Leg 88 - Khartoum, Sudan (HSSS) to Alexandria, Egypt (HEAX)

[ddavid 149]

Leg 88 - Khartoum, Sudan (HSSS) to Alexandria, Egypt (HEAX)

Welcome, one and all, to the final Leg of the African Adventure phase of Mutley's ATWC!

Again, we travel back in time, to those halcyon days of yore, when Imperial

Airways ruled the waves with their flying boats:

We'll be flying from the sweltering banks of the White Nile, at Khartoum (Sudan) to the sunny shores of the Mediterranean Sea

at Alexandria (Egypt) following a slightly modified Imperial Airways route:

We'll be stopping briefly at Wadi Halfa, on Lake Nasser, and continue across south eastern Egypt, to the Red Sea. Then up to

the Suez Canal and westwards, after Port Said, to Alexandria.

We pick up the story, as our Short Empire 'boat, Cleopatra, approaches Khartoum, Captain Rupert Thriters, at the helm:

Nip ashore and get the post, Number One - and get the re-fuelling organised.

Aye-Aye, Skipper!

Now that's a turn up for the books, Skipper! We've been given a couple of extra duties - by the Authorities, no less!

Not another delivery to our old friends in 14 Squadron - their Wellesleys are always falling foul of the blasted sand.....

Got it in one, Skipper - but, there's another package we've got to take under our wing -

some secret weapon component, to be delivered to Section 33B in Alexandria.... Here, take a look.....

What's this - A.T.W.C. - does that mean anything to you, Number One?

I dunno - how about, mmm, Anti Torpedo Warning Canister? - must be clever....

The pilots discuss the possible military applications of the ATWC baton, but soon lose interest - the offending article is

stowed. Soon, pre-flight checks are under way and, when completed, we're off.....

I say, Skipper. Did I show you those photo's my cousin Earnest sent me from Cairo? Oh, gosh! No, not those -

these are much more interesting!

Look, here's a formation of Wellesleys over the pyramids:

And there's one of the blighters to starboard, Number One - designed by that Barnes Wallis chap that built the

R100 - some sort of geodetic internal strut stuff...:

Must be from 14 Squadron - out of Wadi Halfa, about 20 miles east of our rendezvous

Which is where we find ourselves, sometime later that morning:

After delivering the Wellesley spares, we're off again, northwards up Lake Nasser, to Abu Simbel.....

Look, ladies and gentlemen, there's the Abu Simbel monument:

Most impressive, Number One, first you build the largest mass concrete dam in the world, and then you have to

rescue the bl**dy temples before they submerge!!

Mind you, Skipper, the tourist trade has made our job more rewarding, eh? Oh, and are you ready for coffee -

I'll give Sharon a yell...

It's not long, before we're approaching the Upper Aswan Dam, that holds back the Nile and has created Lake Nasser:

Here's your coffee, Captain Thriters..... and here's the tiddly one.....

Sharon means the older, Lower Aswan Dam, built a lot earlier. A little ways further north, we come to a large sttlement by

the Nile. Along with the fishing boats:

There's a date plantation, with the dates getting ready for next Christmas:

Course change to Nor-Nor-East, Skipper - we should reach the Red Sea in just over the hour...

Take over, would you Algie, I'm off to stretch my legs and visit the galley......

And Number One, the Right Honourable Algernon Swanscombe Preece, is left alone on the flight deck.....

Good Afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, we're about to reach the Red Sea -

that's Quseir below:

And we'll be flying north to reach Suez in less than two hours.....

Here's Shadwan Island, just off the tip of the Sinai Peninsula:

And that's the Gebel Qarnel Kalesh range of mountains, to the east of Cairo:

Don't you just wish you were down there, Captain? Nice starched, white uniform, and all those rich passengers?

No thanks, Miss S., I'm happy enough up here with the 'boat and all....

Soon, we are approaching the city of Suez, which is at the southern end of the Suez canal:

Now, as Wikepedia states:

The Universal Suez Ship Canal Company (French: Compagnie universelle du canal maritime de Suez) was the French

corporation which constructed the Suez Canal between 1859 and 1869. France was the majority shareholder, with Egypt also

holding a significant stake until financial crisis forced Isma'il Pasha to sell his shares to the British government. Formed

by Ferdinand de Lesseps in 1858, the company operated the canal until its nationalization by Nasser in 1956, which led to the

Suez Crisis.

And it certainly revolutionised sea traffic in the nineteenth century. Here's the Naval Dockyard, at Suez:

The Canal is split by the Great Bitter Lake, seen here with a U.S. aircraft carrier en-route to the east:

Captain Thriters returns to the flight deck -

I'll take over, Algy - get yourself some grub. We'll be getting near Alex in a couple of hours, so you've got until then.

Thanks, Skipper - I'm really quite peckish. Now then, what have we here, eh?

The R. H. Algernon has spotted the Egyptian Air Force base at Fayid:

This city, Isma'iliya, was founded in 1863 as the headquarters for construction of the Suez Canal and was named after the Khedive Ismail, the ruler at the time.

After the Great Bitter Lake, we enter the northern section:

How is she doing, Number One?

Everything in order, Skipper. Looks like plenty of cargo coming and going down there

Mmmm... And here's Port Said on the port side....

With the Med ahead, we meet a change in the weather:

Flying due west, now, with the Nile delta laid out beside us:

Alex ahead, 15miles, Skipper

And, within minutes, we're losing altitude over Alexandria's main harbour:

Take her in easy, now, Number One - and mind that bar ...

Touching down in the lagoon....

Glad to see you haven't lost your touch, Number One! Looks like our transport awaits us:

I'll start the re-fuelling, Skipper and join you at the Windsor Palace later.

Thanks for that - I'll have a G and T ready for you, Algy. By the way, Number One - what happened to that blue canister - don't forget to bring it with you - we don't want to disappoint anybody, do we?

Roger, that - Skipper - see you later.

And that is where we leave our crew - at the lagoon, in Alexandria. Just a short ride from the majestic Windsor Palace hotel,

where the brown soup is the speciality of the house.....

Thank you for bearing with me during this flight. A mixture of old and new, something borrowed etc Just a little postscript:

The Short Empire is by Jens B. Kristensen (AVSIM) and the Wellesley from The Padbury Aircraft Hanger;

Scenery from a variety of sources, mainly AVSIM (all FS2004 but work in FSX - just!)

B/W photo's from the book about 230 Squadron.

And that's it - Happy New Year! Europe here we come (You have been warned, Ed).

[dgor 0]

Briliant Dai! Just what we've come to expect from you, fabulous shots and a commentary and background story to match :sad: Really loved it, well done!

[allardjd 1,853]

Outstanding, Dai! What a lot of effort that must have been. The vintage advertising poster and the doctored up map really set the scene, as did the old photos. Are you in one of them? :sad:

I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it and the banter between the crew was great. The Wellesley's were pretty neat, and I know the shot of one flying off your wing doesn't just happen by accident. Sometimes, it's difficult to make it happen intentionally.

I always look forward to your posts and this one was right up there with the best of them. Thanks for all the work you put in on this - I know it took some time to put this one together. It was a great way to cap off the African Adventure. On to Europe... (Voice from back seat - "...are we there yet?")

:star :star :star :star :star :ap:

John

[A320cap 0]

:clap: :clap:

:sad: :good :ap:

The emoticons say it all :thumb:

[mutley 4,498]

Dai.

Now you are just showing off! That was brilliant. We seem to have a time machine hereabouts!

A very well researched flight and a great example of your story-telling skills, I always learn something from your posts (How to stifle yawns! Er...that's enough of that talk..Ed!)

Thanks to Rupert and Algie the flight was flown by the book and arrived safe. I met the guys at the Majestic, I had some Kedgeree and Mango Chutney along with a cup of the finest Earl Grey. They have safely handed over the ready for the next section!

A classy way to finish Adventure Africa Dai, I think this has been one of our most creative and entertaining sections yet.

The European Expedition will be announced officially in the next few days, we can all have a breather whilst we get used to the idea of 2008 :sad:

Cheers

[reef 3]

Fantastic!! :wacky:

steve

[TapA321 0]

Fantastic leg, Dai. I loved all the shots, and the extra real life photos, drawings etc. were a perfect addition. Well done! :good