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I
have to admit that I’ve always wanted to visit Hawaii after seeing the
popular TV show “Magnum, P.I.” which, as it happens, was recently
re-broadcast in full on UK TV, and which brought back some very happy
memories !
So,
to the Flight. After flying into Honolulu International you decide to
book a luxury sightseeing tour of the Islands with a local company. As
luck would have it, the owner is happy to let “suitably qualified”
pilots take the controls, so you get the chance to fly some vintage
amphibians if you so chose ! All flights will be VFR with a certain
amount of instrument work.
Preparation
It
stands to reason that if you’re going to fly the Islands you’ll be
passing over substantial amounts of water, so if possible, get hold of a
good map ! Here are some good sites to find out about this month’s
location:
http://www.gohawaii.com/
http://www.alternative-hawaii.com/menu.htm
http://www.state.hi.us/dot/airports/
http://www.airnav.com/airports/us/HI
Personally,
I use a map from the International Travel Map series (No.268, Hawaiian
Islands) which is available either from your local map stockist or from
here:
http://www.itmb.com/sample_details_of_itmb_maps.htm
Of
course, for those who have FSNavigator, you already have a reasonable
map built in!
(FSNavigator
flight plans, FS Meteo weather files and FS2002 start-up flights can be
downloaded from links at the bottom of this page)
Given
their small physical size, there are quite a few add-ons to cover the
Hawaiian Islands, both freeware and payware.
The
following are all available at http://www.avsim.com
(and elsewhere):
Scenery:
lanaiv2.zip by Bill Melichar. 1.7Mb
hilov2.zip by Bill Melichar. 1.6Mb
kona.zip by Bill Melichar. 1.8Mb
lih.zip by Bill Melichar. 1.6Mb
kahu.zip by Bill Melichar. 1.7Mb
lanai_city,_hawaii.zip by Robert Bakhuis. AFCAD file, 163kb
Also
the excellent Honolulu
International scenery by Lago (payware)
Mesh/Landclass:
hawaii-10m.zip by Raimondo Taburet & FSFreeware. 13.6Mb, Payware
Hawaiian Islands 9.6m mesh & landclass by FSGenesis. 65Mb,
Payware
hawaiian_islands_30m10.zip by M. Maxx. 5.4Mb, freeware
kauai30m.zip by M. Maxx. 2.2Mb, freeware
hnl30m1011.zip by Orlando Sotomayor. 3Mb, freeware
As
this is to be a scenic tour of the Islands, I would recommend that you
get hold of some mesh at the very least. I use the package from
FSGenesis.
Now
for your transport ! The Islands are best seen “low and slow”, and
you can maximize your options if you use a floatplane or amphibian. Two
of my favorites are these:
Grumman
Duck
ddg-j2f-6-v2.zip by Heather Sherman & the Duck Design Group.
16.9Mb including period radio tunes ! Also needed, ddg-upgrade-v3.zip by HS & DDG. 2.9Mb. Numerous repaints
available.
Grumman
Goose
sgoose2.zip by Mike Stone. 408kb
goose_panel.zip by Dorian Davis & J.L. Stubbs. 1.0Mb
goose_panel_upgrade.zip by DD & JLS. 14kb
Numerous
repaints available.
Both
available at Avsim.
Also
ideal are the de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver or DHC-3 Otter, both widely
available in Floatplane and Amphibian forms. Of course, if you fly
helicopters, these will also do very nicely, just make sure you use one
with floatation bags ! It’s up to you what you are comfortable flying,
and there are enough airports throughout the Islands for you to stick
with wheeled aircraft if you want !
Tour One – Oahu
Select
the first of the enclosed Flights, FOTM_Jul_Oahu.FLT
which will put you in a default Cessna 182S at Ford Island NACF
Runway 22, and you can now load your plane of choice.
When
ready, take off from Runway 22, and immediately circle to your right at
low altitude so as to pass over the USS Arizona Memorial. Climb to
3000ft as you pass over Honolulu International (you’ve been given
clearance to overfly the airport) and then set your NAV1 to pick up the
Koko Head VOR (CKH, 113.90) and fly towards it, passing over downtown
Honolulu and viewing the rugged terrain to your left.
At
CKH, take a sharp left and intercept the Kanehoe Bay NDB (NGF, 265.0) to
the north. You’ll pass by Bellows Air Base and end up over the Kanehoe
Marine Corp Base. Still at 3000ft, you should have a good view of the
terrain.
Turn
left to 290o and climb to 4500ft. This will take you over the
Koolau Range towards the north shore. As you pass over the coast, turn
left and follow the coastline to Dillingham Airfield. Over the airfield,
bank left, and pass over the Waiane Mountains, the highest point on
Oahu, at 4020ft.
Once
over the mountains, start your descent as you head for the west coast of
the island. Here you have a choice if you’ve selected a floatplane or
amphibian. You can choose to execute a water landing or continue round
the island and land at Honolulu International or continue back to Ford
Island.
Tour 2 – South to Maui
Select
the second enclosed flight, FOTM_Jul_Oahu2
which will put you in the default Cessna Caravan Amphibian next to the
USS Arizona Memorial. Again, you can now select your plane of choice
(but make sure that it floats !)
Take
off, and when clear of the harbour, lock onto the MOLOKAI VOR (MKK,
116.10) and head for Molokai. Suggested altitude, 6000ft.
When
Molokai comes in sight, and this may depend on the weather and your
visibility settings, head for the northern coastline and descend to
1500ft. This will give you a good view of the cliffs as you pass them on
your right. If you’re feeling adventurous, try flying south across the
island, but watch out for the updraughts !
Either
way, once you’re past the island, turn to intercept the MAUI VOR (OGG,
115.10) and climb to 2500ft. As you approach the VOR, look out for the
West Maui Mountains to your right. Now you have a choice, either:
a)
execute a water landing in Kahului Bay to the north of the
airport,
b)
land at Kahului Airport, or
c)
continue the Tour !
If
you’re continuing, you now need to gain some altitude, as you’ll be
passing over the highest point in the island. Passing over the Airport,
maintain your heading and aim to ascend to 10,500ft. If your plane can
only climb at a modest rate, you may have to circle the peaks until you
reach your target altitude. Don’t forget to “lean” your mixture !
I suggest passing to the north of the summits then swinging round to
pass over them. Magnetic Peak is at 10,008ft.
Once
you’ve had your fill of flying over the peaks, clear the area, head
for the coast, and start your descent along the southern coastline for a
water landing, or continue round the coast and intercept the ILS for
Kahului Runway 2 (110.10) and land at the airport.
Tour 3 – Hawaii
Select
the third enclosed Flight, FOTM_Jul_Maui,
which will put you in a default Cessna 182 at Kahului. Load your
aircraft of choice !
Take
off from Runway 2, and execute a left hand turn to about 185o which
should take you across the island to the southern coast. Suggested
target altitude is 6000ft, but you may need to fly lower if there’s
cloud.
Once
clear of the coast, intercept the 114o radial to the UPOLU
POINT VOR (UPP, 112.30) and head towards it on the northwest tip of
Hawaii Island. As you approach Hawaii, bank left and follow the northern
coastline round at about 4000ft, noting the splendid cliffs to your
right.
Tune
your NAV1 to the HILO VOR (ITO, 116.90) and when about 17 miles DME,
turn right and head across the island towards the summits. You may need
to start your climb whilst tracking the VOR, as you need to get up to at
least 14000ft, and some amphibians don’t climb all that fast ! Once
again, as you ascend, don’t forget to “lean” your mixture !
After
overflying the summits (Mauna Kea is at 13,800ft and Mauna Loa at about
13,600ft) continue to the southern coast and follow the coast round to
the left as you descend to sea level. As you approach Hilo International
you can chose to follow the ILS in to Runway 26 (110.70) or execute a
water landing nearby.
Now
its time to hand back your plane and enjoy the rest of your trip doing
the more normal “tourist” things!
Alastair Monk
June
2003
Additional
downloads:
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