Journey to Castile

[MM 422]

Journey to Castile. LECO-LECU.
For Saturday, May 7, 2022
Michael MacKuen

This afternoon we journey from A Coruña on the remote northwest coast of Spain to Madrid, the center of Castilian Spain. We shall visit the mountains of Galicia and Northern Portugal, pass over the plains of Castile and Leon, and then cross the Sierra Guadarrama to get a taste of Madrid, the country's economic and cultural capital.



We begin in Galicia's most dynamic city A Coruña [LECO] and fly over the rugged country to Vigo [LEVX]. While these are the most prosperous industrial and commercial centers in Galicia, they did not begin to grow their economies until the last fifty years – after the post-Franco opening to Europe. The local terrain is such that each airport is built on high ground a fair ways from each city center.

Then we fly south into Northern Portugal's main city Braga [LPBR]. The airfield hosts a flying club. More interesting, it is surrounded by the Circuito Vasco Sameiro which hosts national racing events and once held a running of the European Touring Car Cup. We take off toward the east.

First we visit the small Aerodromo de Cabeceiras de Basto [LPCA]. The short 969 ft strip is perched on a mountain ridge with rising terrain on each end of the runway. For our fast aircraft, the situation indicates a (cautious) touch-and-go or (more likely) a low-pass. We proceed over the mountains to the relatively remote regional capital and its nearby airport Bragança [LPBG] which hosts regular commuter flights to Lisbon.

The next leg takes us over green mountains to the dry plains of Castile. This north-central region of the peninsula was, in the Middle Ages, the powerful Kingdom that eventually united with Aragon and vanquished the Moors to create the Spanish state. (Castile, or in Spanish Castilla, is the land of the fortress castles.) We fly toward the regional capital Valladolid over a land of bountiful grain fields and vineyards. And we stop at the local General Aviation field Matilla de los Caños [LETC] which has a charming bar and restaurant. We then depart to the southeast, continuing over the agricultural lands, to stop at Fuentemilanos [LEFM], another welcoming GA airfield. (You might like a video of a Bonanza pilot visiting these fields.)

On our last segment, we climb to cross over the Sierra Guadarrama and then descend to the Colmenar Viego VOR [CNR] to line up for our quick 25-mile-long excursion over central Madrid. Pick a good altitude (say 3,000-3,500 or 4,000 MSL for safety: the local ground is 2,000-2,400). Fly low-and-slow. Starting with the more prosperous north side of the city, we shall pass the Four Towers [CTBA] which are 4 of Europe's 10 tallest buildings. This is the financial district. A mile further along is the Porto de Europa [EURO] whose angled towers are worth a close look – though take care of the Caja de Madrid Obelisk. We continue to fly down the Paseo Castellanos, the long north-south tree-lined boulevard that forms the spine of central Madrid. We pass the Bernabeu [REAL], the football stadium of Real Madrid – perhaps the most successful professional football club of the last 75 years. We proceed over a number of museums, government ministries, banks, embassies, hotels and so forth. Notably, near the end we fly over the Prado [PRADO]. Featuring both the Spanish greats and many other European masters, this is  one of the world's greatest art museums. Nearby are other famous art museums including the Reina Sofia [SOFIA] which houses 20th century art; it emphasizes Picasso, Dali, Miro and other Iberian artists.

Here we turn west passing near Atletico's famous Calderon Stadium [CALD] (now demolished but grand in MFS) to turn north over the Royal Palace [PALAC]. The Palace is built on the site of the original fortress castle of Madrid. It now hosts state ceremonies – and is a much-visited tourist magnet. There are many sights nearby, including the Cathedral just opposite the Palace. Also the Teatro Real opera house, the Basilica de San Francisco, and the Plaza España on which stands a monument to Cervantes. We loop around to the northeast passing the massive government "New Ministries" buildings and the Natural Sciences Museum [WP1]. And then southeast to Las Ventas [TOROS] which is the largest bullfighting ring in Spain (there are two larger in the Americas) and possibly the most famous in the world. The infirmary includes two complete operating theaters. Curling back, we pass the WiZenk professional basketball arena and cross over El Retiro [RETIR], the large and beautiful city park.

We then press on to complete our journey at Cuatro Vientos [LECU]. Spain's oldest airfield was opened for civilian use in the 1970s. Although the Air Force maintains a base on the north side (including a fine air museum), the field is now almost completely civilian in character. It is Spain's largest and busiest General Aviation airport. We park at the largest tower. (The smaller one nearby is decommissioned. A third, a bit to the east, has been closed and is now a museum.)

Documentation
The flightplan(s) can be found here. (There are two nearly identical flightplans. One has a couple more minor waypoints and more labeling for the Madrid circuit; the other is cleaner. A matter of taste.)
NOTAM. The last part of the trip includes a loop over the excellent photogrammetry of Madrid. Great to see but a load on slower computers.

Aircraft
This is a general aviation flight of 372nm with six landings. We shall want aircraft that can "fast cruise" at 175-180kts. Perhaps a single such as the Beech Bonanza or Mooney Ovation; perhaps  a light twin such as the Beech Baron or Piper Seneca. I shall choose the Cessna 414A (by Flysimware) in the current N414K livery by TiAr.

Additional Scenery
All the airports are in the default simulator. I recommend some excellent packages but they are not necessary.

Recommended:
Braga Airfield [LPBR] (SimEdge). Detail with the race circuit around the perimeter.
Barganca [LPBG] (SVicente). Well rendered airport in a pretty setting.
Matilla de los Canos [LETC] (AirHispania). Atmospheric local field.
Fuentemilanos [LEFM] (AirHispania). Another atmospheric local field.
Madrid Cuatro Vientos [LECU] AvalDesign. Lots of hand-made detail at an important airport.
AirHispania Libraries. You will need these libraries for LETC and LEFM.

Temporarily, you can download the entire package here. [434mb]

The Beautiful Model of the World has a good payware rendition of Vigo [LEVX]. (This is available at Simmarket. But the "cost-effective" BMW membership is not presently available due to the current international crisis.) The default is pretty good.

Time and Weather
For takeoff on Saturday, set the simulator at 3:00 pm local for May 7, 2022.
We typically prefer real weather.

Multiplayer Particulars
Date and time: Saturday, May 7, 2022. 1800 UTC
Where: AVSIM RTWR Teamspeak - Casual Flights Channel
Teamspeak Server Address: ts.teamavsim.com
Microsoft Flight Simulator Multiplayer: United States East server.

If you want to help others enjoy the multiplayer experience, don't forget to enter your aircraft details on the multiplayer spreadsheet (linked here). Your courtesy will save others a lot of time and effort. Thanks!