Last time, I executed a full transoceanic flight was probably many years ago...with remnants of the PMDG 747 and MD-11 still residing on my FSX/SE system...🙂...But, once upon a time, such long-haul flights were quite common for me, diligently executed, following (RW) oceanic tracks and other associated RW procedures, and also at normal SIM Rate of 1x...🙂...Anyway, today, I wished to explore and wrap-up my remembrances and nostalgia of one of my favorite (long-haul) a/c, the Airbus A340 (if you wish, please see my earlier post). As I'd mentioned and recall, there were occasions during my travels, when we would be bused to the airplane waiting for us on the open tarmac, so that we had to climb an airstair to get aboard (frankly I always preferred this mode of entry to a Jet bridge-based boarding). At the top of the airstairs, just before I got in through the door, I would never fail to take a quick sidewise glance at the marking e.g., "Airbus A340-300", lettered on the fuselage, so near just at my eye-level...🙂...From that vantage point, this typeface that normally appears so tiny in pictures (see e.g., my images below) would appear strikingly large and bold-faced. My curiosity was to glean up-front if the variant I was flying on is e.g., a -300 or -500 or -600, and I do recall seeing all such variants with LH.

Though there are currently dozens of A340s still operational with a handful of operators, including many in the private sector and VIP transport, for which this airplane was particularly suited, the winds of change are already in force for gradual phasing out of this type. Consider this: In over 30 years since its introduction, 380 A340s have been built (only about 70 of the 380 are active as of 2024), whereas the A350, which is one of the modern types that's likely to replace the A340, has already exceeded 600, in less than 10 years of production. Nonetheless, the A340 remains (and has been always) an interesting and curious airplane to fly in the SIM, at least for some of us. There were these Thomas Ruth A340 variants... some may recall...🙂...from earlier SIMs with decent visual models aliased to the default Airbus cockpit. The situation is similar here. I'm flying the LVFR A340 equipped with a stock Airbus based cockpit (which here does have 4 sets of ECAMs and throttles...🙂...see images below). And I believe there is not yet any high-fidelity A340 in the MSFS horizon...would be nice to have one for this (quad-jet) Airbus stalwart that has never received due attention in our SIM. 

Among the current A340 operators, one is "CONVIASA", the flag carrier of Venezuela, of which, I noticed a livery thoughtfully included by LVFR in the base pack. CONVIASA reminded me of the classic (South American) "VIASA" Airline also of Venezuela, from which CONVIASA got its name. I recall that VIASA, along with its distinctive livery, had a most interesting mix of classic airliners (A300/CV880/DC8/B742/DC10 etc.). Interestingly, today, I spotted an entry for VIASA in Flightsim.to as follows:

[Description: Hello FS community! Would be nice to fly the mighty MD-11 from TFDI in the VIASA VENEZUELA colors...

Delivery: This request has been fulfilled ...!

Of course, a VIASA MD-11 would be fictional, still, it's heartening to see someone interested in VIASA and more so by another contributor with such a prompt fulfillment response...🙂...the image of the VIASA TFDi MD-11 looks beautiful too...Good stuff indeed...]

CONVIASA of today is a unique A340 operator in that it's the only operator that now has likely all the 4 variants of the A340 (342/343/345/346 - note 344 is absent). CONVIASA's parent VIASA's first ever transatlantic "widebody" flight (using a B747-200) was a milestone, because it was the first time a South American carrier operated a widebody aircraft across the Atlantic (Note: B747 was the world's first widebody; the A300, world's first "twinjet" widebody, would fly just a couple of years after B742). 

So, for this post, I've chosen to replicate that landmark VIASA flight, from Caracas (SVMI) to Madrid (LEMD), in the colors of a CONVIASA A340-300 (CONVIASA's sole A340-300 (YV3507), you see below, is "27" years old!). This is a full flight across ~4,000 miles of the Atlantic Ocean, based on a SimBrief Flight Plan. I completed the flight all in one session, but with Sim Rate 2x...🙂...used only during the Cruise phase. While I was away from the SIM doing bits of life-sustaining (non-pilot) errands...🙂..., my A340 made good progress towards Spain...reliably at 2x rate, and when I got back in an hour and a half, it was about ready for me to initiate my descent towards Madrid airport.

I've departed at 6:00am from Venezuela/Caracas, from the shadows of the Andes mountains as my backdrop (see starting images). After the long (and monotonous) flight and witnessing the setting sun (and a silver moon...🙂...) over the Atlantic, I've finally reached Spain/Madrid, just after nightfall. The flight was absolutely trouble-free and uneventful from my SIM perspective including the perfect capture of ILS Rwy 32L for touchdown into LEMD (see the final images), culminating with a sense of (make-believe) long-haul achievement that I've not experienced in years...🙂...

Hope you enjoy this collection of images of this marathoner a/c... with a 1970's design that's still going strong after 50 years, and most impressively, to date, not a single death has been attributed to this family of a/c, after more than 3 decades of global operation...

Thanks for viewing...! Cheers...!

Edited August 20, 20241 yr by P_7878

Very nice set of shots...i like the one with the moon! 😉 

Beautys this set of the A340, the nightshots i do like a lot.. 

cheers 😉

Very nice set of the A340 again P_7878. 🙂

That last one, wow!

Friends: Thanks for taking the time to comment. Glad you liked the A340...after all 4-engined airplanes are a bit rare around here these days...🙂...

[Jack: Welcome back...🙂...and great to see you still actively firing up MSFS...]