Seventh entry for the Christmas Challenge.
So there we are in the 757, loading up 100 passengers and cargo to from Mexico to Panama.
Click to reveal AAR
Welcome aboard!
Local time is 14:00. We will most likely land at night since we’ve got a 4-hour flight ahead of us.
We started pushback 30 minutes late (plugging in the flight plan in the FMC was much longer than I anticipated)
Taxiing to Runway 5R
The Rolls-Royce engines roar
Good-bye, Mexico!
Pretty cloudy
Contrailing
I reach 30,000 ft near PBC (Puebla). I’ll climb up some more to 36,000 ft
36,000 ft. Time to sit down and relax.
Getting pretty cloudy up here
Cloud surfing
Over Ixetepec Airport
I crossed Tapachula without having seen anything below the cloud cover. Tapachula is Mexico’s southernmost airport, right before entering Guatemala.
Guatemala. I’ve often dreamed of visiting the ancient Maya ruins. It’s sad how little we know about pre-columbian civilizations.
Approaching San Jose, Guatemala (SJO)
Still cruising
Approaching MSLP (El Salvador)
Santa Ana Volcano and Lago Coatepeque
I hear it’s a great place for hiking!
Jiquilisco Bay
Gulf of Fonseca, which is directly on the borders of El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua
We’re getting there, slowly but surely
Running into some high altitude Cirrus
Managua and Lago Xolotlán, Nicaragua
Chiltepe Volcano
We still need to fly over the Cocibolca (Lake Nicaragua) before crossing Costa Rica
There it is
Volcanoes Concepcion and Maderas
Halfway through the flight, my center tanks are empty. I check the fuel gauges on the overhead panel, then turn off center pumps.
Unfortunately, I don’t get to see much of Costa Rica
So far so good… approaching the Top of Descent BITOR, which is the last waypont before the Top of Descent at the BOGAL transition towards the BUSUN1 STAR.
As I try to tune on the ATIS frequency, I realize that the Tocumen airport in X-Plane isn’t equipped with it. No worries though, I’m using real weather so I can just take the METAR straight from Tocumen.
I adjust my altimeter to 1006 hPa and begin my descent.
Steady as she goes
Visibility gets worse…
And worse…
And even worse still…
On the Pacific Coast of Panama
Swinging by runway 03
On Final
Very humid down there
Runway in sight. The localizer doesn’t seem to be working, so I go for a manual landing. AP Off, Auto-Throttle Off.
Here we go
Landing went well. Barely grazed the runway.
Welcome to Panama.
