Lol! Thanks Tracer!

I take it you mean the "bug" in which links don't open in a separate window?

Let's not even remotely start to talk about this topic. Just accept that fact that we all love it and whenever we come across a moment of frustration because you can't attach something for no apparent reason, the reality is that we're misinterpreting our complete satisfaction with the forums. It's just a happy coincidence that we're not going to spend the time and money setting up another forum system for another 2 or 3 years.

Cygon, awesome post. We may want to look in to dedicating an F99th Museum of Flight and History page to give these posts a proper display.

Thanks, pyro.

<span class="abbc3_strike" style="text-decoration: line-through">Lol! The Museum and History Page? Actually, I quite like the idea. Though, do you mean like renaming this thread, or making a separate forum sub-division, so different threads can be started in it? I'd probably have to do slightly better, concise write ups or articles for the previous flights and background here, as I was doing these more or less for fun.</span>



ROFL! Never mind, pyro!



I did say they were getting more dangerous! Full story coming up soon, lol!

With my 50 flight FsPax career now up the spout, it is time to look at the background of what I was up to. The last of my previous post’s flight ended in Barranquilla, Colombia. It ended there for a reason, and that reason is not because Shakira was born there!

We now go back as far as civil aviation passenger and mail carrying goes, really, into the dark year just after the end of the Great War, 1919. Germany had taken the brunt of the Treaty of Versailles, and not only had to face imminent bankruptcy and war guilt charges, but also, through restrictions on industry, practically lost all the means that would enable the country to come to terms, economically, with the internal catastrophe. There was much disillusionment, unheard of before inflation and massive unemployment. It was the environment that would eventually, some years later, allow the likes of a certain ex-soldier, Adolf Hitler, to come to power…

But not all Germans held fanatical ideals about what the future should be for them or their country. Some picked up the pieces and analyzed the possibilities of what they could accomplish from their situation. Many chose to go abroad, engineers, mechanics, designers, and indeed, ex-warriors of the War, choosing far flung, underdeveloped countries that might be able to use their talents. Colombia was among these, and where a German civil engineer, Werner Kämmerer, came into contact with a Colombian banker in Barranquilla, Ernesto Cortissoz. They established a company that they christened the “Colombian-German Society for Air Transportation”, SCADTA, in December of 1919. However, there was one thing still missing. The aircraft. Enter Hugo Junkers.

Hugo Junkers was, and remains still, an unsung hero of the advancement of aviation. Back in the day when nobody thought that anything other than a contraption made of wood and fabric could possibly be light enough to fly, Junkers dared to thumb his nose at convention and start building aircraft made all of metal. Being a fellow who was seriously anti-war, however, he was extremely reluctant to design and produce aircraft for the purpose of dispensing death and destruction. Under duress, he was forced to cooperate in the production of aircraft during the Great War. His reluctance to do so was actually recognized post war, however, and as a result his industry was allowed to continue provided it did so for pacific purposes.

He designed a light, all metal, passenger and mail aircraft, the Junkers F.13. This is exactly what SCADTA wanted, and eventually, obtained. It could be fitted with floats or wheels, which suited the Company well. Colombia was, indeed, underdeveloped and had no airfields where wheeled aircraft might operate, but it has a large river running the length of the country, the Magdalena, where seaplane bases could be quickly established. Thus, SCADTA began operations in September of 1920.

SCADTA has a long and colorful history. Ernesto Cortissoz (after whom Barranquilla airport is now named) would perish in an accident, along with Helmuth von Krohn, the Company’s founding pilot, in the Junkers F.13 “Tolima”. Later, PanAm would eventually become the major shareholder of the airline, though SCADTA remained in control of its own operation. In October of 1939 (with a Second World War looming), the political situation abroad would force a name change of the Company so that the word “German” was taken out of its name. The new name chosen was Avianca, for Aerovías Nacionales de Colombia. It is generally recognized as the world’s second oldest airline still in operation (KLM being the first).

But here is where it all started, with all its perils and tragedies faithfully recreated (lol!)…

First flight, a recreation of SCADTA’s first test flight from Barranquilla to Calamar, up the Magdalena River. I found a suitable Junkers F.13 here . Not the best model, but neither the worst I’ve ever seen. The instrumentation is suitably basic, but the multi-handed altimeter is not authentic, and I do believe the units are wrong (German aircraft used the metric system, as far as I know, all the way up to the end of World War II). I could not find a SCADTA skin for it, so I had to make my own. I chose to make the skin of A-8 “Magdalena”. Also, I had to dig out ADE again to make the seaplane bases up the river.

Again, I was taken with how well you can do visual navigation in FSX. The bends of the river are done properly, so you can read them off a real world map no problem.

The log and screenies…

<div class="spoilwrapper" style="margin:5px 0;font-weight:normal;padding:4px 10px;background-color:#fff;border:1px solid #dbdbdb;border-radius:4px;color:#333333;"><div class="spoiltitle" style="margin:0;padding:0;width:100%;"><span class="spoilbtn" style="margin:2px 5px;text-transform:uppercase;font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;display:block;cursor:pointer;color:#333;" data-show="{L_ABBC3_SPOILER_SHOW}" data-hide="{L_ABBC3_SPOILER_HIDE}">{L_ABBC3_SPOILER_SHOW}</span></div><div class="spoilcontent" style="color:#333333;display:none;padding:5px;border-top:1px solid #ccc;">Flight ID: PAE965
Flight Type: Normal
Pilot: Cygon Parrot
Company: Parrot Alliance Enterprises
Aircraft: TP 1 Junkers F13 float
Flight Date: November 04 2016
Departure: 17h00 (21h00 GMT)
Arrival: 17h42 (21h42 GMT)
From: SKBX
To: SKCX
Planned flight time: 00h45 (real flight time 00h41)
Nbr of Passengers: 5

Report:

Flight Distance: 38 Nm Landing Speed: 53.96 kt
Time Airborne: 00h36:07 Landing Touchdown: -218.46 ft/m (nice)
Flight Time (block): 00h41:56 Landing Pitch: 5.72°
Time On Ground: 00h05:07 Landing Weight: 5006 lbs
Average Speed: 64.67 kt Total Fuel Used: 69 lbs


Passenger Opinion: Exceptional flight (100%)
-Are relieved to have landed safely after the extreme weather they experienced during landing.

Financial Report:

Ticket Income: +$216 (38 Nm)
Cargo Income: +$58 (599 lbs)
Services Income: +$0 (0 sandwich, 0 hot food, 0 drink service rounds)
Services Cost: -$0 (79% quality)
Fuel Cost: -$55 (69 lbs 100LL)
Airport Taxes: -$7 (Small Aircraft)
Insurance Costs: -$18 (6.58% rate)
Total Real Income: $194
Total Income: $9,700 (real x50)
Fleet Bonus: $34,805 (3 aircraft)
Total Sim Income: $44,505 (total income+fleet bonus)

Company Reputation:

Considering that the flight was perfect, the tickets price low, passengers on this flight think that your company's reputation should be 100%
Your company reputation is now: 93.30% (+0.67 increase)


Overall Flight Result: Perfect

Pilot Bonus points: 330 points
You made a very nice landing. (+50)
Perfect Flight, no problems, and very satisfied passengers. (+150)
You landed at the scheduled airport. (+30)
Extreme weather conditions during approach, but a safe landing with satisfied passengers. (+100)</div></div>










The second flight was going to be to the destination of SCADTA’s first passenger and mail carrying flight, to Magangue. Again, the flight itself went well. However, I made a critical mistake and landed towards the shore, even though it did look like I had more than enough space. I also suspect that I might have had a tail wind, as I was simulating no radio communications and there was not so much as a flag or windsock around that might have indicated it. The deceleration after alighting was painfully and suspiciously slow. All seemed like it was going to be alright, though, and the aircraft was going to just bump the bank lightly. But when the floats touched the bank at a mere 13 knots, the aircraft upended, flipped upside down, and I and the passengers were all killed. LOL!

The log and screenies…

<div class="spoilwrapper" style="margin:5px 0;font-weight:normal;padding:4px 10px;background-color:#fff;border:1px solid #dbdbdb;border-radius:4px;color:#333333;"><div class="spoiltitle" style="margin:0;padding:0;width:100%;"><span class="spoilbtn" style="margin:2px 5px;text-transform:uppercase;font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;display:block;cursor:pointer;color:#333;" data-show="{L_ABBC3_SPOILER_SHOW}" data-hide="{L_ABBC3_SPOILER_HIDE}">{L_ABBC3_SPOILER_SHOW}</span></div><div class="spoilcontent" style="color:#333333;display:none;padding:5px;border-top:1px solid #ccc;">Flight ID: PAE444
Flight Type: Normal
Pilot: Cygon Parrot (RIP)
Company: Parrot Alliance Enterprises
Aircraft: TP 1 Junkers F13 float
Flight Date: November 04 2016
Departure: 15h53 (19h54 GMT)
Arrival: --
From: SKCX
To: SKMX
Planned flight time: 00h55 (real flight time 00h43)
Nbr of Passengers: 5

Accident Report:

The aircraft crashed at 16h37 hitting ground at 13 kt with a vert. speed of -396 ft/m.
There were no known failures on this aircraft at the time of the accident.The cause of the crash remains unknown, most probably it was due to human error. No emergency was declared before the crash.

Casualties:
-5 passengers aboard
5 killed
0 injured
-Pilot killed


Report:

Flight Distance: 61 Nm Landing Speed: --
Time Airborne: 00h41:22 Landing Touchdown: --
Flight Time (block): 00h43:01 Landing Pitch: --
Time On Ground: 00h01:39 Landing Weight: --
Average Speed: 88.76 kt Total Fuel Used: 87 lbs


Passenger Opinion: Terror and grief. (0%)
-Didn't like your inverted flying. (178°)
-Were irritated by the excess G-forces. (+1.42 -0.14).


Crash Financial Report:

Taking into account the state of the aircraft and its current resale value after the crash. The insurance company decided to pay a total of $188,887 which represents 53.13% of the resale value. You can now decide to repair or sell the wreck. The insurance will pay all other damages. The insurance rate increased by 2.00% and is now 8.48%.
Total Sim Income: $188,887

Company Reputation:

Due to the crash, your company reputation is now: 77% (-15.34 decrease)



Overall Flight Result: Crash

Pilot's Penalty points: -1384 points
The aircraft hit ground at 13 kt with a vertical speed of -396 ft/m. There was no failure aboard this aircraft before the crash and some passengers died because of pilot error. (-850)
Executing a very sharp bank angle (178°) is prohibited in commercial aircraft. (-534)

In memory of the pilot who died these penalty points will not
be recorded in his log and his last rank will be maintained.</div></div>







So ends the career of Cygon Parrot, Time Traveler. I had a lot more exploration of the roots of airlines from around the world planned, but it is not to be. I’ll see about getting X-Plane or P3D now.

Finally, some SCADTA bits and bobs, unfortunately in Spanish, but there are some good old pictures of the Junkers…

SCADTA aircraft

Rofl.

Would've hoped for some epic end like you were flying in a category 5 hurricane with half your control surfaces disabled when you had to dodge a flock of storks carrying newborn babies to their families and you were struck by lighting while you crash landed on to a violently pitching and rolling supertanker. But I guess an anticlimactic landing area overrun and flip-over is more true to the spirit of early struggles in aviation.

And are those wicker chairs? lol. Not surprised that everyone died in a 13 knot accident. Wicker chairs and corrugated metal aren't known for their crashworthiness.

LMAO! That's just the sort of situation you would survive! Least Harold Johnson would...

<a href="" class="bbvideo" data-bbvideo="560,315" target="_blank">

Yeah, take a look at the number of "accidentados" on the SCADTA link there. Hairy times...

LOL! "Crashworthiness"! LOL! The advantage of a "crumple zone" is moot when the whole thing is a crumple zone, right?

The BAD news: My GTX-970 video card konked out on me this morning. Once again, will be waiting to go somewhere I can get a replacement.

The GOOD news: FSX doesn't need the whiz-bang GPU! The Intel on board graphics are more than enough for it. So, I can still do some virtual flying

Last night I joined Tracer's F-99th Air Hauler 2 Company. After his very helpful briefing (as his briefings usually are!) on how to use the slightly complicated interface of AH2, I selected my base of operations in El Dorado airport, Bogota, Colombia (I suppose as a regional subsidiary of his main base at KSEA Seattle), and bought a Twin Otter for the small cargo ops I have in mind. He sat through my check ride on the type, and this morning I started operations. It is quite a fun little application for the sim.

Thanks for the help and recommendations, Tracer!

Here I am, once more, over the Magdalena river, halfway between Bogotá and Ibagué, carrying fertilizers! LOL!

[BBvideo=560,315][/BBvideo]

Well I for one can definitely sleep easier knowing that at least you can do stuff as in the above linked video.

LOL! Love the squawk codes he's giving them!

1:54 - Now doing that holly inappropriate quite laugh in my cube cause I'm work and should be professional but I don't want others around me to know was caught off guard by "can we get some GOD DAMN communication on this server" laugh...thank you for that

OK, back in business. One GTX 1080 installed and working...



Christened it with a slight overclock straight off the bat, using EVGA's own Precision_XOC, and while I was at it, kicked up my i7 4790K to 4.4 GHz (nice safe, conservative values for both units, but enough boost to blow a bit of dust off 'em). Both stress tested using some benchmark utilities and monitors. Tried it out last night on DCS MP with the UH-1, and what's the first thing I do? Accidentally strafe Eaglehrt in his Kh-50 in the battle of Moapa,

Sorry, Eaglehrt! I was clearing the area with the forward firing mini-guns and you just happened to land in the smoke. Didn't even know you were there until the messages started coming through that I was hitting a friendly! Apart from that, all seemed ok, so I think I'm back in action.

While I was waiting to get to where I could get a video card, I did a bit more Air Hauler 2. Got another Twin Otter and hired two pilots for the offline company. I discovered that I couldn't use AI pilots on the VA, but there was a walk around. I can use AI pilots in my own VA associated company, and transfer funds into the VA account. Tracer also enabled my access to the VA funds, so I was able to open Bogota as an F-99th Logistics base, lol!





Next, a passenger route between KSEA and SKBO...

Yeah. Some short range stuff around the valley.

Some upcoming changes; Tracer, I will have to chat with you on TS, when we can please. I did a Win 10 system reset, and instead of re-downloading Steam Edition FSX, I got P3D. I have a few questions about it.

Awesome 110%! The very one I've been waiting for to fly the Himalaya Hump airlift and the Bolivian Butchers route is on the way!

Just Flight C-46 Commando




In the meantime, Air Hauler 2 has elbowed me out of a "sim flying job" and I spend my visits onto it handling (ahem! On second thoughts, that might not be the right word ) - MANAGING - my five female pilots and two Twin Otters on scheduled PAX routes.

Here they are, LOL!
television.jasper.org/csangels.htm


Went and got P3D to go with AH2, and ended up flying a desk! Actually, it is a fun break, and the airline statistics, though still a bit rudimentary, use authentic Cost per Seat Mile format.

The program still needs a bit of work in upcoming updates, I notice. For example, aircraft you have on PAX routes do not register any flight hours, so you never get to do the maintenance checks. Also, I am unsure how we get the updates, when they become available.



Tracer, please don't forget to send me the join code for your VA again!