[This is another of my "Bliss" series post...🙂....] Since my last A340 simulation of a return-trip from Frankfurt to Chicago (please see my previous post), I have been thinking a bit more about the city of Sault Ste. Marie, in Ontario, Canada. 

As I write this, today's Lufthansa flight DLH432/LH432 (Yep, that's the flight number...it has not changed in decades...) of (quad-jet) Airbus A340-300 (see images in my previous (nostalgic) post for the exact same variant of the a/c - thanks to LVFR...🙂..) is now enroute from Frankfurt Intl. to Chicago, O'Hare, about 2hr 45 mins into the 9hr long total flight, making me to drift my thoughts to so many (past) RW flights where I was an on-board participant on the LH Airbus 343. The Route MAP shows the a/c just approaching the bottom edge of Iceland, and the trajectory indicates that it will actually fly over the southern tip of Greenland. Interestingly, the route seems significantly off (i.e., north of) the shortest great circle route from what I seem to recall...must be due to (prevailing) Jetstream considerations.

The FlightAware abbreviated (exact) Flight Plan Route for this flight is VETRO SSM WYNDE2. Two things of interest here: (1) The "SSM / Sault Ste. Marie (VOR/DME)" transition point and the "WYNDE TWO ARRIVAL" into O'Hare. The WYNDE2 ARRIVAL chart indeed shows me that the A343 will fly exactly overhead of Sault Ste. Marie (starting point of this ARRIVAL), tracking ~195 degrees south to "VIO Grand Rapids (MI) (VOR/DME)", and then turn to ~260 degrees west onto the home stretch over Lake Michigan towards O'Hare. BTW, this is exactly the route I'd simulated on my own recreation of the final segment of this transoceanic flight. This DLH432 flight shows up with a planned distance of 4,400 miles, whereas the distance from Sault Ste. Marie to Chicago is about 440 miles (so, the last 1/10th of the full route). When I'd once travelled by road to Sault Ste. Marie up north, on Highway 196, hugging the (beautiful) western shoreline of Lake Michigan, I distinctly recall passing through the city of Grand Rapids. 

So, by the time this A343 is getting onto the WYNDE2 arrival, the pilots are probably busy planning for the descent phase; and the pax are getting ready to be soon instructed to stow away the tray-tables and pull their seats into the upright position (my own tray would likely be still holding the remnants of a (slowly sipped) Germanic beverage...🙂...). My mind would be already wavering to landing in my home-city and finally reaching home to recuperate from the jetlag...🙂...Meanwhile, the city of Sault Ste. Marie, silently passing by 35,000+ ft below, is the farthest thing from my mind...

So, for this post, I've brought down my flight altitude from 35,000+ ft down to 1,200 ft (thanks to this SIM and this Piper PA-44 Seminole), to appreciate and visualize the land I might be flying over and what I might be missing, when the homebound A343 is crossing SSM VOR right over the city of Sault Ste. Marie. There are actually two cities named Sault Ste. Marie, one in Michigan/U.S. and one in Ontario/Canada, that are located across from each other on the St. Mary's River (see images of the river below).

For my flight, here, of about 30 miles long, I've lifted off Sault Ste. Marie Airport (CYAM), on the Canadian side, then tracked the (wide open) St. Mary's River eastward, between two of the Great Lakes...from the easternmost end of Lake Superior towards the River's draining point on Lake Huron (the river gracefully falls into Lake Huron via gentle cascading 25 ft waterfalls). Lake Michigan is also not too far, down south only an hour's drive from Sault Ste. Marie. This region a most fascinating place for visiting and recreation, that I've had chance to experience once. Besides the 3 Great Lakes, it is also home to hundreds of picturesque small lakes, hills and highlands, and many small rivers and waterways (see images below). The endpoint of my today's flight is just north of Lake Huron, overhead of one small, secluded lake "Echo Bay" that caught my fancy today (see my ending images) ...

Now, I know exactly what I was missing when the (high-flying) A343 would be crossing the transition point (SSM VOR) and getting on with the final (WENDY2) Arrival...into my home base...🙂...

Hope you enjoy this collection of images...the time of travel for this flight is 9:00am to 9:30am, weather is broken clouds, and the average altitude is 1,200 ft...

Thanks for viewing...!

Fine set !

cheers 😉

Nice set of shots! 😉 

Looking good!

Very nice set P_7878, good light and I like the shots at the bridges.🙂 And a nice paint of the Seminole...

Folks: Many thanks for the comments...!

Glad you liked this low and slow trip over a short bit of the (fascinating) Greak Lake region...🙂...