Tropical Solomon Islands 2
an
MV Challenge for FS2002 Pro
freeware by Michael Vone
Fly bumpy scheduled round trips in a windy paradise with small airstrips Software: FS2002 Professional Aircraft used: default
Cessna Grand Caravan Included are: startup
FS2002 flights, preset weather, maps Optional:
add-on freeware Twin Otter (Solomon Airlines) and Britten-Norman
Islander For news and information
about all MV Challenges, visit the MV Challenges home page |
NOT FOR REAL FLYING: ONLY FOR FLIGHT SIMULATION © Copyright 2001 Michael Vone |
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Installation: |
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Background
information: |
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Flight descriptions: |
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This Challenge is a complete
remake of the MV Challenge by the same name for FS2000: in particular, it includes many more flights
to different destinations and with variable weather.
You are invited to pilot
scheduled round trips with intermediate stops at small airstrips in the
spectacular tropical Solomon Islands, with variable rough weather, very few
navaids and several system failures.
The trips simulate Solomon Airlines flights out of the Henderson airport
of the capital Honiara to various outlying islands. The real flights use Twin Otters or Islanders.
The challenges of these
flights include the inclement weather, sometimes with poor visibility,
turbulent winds and wind shear, a scarcity of navaids, and small rough runways
as well as aircraft system failures.
These are mainly visual
flights. You may use ATC in flight
following mode.
Each of the 5 round trips
takes from 3 to 6.5 hours, including 2 to 4 intermediate stops, according to
the official schedule.
No add-ons are
required.
Use the default FS2002 Pro
Cessna Grand Caravan.
For realism, you may
optionally replace the aircraft with a De Havilland Twin Otter in Solomon
Airlines livery or a Britten-Norman Islander (see under Installation).
Included are: flights with preset weather, regional maps.
It is assumed that you are
familiar with: using FS2002, flying
this Challenge's aircraft, using its autopilot, navigating with navaids, using
ATC.
The default aircraft will be the Cessna Grand
Caravan. It flies with a
cruise speed of about 135 kt IAS or 164 kt TAS at an altitude of about 20000
ft, and has a range of about 1100 nm.
It has all the standard navigational equipment (NAV/VOR, ADF/NDB,
GPS). Use the kneeboard (press F10) to
look up flight instructions.
(IAS is the indicated
airspeed normally shown on the airspeed indicator. TAS is the true airspeed relative to the air, as shown, for
example, by the GPS map when there is no wind.
You can also make the airspeed indicator show TAS through menu Aircraft
| Realism settings | select Display true airspeed; but this is not realistic since the TAS cannot be shown on real
aircraft.)
The recommended add-on DHC6 Twin Otter has similar flight characteristics
and equipment. The recommended panel,
however, does not seem to work perfectly in FS2002 (the PROP RPM and TORQUE
gauges don't seem to work properly, and the fuel is not consumed, at least on
my system), but the aircraft can be flown under the conditions of this
Challenge.
The recommended add-on Britten-Norman Islander cruises a bit more slowly
(about 120 kt IAS or 140 kt TAS) at an altitude of about 12000 ft. Its panel does not have a GPS.
To install these add-on
aircraft, see under Aircraft.
If you want to change the
flight number (used by ATC) in FS2002, select Change… under Select Aircraft
(the real flight numbers are given below for each flight). Note that this change will be permanent,
even after exiting from FS2002, until you change or blank out the flight number
again (this change is recorded in the plane's aircraft.cfg file, and can be
edited directly within that file).
There are very few navaids
(VORs, NDBs) in the Solomon Islands in FS2002, so the flights will be largely
flown visually or by dead reckoning.
Honiara has a powerful long-range VOR and an NDB, useful for all flights
out of and into Honiara. There is one
NDB at distant Santa Cruz, and one closer in at Auki (see the map). There are no ILSs to help with landing.
You have a choice:
1)
You can use the GPS map
(press Shift-3 in the Caravan, Shift-2 in the Twin Otter), as a guide to direct
you, and to estimate when to start your descent (see below): by displaying the airports, the GPS map
makes finding an airport easy. You may
also use the navaids, where available.
2)
Or you can ignore the GPS map and
navigate with the navaids where available, or by dead reckoning otherwise. Outside the reach of Honiara's VOR and Santa
Cruz' NDB, you will generally have to fly by "dead reckoning", which
means: estimate your heading (including
crabbing to compensate for crosswind), and estimate when to start your descent
(mainly by estimating the time when you should start descending; see below).
You may fly under ATC with
flight following. You will not be
vectored by ATC. (No flight plans are
included, so you can't fly IFR.)
To stay on course despite a
crosswind, you have to "crab" into the wind by a certain angle that
depends on the crosswind component and on the aircraft's true air speed
(TAS). This is particularly important
in cruise, especially when you are aiming for a small island! You can see the current wind direction and
speed by pressing Shift-Z. Typical TAS
values are given above. A simple
estimate of the crab angle is:
crab angle (degrees) = 60 x
crosswind (kt) / TAS (kt)
For example, a 10 kt
crosswind component across the flight track and a 150 kt TAS give a crab angle
of about 60 x 10 / 150 = 4 degrees.
It is always difficult to
estimate when to start a descent for landing.
A simple rough estimate is given by the 1:3 rule of thumb:
descent distance (nm) =
descent height (ft) x 3 / 1000
For example, to descend from
20000 ft to sea level requires about 20000 x 3 / 1000 = 60 nm.
Knowing the descent distance
is only useful if you know the distance from your current position to your
destination (as you do when approaching a VOR, if it includes a DME for
distance measurement, or when you use the GPS map to estimate the remaining
distance).
If you can't measure the
remaining distance, you need to estimate the time at which you reach the beginning
of descent. You do that by subtracting
the descent distance from the trip distance (given below for each flight) and
dividing by the average ground speed GS that includes the effect of headwind or
tailwind (you get the GS by adding the headwind component to the TAS or
subtracting the tailwind component from the TAS):
time to beginning of descent (hours) = (trip distance -
descent distance (nm)) / (average GS (kt))
Note that this estimate will
be very rough, because it is quite hard to estimate the average GS (it also
should include the slower climb). So
descend a bit early, or be prepared to loop near the airport if you arrive too
high.
For example, if you make a
200 nm trip at 20000 ft at 180 kt TAS with a 20 kt tailwind, your descent
distance will be about 20000 x 3 / 1000 = 60 nm, according to the formula for
the descent distance. So the time to
beginning of descent will be roughly (200 - 60) / (180 + 20) = 140 / 200 = 0.7
hours or 0.7 x 60 = 42 minutes from the time of departure.
For this estimation to be
useful, it is important
to record the time of your departure, or to start a stopwatch at departure!
To select and load a flight,
do the following:
· either start
FS2002, and click on SELECT A FLIGHT;
· or terminate your
current flight (by pressing Alt, then F, then F);
· under "1.
Choose a category", click on "Challenge - Tropical Solomon Islands
2";
· under "2.
Choose a flight", click on the desired flight.
If you wish to fly a
different aircraft, select it after loading the flight.
I suggest flying the provided
flights in the order listed in this document (1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 2a, 2b, …). But you are free to pick and choose the
flights as you like.
The first round trip (flights 1a-1d) is
meant primarily to
familiarize yourself with the terrain, navaids, aircraft and
weather: it consists of 4 relatively
easy flights, but requires avoiding crashes in tall mountains and finding a
small island in the ocean. In good
weather, you will pilot flight IE120 to the south from Honiara via Bellona to
Rennell. In worse weather, you will
command flight IE121 back the same way.
The second round trip (flights 2a-2e)
starts with clouds and rain and goes to islands with sunny skies but gusty
winds. It will also suffer a couple of
failures during the flight. You will
take flight IE142 to the west from Honiara via Seghe and Munda to Gizo, and
flight IE 143 back via Munda.
The third round trip (flights 3a-3d)
takes you from sunny weather to a distant windy island with low
visibility: if you can't land safely
there, you will have to turn back to a place with better weather. You will command flight IE118 to the east
from Honiara via Kirakira to distant Santa Cruz and flight IE119 back the same
way.
The fourth round trip (flights 4a-4e)
starts stormy and gusty and leads to other sunny and windy islands relatively
far to the northwest. However, aircraft
system failures will occur on the last two legs of this round trip. You will pilot flight IE154 from Honiara via
Gizo to Mono and Ballalae, returning as flight IE155 via Gizo.
The four preceding trips are
all normally flown by Twin Otter in reality.
The next flight is flown by Islander.
The last and toughest round trip
(flights 5a-5c) experiences very cloudy and low skies, with very poor
visibility, especially on the first and last legs! Furthermore, the last leg will suffer a complete electrical
failure. This trip goes as flight IE276
north from Honiara to Fera and Suavanao, returning direct to Honiara as flight
IE277.
Flight |
Solomon Airlines IE120 |
Aircraft |
Cessna Grand Caravan optional: Twin Otter |
Distance / course |
113 nm / 178° |
Flight level |
15500 ft |
Fuel at start |
40% |
Airports |
Schedule |
Elevation |
Runway |
Surface wind and conditions |
Navaids |
Dep: Honiara Henderson AGGH (HIR) |
2001/11/20 07:00 local |
30' |
6 asphalt no ILS |
060/08 rain |
VOR HN 112.6 NDB HN 348 |
Arr: Bellona AGGB (BNY) |
07:55 local |
40' |
11 dirt no ILS |
060/08 rain |
- |
Start here for your first
flight in the Tropical Solomon Islands!
You will first simulate Solomon Airlines IE120, a twice-weekly morning
flight from Honiara to the tiny island of Bellona, then Rennell, and back.
Choose the flight named
"TropSolomons-1a-Honiara-Bellona-Caravan".
This will place the default
FS2002 Grand Caravan on the ramp at Honiara's airport. You may load a Twin Otter now, if you
wish. You may also adjust the flight
number.
The weather is preset. You have enough fuel for the round trip.
Start up the plane and taxi to runway
6. Adjust lights, flaps, altimeter,
radios, etc.
If desired, tell ATC you want
to depart to the south.
Take off, then turn right 180° to join the HN VOR radial
178, while climbing to the cruise altitude of 15500 ft. Make sure you clear the mountains: these top out around 8100 ft (2447 m at Mt.
Makarakomburu).
By following the HN VOR radial 178,
you should find Bellona despite its small size. Remember to crab into the wind to stay on course: see the crabbing
instructions above.
Start your descent by judging your distance from Bellona with the HN
VOR (the Honiara - Bellona distance is 113 nm, as listed above): see the instructions above to estimate the descent distance.
There are no navaids around
Bellona, so you approach entirely visually.
You may broadcast your position and intentions via ATC.
Land on (dirt) runway 11, due to the wind direction.
Taxi to a spot off the runway and shut down the plane, to let your passengers off
and on.
Start the next flight given
below to continue the trip.
Flight |
Solomon Airlines IE120 |
Aircraft |
Cessna Grand Caravan optional: Twin Otter |
Distance / course |
21 nm / 124° |
Flight level |
3500 ft |
Fuel at start |
30% |
Airports |
Schedule |
Elevation |
Runway |
Surface wind and conditions |
Navaids |
Dep: Bellona AGGB (BNY) |
08:05 local |
40' |
11 dirt no ILS |
060/08 rain |
- |
Arr: Rennell AGGR (RNL) |
08:25 local |
82' |
12 dirt no ILS |
060/08 rain |
- |
After 10 minutes on the
ground in Bellona, you resume flight IE120 to Rennell, only 21 nm to the
southeast.
Choose the flight named
"TropSolomons-1b-Bellona-Rennell-Caravan". You may load
a Twin Otter now. You may also adjust
the flight number.
You may follow the same ATC
procedures as before.
Start up, taxi and take
off.
Fly almost straight out
toward Rennell at 3500 ft. Rennell lies
on a larger but fairly flat island.
Land on (dirt) runway 12.
Taxi and shut down.
Flight |
Solomon Airlines IE121 |
Aircraft |
Cessna Grand Caravan optional: Twin Otter |
Distance / course |
21 nm / 304° |
Flight level |
2500 ft |
Fuel at start |
28% |
Airports |
Schedule |
Elevation |
Runway |
Surface wind and conditions |
Navaids |
Dep: Rennell AGGR (RNL) |
08:35 local |
82' |
12 dirt no ILS |
090/10g15 rain |
- |
Arr: Bellona AGGB (BNY) |
08:55 local |
40' |
11 dirt no ILS |
090/10g15 rain |
- |
You have 10 minutes in
Rennell, before starting the return trip via Bellona to Honiara as flight
IE121.
Choose the flight named
"TropSolomons-1c-Rennell-Bellona-Caravan". You may load
a Twin Otter now. You may also adjust
the flight number.
The weather has worsened,
with stronger gusty winds, rain, more clouds and lower visibility.
Use runway 12 for takeoff
from Rennell, and runway 11 for landing at Bellona.
Flight |
Solomon Airlines IE121 |
Aircraft |
Cessna Grand Caravan optional: Twin Otter |
Distance / course |
113 nm / 358° |
Flight level |
16500 ft |
Fuel at start |
25% |
Airports |
Schedule |
Elevation |
Runway |
Surface wind and conditions |
Navaids |
Dep: Bellona AGGB (BNY) |
09:05 local |
40' |
11 dirt no ILS |
090/10g15 rain |
- |
Arr: Honiara Henderson AGGH (HIR) |
10:00 local |
30' |
6 asphalt no ILS |
090/10g15 rain |
VOR HN 112.6 NDB HN 348 |
After 10 minutes at Bellona,
return to Honiara.
Choose the flight named
"TropSolomons-1d-Bellona-Honiara-Caravan". You may load
a Twin Otter now. You may also adjust
the flight number.
Take off from runway 11, and
fly north.
When you catch the HN VOR,
join its 358 radial.
As you descend into Honiara,
watch the 8000+ ft mountains about 15 nm south of Honiara.
Flight |
Solomon Airlines IE142 |
Aircraft |
Cessna Grand Caravan optional: Twin Otter |
Distance / course |
139 nm / 282° |
Flight level |
16500 ft |
Fuel at start |
50% |
Airports |
Schedule |
Elevation |
Runway |
Surface wind and conditions |
Navaids |
Dep: Honiara Henderson AGGH (HIR) |
2001/11/21 13:00 local |
30' |
24 asphalt no ILS |
150/12g15 rain |
VOR HN 112.6 NDB HN 348 |
Arr: Seghe AGGS (EGM) |
14:00 local |
11' |
10 dirt no ILS |
190/15g18 sunny |
- |
The next day, you fly an afternoon
round trip from Honiara via Seghe and Munda to Gizo, and back via Munda to
Honiara. The weather is quite cloudy
and rainy at first, and then clears up but becomes windy and gusty to the west. This will give you spectacular views over
the many islands strung along today's flight path.
Choose the flight named
"TropSolomons-2a-Honiara-Seghe-Caravan".
This will place the default
FS2002 Grand Caravan on the ramp at Honiara's airport. You may load a Twin Otter now. You may also adjust the flight number.
The weather is preset. You have enough fuel to safely reach Gizo.
Fly as before, using the
data given in the tables above.
Just before Seghe, you pass
over a mountain of about 6000 ft. So
you could descend to 8000 ft when you see the mountain, and then dive down to
Seghe after that mountain.
The crosswind will make the
landing interesting!
Flight |
Solomon Airlines IE142 |
Aircraft |
Cessna Grand Caravan optional: Twin Otter |
Distance / course |
40 nm / 283° |
Flight level |
4500 ft |
Fuel at start |
39% |
Airports |
Schedule |
Elevation |
Runway |
Surface wind and conditions |
Navaids |
Dep: Seghe AGGS (EGM) |
14:10 local |
11' |
10 dirt no ILS |
190/15g18 sunny |
- |
Arr: Munda AGGM (EGM) |
14:30 local |
9' |
25 dirt no ILS |
190/15g18 sunny |
- |
You continue from Seghe to
Munda, a short low flight between islands.
Choose the flight named "TropSolomons-2b-Seghe-Munda-Caravan". You may load
a Twin Otter now. You may also adjust
the flight number.
Fly as before, using the
data given in the tables above.
Taxi to Munda's ramp, near
the pump (you don't need fuel).
Flight |
Solomon Airlines IE142 |
Aircraft |
Cessna Grand Caravan optional: Twin Otter |
Distance / course |
28 nm / 291° |
Flight level |
2500 ft |
Fuel at start |
35% |
Airports |
Schedule |
Elevation |
Runway |
Surface wind and conditions |
Navaids |
Dep: Munda AGGM (EGM) |
14:40 local |
9' |
25 dirt no ILS |
190/15g18 sunny |
- |
Arr: Gizo Nusatupe AGGN (GZO) |
14:55 local |
14' |
14 coral no ILS |
190/15g18 sunny |
- |
You continue from Munda to
Gizo, an even shorter and lower flight.
Choose the flight named "
TropSolomons-2c-Munda-Gizo-Caravan". You may load a Twin Otter
now. You may also adjust the flight
number.
Fly as before.
Flight |
Solomon Airlines IE143 |
Aircraft |
Cessna Grand Caravan optional: Twin Otter |
Distance / course |
28 nm / 111° |
Flight level |
3500 ft |
Fuel at start |
50% |
Airports |
Schedule |
Elevation |
Runway |
Surface wind and conditions |
Navaids |
Dep: Gizo Nusatupe AGGN (GZO) |
15:05 local |
14' |
14 coral no ILS |
200/18g22 rain |
- |
Arr: Munda AGGM (EGM) |
15:20 local |
9' |
25 dirt no ILS |
200/18g22 rain |
- |
You now start the return, as
flight IE143, from Gizo to Munda. The
weather has degraded somewhat, with some rain, more clouds and stronger winds,
and especially stronger gusts. You will
unfortunately suffer a vacuum failure in flight, which will disable the
autopilot.
Choose the flight named
"TropSolomons-2d-Gizo-Munda-Caravan". You may load
a Twin Otter now. You may also adjust
the flight number.
The tanks have been filled to
50% of capacity, enough to safely reach Honiara.
Fly as before.
When you reach cruise
altitude, prepare a vacuum failure as follows:
· press Alt, then A,
then L;
· select Systems;
· arm Vacuum from 1
to 2 minutes;
· fly with the
normal 1x simulation rate.
(The reason for the 1x
simulation rate is that the time to failure is measured on the computer clock,
not the simulation clock: if you flew
with a 4x simulation rate, you would fly 4x farther before the failure would
occur.)
Soon, the attitude indicator
will fail; more importantly, the
autopilot HDG and ALT modes fail in turn.
Disconnect the autopilot, if you are using
it, and fly the remaining distance manually.
The vacuum failure is easily
fixed on the ground. After landing, you
should:
· press Alt, then A,
then L;
· select Systems;
· uncheck Vacuum
failed.
(This is needed to avoid
keeping the same failure in your next flight.)
Flight |
Solomon Airlines IE143 |
Aircraft |
Cessna Grand Caravan optional: Twin Otter |
Distance / course |
178 nm / 103° |
Flight level |
18500 ft |
Fuel at start |
47% |
Airports |
Schedule |
Elevation |
Runway |
Surface wind and conditions |
Navaids |
Dep: Munda AGGM (EGM) |
15:40 local |
11' |
25 dirt no ILS |
200/18g22 rain |
- |
Arr: Honiara Henderson AGGH (HIR) |
17:00 local |
30' |
24 asphalt no ILS |
190/12g20 t'storms, 5 mi visib. |
- |
The return flight skips Seghe,
and goes direct from Munda to Honiara, but with another failure.
Choose the flight named
"TropSolomons-2e-Munda-Honiara-Caravan". You may load
a Twin Otter now. You may also adjust
the flight number.
The weather in Honiara includes
thunderstorms and a lower visibility of 5 miles.
Fly as before, passing well
above Seghe.
When you reach Seghe (about
140 nm from Honiara), prepare a NAV failure as follows:
· press Alt, then A,
then L;
· select Radios;
· arm each NAV from 2
to 4 minutes (the Caravan has two NAVs, the Twin Otter one);
· fly with the
normal 1x simulation rate.
Soon, the NAV or NAVs will
fail; the NDB should still work.
Now fly by dead reckoning, until you pick up Honiara's NDB on the
ADF. And make sure you start your descent early enough.
Watch the mountain at the
northwestern end of Guadalcanal Island.
After landing, you should:
· press Alt, then A,
then L;
· select Radios;
· uncheck each NAV
failed.
Flight |
Solomon Airlines IE118 |
Aircraft |
Cessna Grand Caravan optional: Twin Otter |
Distance / course |
125 nm / 110° |
Flight level |
19500 ft |
Fuel at start |
70% |
Airports |
Schedule |
Elevation |
Runway |
Surface wind and conditions |
Navaids |
Dep: Honiara Henderson AGGH (HIR) |
2001/11/25 07:00 local |
30' |
24 asphalt no ILS |
250/15g20 sunny |
VOR HN 112.6 NDB HN 348 |
Arr: Kirakira AGGK (IRA) |
08:00 local |
8' |
28 dirt no ILS |
250/15g20 sunny |
- |
The next Sunday, you fly a
longer round trip from Honiara via Kirakira to Santa Cruz, and back the same
way. The weather is sunny and gusty on
this first leg.
Choose the flight named
"TropSolomons-3a-Honiara-Kirakira-Caravan".
This will place the default
FS2002 Grand Caravan on the ramp at Honiara's airport. You may load a Twin Otter now. You may also adjust the flight number.
The weather is preset. You have enough fuel to safely reach Santa
Cruz, and even to return to Kirakira if you can't land at Santa Cruz (but more
about that later…).
Fly as before, using the
data given in the tables above.
You can estimate when to
begin descending by using the distance given by the Honiara VOR/DME.
Flight |
Solomon Airlines IE118 |
Aircraft |
Cessna Grand Caravan optional: Twin Otter |
Distance / course |
230 nm / 084° |
Flight level |
21000 ft |
Fuel at start |
60% |
Airports |
Schedule |
Elevation |
Runway |
Surface wind and conditions |
Navaids |
Dep: Kirakira AGGK (IRA) |
08:20 local |
8' |
28 dirt no ILS |
250/15g20 sunny |
- |
Arr: Santa Cruz AGGL (SCZ) |
10:05 local |
11' |
23 dirt no ILS |
270/18g30 t'storm, 5 mi visib. |
NDB GB 370 |
Continue from Kirakira to Santa
Cruz, mostly over water, as the weather worsens seriously down below, while you
are pushed along by a good tailwind.
Conditions at Santa Cruz are marginal:
don't be surprised if it is too gusty there to land. It all depends on your flying skills! If you divert, return to Kirakira (or to
Santa Ana some 40 nm before Kirakira), but be aware that the tailwind becomes a
stiff headwind.
Choose the flight named
"TropSolomons-3b-Kirakira-SantaCruz-Caravan". You may load
a Twin Otter now. You may also adjust
the flight number.
Record your takeoff
time. During flight, calculate when you
should start your descent, using the instructions to estimate the beginning of descent.
Fly on the course indicated above
(but take into account the strong wind at cruise level: see crabbing).
Some 30 nm from Santa Cruz,
you should be able to pick up its NDB, listed above, and then home in on it.
If you manage to land
safely, shut down the aircraft and continue with the next flight. Otherwise, fly back to Kirakira (or Santa
Ana and then Kirakira): there you can
pick up the following flight back to Honiara.
Flight |
Solomon Airlines IE119 |
Aircraft |
Cessna Grand Caravan optional: Twin Otter |
Distance / course |
230 nm / 264° |
Flight level |
20000 ft |
Fuel at start |
70% |
Airports |
Schedule |
Elevation |
Runway |
Surface wind and conditions |
Navaids |
Dep: Santa Cruz AGGL (SCZ) |
10:25 local |
11' |
23 dirt no ILS |
270/18g30 t'storm, 5 mi visib. |
NDB GB 370 |
Arr: Kirakira AGGK (IRA) |
12:05 local |
8' |
28 dirt no ILS |
250/15g20 sunny |
- |
Assuming that you did land at
Santa Cruz, and after taking enough fuel, return as flight IE119 from Santa
Cruz to Kirakira. In this direction,
the weather will improve markedly, even though you will still face strong
surface winds. You now encounter a
stiff headwind during cruise: it may be
hard to respect the schedule!
Choose the flight named
"TropSolomons-3c-SantaCruz-Kirakira-Caravan". You may load
a Twin Otter now. You may also adjust
the flight number.
Fly on the course indicated
above, guided by the NDB at first.
Flight |
Solomon Airlines IE119 |
Aircraft |
Cessna Grand Caravan optional: Twin Otter |
Distance / course |
125 nm / 290° |
Flight level |
18500 ft |
Fuel at start |
50% |
Airports |
Schedule |
Elevation |
Runway |
Surface wind and conditions |
Navaids |
Dep: Kirakira AGGK (IRA) |
12:25 local |
8' |
28 dirt no ILS |
250/15g20 sunny |
- |
Arr: Honiara Henderson AGGH (HIR) |
13:25 local |
30' |
24 asphalt no ILS |
250/15g20 sunny |
VOR HN 112.6 NDB HN 348 |
You return to Honiara from
Kirakira with much the same weather as you experienced here earlier in the day.
Choose the flight named
"TropSolomons-3d-Kirakira-Honiara-Caravan". You may load
a Twin Otter now. You may also adjust
the flight number.
Fly as before.
Flight |
Solomon Airlines IE154 |
Aircraft |
Cessna Grand Caravan optional: Twin Otter |
Distance / course |
206 nm / 283° |
Flight level |
20500 ft |
Fuel at start |
40% |
Airports |
Schedule |
Elevation |
Runway |
Surface wind and conditions |
Navaids |
Dep: Honiara Henderson AGGH (HIR) |
2001/11/28 07:00 local |
30' |
6 asphalt no ILS |
350/10g15 thunderstorm |
VOR HN 112.6 NDB HN 348 |
Arr: Gizo AGGN (GZO) |
08:30 local |
14' |
32 coral no ILS |
010/20g22 sunny |
- |
The next Wednesday, you fly
another long round trip from Honiara via Gizo to two small islands, Mono and
Ballalae, at the far northwest end of the Solomon Islands (close to the island
of Bougainville, part of Papua New Guinea);
the return leads from Ballalae via Gizo to Honiara. The weather starts stormy and gusty on this
leg, and becomes sunny and windy along the way.
Choose the flight named
"TropSolomons-4a-Honiara-Gizo-Caravan".
This will place the default
FS2002 Grand Caravan on the ramp at Honiara's airport. You may load a Twin Otter now. You may also adjust the flight number.
Fly as before, using the
data given in the tables above.
On this relatively long
flight, you have a strong crosswind from the north: crab appropriately to compensate for
this.
Flight |
Solomon Airlines IE154 |
Aircraft |
Cessna Grand Caravan optional: Twin Otter |
Distance / course |
87 nm / 289° |
Flight level |
10500 ft |
Fuel at start |
40% |
Airports |
Schedule |
Elevation |
Runway |
Surface wind and conditions |
Navaids |
Dep: Gizo AGGN (GZO) |
08:50 local |
14' |
32 coral no ILS |
010/20g22 sunny |
- |
Arr: Mono AGGO (MNY) |
09:30 local |
35' |
22 coral no ILS |
010/20g22 sunny |
- |
Continue from Gizo to Mono
on its tiny island. The weather remains
sunny and windy.
Choose the flight named
"TropSolomons-4b-Gizo-Mono-Caravan". You may load
a Twin Otter now. You may also adjust
the flight number.
Fly as before.
Flight |
Solomon Airlines IE154 |
Aircraft |
Cessna Grand Caravan optional: Twin Otter |
Distance / course |
32 nm / 028° |
Flight level |
3000 ft |
Fuel at start |
32% |
Airports |
Schedule |
Elevation |
Runway |
Surface wind and conditions |
Navaids |
Dep: Mono AGGO (MNY) |
09:40 local |
35' |
22 coral no ILS |
010/20g22 sunny |
- |
Arr: Ballalae AGGE (BAS) |
10:00 local |
6' |
22 dirt no ILS |
010/20g22 sunny |
- |
Make the short hop from Mono
to Ballalae, on another tiny island (Bougainville lies off to the left). The weather is still sunny and windy.
Choose the flight named "TropSolomons-4c-Mono--Ballalae-Caravan". You may load
a Twin Otter now. You may also adjust
the flight number.
Fly as before.
Flight |
Solomon Airlines IE155 |
Aircraft |
Cessna Grand Caravan optional: Twin Otter |
Distance / course |
88 nm / 130° |
Flight level |
9500 ft |
Fuel at start |
28% |
Airports |
Schedule |
Elevation |
Runway |
Surface wind and conditions |
Navaids |
Dep: Ballalae AGGE (BAS) |
10:10 local |
6' |
22 dirt no ILS |
010/20g22 sunny |
- |
Arr: Gizo AGGN (GZO) |
10:50 local |
14' |
32 coral no ILS |
010/20g22 sunny |
- |
Start the return via Gizo to
Honiara, as flight IE155. The weather
remains sunny and windy.
Choose the flight named
"TropSolomons-4c-Mono-Ballalae-Caravan". You may load
a Twin Otter now. You may also adjust
the flight number.
Fly as before to Gizo.
During the climb to cruise, prepare
a pitot static failure as follows (the pitot tube measures airspeed):
· press Alt, then A,
then L;
· select Systems;
· arm Pitot static
from 2 to 4 minutes;
· fly with the
normal 1x simulation rate.
As a result, within minutes,
the airspeed indicator will fail. If
you used the autothrottle in the Twin Otter, disconnect it now.
From here on you will have
to set your
(unknown) speed by adjusting the throttle!
After landing at Gizo, the
cause of the pitot problem is found and easily fixed: a bird hit the pitot tube and blocked it. You should:
· press Alt, then A,
then L;
· select Systems;
· uncheck Pitot
static failed.
Flight |
Solomon Airlines IE155 |
Aircraft |
Cessna Grand Caravan optional: Twin Otter |
Distance / course |
206 nm / 103° |
Flight level |
19500 ft |
Fuel at start |
40% |
Airports |
Schedule |
Elevation |
Runway |
Surface wind and conditions |
Navaids |
Dep: Gizo AGGN (GZO) |
11:10 local |
14' |
32 coral no ILS |
010/20g22 sunny |
- |
Arr: Honiara Henderson AGGH (HIR) |
12:40 local |
30' |
6 asphalt no ILS |
350/10g15 thunderstorm |
VOR HN 112.6 NDB HN 348 |
On the final leg of this trip,
from Gizo back to Honiara, the weather turns stormy and gusty again.
Choose the flight named
"TropSolomons-4e-Gizo-Honiara-Caravan". You may load
another aircraft now. You may also
adjust the flight number.
Fly as before.
When you reach 100 nm from
VOR HN, prepare a vacuum failure as follows:
· press Alt, then A,
then L;
· select Systems;
· arm Vacuum from 2
to 4 minutes;
· fly with the
normal 1x simulation rate.
Within minutes, the attitude
indicator will fail; more importantly,
the autopilot HDG and ALT modes fail in turn.
Disconnect the autopilot, if you are using
it, and fly the remaining 100 nm manually.
After landing, you should:
· press Alt, then A,
then L;
· select Systems;
· uncheck Vacuum
failed.
Flight |
Solomon Airlines IE276 |
Aircraft |
Cessna Grand Caravan optional: Islander |
Distance / course |
84 nm / 331° |
Flight level |
9500 ft |
Fuel at start |
50% |
Airports |
Schedule |
Elevation |
Runway |
Surface wind and conditions |
Navaids |
Dep: Honiara Henderson AGGH (HIR) |
2001/11/30 14:30 local |
30' |
24 asphalt no ILS |
300/25g35 rain, visib. 3 mi |
VOR HN 112.6 NDB HN 348 |
Arr: Fera AGGF (FRE) |
15:10 local |
9' |
36 dirt no ILS |
300/25g35 rain, visib. 3 mi |
- |
The next Friday, you fly a
tough round trip from Honiara via Fera to Suavanao, returning non-stop to
Honiara. The weather is the worst so far,
with low clouds, strong gusty winds and very poor visibility. This first leg to Fera will be especially
dangerous because of mountains just before its airstrip. In fact, I strongly discourage taking any
passengers with you…
Choose the flight named "TropSolomons-5a-Honiara-Fera-Caravan".
This will place the default
FS2002 Grand Caravan on the ramp at Honiara's airport. You may load an Islander now. You may also adjust the flight number.
Because of the low
visibility, precision
in navigation will be essential here.
Take off on runway 24 and join the 333 radial of the HN VOR: to make sure you set 333°, hold the mouse pointer over the HSI gauge (the
leftmost gauge with a compass rose) until you see what Course value it
shows; the Course should read 333, or
you may miss the destination!
You have a strong headwind,
so you will definitely arrive late, if you arrive at all.
Fera lies on a small low
island right beyond the high cliffs of the large island of Santa Isabel, which
has mountains topping out around 4000 ft in this area: you must fly over those mountains and drop
steeply down those cliffs if you want to make a straight-in landing.
A pilot who has not flown
under these conditions before will have a hard time. But you are fortunate to have a co-pilot familiar with the area,
who suggests:
· about 23 nm before
Fera, start your descent to 5000 ft (use the HN VOR/DME and the leg
distance tabulated above to figure this out);
· as you reach the
jagged cliff edge (zig-zag-like) and see water ahead, dive
toward the water, flying straight;
· when you see the
shore of Fera's island ahead of you, turn toward the left end of this stringy
island to find its runway;
· make a right turn to line
up with the runway 36; crab
strongly to the left when landing!
If you prefer a gentler approach,
fly to overhead Fera (at about 84 nm from the HN VOR, but beware that you lose
contact with this VOR when you fly low) and descend to the northeast, over
water. You can then figure out a way to
land on runway 36 by yourself: it
should be fun!
If you choose not to land,
continue to Suavanao (see directions in the next flight).
Flight |
Solomon Airlines IE276 |
Aircraft |
Cessna Grand Caravan optional: Islander |
Distance / course |
59 nm / 292° |
Flight level |
6500 ft |
Fuel at start |
41% |
Airports |
Schedule |
Elevation |
Runway |
Surface wind and conditions |
Navaids |
Dep: Fera AGGF (FRE) |
15:20 local |
20' |
22 dirt no ILS |
300/25g35 rain, visib. 3 mi |
- |
Arr: Suavanao AGGV (VAO) |
15:50 local |
30' |
22 dirt no ILS |
280/20g22 sunny |
VOR HN 112.6 NDB HN 348 |
After 10 minutes, continue
from Fera to Suavanao. The weather will
clear up as you approach Suavanao, but the winds will still be strong.
Choose the flight named
"TropSolomons-5b-Fera-Suavanao-Caravan". You may load
an Islander now. You may also adjust
the flight number.
Since the weather will clear
up, you need less precision in navigation.
One way to fly is to follow the spectacular coast of Santa Isabel Island
to the west. Suavanao lies on a
peninsula (promontory) of Santa Isabel right across a pair of small
islands.
Take off on runway 36 and head along the coast (about 292°).
One way to decide when to
begin descending is to use the HN VOR/DME:
you may start descending at a distance from HN of about 116 nm.
Flight |
Solomon Airlines IE277 |
Aircraft |
Cessna Grand Caravan optional: Islander |
Distance / course |
136 nm / 135° |
Flight level |
13500 ft |
Fuel at start |
35% |
Airports |
Schedule |
Elevation |
Runway |
Surface wind and conditions |
Navaids |
Dep: Suavanao AGGV (VAO) |
15:20 local |
9' |
22 dirt no ILS |
280/20g22 sunny |
- |
Arr: Honiara Henderson AGGH (HIR) |
15:50 local |
20' |
24 asphalt no ILS |
300/25g35 rain, visib. 3 mi |
- |
After 10 minutes, continue
from Suavanao to Honiara. The weather
is still clear for the departure, but will turn bad again as you fly to the
southeast.
Choose the flight named
"TropSolomons-5c-Suavanao-Honiara-Caravan". You may load
an Islander now. You may also adjust
the flight number.
Honiara's VOR will guide you for this return flight, despite the poor visibility,
at least until your aircraft suffers a complete electrical failure...
When you reach 80 nm from VOR
HN, prepare a total electrical system failure as follows:
· press Alt, then A,
then L;
· select Systems;
· arm Electric
system from 2 to 4 minutes;
· fly with the
normal 1x simulation rate.
As a result, within minutes,
several instruments will fail: radios
(and thus ATC), autopilot, and compass (but the compass still works in the
Islander). You will still be able to
use: altimeter, airspeed, vertical
speed indicator, attitude indicator, and compass (in the Islander).
You main challenge now is to
find and line
up with Honiara's runway 24.
One suggestion: veer slightly to
the right of the direct course to Honiara.
That way you should find the coast of Guadalcanal and you will know that
you need to turn left along the coast to find Honiara (otherwise, you would not
know whether to turn right or left when you hit the coast; this is called "aim-off"
navigation).
After landing, you should:
· press Alt, then A,
then L;
· select Systems;
· uncheck Electric
system failed.
You have now flown many
of Solomon Airways' domestic routes, and have become quite familiar with this
territory. How about applying for a
pilot's job with Solomon Airways?