🇮🇱 920th fly-in: Tel Aviv, Israel (LLBG)

[Kumiankka]

link to fly-in index thread

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Next Sunday, August 28th we have yet another extensive scenery lineup for our destination of Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv, Israel (LLBG). There have been some changes since our last visit to Tel Aviv in 2015, with LLBG now even busier due to the recent closure of the city's secondary airport of Sde Dov (LLSD). @eRom and the VDG team have updated IXPT's already impressive Ben Gurion scenery to keep up with recent changes, while IXPT's Real Land Israel photo scenery still looks amazing even seven years later. And just like last week, there's a ring of secondary airports to visit in case you want to get out of the way of the heavies or just go explore the scenery: the Real Land Israel package includes scenery for the now-defunct Sde Dov as well as two heliports at Sourasky (LLIC) and Tel HaShomer (LLSM), while the general aviation airfield at Herzliya (LLHZ) is included in a separate package by eRom. Take note of the instructions on the scenery download pages to get the loading order right, you don't want to miss out on any of the details!

Have a good trip -  !נסיעה טובה

 

 

 

 

 

New pilots are always welcome, just read the guide on how to get started!

Remember to listen in on Teamspeak, new channel assignments listed here:
121.00 - fly-in main channel
123.00 - fly-in pre-flight
124.00 - small talk (in German)
125.00 - general comms (non-fly-in)

 

 

[Quintao]

For this nice fly-in, I decided to fly the 7,700nm from Brisbane to Tel Aviv aboard the Boeing 777-200ER.

Departed YBBN at the early hours of Sunday morning local time.

Took off from RWY 19L.

Since I was very heavy on fuel, the climb around Brisbane was very slow.

Took me 30 minutes to reach FL300.

There was an exercise of step climbing 2,000ft every couple of hours until FL420.

It was 16hours of flight until starting the descent. At that time I noticed that I had an electronic failure, first unable to change the radio frequencies then next losing the autopilot. This means the arrival and approach were flown visually and manually. Had @gordoxproenca with me on arrival. 

Landed at LLBG RWY 30 and taxied to terminal 3.

Gate to gate, 7700nm in less than 17hrs, arriving at the gate with just 1,000kg of fuel left.

Came back on the Mooney Ovation M20P and took off the same runway 30.

I didn't install any updates to my Israeli scenery or LLBG, running the same from a couple of years ago which didn't disappoint; always a favorite.

While circling to land at LLHZ, noticed an amphitheater just north of the airport.

Landed on RWY 29.

@Kumiankka landed next at the little airport.

For my last flight, switched to the Super Tucano A-29.

Took of LLHZ RWY 29 on the A-29 en-route back to LLBG.

Flew back over the airfield, waiting for @CHASMAN2014 arrival at LLBG.

Chas aborted his landing at RWY 30, so I took the chance and did a visual approach and landing.

Parked by the main terminal (not in a proper location) and enjoyed the view of the terminal while @ostkamp and Chas landed.

Chas had a nice Blue Bird livery on his B737.

 

Below is a view of my local Tel-Aviv route.

Have a great weekend all!

[Vega66]

Back to real flight recreation, my choice was to perform the El Al LY376 regular flight connecting LPPT to LBG, usually with B737. Cleared for departure at 0706Z, just when the fog over Lisbon started to lift, on a colder than usual august sunday morning.

 

The designated SID was the GAIO5N, allowing a good view over the Vasco da Gama bridge.

All was going well as I was approaching TOD with many pilots also heading towards Tel Aviv. @Quintao was just finishing in style another epic flight directly from Brisbane.

 

But just a few minutes after reaching TOD and starting the descent, X-Plane just froze completely, showing that it wasn't the wisest idea from my side to take some cruise flight time and simultaneusly edit 4k videos.

Without enough time left until my usual break, had no choice but to restart the computer and place the aircraft already on the ground    

After the lunch break, changed to an IAF F-16 and teamed up with @gordoxproenca for a bit of formation flying around the premises.

 

Finished at Palmahim AB nearby (LL59) where I changed for a Heli to perform a tour around the nearby sites.

Starting to perform a little better with the Heli, managing some Hard landings but without compromising the bird.

After 4 attempts a Hard landing almost right on the spot  

Back to LLBG, practicing some hovering and almost landing on top of @ManofMac, that was taxiing to the gate, with Gordo's Globemaster parked on the background.

Decided to keep the S92 a little longer to reach for Sde Dov (LLSD), with another Hard landing.

And a last stop at Herzliya, this time achieving the best landing of the day (guess the Heli was getting his feet tired).

 

Finally back to LLBG, with one last pass over this splendid scenery.

The sky was getting pretty nice orange colors, so hopped on a Israeli F15 for a sunset flight.

Some passes over the city, joined by an F4 with the callsign EDDM (unfortunately, didn't catch a good snap of him).

Time to buzz the tower.

A brief flight over the Dead Sea.

@Kumiankka was departing towards Sharm El Sheik, so turned to provide him safe escort half way through...

 

Fuel was getting tight, so just befor reaching the border turned back to LLBG, where I took the El Al 375 return flight to Lisbon.

 

I shouldn't be able to join the Fly-In's for the next 3 sessions, I already miss you all great pilots. Looking forward to join again by the end of September.

Wish you all great times and awesome flights.

[Kumiankka]

Congratulations to @Quintao on finishing the epic transoceanic flight despite the mounting technical issues! And see you later @Vega66!
 

Started my first flight of the day from Athens Venizelos in the Magknight 787-9 - another real world route like Vega's. The El Al livery was made by @Coolbub123, another one of our fly-in regulars from many previous years.

 

Departing runway 03R

 

Climbing to FL370 and setting course for Tel Aviv

 

Descending past Tel Aviv and following the arrival route to runway 30
 

Down on the runway…

 

…and arriving at the gate

 

@Quintao was just departing for Herzliya when I logged back on in the default Cessna 172

 

My plan was to head for the same airfield, so I quickly taxiied to the active runway to catch up

 

Taking off again from 30…

 

…and turning north past the city center and Reading Power Station

 

Low over the rooftops of apartment buildings on the approach to Herzliya

 

@Quintao's Mooney was being represented by a Malaysian A330, due to some amazing leap of logic on the part of the Swift client

 

I had planned on taking this Diamond DA-40 to the old airport of Sde Dov next, taxiing to the runway while @Quintao was already departing in the background

 

Unfortunately I hadn't tested the old aircraft model in a long time, and it suffered from some control issues as I noticed about a few seconds into the attempted takeoff!

 

My third flight of the day lasted less than 20 seconds, followed by the wrecked plane continuing to spin and bounce on the ground like a rubber ball until I reloaded the sim.

 

Instead of trying to diagnose and fix the issues with the DA40, I switched to the brand new CowanSim AS350 helicopter. No technical issues here, although I did have to figure out in advance how to map the throttle and collective controls.

 

I did make a quick stop at Sde Dov, bumping the tail rotor while landing and necessitating some instant repairs.

 

By the time I made the second stop at the Sourasky hospital helipad, I had gotten the hang of landing the AS350 and managed to avoid damaging anything.

 

Kicking up dirt at Tel HaShomer helipad

 

Hovering above Ben Gurion and watching @F5Chaser's landing

 

Another hard landing at the airport's east ramp, but I didn't need to take off again this time anyway…

 

Switching aircraft again to something I had a bit more practice in, I took off in the Boeing Stearman biplane.

 

This time I set course south for the military airfield of Tel Nof.

 

The scenery at Tel Nof wasn't quite as impressive as Ben Gurion, to say the least! The orthos were blurred out and even the taxiway layout in X-Plane was just the generic rectangular setup.

 

Took off again from Tel Nof in the same F-15C that Vega flew later

 

Flew low through the city along the railroad tracks, but didn't find any bridges high enough to try my luck

 

The waterfront was quite scenic but offered just as few opportunities for stunts

 

The three skyscrapers of the Azrieli Center had a spot you could just fit through

 

Dumping some flares after a flyby of LLBG…

 

…and approaching to land at runway 30

 

Watching @rajo take off after switching to another F-15

 

F-15 stunts continue: buzzing the tower at Ben Gurion

 

Spotted a C-17 on the way in and decided to take a closer look

 

Went too low while snapping screenshots of the landing though, and ended up making an unplanned belly landing myself!

 

After resetting to the ramp and taking off again, I headed for my original planned destination, the airbase at Nevatim near the Dead Sea

 

The landing went a lot better with the gear down!

 

Returning from Nevatim in one of the F-35s based there

 

Turning and burning above the city center (noise abatement? what noise abatement?)

 

Another airport flyby…

 

…followed by a flare dump

 

Returning to land at LLBG

 

Touching down on runway 30

 

Ready to go up in one more fighter jet, the Vskylabs Kfir maneuverability demonstrator  (@CHASMAN2014 landing in the background)

 

Up and away

 

In addition to noise pollution, the black smoke from the Kfir's J79 engine suggested plenty of regular air pollution too…

 

Another airport flyby (no flares this time)

 

Sunset landing at 30

 

Emergency vehicles were waiting on the ramp, no doubt assuming an engine fire due to all the smoke!

 

For one last sunset flight, I switched to a Sun d'Or 737 and filed a flight plan for Sharm El Sheikh. @rajo was just taxiing for departure as well, while @Vega66 was chasing another fighter jet in the skies above

 

Perfect timing for the sunset departure

 

Airborne…

 

…and turning on course south

 

@Vega66 followed me until the coast of Egypt at El Arish, after which all that remained was a brief nighttime cruise across the Sinai Desert

 

Landing at Sharm El Sheikh runway 22R to call it a day

[CHASMAN2014]

Greetings to all,

Hope everyone is having a nice week.

I started my flight from Heraklion (LGIR) which is the primary airport on the island of Crete, Greece. My plane was the B737-800 with the Blue Bird Airlines livery.  I used real life flight number BBG755 from Heraklion to Ben Gurion Tel Aviv. Departed from gate 7 and taxied to runway 27 departing 27 using SID BAVEC.

Leaving Herklion

Departing the island, afterwards most of the flight was over the Mediterranean.

Aerial view of Ben Gurion Airport my approach was to runway ILS30, I had issues with the ILS signal and after 2 tries decided to go for the visual approach. I believe the issue was I switched  the autopilot to approach too soon causing the plane to circle in the opposite direction.

Ben Gurion final.

Landed runway 30

View of the famous spiral tower in the background.

Parked at gate D7

Picture of @rajo Lufthansa A320 at gate B2.

@ostkamp E35L parked at gate B7

@F5Chaser landing at Ben Gurion Airport

@Kumiankka  I believe landing his helicopter at Ben Gurion Airport.

Afterwards did some sightseeing around Tel Aviv and spotted the Bloomfield Stadium as well as one of the many Mac Donald's.

All the best,

Hope to see you all next Sunday.

Chas (CHASMAN2014)

Edited August 30, 2022 by CHASMAN2014

[rajo]

All flights for pilot rajo

Date	From	To	Aircraft	Type	Duration	Distance	Earnings	Action
2022/08/28 19:12:10	LLBG	OEDR	D-RAJ930	Socata TBM 930 (MSFS)	03:23	872	$12,285.58	View
2022/08/28 14:15:07	LLMZ	LLBG	D-RAJ930	Socata TBM 930 (MSFS)	00:28	48	$1,605.33	View
2022/08/28 13:14:50	LTCC	LLBG	UK-47444	Airbus A320 (MSFS)	01:35	440	$3,925.80	View
2022/08/27 23:02:38	LLJR	LLMZ	D-RAJ930	Socata TBM 930 (MSFS)	00:18	33	-$246.05	View
2022/08/27 02:07:56	OJ0A	LLJR	D-RAJ930	Socata TBM 930 (MSFS)	00:32	48	-$45.29	View
2022/08/26 03:31:03	OS0K	OJ0A	D-RAJ930	Socata TBM 930 (MSFS)	00:31	88	$2,696.12	View
2022/08/25 19:09:34	OS0B	OS0K	D-RAJ930	Socata TBM 930 (MSFS)	00:38	102	$4,183.50	View
2022/08/24 23:18:13	LTAK	OS0B	D-RAJ930	Socata TBM 930 (MSFS)	00:44	92	$4,081.73	View
2022/08/23 23:11:34	LTFH	LTAK	D-RAJ930	Socata TBM 930 (MSFS)	01:27	281	$87.01	View
2022/08/22 03:30:05	LTCG	LTFH	D-RAJ930	Socata TBM 930 (MSFS)	00:55	147	-$779.66	View

Already on Monday I saw that I had a chance to bring my own Socata TBM 900 to the finish line during the week. I was already in Jerusalem on Saturday, which was a bit close, so I squeezed in a Lufthansa charter flight from Diyarbakir, Turkey.

crossing Syria

entering Israel

landed at dead sea

next Jerusalem

departing turkey

landing

as you can see, the angle of the ILS lateral path is not correct, it can be five degrees wrong. The next approach with the TBM900 to the same rw 30 was correct. This is strange!

taxiing to the gate

then sightseeing with my favorite helicopter EC-135

and back to the TBM 900

for the last flight to King Abdulaziz AB, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia I needed all the fuel capacity end even more, I barely got into the air

at the moment I am with the TBM-900 (under VATSIM) still heading China. See you there!

Edited August 30, 2022 by rajo

[F5Chaser]

Nice to be able to join you all again this week!

I started my flight from Antalya, Turkey (LTAI) a Fly-in location from 2007 by the looks of it!

The cruise over this corner of the Mediterranean was smooth with scattered clouds, turning to clear skies as I descended into Tel Aviv.

Landed runway 30 at Ben Gurion and taxied to gate C7.

@Vega66 and @gordoxproenca in a pair of Israeli F-16s departing runway 30 for some low altitude maneuvers!

@Vega66 in a high speed pass over the terminal.

Very nice destination this week. The scenery still looks as good as it did the year it was released. I cannot believe that was 7 years ago!

See you next week!

[ostkamp]

Hello pilots,

finally its weekend and I have now time to create the very late PIREP.

I started on the Greek island Kos (LGKO) in an Embraer Legacy 650 with El-Al livery, matching the destination countries carrier.

Departing runway 32

After a big left turn went for south eastern heading.

Approaching the coastline.

On approach to Ben Gurion airport, Tel Aviv.

Landing went acceptable according to plugin.

Got parked at stand B7 next to someone not yet visible here to the left.

AAF7126, EDDM, @Quintao,  @Vega66 were also at the airport.

BBG755CS taxiing.

@rajo on final.

Merlin in his usual military craft.

@Big-IN aka Dino5 in his B747.

I had switched to Cessna 172 meanwhile for a short hop during my Blackwood cherry ice cream with Advocaat break this time.

Dino5 and I went to nearby RIshon Lezion (LLRS).

There I switched aircraft again and loaded Carenado PC-12 for flight to the Dead sea.
And no, I did not try out whether the aircraft keeps on swimming on top of it after a water landing 😉

Dead sea in sight.

Unfortunately the standard scenery there was 2D.

We continued to the old airport of Eilat (LLFT) in the South that had been closed in 2019. On the way I guess we passed the new one here.

@Big-IN had to logout asap.

So I had one last shot alone in front of the terrminal building. on an otherwise empty airport.

I hope you had a good week and plan to join you again on next Sunday. 🙂

 

Edited September 2, 2022 by ostkamp

[Skylark2992]

Thanks for the PIREPs everybody, another another good fly-in!