SEATAC 400 Posted July 24, 2011 Report Share Posted July 24, 2011 On July 27, 1931, Charles and Ann Lindbergh set off on a flight to the Orient via the Northwest Passage through Canada and Alaska that Charles was surveying for the airlines. The purpose of the flight was to scout the Great Circle Route , the fastest route from New York to Tokyo, for use in commercial air routes. The aircraft they chose was the Lockheed Sirius, a land plane. It had a single 600-horsepower radial engine and was heavily modified for extended range and added pontoons for water landings, as there were not a lot of runways where they were going. The aircraft range was 2,000 miles. This is my attempt to recreate that journey. I have only a choice of two planes that can land on water. The Grumman Goose, which does not have sufficient range for some of the legs, and the Dornier Sea Scout, which does. So I chose the Dornier. I would prefer to fly this in a period plane, but I don’t have one. Yet! If I obtain before this journey is completed I'll switch planes. Anyway, I am flying at altitudes below 7,000 ft, as they did and I will use VOR’s and dead reckoning. I’ll post updates as I go. Leg one: Skyport Seaplane base (6N7) Long Island, New York to Moosonee, Ontario (Moose Factory Island). 697NM 4 hours Route: Leg_One_Route: Departure point: Destination: Take off and cruise were uneventful, though it was cloudy. When I got to Moosonee there was a 500 ft ceiling. Once I descended below that I could see the runway. Leg two: Moose Factory Island to Churchill on Hudson Bay. 942NM 6h 41m Route: Destination: Departed at dawn in cold, rainy weather. At Cruise: The fog at landing was as thick as pea soup. I was forced to ILS, which the Lindbergh’s did not have, to find the runway. Parked, and ready for the next leg. Link to post Share on other sites
Sabre 28 Posted July 24, 2011 Report Share Posted July 24, 2011 Nice post SEATAC, some good pictures in there. I look forward to following your journey. Should be lots of fun. Link to post Share on other sites
pacinka 0 Posted July 25, 2011 Report Share Posted July 25, 2011 Looks like a great adventure! Link to post Share on other sites
SEATAC 400 Posted July 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2011 Leg Three: Churchill on Hudson Bay to Baker Lake, Northwest Territories. 337NM 3H 40 M Route: Leg Three Route: Leg Three Destination: I am sorry, but I neglected to take and photos on this leg. Guess I was concentrating on the flying. However, the weather was fine today. No incidents or accidents to report. Please stay tuned and I promise there will be much more information and pictures for leg 4. I hope to aquire a new vintage aircraft soon with which to use on the journey. Over and out from Baker Lake, N.T. Link to post Share on other sites
SEATAC 400 Posted July 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2011 Leg four: Baker lake to Aklavik, Northwest Territories. 951NM 5h 33m Aklavik is located in the extreme Northwestern part of Canada. it is on the Mackenzie River Delta and there is only one airport. In the winter, the area may be reached via the ice Road, but when it melts in the summer, you can use the part of the river known as the Aklavik Water Aerodrome if you have a float plane. The population is only 645. Leg 4 Route: Leg destination: Loading up at Baker lake: Wheels up: Departure: Engine #2 shut down to conserve fuel. Speed dropped from 175 knots to 133 knots; Cruising Alt was 6,500 ft.: Nearing our destination you can see the desolation of the area. On final approach: Link to post Share on other sites
Sabre 28 Posted August 1, 2011 Report Share Posted August 1, 2011 Nice update. Seems like an interesting journey :001_th_smiles89: Link to post Share on other sites
SEATAC 400 Posted August 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2011 Leg five: Aklavik, Northwest Territories to Barrow, AK. 484NM 2h 57m This leg takes us to Barrow, AK in Northwestern Alaska. Our destination is the Wiley Post–Will Rogers Memorial Airport (PABR). The airport is named after famous aviator Wiley Post and the equally famous Will Rogers who, unfortunately, both died in a nearby plane crash while flying a survey route on August 15, 1935. It is the farthest north of any airport in US territory. While the airport has an asphalt runway and a tower which is manned full time, it did not exist in 1931. The Lindbergh's landed in the water just off the point, which is where I will land also before continuing on to the airport. Today's Route: Wiley Post - Will Rogers Meml Airport. The airport handles aircarft as large as a 737: Location of both: Wheels up. 59 degrees F and calm wind: Rain encountered: Enroute: Approaching Barrow, AK. The airport off to the left and the Lindbergh's actaul water landing spot to the right. Touchdown: Link to post Share on other sites
SEATAC 400 Posted August 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2011 Leg six: Barrow, AK to Nome, AK. 451NM 3h Leg six was intended to take the Lindbergh’s from Barrow, AK to Nome, AK. But with the setting sun, low fuel and fog-shrouded mountains, they were forced to land near Shishmaref Inlet, about 105 NM from Nome Airport where I landed. Leg 6 Route: Leg six destination: PAOM Nome Airport, AK There is a Pizza restaurant near the airport that is well known for offering free delivery. It uses Bering Air flights to deliver pizza to far-flung Alaskan villages for free. Now that what I call service! Engines running. ready to taxi. The cloud ceiling was 800 ft at takeoff, temp 39 F. Approaching Kotzebue Sound in Western Alaska. While over Kotzebue Sound I started losing oil pressure on engine two so I shut her down. Even though there were suitable airports to make an emergency landing, this plane is quite capable of flying on one engine so I continued on for the remaining 143 miles. Airspeed dropped from 181 kts to 143, but that was no problem. Flying over the Kigluaik Mountain Range, which is a forty two mile chain running from east to west along the Seward Peninsula. Mount Osborn is the highest peak in the range at 4,714 ft. Airport in sight with the Arctic sun beginning to get low on the horizon. Final approach. Parked near a couple of Alaskan Air 737’s. Will have to get a mechaninc to find the cause of the low oil pressure. Meanwhile, I’ll take the opportunity to explore the sights. But I think I shall not travel down this road. Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,498 Posted August 21, 2011 Report Share Posted August 21, 2011 Superb post Rich, I am really enjoying your adventure :icon_thumbup: Link to post Share on other sites
SEATAC 400 Posted August 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2011 Leg seven: Nome, AK to Karaginsky Island Russia. 916NM 5h 14m This next leg is a long one at more than 900NM, and it will push the limit of my plane’s range. Route: The direct route takes me along the coastline of Siberia for about half of the flight. Destination: Karaginsky Island is located in the Karaginsky Gulf of the Bering Sea, 40KM off the Kamchatka Peninsula separated by the Litke Strait. We departed at 15:40 GMT, which is dawn in Nome. It was 39 degrees Fahrenheit, clear with 50 miles visibility and a 10kt wind. Beautiful flying weather. Goodbye U.S.A. Next stop: Russia! As we approach the eastern coast of Siberia I do a fuel burn check and realize that I have burned half the fuel with roughly half of the trip ahead. So I decide to slow from 183 kts to 162 to drop the fuel burn. I’d hate to run out of fuel in the Bering Sea. Koryak Mountains in Siberia. As Karaginsky comes into sight I am down to 6% fuel. Crossing over the coast of Karaginsky I put the prop pitch back to max and give her some flaps as I descend to 2,000ft. The Eastern coast of Karaginsky. Litke Strait with the northeastern coast of Kamchatka, Russia off in the distance. This is our landing site as it is the more protected side of the island. At landing the wind was calm, the temp unseasonably warm at 60 degrees. We touched down on the West side of the island At landing I had 16.5 gallons (110 lbs) of fuel left. Now we will wait here for the fuel boat that I arranged to meet us and we’ll camp out over night on the island and get an early start the next day. Link to post Share on other sites
Sabre 28 Posted August 31, 2011 Report Share Posted August 31, 2011 Really enjoying this adventure. Nice update with some good shots Link to post Share on other sites
rabbitc 0 Posted August 31, 2011 Report Share Posted August 31, 2011 Doing something very simliar to this. So far - my legs have been: Hamilton (hometown startpoint) North Bay Moosonee Churchill Smith Falls Hay River (Go Buffalo!) Watson Lake Link to post Share on other sites
SEATAC 400 Posted September 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2011 Doing something very simliar to this. So far - my legs have been: Hamilton (hometown startpoint) North Bay Moosonee Churchill Smith Falls Hay River (Go Buffalo!) Watson Lake You should start your own posting and share the details. Link to post Share on other sites
rabbitc 0 Posted September 2, 2011 Report Share Posted September 2, 2011 Doing something very simliar to this. So far - my legs have been: Hamilton (hometown startpoint) North Bay Moosonee Churchill Smith Falls Hay River (Go Buffalo!) Watson Lake You should start your own posting and share the details. perhaps - time is not a luxury. simming is comparably flexible as I can keep checking in on the plane while dressing a 3-year-old, reading stories, cooking dinner, etc. Link to post Share on other sites
dodgy-alan 1,587 Posted September 4, 2011 Report Share Posted September 4, 2011 North to the Orient! By rabbit That journey must have taken some time! Bet the poor bunny was knackered!! :lol: Link to post Share on other sites
hurricanemk1c 195 Posted September 4, 2011 Report Share Posted September 4, 2011 Just read through this Rich - very nice shots! Link to post Share on other sites
SEATAC 400 Posted September 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2011 Update coming soon! Sorry for the long delay between PIREPS on this adventure, but there have been three primary obstacles preventing my flying. 1) Work. A lot of it. Late nights and weekends. This weekend should be back to normal so I should be able to get in some flying. 2) My USB hub died and so I had nowhere to plug in my controllers, flight panels, etc. New one arrived by FedEx last night so hopefully I can hook it up Saturday. 3) In-laws dog got sick and my wife and I volunteered to shuttle him around to emergency animal clinics and veterinarians. The bad news is he was diagnosed with pancreatitis and diabetes. The good news is he is recovering but will need insulin shots twice a day for the forseeable future as well as a myriad of other medications. He is a cute little Cairn Terrier who is not even three years old yet. Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,498 Posted September 16, 2011 Report Share Posted September 16, 2011 North to the Orient! By rabbit That journey must have taken some time! Bet the poor bunny was knackered!! :lol: Link to post Share on other sites
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