Sunday Nov 3rd, 2019
Leg 5 CYLT Alert - CYEU Eureka
Previous report | Teaser shot | Next report
After shutting down the engines, I put on all of the clothing I had and went outside in the -20 degrees Celsius air at Alert. I noticed one of the hangars had a bright red light in front of it, as well as my nosehair freezing solid.
Is this creative writing 101? Click this spoiler tag if you want to see my lousy dialogue writing again
I heard a neigh as I walked past, it sounded somewhat like a horse. Must have been a husky or some Arctic animal. I opened the door and stepped in.
Inside the hangar, I was greeted by a big man in red snow coat and pants. He had lots of white grey hair, a marvelous beard and some wrinkles. He wore reading glasses, but had a lively colour to his cheeks and eyes that twinkled with joy. He put down his glass of dark brown liquid on the side of the sleigh he was sitting on. As he plonked it down, bubbles rose to the surface and made a hissing sound, while he started a hearty laugh.
S: So you made it this time, and you’re still dry!Thanks for delivering the plane.
F: Thank you, mister Claus. Glad to meet you again. First time since the Galactic Empire’s invasion of the Caucasus, if I remember correctly. This was an almost as incredible journey, though it took a bit longer. I’m glad I finally did it, and also glad that the Dornier had provisions for a tiny galley with a microwave. If I may be so bold to ask: Why did you fund my training?
S: I needed you to learn the plane properly so you wouldn’t crash it again on your way here. And I thought you would enjoy it.
F: I definitely did!
S: And do you remember how I know when you’ve been good or bad? Those same elves who report on all that also spied on all your training, so you won’t have to worry about knowledge transfer.
F: Okay, so you also know that the LOC has to be set to true heasibg, though the rest of the HSI is magnetic, and that the ADF has to be set through the FMS?
S: Of course.
F: But why do you need this plane? Why not just a local Twin Otter?
S: As for the plane, I need it for two reasons: the first is its efficiency and STOL capabilities: it fills a gap in our logistics chain between the large-scale transport and the ‘last kilometres’ chimney delivery system. Of course, Twin Otters are easier to find around here but I need to put in some effort to get the most efficient plane. And that smooth one-piece wing really works to cut down on fuel usage.
F: Why is fuel such a concern?
S: Have you seen the water, this high up north? And have you heard that Swedish girl in New York? Young people want everyone to do something about the climate, old guys love the gauges and parts. So I do something for the climate, as is my duty, to please the young crowd, while at the same time creating some great unique jobs for older mechanics and pilots who love the steam gauges.
F: Sounds great. But what do I do now? Is this it?
S: Well, that is a very difficult and general question many people face often. My best response to that would be: what do you want to do?
F: What I really want to do… I want to fly fun old style airplanes on dirt strips in mountains and not do much with regards to ATC and controlled airspace. And I would like to meet my Mudspike friends in Casco Cove.
S: We’ll get you on one of the CC-130s that is flying in that direction. It will make a few stops at some of our Northern Canada packing and distribution centers. What, you didn’t think I actually did the full North Pole to chimney delivery process all on Christmas Eve? There’s a whole logistics operation behind all of that. Anyway, you don’t have to worry about it. Just tag along on the C-130 flight, and you’ll be guided to an appropriate airplane when you reach the mainland so you can start living your dream. Have fun, and don’t forget to send my regards to my cheerful helpers at Mudspike staff!
I thanked him for everything, and enjoyed a few days’ stay with the local Canadian and Christmassian forces.
I left Alert on a Hercules flight on Nov 3rd 2019.
Packages used:
- Default C-130
- Free mod to provide a 3D cockpit
- The flight was so dark that you can’t tell I actually did not yet use the free Canadian skin for the Herc
- I fly this high up north, thanks to the payware Grand Arctic Scenery v3, which is still on sale at the time of writing
- And of course, AviTab. Not just for the charts, I did use the moving map this time.
I was unsuccessful in removing the discontinuities from the FMS plan. It wouldn’t accept any of the arrivals and didn’t want to plot a simple direct to either. So I chose to fly the autopilot ‘manually’: dial in VS, ALT, and HDG as required. Use AviTab GPS for positioning and adjust HDG as required (there is quite some variation in the magnetic variation along the flight path).
climbing out (edited some to take it up from being just a black rectangle)
Looking into the cockpit from the galley, checking that the autopilot is still behaving well
Descent was performed over water, to not risk flying into a mountain.
Eureka! Time to disengage the autopilot and land this beautifully floaty cargolugger.
Touchdown at 09:35 local time.
Later that morning, I realized I had forgotten my tablet in the cockpit, so I went back inside
This was around 12:00. I can almost see the sun from up here!