Engines spooled up to 99%, and ready to release brakes for takeoff on Kadena's runway 23R. Planning a right turn of just about 180 degrees after departure, to climb northeast-bound.
Releasing brakes and starting the takeoff roll, for a departure into low overcast. It doesn't look that low, but in this aircraft, I'll be into it just a few seconds after takeoff.
Turning on course, after departing Kadena, with the airport visible below me. Already climbing through the broken cloud layer.
Climbing to the northeast, over the island of Japan.
Climbing toward the higher altitudes. I've been having trouble getting much above 60,000 feet on previous flights, but since cruise altitudes much higher should be possible, and other people have talked about accomplishing it, my plan is to get as high as this simulated Blackbird will let me go.
Cruising at Flight Level 700 (70,000 feet)! I had to be very light on the controls, mostly using the trim to control roll and pitch, and that helped me avoid losing speed and energy to drag. I suspect it also took me way too long to get here, because now I'm over halfway to my destination, and it appears I will need to start back down soon.
Planning my approach into Elmendorf AFB, the light winds favor the west-aligned runway 24, but it has no instrument approaches, so I'll be flying the ILS approach to runway 06. I'm not even a little excited about trying to fly a circling approach to runway 24 in this beast, so I'll just plan a downwind landing. That's usually a bad idea, but this plane's drag chute is very effective, and I've got 10,000 feet of runway to get stopped, so it shouldn't be a problem. I was curious about the need for the dogleg in this approach, between the HYSON, the Initial Approach Fix (IAF), and SSNOW, the Intermediate Fix (IF). Then I remembered a recent article I read in AOPA magazine, written by a private pilot who was departing Merrill Field, who had a near miss with a military transport departing Elmendorf.
Approaching Elmendorf from the West, just above the
Tordrillo mountains West of Anchorage. Since I'm doing my own thing with altitude control, I had initially planned a constant descent into the Anchorage area. However, I realized there was high terrain in front of me, so I stopped my long gradual descent at 13,600 feet, to remain clear of this mountain range. I should have taken a look at the
After crossing the Tordrillo range, I've started a 2,000 ft/min descent toward HYSON IAF (the ILS-06 Initial Approach Fix), which has a published altitude of 3,000 feet.
Descending at 2,000 ft/min, the Tordrillo mountains behind me are now well above my altitude.
Now flying beneath the clouds, I've got mediocre visibility due to the moist air, and am continuing to follow the ILS-06 approach guidance, including the dogleg between the HYSON IAF and SSNOW IF.
On the ground at Elmendorf! Whew. That dogleg made the approach quite a bit more difficult, as I was busy switching my attention from checking attitude, heading, airspeed, altitude, and vertical speed inside the cockpit, to checking position relative to fixes on the iPad, to looking out the window for the airport. And everything was happening at more than twice the speed as the many approaches I've flown in the past, in slower aircraft. I had no problem getting stopped on the runway, though, once I got lined up properly and touched down.
I saved an X-Plane situation while inbound to the HYSON IAF at 3,000 feet, probably because of how uncomfortable I felt with the approach. I'm glad I did, as it gave me an opportunity to re-fly the approach a couple of times. I realize I should've taken it off autopilot much earlier, as there's just not enough time, at 250 knots, to be messing with autopilot heading and rate of descent, while trying to intercept the ILS from that dogleg, and follow it down to the airport.
Flying the approach by hand, it went much smoother, and I was able to grease the landing every time.
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