Chile – Photography, aviation and flight simulation

The chilean vessel Esmeralda and its crew during the Tall Ships Regatta 2017 in Quebec City.

In July 2017, the four masted Chilean sailboat Esmeralda arrived in Quebec City for the Tall Ships Regatta 2017. The arrival was quite spectacular, as the whole crew sang together for several minutes for the people standing along the pier.

In order to avoid any distraction, the full frame picture has been taken in the portrait mode and the cropping was tight enough to bring forward the crew members standing up high away on the masts.

The picture below offers another point of view of the sailboat masts but this time the importance is given to the colored chairs directly installed in water, allowing the tourists to cool down during a particularly hot summer day. The wide angle lens used for the shot was a Canon 14mm f/2.8L. Two diagonal lines created by the pool in the foreground progressively meet with each other in the distance, in front of the sailboat.

The vessel Esmeralda during the Tall Ships Regatta 2017 in Quebec City.

When the Tall Ships Regatta 2017 ended, several small boats approached the Esmeralda and other sailboats to slowly travel with them from Quebec City until they cleared île d’Orléans. In the picture below, you can see the cruise ship Maasdam, which has been repositioned to a new pier in the Port of Quebec in order to accomodate the sailboats.

The ship Maasdam and the vessel Esmeralda during the Tall Ships Regatta 2017 in Quebec City.

In the picture below, the sailboat Esmeralda his heading towards the north of île d’Orléans as the final parade is completed. On the left, you can see the Château Frontenac and, directly behind, the Hotel Le Concorde Québec, with in its upper ring a revolving restaurant offering a superb view of Quebec City. The hand held photo was taken from île d’Orléans with a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM telephoto lens. This lens is equipped with an integrated stabilizer.

It would nonetheless have been quite difficult to succeed with such an important cropping without the performance of the 50.6 megapixel full frame sensor used in the Canon 5DSR. Considering the great distance over water that is present between the camera and the sailboat, it is possible that you notice a mirage effect, even with the small picture presented here.

The vessel Esmeralda in Quebec City during the Tall Ships Regatta 2017. In the background, the Château Frontenac and the hotel Le Concorde.

I thought the crew would use all of the sailboat’s sails once passed île d’Orléans, but it was not the case. The picture below was taken from the top of a wooden tower installed at the north east extremity of île d’Orléans, while the Esmeralda is still navigating using its engine.

Even without the sails, the photographic composition benefited from a yellow field, a merchant ship and a lively horizon line showing the Appalachian mountains. No tripods were used for the shot as the wooden tower was constantly moving. The telephoto lens used was a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM and a slight cropping was necessary.

An approximative rule of thirds is behind the composition of the photo : you can imagine three fictive horizontal lines dividing the frame. The sailboat also finds itself on one of the rule of thirds vertical line on the right.

The vessel Esmeralda, from Chile, sailing on the St. Lawrence Seaway after its departure from the Tall Ships Regatta 2017 in Quebec.

For other pictures of ships on my blog, click on the following link : Ship photography.

Aerial view of the Rothera research station in Antarctica.

For this flight, you will need the Antarctica X flight simulation software made by Aerosoft.

The maintenance of BAS Twin Otters and their Dash-7 is done in Calgary, Canada, and head to Antarctica during the austral summer, between October and March. So if you want to try a flight simulation with a Twin Otter or a Dash-7 from Chile to Antarctica, pick one of those months as it is more realistic.

Since it would be a bit long to make all the virtual flights from Canada to Antarctica, I chose to do the last three legs to see what the landscape looks like.

A Twin Otter is normally approved for a maximum take-off weight of 12,500 pounds. But with skis weighing 800 pounds and additional fuel required to fly longer legs, BAS (British Antarctic Survey) has arranged to have their Twin Otters approved at 14,000 pounds. Even at this weight, the aircraft could still operate on one engine.

First, the aircraft departs La Florida airport (SCSE) in Chile, after a mandatory fuel stop before its next destination, the El Tepual de Puerto Montt airport (SCTE), also in Chile.

Airborne from La Florida, Chile, after refueling.

This virtual flight with the Twin Otter last about 4:25 hours (696 nm) with a heading of 185 degrees.

In flight towards El Tepual de Puerto Montt, Chile.

For the screen captures, FTX Global, FTX Vector and Pilot’s FS Global 2010 were installed. Orbx has also reworked the original El Tepual de Puerto Montt airport to include some people, aircrafts and new buildings. It makes for a more interesting destination.

Twin Otter on final approach for El Tepual de Puerto Montt, Chile.

Ready for refueling at the El Tepual de Puerto Montt, Chile.

The next flight is from the El Tepual de Puerto Montt airport (SCTE) to Punta Arenas (SCCI), both in Chile.

Twin Otter aircraft airborne and heading to Punta Arenas, Chile.

This flight, made low across the Andes, absolutely requires good weather. You will have to climb to 17,000 feet to make the direct route between the airports.

Twin Otter over the Andes climbing for17,000 feet

There are often spectacular views available to the virtual pilot. Yes, the BAS Twin Otter is flown by only one pilot, but there is always somebody else accompanying him.

Twin Otter aircraft approaching Punta Arenas, Chile.

Don’t forget to lean the mixture during the climb. Also use some additional oxygen (!!) if you don’t want to start singing and flying in circles after a while. Again, pay attention to the mixture during the descent, considering that you will be losing close to 17,000 feet.

The Punta Arenas airport, straight from FSX, is not an interesting airport to look at. It is a very bare airport, with just a single building and a VOR.

But since the BAS pilot do that mandatory leg just before heading to Antarctica, I chose not to change the route. The general direction for the flight to Punta Arenas was 164 degrees and the duration approximately 4:28 hours. You can obviously accelerate the process once the aircraft is established at its flying altitude.

The last flight is from Punta Arenas, Chile, to Rothera, Antarctica.

Twin Otter aircraft heading for the Rothera airport in Antarctica.

The Twin Otter will take between six and seven hours on an average heading of 162 degrees to cover the distance between Punta Arenas (SCCI) and Rothera (EGAR).

Over the snowy mountains of Chile towards Rothera, Antarctica

Carrying extra fuel on the flight towards Rothera, Antarctica.

The runway at Rothera is made of gravel and is 2953 feet long. That is plenty for the Twin Otter and the DASH-7. Before you make the flight, go into the aerosoft/Antarctica X file in your flight simulator and click on the “LOD 8.5” option (the default is at LOD 4.5). It will give you much better details when you are approaching Antarctica.

The antarctic Rothera research station is in sight

Twin Otter aircraft on final at Rothera, Antarctica.

The Airliner World magazine had an excellent article on the BAS operations in Antarctica in its March 2017 edition. It included plenty of interesting pictures and detailed explanations on what is expected from pilots and personnel working for BAS. I compared the Rothera virtual airport with the real one through the available pictures in Airliner World and was pleasantly surprised with the level of accuracy of the details.

A British Antarctic Survey Twin Otter aircraft is landing on the Rothera runway, Antarctica

The BAS always prepares itself for the worst: “[It] carries parts valued at around $5m, including a replacement engine for each aircraft, spare props and undercarriage components”.

Twin Otter aircraft after a landing on the Rothera runway, Antarctica

“A new development for the Air Unit has been its work with the RAF, using C-130 Hercules transports to airdrop supplies into the field. They fly from Punta Arenas and drop fuel to support our science programmes on the Ronne Ice Shelf. […] It is all part of their training system and the accuracy they drop to is very impressive. They might drop 250 drums, think how many Twin Otter trips that would have been for us (48 or more than 400 flying hours)”.

Aerosoft has made an excellent job in replicating the buildings in Rothera, BAS’s main research station in Antarctica. The biggest hangar can accommodate three Twin Otters and a Dash-7 altogether.

Inside the main hangar at the Rothera research station, Antarctica.

When your flight is over, do not forget to change the settings back to LOD 4.5 for Antarctica in your aerosoft/Antarctica X files.

For other standard virtual flights, click here:

Standard Virtual Flights

For more articles on flight simulation on my web site, click on the following link : Flight simulation