Grumman G-111 Albatross

[SmotheryVase665]

Time to leave the lovely city of Rio de Janerio and continue north. Today’s destination is Vitoria. If all goes well, we’ll land in bay of the same name.

Taxiing out for takeoff:

Farewell, Rio!

At about the half-way mark, passing over the Rio Paraiba do sul and the town of Sao Fidelis at 8,000 ft:

Approaching Vitoria:

We have an on-shore wind, so that allows us to land on the river. The plan is to descend to 1,000 ft by the time we reach the suburb of Serra do Anil - recognisable by the two small peaks by it - then turn to final for a slow descent to the river:

On final. a little bit high, but that is easily remedied:

Looking good:

We’re going to land exactly on-target - opposite Morro do Penedo (the cliff-face to the right):

It’s a short taxi past the Ilha das Pombas to our mooring spot in the small inlet between the Ilha Fumaca (on the left), and the Clube de Natacao e Regatas Alvares Cabral (on the right):

[MSFS 2024 SU5 (v1.7.27.0), live weather, historical]

[SmotheryVase665]

Continuing up the coast of Brazil, our next stop will be at the Arraial Eco Resort on the small peninsula opposite the town of Porto Seguro (SBPS), where the Rio Buranheim meets the ocean.

Departing Vitoria. By the time we reach the Terceira bridge we’ll be well above it:

The city behind us as we start our climb to cruise altitude:

This was a late-afternoon flight, so the sun is starting to set. My flight was planned to arrive at Porto Seguro before it was totally dark. So far, we are right on schedule:

The wind was from the south, so I overflew the city and turned back for a straight-in approach to land just off shore of the Centro suburb. You can see where the Rio Buranheim meets the ocean. The Arraial Eco Resort is on the far side of the river.

The buoy that marks the start of the shipping channel into the river make a good reference point for landing:

And here we are, moored by the resort. I’m looking forward to dinner & a good night’s sleep!

[MSFS 2024 SU5 (v1.7.27.0), live weather, historical]

[SmotheryVase665]

A new day, so a new flight. The weather had turned overnight, so I awakened by the sound of a light rain falling outside:

Using differential thrust to get out into open water for takoff:

As we progressed north, the weather improved:

Approaching our destination for the night - the city of Salvador (Dep. L. E. Magalhaes Intl - SBSV). Lots of ships at the entrance to the Bay of all Saints:

There was a 9 knot on-shore wind blowing from the south-west, so the appoach took us into the bay , then required a turn to base when we were opposite the entrance to the Baia de Itapagipe, with a 45-degree turn to final that would take us into the bay for landing. In these screenshots, the bay can be seen just beyond the city:

Over the bay, with the city lit with the glow of the setting sun:

Making the turn into the bay for final approach:

Taxiing to our mooring spot, behind these boats:

And here we are, in the shelter of the bay for the night. There are plenty of restaurants & hotels to choose from in Ribeira.

Tomorrow, I’ll check out the Fort of Monserrate (POI) and some of the other sights in the city.

[MSFS 2024 SU5 (v1.7.27.0), live weather, historical]

[johnwhite92]

Stunning photos, a magical atmosphere, and a lovely way to share your travels and impressions… Excellent.

[SmotheryVase665]

Thanks. As I’ve mentioned before, the albatross is a joy to fly. The new water effects in 2024 are much better than their 2020 counterparts, and I’m enjoying the self-imposed challenge of taxiing to and from hard-to-get-to mooring spots using the differential thrust of the two engines (including gentle use of reverse thrust when required). Once you get used to the inertia of the aircraft when in the water, its actually quite easy to do!

[Ramasurinen]

@SmotheryVase665 Love following your travels in the plane, and look forward to each instalment.

One “stealth fix” that seems to have gone into SU5, with no patch note, is that the leeward shores of spits and islands do actually have calm water in them now. They used to look calm in high winds, but they were just as rough as the open ocean.

Now the physics match the waves everywhere, so if you’re facing some rough chop for a landing, look for some sheltered water behind a rise and land parallel to the shoreline. The approach might be turbulent but the water will be great.

Beaching now in those areas is very calm and smooth as well (used to be a total rodeo ride), so that’ll let you get out of the water and let you camp under the wing until the storm passes.

Great shots as always. Cheers.

[SmotheryVase665]

Hi @Ramasurinen
Glad you’re enjoying my journey!
Regarding the the leeward shores of spits and islands having calm water - I’ve noticed that the water in bays & open seas is more realistic than it used to be, and the beaching improvements too - no more wobbling over invisible rocks hidden just below the surface. I think you mentioned this in the albatross discussion topic, but the tail on the albatross sure does act like a big sail when taxiing around on the water (as it would IRL). Not a problem in calm & light winds, but adds a bit of a welcome challenge when heading in or out of one’s mooring spot on moderately gusty days!

Anyway, my next (and penultimate) leg up the northeast coast of Brazil took me to Maceio (Aeroclube de Alagoas Airport - SNGS)

After some sightseeing around Salvador - here is the Fort of Monserrate - :

it was time to take off again. The onshore wind required me to taxi out of the Baia de Itapagipe in order to take off, so passing my mooring spot of the previous night as I took off:

and provided fine views of the city as we made a gentle ascending turn to the north:

Crossing the mouth of the Rio Sao Francisco, ~ 195 NM into the trip:

Starting our descent to Maceio. Lagoa Manguaba is below us, with Laguna Mundau in the distance. Maceio is obscured by the clouds in this shot:

Although one could land in Lagoa Manguaba, there is no convenient mooring spot (a lot of the shoreline looks rather marshy), so I’m going to land ocean-side. Once again, we have light on-shore winds, so here we are continuing our descent to Lagoa Manguaba, where we will turn and fly over the city, landing a few hundred yards from the beach that lines the bay:

Starting the turn to final. That small dot in the right-hand window is a ship moored alongside the jetty of the port of Maceio, which is where we’re going to moor for the night:

On final. No ships are comming into port, so we are good for landing:

Well that was easy! Now let’s head over to the harbor:

And here we are, opposite the passenger terminal at the port, which seems a logical place to end the flight:

[MSFS 2024 SU5 (v1.7.27.0), live weather, historical]

[SmotheryVase665]

Took my final flight in Brazil last night, from Maceio to Natal. Here we are, reversing out from the jetty in order to head out into the bay for take-off. The cargo ship that was in port departed overnight, to be replaced by a trawler:

After an easterly take-off, a slow turn to the north over the bay. Maceio is looking good this morning:

Our path will follow the coast for a while. The Ponte Verde lighthouse is my VFR reference point as I leave the city:

Approaching Natal, Unlike my previous flights, we’re not performing a water landing this time, but landing as Augusto Severo Intl.(SBNT), which can be seen in the center of the picture. Not only do I need to refuel, but the aircraft needs a thorough maintainance check, as my next leg will be a 1,660 NM flight across the South Atlantic to Liberia. Even though this is an amphibian, I don’t really want the engine to fail, requiring a mid-Atlantic landing!

On final for runway 16L:

Parked at the northern fuel spot. The airport is not well-modelled in 2024 - just a few hangars scattered around the airfield:

[MSFS 2024 SU5 (v1.7.27.0), live weather, historical]

[SmotheryVase665]

Well, today’s flight is going to be a long one: I’m estimating 10-11 hours (real time - I don’t increase the sim rate) to fly the 1,660 NM across the Atlantic from Augusto Severo (SBNT) to Roberts International (GLRB).

Part 1

Here we are on Runway 16L. All tanks a filled to capacity:

Heading out into the Altantic, following the NTL VOR outbound at 85 degrees. Farewell, Brazil - I’ve really enjoyed flying over your beautiful country & seeing the sights:

~ 5 hours into the flight, at a cruising altitude of 18,000 ft. I estimate we’re about 960 NM from the coast of Liberia:

As the sun starts to set in the west, we hit a weather front with heavy rain and lightning:

Two hours later. Twilight. We’re still in the system:

7 hours into the flight. It’s not getting any better:

An hour and a half later, we pass through the front of the storm into clear skies.

200 NM from the coast, almost 10 hours into the flight, we pick up the ROB VOR inbound on 113.80 that will guide us into Roberts Intl.

[MSFS 2024 SU5 (v1.7.27.0), live weather, live time]

[SmotheryVase665]

Part 2

As we approach the coast, and start our descent to Roberts International (GLRB), the almost-full moon lights up the night sky, and, ominously, another weather front below us. GLRB has neither ILS; nor ATIS to advise us of the weather conditions at the airport:

The storm below puts on spectacular lightning show. The lights of Monrovia can be seen peeking though the clouds on the left:

We fly though clear patches:

and pea soup:

before breaking out of the clouds at 1,500 ft. The lights of the airport can be seen to our left:

On base. We’re using the VOR to judge the turn to final:

We are approved for a runway 4 landing:

And here we are, parked on the Apron. After 11 hours, it’s great to be able stretch one legs:

Total flight time was exactly 11:00 hrs, flight distance: 1,666 NM, having used 1,412 gallons of fuel at an average of 128 gallons / hour.

For those interested in statistics, here are a few more details of the flight:

Flight Statistics - Fuel Consumption (gallons)

Elapsed Time (hours)	Main	External	Aux	Remaining	Used/hour
0:00	680	590	424	1,694	----
1:00	676	590	260	1,526	168
2:00	676	590	134	1,400	126
3:00	676	590	007	1,273	127
4:00	676	456	006	1,138	135
5:00	676	346	006	1,028	110
6:00	676	217	006	0,899	129
7:00	676	096	006	0,780	119
8:00	625	012	006	0,643	137
9:00	504	012	006	0,522	121
10:00	386	012	006	0,404	118
11:00	264	012	006	0,282	122

Flight Statistics - Other

Elapsed Time (hours)	Action / Altitude (feet)	Airspeed (knots)	Ground speed (knots)	MAP (inches)	RPM (hundreds)	GPH (Gauge)	Windspeed (knots)	Wind Direction (degrees)	Comments
0 hours	Climb 500 ft/min	120	115	36	240	120	155	25	Supercharger engaged at 10,000 ft
-	12,800 level off	140	156	40	190	138	114	21
1 hours	Climb 100 ft/min	134	150	40	190	137	108	19
-	15,000 level off	133	158	40	190	135	109	17	Outbound VOR signal ends
2 hours	Climb 100 ft/min	126	150	39	190	132	118	16
-	17,000 level off	126	156	37	190	121	113	15
3 hours	Climb 100 ft/min	122	149	37	190	129	108	16
-	18,000 level off	122	152	35	190	122	104	16
4 hours		123	154	35	190	123	102	14
5 hours		124	157	35	190	125	104	13
6 hours		125	159	35	190	125	102	12
7 hours		126	155	35	190	125	099	18
8 hours		126	150	35	190	124	100	23
9 hours		126	153	35	190	125	098	21
10 hours		126	153	35	190	125	100	21	Supercharger disengaged at 10,000 ft, Inbound VOR signal aqquired.
11 hours	Flight ends.

[MSFS 2024 SU5 (v1.7.27.0), live weather, live time]

[kaha300d]

I’ve got a question:

Transferring the content of the float tanks to the main tanks, if the main tanks get full, will fuel be lost?

[Ramasurinen]

@kaha300d Short answer: nope! No fuel is lost if the transfer pumps are pumping into a full tank. They just replace it as it’s being used from the mains.

Long answer: There was some concern about this last year so I did a lot of testing to be sure…

Grumman Albatross HU-16/G111 Thread

@AerobaticAce As promised I’ve investigated your concern with the transfer pumps and done three identical test flights, after implementing a float valve simulation to prevent the main tanks from ever being filled to max capacity during transfer. All tests were in the G-111 Long Range, at 2000 feet, 72% throttle, 2300 rpm, 30" map, over 2 hours and 6 mins (no time compression) at 135 gallons per hour average burn, starting with 100% full tanks and flying an identical profile with no weather and …

Cheers.