Hi everyone!
This time you, a private licenced pilot, take a friend and his son onboard a rented DA40NG to a short (30 - 45 minutes) tour of Lake Como. Mother will rather wait at the airport lounge cause she doesn’t like flying. This type of tour is commercially available on float planes from the Como Seaplane base:
https://www.aeroclubcomo.com/Menu2/Idroscalo/tabid/118/language/en-US/Default.aspx
but this time, due to the unavailability of serious seaplanes (FS2020 take note!) the tour starts and ends at LILN near Varese.
The flight plan follows the western branch of the lake, north from Como to Bellagio and then south
to Mandello, where an easterly turn through a short valley brings us back to Venegono (LILN).
Highlights of the trip, apart from the lake itself, are the sightseeing of both Como and Bellagio. By the way, this small city, in nice place but little else, inspired the name of the famous Casino in Las Vegas.
FLIGHTPLAN NOTES
- Aircraft load: one passenger in the front seat (170lbs) and a boy (80lbs) in one of the back seats, cabin luggage arounf 10lbs.
- Fuel 50% in both tanks: in the DA40NG there is no tank selector: activate the fuel transfer switch when the “fuel low” warning lits.
- Takeoff from Venegono (about 1,000ft) and continue on runway heading climbing to 2,500 feet, then fly towards the first waypoint, which is the city of Como. By the time you arrive over Como the aircraft should be trimmed for straight cruise flight without autopilot aids.
- Once you are above Como follow the lake north low and smooth tolet your passengers enjoy the view.
5 Fly over the lake to the third wayoint (Bellagio) which is the small city just on the fork of the lake. Let your passengers enjoy the view.
What’s the tecnique for doing this? Here it is.
a Fly away from the POI to gain distance so as to have the POI aligned with the tip of one of your wings. Altitude can be from 1,000 to 3,000 feet above ground level depending on the surrounding terrain. Here about 2,500ft is comfortable,
b Start a shallow turn towards the POI keeping a bank angle between 5 and 10 degrees.
c Keep speed and angle as stable as you can making small adjustments of pitch and bank angle. Set the in-cockpit view to keep the target POI in sight. With a little practice you can instinctively find the perfect balance and lose or gain no or very little altitude in a complete 360 turn.
d Once you are again straight, you may want to turn in the opposite direction to let the passengers on the other side of the airplane have equal opportunities …
6 Heading down the south branch of the lake, opposite the city of Madello is a small passage to a valley. Climg to 3,500 feet to clear the pass and take the passage to the plains again
7 Land at Venegono and return the child to his mother.
I hope you enjoy the flight.
If you want it to be a simulation and not a game keep also this in mind:
1 absolutely keep to the flightplan: this is a low altitude flight in a narrow valley, surrounded by mountains steeply rising, which means it is impossible to clear them from a low altitude in a small aircraft
2. Turning 360 degrees while in the narrow part of the lake is not advisable: even if it is possible it requires bank angles that your passengers won’t like at all
3. In general change direction smoothly and keep safe!!
Here is the flightplan
Lake Como GrandTour.PLN (2.2 KB)
