So here I am in my Virtual world, tasked with ferrying a Beechcraft Royal Duke from San Jose Del Cabo on the south coast of Baja, to Leeds in the Uk via the northern Atlantic Route.  Quite a trip in real time weather and of course, real time.

So set out from San Jose in darkness, even though it is almost noon in the UK.  Heading northwest to San Diego for the first leg, some 660 miles or so,

Will I make it or run foul of the shocking weather on route, it is a very unforgiving flight.  Tried it last year from Leeds to Fort Lauderdale in a single engine Piper Comanche 250 and it did not end well, got forced down into an icelandic fjord due to airframe icing.  Lived to tell the tale, but more by luck than management after dropping the nose over the lip of the fjord, stall warning blaring in a desperate bid for airspeed and warmer air.

Home to make it by the new year as I will have more time to fly over the xmas hols.



Route.



Headed northwest at 14000ft over the Baja Peninsular.  14000ft is a good compromise between fuel burn and sighseeing opportunities.  Royal Duke has twin PT6 turbines and is equipped for flight into known icing conditions.

 

6AM local time with 200 miles to run, and the sun is about to come up.  No need for the panel lights anymore, so I turned them off.
Halfway point and a quick fuel calculation.  Fuel was going to be very tight, cutting into my reserves, so took her up to 18000ft to drop the fuel burn a little, from 40gph per side to 36gph.  Landed on the northern runway at San Diego, by the light aviation ramp.  Good lord, San Diego is a HUGE sprawling airport.

6AM local time with 200 miles to run
  

On the ground on a very misty morning at San Diego


 

and I'm guessing you saved on shipping pistons for your 175.

Man i'm riveted to this post now.

Is that storage compartment where you keep your helmet!

Now I’m very curious, is this a real life fly or the simulated?
Sure does look real…

Simulated, about as real as it gets.  If you were in my latest rig, relying on its retina level VR resolution and vibration alone, you would not be sure whether you were in a real aircraft or not.

Pretty amazing.  I often feel the need to pinch myself to see if I am dreaming.  Everything about flying a real life aircraft except the expense. Although has to be said simming at this level is not cheap either.  I spend more on it than I do my three bikes.

Yes, it all appears so real.
Thank you for sharing!

So here I am at stupid o clock on a very misty San Diego apron. My jacket is wet, my hair is wet, the aircraft is wet and it is decidedly miserable.Still, I have a job to do. I have planned to fly from San Diego, California to the Dwight D Eisenhower airport, Wichita, Kansas. A distance of some 1012 nautical miles.It is doable, but I will need rely on my 100 gallons in the ferry tank and keep a very close eye on fuel consumption along the way.Funny how the mind works, I find myself with an annoying earworm, humming “carry on my wayward son” as I climb into the cockpit and start the pre start checks.Cold, dark and decidedly damp..

 I get her fired up, get my taxi clearance to head to the approach end of runway 27. Still humming the earworm, I check the direction indicator, decide which way to go for 27 and sally forth.
I run along the taxiway, runway to my right, reach the approach end of the runway and turn towards the hold. The runway light boards tell their sorry tale. runway 09 to my left and runway 27 to the right.
Diddle, I have taxied to runway 09, what a plonker. So I take the backtracking taxi of shame to the end of runway 27.Finally, runway 27, 3AM local time, 11:05 UTC, about to set engine torque and prop settings before takeoff. Gotta ensure that I do not bust the max torque or overheat the turbines.

 Initial climb out to 14,000ft and let the ground speed settle before doing a quick and dirty, mental fuel burn calc. Not great, time to destination vs fuel burn means that I will reach Wichita with around 20 gallons fuel reserve or about 14 minutes of flight time. Nowhere near enough of a buffer if the airport is closed and I need to divert.14000ft is not going to cut it.
 I need at least 40 gallons reserve, so it I need to climb into thinner air and hopefully better winds.I start a slow cruise climb to 20,000ft and settle down again. Another quick and dirty fuel calc. I have the 1/2 hour reserve endurance I wanted - just, but I am hardly fat. Time to make another decision, I climb to 24,000ft to see what happens. A quick calc, I will have 60 gallons remaining. Great. Happy bunny.24,000ft and I am suddenly fat with fuel. Sightseeing has gone out the window. 3 hours to destination.

We drone on. Just sat there monitoring everything as I try to read a book on my kindle, aircraft on autopilot.6 AM local, dawn is approaching rapidly and I see we now have now burned enough fuel from the mains to transfer 50 gallons to each wing tank from the ferry tank.
Fuel transfer excitement over, we drone on and I pick up my kindle again.Dawn approaching rapidly.

 A completely uneventful hour later, the sun is streaming into my eyes, dazzling me. I recall my sunglasses are in my flight case, which is in the forward baggage compartment. Oh well, at least this aircraft is fitted with polarising sun visors.Polarising sunvisor suitably placed and drama is over. Such is the riveting lifestyle of the ferry pilot.We drone ever onwards..


30 minutes to run, I get a weather briefing for Wichita. As far as I need, excellent weather, 10kt breeze from the north and runway 01 right is in use.


100 miles out, I start my descent, hoping to reach my chosen altitude of 3000ft around 15 miles from the airport. Throttle back, open the oil doors and a quick check of every gauge, then its a slow descent.

 We level off at 3000ft with 20 miles to run, Time to get ready for the approach and landing. Doors latched, harness tight, prop RPM increased as required, check oil doors open. Ice deflect doors, I elect to keep closed.10 miles and airspeed has decayed to 120kts, so I select first stage flap and increase power to compensate and maintain 120kts.20 miles out and we have arrived at our pre approach altitude.

 Autopilot off. Got into position for a straight in four mile approach to runway 01R, slowed to 100kts, flaps full and gear down.
Below 2000ft and it is pretty choppy, A fair bit of throttle jockeying, with plenty of aileron and rudder action to keep her lined up and on speed.Finally we touched down, pleased to report an absolute greaser of a landing.
Down on the ramp in Wichita.  As I secure the aircraft, it appears that I have gained yet another earworm going around in my head... One sung by Glenn Campbell.