Leg 5: Tokyo Haneda International Airport (RJTT) - Hong Kong Airport, Chek Lap Kok (VHHH)
It’s roughly 1600 nm. Weather at Tokyo is grey and gloomy, but METAR predictions show that Hong Kong is a little cloudy but has good flying weather.
I came in Tokyo by night, therefore I didn’t have much time to visit. Ironically, I will not see much of it either since there is a rainy cloud cover masking the whole countryside.
This time, I decide to try out a new ride: Rotate’s MD80!
I have never flown that one before, but I watched a good tutorial from Froogle explaining the basics of the mighty Mad Dog. The cockpit layout is a bit alien, but not something I can’t figure out as I fly to China.I load up 35000 lbs of fuel and fill the rest with cargo until I reach MTOW. Let’s go for something a little challenging. All right! Time to line up on runway 16L.
Up we go!
That plane sure hauls ass in a climb. As I follow the SID out of Tokyo, I engage the autopilot and engage the wing anti-ice and engine anti-ice systems as I climb through the clouds.
As I reach 30000 ft, I can distinguish the last few southern islands of Japan in the Nagasaki prefecture. It feels weird to think that a nuclear bomb once ravaged in these parts…
I eventually spot the silhouette of the chinese mainland. I will spend of my cruise flying parallel to it.
Froogle wasn’t lying: this aircraft is really, really fun to fly. It accelerates well and can bleed speed much more easily than the Boeings and Airbuses I’m used to. No matter the angle, I can’t help but find the Mad Dog uncomfortably attractive.
From the rear…
From the inside…
From the front too!
I eventually run into some trouble with the autopilot; for some reason, it was tracking the very last waypoint of the flight instead of what I thought to be the “active” waypoint. I spend a good half hour trying to modify my flight plan fruitlessly. This makes me explore the FMS… it seems quite similar to something you’d see on Boeings. Eventually, the lightbulb lights up. Ah ha! I rapidly figured out how to set the correct active waypoint via the FMC, the autopilot finally seemed to work like it was supposed to.
After an uneventful flight, I finally reach the shoreline of the Guangdong province.
I’m still pretty high, but the STAR of the flight plan will make me do a whole 360 degree descent around the island to bleed all this altitude.
As I overfly The Chek Lap Kok airport, I start my descent.
The Mad Dog is really great at decellerating and accelerating. The descent is very manageable all the way down to 5000 ft.
Right turn on final approach. Time to capture that localizer and glide slope for an ILS approach!
The mountains are gorgeous. X-Plane has really great lighting effects.
As I line up for final, a strong crosswind throws me off balance. I can’t use the Autoland feature since it’s apparently not been implemented by Rotate. Oh well, time to fly this bird manually.
Time to turn off that autopilot and autothrottle.
The runway approaches but the wind gets stronger. I have to crab abnormally hard.
Almost… almost there!
I uncrab at the last second, hoping for a smooth touchdown.
And it is! I watch with glee the heavy lifters parked afar.
Thrust reversers on, slowing down.
Unloading cargo and passengers. Phew, not too bad for a first flight in the Mad Dog! Overall, I’m pretty sure subsequent flights will be much easier.
I feel small next to these other planes. They’re just so much bigger!
I think I may have found a real gem in the Mad Dog. Rotate’s version is great. I’m quite curious to see if Leonardo can do even better with his “Fly the Maddog X” for FSX and Prepar3d.
So, that’s it! Really cool trip, that one. It’s one of these planes I’ll probably want to write something about eventually.