Salvador to Belem

Departing Salvador for a 916 NM flight to Val de Cans International Airport in Belem, Para, Brazil - gateway to the Amazon! Here are some things to do in Belem.

Cruising at 31,000 feet (FL310), and almost halfway to my destination. This is the Foreflight display on my iPad, which is receiving position/ altitude/ heading/ speed broadcasts from the X-Plane flight simulator on my laptop. The red areas depicted on the chart, indicate areas of forecast thunderstorms, that are shown because I've selected the AIRMET/SIGMET/CWA graphical layer.

Still cruising at 31,000 feet, on this beautiful -46C day, and getting closer to Belem. According to the moving map display in the airplane, the vertical navigation Top Of Descent (TOD) point is about 100 NM ahead, so I'll be starting down in about 20 minutes.

Descending through 9,000 feet. I had initially setup the ILS-06 approach in the Garmin panel, but after receiving the ATIS, which tells me they're using runway 02 for arrivals and departures, I've switched to the RNAV-02 approach. Even on a fine VFR day like today, I find it quite helpful to fly the instrument approaches for extra guidance to unfamiliar airports, as they provide accepted headings and altitudes for approaching the airport in any conditions.

On short final approach to runway 02, about a mile and a half out, with heading and glidepath looking good. I enjoy seeing how much ground detail is displayed by the X-Plane flight simulator, no matter where I venture in the world. It is so much more fun, to see buildings, roads, and other human constructions, which indicate that there are people down there. Of course, Microsoft's new Flight Simulator 2020 (MSFS2020) is supposed to have amazing real-world images of almost every area in the world. But we'll have to see how much it costs, and how powerful a computer will be required to run it.

On the ground at Belem. The ground tug was pushing back another aircraft when I arrived, but it immediately came over and parked in front of me, I guess in case I want a push-back later.

Here's an aerial view of Belem airport, with me parked in the center of the image, as usual, and another aircraft just beyond, a King Air that arrived as I was shutting down and planning my next flight.