Brazilian coast …the Lighthouse on a Hill

pousada farol do morro

It’s all mathematics until the fuel gauge hits the “it just got real” mark. That’s close to the empty line with a big blue Atlantic Ocean below you.

It's when your brain says …(*expletive*) math, we’re running on fumes, we’re not going to make it.

 

It sure feels good to hear ATC call your ID with approach directions.

It’s your metaphoric Lighthouse on a Hill.

It was a routine flight from Ascension Islands Wideawake Field (FHAW) to Dep. L.E. Magalhaes Intl (SBSV) in Salvador, Brazil. We topped off Little Bird with 934 gal, 6260 pounds of fuel at Wideawake.

We then took her up to FL39 and flew 1442 miles west in 3 ½ hours. We burned 470 gal of fuel in route. That’s 3 MPG or 892 pounds of Jet fuel an hour. It’s all mathematics until ATC directs you back out to sea to line up for an approach. We landed with enough fuel to stay airborne for another 45 minutes.

Little Bird at beach airfield in Valenca (SNVB)

At SBSV we just topped off our wing tanks for a quick hop south to Valenca (SNVB). The airfield is actually closer to the town of Gauibim than it is Valenca. We didn’t care. We just wanted to be taken to the Lighthouse on the Hill, Pousada Farol do Morrow. Our Brazilian sister Monica says “…it’s the most relaxing place on earth”.

Monica describes living on Beach 1; …laying and listening to the waves wash up on shore, a warm Brazilian sun and the smell of freshly cut, freshly picked fruit enjoyed in a soft morning breeze.

 

URAM's (Uncle Rick, Aunt Monica) Tram

 

Our virtual trip here is made more real by stories & images of our kids Uncle Rick (a tall, pale skinned, red headed Irishman wearing a straw hat and sunglasses) riding the tram to the beach to plant himself close to the nearest supplier of:

 

Caipirinha (k-eye-per-reen-yah), it’s the name of an adult beverage: Cachaca (ka-sha-sah) is the name of the liquor used in the drink. Cachaca is Brazilian distilled liquor that starts from unadulterated sugarcane juice.

Okay, we got to go, because in real life ...this is a place of family. It would be extremely hard to leave …our adventure continues home.

Fast Gas Stop on a Volcano - Ascension Island

The official government web site for Ascension Island, inside the ‘Entry Permits’, section reads:

“Applications for Entry Permits should be made well in advance, at least 14 days before your intended travel, except in case of genuine emergency. Late applications, without valid reason, may be refused."

Here’s my question; if you’ve just flown out onto the middle of the Atlantic Ocean from Luanda, Angola using all but 45 minutes of your fuel

…you're denied entry due to a late application

Does your situation turn from a Fast tracked Landing Fee into a “genuine emergency”?

What's the cost for that?

 

Embraer Executive Jets Support

 

 

To pull off our adventure in real time, real world; you’d need a staff of talented people paving your airways before you.

 

 

 

 

Here's an example:

There’s an official instruction booklet, yes booklet, for filling out an Ascension Island application for entry. Its 7pages of details. I'd rather read a flight manual and have the staff work on the tough stuff ...logistics.

 

It’s odd how this airstrip on the tip of an underwater volcano, a 35 square mile chunk of dirt above the Atlantic, has inspired the deep recollections of Eliza Griswold. She wrote about them in the ‘Wideawake Field: Poems’.

“The collection arcs between internal and external worlds the disappointment of returning, the guilt and thrill of departure, unexpected encounters in blighted places and, with ruthless observations etched in the sparest lines, the poems in Wideawake Field sharply and movingly navigate the poles of home and away”.

Ms. Griswold surly captured feelings we’ve had on this virtual adventure and ones Linda and I have shared within our decades of real life travels.

 If you do stay on the island be sure to visit Green Mountain National Park. It’s a lush green world above the dry beaches of Georgetown

…that's what our staff would have said

 

 

…for us, we just want a fast gas stop on the top of this volcano.

…our adventure continues home, but first, Brazil.

Leaving Africa upon vintage wings

We started this Around the World adventure 4 months ago. We left with the plan to …fly west until it leads us back home. We are closing in on home.

 

 

The idea that humans evolved in southern Africa was popularized in Charles Darwin’s 1871 book ‘The Descent of Man’.

It introduces the reasons Africa is called the “Cradle of Humanity”. It's a topic that will continue to be argued but what cannot be argued, Africa is where our Little Bird evolved.



Little Bird waiting in Livingston

Our OEM Lear45 has had various flight model modifications from fellow sim pilots and Lear drivers. She is a pleasure to fly. Our new girl is a Flysimware Lear35. She is a highly detailed model of a 1993 Gates Lear 35. To say she’s a handful to fly is as much an understatement as saying I’m not surprised that Linda asked how much more …stuff she could carry. Why wouldn’t she, after all …

Luanda Shopping Mall

… We’re flying from Livingston (FLLI) to Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport (FNLU), Luanda, Angola. Luanda is called the “Most Expensive City” on the planet. Linda said “Oh boy, shopping”. I said, “No honey … import tariffs imposed in March 2014 made Luanda expensive. Here’s an example, a half-liter tub of vanilla ice-cream at the supermarket cost $31 USD. Let’s go find some music to listen to instead”.



Wideawake Field

Our plan is to get out of town as soon as possible. We’ll put as much Jet A into Little Bird as she’ll hold (934 gal, 6260 lbs.) then head 1000 miles west out onto the Atlantic Ocean. There's a tip of a giant underwater volcano sticking out above the water out there, somewhere. It’s called Ascension Island. There’s a small chunk of flat dirt on it called Wideawake Field (FHAW). The chart note for FHAW is: “Caution, Livestock on field”.

We’re headed out of Africa into the big blue unknown on the wings of a beautiful vintage bird.

Our adventure is headed home …but first

Flying "The Queen" down Africa’s Great Rift Valley

Our virtual adventure began as a tool of discovery. Initially it was designed to discover if I was as high maintenance as Linda proclaims me to be. I think we’ve answered that question. What this has turned into is a discovery of the people, places and critters we share this rock with.

 

Victoria Falls

 We were well aware at the beginning of this adventure that inside our flight simulator world we would not be treated to the spectacular visuals available to us at the places we'd travel to.

 

 

We've found our visual stimulations from sources outside of FSX SE.

A visitor outside of room at Nkamba Lodge

 

 

The Queen 200 AGL over Lake Malawi 

 

Our flight down the Great Rift Valley inside the sim was at times ...stunning.

 

 

 

M V Liemba ...inspiration for German Gunboat Luisa

 We didn’t realize Africa’s Great Rift Valley is over 3,700 miles long. We also came to learn that our Goose’s namesake, The African Queen, is a book penned in 1935. It takes place in the Great Rift Valley during WWI. “The Lake” in the book must refer to Lake Tanganyika. In 1914, when the story takes place, the Germans put a gunship, (named Luisa), on Lake Tanganyika. The lake and German gunboat frame the tale but “the lake” is never mentioned by name.

We now know that this part of our adventure is like Australia, it’s just too darn big to cover here. We’re going to have to come back and spend time exploring all the small towns, people and adventures awaiting us in the Great Rift Valley.

Fuel was our biggest issue on this flight. We could only carry 83% of our fuel capacity to allow for …stuff. It provided us with a challenge in gph usage and available fuel stops listed inside the flight sim program.

We left Bujumbura (HBBA) to follow the lake south. We then followed the rivers toward Lake Malawi flying the canyons between the two at 500 AGL. Fun and stimulating in an African wind and rain storm.

 

At the south end of Lake Malawi we turned west toward Lake Cahora Bassa. 

FLHN

 

We then followed the river at her western most ends to Victoria Falls where we turned north towards Livingston (FLHN) again flying the canyons leading into the falls at low levels ...it was just spectacular.

 

Goodbye to our African Queen

We’ll return the African Queen here then be introduced to our new Little Bird

...a 1993 Lear35.

Our adventure continues …homeward bound.

Paused in Burndi

It all started with Al asking why we chose the virtual bird we did to circumvent the globe. We talked about a faster bird like the Citation X. It started us down a rabbit hole to be sure.

Here's part of our discovery from Down the Rabbit Hole:
Mainly we found this blog and adventure is not about a Joliet-Oscar-Bravo. It's purely about a love of flying, adventure and education.

There are programs available to sim pilots which allow them to treat their sim experience as a real world J.O.B. They'll allow you to earn virtual monies by flying cargo or passengers into various locations. You can then use the virtual $ you earn to buy fuel and upgraded aircraft.

Honestly, if we're going to "pretend" to be flying, we're going to also pretend we've just won the biggest lottery ever held.




Travolta home



In that world ...we would not even consider turning our adventure into Joliet-Oscar-Bravo. 

We would however consider making John Travolta an offer on his Florida home.


Geny's Beach

Our African Queen has taken us from Goma, (FZNA), at the tip of Lake Kivu to Bujumbura, (HBBA), in Burni. It sits on the North shore of Lake Tanganika. Anyone who has been there has surly enjoyed a sunset meal at Geny's Beach. It's laid back and comfortable. The perfect place to watch an African sunset. A perfect place to pause and ponder.







"The Queen" parked outside of Geny's Beach Club.









We'll be back in the Goose shortly to continue our trip to Victoria Falls.








Once there we'll hand over our African Queen for our new to us 1993 Gates Lear 35. A new old analog bird ...just what the doctor ordered for someone who loves flying, adventure and discovering new things.

Our new "Little Bird"

... There is lot's of miles to go crossing Africa, with a small fuel tank
... it is an adventure in "The Queen".

This adventure continues.