Cross posting, as I thought this might be of wider interest: apologies if this has been done recently, I haven't been here for a while... 

 

Over the weekend I thought I’d see if Flight Simulator could give an idea of what it might be like to fly a long range Search mission.

That’s what it’s about after all: simulation.

I also figured I would have about as much chance as anybody, finding debris from Flight MH 370. 

The RNZAF being part of the effort, we set off to Bullsbrook, Western Australia in the KBT P-3 Orion.

 

 

No custom scenery for RAAF Base Pearce, but luckily FS9 has a few of the supporting cast available, to pad things out a bit.

 

 

Off we go, it’s a long flight just to get to the designated search area.

 

 

Armed with all the information available in our web-connected world, it’s relatively straight forward plotting the search box, 1600nm away.

 

 

Then, settle in under the cloud cover and “mow the lawn”.

 

 

The search is very fuel-limited: We took off with 47,000lbs on board.

Outbound we consumed 18,354 lbs, and expect the same or less on return.

With a half hour reserve of 1500 lbs, that leaves fuel for only 110 minutes in the search pattern.  

 

Even this reduced window must be mind numbing; you must stay alert while faced with an unchanging vista.

I gave up because I knew I wasn’t going to find anything; the crew don’t have that luxury, a moment’s distraction could mean you miss a vital glint somewhere in the grey.

After a couple of hours, the long haul back - empty handed.

Maybe tomorrow, or the day after, or the day after that…

 

 

I reckon my original question was answered well enough, and I feel I have more of an insight into the work these dedicated fellows do.

Quite relentless, really. I imagine a Rescue mission must make a huge difference to your job satisfaction though.

P-3s usually shut down an engine or two in SAR to extend their time over the area.  Should give you a bit more time over target.

What a Cool Original Post!! Thank You.

Thank you...

 

"P-3s usually shut down an engine or two"

 

I understand it is seldom used in the RNZAF, although cool to do in the sim.

In this instance they are at low level in the search pattern, and would run 4 engines. 

How did you get the out the window engine view? I have been flying the FS9 KBT plane since it first came out year ago (It's still one of my favorite military planes to fly) and never had that view.

Excellent simulation of the real world (and vitally important) job going on out there.  Thanks

Great shots.

 

nebojsa

My pleasure, and thank you...

 

 

"How did you get the out the window engine view"

 

I cheated a bit: DBS Walk and Follow to set up the view, then 'shopped in the porthole frame from the photo that made me think of the shot! One could probably add that as a 2D Wingview, come to think of it.

Nice pics!

My pleasure, and thank you...

 

 

"How did you get the out the window engine view"

 

I cheated a bit: DBS Walk and Follow to set up the view, then 'shopped in the porthole frame from the photo that made me think of the shot! One could probably add that as a 2D Wingview, come to think of it.

 

I see. I thought my FS9 version was missing those wing views.

To complete the thought: the US Navy has deployed a couple of Poseidons to the search area. Would there be any advantage in using the faster jet?

 

 

POSKY made a pretty good P-8, although perhaps the Sidewinders would not be needed on this Search mission!

 

 

Outbound in 3 hours 50 minutes, the P-8 shaved almost an hour off the Orion’s time.

In so doing, it used almost twice the fuel. Starting out with 67,000lbs on board, and allowing for a half hour reserve, there would be just 115 minutes in the search pattern.

 

 

Having said that, the Poseidon has a sophisticated Synthetic Aperture Radar and other clever bits to aid the Mk I eyeball. It would cover a vast area in that time.

The crew would have a couple of extra hours rest over the Orion once home, too.

 

 

Based on the published range figures of 1200nm and 4 hours loiter, the POSKY model gave a pretty accurate account of itself.

 

No less a wearisome task than the Orion flight though, the crew needing to keep focussed against very little possible reward. Interesting to note that Peter Jackson’s Gulfstream has joined the party, apparently to act as a mini-AWACS!

God Bless the souls on board, great pics and nice intentions...just hope the search is fruitful and we find out why this happened????...Great shots and keep them coming. P3 Orion is the tool for this job. Love the Poseidon too... Thank you Sir....And youre screens are fab honest loved every 1 of them....

Is it FSX???  How did you get window view of propellers? Which version of KBT Orion are you using?

 

Aharon

Thanks for the kind words, 777 Sir!

 

Aharon, this is FS2004 (Carrying so many addons it is known as the FS9.5 upgrade B) )

See post #8 above. 

WingZ,  thanks for answer.  When I was asking which version, I do not mean the flight simulator. I mean the KBT model.  Smiling

 

Regards,

 

Aharon