F5Chaser

Hello everyone, Like @Quintao my flight also began in a location famous for racing. Given the short runway length and distance to cover, the Phenom 300 was the best choice this week. On the ramp at Le Mans Arnage. Unfortunately @MerlinEng was not able to join this week due to his simulator crashing on startup. On departure there were some threatening cloud layers to the East. Climbing and cruising through it was not to bad however. Paris was not visible due to a thick haze but skies were clear to the North. Even though the distance required a jet this week, there was barely enough time to reach cruise altitude (FL390) before top of descent. During the descent I encountered some patches of light to moderate rain. Soon I was on the RNAV approach to runway 11 with @gp4tom just ahead. The approach took me right over the city for a great photo opportunity. Short final with @Kumiankka holding short in a Belgian Air Force aircraft. Great landing and exiting at the last turnoff. Parked at the gate with @ghun1 and @Quintao. Most everyone already had to go or was off touring the area. @rajo was on downwind to runway 11 in a PC-6 and brought it in for a successful landing. See you next week!

No disappointment here! This is actually one of the reasons I prefer your aircraft. You guys put quality first.

Hello everyone, I was back in the 737 again this week setting off from Mexico City in local livery. The sun began to rise just as I departed. The departure from runway 5L went out over the city and then turned back for a great view in the morning sun. After many step climbs on the departure, I finally reached my planned cruise altitude of FL340. Cruise was relatively uneventful and provided some nice views of the mountain ranges. Soon came the descent into Guadalajara. Here passing over Lake Chapala on the STAR to runway 28 which led me around a sort of quarter circle. It was reminiscent of the DME arc approaches which are becoming rare now. I was set up for the ILS to runway 28, but for some reason when I activated the approach mode, the autopilot disengaged all mode and commanded a steep descending right turn. I took manual control to avoid the mountain it was heading for and tried to recover the autopilot from there. None of the modes (LNAV, VNAV, APP) would engage until I cycled both flight directors. Once in LNAV/VNAV again, I tried switching to approach mode and got the same result. Some very odd behavior this time, but at least it was VFR conditions! On short final to runway 28. I don't usually notice my shadow on approach but this week there was a perfect view of it following me to touchdown. Great landing according to the plugin and better than last week in spite of the technical issue on approach. @DrTuro, @CHASMAN2014, and @Big-IN were already parked at the gate. @Vega66 was preparing to depart in his M346 which doesn't have a CSL yet. I really like how swift got the Volaris and Aeromexico liveries right on 2ST and Chas! See you next week in Antwerp!

Hello everyone, Nice PIREPs this week from some great locations! I started out in George Town in the Cayman Islands with a Caribbean Airlines 737. Overcast skies from takeoff to descent didn't provide many photo opportunities this time. Reaching the coast of Jamaica was a different story however. I set up for the RNAV to runway 9 as that seemed to work with the wind. There were still some patches of clouds on the island to contend with on final. It is a good thing the RNAV was available as it sounds like @Kumiankka has some sabotage on his aircraft just ahead of me. Finally I had the runway in sight, with only one more obstacle to clear. There seems to be quite a hillside on the short final to runway 9. I guess that is why the approach course is offset from the runway. The landing felt good although it was a little rough according to the plugin. I may have misjudged the ramp space available here. The only spot I could find to accommodate the 737 wingspan was on the east side by @ghun1. Samen took off also in an airliner just afterwards. See you next week in Guadalajara!

Hello everyone, Since this airport was not on any of my maps I started about 70nm away in Kerema (AYKM). This way there would be some extra time in case I got lost. Departing Kerema in a Grand Caravan with @gp4tom and @MerlinEng. There was a low cloud layer forming as we got closer to the airport. Nothing bad enough to prevent VFR flight. About half way there, I ran across @Kumiankka, @Vega66, and @CHASMAN2014 flying in a loose formation up the Purari river. Once there was a break in the clouds, I decided to follow behind towards the airport. Wabo was right on the shoreline where we expected to find it. Everyone settled on a left downwind pattern to land on runway 14. My first approach was way too high forcing me to go around. Much better on the second attempt although the landing could have been better. Got a hard landing rating from the plugin. Ouch! We were close enough that there was no time for anyone to backtaxi. By the time I finally landed we had five aircraft taxiing back to parking. Here's one last group shot with everyone on the ground safely. Another fun flight! See you next week in Ocho Rios!

Hello everyone, I like the sunrise picture you got @Quintao. It is amazing! And the shot of the Immelmann turn over runway 05 making it look like 50 is perfect @Kumiankka! Right away you could tell this was going to be a fun flight with the NOTAM procedures to follow. I flew in from Gainesville with a Cessna Grand Caravan. @Fatherofsam met up with me while cruising south along I-75 around Ocala. We eventually got close enough to see each other just before starting our approaches into Lakeland. I still had the custom scenery in from the Fantasy of Flight fly-in which provided a great view to start the Lake Parker arrival. The SUNTRAX Test Facility was not visible in my scenery, so some of this route relied on the GPS waypoints. Here approaching Lake Parker. \\ Following I-4, Lakeland visible on the left with the Cake tower and water tower just ahead. Winds were calm and runway 10 was in use. Here on the left base to runway 10L aiming for the green dot. The only trouble with this direction was the morning glare making it difficult to see the dots. A little bit of a hard landing but not terrible. I parked on the south side of the airport after following the flagmen. Just a few minutes later @CHASMAN2014 landed in his Sun Country 737. Swift got the plane and livery spot on this time! Looks great! Shortly after Chas, @DrTuro landed in what appeared to be an A320. Meanwhile, @Vega66 was putting on a show in a Spitfire. Although swift didn't do as well with the model matching on that one. And @MerlinEng arrived in a Cessna Skyhawk on runway 10L a few minutes later. He is barely visible above the yellow taxi signs in the middle of the photo. Then Kumi departed in a B-25 to join the airshow. Humorously, swift got the number of engines right with a Beech Baron. Great fun this week! Thanks @TheMaverickMike for the awesome scenery of the airport area! See you next weekend in Wabo!

Hello everyone, I picked up where I left off in Baghdad a few weeks ago with the Dash 8. And this time with the scenery installed properly. Some light rain on departure giving way to clear skies for the cruise to Batman. However, descending into Batman the overcast returned. A lot of us ended up close to turning final for runway 2 at the same time, so being in the slower aircraft I diverted to the west to increase separation. All worked out well except for the FMS losing track of which waypoint it was on. @Kumiankka and @MerlinEng were ahead of me and @DrTuro was right behind. I am very happy with how this landing turned out. Butter rating from the plugin at around 50 fpm and near the thousand foot markers. Fast taxi to the end of the runway just in time for DrTuro. Thanks @CHASMAN2014 for pointing out a free parking space amongst the crowded terminal! Parking got tight very quickly at this one. See you this weekend in Lakeland!

Hello everyone, Late one for me this week. I started off from Milan in a Phenom 300. Unfortunately most of the trip and beautiful scenery was obscured by clouds. For the first leg the plan was to arrive in Ciampino to switch to a helicopter. I miscalculated the descent timing and ended up 6,000 feet too high and ended up making an improvised pattern. The good part was the skies had cleared up right around the airport allowing me to continue on a visual approach. Number three on approach. Merlin was number two and I forget who was ahead of him. The Phenom is such a joy to land. It's flare is so smooth it feels like a butter landing every time. I joined @MerlinEng over on the ramp to switch to an S-76. While I was doing that, @Kumiankka, @Quintao, @rajo and @CHASMAN2014 came by to visit. In a short time, I departed from Ciampino headed for the Vatican. Some pilots were already on their way or arriving there as well. I circled around the west side to check the wind and decided on a southward approach. The wall and sloped terrain in my scenery made it a real challenge to land. Don't want to have a tail strike! Landed safely! @Big-IN was already there observing the others come and go. I departed again and flew around the VAtican to admire the scenery. Kumi's flyby over St. Peter's square was perfectly timed to end up in this shot. @ostkamp made a successful landing on the helipad. Afterwards, I formed up with Chas for a bit before heading back to Ciampino to call it a day. Landed safe and sound at Ciampino. Thanks for another great flight everyone and Happy Easter! See you this weekend in Batman!

Hello everyone, I flew from Mosul this week. Although the airport is listed in X-Plane and Simbrief the airport still appears to be closed in real life after the recent conflicts. Following the Tigris river south to Baghdad. Near the end of my descent there was a small patch of rain right over the airport. An odd sight to see in the desert I bet! X-Plane ATIS indicated runway 33L or R was the preference but this put me opposite of everyone else coming in on runway 15L. Here I am on the right downwind for runway 33R and simultaneously @CHASMAN2014 and samen were on the instrument approach for 15L. I extended my downwind leg a few miles and eventually switched to landing on runway 33L. It took most of the runway to get stopped as I let the plane float too long and the reverse did not operate as expected. Otherwise not a bad landing. Group shot with everyone parked at the terminal as I taxi down to join @MerlinEng and @gp4tom on the other ramp. Parked to call it a day.

Hello everyone! That was one of if not our best fly-in yet! Thank you @Kumiankka for putting these together every week and to all of you who fly to make them so much fun! My first fly-in was to Ljubljana years ago and the good times with you all is what brings me back week after week. The group flight this week from Toulouse sounded perfect to me. I was not daring enough to fly an Airbus for the first time although I thought about the default A330. Instead the trusty ZIBO 737 was ready for me on the ramp in a Air France livery by @TeamFranky. The clock change for the US flyers this week meant we were a little bit earlier than usual. Soon we were all lined up on the runway and ready to go. Much to the fright of the onlooking engineers probably! Clouds soon became an issue and I spent a lot of time in them changing altitudes and popping in and out. Eventually I settled on FL260 which seemed pretty clear compared to the surrounding altitudes. X-Plane 12 seemed to give us all different weather, from wind speed to barometer settings and cloud cover. After descent I ended up ahead of the formation and entered a hold around MLN to rejoin. One formation flight done with flying colors and then it was on to the grand 1000th formation! About a half hour after the first group landed everyone was heading back to the runway. I jumped into a C172 and started following @Big-IN I believe. Looks like we had 12 planes and one helicopter at the takeoff. It would be 14 in the photo but unfortunately @ManofMac had to leave on short notice. Hope everything is okay with the family member who needed to go to quick care! I made the first turn later than I should have and ended up a few miles behind. The livery looks amazing though! Thanks @Vega66 for making and sharing this one! Passing the Notre Dame. And flying under the Eiffel Tower. I do not have the terrain fixed so the climb out was very steep. And luckily I also made it through the Arc de Triomphe. There is very little room for the Skyhawk's wingspan in there! Through La Grand Arche de la Défense. Kumi paused to take a photo here and swift thought he was underground so it placed his aircraft on top of the monument. LOL Kumi had a nasty encounter with a bridge and some of us decided to "hold" under the Eiffel Tower until he got up and running again. I think @Quintao, @CHASMAN2014 and @Vega66 were also in the improvised pattern. A couple more group photos to conclude the celebration. Dino, Kumi, @ostkamp, @rajo, Chas, Vega, @marpilot, @ghun1, Quintao, @Fatherofsam, MrMac, @gp4tom, @MerlinEng and @172MC. Thank you all for the great time! Here's hoping for another 1000 fly-ins like this! See you this weekend for the next one in Baghdad!

Looks great on 11 too!

Hello everyone, Great PIREPs for this one. I like the videos, @Quintao and @CHASMAN2014. I started out in Salina, Kansas about an hour west of our destination. Given the runway length and parking space, the Cessna 208 seemed like a good fit for the flight. Departing Salina regional on a left downwind runway 17. Following the flight plan eastward on V4 with the I-70 interstate and Kansas river visible below. Topeka was in the distance hiding in the morning glare. I left the V4 airway at Topeka and proceeded north to Atchison looking for the field visually. It is difficult to spot amongst all of the other fields. The wind was blowing strong this week and favored runway 16. I overflew the airport and joined the pattern a bit too tightly, requiring a very tight turn to final at the last minute. The wind sock was standing straight out and it felt like there was an extra gust during the flare. I set the plane down being careful not to repeat my performance in Kodiak a few weeks ago and made the second turn off. @gp4tom, @MerlinEng and Quintao followed close behind. Above is Quintao making a perfect landing in his Phenom 300 getting stopped just in time for the taxiway. Nice landing! See you all this weekend for the biggest Fly-In yet!

Hello everyone, Today I started from Bartow Executive airport in central Florida. Since ramp space was going to be limited at the destination the Phenom seemed like a good choice. Takeoff to landing was perfectly clear skies. The flight and landing were smooth. After arriving I switched to the Sikorsky S76 for a quick visit to the racetrack. @Kumiankka was just driving back to the ramp in his Camero. Swift didn't do bad picking an ultralight for the CSL. The scenery here really takes this airport to the next level with the full speedway modeled. I had enough time to make a quick landing on the front stretch and then return to the airport to call it a day. See you all next week!

Hello everyone, I started my flight in Conakry flying a Boeing 767. Departing on runway 24 is a little bit tricky since there is no taxiway going down there. It takes some time to get multiple aircraft off the ground. Otherwise, that was a beautifully clear day we had for flying this week! The 767 quickly got up to FL370 for the hop to Banjul. Here flying over Catió, Guinea-Bissau. By the time I got to the airport, most everyone was headed out or returning from other local adventures. My approach took me out and around the airport to join the final with @MerlinEng, @CHASMAN2014 and @Vega66 right behind. I had a good landing and speedily raced down to the other end to vacate the runway for the others on short final. Above, Chas appearing as an SR22 and Vega in his F-15. (An F-18 is close enough for swift.) Once everyone landed there was an opening to taxi back to the ramp. @Big-IN landed shortly after to join us. See you this weekend in Georgia!

Hello everyone, I started out in Tivat (LYTV) flying a Citation X to cover the ground a bit faster this week. Hard to argue with mach .86 unless you are supersonic or flying a Longitude. @MerlinEng and I taxiing to runway 14 for departure while @gp4tom is on his takeoff roll. Most of the flight was above overcast skies, so there were not many opportunities to see the beautiful Adriatic coastlines. The STARs at Venice added considerable distance to the route this week. I followed BASO2E which led me out about 30 nm southwest before turning back in. By this point I was number three in the line up behind gp4tom and @ghun1. Butter landing and happy passengers. The only tricky part was avoiding the closed taxiway while finding my way to the ramp. I parked next to @CHASMAN2014 in his Ryanair 737. @Quintao and @Fatherofsam were already heading out in helicopters at this point. Fatherofsam is the silhouette in the foreground. @Kumiankka, @Vega66 and @surfintucson also joined the ramp party. Great destination this week! See you next week in Gambia!