Tag: glider

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Flight Simulation

Around the world in flight simulation (7).

A surprise awaits us as we depart from the Sandane airport (ENSD) for Sweden, Stockholm-Bromma airport (ESSB).

Drone on the ground at Sandane airport (ENSD) in Norway.
Drone on the ground at Sandane airport (ENSD) in Norway.

A Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk drone is at the airport. This long-range surveillance aircraft has an autonomy of around 35 hours and a range of 22779 kilometers. It flies at altitudes of up to 60,000 feet (18288 meters). Its maximum speed is 635 km/h, and each hour of operation costs $24,000.

Beech 350I airborne from the Sandane Airport (ENSD) heading to Stockholm-Broma airport (ESSB)
Beech 350I airborne from the Sandane Airport (ENSD) heading to Stockholm-Broma airport (ESSB)

Today, we’re repositioning a twin-engine Beechcraft King Air 350I that hasn’t flown in ages. The usual checks have been carried out to ensure that no birds have nested under the engine cowling. We also checked that there was no condensation water at the bottom of the fuel tanks. Finally, we ran the engines for a long time on the ground. The aircraft takes off from Sandane for a planned altitude of 18,000 feet.

Over Norway snowcapped mountains heading to Sweden in flight simulation.
Over Norway snowcapped mountains heading to Sweden in flight simulation.

We fly over the mountains of Norway towards Sweden. Everything goes according to plan.

Navigraph chart showing a flight from Sandane (ENSD) to Stockholm-Bromma (ESSB)
Navigraph chart showing a flight from Sandane (ENSD) to Stockholm-Bromma (ESSB)

The Navigraph map shows the planned route between the two countries.

Engine failure on a twin engine aircraft with Microsoft Flight Simulator.
Engine failure on a twin engine aircraft with Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Suddenly, the left engine experiences problems. It stops and the propeller feathers to minimize drag. Since we’re approaching the runway at Stockholm-Bromma airport, we choose to continue on our way, as we benefit from a large airstrip and emergency response services. Now unsure about the reliability of the second engine, we keep a slightly higher altitude than a normal approach would generally dictate.

Double engine failure on a twin engine with Microsoft Flight Simulator.
Double engine failure on a twin engine with Microsoft Flight Simulator.

A few minutes later, the second engine stops. The plane becomes a large glider. The clouds prevent a good view of the surrounding area, but we feel our altitude is sufficient to attempt an approach to the airport when the runway is in sight.

On final for Stockholm-Bromma airport with a double engine failure
On final for Stockholm-Bromma airport with a double engine failure

The flaps and landing gear will only be extended once we’re established on final and the aircraft is stabilized and certain of reaching the runway. Microsoft’s flight simulator doesn’t allow us to do just anything with an aircraft. If we exceed the aircraft’s structural capabilities when attempting to reach the airport, the flight will stop immediately.

On the ground at Stockholm-Bromma with a double engine failure on a Beechcraft 350I in flight simulation.
On the ground at Stockholm-Bromma with a double engine failure on a Beechcraft 350I in flight simulation.

The final approach and taxiing caused no problems. The aircraft gradually slows down until it comes to a complete stop on the runway. The poor air traffic controllers now have to apply Plan B to reorganize air traffic around the airport, with the main runway temporarily blocked.

Beechcraft maintenance hangar at the Stockholm-Bromma virtual airport
Beechcraft maintenance hangar at the Stockholm-Bromma virtual airport

Fortunately, Beechcraft offers maintenance services at Stockholm-Bromma airport. So, we’ll leave the aircraft for major repairs and find something faster for the next flight to Ukraine. Why not an F-14 Tomcat? It is not in military service anymore and thus its presence in the air should not worry too much.

P.S. This story is based on a real even that happened in Quebec several years ago. An acquaintance of mine (Paul B.) was scheduled to fly from the Val-d’Or airport (CYVO) to Rouyn-Noranda (CYUY) in a light twin-engine aircraft that hadn’t flown in a long time. Halfway between CYVO and CYUY, the first engine failed. The pilot decided to continue. With the runway in sight in the distance, the second engine stopped. The pilot hovered the aircraft and managed to land on route 117, just behind a large truck which accelerated to give way to the aircraft he could see descending in his rear-view mirror. The aircraft landed safely and without damages!

Click on the link for more flight simulator flights around the world on my blog.

Categories
Flight Simulation

Gliding operations on a 12 degree sloped runway in Papua New Guinea

Well, that is it! The first glider just arrived at the Fane Parish airport in Papua New Guinea…

Glider on the Fane Parish short grass runway in Papua New Guinea.
Glider on the Fane Parish short grass runway in Papua New Guinea.

Before it is officially offered as a tourist attraction for the region, some attempts at taking-off and landing must be done. The first trial attracts a few people!

Aircraft and glider on the Fane Parish mountain airfield.
Aircraft and glider on the Fane Parish mountain airfield.

The descent along the twelve degree sloped runway is a bit rough for the glider’s low wings, as there are some bushes that will have to be trimmed!

An aircraft pulls a glider after the take-off from the Fane Parish sloped runway in Papua New Guinea.
An aircraft pulls a glider after the take-off from the Fane Parish sloped runway in Papua New Guinea.

The weather is nice and very warm. The only potential problem is the mountain ahead.

Glider being towed by an aircraft after the take-off from the Fane Parish mountain airfield.
Glider being towed by an aircraft after the take-off from the Fane Parish mountain airfield.

Finally, the pilot cuts the link. He is free to go!

The link is cut between the plane and the glider after the take-off from Fane Parish.
The link is cut between the plane and the glider after the take-off from Fane Parish.

The glider flies silently over the lush area of Papua New Guinea.

Virtually gliding over the Papua New Guinea territory (FSX).
Virtually gliding over the Papua New Guinea territory (FSX).

Using the rising warm air currents, the glider gains altitude.

The glider gains altitude.
The glider gains altitude.

Why not a pass over Fane?

Gliding over the Fane Parish village.
Gliding over the Fane Parish village.

Here is another isolated village alongside a mountain.

Flight with a virtual glider over an isolated village of Papua New Guinea.
Flight with a virtual glider over an isolated village of Papua New Guinea.

A last steep turn in order to realign for the approach at Fane Parish.

Last steep turn for a short landing on the Fane Parish mountain sloped runway.
Last steep turn for a short landing on the Fane Parish mountain sloped runway.

The airbrakes are out and the speed reasonable. The sloped runway is just ahead, on top of the mountain to the right.

Approach of a glider on the elevated airfield at Fane Parish in Papua New Guinea. The speed and angle of approach are right on target.
Approach of a glider on the elevated airfield at Fane Parish in Papua New Guinea. The speed and angle of approach are right on target.

Keeping just enough altitude on the approach to be safe.

Glider approaching the 12 degree sloped runway of the Fane Parish aerodrome.
Glider approaching the 12 degree sloped runway of the Fane Parish aerodrome.

Now that the landing is a sure thing, it is time to use the airbrakes again to slow down as much as possible.

Virtual glider arriving over the Fane Parish runway in Papua New Guinea. The airbrakes are being used.
Virtual glider arriving over the Fane Parish runway in Papua New Guinea. The airbrakes are being used.

Keeping in mind that this mountain airfield as a good slope, it is better to have a bit of extra speed. Nobody likes to stall a few feet over a runway!

Virtual glider with airbrakes over the Fane Parish runway
Virtual glider with airbrakes over the Fane Parish runway

What an experience it was! But I’ll need some help to pull the glider up the slope!

Glider on the Fane Parish runway
Glider on the Fane Parish runway

The virtual flight was great, the view was worth every penny, and I think that this could become a new touristic attraction for the region and the more wealthy visitors…

The glider has landed on the runway at the Fane Parish airport in Papua New Guinea.
The glider has landed on the runway at the Fane Parish airport in Papua New Guinea.

Click on the link for other challenging virtual flights on my blog.

Categories
Flight Simulation

Losing four engines on a C-130 Hercules in flight simulation

A virtual C-130 belonging to the Blue Angels is taxiing at the High River airport, in Alberta.
A virtual C-130 belonging to the Blue Angels is taxiing at the High River airport, in Alberta.

Wanting to add an almost impossible flight in the “unhinged virtual flights” section of my web site, I tried a flight with the Blue Angels C-130 Hercules (Captain Sim) where the aircraft gradually lost all of its engines.

The Blue Angels C-130 Hercules waiting in line behind a single engine aircraft at the High River airport.
The Blue Angels C-130 Hercules waiting in line behind a single engine aircraft at the High River airport.

I am aware that the Blue Angels mechanics are real professionals, so I assumed that the engine failures were caused by an unknown reason.

A virtual Blue Angels Lockheed C-130 Hercules takes-off from the High River (CEN4) Canadian airport in Alberta.
A virtual Blue Angels Lockheed C-130 Hercules takes-off from the High River (CEN4) Canadian airport in Alberta.

The take-off was made without problem from the Canadian High River (CEN4) airport. This free airport was designed by Vlad Maly and is available through ORBX. The aircraft leaves the 4150 feet runway heading to the Coeur d’Alène airport (KCOE) in United States.

Eventually, the first engine stops. This does not cause a problem. The propeller is feathered and the gradual climbing continues.

The C-130 Hercules loses its first engine.
The C-130 Hercules loses its first engine.

The second engine stops. The pilot must forget the initial destination. Bonners Ferry (65S) becomes the alternate airport since the 4000×75 feet runway is good enough for the C-130.

The second engine has just stopped on this C-130 Hercules.
The second engine has just stopped on this C-130 Hercules.
Double engine failure for this virtual Blue Angles C-130 Hercules.
Double engine failure for this virtual Blue Angles C-130 Hercules.

The third engines gives way. A slow descent starts. Bonners Ferry is not very far. The airport is at an altitude of 2337 ft asl.

The aircraft is volontarily flown at a higher altitude than what would normally be requested for a normal approach, just in case the fourth engine stops. When three engines stop after the same refueling, the pilot has the right to think that what feeds the fourth engine can also cause problems.

Three engine failures on this virtual Blue Angels C-130 Hercules.
Three engine failures on this virtual Blue Angels C-130 Hercules.

The highest mountains are now behind the aircraft.

Virtual C-130 Hercules aircraft with three engine failures enroute to the Bonners Ferry airport.
Virtual C-130 Hercules aircraft with three engine failures enroute to the Bonners Ferry airport.

The Bonners Ferry (65S) runway is in sight.

Virtual C-130 Hercules aircraft with three engine failures, by the Bonners Ferry's runway.
Virtual C-130 Hercules aircraft with three engine failures, by the Bonners Ferry’s runway.

The fourth engine stops. The flaps will not be functional for the landing.

From now on, the pilot should save the virtual flight a few times since it is possible that several trials will be necessary to glide sucessfully to the airport. This is the fun of virtual flight.

The four engines have now failed on that virtual C-130 aircraft.
The four engines have now failed on that virtual C-130 aircraft.

The C-130 Hercules has become a big glider. When the speed is maintained, the aircraft loses more 1000 feet per minute. It is easier to feel the aircraft’s inertia.

The wheels will be brought out only when necessary since the gear adds a lot of drag.

From the position indicated in the picture below, it is impossible to arrive to the airport in a straight line: the aircraft will glide over the airport. In the picture, the aircraft seems to be on a good path for landing, but it is an illusion caused by the wide-angle format chosen for the screen capture.

The aircraft is definitely too high. It is impossible to use the flaps to increase the rate of descent.

Lockheed C-130 Hercules virtual aircraft with four engine failures on the approach to the Bonners Ferry's virtual airport (65S).
Lockheed C-130 Hercules virtual aircraft with four engine failures on the approach to the Bonners Ferry’s virtual airport (65S).

One must choose between 1) sideslips 2) a 360 degree turn to lose altitude or 3) multiple steep turns perpendicular to the runway to increase to distance to the airport.

What would you choose?

There is no universal method. The 360 degree turn is riskier but can prove efficient. An Airbus A330-200 flown by Quebecer Robert Piché that had lost all of its engines landed successfully in the Açores in 2001 after attempting a last minute 360 degree turn to lose altitude. But here, I did not believe there was enough altitude to safely complete the turn and reach the runway.

A few steep turns were made to extend to ride to the airport. Why steep turns? In order to avoid getting closer to the airport before an acceptable altitude was reached. This method helped keep an eye on the runway at all times to verify if the slope to the airport was still acceptable.

Fourty degree turn to the right on the approach to the Bonners Ferry's airport.
Fourty degree turn to the right on the approach to the Bonners Ferry’s airport.
Steep turn to the left to extend the distance to the Bonners Ferry airport.
Steep turn to the left to extend the distance to the Bonners Ferry airport.

I tried the three methods, always starting from the same saved flight (photo 10). After several sideslips, the aircraft was always approaching the airport too quickly. There was not enough time to lose altitude. The final speed always happened to be too high to stop a C-130 without flaps or thrust reversers.

The 360 degree turn, be it right or left, with different angles and a reasonable speed, always incurred a loss of altitude that brought the aircraft 200 to 300 feet short of the threshold.

Finally, after a few steep turns, the aircraft was positioned on final with the appropriate speed and altitude.

View of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules with four engine failures, on the approach for Bonners Ferry (65S).
View of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules with four engine failures, on the approach for Bonners Ferry (65S).

A few last seconds adjustments, to reposition the aircraft in the center of the runway.

Speed 150 knots. End of the turn for the Bonners Ferry's airport.
Speed 150 knots. End of the turn for the Bonners Ferry’s airport.

At 140 kts, but without any reverse thrust, the whole runway should be necessary to stop the aircraft.

Speed 140 knots, aligned with the Bonners Ferry's runway.
Speed 140 knots, aligned with the Bonners Ferry’s runway.

The landing was smooth and the aircraft stopped short of the threshold.

For an unknown reason, the anemometer was still indicating a 10 kts airspeed, even when the aircraft had stopped.

C-130 cargo aircraft on the Bonners Ferry's runway.
C-130 cargo aircraft on the Bonners Ferry’s runway.
Lockheed C-130 Hercules virtual aircraft after landing at the Bonners Ferry (65S) airport.
Lockheed C-130 Hercules virtual aircraft after landing at the Bonners Ferry (65S) airport.
C-130 Hercules aircraft in Bonners Ferry.
C-130 Hercules aircraft in Bonners Ferry.

Try such a flight in the virtual mode. The worst that can happen is that you have fun!

For more near impossible flights, head to:

Unhinged Virtual Flights

Categories
Flight Simulation

Flight simulation: gliding with the DG-808S over Canadian lakes and forests.

The link is finally cut between the plane and the DG-808S glider (fsx)
The link is finally cut between the plane and the DG-808S glider (fsx)

In the « flight simulation » section, under « challenging virtual flights », you will soon find screen captures representing the DG-808S glider built by DG Flugzeugbau. The flight departed from the Parry Sound airport (CNK4) in Ontario. The scenery has been created by Vlad Maly, from ORBX.

A DG-808S glider in flight with birds (fsx)
A DG-808S glider in flight with birds (fsx)

The command CTRL+SHFT+Y will allow an aircraft to appear and a cable to be installed between the aircraft and the glider. It is more demanding to do gliding operations in the Parry Sound region because if the pilot gets far enough from the airport, he leaves behing many options to help him land easily in case of difficulties. There are not many fields or roads. There are mostly lakes and forests. The view is interesting, but you fly with the feeling that there is really no plan B. If the glider must go down, chances are it will find itself either in water or on the top of trees.

Glider DG-808S turning base for the Parry Sound airport (fsx)
Glider DG-808S turning base for the Parry Sound airport (fsx)
Glider DG-808S over Robert's Lake (fsx)
Glider DG-808S over Robert’s Lake (fsx)

The DG-808S can reach a speed up to 146 kT and has a gliding ratio of 5o :1. It is a high performance glider. It can carry up to 343 pounds of water to be used as ballast. In real life, the pilot uses the necessary amount of water according to the prevailing weather conditions. If there are weak thermals, the glider will easily operate without water. If there are strong thermals, it carries the maximum amount of water in its wings to add sufficient weight.

DG-808S sailplane on short final for runway 35 in Parry Sound (fsx)
DG-808S sailplane on short final for runway 35 in Parry Sound (fsx)
Glider DG-808S over threshold 35 Parry Sound (fsx)
Glider DG-808S over threshold 35 Parry Sound (fsx)

The flight was made using CumulusX and FSX. On final for runway 35, you will have the opportunity to fly at low altitude over Robert’s Lake and admire all the small details created to make the scenery more realistic.

A DG-808S sailplane and the Canadian flag in Parry Sound, Ontario (fsx)
A DG-808S sailplane and the Canadian flag in Parry Sound, Ontario (fsx)
End of a DG-808S glider flight in Parry Sound, Ontario (fsx)
End of a DG-808S glider flight in Parry Sound, Ontario (fsx)

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

Good luck and have fun!