Leg 21 - YSSY-NZQN
Departed: 20:46z (RWY 34L)
Arrived: 23:38z (RWY 23)
Weather: Scattered clouds at 4,000ft of departure; Few clouds at 9,000ft on arrival
Aircraft: Cessna Citation Longitude
Route: YSSY N0469F410 DCT OPTIC Y84 TONIM P766 OMKIN DCT ADKOS DCT NZQN
Approach: RNAV-Z 23 (UGPED transition)
Remarks:
- First time flying the Cessna Citation Longitude and I found it very enjoyable; I used a combination of the Dakfly Flight Dynamics mod and WT G3000 mod to greatly improve the realism of the default aircraft and because of this didn’t have any issues at all. Use of ‘manual’ VNAV on approach to hit the right ToD and vertical speed was a lot of fun!
- I think the RNAV approach into runway 23 at NZQN is my favourite of the tour so far - the turning descent through the valley towards the airport is really spectacular and I definitely intend to come back and have a few more goes (perhaps in something larger like the A320neo next).
- I couldn’t resist upgrading the handcrafted airports with a bit of payware and for this flight I used FlyTampa’s Sydney and iniScene’s Queenstown (both looked great!)
Early morning departure from YSSY (for some reason a Ryanair jet has made it’s way down to Sydney…not sure why that is, but it’s certainly a long way from home!)
Sunrise from the Captains window
Holding short of runway 34L with traffic on final
Turning away from the airport as we head south
Getting above the clouds
View from the passenger cabin
Heading south along the coast to Wollongong
Turning east out over the Tasman Sea towards New Zealand
Crossing the mountains of the South Island
First view of Queenstown through the clouds
Descending through the valley on our way to NZQN
Spectacular views from the passenger cabin on approach
Parked up at NZQN
Distance completed: 21,493nm Distance remaining: 25,098nm