Jump to content

Search the Community

Showing results for tags '175days'.



More search options

  • Search By Tags

    Type tags separated by commas.
  • Search By Author

Content Type


Forums

  • New Member Forums
    • Welcome New Members!
    • Help Using the AVSIM Forums
    • Help Creating an AVSIM Account and Logging on to AVSIM
  • AVSIM Fixed Based Operations (FBO)!
    • Hangar Chat
    • Flight Planning
    • Virtual Reality (VR) Hardware and Games
    • Letters to the Editorial Staff of AVSIM
    • All About Us
    • Crash To Desktop (CTD) Forum
    • The Bargain Hunter's Shack
    • Classified Ads | Want Ads | Swap Meet
    • AVSIM's Round the World Race Forum
    • AVSIM Reviews Feedback
    • The File Library General Forum
    • Flight Sim & Aviation User Stories
    • In Memoriam of Tom Allensworth
    • In Memoriam
  • Microsoft Flight Simulator Forums
    • Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020)
    • MS FSX | FSX-SE Forum
    • The Microsoft Flight (2012) Forum
    • The FS2004 (FS9) Forum
    • Flight Simulator Tips and Tricks
    • Shared Cockpits | Multi-Player Forum for FSX | FSX-SE | P3D
    • MS FSX | FSX=SE | P3D Simconnect Forum
    • FSX | P3D Missions Forum - How To
    • FSX/FSX-SE Aircraft and Panel Design Forum - How To
    • FSX | FSX-SE Scenery Design Forum - How To
    • The Paint Shop - The Aircraft Painter's Forum - How To
    • Mesh Scenery Design - How To
    • TTools for MSFS Forum
    • Add On Developer's Forum
    • DX-10 Discussions, Hints and Help
  • The Prepar3D Forums
    • The Prepar3d Forum
    • Prepar3D Tips, Tricks and How To's
  • The X-Plane Forums
    • The X-Plane General Discussions Forum
    • X-Plane Tips and Tricks
  • The IPACS Aerofly Forums
    • IPACS AeroFly FS2
  • Helicopter and Rotor Head Forum
    • Rotor Head Archive
    • Rotory Winged & Helicopter Flying
  • Simulator Screen Shots, Real Aviation Photos, & Videos
    • The AVSIM Screen Shots Forum
    • Real Aviation Photos
    • Aviation and Flight Sim Video Forum
  • Hardware & Operating Systems Discussions
    • WIN11 OS Forum
    • WIN10 OS Forum
    • WIN8 OS Forum
    • The Win7 OS Forum
    • System Hardware: PC | MOBO | RAM | CPU | HDD | SSD | PSU etc
    • Video Hardware: Monitors | Multi-Monitors | Video Cards | Drivers etc
    • Hardware Controllers: Joysticks/Yokes | Throttle Quads | Rudder Pedals | Drivers etc
    • Networks | WIFI | Routers | Ethernet | DSL | Cable Modems
  • Commercial Support Forums (Hosted by AVSIM)
    • FS2Crew Support Forum
    • Mindstar Aviation Support Forum
    • The RealityXP Support Forum
    • The Official DX10 Scenery Fixer Support Forum
    • The Multi-Crew Experience (MCE) Support Forum
    • Lorby-SI Support Forum
    • Pilot2ATC Users Forum
    • The Carenado Support Forum
    • The Alabeo Support Forum
    • Aviasoft Remote CDU for Phone / Tablet Official Support Forum
    • Airline2Sim Support Forum
    • SX Airport Design Forum
    • SimSettingsManager Official Support Forum
    • simFDR General Support Forum
    • Blue Sky Star Simulations Support Forum
    • Capt. PERO Support Forum
    • Flysimware Forum
    • Mid-Atlantic Air Museum Simulations Support
    • FSReborn Series Support Forum
    • Desk Pilot - Shared Cockpits
    • PhotoSim Labs - Bahamas sceneries
    • Fulcrum Simulator Controls
    • The PILOT'S Support Forum
    • Stick and Rudder Studios
    • Honeycomb Aeronautical
    • SimFly Pad Support Forum
  • User-to-User Support Forums
  • Freeware Support Forums
  • Virtual Airlines News and Discussion
  • Home Cockpit Builders
  • Other Civil Aviation Simulators
  • International Language Forums
  • Other Forums

Categories

  • Articles
  • AVSIM News
  • File Library News
  • AVSIM Reviews
    • Hardware
    • Aircraft
    • Scenery
  • Product Announcements & Press Releases
  • What's New @ AVSIM
  • Interviews
  • AVSIM Editorials
  • Guest Editorials
  • Obituaries

Blogs

  • Tom Allensworth's Blog
  • Gaiiden's Scroll
  • Brandon's Blog
  • Jess B's X-plane blog thingy
  • Tom_Test's Blog
  • Alpha Floor's Logbook
  • GolfPilot
  • adi518's Blog
  • Chase's Blog
  • The Big Tour
  • Tales of a Wannabe Pilot
  • Farmer Looking Skyward

Find results in...

Find results that contain...


Date Created

  • Start

    End


Last Updated

  • Start

    End


Filter by number of...

Joined

  • Start

    End


Group


AIM


MSN


Website URL


ICQ


Yahoo


Jabber


Skype


Location


Interests


About Me


About Me

Found 28 results

  1. July 7 1924: In Karachi the flyers were hosted to a dinner by the RAF officers, the first time they had dinner with ladies* present since leaving the states, in a speech the base commander reminded them they had traveled 12,577 miles since leaving Seattle, father than anyone before, but still had over 14000 to go. With the help of the British mechanics they spent two days replacing the engines on there three aircraft, they worked during the day and spent the evenings having dinners at the homes of various British officials. The morning of July 7 they were up at 3am for breakfast and were in the air by 6:30 for Chahabar Persia (now Iran). They flew over sand, ancient lava flows and mountains which Arnold described as the “most lonesome, barren and desolate place imaginable”. Shortly after noon they crossed into Persia and descended on a small port city on the Gulf of Oman. * I assume 'Ladies' means upper class women of European extraction. September 6, 2017: For the next flight we will be using the Consolidated B-24. As I am sure you all know, the B-24 is a four engine bomber that first flew in 1939. Designed with a efficient high aspect ratio Davis wing, the B-24 could had a high cruise speed, long range and a heavy bomb load at the expense of being difficult to fly and having poor low speed performance. While the aircrews preferred the B-17, the general staff preferred the B-24 and it was produced in very large numbers, over 19000 were built making it the most produced multi engine American military aircraft in history. The aircraft I am using today was produced by Virtavia and despite being a FSX model works well in P3Dv4. It’s a bit difficult to fly but once you remove the bomb payload it becomes much easier. My flight to Chabahar was pretty easy, weather was good, 9 knot winds with scattered clouds at 3000 feet and a temperature of 27.8C/82F. We flew at 4000 feet along the coast of the Gulf of Oman and landed at Konarak Airport, the 358 nm flight had taken 2.2 hours. One historical note, after crashing in Alaska, Sergeant Harvey completed flight training in 1926 and was commissioned as an officer. In September 1941 he flew over 3150 miles in a B-24 to carry a lend-lease delegation to Moscow, he then continued around the world through India, Australia, Wake island and Hawaii, Here are a few pics from the flight. Ready for takeoff. Engines running. Airbourn. Check the gauges. Selfie! Along the gulf of Oman. Glamour shots. Landed. July 7, 1924: In Chahabar they were met by a representative of the Indo-European telegraph company who had arranged there supplies. The fliers quickly refueled there aircraft as they ate the sandwiches supplied by the wife of the British. They were in the air again at 2:35 for Bandar Abbass. The four hour flight was uneventful and when they landed in Bandar Abbass they were greeted by Mr Richardson, the British Consul who had volunteered to act as there advance agent in the area. September 7, 2017: For the next flight we will be using the Supermarine Spitfire. As I am sure you all know the Spitfire was the star fighter of the RAF for most of World War 2. First flying in 1936 the Spitfire was produced in greater numbers than any other British aircraft and the only British fighter to be in continuous production throughout the war with the last being built in 1948 after over 20,000 were built. The model I am using today is a Mark IX and was produced by RealAir and is one of my favorites (great shame they shut down). The weather for takeoff was good, 6 knot winds, few clouds at 2000, temperature of 27.7C/82F I flew along the coast of the Gulf of Oman at 4000 feet and after a short time ran into increasingly thicker cloud layer that forced me to descend to 1000 feet to keep the coast in view. I landed at Havadarya Airport, Bandar Abbass after flying 249 nm in 1.3 hours. Here are a few screenshots: Ready for takeoff. Selfie! Glamour Shots Flying along the Gulf of Oman Clouds ahead. Staying low to keep under the clouds. Following the coast. Landed.
  2. June 4, 1924: They stayed aboard Black Hawk the next day while they waited for the Navy ships to get into position at Shanghai. On the 4th they awoke to excellent weather, the water was so calm and the winds so light that there heavy aircraft had great difficulty getting airborne. Lt Smith was not able to get Chicago in the air, he waved the other aircraft on toward China. He taxied back to the mooring and spent the rest of the of the day swimming under there plane repairing a strip of metal that had torn away from one of the pontoons. The next morning Black Hawk sent two motor boats to kick up the water so Chicago could get airborne and follow the other two aircraft toward China. Boston and New Orleans continued in the best weather they had experienced since they left Seattle, As they approached the Yangtze river they could see thousands of junks, sampans, river boats and large steam ships all trying to avoid each other. Several miles of water front had been cleared for there landing space, Once they landed and battled the rapid river currents to tie their craft up to the buoy’s, an excursion boat containing hundreds of Americans and Europeans came to welcome them and give the flyers a historic reception, a huge crowd of people were on shore clamoring to meet them. After they flyers finished their work on the planes they were taken to the luxurious Hotel Astor in downtown Shanghai. Smith arrived the next day to the same reception. July 30, 2017: For the next couple legs I will be flying the Douglas DC-3. The DC-3 started life as an enlarged 14 bed sleeper version of the DC-2 but it revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s, it could carry more passengers in greater comfort than ever before, over 600 were built before world war 2 and more than 16,000 were built during the war, about 2000 are still in service around the world today. The model I am using today is version 3 of the C-47 made by Manfred Jahn and team and is one of my favorite aircraft. My flight from Kagoshima to Shanghai started off with low clouds and 4 mile visibility, Flying at 3000 feet over the hills to the west and out over the East China Sea. The overcast changed to scattered clouds and the rest of the flight was pretty easy as we cruised at 5000 ft into Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport. The 459 nm flight had taken 2.9 hours to complete. Here are a few pic of the flight. Ready at Kagoshima. Take off. Heading out over the hills. Clear weather. Glamour Shots. First sight of China! On Final. Parked, Pudong International Airport June 7, 1924: The original plan was to fly to 600 miles to Amoy (Xiamen) but not wanting to try to take off with a heavy load of fuel in the crowded harbor Lt Smith worked out with the destroyer captains that they would take off with only five hours of fuel and fly 350 miles to Tchinkoen bay where one of the destroyers would be positioned for refueling, they would then continue Amoy. On the morning of the 7th the harbor master was not able to clear a path. All three planes had to abort there first takeoff attempts to avoid colliding with a unheeding sampans Smith and Wade finally saw an opening and took off, but when Nelson in New Orleans tried again he had to swerve right to avoid a Junk, then plunging up river at high speed had to pull up hard to avoid a large sampan, missing it by inches. Flying along the coast they arrived at the destroyer off the china coast after four and a half hours of flying. August 1, 2017: I will again be flying Manfred Jahn’s C-47. Best I could figure Tchinkoen is actually Yueqing Bay, and the closest airport is at Wenzhou, about 25 miles away. Even then P3D did not have that airport but I found a simple scenery file on Flightsim.com created by Kevin Wynn that would meet my needs. The weather started out nice, 18kn winds a few clouds at 2400 feet. Temperature read at 93F/34C. Took off from Shanghai and headed south along the coast at 5000 feet. The clouds built up as I approached Wenzhou and I dropped to about 1500 feet in the rain to stay below the weather before dropping into the Wenzhou airport for a safe landing. The 201 mile flight took 1.7 hours. Here are a few pics. Ready for a dawn takeoff. Climbing out of Shanghai. Heading out over the coast islands. Glamour Shots. More islands. Weather ahead. Our destination. Secure.
  3. June 1, 1924. The base at Lake Kasumigaura was a major supply point for the trip and the site where they planned to overhaul there aircraft and get them ready for flying in the tropics, Including replacing the engines and installing larger radiators. The Japanese had planned two weeks of events, but the Lt Smith, concerned that they were at least 30 days behind schedule asked for the celebrations to be compressed to 48 hours. A Japanese admiral hosted them to a traditional Japanese dinner, the flyers were very impressed by the geisha girls who served the meal. After ten days of mechanics and diplomacy they were ready to leave at 5:30 am on June 1 for Kushimoto, 305 miles away in ideal weather, As they passed Iro point they plunged into a severe rain storm that became a mild typhoon, that became more severe as they landed at Kushimoto, where USS Pope was waiting for them. A welcome party tried to come out to the ship to greet them but the weather was too rough and the flyers retired for the night on board the destroyer. July 24, 2017: Still wanting to fly a Japanese aircraft over Japan I decided to fly the Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero. The A6M first flew in 1939 and at the time it was introduced it was considered the most capable carrier based fighter in the world with excellent maneuverability and long range, over 10,000 were built. The model I am using today was made by Aeroplane Heaven for JustFlight and I think it is the best FSX/P3D compatible Japanese aircraft model from that era available. It was pretty overcast when I took off, I had to stay under 1500 feet for most of the flight to stay below the clouds. I decided to fly to Nanki-Shirahama airport which is the closest airport I could find to Kushimoto. I followed the coast for a while, climbed over one large peninsula, then weaved around the various islands as I headed toward my destination. Then at some point I zoomed out on the GPS to see how far I had to go and realized I had made a fairly serious navigational error. At some point in my planning process I had recorded the code for the destination airport at RJDB where I should have used RJBD and I was at this point about 140nm off course. I could continue on to Kanoya which is the destination for the next leg, which is almost as far as going back to Kushimoto but instead headed for the closest airport which was at Matsuyama. I had flown 405 nm in 2.6 hours, at least 100nm further than I planned. Here are a few pics from the flight: Ready for takeoff. Yes, we are ready. Fireworks over Tokyo. They must be celebrating our trip. Mount Fuji showed itself. Brief period of good weather. Glamour Shots. Just before I realised I was headed in the wrong direction. Secure at Matsuyama June 2, 1924: By morning the storm had subsided and they went ashore to meet with the leaders of the town. They were presented with souvenirs and decorations “enough to start an Oriental museum” according to Arnold. Some of the decorations were only given to the pilots but Lt Smith asked that they be given to all six of them since “We were simply six American airmen flying around the world together” and the Japanese agreed. By noon they were off into a stiff head wind for the 360 mile flight to Kagoshima, the southern most city in Japan. Along the way they flew over may steamers, junks and fishing boats. They also flew over the destroyers Perry and Steward that were patrolling the route for them. While flying along the coast of Kyushu island Boston’s engine began overheating so Wade landed the plane in a well protected harbor, while the other two plane circled overhead Ogden filled the radiator with salt water and the three planes continued Kagoshima where the repair ship USS Black Hawk was waiting for them. A large crowd with at least 2000 school children were waiting for them on the beach, many waving home made flags, The flyers went ashore briefly where a few short speeches were made and souvenirs handed out. July 29, 2017: For the next flight I will continue to use the JustFlight A6M2 Zero. Because of my navigational error on the previous flight I was now in Matsuyama instead of Kushimoto and only 175 nm from Kagoshima. Weather was better today, 12 kn winds with scattered clouds at 3000 feet. The flight was pretty easy, I flew down the east coast of Kyushu island at about 3000 feet. As I got closer to the haze started to build up. I turned inland near Miyazaki where there were some heavier patches of fog to fly over/through but as I got to Kagoshima the weather cleared up and I was able to make a safe landing at Kagoshima airport despite touching down a little short of the runway. In the fast A6M2 the flight time was only 57 minutes. Here are a few pics from the flight. Ready for takeoff. Climbing out from Matsuyama airport. Glamour shots. Kyushu island Getting hazy. Kagoshima On final, yes I am a little low. Secured.
  4. July 9, 1924: The Flyers were used to getting up before day break but this day the slept in till after 7am and were not in the air until after 11am for there flight to Aleppo Syria, escorted for the first hour and a half by British Fighters. There route followed the Euphrates river and more monotonous desert They landed at the French Airfield northwest of the city and were greeted by laughing French pilots who insisted on toasting them with a special Champaign they had been saving for the occasion. After servicing there aircraft they were taken into town and to a reception and dinner that lasted until 2am. September 13, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the Vought F4U Corsair. The Corsair first few in 1940 and was the first US Fighter to fly faster than 400 mph but it did not enter combat until 1943. Over 12,500 were built before the final delivery in 1953, the longest production run of any piston engine fighter in US history. I am using the ‘Birdcage’ model by JustFlight, which is quite nice. My flight to Aleppo was uneventful. Weather was good, clear with 5 knot winds and a temperature of 23C/73F. We cruised at 4000 feet, mostly following the Euphrates river, the Corsair made short work of the 388 mile flight cruising at over 290 knots and landing at the Aleppo International Airport after 1.4 hours of flying. I am happy that the civil war that has engulfed Syria does not invade the virtual space I fly in because I know the people of Aleppo have suffered quite a bit and as far as I can tell there airport is still closed because of the fighting. Here are my pics; Climbing out of Baghdad. Heading out over the desart. Not much out there. Selfie! No eclipses here. Following the river. Over Syria. Landed. July 10 1924: Despite the dinner than ended at 2am the night before the flyers were up at 6am and in the air by 9am for Constantinople (now Istanbul). Ahead were the 10,000 foot Taurus mountains that they planes could not fly over, so flying single file at 4000 feet they followed the Berlin-Baghdad railroad that cut through the valley, often uncomfortably close to the to the Mountain walls. Here they experienced the first real cold air since they left the Kurile islands. At 2:30 pm they landed at San Stefano aerodrome in Constantinople. To greet them was Admiral Bristol the American ambassador and few other American and Turkish officials but not the large crowds that would have been there had the cables Smith sent from Baghdad and Aleppo arrived, the telegraph system in this part of the world had not caught up to the technology of the day. After servicing there aircraft they went into the city but there were no dinners or receptions to attend since nobody really knew when they were coming. That evening they had dinner at the hotel and went to a Cabaret. September 14, 2017: For the next flight I will be using the Lockheed L-049 Constellation. The Connie came out of a reqirement from TWA for an aircraft that could fly 3500 miles with 40 passengers. It used four R-3350 engines had a pressurized hull and wings similar to that used on the P-38. The aircraft first flew in 1943 and by then all civilian orders were taken over by the military. Designated the C-69 it was used as a high-speed, long-distance troop transport. Production was slow because the B-29 program had priority for the engines and by the end of the war only 22 had been built. Eventually 856 of all models were built by the time production ended in 1958. It set the standard for speed and luxury until replaced by Jet aircraft. A Connie still holds the record for a flight between New York and Washington, a record that will probably not be broken because it was done before the FAA speed limit below 10000 feet was imposed. The version I am using is made by JustFlight and is included as a default aircraft within P3D. As much as I would love to keep flying WW2 aircraft for the rest of the flight, history moves on and I figure this aircraft will be a good transition between that era and the post war aircraft I will be flying next. The weather for the flight from Aleppo to Istanbul was good, Clear with no wind and a temperature of 23.4C/74F. Being able to cruise higher than the Douglas World Cruiser I flew at around 10000 feet over the mountains on a direct course for Ataturk International Airport. Landing safely the 489nm flight had taken just 2 hours. Here are a few pics. Getting ready to takeoff. Climbing out of Aleppo Heading out of Syria. Flying over Turkey. The Taurus mountians. Cruisin. Our destination is in site. Secured. Thanks for reading, ATB.
  5. September 28, 1924: The flyers were getting nervous about making the last 240 miles. They left Eugene mid morning heading north for Seattle. As they approached the Columbia river Boston II started having problems with its oil pump so they landed at the Vancouver Barracks to see if they could repair it. October 28, 2017: For this penultimate leg I will be using the American Champion Scout. First produced by Bellanca in 1974 the Scout is a two seat general aviation aircraft with good STOL capability. American Champion acquired the design in 1984 and is still in production with over 500 in service. The model I am using was made by RealAir and is one of my favorites. It’s a great tragedy that RealAir closed. Conditions started out very foggy in Eugene and I ended up waiting two hours for it to clear up. By the time I departed it was partly cloudy with 8 mile visibility, a temperature of 13C/55F and clouds starting at 600 feet. I stayed below 1000 feet to stay out of the clouds until after 30 minutes of flying the clouds lifted and I had great weather flying over Portland Oregon and into Pearson Field in Vancouver Washington, the 93 nm flight had taken 55 minutes. Here are the pics: Ready to go. Climbing out of Eugene, Oregon. Over the Oregon country side. Finally cleared up. Lovely fall colors. Portland Oregon. On final into Pearson Field. Landed. September 28, 1924: The problem with Boston II’s oil pump was quickly fixed and the three planes took off in a V formation for the final leg of there great adventure. As they approached Sand Point Field they expected a crowd to welcome them but they were surprised by the size of it. An estimated 50,000 people crowded the small airport to welcome them. As they got ready to land Lt Smith had the planes form a line abreast formation so that all three would land at the same time. As they taxied to a stop at the reviewing stand where the welcoming committee waited the crowd swarmed around them and a battery of French 75’s from the 148th field artillery regiment fired a 21 gun salute. Each of the flyers was handed a telegram from President Coolidge congratulating them and apologizing for not having the legal authority to reward them the way he would like to, the first of many telegrams and letters that poured in. The celebrations would go on for several days. At one point a reporter asked Smith if he would he do it again, he replied “Not for a million dollars. Unless I was ordered to.” The statisticians quickly went work, from Seattle to Seattle they had flown 26,345 miles, logging 363 hours of flight time with an average speed of 72.5 mph. They had used 15 engines, 14 sets of pontoons, 42 sets of wheels, nearly 27,000 gallons of gas and 2,900 gallons of oil. October 28, 2017: Wanting something more dramatic for the last leg from Pearson Field (Originally the Vancouver Barracks field) to Renton Municipal Airport I will be flying the Eurofighter Typhoon. Introduced in 2003 the Eurofigher is used by the Air Forces of Britain, Germany, Italy, Spain and several other countries, so far at least 599 have been built. The model I am using is by Dino Cattaneo and is very nice. I had nice clear weather for the last leg. I did a pass over Mount St Helens and then into Seattle. I did a pass over downtown before finally returning to Renton Airport. My first approach was going badly so I went around and tried again, this time landing safely. The 116 nm flight had take only 25 minutes. For my flights I used 79 different aircraft types over 90 legs. Flight hours were 149.1 over 27,397 nm with an average speed of 183 knots. I did it in 139 days, (156 if you include the initial flights from Santa Monica to Seattle) so 36 fewer days than they did, but I never had to spend time maintaining the aircraft or waiting for better weather. Here are the pics: Ready to go. Climbing out of Pearson Field. Turning north. Flying over Mount St. Helen. Debris field from the eruption. Mount Rainier Puget Sound ahead. SeaTac airport with Renton in the distance. Downtown Seattle. Celebratory Lap over downtown. Renton Airport. Landed. I wanted to give credit to the source of most my information which is the book “Around the world in 175 days” by Carroll Glines which I have quoted from (and at times possibly plagiarized) quite liberally, if you want to learn more about their adventure I would recommend reading it. Of all the historic flights from the past it seemed as if history was overlooking this one, we all would probably recognize the names of Charles Lindbergh, Kingsford Smith or Amelia Earhart but how many would know the names of Lowell Smith or Erik Nelson. I hope I have done a little to bring this chapter of history to a wider audience. I have started writing an Epilogue but I think I have too much material for a forum post so will probably create a website, blog or wiki somewhere where I can post all this material. Thanks to everyone who has read and commented on these posts and I hope you have enjoyed it. It’s been a real adventure and more work than I thought it would be, especially all the writing, but I have enjoyed it. I would really like to hear what you have thought about these posts, good or bad, so please comment. So again, Thanks for reading Mission Complete. ATB.
  6. September 22, 1924: They left Tucson and flew west over the Crater and Growler mountains bound for San Diego, California. Before the flight started the flyers had taken test flights from the Douglas Factory in Santa Monica to San Diego and back so the citizens of San Diego considered there city as the starting point for the world flight. The city had been preparing for weeks for there arrival and promoted it as the biggest celebration in city history. Although the flight officially started in Seattle the flyers knew this also and were all lost in thought as they got closer to the coast. They were a hundred miles out when the first Air Service planes intercepted them, eventually there were 25 planes as they approached there destination, Rockwell field on Coronado Island. Smith wanted all three planes to touch down at the same time so they got into a line abreast formation and all there wheels touched down at the same instant. They were an hour and a half ahead of schedule so there were only a few people on the field when they landed but it included Lt Smiths Parents and Harding’s Mother. That afternoon they were taken to a reception at Balboa park where 35,000 people where there, there largest reception yet. In his comments Smith said, “We all got a big thrill this morning when we flew over the mountains and side by side, came down and crossed a line that we had crossed before on this flight”. That evening they were taken to rooms in the Hotel Del Coronado where a party was held for Smith by his old friends and the others went to a dance. That evening mechanics of the Air Service installed new engines in the planes. October 22, 2017: In honor of all be brave fire fighters who are working so hard and bravely in my home state of California, I will be using Milton Shupe’s Grumman S-2T Civilian Turbo Tracker in CalFire livery. The S-2 started as a carrier based ASW aircraft in 1952 with 1200 being built, the USN retired there last one in 1972 but some are still being used by navys and air forces around the world. Starting around 1970 CalFire started using converted S-2A air tankers. In 1996 CalFire started replacing the S-2A’s with S-2E/G models that had been fully reconditioned and upgraded with turboprop engines. all were delivered by 2005 and currently 22 are in service. I also figured I needed to make a grand return to California so I got a pair of escorts to round out the flight. I really like the model Milton's team has produced, its not P3D V4 compatible but its on the top of my wishlist for them to upgrade. Rockwell field was transferred to the Navy in 1939 and is now part of North Island NAS. The weather was ideal, Clear with 4 knot winds and a temperature of 31C/88F. My flight was uneventful, at 8000 feet we cruised over the desert, crossing over the Mexican border for a while and coming into San Diego. There were a few clouds around the coast but the air field on Coronado Island was clear. After I landed I discovered I forgot to start the FSA client to record the flight and had to redo it (this time at x16 instead of x1). The 323 nm flight took 1.4 hours. Note: While the flyers may have made it around the world at this point, I have not. But like them, my mission does not end until I reach Seattle again. Here are the pics: Ready to go. Heading out of Tuscon. Out over the desert. Salton Sea in the distance. Mexico in the distance. Flying in formation over the Imperial Valley. San Diego ahead. All Landed. September 23 1924: In the early afternoon they left for Clover Field in Santa Monica, home of the Douglas factor and the second city to claim to be the starting point for the flight. The scene in Santa Monica was in San Diego but an estimated 200,000 people were crowding the airport to get a glimpse of the famous flyers. An grandstand had been setup and the planes taxied to the area marked for parking where a large line of guards were waiting, Smith described the scene. “As we crawled out of our cockpits, the crowd went wild. With a roar they knocked down the fence. They knocked down the police. They knocked down the solders. They knocked us down. They tried to pull our ships apart for souvenirs but somehow we fought them off”. No work could be done that night because of the harassing crowd so they were motored into Hollywood to stay at the Christie Hotel. October 23, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the Tecnam P92 Eaglet. While the design dates back to 1960 the Eaglet was introduced by Tecnam in Naples Italy in 2008 to comply with the new FAA Light Sport Aircraft rules. The model I am using is by Ants Aircraft is very nice to fly. I wanted to use an LSA aircraft some place on this trip and the short hop between San Diego and Santa Monica seamed the logical spot. Weather was again nice, clear with 6 knot winds and a temperature of 32C/89F. I flew at about 1800 to 2000 feet following the coast, landing in Santa Monica after an uneventful flight, flying the 101nm in 1.1 hours. Ready to go. Climbing out of Coronado Island. Leaving San Diego Behind. Back up the California Coast. Good to be back. Flying over Newport Beach Harbor. I probably should not fly over LAX like this. Landed in Santa Monica, and no crowds to greet me! While I have no returned to my starting point, the like the flyers back in 1924, my mission does not end until I reach Seattle. Thanks for reading. ATB.
  7. September 9, 1924: After refueling at Aberdeen, they flyers and there escorts were off again for Bolling field, Washington DC. Eight miles south of Baltimore the engine on New Orleans suddenly quit and Nelson made a smooth forced landing in a pasture. General Patrick and several of the escorts landed while the other two cruisers circled. Knowing the president and cabinet were waiting at Bolling field had Nelson take the escort carrying his brother in the passenger seat while Harding would stay with New Orleans. The President Coolidge had been waiting with his wife and most of the cabinet in the rain since 11am, when one of them suggested they leave he said “Not on your life, I will wait all day if necessary”. It was still raining when they arrived over Bolling field. The cruisers circled a couple time and landed, followed by there escorts. They were warmly greeted by the President who asked many questions of the flyers. Overnight Harding was able to repair New Orleans and it flown to Bolling field the next day. The flyers would stay in Washington for the next three days to grant interviews, meet with Generals and officials, and participate in the Defense day activities September 12th. October 10, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the Aero Commander 500. The Aero commander is a series of twin engine utility and business aircraft that were introduced in 1952. Over 3100 of all variants were built before production ended in 1986. The model I am using was made by Milton Shupe and is one of my favorites. I was planning on flying to Washington the same day as Aberdeen but decided against it after landing in the fog. The weather the next day was better, Broken clouds at 3500 feet, no wind and a temperature of 20C/68F. The flight was uneventful, I stayed between 1000 and 2000 feet before arriving over the capitol. Bolling field is long gone, but right across the river from its former site is Reagan national airport so thats where I landed. The 55nm flight too 27 minutes. Here are the pics: Ready to go. Heading out over Baltimore. Just a few clouds. Chesapeake Bay. Just afew more clouds. The capitol ahead. I probably could not fly here in real life. Landed. September 13, 1924: The previous day they had flown over the city and taken part in the parade of troops in the Defense Day activities. “The reception and applause given to us all along the line of march was wonderful.” Arnold wrote. “And to be so received by our own people thrilled us all, it was probably the greatest moment in our lives.” The weather was marginal the day they departed for Dayton Ohio, but they were fatigued by all the attention they had received and were ready to press on. Five escorting planes joined them but they left when they ran into near Harpers Ferry. The flyers continued on, flying low over the telephone poles and tree tops as they followed the rail road through the valley. About 80 miles from Dayton the first planes joined them, there numbers increased to about 20 flying information into McCook Field, then the Air Services major aircraft evaluation center. A crowd of nearly 10,000 waited at the airfield to greet them, Two men quickly emerged from the crowd to extend there congratulations, Major Martin and Sgt Harvey, who had piloted Seattle before they crashed in Alaska. For the next two days in shifts, mechanics went over every part of the aircraft and replaced anything that showed any wear or tear, it was the first time the flyers had allowed anyone to work on the aircraft without them being present since the flight started. October 13, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the Hawker Siddeley HS-748. The HS-748 is a medium size turboprop airliner originally designed by Avro as a replacement for aging DC-3’s. With good STOL performance it found a dedicated market, About 380 aircraft were built between 1961 and 1988. The aircraft is by JustFlight/Aeroplane Heaven. Weather was not the best, cloudy with 6 knot winds a temperature of 17C/63F and clouds from 700 feet extending up to about 6000 feet. Knowing I had to fly over the Appalachian Mountains I climbed up to 8000 feet and headed west over the clouds. McCook field closed in 1927; instead I landed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, about 7 miles to the east. The 331 nm flight took 1.4 hours. Here are the pics: Ready to go. Climbing out of DC. Climbing up over the clouds. Over the Appalachian Mountains Cruising. Crossing the Ohio river. Coming into Dayton. Secured. Thanks for reading ATB.
  8. September 15, 1924: The three cruisers left McCook field for Chicago and followed the railroad lines that all seemed to point in the direction of their destination. A huge crowd had seen them off and an even larger crowd was waiting for them at the Maywood Airmail field outside the city. They were taken by limousine with motorcycle escort to the Drake hotel where a large banquet was planned for that evening. October 14, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the Boeing 737-200. Originally planned as a smaller twin engine airliner derived from the 707 and 727, it has become the best selling commercial airliner in history with over 9700 delivered by 2017 with over 4000 still on order. The 737 was one of the first airliners I remember flying on, as a young lad I was very impressed by the air-stairs that came out of the fuselage from under the door. The model I am using was made by Captain Sim and is quite nice. The weather started off nice, clear with 6 knot winds and a temperature of 26C/79F. Maywood Airmail field closed in 1927, so instead I will fly to Midway, which opened around the time Maywood closed and is the closest airport that can handle the 737. I climbed out of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and headed to Chicago at 9200 feet, trying to stay plausibly VFR. The clouds started to build as I neared Chicago and thunder clouds hung around the city. About 15 miles out I ran into clouds that went to below 2000 feet, I had to use the ILS to find the correct path to the runway and made a respectable landing. The 206nm flight took 54 minutes. Here are the pics. Ready for takeoff. Climbing out of Dayton. Just a few clouds. Lots of farmland. Is that lightning? Can't see much in these clouds, better get lower. Airport found, on final! Yes I noticed that I need more flaps. Secured. September 17, 1924: They had hoped to get off early the day but heavy fog lasted all day. The next morning they were off for Omaha Nebraska, landing at Jarvis Offutt field at Fort Crook. Again crowds converged on the flyers, being held off by solders. Again there was a dinner with speeches by local dignitaries, but this time the citizens of Omaha chose a queen and five ladies in waiting who were to be the flyers hostesses for the evening. Instead of shaking hands and expressing thanks for the welcome for hours, they got to hold one hand the whole evening and communicate “in the more eloquent language of eyes”, the idea met with their enthusiastic approval. October 15, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the BAe Hawk T1. The hawk is a single engine advanced trainer used by the RAF and many other nations. It first flew in 1974 and is still in production with over 1000 being built. The flight to Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha was uneventful. Weather was cloudy with 13 knot winds gusting to 23, overcast at 3900 feet and a temperature of 12C/43F. I climbed up to 3500 feet and headed west. I was cruising along happily at 440 knots when my fuel calculations told me I would not make it the 370 miles (I should have installed the drop tanks) so I slowed down to 240 knots. The weather cleared up as I got to Omaha and I landed after flying 1.5 hours with plenty of fuel remaining. Here are the pics: Ready to go. Climbing out of Chicago. Heading west. It all sort of looks the same. Over a lake some where. Our destination is in sight. On final. Secured. Thanks for reading. ATB.
  9. August 5, 1924: At mid-morning the two remaining planes departed for Reykjavik, a 290 mile trip with a stiff head wind, the harbor at Horna Fjord was very shallow and they had difficulty finding a long enough area to take off. They followed the coast were very few safe harbors could be seen, the engine on New Orleans began to run rough and oil pressure dropped from 60psi to 27, but decided to continue rather than risk landing along the rocky coast. They flew past the destroyer Billingsley at Portland Point and into Reykjavik harbor where 25,000 cheering people were there to greet them onshore. As the launch arrived to take them in, the cruiser Richmond arrived, with Wade and Ogdon onboard. For the next leg I will be using the Ryan Navion. The Ryan Navion is a single-engine, retractable gear, four-seat aircraft originally built by North American Aviation in the 1940s. It was then acquired by Ryan Aeronautical Company and finally the Navion Aircraft Company. The Navion was envisioned as an aircraft that would perfectly match the expected postwar boom in civilian aviation, since it was designed along the general lines of, and by the same company which produced the North American P-51 Mustang. Over 2600 aircraft were built between 1948 and 1976, most of them are still in service. The model I am using was made by LDR Development and is excellent Weather for the next leg was not the best, Light rain with 12 knot winds. 3.7 mile visibility, overcast at 1000 feet and a temperature of 12C/54F. With the low cloud level I stayed at 500 feet and followed the coast, making sure to keep an eye out for those big hills that would appear in front of me. As the clouds cleared up I was able to climb up to 2000 feet and fly over the peninsula that at the west end of Iceland and fly into Reykjavik. The 176 nm flight took 1.6 hours. Here are the pics. Ready for takeoff. Heading out of Hofn. Flying along the coast. Dont fly into the hills. Coastal Iceland. Heading inland to Reykjavik. Our destination. Secured. August 21, 1924: At Reykjavik they flyers made repairs to there aircraft and waited for the ice to clear at there next destination, Angmagssallik Greenland (now Kangilinnguit). While they waited a forty foot boat named the ‘Leif Ericson’ with four men onboard, they were attempting to replicate the voyage of Eric the Red when he crossed over to North America around the year 1000, the flyers went to the dock to see them off, they reportedly reached Greenland but were never seen again. Also arriving was Italian Lt. Antonio Locatelli with a crew of three in his Dornier Wal twin engine sea plane who was also attempting to fly around the world. At Lt. Smiths request, General Patrick gave permission for Locatelli to fly with them. After two weeks of waiting and fearing conditions at Angmagssallik would not improve they decided to fly directly 830 miles to their next destination of Fredricksdal (Narsaq Kujalleq) Greenland. They were ready to go on the 18th but as they were lining up to take off a large wave swept over the planes shattering New Orleans propeller and Chicago’s front pontoon spreader. Finally at 6:55 am on the 21st and with five navy ships patrolling the route, the two cruisers followed by the Italian headed for Greenland. Locatelli tried to stay information with the two Douglas’s but they were too slow for his Dornier so he saluted and forged ahead. After flying past the destroyers Billingsley and Barry they ran into heavy fog but continued on course at wave height. About 70 miles from Greenland they started encountering large Icebergs that they would only see when they were upon them. When dodging an iceberg the two planes got separated when Smith turned right while Nelson turned left. Smith continued to dodge icebergs until he reached the rocky coast of Greenland and then continued on a compass course to Fredricksdal, Black smoke coming from the Danish coastguard cutter Island Falk told them they were at their destination. Smith landed, tied up and started to inspected and refuel there plane. There was no sign of New Orleans or the Dornier until as Smith and Arnold finishing their tasks the sound of a Liberty engine echoed across the harbor and Nelson circled and landed. They had both survived the longest and most dangerous leg of the entire flight, but there was no sign of Locatelli and his crew. Once they Americans were safely aboard the Danish vessel, the ships of the US Navy started searching a 12,000 square mile area to try to locate the Italians. September 30, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the Grumman G-73 Mallard. The Mallard first flew in 1946, it followed on the success of the Goose and Widgeon but was larger with a tricycle gear and a two step hull. It was designed for regional airlines but postwar surplus aircraft limited the market potential. Most of the 59 built were used as corporate use, before production was neded in favor of the larger G-111 Albatross. Many have been converted too turboprops, 32 are still registered in the united states with many more are active around the world. The aircraft I am using was made by Milton Shupe and updated to FSX by LDR Development. The plane is one of my favorites (yes you can tell I like these Grumman Amphibians). If I was to do a trip like this for real I would probably want to do it in a Mallard. Weather for the next flight was partly cloudy, 7 knot winds with a temperature of 10C/50F, a few clouds at 2100 feet and scattered clouds at 6600 feet. I started off just before dawn and headed at 2000 feet but because of clouds quickly dropped down to 1000 feet. About 2 hours in the skys cleared and I climbed to 4000 feet until we got within sight of Greenland. Dropping to 2000 feet we flew along the coast and then up Prince Christian Sound and followed the channels to Narsaq Kujalleq. There is no airport here in P3D so I used ADE to create a simple seaplane airport in the harbor with a Coast Guard cutter to mark it. The 681 nm flight took 4.3 hours to fly. Here are the pics. Ready for takeoff. Sunrise colors. Glamour shots. Greenland in sight! Flying along the coast. Flying up Prince Christian Sound. Making our way along the channels. Landed. Thanks for reading, ATB.
  10. July 30, 1924: At Brough they would overhaul the aircraft to prepare them for the north atlantic. The cowlings, radiators and engines were all removed and replaced, all the metal parts of the planes were covered with rust-resistant oxide, all the fabric that was damaged by the hot and humid climates they had passed through was repaired and the wheels were replaced by floats. The flyers were invited to a formal banquet in London they night after they arrived but as Arnold wrote “we were about as well equipped with clothes as the head-hunters of Borneo”. Eventually Arnold was sent with a shopping list to London to get what they needed. The banquet was held at the Savoy hotel with many with many Lords, Earls and Dukes in attendance. Many speeches were given, Smith said in his that the flight was being made for personal glory but to further aviation progress. They were invited up to meet the Prince of Wales in his suite who said he was going to sail to New York in a few days and bet each of them five dollars he would beat them there. They waited until the 29th when they received word from the U.S. Navy that there ships were in position and the weather was favorable, so they were up at 4am on the 30th to launch there planes into the humber river and fuel up the planes. There was a low fog that hung over the area and they could not get away until 10am as they headed north to the Orkney Islands. They flew over Drunkensberry point and then Scapa Flow and landed near the Village of Kirkwall where the Cruiser U.S.S. Richmond was waiting in the harbor for them. September 24, 2017: For the next leg we will be using de Havilland Heron. The de Havilland DH.114 Heron was a small propeller-driven British airliner that first flew on 10 May 1950. It was a development of the twin-engine de Havilland Dove, with a stretched fuselage and two more engines. It was designed as a rugged, conventional low-wing monoplane with tricycle undercarriage that could be used on regional and commuter routes. 150 were built, also exported to about 30 countries. They model I am using today is by Flight Replicas and is quite nice. The weather was reasonable for the flight, we flew north at 3000 feet to stay under the clouds. Flying over the Scottish highlands, I flew past patches of fog, hoping a hill would not appear in front of me, they did appear through the clouds but fortunately stayed below me, heading out over the sea we arrived at Kirkwall, visibility dropped to about 5 miles but managed to find the airport and make a safe landing. Since I few from Carlisle instead of Brough the flight was a little shorter, the 242nm flight took 1.5 hours. Here are the pics. Ready for takeoff. Climbing out of Carlisle. Glamour shots. Heading into Scotland. Taking a break in the cabin. Out over the sea. Our destination. Secured. August 2, 1924: After arriving on the 30th they had expected to be able to leave for Iceland the next day but heavy fog prevented them from leaving until the 2nd. Five miles out they ran into heavy fog. After 30 minutes of flying Lt. Nelson flying New Orleans, not being able to see the other planes got into the propeller wash of one of the other aircraft and went into a spin, coming out of it just above the water. Now being just under the fog they continued to fly until they were out of the fog, but there was no site of the other planes. After circling for a period waiting for them they continued toward Iceland. They continued to Horna Fjord Iceland where sailors from the Cruiser Raleigh had established a base for them. They radioed that they had arrived and learned that Chicago and Boston had turned around in the Fog and returned to Kirkwall. September 25, 2017: For the next leg I am using the Douglas A-20C. I know by using this aircraft I am breaking my own rule of not going back in time for the aircraft I am using but Milton Shupe finally released a beta of his new model that I had been waiting for it for a long time and could not pass it up. They A-20 first flew in 1939 and almost 7500 were built before production ended in 1944. It saw service with the USAAF as well as the Soviet, British and French air forces and was used as both a Light Bomber and night fighter. At least I am using the Aeroflot photo mapping livery from 1953 so at least that is not going back in time. Weather for the flight was foggy with 14 knot winds and 1000m visibility with a temperature was 12C/53F. I tried to stay low but the fog was too thick, after flying past a hill where I could see the windmill was higher than me I climbed to 7000 feet to get above it. Eventually the fog cleared and it was a pretty easy flight into Hofn Airport. The 475nm flight took 1.7 hours. Note to tell the story properly I am breaking this into three parts so I can better tell the story of each aircraft better. Ready for takeoff. Its quite foggy. Finally above the fog. Observer selfie! August 3, 1924: The weather the next day was excellent at Kirkwall, anxious to join Nelson and Harding in Iceland, they were in the air by 9:30, with the still tail wind Lt Smith estimated they were going at least 100 mph. At around 11am Lt. Arnold looking back could not see Boston, they circled back looking for them and found them floating in the sea, smothered in oil leaving a oil trail in the water behind them. Wade was waving at them to not try to land as the water was too rough. Smith circled a few more times then headed for the Destroyer Billingsley 100 miles away. Arnold wrote two notes describing Wade and Ogdonís situation and position and the tried to drop them on the deck of the destroyer, the first missed, the second tied to Arnold's only life preserver also missed the deck but a sailor dived overboard to get it. ìNever have I seen a vessel jump to high speed so quicklyî. Later they learned they traveled so fast they burned all the paint off there smoke stack. Having did what they could Smith turned toward Iceland. They flew through light rain and fog before sighting the Raleigh off Horna Fjord and they knew they were at there destination. Finally past the fog. Glamour Shots. A little rain. Please fasten your seatbelt. August 3, 1924: Although Wade ditched seemingly without difficulty he knew the water was too rough for Smith to take off again so he frantically signaled him not to land. Boston’s oil pump had failed they had no replacement and the left pontoon had been damaged when they landed in the rough water so even if they could repair it they could not take off. So feeling very alone in ocean, they waited for help to arrive. Three long hours later they were spotted by a British fishing boat who took them in tow. Billingsley arrived and took over the tow, followed shortly by Richmond and the line was passed to the larger ship. After emptying everything they could from Boston to make it lighter they prepared to hoist the plane onto the ships deck. When she was 3 feet in the air the ship rolled suddenly and the boom came down on top of the plane with a thunderous crash, damaging the propeller, upper wing and center section of the hull. With the increasing storm they decided the safest course of action was to tow Boston to the Faeroes islands to attempt repairs there. In the night Boston’s front spreader bar had collapsed allowing the pontoons to squeeze together and with the storm Richmond was having difficulty maintaining a safe speed while towing the plane. Wade agreed they should abandon the plane, she was pulled alongside the cruiser where sailors climbed down and chopped holes in the pontoons and she was then set loose. At 5:30 am as the two flyers saluted, Boston capsized and sank. Iceland in site. The town of Hofn. Our destination. Landed. Thanks for reading, as always your comments are welcome and appreciated. ATB.
  11. July 16, 1924: While in Paris the flyers “met more generals, ambassadors, cabinet ministers and celebrities that we had encountered in the rest of our lives”. They had lunch with General John J. Pershing, american commander during the great war, accompanied the President of France to the Olympic games, who offered to bestow on them the French Legion of Honor but they had to decline as they were forbidden from accepting foreign decorations without the consent of congress. So without having any real time off, by 11am the morning of the 16th they were in the air bound for London. As they flew two airliners joined them, followed by a French fighters, all flying in a loose formation toward the England. They climbed above the clouds to 7000 feet. Through brakes in the clouds they could see the English channel below, the clouds thinned as they got closer to London and they landed at Croydon Airport. It took some time for the London bobbies to control the enthusiastic crowd, but once the welcomes were made and the planes serviced they were taken to the RAF club at Piccadilly, where they were given excellent quarters. Later that evening, at a dinner hosted by the top officials of the British Air Ministry, Lt. Wade fell asleep, snoring at the table sitting between a General and “Lord Somebody”. September 19, 2017: For the next leg I am going to use the de Havilland Dove. The de Havilland DH.104 Dove was a British short-haul airliner as successor to the Dragon Rapide biplane. The Dove was a popular aircraft and is considered to be one of Britain's most successful postwar civil designs, in excess of 500 aircraft being manufactured between 1946 and 1967. It was also used by the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy and a number of overseas military forces. The model was made by JustFlight. The weather started off great, no winds or clouds, and a temperature of 6.1C/43F. I headed north at about 4000 feet but soon the clouds started to build as I approached the channel and I dropped to 1500 feet to keep the land/sea in view. After crossing over into England the clouds cleared and I had a nice flight into London. Since Croydon is long closed I landed in London City airport after a quick view of the sites over the center of the city. The 178 nm took 1.1 hours. Here are a few pics: Ready for takeoff. Glamour Shots. Clouds ahead. Heading out over the channel. England! London! Sightseeing! Landed. July 17, 1924: The next morning they were back at the airport and in the air. They flew over the Tower of London, Parliament, Buckingham palace and other famous land marks before heading north toward Brough near Hull, 165 miles away. A number of small planes came up and few briefly in formation with them before waving and flying away. Finally they landed at the aerodrome of Blackburn Aeroplane company, where they would replace all the engines, convert them back into seaplanes and prepare there aircraft to cross the Atlantic, what was most certainly going to be the most dangerous part of the entire trip. July 17, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the Gloster Meteor. The Meteor was the first British fighter jet and only Allied jet to see combat in World War 2. While not as fast or as aerodynamically advanced as the German Me-262, it had much more reliable engines and ended up having a fairly long career, over 3900 were built between 1943 and 1955. The model I am using today is and F8 and was made by JustFlight. The weather for my next flight was good, 6 knot winds, clear below 20,000 feet, and a temperature of 16.0C/61F. Took off from London city and headed north at about 5000 feet. At times I went up to 7000 feet and descended down to 2500 feet to avoid the clouds, I finally landed at Carlisle Airport, the 231 mile flight took 35 minutes. Only after I was getting the information together to write this post did I realize I had mixed up the GPS code, going to EGNC rather than EGNB and was about 75 miles off course. Oops! Ready for takeoff. Heading north. Interesting clouds. Trying to keep the ground in view. Heading north. Selfie! Trying to find the airport. Secured. Thanks for reading, ATB.
  12. On the 7th they were up at 4am to spend the day the exchange of pontoons for wheels, refueling and checking the planes for the next leg to Mitchell field on Long Island New York. A large crowd gathered but were kept away by solders and police. They were off at noon on a exceptionally clear day, they flew over New London Connecticut, Arnold's home town, and after passing Bridgeport they were joined by an escort of ten DH-4's carrying General Patrick, Senator Wadsworth of New York and Lt Nelsons Brother Gunnar. They flew over Manhattan, over the Statue of Liberty and then east to Mitchell field. A large crowd had gathered, the General and Senator landed first and the mob surged forward thinking they were the cruisers. The flyers had to circle overhead as solders cleared the field so they could land, as they taxied to a stop the crowd again broke through, it took great effort to prevent the souvenir hunters from cutting up the planes fabric. The Prince of Wales was escorted through the crowd and congratulated each flyer with a hand shake and said “Shall we settle our bets, Gentlemen”. October 8, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the Fokker F-27 Friendship. The F-27 is a twin engine turboprop airliner made by the Dutch Fokker company. 586 were built between 1955 and 1987 and it was one of the most successful european airliners of the era. The model I am using is by JustFlight and is nice. The weather for my flight was cloudy, 7 knot winds with a temperature of 23C/73F and a cloud level of 2004 feet. The cloud level kept dropping on me and I ended up flying at around 800-1500 feet along the coast of Connecticut and up Long Island Sound. I flew over Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty and turned left toward Long Island. Mitchell field is long gone so the closest airport so I instead landed at Republic Airport, Farmingdale, 9 miles east, my 146mn nm flight took just over 1 hour. Here are the pics: Ready for takeoff. Heading out of Boston Fall colors. Long Island Sound. The Big Apple. Statue of Liberty flyby. Looking back at the city as we head down Long Island. Landed. September 9, 1924: The three cruisers and there ten escorts left Mitchell at 9:30 am headed for Washington DC, and immediately ran into stiff head winds that slowed there ground speed to 35mph. They flew over Philadelphia and stopped at Aberdeen Maryland. As the short range DH-4’s refueled they were met by General Billy Mitchell, assistant chief of the air service. October 9, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the Lockheed L-188 Electra. The L-188 was the first large American turboprop airliner, with its large flaps and high power to weight ratio it had short field performance unmatched by jet transports even today. Only 170 were built between 1957 and 1961 and was later developed into the even more successful P-3 Orion. I remember when I was small, PSA in California used Electra’s to fly into the Lake Tahoe airport in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Even though the airline had converted all its other routes to jets the Electra could better operate in the hight aititude and confinded spaces between the mountains and the airport. The model I am using was made by Team FS KBT and is excellent. The PSA repaint was by Fabio Cabral. The weather started off foggy, 1.8 visibility with clouds extending to 6600 feet, 6 knot winds and a temperature of 22C/72F. To get over the clouds I tried to climb to 7000 feet and then 8000 feet as I made a direct course to the Aberdeen proving grounds. Eventually the clouds cleared a bit and I could descend to 4000 feet as I flew over Philadelphia. As descended down to 2000 feet as I got closer to the airport I got hit by fog again and had to go down to 800 feet so I could see anything. I finally came around and landed but it was far from pretty, but at least I was down safe. The 148 nm flight took 39 minutes. Here are the pics: Ready for takeoff. Climbing out of Farmington. Up above the clouds. Starting to clear up. Philli. Following the Delaware. Back into the fog. Landed. Thanks for reading. ATB.
  13. September 2, 1924: Upon there return to North America they were greeted on the deck of Richmond by Admiral Magruder, commander of the Atlantic Scouting fleet who had a series of cables he read from General Patrick, Secretary of War Davis and President Coolidge all congratulating them on there achievement. They spent the next day preparing there planes for the next flight to Hawks Bay Newfoundland. In the afternoon Richmond left the harbor to be replaced by Milwaukee, where they would spend the night. Despite the fact that the weather reports were not favorable they left Icy Tickle around 11am. After three hours following the Newfoundland coast they ran into heavy fog, and as they always had they dropped to wave top level above the heavy swells, at one point they zoomed over a coastal steamer, missing its bridge by 30 feet. They passed many small fishing villages and were surprised to see the inhabitants waving at them. After nearly six hours of flying they landed in Hawkes bay where Ashburne was waiting for them. October 2, 2017: I had planned on using the DHC3 Otter but the AH/FJ version is not out yet, I tried another payware version who I won’t name but after experimenting with it I can’t endorse it by using it here so instead I will again use the Grumman Albatross by Virtavia. Since I have been using Coast Guard cutters at all my seaplane ports I will use a USGC paint in their honor. The weather for this is Partly Cloudy with 10 knot winds, a temperature of 4C/40F and clouds starting at 3100 feet. We flew along the Labrador coast and down the west coast of Newfoundland to Hawkes bay and the town of Port au Choix and landed at its tiny airstrip. The 228nm flight took 1.5 hours. Here are the pics: Ready to go. Climbing out of Icy Tickle. Along the Labrador coast. Tiny Islands. Coast of Newfoundland. The town of Port au Choix. Looking back and my destination. Secured. September 3, 1924: At dawn the weather at Hawkes Bay was discouraging but it cleared up quickly and they flyers were off by 11am for Pictou, Nova Scotia. Along the way they flew past Milwaukee, McFarland, Cogland and Richmond as they were sailing home. They were met by an aircraft from the RCAF who escorted them to the harbor, there they were greeted by a several American and Canadian destroyers all blowing there whistles and crowds of people along the waterfront waving. Also floating in the harbor was a Douglas World Cruiser labeled Boston II. At Lt Smiths suggestion, General Patrick ordered the prototype DWC prepared and flown to Nova Scotia so that Wade and Ogden could continue the flight. Smith also requested that there be no entertainments, receptions or escorts be arranged for them prior to the completion of there mission in Seattle. Despite that request they were placed into cars that joined a parade through town, taken to the park where short speeches given welcoming them to the town and finally to a hotel for a Lobster dinner and dance, a pattern that would continue for the rest of there trip. October 5, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the North American, T-28C Trojan. The Trojan is a trainer used by the USAF and USN in the 1950's. Over 1900 were built between 1950 and 1957 and saw service in many countries in trainer and counter insurgency roles. The last was retired in 1994 but many continue to fly in civilian hands. The model I am using today is made by Ant's Aircraft and is one of my favorites, It's not released yet for V4 but I hope it will be soon. The weather for the flight was clear, temperature of 3.3C/38F and 8 knot winds. It was an uneventful flight as we flow along the coast of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia at about 2400 feet. I landed at Trenton Airport (closest to Pictou), flying 371 nm in 1.8 hours. Here are the pics: Ready to go. Heading south. Flying along the coast of Nova Scotia. Glamour Shots. The co-pilot looks happy. Cruising. Getting close to my destination. Secured, look a welcoming committee. Thanks for reading. ATB.
  14. June 7, 1924: By 2:45 they were refueled and back in the air. Flying down the coast they could see hundreds of villages along the shore and thousands of sampans filled with families and animals. The weather was excellent and there planes were responding perfectly. At Amoy the destroyer USS Preble was waiting. They had great difficulty keeping the many small boats away from the planes. Only after an officer in a motor launch, capsized a few sampans running straight at the boats only to swerve at the last minute to swam the boats did they keep there distance. For the next couple legs I plan on using a true British Classic the Vickers Wellington. The Wellington was a twin engine medium bomber that first flew in 1936. It was mostly used as a night bomber but also for anti-submarine patrols. Over 11,000 were built and was the only British bomber to be produced for the duration of the war. The model I am using today is made by First Class Simulations. I will be using the Coastal command Mark XIV version. I chose this version because it was the only one in the package painted for daylight operations. The flight was pretty easy. A few clouds at 3000 feet, I spent most of the flight at between 5000 and 2500 feet dodging clouds, flying along the coast to Xiamen. The Wellington made short work of the flight, doing the 250 nm flight in only 1.3 hours. Here are a few screen shots. Ready for takeoff. Heading down the coast. Dodging clouds. Coastal Islands Glamour Shots First view of Xiamen! Our destination. Landed, but for some reason there are cars driving through the airport, think I will park somewhere else. June 8, 1924: The flyers wanted to get off early the next morning but curious locals again crowded there boats around the planes, again the navy came to there assistance but it was not until 10:30 in the morning that they were able to get off. They were warned they would run into a typhoon on the 310 mile flight to Hong Kong but they took off into darkening skys, They flew into winds and lightning, at one point they were hit by 100 mph tail winds but it did not last long and they emerged out over a calm sea, fog forced them down so they were flying just over the tops of the hundreds of boats of all descriptions in the waterways. The number of boats increased as they got to the crown colony of Hong Kong, as they few over they bay they could see a vast number of boats and anchored in the middle was a navy destroyer. They could not see there yellow buoy’s but were signaled to go to the other side of the bay, where the Standard Oil Company dock was located in a small cove. The landed there and with the help of there machine shop they spent the rest of the day working on there aircraft. August 4, 2017: Again I am using the First Class Simulations Vickers Wellington. I actually did this flight twice. I wanted to fly into the old Kai Tak airport so yesterday I did the flight and landed at Kai Tak but ended up crashing into an invisible building while taxing to parking and I aborted the FSAirlines client before it recorded the flight so it would not save it as a crash. I restarted the flight today, compared with the scattered clouds of the day before today it was clear and I flew at 5000 feet along the coast. Clouds started to appear as I got closer to Hong Kong, after yesterdays ‘accident’ at Kai Tak I proceeded to the new Chek Lap Kok International Airport and made a safe landing. Most of the pictures are actually from the previous days attempt as the weather is a little more dramatic, but the last few are from today’s. Here are the pics. Ready for takeoff, the airport manager really needs to do something about these AI cars running all over the place. I managed to avoid hitting a car or truck on takeoff. Heading out over the bay. On our way. City of Hong Kong! Fog ahead, better get lower. Our destination. Landed and secured.
  15. June 20, 1924: The flyers were given a tour of the city of Bangkok which included many temples and palaces, the king was out of town but they did meet the ranking prince. They were offered the opportunity to view a beheading bee but they declined that. Some of the flyers took advantage of the comfortable Royal Hotel of Bangkok, while the others decided to sleep on the Destroyer. The next major stop was to be Rangoon Burma, they decided to fly to Tavoy to refuel. A direct flight would require a 130 mile flight over the Malay Peninsula, the safer alternative would be to fly along the coast and around but that would require another two days of flying so Lt Smith decided to take the risk. The flight over the peninsula was not as easy as they expected, In trying to fly over one ridge New Orleans kept getting hit by dangerous down drafts that caused it to turn around try again.Several attempts were made before they finally made it over. After 200 miles of flying they arrived at the Tavoy, Burma where the destroyer USS Picard was waiting for them. August 20, 2017: For the next leg I got ready the Lockheed L-18 Lodestar, The Lodestar was an enlarged version of the L-14 Super Electra, which was an enlarged version of the L-10 Electra. The Lodestar had two more rows of seats compared to the L-14 which gave it similar per seat cost to the DC-3 with better performance. Over 600 were built between 1940 and 1957. They aircraft I am using was made by Milton Shupe and is very nice, but it’s not V4 compatible. Tavoy is now Dawei, Myanmar. Weather for this leg was not bad, 4 knot winds with a few clouds at 4000 feet and a temperature of 28C/82F. The flight to Dawei was uneventful except that P3Dv3.4 crashed on me twice before I could finish the flight. I few most of the flight at 4000 feet and had to weave though the mountains near Dawei to stay below the clouds. My 141 nm flight took only 48 minutes. Here are some pics: Ready for dawn takeoff. Flying over the Thai country side. Just a few hills/mountians to get through. Glamour Shots. Weaving through the mountians. Dawei ahead! Our destination is in sight! Landed! June 20, 1924: The stop at Tavoy was only to refuel. While the sailors of USS Picard where helping them refuel a monsoon wind suddenly engulfed them with high winds and rain. As there were no sheltered coves nearby, Smith signaled the others that they should all take off. As they were taking off Boston was hit by a big wave that caused one of the wing wires to break, Wade decided it was better to fly to Rangoon rather than risk landing. In New Orleans two wing wires broke and Nelson decided it was better to taxi back and fix them, this took half an hour and they were then on there way behind the others. They landed in the Irrawaddy River in Rangoon where the destroyer USS Pruitt was there to assist them. They found the river as crowded with boats any other they had visited. Arnold fell in the river as he was reaching for the buoy, Smith not noticing had to taxi away quickly to avoid being rammed by a boat but soon saw he was missing and taxied back so he could climb back on the pontoon. August 20, 2017: For the next leg I got ready the Lodestar’s military cousin the Lockheed PV-1 Ventura. The Lodestar was developed into the Ventura as a replacement for Lockheed Hudson’s in service with the RAF, and was later developed into the B-34, B-37, PV-1 and PV-2 for use as both light and patrol bomber, A total of 3028 were built. The model I am using today is also one of Milton Shupe’s and is very nice but also not V4 compatible. The weather started off nice, 4 knot winds with light rain, a few clouds at 11000 feet and a temperature of 25C/77F. After switching planes we took off from the Dawei airport along the coast at about 2500 feet. The clouds got heavier as we headed north, eventually having to drop to 1500 feet to stay out of the clouds, near Mawlamyine turned west out over the Gulf of Martaban. Once we reached the mouth of the Yangon river up to the city of Yangon (formerly Rangoon). The clouds had built to the point where the city seamed fogged in but using the GPS to navigate we found the airport and made a safe landing. The 206 nm flight had taken 1.4 hours. Here are a few pics of the flight: Ready to go. Heading out over the coast. Glamour shots. Along the coast of the Andaman Sea. Low clouds ahead. The city of Yangon. Finally the airport. Landed. Thanks for reading
  16. June 18, 1924: As they continued there adventure the flyers did not bring there dress uniforms with them in there cramped aircraft, instead they would usually they would be lent cloths by the officers on the Navy ship that was there to help them. They would borrow shirts, socks, pants and ties, but not Jackets, since those would have Navy insignia on them and they were members of the Army. In Saigon this led to a less than friendly reception from a very french waiter at a street side cafe who despite there explanations, would not serve them because they were not wearing jackets. There destination for the day was Bangkok Siam (Thailand), They could have saved 100 miles if they had flown across the souther part of Indochina (now Vietnam) but felt continuing along the coast while longer would be much safer with the many lagoons they could land on in emergency. To avoid the long take off runs in the crowded rivers they decided to not leave with full fuel and fly 410 miles to Kampong Som Bay (Cambodia) before continuing to Bangkok. They flight was uneventful, they landed in the Kampong Som river which was protected from the high winds and were refueled with the help of the crew from the destroyer. August 15, 2017: I had originally wanted to use Virtavia's Heinkel He 111 but discovered the empty weight was was off by about 1/3 so the FSAirlines tracking client would not accept it unless I fixed it, plus it is one of the worst I have seen for nosing over when you hit the breaks. Not wanting to mess up the flight characteristics by increasing the weight I switched instead to the Hawker Hurricane. The Hurricane is one of those legionary aircraft that should need to introduction, it first flew in 1935 and formed the bulk of the RAF fighter force in the early parts of the second world war, over 14,000 were built before production ended in 1944. It accounted for 60% of the victories in the Battle of Britain and it served in every major theater of the war. I am using the Just Flight Battle of Britain package and am using a Hurricane Ia, which looks and flies great but I had a big problem with fuel usage during the flight. The weather was not bad, 6 knot winds, broken clouds at 1500 feet, Temperature of 30C. I intended to follow there path down the coast of the South China Sea and around but as I approached the mouth of the Mekong river I noticed I was already down to 80% fuel, I reset the engine to a lower power setting and turned due west across the countryside to head directly for Sihanukville, Cambodia, the closest airport to where I think they originally landed. By the time I reached the west coast of Vietnam I still had 100 miles to go and was down to 25% fuel. Looking for the closest airport I landed at Rach Gia airport, refueled and was on my way again. The clouds got a bit thicker as I approached my destination but made a safe landing and taxied off the runway to stop in the grass with 50% fuel remaining. My 200 miles of flying had taken me 1.7 hours. Here are a few pics: Ready at sunrise Sunrise over Ho Chi Minh City. Flying along the coast. Low on fuel, landed at Rach Gia Refueled and off again. Flying along the coast in the Gulf of Thailand. Just a little rain. Landed at Sihanukville, Cambodia. June 18, 1924: After refueling at Kampongson bay they flyers continued along the coast of the Gulf of Siam for 245 miles until they reached Bangkok and landed in the Menam river. Again they had to dodge junks, sampans and houseboats to get to there moorings. The heat and humidity wad debilitating as they serviced there craft. They continually had to try to protect the cruisers from being rammed by wayward boats until the Siamese police strung a circle of boats around each cruiser. August 16, 2017: After the fuel problems with the JF Hurricane decided to switch to something else for the 268 nm flight to Bangkok Thailand, the Messerschmitt Bf-109. The 109 is another aircraft that should need to introduction, first flown in 1935 it was one of the most advanced of its day with all metal construction, an enclosed cockpit and retractable gear. Serving in the Spanish civil war and then world war 2. Almost 34,000 were made and it was in service until 1965. The three top German aces of the war all few the 109 and between them had 926 victories. The aircraft I am flying today is also from the JustFlight Battle of Britain collection and is very nice. In Sihanukville I switched planes and was off again for Thailand. Weather was not the best, Clouds at 1500 feet and light rain, I continued up the coast of the Gulf of Thailand at 1000 feet, gradually the weather improved and I climbed up 2500 feet as we continued our easy flight landing at Don Mueang International airport after 1.4 hours of flying. Here are a few pics: New plane, full fuel, ready to go. Climbing out. Not the prettyest, but flys well. Coast of the Gulf of Thailand. Island hoping. Selfie! I think Bangkok is in site. Landed. Thanks for reading, off for a road trip so no more flights for at least a week. Hope you have enjoyed these so far, your comments are always welcome.
  17. June 10, 1924: It was extremely hot as the flyers got there planes ready for the flight to Hai Phong, there route would take them over the Lanzhou peninsula that separated the South China Sea with the gulf of Tonkin, it was the shortest distance but it was covered by jungle that contained more tigers and leopards than any other place in China. Also for a sea plane any mechanical problem would result in a crash in the Jungle. They traveled down the coast and over the peninsula. They flew at around 500 feet and could see the locals scattering in all directions as they passed over. Wade wrote of the flight, remembering all the tiny islands that “rival our thousand islands if not surpassing them in beauty”. They landed near the mouth of the Red River at sundown. A group of french men and women came out to welcome them, one particular Frenchman tried several times to come aboard Chicago to give a welcoming speech, but Smith not done working on the engine pushed the boat away each time. When the crews were done servicing there aircraft they finally came ashore and that Frenchman was still waiting for them, turns out it was the French Governor General who wanted to invite them to a formal reception. Smith apologized for any unintentional discourtesy and accepted. August 5, 2017: For the next couple legs I will be flying the Grumman G-21 Goose. The Goose first flew in 1937 and was intended as an eight passenger commuter aircraft for businessmen in the Long Island area and Grumman's first aircraft to be used in airline service. It was used in world war 2 by the United States and many other nations as an effective light transport. About 345 were built and at least 30 are still airworthy. The model I am using for this flight is the one that comes default with FSX. I know many of us discount the default aircraft but this one I has always been one of my favorites and I think it as good as many payware aircraft out there. My flight to Hai Phong was uneventful. Weather was warm, few clouds at 2000 feet with 10 kn winds, and those clouds cleared half way into the flight. I followed the coast till I reached the Lanzhou peninsula and crossing over to the gulf of Tonkin proceeded down the coast to Hai Phong. The default airport there was just the runway and the tower so I taxied off into the grass and stopped, it probably would have been more fun to landed in river that was close by. Here are a few pics from the flight. Ready for takeoff. Heading out over Zhujiang River Estuary Glamour shots. Lots of pretty islands. More islands. Not sure if this is supposed to be river sediment or polution. City of Hai Phong and my destination. Secured. June 11, 1924: The next day they all had trouble getting airborne in the calm waters of Hai Phong's river, they zigzagged down the river trying to avoid all the Junks and sampans that kept trying to get in there way, they all got off but it took wade 12 miles at full throttle before the pontoons would break loose. The 410 mile flight to Tourane French Indochina (Later Da Nang, Vietnam) was looking like it would be an easy one as they flew over the rice fields, jungles and out over the Gulf on Tonkin, but 30 miles off the coast Chicago's engine started to overheat, Smith quickly found a quiet lagoon where they could land and add water to the radiator. They were off again but 30 minutes later there engine started to pound ominously, again they searched for a safe place to land and found another lagoon 3 miles inland. This time they found a broken connecting rod sticking out the side of the crank case. After seeing Smith signal that the engine could not be repaired both Wade and Nelson landed to give what help they could, they gave them all the food and water they could and promised to get a new engine to them as soon as they could, so New Orleans and Boston took off and proceed to Tourane to get help, leaving Smith and Arnold stranded on this small lake, far from any visible habitation. August 6, 2017: Continuing in the Grumman Goose, my flight from Hai Phong to Da Nang was much lest eventful than Smiths. The weather was good, a few clouds at 1800, 4kn wind, warm with temperature of 31C. Staying along the coast of the Gulf of Tonkin, I cruised at about 2400 feet until the city of Da Nang was in sight. Rather than landing at the airport, I decided to put this sea plane to good use and landed in the River in the center of the city. The river was only 2 miles from the airport and the FSAirlines client would record this as landing at that airport. The 299 nm flight took me 2.4 hours. Here are a few pics from the flight: Ready to go at Hai Phong. Climbing out of Hai Phong. Selfie! Rear view. View of the coast. Front view. My destination, lets land in the river instead of the airport. Landed at Da Nang. For some reason I did not take any interior shots, sorry about that, good thing I did so on the last flight.
  18. September 25, 1924: Next stop was Crissy Field in San Francisco, along the route Boston II had a generator failure and had to land a fair ground a few miles south of the city. The other two planes circled and continued on after Wade and Ogdon signaled they were solving the problem. They landed at Crissy field at 3:10pm to a much more subdued reception than in Santa Monica, hundreds of solders guarded the parking ramp from the large but well behaved crowd. Meanwhile, a young truck driver asked Wade if he needed assistance, they agreed to exchange batteries when they discovered that the truck used a similar one. The driver refused payment so Wade invited him to meet them in there hotel that evening, they were then able to continue to Crissy Field to join the others. October 25, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the Learjet 45. The Learjet 45 is a mid sized business jet made by the Learjet division of Bombardier, and the first all new design since the original Learjet. Introduced in 1998, about 642 ov all versions were built before production switched to the upgraded model 75 in 2012. The model I am using is the default one that comes with FSX, despite its age, is nice to fly and does not look that bad, inside or out, as long as you don’t look around the corners too much, and it works well in P3D v4. The biggest decision on this leg was what airport to fly into, Crissy field closed log ago and there are no other airstrips within the city limits of San Francisco. I considered Alameda NAS and Oakland International but decided on San Francisco International, just south of the city. Weather was Clear but a bit hazy, 3 knot winds and a temperature of 28C/82F. I headed north out of Santa Monica headed north west over the coastal mountains at 12,000 feet. At about 100nm out I contacted ATC and requested an ILS approach into SFO. The landing was a bit rough but I ended up landing safely, the 289mn flight took 1.1 hours. I actually live and work in the San Francisco Bay area so its always fun to come home. Here are the pics: Ready for takeoff. Flying over the Tehachapi Mountains. Past the mountians and into the central valley. Monterey Bay. San Francisco Bay ahead. Coming in over San Francisco Bay. I have a view of that mountian in the distance right outside by back window. If you look closely you might even see my house. On final into SFO. Landed. Thanks for reading. ATB. September 27, 1924: The engine change on Boston II required they stay another day in San Fransico so they slept in late, went to the theater and back to there rooms at the St. Francis Hotel. They departed Crissy Field in excellent weather on the 27th and flew to Eugene Oregon, a place Lt Smith considered a second home, and despite his request for a quiet welcome, the Governor and City Mayor had arranged large reception that drew people from all over the state. October 27, 1927: For the next leg I will be using the Bombardier CRJ-700. The CRJ-700 is a regional jet liner developed from the earlier CRJ-200 series. It first flew in 1999 and over 800 have ben built so far. The model I am using is the default one that comes with FSX and I think is one of the better aircraft that were packaged with it. Weather for the flight to Eugene was good, clear with 3 knot winds and temperature of 17C/63F. We headed north from SFO over the city, climbing to 12000 feet to safely fly over the northern California mountains, made a pass over crater lake and descended into Eugene where the one bit if excitement happened on the trip, a low cloud had placed itself just a couple miles in front of the runway so I could not make the assigned VFR landing on it, After two attempts I circled around and landed from the other direction on the runway, good thing the control tower did not complain. The 393 nm flight had taken 1.5 hours. Here are the pics: Ready to go at SFO. Flying over the city, trying to see if I can spot the building I work in. Flying over Clear Lake. Calling Clear Lake 'Clear' is like calling Greenland 'Green'. Flying by Mount Shasta (again) View of Shasta from the cockpit. Flying over Crater Lake, Oregon. Comming into Eugene Oregon. Parked. Thanks for reading ATB. Just one more to go....
  19. September 19, 1924: They awoke to rain storm with heavy wind that blew in the windows of there hotel, the airfield looked like it had been turned into a lake but despite that they were in the air by late morning bound for Love Field in Dallas, Texas, where they were met by another large crowd, all wanting to shake the hand and talk to the airmen. That evening there was another banquet where they were given more unexpected gifts from the citizens of Dallas. October 21, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the 747-200. First flying in 1969, The 747 was the first wide body jet and it held the record for passenger capacity record for 37 years. With its distinctive hump upper deck one of the most recognizable aircraft. Boeing predicted that supersonic aircraft would soon make it obsolete and predicted it would sell only 400 but it exceeded all expectations and so far over 1500 have been built and more are still on order. The model I am using is by CLS/JustFlight and is one of my favorites but wish they would upgrade it to P3D V4 soon. The weather for the flight was cloudy, 14 knot winds with overcast at 6500 feet and a temperature of 23C/73F. I ended up climbing up to 12000 feet to stay above the clouds. Love Field Airport in Dallas had an even lower cloud level, since I did not want to take any chances with such a large aircraft I did something I have not done on this trip so far, I contacted air traffic control and requested an ILS approach into Love Field. I made a safe landing after flying the 184 nm in 50 minutes. I know did more pics than normal but I could not help myself, here they are: Ready for takeoff. Just enough runway. Climbing out of Muskogee. Selfie! Geting above the clouds. Cruising. Lots of clouds. Glamour Shots. On Final into Love Field. Landed. September 20, 1924: They left Dallas with enough fuel to fly 645 miles to El Paso, Texas but oil pump problems on Boston II forced them to land a Sweetwater, Texas. Although there landing was unexpected the personnel at the airport rustled up a picnic lunch for them. October 21, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the SOCATA TB-10 Tobago. The Socata TB is a series of single engine aircraft by French aircraft company SOCATA. Widely used training and touring aircraft and are often used for instrument training. They are defined by their superior fit and finish and interior size at the expense of performance. About 2150 were built between 1975 and 2007. The model I am using is by JustFlight is nice. Weather for takeoff was ok, 10 knot winds with a few clouds at 6000 feet and a temperature of 28C/82F. They flight to Sweetwater was uneventful, flying at 4000 feet at a fairly leisurely pace, the 184 nm flight took 1.7 hours. Here are the pics; Ready to go. Climbing out of Dallas. Heading west. Starting to rain. Greener than I expected. Glamour shots! Destination in sight! Secured. Thanks for reading ATB.
  20. June 14, 1924: The rooms of the Imperial hotel had 20 foot ceilings and beds so soft when you were in then you sank out of sight. For breakfast they were served bowls of raspberries and cream so delicious Arnold said “it was almost worth flying around the world to eat them”. Despite the luxuries they all wanted the holiday in Paris Smith promised them if they could get there ahead of schedule, so before 7am they left the Ancient city of Vienna for Strasbourg France. It was raining heavily when they left, which kept them low over the Danube river as they followed it into Germany, They emerged into bright sunshine as the crossed over the Black Forest and landed in Strasbourg after 6 hours of flying, where despite the festivities planed for them, they hurriedly had lunch and got there planes ready for there next leg. September 19, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the Cessna 195. The 195 was one of Cessna’s first post war aircraft, there last with a radial engine and there first one that was all aluminum. Because of the big radial engine it was larger than other Cessna models and more expensive to buy and operate so was marketed as more of a Business aircraft. First flying in 1945, about 1180 were built before production ended in 1954. The model I am using today was made by FlySimWare and is nice. Weather for the flight from Vienna started off good, 11 knot winds with a few clouds at 1300 feet and a temperature of 12C/53F, quite a change from the 31C/88F five days ago. It was a bit cloudy so stayed between 2000-3000 feet while I found the Danube and followed it west to hear the city of Linz and then west into Germany. Ran into a fierce thunder storm over Munich but soon emerged from that as I approached the Black Forest, we crossed over the river Rhine and descended into Strasbourg, the 358nm flight had taken 2.4 hours. Here are the pics: Ready to go. Staying low, where is that river. Following the Danube. Lightning is very close. Clear weather again. Over the Rhine river and into France! Our destination. Secured. July 14, 1924: Although elaborate arrangements had been made to entertain them, they stayed in Strasbourg only long enough to refuel the aircraft and get a quick lunch before being back in the air bound for Paris. A hundred miles from Paris a flight of planes from the French joined them to escort them to the city. Fifty miles out they could see the Eiffel Tower and the great buildings of the city, as they got nearer they could see thousands of people in the streets celebrating Bastille day, with there French escorts in tow they flew past the Eiffel tower, made a circle around the Arc de Triomphe to pay tribute to the French tomb of the French Unknown Soldier and proceed to Le Bourget Airport where more than five thousand Parisians were crowding the airport. They landed and were quickly mobbed by the throng while diplomats and French officials tried to shake there hands, it took an hour before they could get there aircraft into the hanger to do there post flight servicing. After they were taken to there hotels they accepted an invitation to the famous “Folies Bergere”, as the lights went down for the show they promptly fell asleep. September 19, 2017: The North American F-86 Sabre, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept wing fighter that could counter the Soviet MiG-15 and was considered one of the best and most important fighter aircraft in the Korean war. Although it first flew in 1947 and was outdated by the end of the '50s, the Sabre proved versatile and adaptable. The last was retired by the Bolivian Air Force in 1994. Over 9800 were built in the US, Canada, Japan and Italy. I tried to use the very nice Milviz model but it proved a bit beyond my skills. I started the flight but part way to Paris noticed the gauges had stopped, I fiddled with the power switches and got them back but then the engine was running at 100% and I could not get it to power back. Fiddling with the switches some more the engine stopped and I could not get it restarted, finally aborting before it crashed into a field. So instead I tried with the Virtavia model, which does not look as nice, especially the VC but it is much easier to fly. Started the flight with light rain, 7 knot winds, a few clouds at 700 feet, overcast at 6000 and a temperature of 10C/50F. I headed northwest toward Paris, at about 5000 feet to get over the first bank of hills and then dropped to about 2300 to stay below the clouds. It cleared up a bit as I approached Paris but I did not see the Eiffel tower as far away as Lt. Smith and the boys did . I finally spotted it and did a few passes by the tower and the Arc de Triomphe before landing at Le Bourget. The F-86 just ate up the 207nm flight in just 35 minutes, often cruising at over 540 knots. Here are the pics: Ready to go. Climbing out of Strasbourg. Try to stay between the clouds and the hills. Its clear and I am good on fuel, drop the tanks. There is the Eiffel Tower Never sean so few cars around the Arc Another pass by the tower. Landed. Thanks for reading ATB.
  21. June 25, 1924: The river traffic at Rangoon nearly ended their flight that night, a large river boat under full sail, apparently sailed by a careless helmsman was heading right for the cruisers, but the Navy was there to save the day. Sailors from the destroyer that were guarding the planes boarded the wayward hulk, clipped the helmsman in the jaw and took charge, The resulting collision ended up being fairly gentle but New Orleans required five days to repair the damage before they could leave for there next destination. They left on the 25th for Akyab, Burma and the Bay of Bengal. En route they flew through one of the heaviest rain storms they ever experienced. They arrived in Akyab seaport and hurriedly refueled, they wanted to leave as soon as possible as the area had the distinction of averaging over 400 inches of rain a year but they got a message that the moorings at there next stop were not ready so they would have to wait till the next day. August 22, 2017: For the next flight I got ready the de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito. The Mossie was another of those legendary aircraft that should need not introduction. It first flew in 1940 with an airframe made almost entirely of wood and when it was introduced was one of the fastest aircraft in the world. It was used as a bomber, day and night fighter, photo-recon and fast transport for up to one passenger. Over 7,700 were built before production ended in 1950. For this flight I will be using an aircraft with the colours of the RAF India and was produced by JustFlight and Aeroplane Heaven. Akyab Burma is now Sittwe Myanmar. Weather for the flight started off less than promising. 4 knot winds, broken clouds at 1500 feet and 30C temperature but pretty hazy/foggy, with only 4 mile visibility. I headed mostly west at 1000 feet until I reached the coast, as we approached the shore the clouds let up. Climbing to 2500 feet to get over the coastal hills we turned north and followed the coast in great weather until we reached Sittwe, making a safe landing at there airport. The 269 nm flight took 1.3 hours. Here are some screen shots. Ready for takeoff. Low clouds over the city. Weather improves at the coast. Turning north to Sittwe. Cruisin. Nice weather now. The city of Sittwe, todays destination. Secured. June 26, 1924: Despite the heavy rain at Akyab the flyers were in the air at 7am for Chittagong Burma. They noticed the rain was heaviest at the shore so they ended up flying 15 miles out in the Bay of Bengal. They landed in the Chittagong river and were quickly refueled by the destroyer USS Preston. They were soon in the air again bound for Calcutta India. This was going to be a more dangerous leg as they had to take a compass heading over the delta of the River Ganges, . overhaul there craft and swap the large floats for wheels before continuing on there journey.12 August 24, 2017: The next couple legs were the last before they switched from sea planes to land planes so I wanted to use an amphibian so I chose the Grumman G-44 Widgeon. The Widgeon first flew in 1940 and was designed for the civil market, smaller but similar to the Goose. During World War 2 it was used as a small patrol and utility aircraft by the USN, Coast Guard and Royal Navy. 317 were built before production ended in 1955. The aircraft I am using today is by FlySimWare in civilian colors. We started at Sittwe airport with a 7am departure for Chittagong Bangladesh. The weather was great, clear below 20,000 feet, 4 knot winds and a temperature of 29.7C/85F. We followed the coast of the Bay of Bengal north at 3000 feet. As we approached our destination it suddenly became quite cloudy with 3 mile visibility. We found the mouth of the Chittagong River and landed. For some reason when I landed the engines stopped and I could not restart them. So I switched aircraft, now using the G-44 in US Navy colors, did a quick refuel and was off. The weather was now calm, 3.1 mile visibility with clouds at 1800 feet. We were now back in the air and off for Calcutta India, now called Kolkata. Apparently it was always pronounced that way and in 2001 the spelling was officially changed to match. This time we flew at 1500 feet on compass heading directly for the city of Kolkata. As we few over the Bay of Bengal the weather improved and we soon had blue skies again. Once over the city we found the main river and headed north to the Barrackpore Air Force Station. Since I was in the amphibian we landed in the Hooghly River right next to the airport. Again the engines stopped and I could not restart them, but since I did not need to go further it was ok. The 334 nm flights had taken 2.5 hours of flying. At this point I have finished what they called the “Third Division” of the flight. I have flown 11024 nm with 81.3 hours of flight time. Based on start dates I am 10 days ahead of them. Normally I do 8 images per flight, since I am combining two legs I did 6 from each, here they are. Ready to go in Sittwe Myanmar Kutubdia Island. Flying along the Bay of Bengal Glamour Shots. Suddenly Fog. Landed in Chittagong Bangladesh Switch to the Navy paint scheme. Off into the fog. Glamour shots. Flying over the country side. Over Kolkata, think I will land in the river near the airport. Landed. Thanks again for reading, as always your comments are welcome.
  22. July 13, 1924: They left Bucharest at dawn and headed west to the Danube River, through the Transylvanian Alps to Belgrade Yugoslavia. The weather had been remarkably good and the aircraft well so with plenty of fuel remaining they flew over the airport where the diplomatic officials were waiting and continued to Budapest Hungary (Smith later sent an apology). They landed at Maryasfold aerodrome after nearly 7 hours of flying where a small crowd was waiting to greet them, there had been a large crowd but a rumor went around saying the flyers were not coming. But they were welcomed by the diplomats who were there, a few speeches were given and they were invited to a nearby hanger where lunch was provided. September 16, 2017: The aircraft I will use next is the Antonov An-2, aka "Annushka". The AN-2 is a Soviet built single-engine biplane utility/agricultural aircraft that first flew in 1946. Its remarkable durability, high lifting power, and ability to take off and land from poor runways have given it a long service life. Produced up to 2001 and remains in service with operators around the world, over 18000 were built. The model I am using today I was made by SibWings and is very nice but it its not P3Dv4 compatible. Weather started off good, clear with 6 knot winds and a temperature of 22C. I flew west till I intercepted the Danube and followed it through the mountains, then north to Budapest where the weather had turned to thunder storms, but I landed safely at Tököl Airport after 4.1 hours of flying. Here are the images: Ready to go. Climbing out of Bucharest. Glamour Shots. Following the Danube. Into Hungary. Good weather still. Desination in site. Landed. July 13, 1924: After lunch they were back in there planes and on their way to Vienna Austria, arriving two hours later and were greeted by a huge crowd, which was mostly made up of American Tourists, all of which seemed to have new Kodak cameras and wanting to get pictures of the flyers and there craft. It took until almost dusk to finish working on there planes, camera’s snapping the whole time, they were then taking on a quick tour of the city and then to the luxurious Imperial Hotel, which they were told had once been the home of the prince of Wittenberg until he had lost it in a game of cards. September 16, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the de Havilland DHC-1 Chipmunk. Designed by de Havilland Canada in 1946 to replace the Tiger Moth. It was used as a basic trainer by the RAF and RCAF and many others, the last was retired in 1996, over 1200 were made and many are still used by civilian operators. The aircraft I used was made by JustFlight and is nice. By the time I finished my real world tasks the weather had cleared and was now just broken clouds at 5000 feet with 5 knot winds and a temperature of 16.1C. The flight to Vienna was very easy even thought he clouds get a bit thicker and I had to stay below 2000 feet to keep the ground in site. The 108 mile flight to the Vienna International Airport took 52 minutes. Here are the images: Ready to go again. Climbing out of Budapest. Glamour shots! Selfie! Fall colours already. Lots of fall colors. Our destination. Secured. Thanks for reading, ATB
  23. June 15, 1924: Wade and Nelson arrived in Tourane hurried aboard the destroyer USS Noah, Onboard was Lt Lawton, advance officer for this region and M. Chevalier, representative from the Standard Oil Company. They checked there maps and determined to Lagoon Smith had landed on was outside the city of Hue. After conferring, Nelson and Chevalier proceeded by car to Hue find Smith while Noah would sail to Saigon to bring back a new engine for Chicago. Smith and Arnold had spent the rest of the day battling thirst and too much curious locals. After arriving in Hue, Smith and Chevalier proceeded by car and then by boat until about 3am they reached the Lagoon where Smith and Arnold waited exhausted. At daylight they arranged for Chicago to be towed, 25 miles up river to the city of Hue. By the 13th, Noah had returned from Saigon with a new engine and it was driven by truck to Hue along with Harding, Ogden and four volunteer sailors from Noah, The old engine was disconnected from Chicago and the new one installed, after a taxi test Smith and Arnold were back in the air for the 60 mile flight to Tourane, the entire episode from landing in the lagoon to getting back in the air had taken only 71 hours. August 11, 2017: One thing the flyers did not do on this trip was cross the Equator, which is one thing that gave Australian Charles Kingsford Smith one of his claims to fame when in 1929 he finished the second around the world flight and the first that crossed the equator. While the flyers were working to help Smith and Arnold get out of the Jungle, I think I will make a short excursion to the City of Pontianak in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, which is 976 nm from Da Nang and whose airport is about 8 nm south of the Equator. For this longer flight I getting ready a Boeing model 299 better known as the B-17. First designed to a 1934 requirement for a multi engine bomber, it ultimately lost the competition for that contract because the prototype crashed but its clear superiority let to 13 more being ordered for evaluation and eventually over 12,000 being built between 1938 when it was introduced and 1945 when production ended. Despite having a smaller bomb load and shorter range than the more numerous B-24’s it proved to be more durable and much better liked by the crews that flew them. For my flight to Pontianak I will be using a B-17F by Aeroplane Heaven, which is very nice. The weather for takeoff was not bad, few clouds at 1500 feet, very light 1kn winds and temperature of 37C/99F. We flew at around 2500 feet along the coast until we were near the city of Vinh Tan, where we turned south out over the South China Sea. We stayed at 2500 feet until flying into a thunderstorm when I climbed to 8000 feet to try to get out of the worst of the turbulence, proceeded to Supadio Airport for a safe landing. Here are a few pics from the flight. Ready for a dawn departure. Climbing out of Da Nang. Heading down the coast. Nice profile. Out over the south China Sea. First sight of Indonesia. On Final. Secured. June 16, 1924: Nelson and the others had arrived back in Tourane just before nightfall. They were all up early the next day and were in the air by 5am. The weather was favorable but Boston had troubles with its generator, not having an extra Nelson rigged up a second battery and a switch so one battery could be used for a while then the other. They arrived over the Mekong River at 1:30 and landed at the French Hydroplane station on the Saigon River, just north of the city of Saigon. August 12, 2017: Again I will be flying the Boeing B-17. This time will be flying the G variant, also by Aeroplane Heaven. I made a detour the day before to Pontianak Indonesia and today’s flight will take me back to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, formerly known as Saigon. The weather was not as favorable as when I arrived. Scattered clouds at 1200 ft with less than 4 miles of visibility, 3 knot winds with a temperature of 23C/73F, fairly cool for just south of the Equator. I stayed at around 800 ft to stay below the clouds and follow the coast until near Singkawang City we turned north west and back out over the South China Sea, The weather soon cleared up but we did have to dodge some thunder clouds along the way. We came in over the Mekong river and delta, as often happens the clouds built up as we approached Ho Chi Minh city but we were able to make a safe landing at Tan Son Nhat International Airport. The 680 nm flight had taken 3.7 hours. Here are a few pics from the flight:: Ready for takeoff. Flying along the coast of the island of Borneo. The weather has improved a little. Out over the South China Sea, dodging clouds. Comming in over the Mekong Delta. Hi Chi Minh city in the haze. My Destination. Secured. At this point I am caught up with my current progress so my posts will not come as quickly as they have. Because AVSim does not allow me to post multiple entries to the same TopicI will continue to post two flights for each topic.
  24. September 20, 1924: After only an hour they were able to repair the fuel pump on Boston II and add some fuel and oil to the tanks and they were off for El Paso, Texas. As the came in to park the crowd that was there to welcome them surged through the police line and surrounded them and prevented the flyers from servicing there aircraft. That evening there was another banquet where they were given more gifts of local significance. October 21, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the Beech King Air 350. Originally known as the Super King Air, the Super King Air family first flew in 1972 and is still in production, the longest production run of any civilian turboprop aircraft in its class. By 2015 over 3700 have been built. The model I am using is the default model that comes with P3D and is basically the same one as has been part of MSFS for quite some time, and is showing its age, but I flew this quite a bit back in the day and always liked it. The flight to El Paso was uneventful, Heavy rain and lightning over Sweetwater delayed departure for a while but was soon in the air after is passed. Flying at around 8000 feet and landed at Biggs Army Air Field in El Paso, Texas. The 303nm flight took 1.4 hours. Sorry I forgot to record the weather. Here are the pics: Ready for takeoff. Climbing out of Sweetwater. Lots of flat out here. Glamour Shots. Hills as we get closer to El Paso. Cruisin. Suns getting lower, hope we get there soon. Landed. October 22, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the General Dynamics F-16. The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine fighter aircraft by General Dynamics for the USAF. Over 4,500 aircraft have been built since 1976. The Fighting Falcon's key features include a frameless bubble canopy, side-mounted control stick, a seat reclined 30 degrees to reduce the effect of g-forces, and the first use of a relaxed static stability/fly-by-wire flight control system. The F-16 has also used by the air forces of 25 other nations. As of 2015, it is the most numerous airplane in military service. The Model I am using is the one that comes as a default aircraft in P3D V4 and is nice. The flight was uneventful, clear skies with 8 knot winds and a temperature of 17C/63F. Keeping at 8000 feet and 50% power I think this is the fastest leg yet, cruising at 625 knots, I did not want to go faster as I was worried about using up all the fuel before reaching Tucson 230 nm away. As it is, the flight only took 29 minutes including taxi time. Here are the pics: Ready to go. Glamour shots. Cruising Along the mountians. Along the mountians. Selfie. On final. Landed. Thanks for reading. ATB.
  25. September 5, 1924: The 4th was windy and rainy to fly, so they were treated noon concert of Bag Pipers and a lobster dinner on the Canadian Destroyer Patriot. The original plan was to go to St. John Newfoundland to refuel and then proceed to Boston, but Lt Smith disagreed and wanted to fly directly to Boston. They left the harbor of the 11:15 am flying along the coast of Nova Scotia in a rain squall but soon came into good weather. They passed St. John in good weather but soon ran into fog that got thicker as they flew on. They tried to climb over and under but no avail, after a few narrow scrapes with trees Smith decided getting to Boston when the city leaders expected was not worth the risk, just before they got to Portland Maine they turned back and headed inland finding a sheltered cove on Casco Bay near Mere Point Maine, they spent the night in cabins offered by local residents. October 7, 2017: For the next flight I will be using the Douglas DC-6B. The DC-6 project started in 1944 as a lengthened and more powerful version of the DC-4 with a pressurized hull. After the war the design was reworked to compete with the Lockheed Constellation, it first flew in 1946 and 704 were built before production ended in 1958. The DC-6 was regarded by many as the ultimate piston-engine airliner from the standpoint of ruggedness, reliability, economical operation, and handling qualities. The model I am using is by JustFlight/Aeroplane Heaven and is one of my favorites. I have previously done RTW flights using this aircraft. The weather for my flight was good, clear with 7 knot winds and a temperature of 9C/47F. They flight was uneventful, I flew at 4000 feet and landed at Brunswick Executive Airport (formerly NAS Brunswick, closest airport to Mere Point), the 329 mile flight took 1.6 hours. Here are the pics Ready to go. Along the coast of Nova Scotia. Selfie! I hope she does not get board back there by herself. Along the coast of Maine. Lots of little Islands. On final into Brunswick. Secured. September 6, 1924: The flyers had not seen a newspaper since they left Scotland and expected the same passing interest when they arrived as other record setting Air Service flights. They got fuel from commercial gas stations in Brunswick so they would have enough to make it to Boston without having to stop again. As they were waiting a flight of ten DH-4’s arrived overhead, wagging there wings in greeting, they had been flown north to escort them to Boston and were lead by General Patrick, chief of the Army Air Service. Smith held up a funnel and gas can to signal the reason for the delay. After circling for a while they DH-4’s headed to Old Orchard main to wait for them. They were in the air by noon and after an uneventful flight they arrived over Boston two hours later, there was a great crowd milling around the airport, fireboats spouted water, navy ships fired there guns and every boat was blowing its whistle in salute. The cruisers landed in the harbor while the escorts landed at the airport. There planes were lifted by crane onto the navy dock where the pontoons would be swapped for wheels for the last time. The six men signed the airport entry book and were taken by automobile to the state capitol, escorted by cavalry guard, where they were welcomed by the Governor, Mayor and other military and political officials, all who whom gave short speeches. As they were lead through the city, there were cheering crowds on every street they passed. They were finally taken to the Plaza hotel were an entire floor was reserved for them. That night they dined with General Patrick, the general posted guards so it would be a quiet affair. October 7, 2017: To make a grand entrance into Boston I chose the North American F-100D. The North American F-100 Super Sabre was the first USAF fighter capable of supersonic speed in level flight. 2294 were built between 1953 and 1959, it served with the USAF until 1972 and the last was retired in 1988. The Model I am using is by Milviz and it is nice. It was foggy in Brunswick, 5 knot winds with a temperature of 16C/61F. Clouds were supposed to go up to 6000 feet so I climb up through it and proceed to Boston. The cloud thinned as I got closer to city and was able to make an easy landing at Logan Airport. They 103 mile flight took only 24 minutes. Here are the pics. Ready for takeoff. Climbing through the fog. Finally above it. Glamour Shots. Selfie! Decending into Boston. My destination is ahead. Landed. Thanks for reading. ATB.
×
×
  • Create New...