Posted By: BeachAV8R
LOMAC/FC: Training Mission #04 - 12/20/06 01:28 AM
Training hop #4 will consist of a long distance cross country flight that will take us across much of the Crimean peninsula and allow us to practice some of the basic skills we’ve learned to this point. More than any other flight simulator I’ve flown the Su-25T in Flaming Cliffs requires a thorough understanding of the avionics and aerodynamic limitations in order to safely navigate the skies. Lack of attention for even the shortest amount of time will have you smearing yourself across the landscape in a spectacular fireball. If these first training missions seem a bit slow paced there is a good reason for it: the Su-25T simply demands a little extra time because the flight fidelity is so good that it does require skill and practice to master (and I’m not so sure I’ll ever reach the ‘master’ level of competence!).
Today we’ll be flying the Crimea Tour mission put together by ‘Brit_Radar_Dude” who borrowed the original concept from ‘Shepski’. Thanks to both of them for putting together this fantastic mission. I’ve slightly altered the mission by changing the default aircraft from the Su-27 to the Su-25T. You can download the mission here: http://www.mudspike.com/lomac/simhq04a.zip
The mission starts at Saki airfield on the west coast and proceeds via nearly 50 waypoints across the peninsula crossing various objects of interest before landing at Kerch-Bagerovo airfield on the east coast.
For this mission we’ll carry a full load of fuel including 4 externally mounted wing tanks and we’ll also tote along a “Mercury” targeting pod to play with if we find the time enroute. With so much fuel we’ll be at 95% of normal takeoff gross weight although I see that there is a red over-gross area that perhaps suggests that over-gross loads might be permitted for combat operations (?).
The training has been paying off as I’ve become more comfortable in the cockpit of the Su-25T and it only takes a couple of minutes to bring the aircraft to life and prepare for departure. A nice touch added by the more competent mission designers are things such as fueling trucks and vehicles moving around the airport.
We start off with 6230 kg of fuel (13,700 lbs!) which just goes to show how large this airplane really is. The maximum takeoff gross weight of the King Air I fly is 12,500 lbs.! I also note down the time (0600) of engine start.
Another nice touch is the “follow me” truck that guides us out to the active runway, taking us through the myriad of taxiways. On the way we pass other aircraft preparing for flight.
Once we are cleared for takeoff I advance the throttles and start lumbering down the runway…and lumbering is the right word for it. At such a high gross weight the effect is dramatic as the acceleration is slow and care must be taken during rotation not to stall the aircraft. It would probably be a good idea to allow the airspeed to build up a bit more before lifting off but keeping an eye on the angle of attack (AOA) gauge will assure you that you won’t stall the wing.
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