Kasper 14 Posted January 3, 2014 Report Share Posted January 3, 2014 The call I got from Mikael was not reassuring. He was definately not the calm guy I met before. Apparently the Baton was in some kind of danger of being inpounded by the Police at Raratonga. Apparantly somebody stole a 767 from Fed-Ex and was recognized. Unfortunately that someone also had possession of the Baton and tried to hide it in one of the engine inlets of a Concorde! And now the baton was in custody of the local police. What happened to the plane thief was unclear. All this, combined with the credit card overspending had Joe in a foul mood - comparable with Buffalo Joe on a really bad day I was told. If I could get over there and straighten things out? Oh yeah and get the Baton to Tonga. By pure chance I already was on the island. I was still on my plane hunt and received a tip of two possible additions to my fleet. The first was a Noratlas and the other was a Spartan. Planes with comparable payload and two engines but that was where the similarities end. But I was interested in both so I made my way to the Pacific. And then, just before I would take the Noratlas for a spin I received the call. The first thing to do was call Sharon. Nobody was as good as she was in getting things done and she saved my skin more than once. "Sharon, can you come over to Raratonga - I need your help getting the Baton back from the local police?". "Sure sugar, I will think of a suitable compensation enroute. But it will cost you dear. Give me two days to get there." Well anything to get the Baton back I supposed and wondered what the compensation would be. Two days later Sharon arrived and sure enough she got the Baton to me in no time at all. "Wanna come with me Sharon, I could use the company on these over water flights?" "Oh no dear, I will stay here and take care of some unfinished business". And off she went. No I won't say what the compensation was. Finally, there I was with my possibly new fleet addition. I walked all around the plane and was pleasantly surprised by the state it was in. It was a well maintained beauty. With more than enough room for the Baton When I got inside I noticed the cockpit was well maintained, but none of the more modern niceties were retrofitted. Time to get out the trusty E6B! I started the engines and taxied to the runway. Trying to get a feel for the plane while taxiing. She had a bad reputation concerning cross winds and that was what I would face today. After a thourough warming of the engines I lined up. The weather was not the best but the trip would be straight forward. I took off and started climbing through the clouds. The plane has a purposefull look to it. It means business! Settling in to cruise there was not a lot to do for the next three hours. After losing the Raratonga VOR I used the E6B for navigation. It proved to be remarkeable accurate at the end of the trip. After three hours of looking around the cockpit and not much else it was time for the very modern NDB / DME approach to Niue. I encountered a very strong cross wind and probably should have aborted the landing but the Spartan was here! So I just crabbed like crazy and put the plane down - not exactly at the centerline but I didn't break anything. I put the plane to bed and did the same myself. Tomorrow the Spartan would fly in for the leg to Fua'amatos. The following morning I woke up to another overcast day with strong winds - and a new plane to fly! I was taken to the plane in style This was something completely different than the Noratlas - but I had studies the manuals and had a type rating so time to take off. Turning into the clouds the difference in cockpit instruments with the Noratlas was striking Enroute there was not much else to do than looking at the plane doing its work. There even is a decent auto pilot on board Approaching Fua'amotos I started up the HUD - another item not found in the Noratlas! Descent went smooth This time I nailed the approach and landed on the center line I taxied to the stand And parked the plane on the Tongan stand. Brett, you can get the Baton here - just ask in the hangar and tell them Sharon send you. A couple of uneventful flights but we got the Baton where it had to be- and Joe this round is on me: I had to be here anyway. Link to post Share on other sites
brett 2,315 Posted January 4, 2014 Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 Great set of aircraft you got to fly this time around, I'm jealous. Sorry I won't get to see you, it will be a day or two before I can get there and it seems you will be gone. Happy flying wherever you're going. I enjoyed reading your PIREP, tell Sharon I said hi and not to compensate to hard on ya. Is Joe and Micke in a better mood, the only flight I could book there was first class. Link to post Share on other sites
hurricanemk1c 195 Posted January 4, 2014 Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 Great shots Kasper - that Spartan is very efficent and can get you out of some tight spots! Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,497 Posted January 4, 2014 Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 Bravo Kasper, I really enjoyed your PIREP. Micke and me are in a very good mood now we are underway again, we just got some sponsorship to cover the fuel costs from Shell! Link to post Share on other sites
rosariomanzo 545 Posted January 4, 2014 Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 Very nice flight, enjoyed both aircraft. Link to post Share on other sites
brett 2,315 Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 JOE!!!!! Not Shelli, I know that mob guy, Veto Shelli and he is a ruthless, low down, predatory loan shark. Best not to get involved with him, I'm sure we can all try and chip in. Link to post Share on other sites
rob16584 42 Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 Lovely shots Kasper. The noratlas is an interesting plane to fly. Although I've only done a few circuits in her Link to post Share on other sites
Kasper 14 Posted January 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 Thanks guys, I especially liked flying the Noratlas since it is an extremely well made freeware package. It is absolutely on par with payware offerings. I am pleased with the high quality freeware released these days like this Noratlas or Manfred Jahn's BT67 and C-47, and I could name others without much difficulty. It looks like the old days of FS9 where Tom Gibson, Rick Piper or David Maltby gave the payware devs a run for their money are returning with but now to FSX. Link to post Share on other sites
stu7708 244 Posted January 7, 2014 Report Share Posted January 7, 2014 Great PIREP KAsper! You do have a knack for using odd aircrafts I'm also much calmer now that you've rescued the Baton Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now