[COA382 Keith Rocke]

After reading an article in a 2004 issue of Malibu Mirage magazine - "Above Title" - I decided to read up on JetProps. Well, a JetProp is an engine conversion to an already established General Aviation aircraft... the Piper PA-46.




... read the Wiki details here.

To sum up the article...

• 16,934nm
  
• 24 Fuel Stops
  
• 16 Countries
  
• 90 Hours
  

Today, I decided to recreate the entire 'Mission'... so to speak.

Issue #1 - I don't have a Piper Malibu in the hangar. So, I decided to run the mission in my Digital Aviation Cheyenne IIXL. "Psst... Don't tell anyone else... I'm using a turbo-twin..."
My VatSim call-sign is HB-LNX.

Issue #2 - This mission is not pirepable... as the Cheyenne is not part of VCAIR's Fleet... although (even) the FSX Payware is a fantastic sim.

So, beginning today, I've put all other flights - current awards, etc. - on HOLD. The only exception is... flying at least one pirepable flight within 30 days so I stay within the PPM requirements.

Also, I will revisit this topic/post on a per/leg basis to publish the DEP/ARRV ICAO and route flown... in case a mission like this interests you.

TODAY:

KSFF-KHUT
SKOTT HLN J136 BIL J13 CYS GLD J182 ICT44
Distance: 1027.6nm

Photos from today... enroute and at altitude...










Cheers,


Keith

[COA408 Kyle Vander Ark]

Awesome shots and very interesting about that jet prop!

[COA810 Jerry Farler]

Very cool Keith: reminds me of what me and a couple other dispatchers did a few years ago...that was a cross country flight from west to east we dubbed "Props across America" where we jumpseated the lower 48 using nothing but prop a/c. Four of us tried, only one actually was able to get the time off to be able to do the entire journey. What a long strange trip it was...and cramped!

Jerry

[COA1281 Jorge Palacios]

Congratulations, beautiful photographs. I guess it has to do with the computer you are using. Can you share the specs of your computer?

Regards,


Jorge

[COA382 Keith Rocke]

Jorge,

It's a prehistoric Dell GX270 3.2GHzH/T w/4gb PC3200 and nVidia GeForce 7600 GS AGP. XP SP3.

What you're really seeing are the wonderful addons... REX 2 / GEX / UTX / ASA ... and stuff.

Take care,


Keith

[COA626 John Navara]

Keith,

I did a similar thing back in 2008 when I discovered the Aeroworx King Air B200. It was a very nice flying airplane and the good thing was that I could file a PIREP with it. Given that, I decided that I wanted to fly the King Air around the world (ATW). So that is what I did. I have attached the Excel spreadsheet showing my flights. The range on the B200 is 2000+ nautical miles, so I had plenty of fuel for all of my flights. It won't let me attach an Excel spreadsheet, so you will have to unzip it.

John

Attached File(s)

•  B200 ATW 2008.zip (7.49K)
  Number of downloads: 55

[COA382 Keith Rocke]

Leg 1 - KSFF-KHUT Completed
A/C: Piper Cheyenne IIXL
================================
DISTANCE: 1027nm
TIME: 5:09
ALTITIDE: Filed FL250 / Actual FL310 due to winds aloft
FUEL USED: 2,086lbs

[COA382 Keith Rocke]

Leg 2 - KHUT-KAQO (6R9) Completed
A/C: Piper Cheyenne IIXL
================================
DISTANCE: 446nm
TIME: 2:25
ALTITIDE: Filed FL240
FUEL USED: 1,080lbs

[COA382 Keith Rocke]

Leg 3 - KAQO (6R9) - KHOU Completed
A/C: Piper Cheyenne IIXL
================================
DISTANCE: 215nm
TIME: 1:26
ALTITIDE: Filed FL190
FUEL USED: 561lbs

[COA382 Keith Rocke]

Leg 4 - KHOU-KCEW Completed
A/C: Piper Cheyenne IIXL
================================
DISTANCE: 459nm
TIME: 2:28
ALTITIDE: Filed FL250
FUEL USED: 993lbs

[COA382 Keith Rocke]

Leg 5 - KCEW-KVRB Completed
A/C: Piper Cheyenne IIXL
================================
DISTANCE: 370nm
TIME: 2:02
ALTITIDE: Filed FL250
FUEL USED: 795lbs

Even though r/w weather didn't paint rain in the Florida area. "Hey! This is Florida!" When I lived in Orlando, it would rain for 3 minutes --- bucket-a-drop --- as the folks would say, and it would be HOT and Steamy for the rest of the day.

So, here are some shots of the descent and final GA Parking at Vero Beach Executive. Next, up to Hampton Roads Muni in Virginia...









... take care,

Keith

[COA382 Keith Rocke]

Leg 6 - KVRB-KPVG Completed
A/C: Piper Cheyenne IIXL
================================
DISTANCE: 583nm
TIME: 2:55
ALTITIDE: Filed FL250
FUEL USED: 1254lbs

MIA_CRT - JAX_CTR - DC_CTR - Departure to Arrival. Pleasant weather for a change at Virginia.

[COA382 Keith Rocke]

Leg 7 - KPVG-KBGR Completed
A/C: Piper Cheyenne IIXL
================================
DISTANCE: 593nm
TIME: 2:58
ALTITIDE: Filed FL250
FUEL USED: 1249lbs

Leg 8 - KBGR-CYYR Completed
A/C: Piper Cheyenne IIXL
================================
DISTANCE: 607nm
TIME: 3:01
ALTITIDE: Filed FL250
FUEL USED: 1305lbs

[COA382 Keith Rocke]

After a couple days off for r/w assignments, we're back on track. Departed Goose Bay, Newfoundland, Canada for Narssarssuaq, Greenland. Strong winds aloft and puffy clouds all the way up to FL250 thanks to ASA.

Leg 9 - CYYR-BGBW Completed
A/C: Piper Cheyenne IIXL
================================
DISTANCE: 674nm
TIME: 3:01
ALTITIDE: Filed FL250
FUEL USED: 1292lbs

[COA382 Keith Rocke]

Continuing (North) Eastbound. From Narssarssuaq, Greenland to Reykjavik, Iceland.

Leg 10 - BGBW-BIRK Completed
A/C: Piper Cheyenne IIXL
================================
DISTANCE: 667nm
TIME: 2:59
ALTITIDE: Filed FL250
FUEL USED: 1094lbs

[COA382 Keith Rocke]

From Reykjavik, Iceland to Norwich, UK. Incredible headwinds heading Southeast.

Leg 11 - BIRK-EGSH Completed
A/C: Piper Cheyenne IIXL
================================
DISTANCE: 992nm
TIME: 4:22
ALTITIDE: Filed FL250
FUEL USED: 1615lbs

[COA382 Keith Rocke]

From Norwich, UK to Orleans-St. Denis, France

Leg 12 - EGSH-LFOZ Completed
A/C: Piper Cheyenne IIXL
================================
DISTANCE: 289nm
TIME: 1:33
ALTITIDE: Filed FL250
FUEL USED: 634lbs


From Orleans-St. Denis, France to Bologna, Italy

Leg 13 - LFOZ-LIPE Completed
A/C: Piper Cheyenne IIXL
================================
DISTANCE: 289nm
TIME: 2:03
ALTITIDE: Filed FL250
FUEL USED: 793lbs

Half way around the world (almost) LOL

[COA382 Keith Rocke]

From Bologna, Italy to Iraklion, Greece

Leg 14 - LIPE-LGIR Completed
A/C: Piper Cheyenne IIXL
================================
DISTANCE: 842nm
TIME: 3:36
ALTITIDE: Filed FL250
FUEL USED: 1505lbs

One of the longer legs...

[COA382 Keith Rocke]

From Iraklion, Greece to Luxor Intl., Egypt

Leg 15 - LGIR-HELX Completed
A/C: Piper Cheyenne IIXL
================================
DISTANCE: 698nm
TIME: 2:58
ALTITIDE: Filed FL250
FUEL USED: 1452lbs

Vatsim hiccup'd along the way... but log retained on server. Vataware... another story. Gone after a few hours...