they simply don't exist). But I've got a good feeling about Niagara.

Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls with the Maid of the Mist

End: KMSS, 1350; $6138.92 and 26gal

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I was very surprised to not find a job going to Montreal, but there isn't. So, I'll finish the day as I started -- by myself!

Montreal

End: CYMX, 1457; $6138.92 and 18gal


Total Distance Flown:  56,036 nautical miles
Total v$ Deposited: $240,000

#94 Chicago

Start: KJKF, 0809; $8595.80 and 54gal

Yet another homecoming! I'm starting off this morning taking 2 Vacationers to Columbus, Ohio (I got my DVM and PhD from Ohio State).

End: KCMH, 1210; $9905.02 and 45gal

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Holy Toledo! I'm now carrying 1 Colorado Air passenger, 1 EliteAir passenger and 1 EliteAir code-share passenger, to Toledo.

The Ohio State University - Looks surprisingly industrial

End: KTOL, 1353; $12116.27 and 54gal

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I'm sure glad the Chicago scenery was worth it, because today's trip has taken me hundreds of miles in the wrong direction! I have 1 Private Shuttle passenger going to Charlotte, Michigan, so after I loop past Chicago I'll at least be pointed in the right direction again.

Chicago

Chicago skyline

I like traveling via FSX. As I sit here at my computer (in Plant City, FL), it's a pleasant 79F. At 1,400 feet above Chicago, it's 36F! I'll stay at the keyboard, thank you very much.

End: KFPK, 1745; $12407.87 and 27gal


Total Distance Flown:  55,453 nautical miles
Total v$ Deposited: $230,000

#92 Washington DC #93 New York City

Start: KCLT, 0601; $4489.75 and 45gal

Another homecoming -- my summer home is in Chapel Hill, NC, so when I saw these jobs available I just had to take them. I have 1 North Carolina at Chapel Hill Professor, 1 Duke University Student, and 1 Stewardess all going to Raleigh-Durham International.

End: KRDU, 0722; $6814.45 and 35gal

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RDU in FSE is not like RDU in real life. With 3 small exceptions, all the jobs were pointed back to Charlotte. Luckily for me, one of the small jobs was going to Washington Executive, just outside of DC. So, I'm taking 1 Raleigh passenger on a tour of our nation's capitol.

The thirty knot crosswind en route makes me glad I installed the GPS system -- let it deal with the course corrections!

The Mall

Smithsonian Castle and the National Air & Space Museum

The White House, Capitol, Washington Monument and more

End: W32, 0952; $7640.65 and 19gal

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Well, this is kismet! I had really only planned on doing DC today, but it's awfully early. My next destination is New York City. And here at this little airstrip in suburban Maryland, there's a job going to JFK! I've just got enough fuel to make it, so I'm going for it. I'll take 2 Potomac passengers straight to JFK, after a brief aerial tour of Manhattan.

But first, a quick detour to fly over the University of Maryland (where I got my BS [no pun intended!]). It's probably not specifically included in FSX, but I gotta see!

University of Maryland, College Park (looks like a golf course to me!)

My flight took me almost directly over Philadelphia, so I had to take a few shots.

Philly (pretty nice for auto-gen!)

And now, on to the Big Apple!

Approaching Manhattan

My son Tony lives down in there somewhere!

Empire State and Chrysler Buildings

New York City is fabulous, but it brought my system to its knees. I was getting framerates of 2 to 3, and then the display stopped updating entirely. It made landing at JFK challenging to say the least, but by switching between the cockpit and outside views, I was able to get an occasional glimpse and managed to land safely.

End: KJKF, 1312; $8978.95 and 4gal


Total Distance Flown:  54,437 nautical miles
Total v$ Deposited: $230,000