The  VFR Club |
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| Picture Galleries |
No. 08-04
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| Screenshots and occasional real world photographs of Club Events and activities |
17/08/08
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| Home > Pictures > Gallery 0804 | |
| The VFR Club |
|
| Picture Galleries |
No. 08-04
|
| Screenshots and occasional real world photographs of Club Events and activities |
17/08/08
|
| Home > Pictures > Gallery 0804 | |
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AirVenture Adventure
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| EAA Airventure, the world's biggest airshow, takes place at Oshkosh Wisconsin at the end of July. A small but intrepid band of club members decided to go and check it out... | |||
| Click on each picture to show a large version. To return to the gallery, simply click BACK. | |||
| Pictures submitted by Tim Arnot, Al Regina, Peter Dodds, Matt Scott | |||
| The route took us across the Atlantic -- hopping from island to island: Faroes, iceland, Greenland, until we reached canada at Goose Bay. Then we followed the great St Lawrence River inland to Sept Isles, Quebec City, Toronto (from where we had an excursion to visit the Niagara falls), Grand Rapids, and finally to Oshkosh. |  |
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| Part 1: Carlisle
to Wick EGNC - TLA - LANAK - CBN - INS - BONBY - EGPC (247nm) Alt: FL65/FL55 Weather: A little bit IMC |
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| Every flight starts with the aircraft A Check, even if you have to climb the fence to do it! This is Tony Meredith's freeware Carlisle scenery. | As I start my taxi, Pete C appears in the overhead. He's flown in all the way from Shoreham! By the time I'm doing my power checks, he's on final, so it's only polite to wait at the hold for him to vacate... | Climbing out. You can just about make out Peter D backtracking, and Pete C on the apron. | Getting ready to descend into Wick. Although we're now in VMC, I decide still to have a go at the procedure. This is a Direct Arrival to VOR/DME 31, and it involves an 8 mile DME arc. Never done one of those before, and, well, frankly, the less said about it, the better! |
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| After a bit of whistling quietly, we end up on final | Not sure I want to get out of the plane! | Thanks to an altercation with the autopilot earlier in the flight, Peter managed to overtake me, and arrived first. I wonder if he knows something about the weather I dont...? | To Wick... |
| Part 2: Wick to Vagar EGPC - WIK - AB - VG - EKVG (250nm) Alt: FL100 Weather: Somewhat IMC |
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| Holding at the runway for Peter to take off. Basil takes a bit of a short cut across the grass! | Climb to FL100 (about 10500ft with the QNH at 996) and settle into the cruise. Now I just need to figure how to stop the Ram Air from kicking out, and we might get there a little faster... | The Faroes. We're going for the LLZ-DME approach to runway 31, and through the clouds we get glimpses of small islands, sheer cliffs, boats, little villages... | Maintain 4000ft until 9.5DME on the localiser. We're definitely IMC - this is canyon flying... blind! |
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| Popping out of the cloud, a little high on the approach | Basil taxies in in the Baron | A nice feature in FSX is that you can look over the
shoulder of other traffic, and there just happene to be a 757 passing
the Faroes at 35000ft. Vagar is at the top right of the archipelago. |
Al arrives, somewhat high on the approach, and adopts
the traditional nose dive tactic... (don't ever think nobody is
watching!!) |
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| Parked up on the apron. At least Peter's got rid of the floats from his Twin Otter, but I'm not sure I'd fancy crossing the Atlantic with the back door missing! | Climbing Out from Wick. Tim (with smoke) and Basil behind. | Loc/DME Approach. Breaking cloud - almost bang on! Left a tyre print on a nearby hill though. After I complained, Tim read the procedure "Do not descend below 4000 ft until 10DME". Hmph! Pilot error again! | Tim arrives, still smoking. Doesn't he know it damages your health? |
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| Tim's Mooney is a DC3. No wonder 2-4-Cix are having
such problems getting the right aircraft to display!! |
Its 2.00 a.m. and we are thinking it's time we went to
bed. Then Al
arrives (that's his landing light, not a UFO) and the chat starts all
over again!! |
Not many people live in the Faroes. Tonight the population went up by 5% due to our arrival. | To Vagar... |
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| Matt Arrived in Vagar (in fog) | |||
| Part 3: Vagar to
Reykjavik EKVG - ING - BIRK (416nm) Alt: FL100 Weather: Wet & windy |
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| Heading to Reykjavik | Over Iceland | Ross landing at iceland | It's absolutely widdling down at Vagar, with 20 kts straight across the runway. So it's going to be a fun take off. Not sure whether to believe the spray or the wind sock though... |
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| Fortunately
FS doesn't model curl off the hills, or we
could be in some serious trouble! |
Wheels up. No time to be looking at the picturesque little villages. | Gonna try to climb above this lot. It's headwinds all the way, but it might be better at some altitudes than others. | Sea. Lots of sea. |
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| Iceland finally comes into view, and the ING VOR, which we've been tracking for the last hour. | The
approach to the airport is right over the town |
Al
arrives on final a few minutes behind me. |
Matt Climbing out from Vagar, breaking through the fog |
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| En route | Still en route  |
Coasting in | On final |
| Part 4: Reykjavik
to Narsarsuaq BIRK - KEF - NW - BGBW (670nm) Alt: FL120 Weather: BIRK: 07013 9000 RA OVC025 13/12 Q0987 BGBW: 25009 9999 FEW040 BKN180 15/07 Q1005 |
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| Rain. Don'tcha love it? Departure from runway 13, and
we're straight into the clag. A right turn takes us out ober the
Keflavik VOR, which we're going to track for the first part of the trip
across the ocean. |
Pretty soon we have black ocean beneath us, and this is the view for the next four hours or so. | A freak clear bit! Actually we're closing on the Greenland coast. Notice the icebergs... | A step climb to FL120 should take us safely over the ice shelf, which reaches well over 9000ft! |
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| That's what happens when you're concentrating on getting speed out of the plane! We've only got 25nm to go, and are at the top of descent, so hopefully we'll make it... | Oh
crud! 8DME and the engine splutters to a halt! Forget the NDB approach,
this is goind to be a glide straight in to 25... |
I
think we'll make it... |
Phew!
Made it onto the runway, and off at the first exit. Didn't quite make
it to the hold though. Fortunately Harry had arrived some minutes
before me, and was able to help push the plane onto the apron. |
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| Time
for a quick snap, before it's off to see the CFI for a "tea without
biscuits" chat. Tomorrow's leg is even longer, so I need to rethink the
fuel strategy before then... |
Saying good-bye to Iceland | Did I mention the Water? | ... let's talk sky |
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| Fuel is getting real low as we fly over Greenland: | Scenery... | Fun in the hills: | Using the NDB 07-1 Approach heading 285 for 2 minutes |
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then we swing back on heading 083 to pick up runway 07 (with a crazy tail wind!) |
Vataware showing my attempt at the approach
(...practice makes perfect - Oh Good! I need more practice  ) |
Arrived at Narsassuaq after a 4hr 50 minute flight from Reykjavik. I elected for the visual approach up the fjord, mainly because I have done it before and familiarity removes at least one variable. | |
| Part 5:
Narsarsuaq to Goose Bay BGBW - JC - YYR - CYYR (679nm) Alt: FL120 Weather: Not so bad |
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| into
Goose Bay... first saying good day to Greenland: |
Here we go ... 4 hours of water ... and hoping my track is right (a slight variation could be disastrous) | Reaching Labrador: | My DME arc ! |
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| and on final: | Lake Melville is the way into Canada for us. | The seat where the Crate of Biscuits was before I had to leave them behind for Ross at Narsarsuaq. Lake Melville through the windows. | Base turn for Goose Bay |
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| Short final over pine trees and power lines | Welcome to Canada | Departure from Narsarsuaq. Having had my "interview without biscuits" on arrival, I get back to the crew room to discover Ross has departed for Canada with the company supply packed in his luggage! Grrr.... | Climbing
out. Mysteriously, the Lumberjack Song keeps playing on the iPod. Dunno
why! |
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| Even in the height of Summer, the ice is not far away | Back seat view of the inside of a cloud! | For the next three hours, blue above, and blue below... | Coasting in over Newfoundland and Labrador |
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| Happy Valley-Goose Bay is at the far end of Lake Melville. Just when you thought the water had ended, there's more of it! | Final approach. Look, we've still got quarter tanks! See! | About 20 minutes later, Al arrives, despite setting off nearly two hours after me. I really do have the world's slowest Mooney! Anyone got a turbo kit? | |
| Part 6:
Goose Bay to Sept-Isles CYYR - CYZV (286nm) Alt: 6500ft Weather: Well, it started out okay.. |
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| Taxying out to the hold, and Peter's already taking the runway. I see he's got floats again - he obviously knows something about the weather! | Taking the runway | Levelled out at 6500ft, and already Harry is overtaking me in the Baron! | A sign of things to come... The METAR for our destination is 090 12G22 4SM -RA BR OVC005 17/17 A3025 |
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| Yuk! Solid IMC-ville! Here I'm established on the ILS, about 8 miles out, having started with the RNAV procedure, since the YZV DME was inop! | Eventually there's some downwards visibility, and I can see some boats on the river below | Finally the runway appears, and we're clear to land | Harry overtook Peter at 8000 feet en route to Sept Iles. Note the solid undercast. Forecast of things to come... |
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| I think I'm established on the ILS at Baie Comeau - at least I hope so. What do they say? Always trust your instruments in IMC. | Aha! Is that a set of approach lights I see before me? | My home made procedure for the ILS to runway 10. There was an NDB to help orientation in the base turn. Worked quite well until I engaged the autopilot in Approach mode and it introduced the wobble you can see at about 8DME. | Al was able to pick up the DME (114.5) about 193nm out from Sept-Illes: Here is his 12 DME arc into 09: |
| Part 7:
Sept-Isles to Quebec/Lesage CYZV - YBC - CYQB (290nm) Alt: 6500ft Weather: Improving.. |
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| Rain, rain, go away... |
Downwind on our departure leg,
and already the airport is disappearing from sight |
Patches of blue, just there to
taunt! |
Cruising altitude puts us
between cloud layers. Which is nice. Still raining though! |
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| That's better! the weather's clearing nicely now |
I'm still going to take the VOR-DME approach though -
for the practice if nothing else! I'm on the 25DME YQB arc between
DUNRA and APDAS |
Montmerency, and the pont de Île d'Orléans a Québec. RW, it's a nice looking suspension bridge (looks quite impressive in pictures with the river iced up!). In FS, it's a slab. Sigh! | Harry and Peter pose for the obligatory group photo at
the end of the trip! |
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8: Quebec/Lesage to Toronto/Buttonville CYQB - YMX - YOW - VIE - CYKZ (381nm) Alt: 4500ft Weather: Good ... Bad ... Good |
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| Ready for
departure. Check there are no aircraft on final before taking the runway |
Lining up,
runway 24 |
Au revoir
Quebec! |
Solid IMC
near Montreal |
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| Ottawa
merely has poor visibility! |
Turning
final for Buttonville, rwy 33 |
Holding off... Just for fun, I'm landing with take off flaps set, which makes for a faster, longer landing. | Sunrise out of Quebec |
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| About 7nm from the field | 2nd attempt to get her down!! we got there in the end, evel cross wind i think its was over the limit for the aircarft ? opps | Yeah I'm
going to find the hotel, I'm not doing the next leg in this  |
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| Part 9:
Toronto/Buttonville to St Catherines/Niagara District CYKZ - CYSN (48nm) Alt: 2000ft Weather: Get in while it's good |
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| There are thunder storms forecast for later, so an early start is called for. It's just a | Departing Buttonville |
About to coast out over the lake, Toronto's CBD in the
distance. |
Visibility over the lake is poor, with no distinct
horizon -- I could almost be crossing the English Channel! Pearson is
keeping us below 2000ft, although I'd prefer to be much higher! |
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| 30 minutes after setting off, and we are approaching
Naigara Falls |
Canadian side... |
American side... | There are some interesting looking bridges along the river, which I'll have to come back and "revisit" another time.. LOL |
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| Some snaps of Buttonville with some fancy FS9 scenery... | |||
| Meanwhile, Al paid a visit to Niagara Falls RW.... | |||
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| Hotel window view: | The US side: | Night shot: | Close-up: |
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10: St Catherines/Niagara District to Grand Rapids/Gerald R Ford CYSN - YSU - FNT - KGRR (285nm) Alt: 4500ft Weather: On a good day, you can see the wing tips |
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| Taking off
from St Catherines |
Interesting to see that in Canada they even have drive-through American Football fields... | Crossing the
Canada-US border at Port Huron. From here we picked up flight following
from Cleveland Centre. |
Descending
into Grand Rapids |
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| Final
approach to runway 26 left. Don't land on the numbers - the runway is 2
miles long, and GA parking is at the far end! |
The gang arrives | Wow we have good weather 1st time I think | Trip to the Falls |
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| More Falls | Mr Dodds has
arrived, What was the max wight for club aircraft  |
After a hasty download of the Twin Otter all lined up for a mug shot. | |
| part
11: Grand Rapids/Gerald R Ford to Oskosh/Wittman Regional KGRR - RIPON - FISK - KOSH (171nm) Alt: 4500ft Weather: Hazy |
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| Lining up at Grand Rapids. In the background, Chris and Al are taxying to the hold | Coasting out over lake Michigan |
Six little Cixen, all in a row... | Overhead
Ripon. Now I wonder which way... |
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| Following the railway tracks to Fisk | About to turn downwind for runway 27 | Flying circuits like this is easy! | Final to land on the yellow spot. Notice the Dash-8 at the hold, who waited patiently for us all to land (top man!) |
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| The
obligatory line up. Ice cream and candy floss all round!!! |
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updated 17/08/08
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