stu7708 244 Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 "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 can be decieving. While the paint is rather worn she's just been returned from a complete overhaul. New engines, and we also got the HUGS system retro-fitted. But we kind of like the wear and tear of the paint so we opted not to fix that at the same time. As we boarded via the airstairs I told the captain of my wish to be the PF for the flight. Captain: Sure thing, I'll join you as PNF in the cockpit, and since we only have cargo onboard for the flight my First Officer can get some shut-eye in one of the First Class seats. As we took our seats on the flight deck the Captain handed me the flight plan. and a ground handler appeared to hand over the load sheet After a quick pre-flight we proceeded to start our engines Considering the tight fit at our parking space, no push-back was possible, so we started taxiing to the active Holding short for traffic Lift of for Joker Flight 77 Passing some low clouds on the way up to FL 330 Just before we left Kazakhstan airspace ATC relayed a message to me, saying that the fisherman was recovering well and that I had a standing invitaion to visit him should I ever return to Kazakhstan. As we proceeded into Uzbekistan the sun started to set behind us.... and the moon started to rise in front of us Turning right to heading 139 over the city of Nukus, the 6th largest city in Uzbekistan Following the border between Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, closing in on the second turn of the flight plan over the city of Urgench, captial city of the Khorezm Province in eastern Uzbekistan... Is that a bubble coming out of the tail fin!! Ah, no it's the moon. What was I thinking... As we start our decsent darkness starts to set in By the time we were decsending through FL200 it was pitch black outside. Level at FL120, preparing for an ILS approach to runway 01 Let's light up the outside of our aircraft Not to comfortable with the alignment of the ILS. Turn off the autopilot please, I'll do this manually Looking better, almost there. Down safe and sound, but we need to back-track on the runway in order to exit. Looks like they turned on all the lights around the ATWC hangar so I could find it, but someone else is parked there! Just as good, a 738 won't fit in there anyway. I wonder if it's Kieran that parked his Lear in the Hangar.. Ready to shut her down. Engine 2 spooling down Parked by the Hangar ready to shut her down for the night. As I get out and walk over to the Hangar to drop off the baton Joker Air gives us a final grin goodbye. That's it for this leg, time to hand the baton over to Kieran. Link to post Share on other sites
hurricanemk1c 195 Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Superb shots Mikael - love the lighting on the PMDG NGX! Right, I'd better get flying.... Link to post Share on other sites
rosariomanzo 545 Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Enjoyed this leg, amazing shots and captivating commentary. Link to post Share on other sites
Kasper 14 Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Great shots Mikael. Nice story and like that you include the pre-flight documents. Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,498 Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Another superb account of your flight Micke, very enjoyable. Link to post Share on other sites
stu7708 244 Posted October 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Thanks guys Always great to hear that others like what I put together.. Will get the departure board updated tomorrow. Got a very busy day at work today. Link to post Share on other sites
brett 2,316 Posted November 1, 2012 Report Share Posted November 1, 2012 Your goood! Enjoyed the read and pic's, Link to post Share on other sites
SEATAC 400 Posted November 1, 2012 Report Share Posted November 1, 2012 Well done! Link to post Share on other sites
stu7708 244 Posted November 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2012 Link to post Share on other sites
ddavid 149 Posted November 2, 2012 Report Share Posted November 2, 2012 Some good atmospheric screenshots there, Micke - nice dialog, too! Thanks for sharing. BTW, what books do you read whilst the FMC handles the flight, or shouldn't I ask?!? Cheers - Dai. :cool; Link to post Share on other sites
needles 1,013 Posted November 3, 2012 Report Share Posted November 3, 2012 Great Micke, well done. I am already thinking of my story line for my flight in the far east. Link to post Share on other sites
rob16584 42 Posted November 3, 2012 Report Share Posted November 3, 2012 Excellent leg Micke, best PIREP so far Link to post Share on other sites
stu7708 244 Posted November 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2012 Thanks Guys. @Dai: I tend to spend the flight chatting to my FO and asking that fine looking flight attendant to bring me more tea or food.. and then there's the task of taking the screenshots Link to post Share on other sites
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