High and Fast

Greetings!

This spring I am embarking on a European Capitals Tour, and when I laid in the routes using Plan-G it was apparent there were some really long legs, segments of 2+ hours in my normal high-and-fast selection, the Wilco TMB850. Now, I know you tube-liner guys are thinking big deal, my flight from SFO to Narita takes 11 hours, but I tend to limit myself to aircraft that seat 6 or fewer passengers and flights of 1 hour or less. I needed something fast, really fast, with range, and settled on the MilViz F-15 Eagle. Range up to 1,500 miles, up to 2+ Mach, and room for two!

At first, I was concerned I bit off more than I could chew - the operating guide is 199 pages long!!! And while there is a "CTRL-E" option (the so-called Nuclear Option), I wanted to fly this model with the respect it deserved. Fortunately, MilViz provides a "quick start" guide that is only 12 pages long, and armed with that I started out. My first cold start took me 30 minutes - now I am down to 10, and I think that is pretty good. A fantastic aircraft, infused with that MilViz quality.

So, the first leg of my European trip (I just couldn't wait for March 22!) is from Iceland to Scotland, Reyjkavic to Edinburgh, a distance of 747 miles. Armed with P3D V1.4, REX OD, Opus, and FTX Global + Iceland demo, off we go.

Cold and dark on GA pad 16, on a grey and overcast day in Iceland.

Certainly dark! And with the canopy up and a 20 knot wind, cold!

10 minutes later, we are hot!

Looks like take-off is going to be complicated by a pretty fierce side wind...

All buttoned and ready to go on Runway 11. The wind sock suggests I would be better on a different runway, perhaps 02, but it is quite a bit shorter.

Climbing on out to 22,000 feet.

Sometimes I get the appeal to the tube-liner flyers: up high, things are calm, and you can see a lot of world down below.

The descent in the next post!

After leveling out at 22,000 I realized my fuel calculations were wrong, and that I was going to end up in the drink before I saw Scotland. Fortunately, a call to the boys in the RAF provided a refuel (actually, I took advantage of P3D barking at me once in a while "you are running out of fuel - press CNTL-X to refuel") and I could continue. Part of it was bad math, part of it was going too fast. I have found in the Hornet that just slightly south of Mach 1, say 0.985, is a good balance between speed and range, and I will have to explore that in the Eagle.

I really like this spot view. For one, it shows the majesty of tran-oceanic travel - nothing for miles and miles. Secondly, the SOUND: the MilViz Eagle has a beautiful deep rumble.

Land ho! Reminds me of my first trip to Japan - I was never so excited to see land before!

Tis winter, laddies! Note the fuel level...

This has happened to be a couple of times before: I get a grey box blocking my starboard PFD. Looked briefly on the forums, did not see anything yet.

Coming in high and hot, max flaps and speed brake. The fuel gauge does not show on this shot, but it was 7-percent. Pretty low for a go-around!

Good enough - still pretty hot @ 224 KIAS.

Well, what can I say. I just wanted the gentleman who over-shot his approach in the DC-8 to feel better. And I am certainly glad MilViz does not simulate brake fires...  

Hope you liked the trip!