FS9 World Tour

Wednesday, 4 July 2012

Palmas to Brasilia

DAY 14, LEG 68 - Palmas to Brasilia

Having quickly refuelled in Palmas, it was time to depart to Brazil's capital city, Brasilia. The building of Brasilia began in 1956 and it officially became the capital city in 1960. It was purpose built as Brazil's new capital to move the centre of power away from the crowded Atlantic coast. The international airport is the third busiest in Brazil and serves mostly domestic destinations with a few international connections to the USA and Portugal. Thanks to the nice weather we can cruise a little lower than usual for this short leg and stay out of the headwinds that caused us to stop for fuel in the first place.

Departing Palmas and climbing up to FL150.

Vectors to runway 11L at Brasilia.

Taxiing in.

Parked at Brasilia next to a TAM Airlines A320.

SBPJ - SBBR stats

Take off time: 1018
Landing time: 1138
Flight time: 01:20
Fuel used: 684kgs / 1505lbs

Saul to Palmas

DAY 14, LEG 67 - Saul to Palmas

After a night in Saul, it was time to head south again back into Brazil. The original plan was to fly non-stop from Saul to Brazil's capital city, Brasilia, but strong winds meant a flight time of 4 hours and 40 minutes which is too long with the fuel remaining so a fuel stop will be made in Palmas. Palmas is the largest city in the state of Toncantins and is located roughly in the centre of the country. Palmas airport is large for the size of the city, so the quiet timetable should result in a quick turnaround for departure to Brasilia.

With no lights on the strip at Saul, departure was made as soon as natural light allowed!

Oyapock River, the border between French Guiana and Brazil.

Maraca Island.

Mouth of the Amazon River.

Guama River.

Descent into Palmas along the Toncantins River.

Turning final into Palmas.

Parked in Palmas ready for refuelling.

SOOS - SBPJ stats

Take off time: 0629
Landing time: 0954
Flight time: 03:25
Fuel used: 1421kgs / 3126 lbs

Sunday, 17 June 2012

Blog update!

I have updated the previous posts on the blog with links to Wikipedia entries, aircraft pictures, specific websites, and maps of routes to provide a bit more in-depth information in case you would like to know more about some of the places I have visited on this tour! It has also been a good opportunity to correct the odd typo. Please let me know if there's anything else you'd like to see.

Friday, 8 June 2012

Cayenne to Saul

DAY 13, LEG 66 - Cayenne to Saul

Our final leg of the day takes us southbound again to a small village in central French Guiana called Saul. The village is very small, and very remote. It is only accessible by air and is home to less than 200 people. There are two small tourist resorts near the village and the airport brings tourists to and from these resorts year round, normally by Twin Otter from Air Guyane Express. The runway is fairly long for a remote airstrip at 1200m and is more than enough for the B1900D. We are going to spend the night at this unique place.

About to taxi out at Cayenne as a Taf Air 737-200 taxies out for departure to Macapa on the northeastern coast of Brazil.

Long final to Saul.

Passing Saul village on short final.

Short final to Saul.

Crossing the threshold to runway 21 looking left at the small apron.

Parked at Saul.

Another picture as our bags are unloaded into our waiting truck.

SOCA - SOOS stats

Take off time: 1525
Landing time: 1548
Flight time: 0:23
Fuel used: 193kg / 425lbs

Timehri to Cayenne

DAY 13, LEG 65 - Timehri to Cayenne

On this leg we head eastbound over the dutch-speaking Suriname towards the french-speaking French Guiana. The country is home to a European Space Agency launch site thanks to its location near the equator. The centre is located at Kourou, to the northwest of the capital, Cayenne, and we have been given permission for a fly-past during our flight today.

Taxi out in the rain.

Maroni River as seen from seat 5A. The river is the border between Suriname (on the left) and French Guiana (on the right).

One of the rocket construction buildings at Kourou.

In order from closest to the aircraft to furthest away - The final assembly building, the launcher integration building, and the control centre.

The Ariane 5 launch pad just underneath the aircraft and the fuel production plant in the distance.

Turning back towards Cayenne with a good view of the whole ESA site.

Final approach to Cayenne.

Parked along from an Air France A340 from Paris Orly.

SYCJ - SOCA stats

Take off time: 1339
Landing time: 1510
Flight time: 01:31
Fuel used: 780kg / 1716lbs

Manaus to Timehri

DAY 13, LEG 64 - Manaus to Timehri

With an aircraft full of fuel again we continue our journey northbound into our fifth country of South America, the former British colony of Guyana. The capital, Georgetown, is served internationally by Cheddi Jagan International Airport and is located in the city of Timehri, 25 miles south of Georgetown. The capital has a domestic airport, Ogle, but the runway is too short for the B1900D so we are limited to using the rather distant, but larger, international airport.

Taxi out at Manaus with a GOL 737 departing in the distance to Porto Velho.

Leaving Manaus behind.

Cloudy approach to Timehri.

Crossing the Demerara River on approach to Timehri.

Final approach to Georgetown International.

Parked at the terminal building.

SBEG - SYCJ stats

Take off time: 1002
Landing time: 1317
Flight time: 02:15 (+1 hour time difference)
Fuel used: 944kg / 2077lbs

Juruena to Manaus

DAY 13, LEG 63 - Juruena to Manaus

After a quick stop in Juruena, we continue north to Manaus. Manaus is the largest city in northern Brazil and the capital of the Amazonas region. It is a popular destination for eco-tourists who explore the rainforest that surrounds the city and is served by Eduardo Gomes International Airport which mainly serves domestic destinations but offers a seasonal service to Miami.

Cruising over the Amazon rainforest again.

Turning over the Black River to the ILS

FInal approach with the city just visible at the top of the picture.

Parked at the general aviation terminal, nicknamed "Eduardinho" or "Little Eduardo" as it is the smaller of the two terminals at Eduardo Gomes airport.

JRN - SBEG stats

Take off time: 0910
Landing time: 0937
Flight time: 0:27
Fuel used: 202kg / 444lbs

La Paz to Juruena

DAY 13, LEG 62 - La Paz to Juruena

Having stopped for the night in La Paz, we faced a long flight in the morning to our first Brazilian destination. We are visiting a remote airstrip in Juruena in the Mato Grosso region of Brazil. It is a good opportunity to stop and admire the remoteness of this part of the Amazon as much of our Brazil trip will involve stops in large cities. Due to the remoteness of Jaruena there is no fuel available to us so we need to depart La Paz with full tanks to allow us to continue to Manaus and land there with sufficient reserves.

Sunrise over the Amazon.

A glimpse through the clouds of Rio Mamore - The border between Bolivia and Brazil.

The vast Amazon rainforest.

Approaching Juruena. The Amazon tributary that is just visible divides the Brazilian regions of Mato Grosso and Amazonas.

Touchdown in Juruena.

Parked at Juruena. We have landed with 938kg of fuel which is more than enough for the half an hour flight to Manaus.

SLLP - JRN stats

Take off time: 0512
Landing time: 0847
Flight time: 03:35
Fuel used: 1096kg / 2411lbs

Pisco to La Paz

DAY 12, LEG 61 - Pisco to La Paz

After refuelling at Pisco, we head to the highest airport on our tour in the highest capital in the world, La Paz, Bolivia. The airport is located 13,300ft above sea level and is surrounded by mountainous terrain which presents a number of unique problems for pilots operating into this international airport.