Me and my A300...Silk Route, traversed...(Part II)...

[Here, in this post, and the images, below, I pick up, where I left off, in my Part I, having (already) turned eastward, from Rome, across the Apennines Mountains and the Adriatic Sea, towards Istanbul VOR (IST)...in the same livery of FedEx, the largest freight operator of the A300...]
 
From my early FSX days, I recall the ~(4000nm/5000nm) trips, I used to "regularly" make, diligently, following the North Atlantic (or the Pacific Tracks). Since then, like many of us, as life and its priorities have advanced, also, interrupted by my several years of break from SIM, my flight distances have got shorter and shorter...500nm tops, at the current time, even if I fly a jetliner capable of 5000+. But, here, this (approximate) version of my (aerial) "Silk Route", is exactly 5,602nm, and I did complete it (much) to my personal satisfaction and achievement, probably nothing to boast about,...🙂..., compared to those folks here, I know, who do such (ultra-long) flights "routinely". However, in the process, I not only got to learn a bit more about the limits of my SIM's stability, but more importantly, I also learned a bit more about this (nice) A/C, the SimCheck A300B4, albeit, via a mid-flight (un-planned) emergency, at cruise altitude,...after darkness had already fallen,...(do indulge in these virtual events (and "imaginations") of yours truly...amateur pilot...🙂...), but, it happened as I have noted below, the primary reason, as I see it, now, was because I underestimated the realism of this SIM, along with my lack of greater familiarity with it (last I'd flown it, was about a year ago), and especially over such an ultra-long flight. Fortunately, I (I mean, my SIM) made it through...to tell the rest of the story. So, here we go, with screenshots and text for my "Silk Route" adventure,...hope you enjoy...!

I've already indicated, in Part I, how I came to pick the Silk Route, for testing my (customized) INS system (including auto-creation of (9+) INS WPTs from FS Flight plan and auto-upload of these WPTs into the INS CDU - via multiple Card Readers). It's to be noted that the (actual) Silk Road was a network of trade routes, with many variations. Here, for my flight, it's closer to the (so-called) Northern Route. My (selected) INS WPTs, do include e.g. the VORs, for several historic (Silk Route) cities or/and their modern counterparts (see my Data Cards, in Part 1).

Few of the Silk Route Cities (overflown) in my flight:

1. Constantinople (VOR=IST, Modern Istanbul, Key westernmost departure Point towards East, My first (#1) INS WPT)
2. Baghdad (VOR=AD)
3. Baku (VOR=GYD, once, considered the juncture point between the "Rich Europe" and the "Mysterious China")
4. Termez (VOR=TRZ)
5. Kashgar (VOR=KHG)
6. Xianyang (VOR=SIA, Key easternmost departure point, in China, towards West, My last (#2/2nd Card) INS WPT, before the Rwy FIX WPT)

Now, a bit more about the aircraft of my choice, here. The A300, world's first twin-engine widebody airliner, was a trend-setter of a plane, for its time, with credits for many "firsts"...! If one reads the A300 Wiki (or related matter), one will know its creation process was fraught with many obstacles, as the (planned and combined) pooling of resources, evolved, among the three national entities and their (aircraft) manufacturers. It would be the first output of the (newly born) Airbus Industrie, which came into being, just for this plane (the future of Airbus, that we know so well now, would be unknown and unwritten, at that point...!). Myself, having, visited the (Seattle) Boeing Plant a couple of times, I missed, in spite of prior planning, my chance to visit the Toulouse Factory, during my (one) transit via CDG, several years ago. [Airbus Industrie, initially headquartered in Paris, would relocate its headquarters to Toulouse, in 1974, the same year as the introduction of A300 into service.]

The (initial) number designation (300) was based on a simple reason – the aircraft was proposed to carry "300" passengers (however, the capacity would be decreased during development to about 250), but the "3XX" has stuck, to this very day, just as the (historic) number has been "7" for Boeing. In my early exposure to aviation, I had wondered about the name "Airbus", probably like a few others, here, (the name had sounded a bit peculiar), from which the "A" of A300, was derived, for the first time. Coming to think of it, it was a pragmatic choice, was not meant to be glamorous, but agreeable to the Consortium,...a "bus" type transport, but for "air" travel, to shuttle people around various cities, like a bus. BTW, my A300 post, here, is coincidental, unintentionally so, with the 50 years mark of the official Airbus foundation date (December 18, 1970) - with birthday of May 29. 1969. The A300, since inception, would have been also 50-years old today. It was the first Airbus aircraft to be discontinued, in 2007, after a remarkable run of success.

Next, a bit, about the incidence that occurred during this (SIM) flight, along my Silk Route. Simply stated, during night, somewhere between Baghdad (AD) and Baku (GYD), while flying at 25,000 feet: (1) Annunciation signs (see A300 Master Warning Panel images in Part I, and, here, in Part II) indicated Engine 2 failure - Eng2 Oil Pressure Low (2) IAS and ALT started dropping (3) Autopilot got disconnected (didn't realize it, till later) (4) Yaw Damper got switched off etc. (other signs and symptoms, I am unable to exactly recall...)

With my eagerness to complete the flight in one "go", with Christmas Day around the corner,...🙂..., I'd set my SIM to "Unlimited Fuel" option, thinking it to be safe enough, while, this (A300B4-200) variant, I have here, has a maximum range of 2,900nm. So, it seems(?), inadvertently, I (must have) subjected my SIM A/C to fuel starvation of some kind (did notice zero fuel indications during the incidence), causing failure of Engine #2 (Engine #1 continued operational). So, this is what happens when one does not take a "serious" SIM, seriously...(fault is with me, need to review this incidence further)...! Anyway, with bits of (prior) due diligence, and practice with its Cold & Dark procedure, I'd undertaken, before start, as I'd shown in Part I, and having resisted, there, the temptation to start in "Ready" for Takeoff state, I had, handy, the 4-5 steps needed to re-start the Engine. So, I (successfully) somehow re-started Engine #2 in mid-air. In the SIM, it's a bit tricky, in these older planes, because, one has to (quickly) jump between Overhead Panel, Engineer Panel, Pedestal and the Engine Indication Gauges - a recipe for CTD in FSX...especially done in mid-flight! Nonetheless, FSX survived it, and I didn't have any more issues, for the rest of the flight, while I kept watch over the Fuel levels periodically...

Below, from my route, among the images, I've included a couple of INS Screenshots, at the WPT transition points [X-Y], along with inter-WPT distances, e.g. [1-2] over Istanbul, and [9-1], where, I've switched to my 2nd Card Reader. The sunset, on my trip, occurred ~100nm before Baghdad (AD) [WPT #3], and sunrise ~200nm before Jiayuguan (CHW) [WPT #9] - see screenshots. My route, see also MAP in Part I, took me past the northern edges of the Himalayan Ranges, bringing back (old) sights and memories of my one trip to Kathmandu, and, eventually, tracked north of the Great Wall of China, one purpose of the Wall, btw, was to allow the imposition of duties on goods transported along the Silk Road. Finally, at the 20nm FIX, [WPT#3/Card#2], after disabling INS navigation, I captured the Localizer/ILS for ZBAA (Beijing)'s Runway 18R, for my touchdown. Thus, 5,600nms, flown, non-stop, I then breathed a sigh of relief....it was a good feeling...🙂...

BTW, I don't know how well MSFS simulates the terrain in this part of the world, but, it would be certainly more realistic than what I have, here, with my images, below, being mostly from the sky above, with nothing really to see, on the ground...en-route...

Thanks for your interest, and hope you enjoy this account or/and the set of images, below...!

All the best for the Holidays and New Year...!!

[SimCheck(A300B4), MSE(Italy), REX]