Tag: MD-11F

Covid-19 : The Antonov 225 lands in Mirabel, Québec.

Post author By Stanley
Post date 4 May 2020

On Friday May 1^st 2020, Quebec received a shipment of medical equipment destined to the people fighting COVID-19. An Antonov 225 was carrying the goods. The flight was organized thanks to a joint collaboration between Nolinor, Momentum Solutions and Antonov Airlines.

Departing from Tianjin, China, the plane made a stopover in Anchorage, Alaska, before continuing its flight over Canada towards the province of Quebec.

The Antonov 225 carrying medical supplies for Canada makes a stopover in Anchorage, Alaska.

The arrival of the Antonov 225 in Anchorage was announced in advance by the media, which allowed a large crowd to stand near the airport and monitor the approach of the aircraft. The following link allows you to view the approach and arrival: KTUU Video Antonov 225

At 5:35 on the KTUU video, we can see a Fedex MD-11F. It is worth mentioning, because this was a very impressive plane at the time of its conception, but companies are progressively getting rid of it due to the age and fuel costs associated with its operation. Today, the aircraft is only used for the transport of goods. The production of aircrafts of this size, with three engines, was stopped years ago. There is a good chance that the Antonov 225 will continue to fly long after the MD-11F has made its last flight. (Edit: The Russians destroyed the Antonov 225 during the invasion of Ukraine)

After taking off from Anchorage in the morning of May 1st, the Antonov 225 arrived in Mirabel, Quebec, in the evening of the same day at around 8:22 p.m. The aircraft’s flight path (ADB3381) could be followed on Flightradar24 at the time of its approach for Mirabel (CYMX).

The Antonov 225 ADB3381 on final for Mirabel airport in Canada on May 1st 2020.

We can see on the Flightradar24 screen capture that a helicopter (C-GSTV) is positioned to film the arrival of the world’s biggest aircraft. It is an AS 350 BA from TVA, a French-language news media in Quebec.

Source : FlightAware.

The Antonov 225 arrives in Mirabel from Anchorage on May 1st 2020.

Photo taken by Martin Chevalier.

YQBspotting has posted a very interesting video of the Antonov 225 arriving with its cargo of medical equipment in Mirabel, Quebec.

Andy St-André, from TVA, posted a video of the unloading of medical equipment on his Twitter account.

The photo below shows the unloading operation. The employees wore protective equipment against the coronavirus.

Unloading the Antonov 225 at Mirabel airport in Québec during the COVID-19 crisis.

Photo : Joël Lemay/Agence QMI.

Several challenges were encountered for this flight to be a success: the language barrier, the verification of equipment quality (contaminated material is not of a big help), the airport operation’s requirements from China, customs limited hours of operation, maximum daily time in service for the Antonov 225 crew, international competition for slot times and orders, initiatives from some countries to acquire shipments not intended for them, etc. But finally, after hard work, Quebec finally received the precious cargo.

The last video from YQBspotting shows the Antonov 225’s departure.

Click on the link for more articles on aviation photography on my blog.

Flight Simulation

Rotate’s MD-11 for the X-Plane flight simulation platform

Post author By Stanley
Post date 4 April 2018

The virtual MD-11 being created by the Rotate company for the X-Plane flight simulation platform.

Good news for flight simulation enthousiasts! Those who had stopped looking for a virtual MD-11 will have an opportunity to fly this legendary aircraft.

The Rotate company, which makes virtual aircrafts for the X-Plane flight simulation platform, has decided to make a virtual MD-11. It is quite a challenge but the progress is steady.

A few years ago, another company, PMDG, created a virtual MD-11 but decided to drop the product and let down the customers who had bought their excellent aircraft. They stopped providing updates and eventually erased the MD-11 from their list of products.

Since then, many flight simmers have been wondering if they could one day learn to fly the MD-11. Numerous crashes of MD-11s have happened in real life since its creation by Mc Donnell Douglas. They were mostly due to pilots unable to master the aircraft, except in the case of Swissair 111.

The Rotate’s staff have recently published a new photo (see above) on their WEB page to show that the virtual aircraft is slowly taking shape. The graphic quality is really superb.

In an interview given to PC Pilot in the March/April edition, Rotate said that they want to achieve a high level of simulation with the MD-11, but that they still have a long way to go. They stated that the MD-11 is much bigger and much more complex than the MD-80 (that they are already offering) and that they want the MD-11 to reflect those characteristics.

Those who fly using FSX will now be able to add X-Plane as another flight simulator to their computer and thus use the MD-11 when it will be ready (probably around the end of 2019).

The beauty with X-plane is that the 64 bits platform uses all six cores of the new CPUs on the market. The FPS (frame per second) number is thus very high, which will allow users of the MD-11 to fly around huge virtual airports when the weather is complex without having to compromise.

Another positive aspect is that ORBX now offers products for X-Plane, which will greatly increase the choice of quality virtual sceneries.

Tags airplane crash, flight simulation, flight simulator, FPS, FSX, MD-11, MD-11F, Microsoft flight simulator X, ORBX, PC Pilot, PMDG, Rotate, virtual aircraft, X-Plane

Flight Simulation

The Martinair Cargo MD-11 on a virtual VFR approach in Innsbruck

Post author By Stanley
Post date 21 December 2017

Manually flying a huge aircraft like the MD-11F to make a virtual landing in Innsbruck surely will be fun for most flight simulation enthusiasts. Since the Innsbruck airport and its surroundings have been redesigned under ORBX Innsbruck, the immersion feeling is total. The landscape is absolutely fantastic.

A virtual Martinair Cargo MD-11F is airborne from runway 26 at the Innsbruck airport (LOWI)

Start by taking-off from runway 08. Anybody standing near the fence at the end of the runway will feel the blast. Then, gain enough altitude to be able to do a 180 degree turn to realign the aircraft for runway 26.

A PMDG MD-11F preparing for a visual approach runway 08 at Innsbruck

Make sure to activate the “air turbulence” option on your virtual weather engine, since an approach near the mountains in Innsbruck generates enough turbulence to make your approach more difficult. The pilot must also, for this exercise, deal with the actual winds even if they do not favor runway 26.

Virtual Martinair Cargo MD-11F approaching the Innsbruck airport (LOWI)

The flaps must be adjusted to 50 degrees for the MD-11F. Insure that the “Autopilot” function is set at “OFF”. The intensity of the automatic breaking is chosen according to the actual winds, the aircraft’s cargo load and the altitude of the airport. The margin of manoeuver with regards to the approach speed is not very large. I tried to maintain 150 kts.

A virtual PMDG MD-11F with full flaps (50 degrees) on final for runway 08 in Innsbruck

The Innsbruck runway is 2000 meters long. There is not much leeway for the MD-11F.

Virtual PMDG MD-11F arriving for runway 08 at Innsbruck

Virtual PMDG MD-11F breaking runway 08 in Innsbruck

Once on the ground, you must continue until the end of runway 26 in order to do a 180 degree turn. There is just enough space for the MD-11F.

Virtual Martinair Cargo MD-11F backtracking runway 08 at Innsbruck

As you can see in the image below, looking at the windsock, the landing was made with a good tailwind.

Virtual Martinair Cargo MD-11F exiting the runway at Innsbruck

The airport is superbly represented and a parking space is already reserved for bigger aircrafts. Employees are waiting for your arrival.

Innsbruck virtual airport and the Martinair Cargo MD-11F

PMDG virtual MD-11F parked at the Innsbruck airport in Austria

Virtual Martinair Cargo MD-11F parked at the Innsbruck airport

You can try landing with any other big carrier if you do not already own a PMDG virtual MD-11. If you would like to acquire this aircraft, you will realize that it is no longer offered by PMDG, at least for now. Try to put some pressure on the company so that they restart offering the aircraft on which they have put in so much effort. A message on their Facebook site should show your interest: PMDG

If you would like to see an exceptional two hour aviation video on a real flight that lasted ten days across the world, there is none better than the one made by PilotsEYE.tv: Lufthansa Cargo MD-11F in Quito

PilotsEye DVD on a ten day worldwide trip with a Lufthansa Cargo MD-11F

You witness part of the crew’s planning for a landing on the old Quito runway, in Ecuador. The airport’s altitude is so high that the MD-11F margin of manoeuver is extremely limited. Make sure to own a player that can decode European videos.

Have a good flight!

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