Around the world in 175 days.

[blanston12]

July 9, 1924: The Flyers were used to getting up before day break but this day the slept in till after 7am and were not in the air until after 11am for there flight to Aleppo Syria, escorted for the first hour and a half by British Fighters. There route followed the Euphrates river and more monotonous desert They landed at the French Airfield northwest of the city and were greeted by laughing French pilots who insisted on toasting them with a special Champaign they had been saving for the occasion. After servicing there aircraft they were taken into town and to a reception and dinner that lasted until 2am.

September 13, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the Vought F4U Corsair. The Corsair first few in 1940 and was the first US Fighter to fly faster than 400 mph but it did not enter combat until 1943. Over 12,500 were built before the final delivery in 1953, the longest production run of any piston engine fighter in US history. I am using the ‘Birdcage’ model by JustFlight, which is quite nice. My flight to Aleppo was uneventful. Weather was good, clear with 5 knot winds and a temperature of 23C/73F. We cruised at 4000 feet, mostly following the Euphrates river, the Corsair made short work of the 388 mile flight cruising at over 290 knots and landing at the Aleppo International Airport after 1.4 hours of flying. I am happy that the civil war that has engulfed Syria does not invade the virtual space I fly in because I know the people of Aleppo have suffered quite a bit and as far as I can tell there airport is still closed because of the fighting.

Here are my pics;


Climbing out of Baghdad.


Heading out over the desart.


Not much out there.


Selfie!


No eclipses here.


Following the river.


Over Syria.


Landed.

Thanks for reading.
ATB

[blanston12]

July 10 1924: Despite the dinner than ended at 2am the night before the flyers were up at 6am and in the air by 9am for Constantinople (now Istanbul). Ahead were the 10,000 foot Taurus mountains that they planes could not fly over, so flying single file at 4000 feet they followed the Berlin-Baghdad railroad that cut through the valley, often uncomfortably close to the to the Mountain walls. Here they experienced the first real cold air since they left the Kurile islands. At 2:30 pm they landed at San Stefano aerodrome in Constantinople. To greet them was Admiral Bristol the American ambassador and few other American and Turkish officials but not the large crowds that would have been there had the cables Smith sent from Baghdad and Aleppo arrived, the telegraph system in this part of the world had not caught up to the technology of the day. After servicing there aircraft they went into the city but there were no dinners or receptions to attend since nobody really knew when they were coming. That evening they had dinner at the hotel and went to a Cabaret.

September 14, 2017: For the next flight I will be using the Lockheed L-049 Constellation. The Connie came out of a reqirement from TWA for an aircraft that could fly 3500 miles with 40 passengers. It used four R-3350 engines had a pressurized hull and wings similar to that used on the P-38. The aircraft first flew in 1943 and by then all civilian orders were taken over by the military. Designated the C-69 it was used as a high-speed, long-distance troop transport. Production was slow because the B-29 program had priority for the engines and by the end of the war only 22 had been built. Eventually 856 of all models were built by the time production ended in 1958. It set the standard for speed and luxury until replaced by Jet aircraft. A Connie still holds the record for a flight between New York and Washington, a record that will probably not be broken because it was done before the FAA speed limit below 10000 feet was imposed. The version I am using is made by JustFlight and is included as a default aircraft within P3D. As much as I would love to keep flying WW2 aircraft for the rest of the flight, history moves on and I figure this aircraft will be a good transition between that era and the post war aircraft I will be flying next.

The weather for the flight from Aleppo to Istanbul was good, Clear with no wind and a temperature of 23.4C/74F. Being able to cruise higher than the Douglas World Cruiser I flew at around 10000 feet over the mountains on a direct course for Ataturk International Airport. Landing safely the 489nm flight had taken just 2 hours.

Here are a few pics.


Getting ready to takeoff.


Climbing out of Aleppo


Heading out of Syria.


Flying over Turkey.


The Taurus mountians.


Cruisin.


Our destination is in site.


Secured.

Thanks for reading,
ATB.

[blanston12]

July 12, 1924: They had hoped to get off early the next day but the Turks had requested that members of there air force be allowed to inspect there aircraft, given how reluctant the Turkish government had been to allow them to land Smith agreed and they spent much of the day sightseeing and visiting the Ambassador and pilots of the Turkish air force. They were up before dawn the next day and were off by 7:45am for Bucharest Romania and the start of the fifth division of there trip. They flew over battlefields of the great war where the trenches, ruined towns and destroyed bridges were still visible. They landed at the Franco-Romanian aerodrome around noon, strangely there was no official party to greet them. That evening they were given an impromptu dinner from members of the foreign colony, while there chief of the Romanian Air Service rushed in and apologized on behalf of the government for not welcoming then they arrived.

September 16, 2017: For the next leg I will be flying the Douglas A-1 Skyraider. Designed as a carrier based dive/torpedo bomber during World War 2, it did not enter service until late 1946. Able to carry more payload than a B-17, the A-1 was considered on of the best attack and close air support aircraft ever built. Over 3180 were built before production ended in 1957 and it was used in both the Korean and Vietnam War. The last was retired in 1985. The model I am using today was produced by Tim “Piglet” Conrad (Tim we miss you) and is excellent. My flight to Bucharest was uneventful, weather was good, 12 knot winds with a few clouds at 3000 feet and a temperature of 26C. I did a little sightseeing over Istanbul before heading up Bosphorus strait and along the coast of the Black sea, crossing over Bulgaria and into Romania and landed at Băneasa International Airport, the former Franco-Romanian aerodrome, the oldest continuously operating airport in Eastern Europe. The 243 nm flight had take 1 hour.

Here are a few snapshots.


Ready to go.


Sightseeing over Istanbul.


Time to get going.


Along the Black sea.


Over Bulgaria.


Glamour Shots.


Over the Danube River.


And landed.

Thanks for reading
ATB.

[blanston12]

July 13, 1924: They left Bucharest at dawn and headed west to the Danube River, through the Transylvanian Alps to Belgrade Yugoslavia. The weather had been remarkably good and the aircraft well so with plenty of fuel remaining they flew over the airport where the diplomatic officials were waiting and continued to Budapest Hungary (Smith later sent an apology). They landed at Maryasfold aerodrome after nearly 7 hours of flying where a small crowd was waiting to greet them, there had been a large crowd but a rumor went around saying the flyers were not coming. But they were welcomed by the diplomats who were there, a few speeches were given and they were invited to a nearby hanger where lunch was provided.

September 16, 2017: The aircraft I will use next is the Antonov An-2, aka "Annushka". The AN-2 is a Soviet built single-engine biplane utility/agricultural aircraft that first flew in 1946. Its remarkable durability, high lifting power, and ability to take off and land from poor runways have given it a long service life. Produced up to 2001 and remains in service operators around the world, over 18000 were built. The model I am using today I was made by SibWings and is very nice but it its not P3Dv4 compatible. Weather started off good, clear with 6 knot winds and a temperature of 22C. I flew west till I intercepted the Danube and followed it through the mountains, then north to Budapest where the weather had turned to thunder storms, but I landed safely at Tököl Airport after 4.1 hours of flying.

Here are the images:


Ready to go.


Climbing out of Bucharest.


Glamour Shots.


Following the Danube.


Into Hungary.


Good weather still.


Desination in site.


Landed.

[blanston12]

July 13, 1924: After lunch they were back in there planes and on their way to Vienna Austria, arriving two hours later and were greeted by a huge crowd, which was mostly made up of American Tourists, all of which seemed to have new Kodak cameras and wanting to get pictures of the flyers and there craft. It took until almost dusk to finish working on there planes, camera’s snapping the whole time, they were then taking on a quick tour of the city and then to the luxurious Imperial Hotel, which they were told had once been the home of the prince of Wittenberg until he had lost it in a game of cards.

September 16, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the de Havilland DHC-1 Chipmunk. Designed by de Havilland Canada in 1946 to replace the Tiger Moth. It was used as a basic trainer by the RAF and RCAF and many others, the last was retired in 1996, over 1200 were made and many are still used by civilian operators. The aircraft I used was made by JustFlight and is nice. By the time I finished my real world tasks the weather had cleared and was now just broken clouds at 5000 feet with 5 knot winds and a temperature of 16.1C. The flight to Vienna was very easy even thought he clouds get a bit thicker and I had to stay below 2000 feet to keep the ground in site. The 108 mile flight to the Vienna International Airport took 52 minutes.

Here are the images:


Ready to go again.


Climbing out of Budapest.


Glamour shots!


Selfie!


Fall colours already.


Lots of fall colors.


Our destination.


Secured.

Thanks for reading,
ATB

[DaveG]

Nice shots Joe.
Never really got on with the AN-2 myself. Too slow!

[blanston12]

Nice shots Joe.
Never really got on with the AN-2 myself. Too slow!

Thanks Dave, I worry my aircraft selection on this trip is too heavy on the American/British aircraft and wanted to mix it up. The AN-2 model is nice but agree its very slow and after this its probably going to be stored in the hanger for a very long time.

[hobby]

A very entertaining series of flights. You've had a hard day's flying today, well done!!

[blanston12]

June 14, 1924: The rooms of the Imperial hotel had 20 foot ceilings and beds so soft when you were in then you sank out of sight. For breakfast they were served bowls of raspberries and cream so delicious Arnold said “it was almost worth flying around the world to eat them”. Despite the luxuries they all wanted the holiday in Paris Smith promised them if they could get there ahead of schedule, so before 7am they left the Ancient city of Vienna for Strasbourg France. It was raining heavily when they left, which kept them low over the Danube river as they followed it into Germany, They emerged into bright sunshine as the crossed over the Black Forest and landed in Strasbourg after 6 hours of flying, where despite the festivities planed for them, they hurriedly had lunch and got there planes ready for there next leg.

September 19, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the Cessna 195. The 195 was one of Cessna’s first post war aircraft, there last with a radial engine and there first one that was all aluminum. Because of the big radial engine it was larger than other Cessna models and more expensive to buy and operate so was marketed as more of a Business aircraft. First flying in 1945, about 1180 were built before production ended in 1954. The model I am using today was made by FlySimWare and is nice.

Weather for the flight from Vienna started off good, 11 knot winds with a few clouds at 1300 feet and a temperature of 12C/53F, quite a change from the 31C/88F five days ago. It was a bit cloudy so stayed between 2000-3000 feet while I found the Danube and followed it west to hear the city of Linz and then west into Germany. Ran into a fierce thunder storm over Munich but soon emerged from that as I approached the Black Forest, we crossed over the river Rhine and descended into Strasbourg, the 358nm flight had taken 2.4 hours.

Here are the pics:


Ready to go.


Staying low, where is that river.


Following the Danube.


Lightning is very close.


Clear weather again.


Over the Rhine river and into France!


Our destination.


Secured.

Thanks for reading
ATB.

[blanston12]

A very entertaining series of flights. You've had a hard day's flying today, well done!!

Thanks Hobby! I have a rare weekend without much important to do so I am getting the flights in while I can.