Yesterday I took the N409MC (a -400F) from KHSV (Huntsville, AL) to Quito, Ecuador. Flight was uneventful; the air was very smooth along the way and the approach and landing was by the book; a firm touchdown and slow deceleration. After the landing, ECAM checks showed the brakes are not fried and a walk around assured that there are no bent metal. We're still one piece, the Boss should be pleased.
So I grabbed the return flight too and in return of this "fictional charter" favor, I'd like to share some shots of the return trip and the data.
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Let's start with some basic information and work from there. Our flight information package;
Flight No.: GTI606 Expire on: 2008-10-31 Payload: 134145
Tail # N409MC
Parcels & Fwd Freight 14 skids / Perishables 11 skids / Mfg'd goods 8 skids.
Shipper: UPS-SCS / DHL Global Fwdg.
2130nm. ***(Actual Atlas Flight)***
Our flight number is GTI606 and we're returning with the same ship that took us here. The payload figure seems rather high for Quito but we'll work on it. At least we don't have any weird stuff like live animals to take special care of in the back.
Let's check the weather and performance data for today's flight. First of our departure field;
SEQU 33010KT 9999 BKN040 BKN100 17/09 Q1025 NOSIG -> A lovely day at Quito. 17C Degrees, good visibility. Some clouds at 4000' above field elevation and winds are favoring the use of Rwy 35 for takeoff.
A quick check at TOPCAT gives the following performance data:
At 17C, our maximum takeoff weight is limited by 297.6 tonnes. Let's do some math:
165087kg Dry Operating Weight (Incl crew and the stuff) and 60847kg Planned Payload for this flight gives us a Zero Fuel Weight of 225.9 t, well below of our MZF..
Let's subtract our planned ZFW from MTOW and see how much fuel we could use; 297.6 - 225.9 = 71.7 tonnes of usable fuel load. Let's see if we can pull this of with 71.7 tonnes.
FSBuild Flight Plan Weight/Fuel stuff
I elected to use Birmingham (KBHM) as our destination alternate, as it seems the only field with a long rwy in close vicinity. So before our routing talk, it looks like we'll need 66.5 tonnes of fuel for this flight.
Let's add this figure on top of our planned ZFW; 225.9 + 66.5 = 292.4 tonnes. This will be our takeoff weight, very close to today's MTOW of 297.6 tonnes. It seems we're right on the edge, compliments to the Boss
Let's check our arrival and alternate METARs and give the loadmaster a go.Huntsville:
KHSV 09010KT 10SM FEW045 BKN100 OVC250 28/15 A3005 -> It looks like we'll practice a little crosswind landing, other than that there is nothing particularly needs attention. Let's take a look on our alternate:
Birmingham:
KBHM 05012KT 4SM -RA BR BKN020 22/21 A3001 -> A humid day; dewpoint close to the temprature so it's misty. Visibility is not too bad if we consider the situation, some clouds at 2000 feet AFE, making some summer rain. Not the greatest alternate but shouldn't be a problem. Anyway, we'll be checking it's progress as we make our way up north.
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Finally, we give a thumbs up to the loadmaster and he starts doing his thing, our planned departure time is 1600Z.
1430Z: N409MC at Quito, loading is still in progress.
Route and departure:
1500Z: Route Overview
QIT G426 TBG UA321 SPP UG448 TADPO G448 MTH B9 DEEDS V35 RSW J41 SZW J73 LGC V243 HEFIN V321 GAD V541 HOBBI DCT
We'll fly the INTAG SID and join the airway G426 while climbing to our flight level: FL390! Our route first takes us to Tumaco city of Columbia and we'll follow the west cost of Columbia to the Panama. After crossing the Panama Canal we'll make our way up north via following the east coast of Central America. We'll cross over the Fidel's house before reaching the beaches of Miami, which would be a reasonable alternate in case of an engine failure or a pressurization problem. Along the east coast of Florida, we'll fly further north to Atlanta and cross over the city of Omaha and Phonix city. And finally, if all goes well and planned, we'll land to Huntsville after a flight of just a little over of 4:30 hours. And by the way, our takeoff alternate is Tachina (SETN); It has a long runway and best of all it's on the sea level, We'll take off below our MLW so weight won't be a problem.
Let's get going!
1550Z After Pushback, engines are started.
1553Z Taxying to rwy 35, everything works as they should.
Departure Briefing:
1555Z FMC Takeoff page
Alright Captain, it's briefing time. We're taking off from rwy 35, TOW is 297.4 tonnes and we're almost at our MTOW for this rwy, since we don't have any spare takeoff power, we are not derating today, this will be a full rated takeoff. Our speeds are V1: 135, Vr: 139 and V2 of 155 kts. I'll reduce the power to the climb thrust at 1500ft AFE and we'll accelerate at 3000ft AFE. I've put a speed restriction of 255kts until 17000ft which is the minimum holding alt for QIT Vor. This will allow us to make turns within specified turning radius and we'll not overshoot anything
1558Z The INTAG SID (RNAV)
INTAG SID is selected on the Departure page and QIT vor is tuned manually on BOX1. Transition alt. is 18000ft, ND is set at 10nm range and station mode enabled for stationary awareness. V2+10 kts set on MCP speed window and our final climb alt of 39000ft is set on MCP Alt window.
Now for the takeoff stuff, I'll abort for any caution below 100kts and after 100kts I'll only abort for an engine failure or a flight control problem. In case of an engine failure, we'll delay the climb power and acceleration until we reach to the safe altitude (21000), But no more than 5 mins of takeoff thrust. Then we'll level off and clean up the plane and request clearance for Tachina. All clear?
1559Z Still taxiing but almost there
1603Z After a few minutes holding at the rwy 35 holding point for a landing traffic, GTI606 is cleared for takeoff
1603Z Trying to save some rwy for takeoff
1604Z Lined up nicely, 400kgs of precious jet fuel is aready gone..
1604Z Still a little bit on the left side of the center line..
1604Z Ready for takeoff, the PFD, ND and EICAS view
1605Z At V1. 5000 foot marker, i.e. half way down on the rwy. We're a "go" now.
1605Z BLAST OFF!!!
1606Z Gear's still going up, center AP in command
1606Z Turning right to clear those mountains
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Well that's about it. After the TOC, I went back and watch the game in HD, had a bud, a six pack actually
. I hope you enjoyed the shots and the flight planning as much as I did, thank you for watching!* * *
PC Specs and used add-ons
X2-3800|2 Gigs|9600GT -> Smooth like silk.
FS9.1, SIM1 DLL Mod -> -400F taxies at idle thrust.
Active Sky 6.5
PMDG -400F -> Custom GPWS Rad. alt call outs, braking efficiency set at .55 to meet with TOPCAT estimates.
FSUIPC 3.75 -> Custom braking setup for smooth stops.
TOPCAT 2.26
FS Build 2.2 -> PMDG 744 Specific Aircraft Performance
Boris Forero's SEQU Scenery
and of course GC Pirep..
That guy drives me nuts! If you don't have Radar Contact, you won't know what I am talking about.
