Leg 147, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India via Maldives to Koggala, Sri Lanka
DAY01_16.PLN (5.7 KB)
Great day, I solved the terrible stuttering problem I kept getting! It turned out it was from turning the ATC voices off… Every time my co pilot wanted to talk to ATC I got up to a 700ms stutter. Since at low visibility (night / early morning) ATC often denies landing requests, the game enters in a loop where my co-pilot keeps asking for landing clearance. Which result in getting up to 700ms stutters every 2 seconds from 11nm out to the next runway. Bizarre combination of bugs.
ATC voice is back on, co-pilot is no longer allowed to touch the radio. I now either switch frequency or wait until ATC gives up, no answer, no stuttering.
01-15 Coimbatore VOCB 7:03 PM
Bad stuttering already, not even close to dawn, CoherentGTDraw spiking again up to 700ms
Reducing terrain detail has no effect, game is missing many key presses as well, nearly unplayable
01-15 Calicut VOCL 7:30 PM
Cleared up again after touch down, stays gone. Next time just land on a field to solve it…
Stutters re-appear 4 minutes from the airport, like it hates approaches
EUREKA!!! I turned ATC voices off a while ago, after turning them back on, problem solved!
01-15 Cochin Intl VOCI 7:59 PM
01-15 Cochin VOCC 8:05 PM
01-15 9°52’43.45"N 77°21’13.89"E 8:34 PM CTD in heavy storm no visuals, was editing pictures
01-15 Last known coordinates 8:41 PM
01-15 Madurai VOMD 9:01 PM
01-15 Ramnad Naval Air VORM 9:26 PM
01-15 Dhanushkodi Point 9°8’59.41"N 79°26’57.98"E 9:40 PM
01-15 Tuticorin Southwest VOTK 10:10 PM
01-15 Thiruvananthapuram VOTV 10:39 PM
01-16 Hanimaadhoo VRMH 12:05 AM
01-16 Male Intl VRMM 1:03 AM
01-16 Thimarafushi VRNT 1:45 AM Runway missing, just a concrete base for airport
01-16 Kadhdhoo VRMK 1:59 AM
01-16 Gan VRMG 3:00 AM
01-16 Gan VRMG 12:34 PM 587nm to next stop (fly high or lean mixture)
01-16 Koggala VCCK 3:47 PM 20 knot tailwind 196 GS at FL700, slowed down to 178 GS 2 knot headwind
11:03 14 2835 1,792nm 139,510nm
Calicut, coastal city in the south Indian state of Kerala
Which is close to Kappad beach where Vasco da Gama (1460s - 1524) landed in 1498
Cochin International Airport
Cochin aka Kochi on the Arabian sea close to Lakshadweep tropical archipelago
A port since 1341, when a flood carved out its harbor and opened it to Arab, Chinese and European merchants.
Vasco house in Kochi and his original tomb in St Francis CSI church
St Francis is India’s first European church, built in the 15th century. Vasco da Gama’s remains were later moved back to Portugal and buried in 1880 at Jerónimos Monastery near Lisbon.
Chinese cantilever fishing nets near Fort Kochi on the left
Santa Cruz Cathedral Basilica Fort Kochi on the right, reconstructed 1880s Catholic church originally built by the Portuguese in the 1500s.
Dawn approaching on the way to Madurai
Near Palkulam Medu
Kottakkalli hills
Sunrise over the Kottakkalli hills
And then I got swallowed by the clouds
Lots of windmills near Thappukundu
Madurai, ancient city on the Vaigai River in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu
Meenakshi Amman Temple, a major Hindu pilgrimage site
Madurai’s skyline is dominated by the 14 colorful gopurams (gateway towers)
A peek inside Meenakshi Amman Temple
Ramnad, aka Ramanathapuram on the Palk straight
Rameswaram on Pamban Island, looking towards Sri Lanka
Dhanuskodi, abandoned town at the south-eastern tip of Pamban Island
The town was destroyed during the 1964 Rameswaram cyclone and remains uninhabited
Dhanuskodi point, I could not resist landing there
On the left the remains of a church in Dhanuskodi
48km the other way is Sri Lanka over Adam’s bridge, now a chain of limestone shoals. It was reportedly passable on foot until the 15th century when storms deepened the channel. The sea still rarely exceeds 3ft in depth along the former land bridge. I’m heading to the Maldives first.
Thoothukudi, formerly known as Tuticorin in the Coromandel Coast of Bay of Bengal
Climbing over the mountain range near Agasthyamalai mountain peak (6,129ft)
Neyyar dam ahead
38% of India’s installed electricity generation capacity is from renewable sources
Thiruvananthapuram, capital of the southern Indian state of Kerala
Sreevaraham temple pond with Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple a bit further ahead
Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple
1729 temple complex with shrine to Padmanabha reclining on a serpent
On to the Maldives, spotted a couple of the 1190 islands in the distance
Hanimaadhoo, just like with the Seychelles, coverage is very spotty. The good half of the island
Unfortunately, not a palm tree anywhere
So many little islands, most of which can be gone by 2100
Hinnavaru, it’s about twice the size in aerial view on Google and Bing, high tide simulator
Kaashidhoo
Palm trees, they are there. I guess no palm tree models yet
Malé, the densely populated capital of the Maldives
(aerial imagery is a mess to the left and right)
Very pretty place with an uncertain future
Rising water isn’t the only problem, safe drinking water another
Coming in for a landing at Kadhdhoo
Hulhumeedhoo part of the Addu Atoll, the southernmost atoll of the archipelago
Gan Airport, Addu City, small island marking the southernmost point of the Maldives
Still expanding despite rising water levels
As with the Seychelles, my impressions of the Maldives were largely formed by Survivor
Back in the days the show still showed some of the history of the places they visited
I made the flight to Sri Lanka today, night time over the Laccadive sea
Arrival at Koggala, Sri Lanka
No lights at the runway however it was in the G1000 and is located in between two lit streets, the black strip ahead, relatively easy landing.
Pretty place with another way of fishing
Tonight I’ll be exploring Sri Lanka, 7:56 PM sunrise.