CCB_002

Multi-Mission Ferry Flight

 

Last week we had a great time.  The flight plan was fairly simple, the landings fairly easy.  However, a couple of you said that you thought it was a little too easy.  Well, okay, I can fix that *evil grin*…

 

First of all, let’s cover the required files list for this flight.  These files are mandatory – you must have them installed on your system.

  • The aircraft will be the Maule M7-260 available in the CC Downloads section.
  • The scenery is the awesome Glacier Bay package available on Flightsim.com and Avsim.   The file names to search for are:   glbayv2a.zip  and  glbayv2b.zip.  These are large downloads – 56 megs and 85 megs respectively, but ‘you get what you pay for’  in terms of file size.  This package covers a large area in the northern panhandle of Alaska and includes accurate mesh, shorelines, landclass, airports and a whole lot of beautiful eye candy.
  • The scenery files included in this package:  move or copy the Com Central Bush Flights folder to your fs9\addon scenery folder. This adds the small research station to Brady Glacier. Be sure to go into your Scenery Library and activate this scenery.

 

Now, on to the particulars for this adventure.

The CCB_002.zip file contains the following:

  • CCB_002 Briefing     This briefing document.
  • CCB_002 Briefing_files  folder    Contains images for this document.
  • CCB_002.fsn     FSNav flight plan.     Move or copy this file to your fs9\modules\FSNavigator\plan folder.
  • CCB_002 VFR Juneau to Brady Glacier.PLN     FS9 GPS flight plan.  Move or copy this file to your  My Documents\Flight Simulator Files folder.
  • CCB_002-Sectional.jpg    A partial sectional chart roughly describing our route.
  • Com Central Bush Flights folder    Contains scenery for Brady Glacier.  Move or copy this folder to your fs9\addon scenery folder and activate it in the fs9 Scenery Library.

 

 

The Adventure

Today we have a number of missions to complete.  First, we will pick up several FAA technicians and their tools at PAJN and fly them to Sisters Island, where they will perform scheduled maintenance on the Sisters Island VOR.  Then, we will fly to the terminus of Brady Glacier and pick up some core samples and other hard data from the small semi-permanent science station there.  These items we’ll deliver to RAWL, the Wood Lake Research Station.  Once there, we will take on a number of the staff and their luggage and return them to PAJN so that they can catch flights for their well earned vacations.  Expect less than perfect weather and some very challenging landings.

 

Setup

Aircraft:  Maule M7-260 Taildragger with Wheels/Skis

Fuel Load:  150 pounds

Payload:  Yourself and no more than 450 pounds of passengers/baggage

Simulator Time:  0630 Local / 1430 UTC

Weather:  Supplied by the server, set your sim weather to “Clear”

Location:  PAJN, at or near the following location:

 

 

 

The Flight

Here’s an overview of our approximate flight path for today:

 

 

Cruise Altitude:  1500’ msl

Cruise Speed:   130 kias

    Power Settings:   25”hg   2400rpm

 

PAJN to Sisters Island – Flight Time about15 minutes

Depart runway 26  and make a slight left turn to intercept the track.  Climb to 1500’ well before Fix01 to clear the ridge at Fix01.  Begin descent at Fix03, which places you on a short base leg to land at Sisters Island.

The airstrip at Sisters is just a clearing in the trees.  It’s very short, narrow, and isn’t flat.  There’s an NDB at the approach end of the strip so line up to the right and slide in once you’ve cleared the NDB.  Use full flaps and keep your IAS at 50 knots in short final.  Here’s a couple of images to assist you:

Elevation:  1 foot msl

 

 

 

 

Sisters Island to Brady Glacier   Flight Time about 30 minutes

The departure from Sisters is hairy.  Taxi to the north up onto the rise in the terrain and carefully turn around and point back at the NDB.  Set prop pitch at full, flaps at takeoff (2 notches).  Stand on the brakes and throttle up.  Once you’re at full power, release the brakes and nurse the plane up into the air.  Once the Maule is near Vr,  the skis will hydroplane on the water enough so that you won’t sink if you run out of dry land at the end of the takeoff roll.   If you find yourself in the air, in stable flight, breathe a sigh of relief and congratulate yourself – you’ve just completed the most difficult part of today’s adventure!

 

The flight to Brady Glacier is straightforward enough.  The landing on the glacier is exciting because of the sloping ice and snow.  The science station is right at Fix09 and is at 359’ msl.  The glacier slopes down toward the sea here, so use care when you approach for landing – the ground can sneak up on you!  Approach and land straight in from Fix08 on the upslope.

 

Again, here’s a couple of images to assist:

 

 

Brady Glacier to Wood Lake Research Station    Flight time about 15 minutes

The easiest way to depart the glacier is to taxi uphill for a ways, turn around and take off downhill.  This has the added benefit of pointing you in the right direction to intercept Fix10.  We’ll be threading our way down some valleys to get to RAWL.  The landing there is pretty easy – it’s a large opening in the forest, plenty long and relatively flat.  Approach straight in from Fix13 and the elevation of the strip is 167’ msl.  Once you’ve landed, taxi to the location indicated in the image below:

 

 

Wood Lake Research Station to PAJN   Flight time about 35 minutes.

Taxi around the buttonhook at the north end of the facility and line up for a takeoff to the south.  Use the usual short field precautions and get yourself in the air.  Be prepared to turn left to intercept the track and avoid the hills to the south of Wood Lake.  We’ll fly down a valley back to the sea, and take a leisurely flight path back to PAJN.  The flight plan is set up to put you on a 3 mile final to PAJN runway 8 – the runway is plenty long enough for a downwind landing.  Taxi to the east end of the main terminal to drop off your passengers and their baggage.

 

 

That’s it!  I hope you enjoyed the flight, and I hope to see you again in future Com Central Bush Flight adventures!

 

-Bob “Maple One” Williams-