Back to Blighty

[G-HEVN]

I didn't plan to have an engine fail, truth is, that Abacus DA40 (£10, but 'try before you buy') is such a heap of junk that the 'ing thing wouldn't stay lit for more than 10 minutes at a time. It's not good enough for freeware IMHO, yet alone payware! Anyway, "landing out" wasn't an option for this leg, so I ended up reloading the plane every time the prop stopped. I have RW DA40 hours, so it's not as if I don't know how to fly one! Anyhow, it's no longer on my PC!

[chopper_nut]

Jeeze, everyones either had an engine failure or been shot at

OR BOTH!

Yeah, how about that! Going to buy some firearms in South America, you know, just in case

[G-HEVN]

Leg 9: San Carlos de Bariloche (SAZS) to Malargue (SAMM)

352 nm, 3.6 hours (total: 7278 nm, 39 hours)

"Eh! Gringo!" Somewhere in the back of my mind, I'd been dreading those words. I was sitting by the lake front, wrapped up against the icy, chill wind, and daydreaming about an English Summer. I tensed, images of every movie bandit flashed through my mind as I slowly turned. "You that gringo flyboy, eh?" I nodded. All those bandit villains rolled into one and metamorphosed into the thick set mustachioed man standing before me."You're coming with me. Get in." He motioned towards a nearby car.

"It seems we have a mutual friend, amigo". My mind raced. Before this trip I'd never been to Argentina, so who on earth would we know in common? "Mike." Of course, Mike The Money. He'd given me a ride to Comodoro Rivadavia, and knew I was in the market for a new aeroplane, but what was the connection with this bandit? "I have a contact in the North, he has what you are looking for. Tomorrow I go to Malargue. You will come." It wasn't so much a question as a statement. He opened the car door and I was back on the street. It started to snow.

The next day dawned cold, but dry. The airport was deserted, apart from a solitary American-registered Scout. "You like it? I call it my ittle Mule!". The man finally introduced himself as Carlos, a "businessman"



"Much of my business takes me to small towns up in the hills, away from the big airports, and this gets me in and out with no fuss. There are people on the roads you wouldn't want to meet". Somehow, I couldn't help feeling he was one of them!



I wasn't sure I wanted to rummage through the seat pockets, for fear of what I might find! Then I came asross this: A guide to VFR flying in Australia! Carlos laughed. "It's my dream to fly Sydney harbour bridge!"



I spent most of the flight watching the scenery go past. It seemed safer!



At least, while I could see it, anyway!



Eventually, we started descending through a gap in the hills towards Malargue.



Looking at the left fuel gauge, I couldn't help wondering if we were going to make it. The right gauge was no better. "Don't worry, they are not accurate; we have enough fuel", said Carlos, unpromped. He could have been reading my mind



"Final for runway 32"
"Scout Juliet Golf, the airport is IFR, we are closed"
Carlos then proceded to pull out a small box from one of the door pockets and set it on the coaming. It was an ancient, battered-looking Garmin GPSIII. "You'll like this: it'll get us right to the runway threshold". A few buttons, and the display looked uncannily like that of an ILS, with localiser and glideslope needles. "This little gadget will get me in to any strip, anyy weather", boasted Carlos. I kept my thoughts to myself.



"Carlos? That's you, you old rogue! Do you have my stuff?"
"Si, compadre"
"Good. You're cleared to land. Meet me at the tower"



I can't help thinking that I'll only be happy once I'm back in my own plane, and have some sense of control again...

[ardypilot]

Nice scenery there- best I have seen so far on either of your two tours!

[chopper_nut]

Now your flying with South American bandits, what next?

[G-HEVN]

Trolly: Standard FSX desert, mate. Oh, and fog!!

C_N: It's not my plane, so I really don't care what's under the wheel arches!

[Duckman]

Wow I've just found this and what a fantastic flight! I'll be keeping my eyes on this one!

[Kelburn]

you are really good at this. I find it hard to stick by something like this. I get bored.
But great range of scenery and aircraft!

[G-HEVN]

Well, I'd get bored hanging around the same few places after a while! To me it just makes sense to start your next flight where you left off the previous one. Okay, so sometimes you have to wait for them to mend the runway, or pull your plane out of the lake. My flight planner has range rings (maybe I'll show them next time), so I can easily see what airfields are within range when I pick somewhere to go...

[towerguy]

you really have to watch who you pick up and who you get a lift from on these flights!

[G-HEVN]

Leg 10: Malargue (SAMM) to San Juan (SANU)
245 nm, 2.6 hours (total: 7523 nm, 41.6 hours)

The world remains silent regarding what went on between Carlos and the tower controller. Neither person volunteered information, and I wasn't going to ask. A few days later, Carlos left in his Scout, departing South, and I was faced with the task of finding a new mount. Days passed with nothing at all available, until eventually a battered old Warrior came on the market.


The plane was secured, I just had to wait out the weather, until eventually a day dawned with nice VFR weather. We were back on the road (as it were)!


Now I realised why the plane had been for sale: It has the climb power of a snail! A mile from the end of the runway, and we're barely 100ft up!


Look at that altimeter - it's showing the same altitude as the airport we've just left!


It looks flat, but I'll swear the ground is climbing faster than we are!


Some interesting weather enroute.


finally... runway in sight


Despite its poor climb performance, the Warrior is reluctant to land, and seems to float forever.


The route

[ZK-KAG]

Yay... A warrior!!

(Should have kept the Seneca )

[G-HEVN]

Leg 11: San Juan (SANU) to Reconquista (SATR)
473nm, 3.4 hours (total: 7996 nm, 45 hours)

Another plane, another workshop! After the abysmal climb performance last time, I had an engineer take a look, After all, even though we were taking off from 5,000ft, the plane wasn't fully loaded, and it was cold. The numbers didn't add up. The engineer reported a jammed elevator cable, which would ultimately need re-rigging. [Okay, so in reality I'd somehow managed to save a default flight with the wing leveller set. But this aircraft only has a single axis autopilot, so it couldn't be that, right? ]

A few days spent hiking and white water rafting up in the mountains, before getting the call that a replacement plane was now available. This time I'd have a few proving flights before setting off!


We'll be heading down into the plains for a while...


Take off! Look ma, climb performance!!! (okay, so we're only at 2000ft here!)


We certainly need that performance though. It might not look much, but this 'hill' goes up, and up, and up...


Okay, I'll admit it: I chickened out and didn't go right over the top.


Sun and moon together: Neat!


There's a lot of thermal activity over the plains, and we're tossed about like a green salad. Twice I hit my head on the roof, and only quick reflexes managed to keep the camera from being smashed.


Reconquista tower clears us for a straight in visual approach to runway 09, and it only tales a small course correction to get us lined up. At least approximately - the plane is yawing back and forth such that I can't be totally sure. It's very hazy down low, tower says the lights are on, but they don't show up too well.


Fuel pump on, lights on, gear down...


The runway looms out of the murk. Cleared to land.


Even on short final, we're being buffeted around. I'll be glad to be on terra firma after this flight!

[G-HEVN]

Leg 12: Reconquista (SATR) to Iguazu, Mayor D Carlos Eduardo Krause (SARI)
355nm, 3.6 hours (total: 8351nm, 48.5 hours)

Oh dear! A widespread low overcast with little prospect of change means we have to file IFR. This is not going to be a sightseeing flight! What is slightly worrying is that Argentina has no Radar (there was one solitary installation in Buenos Aires, but that recently broke!), so we're going to have to rely on the big sky theory for collision avoidance!

Right! Onwards and Upwards...


Lined up and ready to go. Take a good look at the ground; I'm sure we won't be seeing it again for a while.


Cleared for take off... and almost immedietly we're engulfed in the clag


As we approach 5000ft, there's a glimpse of the sun.


Finally we break out into sunlight. There's a tremendous liberation flying over the tops of the clouds!


Briefly the weather clears, and we get a view of the Pampas below us.


But it doesn't last long, and we're back in the clag.


Cleared for the ILS, we pop out below tghe cloud base, with the runway dead ahead. Looks like they've been a bit heavy handed with the weedkiller though!


On our right during final approach are the famous Iguazu Falls (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Foz_Do_Iguacu.png). Vastly bigger than Niagra, they are, of course, not present in FS! There's a very nice scenery for FS9, but it doesn't work in FSX.


Down and parked. Once I've checked in at the hotel, I think a spot of sightseeing is in order...



I can't help remembering that Towerguy was here when I got out of hospital. Finally our tracks have crossed!

[ardypilot]

Enjoying your time in Argentina are you Tim?

[G-HEVN]

I'm actually canoeing up the Amazon now, but the "message in a bottle" report delivery service seems a bit slow...

[G-HEVN]

Leg 13: Iguazu, Mayor D Carlos Eduardo Krause (SARI) to Corumba Intl, Brazil(SBCR)441nm, 3.8 hours (total: 8792nm, 52.3 hours)I've managed to get a bit behind reporting these flights, so here's a quick catch up. Sorry I didn't have time to do maps. Today's flight into brazil takes us out over the famous Iguazu Falls. I've turned on the FS9 scenery on FSX, so you can get an impression, but as I said before, it soesn't work properly, so you'll need to use your imagination.

Our mount for the day is the mighty Piper warrior


Climbing out from the airport, we very quickly spot the falls, a short distance to our right


Unfortunately, the photo textures are very fractured and broken


Further along, we reach the hydro plant. I'm guessing somebody accidentally left a valve open...


In every roll of film, there's always one picture where I think "huh?"!


Mt Urucum, and time to start our descent into Corumba


The approach takes us off the river and over the city


Final.


Leg 14: Corumba Intl (SBCR) to Alta Floresta (SBAT)568nm, 3.7 hours (total: 9360nm, 56 hours)The thing about border towns, is you get to meet interesting people. And just occasionally they happen to own a nice hot ship. Like this one. We'd actually met in a riverside eatery, where we'd both been stung with a 'gringo charge' and things were starting to get ugly. It was only when we were running back towards the hotel that I found out that not only was this guy a pilot, but he had a Cirrus!


The rich biodiversity of the region doesn't extend to the city, which has only two components: People and concrete. Both are ugly, but at 80 knots, we get away from them!


Climbing out over the city


The SR22; what a nice plane! And for the first time on this trip... air conditioning!


Following the Paraguay River out over the savannah. The panantal is the world's largest wetland area, and this river is the only drainage channel!


There's a huge diversity of specied of plants and animals here - 3500 plant species, 650 birds, 400 fish, 100 mammals, 80 reptiles.... There are said to be 10 million caimans here - I just hope we don't have an engine failure!


Savannah turns to rain forest, and yay! we've reached the Amazon! Okay, not the river, but the region at least!


And then the fog rolled in! I guess we should have expected it, but there you go. This shot was actually taken from the tower. It shows us on final! Seriously!


Fortunately we could see them better than they could see us! And we're just minutes away from a cold beer...


Leg 15: Alta Floresta (SBAT) to Manaus, Eduardo Gomes Intl (SBEG)474nm, 2.9 hours (total: 9834nm, 58.9 hours)Sadly, my new found friend with his Cirrus have to part company. He's off to Rio, and I'm heading further into the jungle, to meet up with the mighty Amazon River. So, with a certain tinge of sadness, I find myself back in a Warrior!It's the crack of dawn. We only have a short weather window, and so need to get going as early as possible. Although the Warrior is IFR capable, it's not the ideal platform for single pilot IFR operations.


Climb performance is excellent in the cool morning air, and very soon we're just a speck in the distance


Turning onto track, we wave goodbye to this small airfield.



I thought this might happen: A large, low bank of cloud across our path. Fortunately it's only a thin fog layer, and we're able to fly on top. The solid undercast might help us forget there's nowhere to land in an emergency.


Eventually the fog is gone, and we find ourselves over the vast and twisty Amazon.


The controller clears us into the circuit - right hand downwind for runway 10. We're number three.


Turning final, and the King Air ahead of us is told to go around. We can see why - the runway is long, and the turn off right at the end. The first plane is making a real liesurely time of getting off the runway!


Short final. Boy these trees are tall!


And down. Once we've settled in to the hotel, it'll be time to find us an excursion, and go catch some piranha...

[ZK-KAG]

Wicked shots once again!

Are those Warrior's and that Cirrus freeware? Could you point me to a link for them perhaps?

Cheers!

[Alex]

The Cirrus is from Eaglesoft (www.eaglesoftdg.com), and is payware.

Alex

[G-HEVN]

The warrior (actually it's a Dakota) is also payware, by Carenado. The paint is my current RW mount (alas, Victor Novrmber, are we so fickle? Yes, when money's tight and the Warrior is £40 cheaper!). The paint is on Avsim.