South American Cargo

Today’s flight departs from Cuenca (SECU) , the capital and largest city of the Azuay Province of Ecuador. Cuenca is located in the highlands of Ecuador at 8,400 feet above sea level. The center of the city is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its many historical buildings.  We proceed south 70nm to our first landing at Catamayo (SECA).  Avoiding the high terrain on departure we fly 102nm for a landing at Shumba (SPJE) in the high jungle of northern Peru.  The route continues 66nm to the isolated city of Chachapoyas (SPPY), then turns southwest climbing over the mountains to reach the regional capital Cajamarca (SPRJ).   Continuing, we reach the Pacific coast at the popular resort city of Huanchaco (SPRU).  The route parallels the coast south to Chimbote (SPEO).  

The final two legs will require negotiating challenging terrain.  Carefully follow the valley to climb up and over the first range of the Andes where you will be afforded an expansive view across the Rio Santa valley to the imposing Cordillera Blanca.  Descend and land at Anta (SPHZ) with Nevada Copa (20,203 ft) towering above the valley.   The airfield at Anta was created by the US Airforce in 1970 to facilitate relief operations after the 1970 Ancash earthquake.   The 39th Tactical Airlift Squadron published this booklet about the mission.

 Time permitting, there is one final leg.  Depending on the aircraft chosen, we divert from the direct route to find a passage through the massive Cordillera Blanca.  The Cordillera Blanca is the most extensive tropical ice-covered mountain range in the world and has the largest concentration of ice in Peru.  After a successful crossing of the highest terrain, find the valley leading to Huanuco and follow it down to the Huallaga River.  The Huanuco Airport (SPNC) is located past the city between the steep ridge and the river.

Flightplan: HERE

Aircraft:  The route is 616 miles and cruise speed of 240knts would be appropriate.  Because I like a challenge, I will be flying the cargo DC-6, but the P-38 and King Air would also be a good choices.  As always you are free to fly what you like.

Recommended Scenery (Freeware):

•         SECU Mariscal la Mar for Microsoft Flight Simulator | MSFS
•         Cuenca EC landmarks for Microsoft Flight Simulator | MSFS
•         Catamayo Airport Camilo Ponce Enriquez SECA Ecuador for Microsoft Flight Simulator | MSFS
•         Chachapoyas Airport SPPY for Microsoft Flight Simulator | MSFS
•         SPJR Cajamarca Airport for Microsoft Flight Simulator | MSFS

 

 

Recommend Departure time of 2:00PM local

Particulars:

•           Date and time: Saturday December 9, 19:00 UTC
•           RTWR Multiplayer Discord Channel
•           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!

 

PS: 1st scenery file  SECU Mariscal la Mar https://flightsim.to/file/15570/secu-mariscal-la-mar  has been taken offline by dep. (I don't have v1.8).. Anybody?

 

But there is another on on flightsim.to: and it's newer.

https://flightsim.to/file/57124/secu-mariscal-lamar-international-airport

 

Edited December 5, 20232 yr by nbrich1

Ah, the good news is that Norm’s address links to Cuenca SECU v1.9 by the same author currently available at Flightsim.to. (Here, to repeat.)

I was originally going to fly the Orion Cargo livery but in honor of the Air Force relief effort I have decided to fly Steve Dra's USAF Day-Glo livery instead.

This livery got borked with pink textures a while back due to some changes in the PMDG Operations Center.  Steve has updated the file which seems to work.  If you have the livery, you might check it in the hanger to see if it is OK.  If not, the new updated paint link is here: PMDG DC-6 USAF 33293 Day Glow colors for Microsoft Flight Simulator | MSFS