Red Sea – Part 3

[jt_williams 291]

Red Sea – Part 3

Part 3 of our Red Sea Tour starts in Sudan, traverses the Eritrean highlands, and finishes in Ethiopia.

The flight starts in the dry savannah belt of northeastern Sudan at Khashm el-Girba (HSKG) and heads northeast to Kassala (HSKA) located on the Gash river and the location of the ancient settlement of Mahal Teglinos which flourished here during the neolithic period (ca. 2800–2500 BC). 

The route turns southeast – entering Eritrea – with a landing at Barentu (HHBA) – whose rapid expansion is partly attributed to the Eritrean returnees from Sudan who established their home in the town after years of migration spent in Sudan. 

Continuing east across Eritrea we reach the capital city of Asmara (HHAS) - located at the tip of an escarpment that is both the northwestern edge of the Eritrean Highlands and the Great Rift Valley.  It is a short leg down to our next landing at Massawa (HHMS) - a historically important Red Sea port for many centuries and one of the hottest marine coastal areas in the world.

Proceeding south 82nm with the escarpment to the west – crossing into Ethiopia at the Ragali river we land at Adigrat Airport (HAAR) a below sea level (-305ft) dirt airstrip in the Dallol region and part of the Afar Depression.  It is located nowhere near the important Ethiopean city of Adigrat (but is probably where Ryan Air flights arrive).  Dallol, a former mining settlement, set the record for the hottest inhabited place on Earth, with an average temperature of 34 °C.

It is 82nm west to our next airport Haax (HAAX).  Cimbing west up and over the Ethiopean Escarpment and Plateau, the city of Adigrat is about half way  along our route to Aksum - the site of the historic capital of the Aksumite Empire.

The Aksumite Empire had its own written language, Geʽez, and developed a distinctive architecture exemplified by giant obelisks. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church claims that the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Axum houses the Biblical Ark of the Covenant, in which lie the Tablets of Stone upon which the Ten Commandments are inscribed. Ethiopian traditions suggest that it was from Axum that Makeda, the Queen of Sheba, journeyed to visit King Solomon in Jerusalem and that the two had a son, Menelik, who grew up in Ethiopia but travelled to Jerusalem as a young man to visit his father's homeland. He lived several years in Jerusalem before returning to his country with the Ark of the Covenant.

Our next stop is Mekele (HAMK) – the second largest city in Ethiopia after Addis Ababa.  Mekele - 7,395 ft above sea level at the airport - is close to the edge of the northern portion of the Ethiopian Rift Valley and lies on a Jurassic limestone plateau, in a semi-arid area. Except for a moderately dense eucalyptus cover on the hills in eastern edges of Mekelle and some exotic species of trees and shrubs lining the streets, the surrounding landscape is almost treeless.

The final leg takes us 95nm south to Lalibella (HALL), one of Ethiopia's holiest cities, and a center of pilgrimage.  Gebre Mesqel Lalibela was named because a swarm of bees is said to have surrounded him at his birth, which his mother took as a sign of his future reign as emperor of Ethiopia. Lalibela said to have visited Jerusalem and attempted to recreate a new Jerusalem as his capital in response to the taking of old Jerusalem by Muslims in 1187. Each church was carved from a single piece of rock to symbolize spirituality and humility. The Christian faith inspired many features receiving Biblical names; even Lalibela's river is known as the River Jordan. Lalibela remained the capital of Ethiopia from the late 12th into the 13th century. 

Flightplan HERE

Optional Freeware Addons:

These freeware addons provide modest improvement over the default.  Not really necessary but the price is very reasonable.

•         HAAX Axum Enhancement
•         HAMK Mekele Airport Enhancement

The route is 543nm long with 8 landings.  Turboprops capable of cruise at ~250+knts such as the King Air, TBM, PC12 will work as will any of the warbirds.  I tested the flight in the default King Air but will fly in the updated Flying Iron P-38.

Start Time is 2:00Pm Local which will give us nice afternoon light for most of the trip.

  Particulars:

•             Date and time: Wednesday October 26, 19:00 UTC            
•             Where: AVSIM RTWR Teamspeak - Casual Flights Channel
•             Teamspeak Server Address: ts.teamavsim.com
•             MFS Multiplayer: US Eastcoast 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!

 

 

 

 

[Ron Attwood 3,465]

For the record, thanks to Buzz, I learned why I was struggling with keeping up. It has a supercharger that lay unused for the entire flight. I can now safely say I know everything 😉

[buzzbee 52]

 

[buzzbee 52]

My wingman's final landing of the day.  Note the Fade in / Fade out, plus the addition of lively music!  

https://youtu.be/jeWujyHhRwI

[Ron Attwood 3,465]

Thanks for that Buzz. I'll get loads of stick..deservedly! Pity you couldn't have got my oil splattered dead stick landing on a dirt road. Now that was impressive. Got my vote anyway. 😁

[buzzbee 52]

"As you go up in horsepower  and performance. It becomes more and more important that you take nothing for granted. You must know all about the controls, operating mechanisms and PowerPoint."

[Ron Attwood 3,465]

2 hours ago, buzzbee said:

"As you go up in horsepower  and performance. It becomes more and more important that you take nothing for granted. You must know all about the controls, operating mechanisms and PowerPoint."

Whatever.

[nbrich1 116]

On 10/26/2022 at 10:48 PM, buzzbee said:

 

Great Shot Buzzzzz!!