Drama in the High Sierra of Peru

[MM 426]

Drama in the High Sierra of Peru
For Saturday, December 16, 2023
Michael MacKuen

We continue our journey through the Andes with the Central Sierra of Peru. Flying over the high mountains, we find a source of the Amazon, cross the Andean ridgeline to descend into the forests of the eastern slopes, return to the traditional High Sierra to reach historic Cusco, and then visit legendary Machu Picchu. This part of the world is marked by the drama of high mountain beauty and by a tragic combination of poverty and political violence.


Machu Picchu, the hidden city of the Incas

We depart from Huánuco [SPNC], the stopping point in our previous Andean flight. Climbing to the southwest, with the Cordillera Blanca on the distant horizon, we take a look at Lake Lauricocha and Lake Ninococha, the traditional “source of the Amazon.” These are the headwaters of the Marañón River which by "flow rate" is the main supply line to the Amazon. (Recent exploration suggests Mismi Mountain and the Carhuasata River in southern Peru as the “longest flow" into the Amazon.) We turn and pass over Cerro de Pasco, the cold high altitude mining town and capital of the long-productive mining region. (Visitors report accommodations without regular heat or hot water.) We land at the nearby mining-support airport Vico [SPVI].

On departure we see Lake Juin (Peru’s second largest) and cross over the ridge of the eastern Andes. Down below is the green valley of La Merced and San Ramon, the heart of Peru’s well-known Chanchamayo high mountain coffee growing region. And then further into the forested Amazon region we land at Mazamari [SPMF]. Here the indigenous locals fiercely resisted colonization and it was not until the mid-twentieth century that the area’s towns started to develop – paved roads are a late century arrival. This is the Satipo coffee region and just south of town is the Pangoa coffee cooperative which from the 1980s exported organic coffee before it became trendy. The early success was threatened by years of persistent political violence that forced farmers into cities – but in the last 20 years this has changed and the cooperative has regained momentum. Mazamari is more famous as the founding base and now training headquarters for the Sinchis, the tough and sometimes brutal paratroop unit of the Peruvian National Police (PNP). Founded as a civilian militia in the 1960s, they were trained to take on a counterinsurgency role. In the 1980s-1990s, the force played a key role in battling and defeating the Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso), the deadly left wing guerilla organization that operated throughout the central Sierra for many years. Today, the Sinchis remain an active paramilitary branch of the PNP.

We ascend over the Andes’ eastern slopes to Ayacucho [SPHO]. This is an interesting approach (especially in weather – start at 7:25). The city was an important center in the Spanish colonial era and played a key role in the wars for independence – the 1824 Battle of Ayacucho ended Spanish colonial rule. But it has fallen on hard times and is now economically challenged. The poverty in the city and rural hinterland made this fertile ground for the Shining Path insurgency but, sadly, the half-century of endemic civil violence has hindered economic development. This difficult condition has continued in the 2022-2023 widespread civic protests (by the rural poor against the right wing Congress’s political removal of the just-elected left-wing President). In December 2022, local protesters attempted to take the Ayacucho airport but the military and police responded with lethal force, killing and wounding dozens.

We depart for Andahuaylas [SPHY], a small city and the only airport of the broader Apurímac region. The high altitude airport sits on a mesa above the Chumbao River.

We continue to Cusco [SPZO]. This very busy commercial airport is encircled on three sides by high mountains. (The danger limits approaches to Runway 28 and departures to Runway 10.) The city Cusco (or Cuzco) was the grand capital of the Inca Empire that, for about a century, ruled western South America from Colombia to Chile. In the 1530s, the newly arrived Spanish defeated the Incas through military technology, trickery, and smallpox. They then made Cusco a splendid regional capital that centered Spanish colonial influence over the Andean world. The city is now a World Heritage Site and a tourist destination, hosting two million visitors a year.

Finally, we switch to sporting aircraft with good visibility and STOL capabilities for a fun flight to Machu Picchu, the legendary hidden city of the Incas. As would current tourists, we travel along the scenic railway line through steep mountain canyons and along the Urubamba River. In the fifteenth century, the truly historic Emperor Pachacuti, whose strong leadership created the Inca Empire, built this secluded granite city on a ridgeline 1,000 feet above the river. It probably served as his winter home and a personal refuge away from Cusco. We land at a fictional airport on a short shelf-like mountainside strip Machu Picchu [STRIP] just above the historic city. (In reality, the local airspace is totally restricted and the government has rejected several attempts to establish any sort of aircraft or helicopter access to the area. This protection seems entirely reasonable.) Before landing, we might execute a few circuits to get a sense of the old city’s layout and setting. Many of the buildings have been restored and it is easy to imagine the thatched-roofed stone buildings in their active state. (For more on Machu Picchu, see this quick overview or this informative documentary.) Note: professional pilots will calmly ignore the one-handed salutes of the visitors below who must appreciate how our majestic aerial displays invigorate what otherwise might seem to be a serene mystical setting.

Documentation
The flightplan can be found here. Note that, for technical reasons, the flightplan includes a “false final destination” Nuevo Mundo [SPNM]. We shall end our day at the fictional Machu Picchu airstrip so you can ignore the last waypoint. For your convenience, there is a second flightplan dedicated to the Machu Picchu segment starting at SPZO. This truncated flightplan may facilitate switching aircraft at Cusco [SPZO].

Aircraft
For the main portion of this Andean flight we might well continue in the aircraft of our just previous South American Cargo flight. We need to fly about 450nm in two-and-a-half hours so we want aircraft that can operate at high altitude with a high cruise speed at 240kts. The previous journey’s aircraft included the DC-6 as well as the King Air 350, the Transall C-160, and the P-38 and PC-21. (You might add the TBM or PC-12 or another turboprop or another warbird.) The second Machu Picchu segment (only about 50nm) requires something that will “fast cruise” at about 120 kts and then land at a short mountainside strip. We want a sporty aircraft in which we can enjoy the canyon run to the ancient palace. Some of our favorites include the Cubcrafters XCub and NXCub (especially the Got Friends version), the Pipistrel Virus, the Vans RV-14/14A and the Got Friends Grravel. A helicopter will be fine but the need to maneuver at high altitudes (10,000+ ft) might make for hard work. Transport aircraft (Kodiak, Caravan, Caribou) are capable of completing the trip more quickly but won’t be as much fun. In any case, you should fly whatever you like. (I’ll take the Black Square King Air and the Got Friends NXCub in the stock Orange-X livery).

Additional Scenery
These are not all necessary for the flight. They do add some color and some are just excellent quality freeware scenery. (You do need Machu Picchu.) Thanks to these authors.

Mazamari Mayor PNP Nancy Flores Paucar [SPMF]. qowiboy
Ayacucho Coronel FAP Alfredo Medivil Duarte [SPHO]. Feeble_raven35
Andahuaylas [SPHY]. Feeble_raven35
Cusco Teniente Alejandro Velazco Astete [SPZO]. SPIFR
Machu Picchu. Project Coastline

Temporarily, you can download a scenery package here. 469 MB.

Time and Weather
Set the simulator for 1:00 pm local for December 16, 2023.
We normally prefer real weather and the High Andes should be fine. However, because these are VFR airports, we may need to adjust to local conditions.

Multiplayer Particulars
Date and time: Saturday, December 16, 2023. 1900 UTC
AVSIM Discord Server: https://discord.gg/K5Vy6UxWNm  - AVSIM GROUP EVENTS-SAT. COM1
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). Please be kind enough to enter the title exactly as it stands in the title=”xxx” line of the aircraft.cfg file. Your courtesy will save others a lot of time and effort. Thanks!