alius locus, alius mihi

We're there!!

nobody@vox.com(NDC) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 17:04:10 +1000

On Carriacou Island anyway. That's as far as 'DunnaRunna' will be going because she's not a seaplane. The trip from Brisbane to White Island, Grenada, is over.

Done for fun, because I'm a flightsim and aviation freak, and because when I started, the spirits were very low. The flight was called 'running away' in the simulator and when I started, that's what I wished I could do. Run away from life & all it's dramas. It's a fantasy which I'm never going to see fulfilled in this life, but maybe....sometime....

Anyway, the experience was worthwhile from the perspective of creating group events or air races for the virtual airline I'm a part of. I now know how long a half-world crossing can take in a twin piston-engined plane, and some of the complications to be encountered. Here's a couple of screenshots from the final flight, Oranjestad, Aruba to Lauriston, Carriacou. Where to next time I get the urge, I wonder?

Lauriston airfield down below

Sunset, as we approach Carriacou

Final destination just ahead

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Getting There

nobody@vox.com(NDC) — Thu, 01 May 2008 21:13:39 +1000

A fortnight ago, I wrote a little about my hobby of flightsimming. I was actually writing about my current escapade in fantasy land, whereby I'm flying a Rockwell Aero Commander 500S, or as it's marketed, a Shrike Commander, to a place I'd give anything to call my very own, away from the hassles of the everyday.

My AC500S, which I've 'repainted' and registered VH-NDC, is currently at Amata Kabua International Airport - a rather grandiose title - on Majuro Atoll. The capital of the Marshall Islands group. If indeed the collection of far flung coral atolls has a capital.

Majuro International a la FS2004

It's taken me two weeks to get this far, flying only on weekends, you understand. The Commander has an economical cruise speed of 185 knots at 12,000 feet, which means the various legs of around 400 to 600 nautical miles take around 2 to 3 hours. Trouble is, I'd planned to use Johnson Atoll as a waypoint, but I've recently discovered that Johnson Atoll is closed now to all air traffic. It was an emergency alternate for major airlines crossing the Pacific, but no longer. The island has been abandoned by the US military and has reverted to ownership of the US Fish and Wildlife Service ans a wildlife refuge. Rather incongruous when one considers what the atoll has been used for in the past.

This means, of course, that I have to re-plan my route. Seems that I now have to divert to Wake Island and then to Midway Island and then on to Kauai Island, Hawaii. All legs are within the aircraft's range, albeit extreme range, but it's a hell of a work around. Had I realised sooner, I'd have modified the model to install a ferry tank in place of the passenger cabin, however, in the spirit of realism, that's not the kind of work I could reasonably expect to have done in the Marshall Islands. Hawaii, yes, but Majuro Atoll.....??

I'd planned to modify the model once I'd reached Hawaii anyway. There's no way the aircraft could make the leg from Hawaii to San Francisco without a ferry tank.

Parked for the week. Long weekend coming up

There's nothing wrong with a little fantasy and imagination, I believe, and while I'm a mature adult, I've always harboured a secret desire to fly. I guess flightsimming on the computer is as close as I'll get this time around, so why not do it as real as possible, I say. More on the trip as it unfolds.

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Running Away

nobody@vox.com(NDC) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 17:07:15 +1000

In a bid to escape from the everyday dramas which are currently plaguing me, I decided to return to the fantasy world of flightsimming. You know....Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 (I'm both dubious about and too cheap to buy FSX). There's an abundance of freeware flight models available on the 'net and some damn good one's too. With custom made panels, virtual cockpits, sound files and liveries. Some of the payware stuff is also well worth the money to buy if you're at all like me, and just fall in love with a virtual representation of a wonderful, artistic and graceful aircraft.

Of course, I'm talking about civilian aircraft here. I'm not an overt fan of militaristic warbirds, although I do have a couple of ex-WW2 converted bombers and at least one circa 1950's jet in my 'hangar'. Neither am I a huge fan of modern jet powered civilian cattle-crates. With all the technology available today, even in the real world it's a matter of flaps set-throttles forward-gear up- autopilot set-coffee please. Long haul bus driving doesn't do it for me either. I'm more into the small twin props, especially the piston-engined jobs. Beech D18S, Howard 500 and Rockwell Aero Commander series.

I'm currently flying a cross-global route from Brisbane (YBBN) to Carriacou (TGPZ) in the Grenadines. The route takes me to Cairns, Port Moresby, Honiara, Marshall Islands, Hawaii, San Francisco, south western USA, Mexico, Dominican Republic and on to Grenada. The trip will take weeks, as it would in the real world, flying a Rockwell Shrike Commander, which I've altered to accommodate ferry tanks for the longer legs. This is pure escapism on my behalf, and Gods know I would happily escape if I could. It's a venture into a lifestyle I can only dream about with an ending which is really 'out there' by any stretch of the imagination. There's an island, known as White Island, less than 2 klicks off the coast of Carriacou. It measures half a klick by 200 metres with it's highest point about twelve metres above sea level. There's a considerable rocky tor on one end of the island and it's there I'd build a small shack. After paying US$3m for the island, what's the cost to ferry a builder to this remote spot? Chicken feed, I dare say!

I've included a link to the Google Earth file for White Island for those interested enough to take a gander. I'm considering mapping out the journey on GE, just for shits & giggles you understand. I'm currently in Port Moresby, having flown there from Cairns this arvo. No pics, I'm afraid. I was too busy getting used to this new bird to hang out the virtual window & take snap shots. I do promise there will be pics as the flight progresses though. Can you understand why I've titled this post "Running Away"? If I were any younger, I'd be seriously worried about me, but I'm not, so I can't be bothered. Beer or wine, anyone?

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Personal Obsession

nobody@vox.com(NDC) — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 19:20:32 +1000

A repainted flight model of the Grumman G-21a 'Goose' amphibian in the colours of Air Taxi International, a subsidiary of the virtual airline I'm a part of, AirSource. If you're a flight sim tragic, why not slip on over and see what AirSource is all about. More than 300 full time members can't be wrong.

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