Dicey Delivery

[Quickmarch 488]

Here's an AH scenario for you:

 

I've started a new company in a strange land (Oz) and I'm doing my first exploratory 

flights. I'm keeping them fairly short and building rep as fast as possible so I'm picking 

several flights a day from the "Jobs" board. 

 

The latest looked sort of suspicious - a flight from YSCH - Coff's Harbour (RW=YCFS) to 

ZBBN. ZBBN? Not YBBN? Looked OK from the "Maps" in FSX - sort of downtown Brisbane. 

 

Now, I should have known better as I spent six months last year in Manly - a short train 

ride from downtown Brisbane. I don't recall a downtown airport.

 

I accepted the job and launched. About thirty miles from my destination, as the picture on 

the GPS got a bit better defined, I realised that the Ozzies designation for a water 

airport must start with a "Z". This flight terminated in the Brisbane RIVER. Nuts! I'm 

flying a C208 with wheels!

 

Fortunately, I recalled another Mutley's poster who had suffered the same embarrassment and 

solved his problem by landing on the beach beside the lake. 

 

I did a "low and slow" dragging the waterfront hoping for a nice park - no such luck! 

However, there was a big, wide, street running parallel to the river that looked mighty 

inviting. At the risk of throwing away my shiny new bird, I did a racetrack turn and lined 

up on final with full flaps and flying as slow as possible. You would never even think of 

doing this RW. Cars, pedestrians and wires come to mind as sure spoilers. I think if I had 

to do this - say engine out over a city like Brisbane, I'd go for the river.

 

Here are some pictures of the landing (which included delivery of my load) and a takeoff on 

Main Street with delivery and turnaround on Holman Street. At least I think it was Main St 

as it didn't look like James Warner Park. Also the Brisbane Jazz Club Bar was not at the 

end of Holman or I'd have dropped in for a drink. The scenery is ORBX Australia.

 

#1 - Turnaround on Holman (sorry - way too busy to take screenshots of the landing).

 

#2 - Takeoff going the opposite way on Main Street

 

#3 - Climbout - Cheated Death and Won Again! 

 

Don't try this with "Crash Detection" turned on.

[brett 2,316]

Shhh, we don't want Slopey to take away that trick in AH2.  Funny shots, wonder what the Council Ranger's would have done if they caught you.

[Gunner 69]

Lol, you figured out that nicely!

[allardjd 1,853]

Improvise and overcome, a phrase Brett should have a good understanding of...

 

John

[brett 2,316]

Oorah. 

[Corsaire31 419]

Nice story and well done !

When on the jobs board, I always have a look at  the lower left window where it gives details of airfields departure and arrival when I don't know the place. Tells the heading, length, type and altitude of runways and if they have ILS and lights.( It should have shown a runway altitude of 0 and the type should have been "water"). 

[Quickmarch 488]

Thanks for the advice, Loic,

My problem is one of being too familiar with AH and the area that I fly in (PNW-based at CYCD).

The new company, Bunyip Air, was put together to experiment with the ORBX Australia scenery. Bunyip is based at Coff's Harbour on the east coast. The chief pilot is a character by the name of "Cane Toad" Carruthers. I expected him to be conversant with the airport designations.

This whole scenario was not my original idea. I read about another AirHauler who solved e same sort of problem a year or so ago when he landed on the beach to deliver cargo to a water airport. There is another that was quite amusing; an AirHauler accepted a flight to a helipad - unfortunately, he was flying a Lear.