Hi folks, it's been a while since I last posted here, as I have just returned from a vacation in India.   Luckily enough for a 737 NG lover like myself, I flew to three cities in the country on some NGs operated by Jet Airways, the second largest Indian airline.   If you think I'm overly obsessed with matching real world operations in FSX copying flights I see on Flightaware.com, the feeling is intensified when I try to mimic flights I actually experienced first hand!   The airliner nut that I am, I even had a notepad handy to take notes from my window seat, writing down departure times, flap settings, and other notable events.  Because Flightaware does not cover flights for Jet Airways, and especially since their aircraft are not equipped with seatback entertainment monitors with moving maps, I had to guesstimate the route flown based on research.  I think I approximated the route flown pretty well, as I was able to find a similar route in Flightaware used by a competitor airline, IndiGo.

 

Flight number was 2363, and is a 2 hour 15 minute flight between Bangalore and Calcutta, or as they are now known, Bengaluru and Kolkata.  Many cities in India have shed their colonial British names as the product of winning independence from British rule.  Departure was 8:00am, scheduled arrival 10:15am.  SID was ANIRO3 from VOBL runway 27, STAR KUMAD into VECC runway 19L.   My own sim flight time was 2 hours 22 minutes, fairly close.   Weather was basically cloudy for the entire duration, as it's monsoon season there.

 

Here I am loading passengers at Gate 9.  Look there, that is the British Airways flight that brought me over from EGLL, although in real life it was a 777-200.   Well, last time I flew to Bangalore in 2009 it was the 747-400!

 

Getting close to the time for pushback.

 

Pushback has commenced.  Time is 7:55AM, looks like we are ahead of schedule.

 

Two of the big low cost carriers of India are seen here, a Spicejet 737 and IndiGo A320.

 

Climbout out of VOBL.

 

A view from business class.

 

At close to 10000ft.   Or really, 7000ft, because the elevation of Bangalore is 3000ft.

 

Even though the topography in this region is mostly flat, there are a few hills I had witnessed that stick out like sore thumbs.   Here are a few as they are represented by my high resolution mesh in FSX.

 

In cruise over Southeast India, where the Bay of Bengal meets the vast coast.

 

Beautiful livery if I must say so myself.

 

Just like in real life, I see some towering clouds that are prevalent during the monsoon season that India is known for.   Kudos to Active Sky Evolution!

 

It is fun skimming the clouds at FL390.

 

On the descent into the KUMAD STAR.

 

Boy was it foggy.  I don't often see low visibility conditions in my flights in FSX, and I was loving putting the NGX's ILS capabilities to work.

 

Rural countryside gives way to the bustling cityscape nearby the airport periphery.

Breaking through the fog is the welcome sight of runway 19L.   Nevermind the company traffic lining up on the runway, FSX's ATC could use some improvement.

 

A gentle touchdown and the spoilers are activated.

 

Thundering down the runway with full reverse to make the closest turnoff.

 

Welcome to Kolkata!

 

Replicating real world flights is one thing, but to fly vacation trips is really really special for me.   I was sad when the 3 week vacation ended, but I was also looking forward to firing up the sim and taking on these routes myself.   Armed with my trusty notepad and tons of camera photos, I relished the chance to relive my vacation.   I have 3 more legs to complete in the Jet Airways NGX, and a whopper of a flight that I hope to do justice with a certain widebody that is due to be released very soon.   It's so cool that I got to fly on the 737 and 777 for this vacation, as they both represent the best PMDG has to or will soon offer!!!

 

Up next will be the return flight to Bangalore in a 737-700.

 

Till next time, Adios!

Great writup AJ, very much enjoyed, thanks for posting.

 

Awesome looking sim too!

Nice shots.

 

nebojsa

Don't worry, you are not the only obsessed nut who takes down notes of flap settings, etc. I did the very same during my recent flights in the USA, but unlike anywhere else, specially India where I have used Jet Airways, amongst others, internally and from VABB-EGLL(B772), the flightdeck crew were far more approachable and co-operative when it came to asking what SIDs and STARs they used.

 

Great shots, btw.

Cool AAR, thanks.

Can never have enough of this!

I love these well-documented trips.  Nice job, AJ