The flight simulator enthousiast will have fun trying this short flight ( 14 minutes) from the Eagle County virtual airport (KEGE) to the Telluride virtual airport (KTEX). The virtual flight, using FSX, was made during winter, on January 8th. The shots below represent an idea of what is visible while flying toTelluride. Use 14,000 feet, it should do it…
There are lots of beautiful mountains between KEGE and Telluride, and also some unpredictable weather…
The expected ceiling at Telluride was 8500 ft. On the way to the airport, the clouds and visibility were sometimes obscuring the mountains.
Telluride is a very inviting airport for a MD-11. The 7000 feet runway itself does not represent a big challenge, although its 100 feet are a bit narrow: this aircraft would normally require a 150 feet wide landing surface.
The virtual VFR approach made with the MD-11 was the most expensive way to do the trip, since it required a fly-by and a 270 degree turn to the right to align with runway 09.
The 270 degree turn at a 10-20 degree bank allowed to transit from 14,000 to 10,000 ft without doing anything radical. Just a turn while descending and gradually loosing speed to arrive at around 160 kts on final. The aircraft was now installed on long final, with flaps set at 50 degrees.
The high altitude runway’s 9078 feet msl elevation meant the pilots dealt with lower air density and heavy weight when approaching and, as such, the airspeed had to be adjusted accordingly to prevent stalling on final.
Here is a view from the Telluride tower…
Now with a view like that, you would not consider coming in IFR…!
To prevent an overshoot and some additional expenses in fuel (which are already skyrocketing), an optimal approach was required.
Most accidents with the MD-11 happen when the pilot pushes on the stick when there is a rebound with the nose wheel, thus creating an even stronger rebound. When there is a rebound, there is no need to push on the stick, just wait and the aircraft sets itself quickly.
Now with max breaking and thrust reversers…
The MD-11 can easily turn at the first taxiway at Telluride. But in order to capture a wider view of the airport, I exited at the last taxiway (again adding to the already enormous expense in fuel…)
The employee on the ramp was worried that the MD-11 lower winglet would scratch N900SS while taxiing. But there was plenty of space (11 inches)…
The MD-11 was parked temporarily in a spot needed by every aircraft. It was necessary to unload quickly the precious cargo and get out of the way.
Some expert handling would be needed to help move back that MD-11 close to the runway. But that was the Telluride’s airport manager problem and he had promised he would have something ready!
The virtual scenery from departure to destination is a creation of ORBX programmers and the virtual MD-11 is made by PMDG Simulations (I am not sure it works with P3D though). For the weather, I used REX Simulations as the weather engine and REX and Cumulus X for the cloud textures.
For other challenging virtual flights, head towards the flight simulation section of my web site, under “challenging virtual flights”: there is something for everyone!
For more articles on flight simulation on my web site, click on the following link : Flight simulation