Tonga ... Fava´u International Airport - Fua´amotu International Airport

[hasegawa]

A typical aircraft of the 50ies is the Convair CV 580. The Convair CV 240/340/440 "Metropolitan" and also the Martin 202/404 are aircraft build, to replace the Douglas DC-3 and the C-47/C-53, build in WWII. Metropolitans are also in Europe in use to build up the flights in Europe. But the Jet Age and the first typical types like the Caravelle, the BAC 111 and the DC 9, and a bit later the Boeing 737-100/200 came to replace them. But the Convair-Liner wasn´t that old at this time and it was a not so bad idea to modernize them and replace the typical Piston-Eingines with PTL-Engines like the Rolls Royce "Dart", and here with the Allison 501 D13D/H Turbopropp-Engine. Now these Machines are called the Convair CV 580. These aircraft remained in service with First-Class-Airlines up around to 1965.
After this time they are often used as freighters in Canada and in the 3rd. world.


One of the current operators of this aircraft was and is Chathams Airlines and now Chathams Pacific at the Kingdom of Tonga. Here You can see this aircraft as "Chatham Airlines" Think, they have them only repainted after a while.

Okay, today we have a job to do, flying from Fava´u to Fua´amotu International, the main entrance of Tonga. Vava´u today is a group of islands "in the middle" of Tonga and only one little town is here, where you can find around 4.200 inhabitants, Schools, a Police-Station a hospital... Here you can find yachtsman from all over the world and diving is also popular. Cruise Liner are also sometimes her to find.

Our CV 580 is waiting...

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Here You have a look at the "airways-terminal".

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We are ready to go to runway 08 ...

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Fine. We are airborne and the old Convair-Liner does this job well.

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Gear up...

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Now it is time to change the direction to south.

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A last view to the Fava´u Islands...

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... and we are underway to the Ha´apai-Inseln.

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The weather conditions are not so good.ö It is not another sunny day in the South Sea...

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Much clouds...

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It seems interesting, that nearly this point the history of the mutiny of HMAV "Bounty" began. Near the island of Tofua, 28. of April 1789 the Mutineers gave Captain Bligh and some loyal Seamen a boat.
These men around Captain Bligh came at the same day to Tofua to exchange some food with the Natives. But, it failed and one of Blights Crewman , Quatermaster´s mate John Norton was killed. After this Bligh and his crewa sailed around the Torres-Strait to Timor, to a smal Fort of the Dutch named Kupang 5.800 km away. They need for the voyage 7 weeks, without enough food and nearly to be on the ropes they reached Kupang.

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We reachg Tongatapu. But the airport is on the other side of the island. We are flying around, not over the capital and the residence of King Tupou V...

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We are on final.

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A good view on the Convair-Liner.

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To mutch height...

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Oh no... not a Tail-strike!

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We are at the runway. You can see here the International Terminal.

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At hte endof the runway we are going to the domestic terminal..

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We are coming to hold.

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The tourists think... welcome to paradiese...

Addons:

Calclassic Convair CV-580

"Tonga Domestíc" and Fua´amotu Intl. V. 2 made by Graham Michael, Pacific Island Simulation
REX 2.0

My Traffic

[zkcav]

Awsome shots.

Going to have to install this package now... Is the Calclassic Convair CV-580 FS9 or FSX?

[Ian Warren]

I think you Paul ( ZK-CAV)explored this couple weeks back , Hasegawa , nice screens I do wonder how long the Islands would above the surface , looks like its getting swallowed up right now ! have a storm through here you have little or no protection .

[deeknow]

QUOTE

I think you Paul ( ZK-CAV)explored this couple weeks back[/quote]

Thanks Ian - I think I'm going mad(er) or more absent minded... but not quite time to go to the rest home just yet :-)

580

I did find a FSX SP2 model here: FSX - 580

Might be able to merge the VC with the FS9 model?

Last edited by zkcav on Tue Oct 11, 2011 11:37 am, edited 1 time in total.

[deeknow]

Great shots Hasegawa, that scenery looks good, is it the payware Tonga stuff? Love the Blue ground-sheet over the building at one location there
I did a tour of the pacific in a CV580 a few years back, was a blast, might be worth a repeat I reckon now I've seen your shots

[Ian Warren]

QUOTE (zkcav @ Oct 11 2011,12:36 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

or more absent minded... but not quite time to go to the rest home just yet :-)

SWAMP fever think they call it ... not ready for the 'R' just yet , But ranging out 1300/1400 mile s from Auckland in a twin , think would prefer the L188 ...... a completely new 580 is something one must look at , but these days the kiddies want button pushing planes