[I'm always drawn back to South America, in the SIM.] By any measure, especially, in terms of Geographical features, South America is one of the most impressive regions on earth. Its most distinguishing landmark is, of course, the (greatly fascinating) Andes Mountain range - the longest mountain range in the world (second in height only to the incomparable Himalayas) - and the cradle of many ancient cultures and the ruins of long-gone civilizations.

For pilots flying south of the equator in this part of the world, the constant companion is this jagged and forbidding range of the Andes mountains, that parallel the western side of the continent. There is a joke that, navigation on this southbound 5000 nm trip couldn't be simpler. "Just remember to keep the ocean on the right and the Andes on the left." At the southernmost tip of South America (Cape Horn), the Andes dives into the ocean beneath the infamous Drake Passage, remains submerged for 600 miles and then resurfaces on the northern part of the Antarctic Peninsula as the Antarctandes mountains. [Note: BTW, here, I recommend a re-visit of (fellow member) Bernd's earlier posts about the uniquely beautiful Cape Horn and Patagonia.]

Located along the entire western coast of South America, the Andes is about 4,500 miles long. It spans seven countries — Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. Here, for this post, to typify Andean aviation, I've picked, one of the smaller countries of South America, Ecuador, but, nonetheless, a true representative of the timeless Andean spirit - called the Avenue of the Volcanoes, and the Roof of the World. Towering above the Ecuadorian Andes is the Cotopaxi volcano, one of the highest active volcanoes in the world. South of Cotopaxi lies the tallest volcano in Ecuador and the closest point to the sun on the planet - Chimborazo Volcano. For this (SIM) flight, these will form the only two navigational waypoints guiding the avionics of what, at one point, was considered an advanced jet of its time - the Fokker 100 by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer.

Andes boasts some of the highest peaks in the world, and contains a very significant volcanic belt - the northernmost part of which lies in Ecuador. The Andes are also home to the world’s highest volcano when measured above sea level, Ojos del Salado on the Chile-Argentina border, which reaches 22,615 feet (6,893 m), and more than "50" volcanoes that reach 19,685 feet (6,000 m). So, one can only imagine, in the context of aviation, the utmost attention given by pilots while overflying this region. Another point of interest, is the farthest summit from the center the earth, the peak of Chimborazo volcano (less than 100 miles southwest of Quito). If we ask ourselves, what's the highest point on the Earth, scientifically speaking, it's not Mount Everest! With a peak elevation of 20,548 ft, Chimborazo, the highest mountain in Ecuador, may not be the highest mountain by elevation above sea level, but its location along the equatorial bulge makes its summit the farthest point on the Earth as measured from the Earth's center - beating Everest by nearly 2 miles of extra height.

The Andes has an average height of over 13,000ft, and the La Paz airport of Bolivia sits at 13,313ft. It's the world's highest elevation airport outside of China. There, "high altitude airport procedures" must be followed for takeoff and arrival. Imagine having to wear oxygen masks on entering the cockpit well before takeoff - to prevent chances of oxygen deprivation (and loss of alertness) in case of any emergencies during takeoff. For the flight of this post, the Quito airport of Ecuador, at 9,213', however, does not require any such procedures (to my knowledge). In any case, aren't we glad that we do not need to worry about such things in our SIM, and can sip a drink while flying into these airports!

Here, I've chosen a (classic) TAM aircraft, the venerable Fokker 100 twinjet, that was deployed by TAM Airlines of Brazil between 1990-2008. TAM Airlines of Brazil subsequently, merged with LAN Airlines of Chile to form the LATAM Airlines Group, currently the largest Airline in South America. LATAM now has regularly scheduled flights to Quito, if one is interested.

This flight is from Guayaquil (SEGU) - 2nd largest city in Ecuador to the old (= historic) Quito airport (SEQU) of the Capital City - a distance of only 167 miles. I've no S.A. scenery, but, I've, at least, ensured (using the correct LAT/LONG waypoint on the plane's FMC) that I've, indeed, flown over the highest point on the Earth - in the SIM. The route is a simple flightplan generated by SimBrief (see screenshot), but incorporating the LAT/LONG of Chimborazo (1.4693° S, 78.8169° W) - entered as a custom waypoint into SimBrief's flightplan, and uploaded into the F100's FMC. On the Route screenshot, this is the 1st waypoint the plane is heading to (after departing from Guayaquil). There are also 2 screenshots below (one each in external and internal views), while making the (slight) left turn from Chimborazo towards the LTV (VOR) of Cotopaxi. So, I track northward overflying the valley, between two branches of Andean Mountains (see also the FSX MAP) , towards the LTV (VOR) in the Cotopaxi province, named after the nearby Cotopaxi stratovolcano, one of the highest and most active volcanoes in the world...and finally to the (Old) Quito's ILS 35 Runway for landing (Note: SEQU not available in SimBrief - so SEQM used).

The SIM aircraft, Fokker 100, is by Digital Aviation (the same folks that have recently developed the magnificent CRJ). The Fokker 100 was such an advanced plane for its time, sort of a trend-setter in this airliner category (1st flight 1986), but, only to be soon overwhelmed by the newer entrants (CRJ - 1st Flight 1991, and ERJ - 1st Flight 1995). Here, in the SIM, the Fokker 100, is/was an equally nice plane to fly, but, I've hardly flown it in recent years...it does not have a [VC], but has a fully operational [2D]. It's a marvelous SIM rendition - I just hope a newer version of this comes out for all of us to enjoy! The F/O voices and actions are wonderful. Here, I've flown the F100 to the Old (Quito) Airport (SEQU), for which I happen to have an add-on scenery from Aerosoft. In RW, this airport has currently ceased all operations (it's now actually converted to a Public Park), but fortunately, it's still available in my (outdated) FSX and in this scenery add-on! Hope you enjoy these pictures of this remarkable aircraft (rarely seen around here in the SIM or even in the real skies), flying in this remarkable region of the world. And, notice, the densely populated areas on approach to Old Quito, one of the main reasons, Quito relocated its airport to the New (Quito) Mariscal Sucre International Airport (SEQM). Thanks for reading and viewing. [DA(F100)/AS(Old-Quito)/REX]

Edited July 20, 20196 yr by P_7878

P_7878,

I rarely reply to posts of this kind. But I enjoyed your narration of the flight and area. The pictures look great.

 

Thanks for your post.

Bill McCracken

Very much Enjoyed this,Thank You.

Thanks for the kind words, Patrick!

Bill: Glad you made a (rare) exception here...🙂...and enjoyed the text and pictures!