Alright, thanks for coming with me on this trip. I've been playing some DCS lately so I thought I'll share one of my flights. But, before we begin :
You've been warned. Ok, let's go.
Today we're flying a TF-51D, the training version of the legendary P-51D Mustang of WW2 fame, a quality plane sporting advanced aerodynamics for its time with its modern low-drag laminar-flow wings and clever radiator design. It was known for its impressive range and high-altitude performance. The combat and training version are virtually identical and have the same engine, a licence-built Merlin. However the training version has no weapon but a backseat for the instructor or to bring some lucky guy along, which means there is no rear fuel tank, reducing range. Here's the beast :
I don't know why there's no livery but good enough. Fuel weight is set as 1105 lbs, which I believed was 132 US gal and planned accordingly, but I realized afterward each wing has a 90 gal tank. Hurray for imperial units. Luckily they did not bring tablespoons in that.
Here's today's map, the Syria one that I'm playing for free thanks to the generous DCS trial licenses :
We'll take off from Damascus and go sightseeing in Palmyra, before fleeing the desert heat to the seaside city of Latakia. From there we will go South to Tripoli's harbour before passing past Beirut to land at its magnificent airport.
Easy enough, right ? The thing is, I'm not gonna do it the easy way, using the game map as a GPS. I deactivated map markers altogether. This going to be a VFR flight, with full instruments use, if only because there are barely any landmarks in the Syrian desert and one can easily get lost in the sky. Good news is that the weather is perfect. I did try to set up random wind and so but in the end it stayed a wonderful day with unlimited visibility, perfect for flying and removing most of the challenge (even if, to be honest, it was my first time doing this much planning and instrument use and I was glad I could correct my course when needed because as you'll see, I had trouble with some data).
THE PLAN
It's a 5 legs journey :
So we have distances, we want time, we need speed. Internet being wonderful when it's not busy destroying humanity I stumbled upon this document :
Real life P-51 charts. Let's use them, see how well DCS match reality.
Whole trip length is 350 NM. I thought I had 132 gal of fuel inboard so I planned to spend 100 to be on the safe side. Therefore I went with the third column : 100 gal -> 400 NM. I decided that :
So this is really a navigation challenge, the caveat being that the TF-51 is an old plane. It has no autopilot. It has trim, but also manual fuel management : you have to select the wing tank from which the engine will drink. And as the tank empties, it becomes lighter, and therefore the plane has one wing lighter than the other and starts to roll, so you always have to correct its attitude and course. In the same way, you can't force it to stay level and it will gladly go up and down. Did I mention that having the aircraft roll also makes it pitch downward ?
So yeah, maintaining course is a slow but constant work. You needs to maintain speed to have the right time of arrival, bearing to go to the right direction, and ideally altitude to use recommended engine parameters.
Also I'm flying on my trusty but battered Xbox gamepad with sticks so weathered I have around 15% deadzones, making light corrections very difficult. Yay !
So now we're ready to go. Will I see the fable ruins of Palmyra ? Will I get lost in the desert and need to be rescued by a courageous camel herder ? Will I crash on take off ? Stay tuned for vintage aviation !
SEVERE AVIATION AUTISM INSIDE !
You've been warned. Ok, let's go.
Today we're flying a TF-51D, the training version of the legendary P-51D Mustang of WW2 fame, a quality plane sporting advanced aerodynamics for its time with its modern low-drag laminar-flow wings and clever radiator design. It was known for its impressive range and high-altitude performance. The combat and training version are virtually identical and have the same engine, a licence-built Merlin. However the training version has no weapon but a backseat for the instructor or to bring some lucky guy along, which means there is no rear fuel tank, reducing range. Here's the beast :
I don't know why there's no livery but good enough. Fuel weight is set as 1105 lbs, which I believed was 132 US gal and planned accordingly, but I realized afterward each wing has a 90 gal tank. Hurray for imperial units. Luckily they did not bring tablespoons in that.
Here's today's map, the Syria one that I'm playing for free thanks to the generous DCS trial licenses :
We'll take off from Damascus and go sightseeing in Palmyra, before fleeing the desert heat to the seaside city of Latakia. From there we will go South to Tripoli's harbour before passing past Beirut to land at its magnificent airport.
Easy enough, right ? The thing is, I'm not gonna do it the easy way, using the game map as a GPS. I deactivated map markers altogether. This going to be a VFR flight, with full instruments use, if only because there are barely any landmarks in the Syrian desert and one can easily get lost in the sky. Good news is that the weather is perfect. I did try to set up random wind and so but in the end it stayed a wonderful day with unlimited visibility, perfect for flying and removing most of the challenge (even if, to be honest, it was my first time doing this much planning and instrument use and I was glad I could correct my course when needed because as you'll see, I had trouble with some data).
THE PLAN
It's a 5 legs journey :
- Damascus -> Palmyra : heading 49° magnetic for 112 NM
- Palmyra -> Latakia : 290° for 137 NM
- Latakia -> Tripoli : 174° for 63 NM
- Tripoli -> some point in the sea near Beirut : 204° for 38 NM
- And from there I should be aligned with the most famous runway of Rafic Hariri International and go for landing.
So we have distances, we want time, we need speed. Internet being wonderful when it's not busy destroying humanity I stumbled upon this document :
Real life P-51 charts. Let's use them, see how well DCS match reality.
Whole trip length is 350 NM. I thought I had 132 gal of fuel inboard so I planned to spend 100 to be on the safe side. Therefore I went with the third column : 100 gal -> 400 NM. I decided that :
- First leg of the trip would be at 5000 ft, so expected speed 305 MPH : for 112 NM we get a 22 minutes flight,
- Second leg of the trip I'll climb at 15k and maintain 350 MPH : for 137 NM it's 24 minutes,
- Third leg 10k, 325 MPH : we'll cover 63 NM in 12 minutes.
- The fourth leg is very short and Beirut being a huge landmark I did not bother planning it.
- As of the landing I plan to go without crashing in a ball of fire.
So this is really a navigation challenge, the caveat being that the TF-51 is an old plane. It has no autopilot. It has trim, but also manual fuel management : you have to select the wing tank from which the engine will drink. And as the tank empties, it becomes lighter, and therefore the plane has one wing lighter than the other and starts to roll, so you always have to correct its attitude and course. In the same way, you can't force it to stay level and it will gladly go up and down. Did I mention that having the aircraft roll also makes it pitch downward ?
So yeah, maintaining course is a slow but constant work. You needs to maintain speed to have the right time of arrival, bearing to go to the right direction, and ideally altitude to use recommended engine parameters.
Also I'm flying on my trusty but battered Xbox gamepad with sticks so weathered I have around 15% deadzones, making light corrections very difficult. Yay !
So now we're ready to go. Will I see the fable ruins of Palmyra ? Will I get lost in the desert and need to be rescued by a courageous camel herder ? Will I crash on take off ? Stay tuned for vintage aviation !