Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'pirep'.
-
Subtitled: Never, ever let me near a FMC So word had got around that the Mutley's roadshow had hit town. President Hu Jintao had declared a public holiday and sent his men to greet us. As we were saying our goodbyes the crowds erupted into uncontrollable sobbing, I thought that they were sad to see us leave, but no, word had got around that Sharon was NOT on board. So just commencing push pack and start up I decided to let the plane fly me to the next destination. Tapping in to the FMC.. Company Route..blah blah.. SID, STAR blah :blah:! We were lucky to get this aircraft. Mr Baggins fr
-
The 17th leg of the Around The World Challenge takes us from Nội Bài International Airport in Hanoi to Macau International Airport at the eastern end of Taipa Island. I arrived in Hanoi a few days early to have a chance to take in the local culture and acquire an airplane. Luckily for me, there was a Beechcraft Kingair available for today’s flight. The rental price was 56,283,259 Vietnamese Dong. I had no idea what that was in U.S. dollars and the rental agent couldn’t tell me, but as I had just paid 23,000 Dong for a meal and a bottle of Bia Ha Noi Vietnamese beer, it sounded like a fair p
-
The night before departure, I met Dai in the hotel that hosted us. We ate some excellent chicken (that was chicken, right?). He gave me the baton and he told me about his adventure to arrive unnoticed at Dien Bien. Also, he said that I had to fly to Hanoi on board of an old airplane of the early 70's, registered in Germany. "How old?" I asked. "VERY old and noisy!" was the laconic reply. "Will I have a hard time finding the plane?" "I do not think so. Good luck." The flight plan was filed. We are an unnamed charter flight to Hanoi, one of those transfers that usually go unnoticed. Off
-
"Must be something important", Hal commented as we headed back towards the aircraft. Midge had started the engines after the local crew had finished their checks. "And in this weather, too". The mist had come down soon after we'd finished our mid-day meal in the mess - it had looked like chicken, but that's no guarantee - and now it was raining quite hard. Both Hal and Midge had accompanied me to the afternoon briefing with the station chief. I'd hoped for a less conspicuous aircraft, but the old An-2 was out of action. The Russian built bi-plane had been captured in South Vietnam, dismantled
-
Welcome to Leg 15 of our fourth Around The World Challenge. Today, we are flying from Chiang Mai Intl (VICC), in northern Thailand to Dien Bien Phu (VVDB), in northern Vietnam. Straightforward enough, here's the Flight Plan from Plan-G (Thanks, Tim!): "Ah", I hear you say "What's the intermediate stop for?". Well, read on... "How many hours?" Hal was shouting above the noise of the P.W.s. I tried to ignore him, but I was still trying to get comfortable. The FC-47 instruments were different to the Dakotas I'd flown in Burma, some were the same but in the wrong position. Hal had set the f
-
Very often in my life, I've found myself doing something that makes me stop and say 'what the hell am I doing?'. As I look down the runway at Paro, I'm having one of those moments now. Ahead of me clouds cross the threshold periodically as I run through my pre takeoff checklist. I'm beginning to wonder about my choice of aircraft here. I know that Andrew did a Stella job of getting his Boeing 727 into here, but with the mountains surrounding me, I wonder how much success I'm going to have getting my own personal 737-900 out of the same airfield. As I ate my meal last night in the local hotel,
-
Apologies for the late PIREP but the real world conspired against me this week. After another busy week of flying duties, here I was relaxing by the pool back at home base at 10236 Charing Cross Rd, Holmby Hill, Los Angeles, Nothing new here, just the same people, in the same swimsuits (or not) that I have been used to seeing around the Mansion. Next minute, the boss comes up to me and says: "AG, I know you Aussie guys know how to party and being a pilot and all, you have traveled the world and I would expect you are even better than the rest, so, I have a special task for you. I want you
-
Ahh it started out as a good day. The sun was shining, the winds were calm, and it was a warm 3ºC. Shorts weather for me. But I was not in shorts, I was wearing a blue wool flightsuit still ichy from the fire retardant. Should have washed it before this flight. But then again it might come in handy. Today's ride would be a P-47D. And man it's big. With a real big engine. Despite the P-47's size it's fairly easy to fly. Climbs a bit slow. But there was no problems in climbing out of Kabul. And not another airplane in sight. I selected to cruise at FL200 because of the mountains I would
-
Let me start with an apology for posting too late. Noticed I was supposed to post at 07.15Z at 11.45Z. After the baton was delivered to us by a German MiG29 we were ready to bring it to Kabul. Now you would not think it after reading Kieran's story, but there was a reason for using a armed fighter to get the baton here. Kieran only once mentions 'flying into danger' but that was exactly what he was doing. And now we are going to do the same ... You see there are some parties in this part of the world that really like to get their grubby hands on the Baton. So for this flight no Sharon but a
-
Are we sitting comfortably? Good, then let me tell you the "Tale of Two MiG's" Think back to a November afternoon, near Bukhara. The year is 1942. Although well away from the fighting, Bukhara is under threat. To counter this, a squadron of brand new MiG-1 (Российская самолетостроительная корпорация, or Mikoyan Gurevich 1) was posted to the city. Proud claims were made - "No enemy aircraft shall fly over this town!" Cheers went up around the town, as people returned to war-critical work. But for a young fighter pilot, Bukhara wasn't the place to be. Yuri Belyakov was a young, eager 18 year o
-
"Any minute" turned out to be a very flexible time frame in Kazakhstan. But as the clock started to close in on 16:00 local time, after a 6 hour wait in the airport V.I.P lounge, I got word that my flight for Bukhara was ready and waiting for me on the apron. Airport security turned up and offered my a ride, unfortunatly I had to ride in the back of a Police Van lacking windows so I didn't get a view of the aircraft before I opened the door and was greated by this sight. She looks rather beaten up I told the captain as we made a visual inspection of the aircraft. Captain: Well, looks c
-
One early morning in Atyrau I get a call to my hotel room. After trying my best to rub the sleep out of my eyes I reluctantly get out of bed to answer it. Airport Official: Hello Sir. I understand you are a qualified pilot that are planing to depart for Bukhara in a couple of hours. Is that correct? Since I pre-filed my flight plan before i got to bed last night I can't really claim I'm not, so I admit that his statement is true. Airport Official: Great, we have a bit of a situation here this morning, and as a last resort I'm turning to you to help us resolve it. By now I'm wide awake and
-
There I was relaxing on in scenic Volgograd, Russia, which some of you older folks may remember better as Stalingrad, when I got an email from Micke and Joe asking if I could help out and fly the ATWC baton to Atyrau, Kazakhstan. So once I managed to tear myself away from The Motherland Calls statue I began planning for the flight. I made my way to Volgograd International Airport and inquired if there were any planes available for rent. Luck was with me that day as there just happened to be an Antonov AN-24 available. So I made my way to the ATWC hangar and there she was still in her old I
-
With the Baton safely in my hands, I, Lem Em (nee) Snicket, immediately suffer a series of unfortunate events. The first, a vortex in the space-time continuum results in me being transported back to a previous life as a Luftwaffe Oberstleutenant and staff officer on the Fuehrer’s Headquarters in January 1943. The second, Sharon, whilst also accompanying me, has regressed to her former self as my loyal and trusty driver, Unteroffizier "Bob" Parkhurst (I have always had my suspicions about the Aryan heritage of my loyal driver). So, here my story and journey begins. The Battle of Stalingrad
-
I roll up to the airport around 1pm Antonov local time to pre-flight the aircraft. Today's airplane is a RCAF Mustang IV from 442 squadron. This perticular Mustang Y2-C flew the last allied air mission of WWII in Europe when it escorted a naval convoy to retake some channel islands the day after VE day. Y2-C is panted as it would have been seen in 1945. GPU plugged in and checking over the aircraft. Oh yes Roundels are the only way to fly. With the Baton safely tucked in behind my seat, power comes on as we take to the skies. Airborne and passing some clouds as we climb up to FL250 fo
-
Hi all! Well, after picking up the baton from Sam, it's time for some proper Russian action! Since this flight is to the home of the An-225, one half will be flown by it's little brother - the An-124. But before that, the crew need to get to Minsk to pick up the beasty. And that means a Yak-42! Looking at the suprisingly large Yak. Sharon is inside, welcoming the crew Engines are starting Flight plan showing - the ASI you will notice is not set, that'll bring problems later...... Pushing back Head on Preparing to back track a little bit for a Rwy 20 take-off And we have lif
-
I have been following the story so far and it has been excellent, and now its my turn to contribute! Leg 4 ESMS Sturup - EYIV Vilnius After eventually finding Micke and the Baton over in the GA Section South of Runway 11, we travelled back over to the main terminal where my choice of aircraft was waiting. By this time Sharon had somehow caught up with the baton, and was banging on the cockpit window, and half hanging of the air stairs screaming abuse that I nearly left her behind. After letting her in we set up the aircraft and filed a flight plan direct from Sturup to Vilnius. Sturup Air
-
Finally it was time to bring the mysterious ATWC-baton back to Sweden. The last time it was here was way back in section 2 of the second ATWC! I had met up with Kasper and Sharon in the terminal of Fuhlsbüttel-Airport, the Baton was put straight away in to safe storage. I won't be trusting any security guards to look after it this time... Sadly Sharon informed me that she wouldn't join me on this flight. She said something about wanting to revisit the Reeperbahn before she got (and I quote here) "to old for such things"... My disappointment must have been very obvious, so she gave me a quic
-
After Joe left Sharon and equally important The Baton in my hands it was time to prepare for the flight to Hamburg. I had already planned the flight for the DC-3 but weather in Holland was not very good and after a short test flight I decided to take the Viscount instead. The Goony Bird nearly got blown of the runway and once airborne it was all over the place. Not fun at all. I decided to use the flightplan for the DC-3 but fly at cruise level for the Viscount and of course with the higher speed of the Viscount. Since Sharon is not the only one going gooey at the site of a uniform I whisk
-
Welcome to the first leg of our Around The World Challenge IV or “Ivy” as the fourth challenge is affectionately known as by the Mutley Crew. The good news is Sharon is here to keep me company on our 242 Nm journey to one of our favourite countries, the Netherlands, home of the FS Weekend at Lelystad. Sharon has been hanging around the tower for some time now she’s goes all gooey at the sight of a uniform! Well she’s on her way back now after successfully filing our flight plan. We’ve got no navigation equipment on the Seabee so I have plugged this into my sat nav. That’s about as techni
