Last few flight, nearly home.....?
Sorry, yet again for the delay in letting you all know how the journeys going, sort of got lost in me updates…..
Well we left you all at Vancouver on stand 35.
Next leg is a short hop over to Seattle (KSEA), should be quick and easy…famous last words.
So we get ready and have a look at the weather: 280 @ 8kts 20miles vis Few @ 1,500 SCT @2,500 BKN @ 3,500 15 degrees C with a dew point of 11 degrees c. Runway in use: 26R
Route: YYJ, IDNEY, CONDI, CHATM, DISCO, CDGPN, JAWBN, DIGGN, LOFAL, ARPEE, CARRO and on to KSEA.
Programme FMC and ask for clearance, given 26L for take off and taxi out to the hold @ D5.
Given clearance: Given fly runway heading to 1000 ft……........? SQ 3437 departure on 132.30.
Take off uneventful and climb to 1000ft, given vectors on to 260, then 175, 170,165, and 170, we think that we have misheard ATC and climb up to 10,000ft (thought we had logged this into the flight plan and FMC), however get a bollocking and sent back down to 1000ft.
It is here we realise that we did indeed put 1000ft in the flight plan instead of 10,000, wow the ground doesn’t half pass by quickly at 250kts and 1000ft…..!!
So we request 10,000ft, but are only given 6,000ft, hey ho better than 1000ft just missing the hill tops.
So we are getting near to Seattle, but just a word, we notice that the scenery on the way down is, for the want of a better word CRAP, until we get into USA, then it improves no end can’t think why….?
We get lowered down to 3,000ft and vectored to 125, 160, 070 and finally 010 degrees on a left hand circuit to 34L at Seattle, nice long runway @ 9,425 ft, set up for approach and reduce speed to intercept the ILS to 34L, landing OK and taxi off to Gate C10. Nice one, except for the low altitude?
<O:p</O:p
Refuel and get ready for the next step: Seattle to Salt Lake City (KSLC)
Weather: 270 @ 6kts 10NM vis, Few @ 1,500, Temp 16 c Dew point 11 c Runway in use 34R.
Route: RADDY, YKM, BRUKK, PDT, BEAMO, DNJ, DBS, LAVAH, LHO, CARTR to KSLC.
Programme FMC and ask for clearance: Given to 7,000ft expect FL350 SQ2326.
Pushback start-up and taxi out to South Apron 34R and hold, given clearance to line up & wait.
Clearance given to take off fly runway heading climb to 7000ft, off we go no problems and given vectors to 105 degrees and clearance to 15,000ft , then 110 degrees and 20,000ft, then given own NAV @ 16,000ft over to LNAV and VNAV, then to 23,000 and finally 35,000ft.
On route: wind 327/31kts @ -52degrees c and a speed of 0.77M, ground speed of 453kts with a true airspeed of 444kts.
We see lots of lightening and flashes and bangs as we near the desert and start down via ATC to 27,000, 24,000, 19,000, 15,000, 13,000, 12,000, 11,000 and then to 10,800ft, given vectors onto 040, 100, 190, 205 then 165 degrees.
Told expect vectors to 35, joined the ILS and began reducing speed and increase flap settings, nearly at the runway and John, lands it a bit too heavy on the threshold, resulting in a crash situation….hey ho, however once we have sorted it out we park up at stand C4. Must remember to turn crash off…
<O:p</O:p
Next leg: Salt Lake to Denver (KDEN)
Weather: 130 @8 kts 10 NM Vis, Few ‘ 8,500, SCT @ 2,500, Temp 27 degrees (Phew)with a dew point of 02 degrees dry or what? Runway in use: 17
Route: TCH, CHE, FROGS, RIDJE, ALLAN, TOMSN, HYGEN, SHAFT and on to KDEN.
FMC programmed and clearance given to depart on runway 17, SQ4414, so we pushback, start-up and taxi out to the hold short runway 17.
Given clearance to 14,000 ft, and off we go, no runway heading this time and allowed to go by published departure route, given clearance to 15,000, 23,000, 29000, 34,000, and finally 35,000ft.
Scenery is very uneventful, seen one American desert you’ve seen them all………, my colleague John has flown over this bit and remarks that its just like it for real, miles of nothing.
So we begin our decent to 24,000, then 18,000 15,000 then given a Transponder frequency change to 3337, down to 13,000 and given vectors onto 170 degrees, then down to 9,000 8,000 7,900 vector onto 100 degrees and given clearance to approach on 16.
Intercept the ILS, reduce speed and touchdown nicely on the ‘Keys’ so we taxi to stand A36, Wow what a big airport, good job we had lots of fuel when we got there….?
<O:p</O:p
Next leg: Denver to Kansas (KMCI)……..Somewhere over the rainbow, stop it!!!!
Weather: 000 degrees@ 0kts, still eh? 10NM vis Few @ 7,000, SCT @ 11,000 Temp 13 degrees dew point 08 degrees. Runway in use 26….Jesus that’s a long way from the terminal.
Route: EMMYS, MCK, PWE, RBA, PEGGI, HAIRS and on to KMCI.
Clearance given to hold short Runway 26 SQ2143 climb to 15,000, follow departure procedures as filled.
So we taxi to 26, what a big airport its miles to the runway, but we get there with lots less wait than we started off with….!!
So we takeoff and climb to 15,000 straight onto LNAV and VNAV, cleared up to 20,000, 23,000 34,000 and finally 35,000ft.
Once again not a lot to look at just plain old homestead country, but we get lowered to 27,000 then 24,000 by Minneapolis ATC, then down to 18,000, 12,000, and then to 7,000ft advised we will be given vectors to 27, lowered to 4,000, then 3,000ft and a direction of 180 degrees and finally 240 degrees for ILS interception and approach.
Lowered down to 2,800ft and intercepted the glide slope and centre line, on with the ILS and touch down on the runway, no problems with this one and park up at Terminal B gate 36.
<O:p</O:p
Next leg, and bringing us up to date: Denver to Chicago (KORD).
Weather: 300 @ 03kts 10 NM Vis Few @ 18,000, temp 16 degrees dew point 03 degrees, runway in use 27.
Route: CAKO, JTHRO, IRK, BDF, BENKY, NEWRK and on to KORD.
FMC programmed and ask for clearance, given clearance to 7,000ft, expect FL350 on runway heading SQ3154.
Pushback and start-up taxi out to runway 27 taxiway C1 and hold short.
Take off OK and climb to 6,000ft, given vectors onto 040 and 12,000ft then 045 and 15,000, then 19,000, own Nav VNAV and LNAV, climb to 23,000, then 29,000, 34,000 and finally 35,000ft.
Weather on route: Wind 301 @ 54kts GS 470 kts temp of -52 degrees c.
Start to drop down given by Chicago ATC to 24,000, 19,000, 12,000, reduce to 240kts and down to 9,000ft 220kts and vectored on to 045 degrees and then onto 090 degrees, then down to 4,000ft at 210kts, then onto 360 degrees for a nice flypast the coast of Lake Superior, with Chicago City under our left side, a nice clear view of Meigs (The home of Flight Sim, I suppose every flight simmer has taken off from that airport at one time in their life?).
So we now turn left onto 300 degrees for an ILS approach onto 27L, fly down the ILS, John at the helm, and touch down nicely (little bounce) all on his own, well done John.
Taxi off the runway and park up at C18.
<O:p</O:p
Well that’s where we are now, the next step is from Chicago to New York, so good they named it twice…………..stop it!!!!!!!
That will take place on Wednesday evening the 26<SUP>th</SUP> of November 2008, maybe I should follow John’s example and fly under the New York bridges on the way in?????
No not our John, the other one, by the way well done for the world flight, it looked great, how much did you manage to raise for charity?
See you again folks
Dave & Anne