NZFF

I thought that I might do another world tour. NZ-NZ but this time it will be done an unusual way. Real flights but through exotic destination such as Chile, Russia etc... Countries that you usually don't visit.
Due to external commitments this will progress slowly but I will get there in the end.

Just an update - I don't get too much free time on the computer due to other commitments but I will try to fly a leg once a week.
So far I have just saved my current leg NZAA-SCEL and plan to finish it on a latter date this week.

(Just so you know I'm actually making progress)

Here we are.

Leg One:

Auckland International Airport - Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport
NZAA-SCEL

A340-300



We start off late in the afternoon in between some AIr NZ aircraft




Pushback and startup




Taxiing along 05L




Just waiting now for clearance





Lined up





Starting takeoff roll




By by Auckland




We follow the moon to Santiago




It's becoming harder to see outside




The well lit cockpit the pilots use to fly the 11hour trip





Sunlight!




Nearly there!




Finally proper daylight!




Still over the sea




Starting approach




Turning onto finals going over mountainous territory




Lined up on the ILS





Finals




50!




Retard!




Slowing down




Final Taxi




Once again we are on land. Looking forward to my next journey!

A320 s .. A380s .. , 1974 the fist A300 arrived in CHCH - whole different story.. today 320's nah .. scratch me head , i really don't no .. lets copy a 73 , 'ok' we have the .. types sorted , the 340 tho has my attention .. the Boeing/Airbus nah nah .. bla bla , this plane is impressive , into NZCH YEAH and a pretty Airbus ! .... TUI Brillliant

Liked the 340 so much i brought the CLS model , was my first Airbus .

Ian Warren wrote:

QUOTE (Ian Warren @ Mar 21 2009, 12:40 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

A320 s .. A380s .. , 1974 the fist A300 arrived in CHCH - whole different story.. today 320's nah .. scratch me head , i really don't no .. lets copy a 73 , 'ok' we have the .. types sorted , the 340 tho has my attention .. the Boeing/Airbus nah nah .. bla bla , this plane is impressive , into NZCH YEAH and a pretty Airbus ! .... TUI Brillliant

Liked the 340 so much i brought the CLS model , was my first Airbus .

lovely pictures warren
cliff

My lovely 737NG panel (couldn't be bothered with PMDG for this flight)






The busy terminal




Starting take-off roll




Rotate




Climbing away




Cruising in day...



Cruising at night!




The lights of Sao Paulo start to show 30nm out of the airport.




Finals




Approach lights






Nearly...




Slowing down...




Taxiing. Lots of aeroplane here!




Just waiting for the next flight now - Caracas - Venezuela

Lookin good , but would have stuck with PMDG 73 , maybe a Tupolev 154 for part of your journey

Nice report Kelburn, enjoying it!

Hey, haven't uploaded anything for a while. No time. Will do soon though. Tomorrow hopefully...

Once again I have flown another leg. This time Sao Paulo to Caracas.
It was a slightly sketchy flight - FMC didn't seem to want to work. But I arrived despite bad weather and confusing terrain.



Got the closest gate to the terminal which was very handy!






After pushback and while turning onto the taxiway, it is astounding the large number of jets (when compared with Wellington)






Luckily it was only a short taxi to runway 9L




Waiting for clearance...




Then we were off! A long 6hr flight means a lot of fuel and with a fairly full cabin, the runway roll was very long (used up 3/4 of the runway!)




Cruising was a little slower today due to the weight. We also had a reduced climb rate.




I really, really like this cockpit...




After just over 5hrs in the air we started our descent to Caracas.




Approaching into this airport is hard to to high terrain surrounding the airport landside - the airport's almost on a cliff.




Entered the fog!




Established on short finals














Finals then touchdown!




Finally resting at the gate.

My next flight will take me to a lovely Caribbean destination although in a larger aircraft this time!

Okay. I admit that so far my journey has gone to places that many probably would visit. Rest assured that more desolate countries will follow soon.
As for this leg I am in an American Airlines 757 (I'll be doing quite a bit of flying with them soon). My destination though is San Juan in Puerto Rico.



As it turns out, Caracas is a pretty busy airport. It's also known to be DC-9 heaven.




Examples from Europe and Central America though our destination is in the Caribbean.




Soon enough I was climbing away heading north.




A cloudy but none the less a pleasant flight.




After a short while, descent was imminent.






Fog had obscured the southern part of San Juan




As soon as we were out of the cloud, San Juan's outskirts could be seen.




A"dirty" approach. Everything hanging down.





Long finals...




Interesting runway layout.




Flare!




Quite the American Hub.




Quite a nice airport. A few lakes in between taxiways.




We come to a rest in amongst our AA couterparts.

Further your journey , 757 YES .. love this type .. maybe a return home in the RNZAF 75

I guess I've been stalling. Got up to Vanouver last week. I'll post all my legs ASAP.

Here is my next leg:

TJSJ-TFFR
San Juan to Pointe-A-Pitre.

American Eagle ATR-72



You wouldn't guess that this was an American Airlines hub would you? Seems to me the US has a major strong hold in the Caribbean.



The Eagle terminal gives a really short taxi to the runway which is handy.



Is it just me or do all American Airports seem to have too many gates - they're all allocated to an airline I know but they are never all used up at once!



A very bright cabin at night. Last time I was on an ATR was Dunedin to Christchurch. Still got memories of a very dark cabin.



Dark night. The tropics often have beautiful night skies. Not much light pollution on small islands.



Short flight calls for descent soon enough. The clouds worried me though.



Flaps down...



Phew! Approach lights visible. Commence Visual approach...



Displaced threshold = quite high over start of the runway.



I tried to land late to reduce the amount of time taxing on runway



Nice easy approach and landing



Only an hour after departure we had arrived and shut down engines.

Shortest flight yet.



Had a few days in Guadeloupe before making the short flight to St Barthelemy in a codeshare WinAir flight (Air Caraibes use a Winair DHC-6 to Gustav)

I'm Loving this keep it up!!

I'll try and add three or so legs tonight

Thank you Kelburn

nearly. Haven't had time yet. I will try ASAP though...

I am planning to upload more soon. just haven't had time. Maybe tonight? (If lucky)

Finally.

Leg 6 - Point a Pitre to Saint Barthelemy!
Bound to be a fun flight. DHC-6 - one of my favorites! Operated on behalf of Air Caraibes by Winair.



Nice tropical vegetation out there




Ready to start




Great set of wing views with this new panel




DHC-6's are common around here...




No need to back-track to the end of the runway - this is an aircraft certified to takeoff from a 400m runway!




The terminal looks really empty though...




Weird weather in the tropics




Climbing





This livery looks good on this aircraft methinks




Approaching the airport




Finals....!




A rather...unsatisfactory landing :-(





Quick taxi and shut down.

Soon onto next flight!