Leg 1: Southampton to Bilbao

[Edward Longe 3]

So here we are! The challange has begun.First off all may I thank Joe for giving me the honours of flying this leg. :biggrin: . Anways At 1540 DHL 01 left Southampton bound for the Spanish city of Bilbao. On board was a very important piece of Cargo that will gradully make its way around the globe. I am of course talking about the Baton! Anyway here is my flight plan:

EGHI (0.0nm) -DCT-> KAPEX (25.0nm) -UN621-> BEVEL (41.4nm) -UN621->

MARUK (52.1nm) -UN621-> LELNA (68.0nm) -UN621-> DOMOK (83.5nm) -UT260->

DIN (151.8nm) -UN862-> GODAN (208.7nm) -UN862-> TERPO (226.4nm) -UT176->

DESAB (327.0nm) -UN867-> NENEM (434.1nm) -UP152-> BADRU (458.4nm) -DCT->

LEBB (485.0nm)

Flight Time: 1.5 (1hr 30mis)

Here are the shots:

Loading the baton!

And it is with great honour I pass the Baton onto Rob who will be taking it up to Courcheval

[allardjd 1,853]

Nice looking photos, Edward. We're off!

It looks like you pulled off a decent landing.

John

[rob16584 42]

And we're off, a good post to get us on our way!

Thanks Ed, I'll start planning my flight now

[Edward Longe 3]

It looks like you pulled off a decent landing.

Well the Weather wasn't exactly brilliant and the 727 is a nightmare at slow speeds. A very nice approach btw at Bilbao.

[Aircraft Aviation 2]

It looks like you pulled off a decent landing.

Well the Weather wasn't exacley brilliant and the 727 is a nightmare at slow speeds. A very nice approch btw at Bilbao.

What are you on about! The 727 can travel at INCREDIBLY low speeds for a Jet, approaching at just over 90 knots... You can't blame that for its poor handling!

Nice shots too, love the wingview one.

Can't wait for my leg!

[mutley 4,498]

:atwc:

Ed, what can I say? superb shots and a great start to the challenge, I can still smell the burning rubber!!

Well Done :smile:

[Edward Longe 3]

Thanks Joe. I'll defintially will bid for some more flights. And send the reward points quickley, I need a Carenado add on!!!

[allardjd 1,853]

A friend tells me that the 727 has a bad habit - if the pitch angle/angle of attack is too high it has a tendency to affect airflow into the center engine and you lose power. Can anyone confirm or deny?

John

[rob16584 42]

It's quite a dangerous aircraft to get low and slow in with a high angle of attack. With the weight of the engines at the back if they start to dip too much it's very difficult get her straight and level again! I would expect that the airflow would be affected because the engine wouldn't have a clean flown of air through it due to the fuselage being in the way

[wisemanp 0]

Great start Ed! Nice view of Southampton Docks and a great approach too. Thanks for getting ATWC III under way!

[rosariomanzo 545]

Wonderful shots, I think I will use the 727 for my leg, too.

And btw, I do agree, the '27 isn't quite handy at low speeds. According to the performance charts, you must use sustained speeds as vref, even with no payload (vref at flaps 30 varies from 117kias to 152kias depending on gross weight). And more, the manual says, as per every back-mounted engines, to perform a sort of power-on landing. If you cutoff the engines on the fence, you'll see your aircraft falling down with no control. So you put the engines on idle only after the flare has been established. And, AA, at 90kias you are on ground! :smile:

[stu7708 244]

A great start to this adventure Ed.

Can't wait for my turn.

[hurricanemk1c 195]

Superb start to the challenge!

[Edward Longe 3]

Thanks for all the comments guys, it was a nice leg to fly with a very scenic approach into Bilbao. Rob, I entrust the baton with you now!

[ddavid 149]

Thanks for starting us off, Ed - great choice of AC! Don't worry about the sniping - 'burning rubber', landing speed, so forth - they're all jealous that they didn't have the honour of being first! Well done, mate. :nea:

Now then, just an observation and not a criticism (Honest - Ed) - could we have a bit more commentary, please? You know John's posts (remember Casablanca?!?) and mine too, tend to have a bit more description of the flight. Maybe it's because we're old codgers (You don't say! - Ed) but a bit of text to balance the screen shots IMHO enhances the presentation...... Nuff said. :great:

Anyways, great start, now on with the action!

Cheers - Dai.

[CaptHill 0]

Great start to the challenge!

I look forward to watching this first section unfold!

The wing view is brilliant

[mutley 4,498]

Now then, just an observation and not a criticism (Honest - Ed) - could we have a bit more commentary, please? You know John's posts (remember Casablanca?!?) and mine too, tend to have a bit more description of the flight. Maybe it's because we're old codgers (You don't say! - Ed) but a bit of text to balance the screen shots IMHO enhances the presentation...... Nuff said.

The commentary is a big part of the PIREP in our view and can transform a few screenshots into a real entertaining post.

Cheers

[Edward Longe 3]

Thanks for the feedback David. If I get some other legs I will include some commentary.

[ddavid 149]

That'd be great, Ed - thanks for that!

Cheers - Dai.

[AirbusLad 0]

Lovely looking stuff Ed! Gr8 to be on the way