Official 10th Annual Mudspike Christmas Flight 2024 - Discussion and AAR Thread

Following from the discussion thread here

We have come to an agreement on the destination for this years Christmas Flight.

This year we are flying ENSB-Savlbard Airport This is the northernmost airport with publicly scheduled flights.

The rules are the same as always:

  • Fly the sim of your choice.
  • Feel free to use time acceleration as you see fit.
  • For increased realism (and more fun reading the AAR), use real weather.
  • Please post AARs with screenshots.
  • Try to finish by end-December.
  • And above all: have fun!

X-Plane users will need some custom scernery. Below is what I have found,

ENSB

There are 3 other links 3/4 of the way down required.

And with that, Lets get started on the journey!! I look forward to all the great AARs and screenshots!

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Worth noting for MSFS users, ENSB is a hand-crafted airport included with WU5, so make sure you’ve got that one installed! :+1:

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My personal challenge this year just got a little bit more challenging - I am only flying prop driven aircraft.

Update: looked at a very rough flightplan 12,000NM or 16,000NM depending on whether I turn left or right after taking off at YCOM. I had better get a wriggle on.

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Great to see this year’s season opened. Will plan and get going in a week time when back home :+1:

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Not an AAR… But maybe a pre-flight briefing?

Each year for the Christmas Flight I set myself a personal challenge. My first in 2022, after a very late start, was just to get to Charlotte and last year it was to fly only one aircraft.

I was already pondering what the 2024 challenge would be during last year’s Christmas flight. Primarily because of the aircraft I chose, rather than the sedate, comfortable, easy to fly Cirrus I was going to use… well, actually it was chosen for me.

I’m looking at you @Freak

Because, just like the Gulfstream I flew in 2022, the Vulcan was always ahead of me. Most of my legs ended in a crash of one type or another due to either overconfidence or failure to RTFM, I think the only time I didn’t need a do over (or 2 or 10) was the penultimate leg.

Just call me Squadron Leader Mulligan.

Therefore, before I had even landed at ZUDC I had already pretty much decided that this year I will only fly aircraft that I could reasonably handle, which got me thinking ‘propellors’.

So when I saw that NZRC was an option, it was game on.

And then 10 of you bastards had to go and vote for Svalbard :face_with_raised_eyebrow:.

Rather than rage quit, I am going to make it a proper challenge. Not only will this year be props only, but I won’t fly anything with more than two engines.

What could possibly go wrong :thinking:

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Looks like I’ve got a plan:

I am looking at some 2000 nm. I am thinking about taking some GA for the first couple of shorter legs and then swap to something multi radial for the reminder of the trip.

@Troll, any tip for a particular fjord or a house to buzz in Norway?

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Nice route! When starting from Ramstein/ETAR I plan to do more of an easterly route, going Denmark-Sweden and then up the Norwegian coast. I wonder if there’s anything in between the northern part of continental Norway and Spitzbergen, any other island that can be used as a stop over?

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I do not think so. I have just noted one NDB between Tromso and Svalbard :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

Unless you place an aircraft carrier along the way :laughing:

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Haha sorry but not sorry, it was beautiful!!
FWIW I did vote for Southern hemisphere this time.

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In the beginning:

Because instead of a leisurely jaunt across ‘the ditch’ I am now flying over half way around the world, I probably need a plan?

Hmmm, ‘The Plan’

In the beginning was the plan. And then came the assumptions. And the assumptions were without form. And the plan was without substance… And we know how that ends?

Besides, plans are for chumps.

Anyway, I actually want a decent chance of success with a lot less SQNLDR Mulligan this year. Therefore, Crawl → Walk → Run

They say a journey of a thousand miles (well, in this case over twelve thousand) begins with a single step. So here we are, on the apron in my ‘back yard’ - YCOM.

I think this was the first payware Aircraft I bought for XP11, based on the recommendations of fellow mudspikers and a review written by @BeachAV8R

I still don’t know exactly what the ‘plan’ is. On the plus side, I’m spoilt for choice when it comes to airports (runway length isn’t much of an issue) and this little EuroFOX is still quicker than taking the car… Maybe once I’m airborne I’ll think about where I want to go next.

That’s how flight planning is done, innit?

But I do need to at least a destination now that I’m airborne

I was going to do this leg VFR, hit the coast and head North until I started running low on fuel, but that would be too much deja-vu from last year. Instead I am going to follow a magenta line to Bankstown (YSBK).

I have a feeling that I will be doing a lot of that this year.

Hats off to you guys who use celestial nav and/or listen to morse code for the entire flight, but If I can use modern navaids I will… especially this year.

This is the area I live. A lovely part of this country. I am really lucky.

Bunyan has a very active soaring club because they get some of the best wave in the Australia:

That valley behind me is what I had to drive to get to work… when I had to do that sort of thing for a living:

And off to the right we have HMAS Albatross…

I have actually spent a fair bit of time there. Remind me to tell you a story I have about a breakfast at the junior sailors mess.

Descent into Bankstown (never been there by the way):

A bit high but lots of runway:

I’m going to park here. I don’t have enough time for ‘niceties’:

So.

First step. Done.

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What? I may actually be able to do this…!

Oh… There are a few. Let me get back to you on that.

I hope you all stop by for a beer in ENTC on your way up.

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Beer call at @Troll’s house! I’m make a point to drop in.

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Cheers to @Harry_Bumcrack for kicking it off in style!

Party at @Troll’s!

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I meant your fjord / house but understand if you do not wish to reveal it publicly. No worries :+1:

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Ah! I thought you meant cool places to fly to on your way north… We have a few canyons and fjords that are quite spectacular.
My home address is public info.
I live here N69.7038466 E18.9827057 :houses:

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Part Deux - You have to be a little bit mad!

My biggest problem this year is going to be range. I have a lot of ground, and even more ocean, to cover and even though the better part of three months seems like a lot of time - it ain’t.

So, I want something that has decent endurance & reasonably quick would be nice, is easy to fly and I have some familiarity with the aircraft.

Keeping in mind Crawl → Walk → Run

This aircraft, like me, is a little bit backwards and coincidentally it is the 2nd X-Plane payware aircraft I bought.

My next dilemma is which way do I go. Flying ‘West’ through Asia and then Europe would be about 4,000NM shorter? And, there aren’t a lot of options for getting across the Pacific. An Easterly route would have at least one >2,000NM leg to the Americas (Hawaii to the Continental US or Easter Island to Chile).

I might have one twin that could probably do that (albeit slowly)… but!

Hmmm. decisions, decisions. :thinking:

Finally an inkling of a plan… I’m in the Southern hemisphere and Svalbard is in the Northern Hemisphere.

How about instead of East or West, I fly North?

It is only 14,000 NM (plus change).

I guess there’s a fine line between crazy and inspired? :crazy_face:

But at least I have a rough idea of where I am going now… Other than ‘have to be at ENSB by Christmas’.

North it is then. Next stop YBRK.

Not quite MSFS standard, but there is some half decent ortho for XP11, and it is free:

Autopilot on, feet up, just relax and watch the scenery go by. I love these Garmin thingies.

The town of Scone.

The only place I know of that is named after a High Tea staple.

Actually, the town initially started as the village of Redbank in 1826 and in 1831 Hugh Cameron, a Scottish descendant put forward the name. It was gazetted as Scone in 1837 and shares the name with the home of Scottish Kings and the site of their coronation.

Tamworth

Home of a quite famous Country Music Festival. Keith Urban, you may know him as Mr Nicole Kidman, got his start here.

Crossing the border into Queensland (Great Dividing Range off to the East)

There is an old saying: ‘Welcome to Queensland, set your clocks back 10 years’ :stuck_out_tongue:

And it is a rather nice aircraft. If I was rich and actually had a PPL, one of these would be high on my list.

Chinchilla

Not actually named after a small furry mammal, but believed to be derived from the aboriginal word “tintinchillla” or “Jinchilla” indicating cypress pine possibly recorded by explorer Ludwig Leichardt.

Time to think about my descent

Turning final and why has it suddenly got verwy, verwy quiet (you need to do the Elmer Fudd voice)?

Did I run out of fuel?.. I think I can make it.

Not quite. The perimeter fence makes a good crash barrier, but at least I ended up on the runway - That counts as a landing doesn’t it?

I think I need a tow

Anyhoo. Here I am in Rockhampton.

Rockhampton. I have driven through there a lot but never had a chance to stop and have a look around. Beef capitol of Australia and largest number of ‘Big’ cattle statues in the world.

Aussies are big on their ‘Big’ statues.

https://www.qantas.com/travelinsider/en/explore/australia/big-banana-merino-and-other-big-things-in-australia.html

That was a long flight and I’m hungry. I wonder if I can get a decent steak around here?

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Now this is po(n)d racing…!

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Impressive route ahead of you :astonished:

You can actually buy a kit and build one yourself.

Just be careful, it apparently takes a lot of time and one marriage as my instructor put it (he built a Pulsar) :grimacing:

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Got my plan. Hope to get started on it over the next few weeks.

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I actually have one of those in my (virtual) hangar.

I don’t know if I will be using it though. It definitely has the speed I am looking for, but not the range. I have flown it from Canberra to Melbourne (250 NM), but that about it’s limit.

Besides, talk about an aircraft that is always ahead of me… And I find it is harder to land and I need a longer runway than a (DCS) Mig-21, there is zero margin for error.

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