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Monday Mail Around the World/Back in time Special Assignment: 1930 Atlantic Crossing

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  • Monday Mail Around the World/Back in time Special Assignment: 1930 Atlantic Crossing


    Hi pilots!
    The Society To Operate Retro Mail service has contacted HQ to request the use of our Singularity drive to ensure the mail crosses the Atlantic on schedule.


    BACKGROUND
    On December 25th of 1918, Latécoère Airlines provided the first civilian international airmail service in the world, when mail was flown from Toulouse, France, to Barcelona, Spain.

    Two months later, on the 19th of February 1919, Latécoère extended the airmail service to Casablanca, Morocco, making it the first intercontinental airmail service in the world.

    (Compare US airmail Washington DC to New York May 1918, and New York to San Francisco September 1920.)

    In 1928, the Africa-South America mail service started. They used a war-surplus destroyer (!) for the Atlantic crossing, linking two existing French airmail routes in Europe and South America. Crossing time: 8 days.

    In 1930, the sea link was replaced by air, as described below.

    In 1933, the Latécoère 28 was replaced by the seriously weird looking Couzinet 70 Arc-en-Ciel III (wheels, not floats) that made the crossing in 15 hours.

    ORIGINAL FULL MAIL ROUTE


    FIRST SCHEDULED AIRMAIL CROSSING OF SOUTH PACIFIC
    On May 12th 1930, the first mail plane for the French company Aéropostale flew from Africa to South America (Dakar, Senegal to Natal, Brazil). It was a Latécoère 28 with floats. Flight time: 20 hours. Plane lost on return flight from South America to Africa (pilot and mail OK).
    Our mission on Monday night will be to complete the return flight to Africa. HQ wants us to deliver the next 50 years worth of mail all in one shot.


    Flight plan for Monday is as follows:

    Depart: SBNT Augusto Servero Intl, Natal, Brazil
    Arrive: GOOY Leopold Sedar Senghor, Dakar, Senegal.
    Distance: 1629 nmi
    Airplane: C130 Hercules or any cargo prop that can maintain 240 knots indicated at 30,000 ft.
    Estimated crossing time: 4.5 - 5 hours


    This will be a serious long haul across the Atlantic. Be ready for a long (5 hours!) flight. The Brazilian government has kindly supplied us with an advance copy of this years blockbuster action film that we will watch as an in-flight movie. Please have available some way to view this film as we will all watch it at the same time. Ways to view include: a second monitor, a main monitor (if you trust your auto pilot), an Ipad, Smartphone or even a second computer or laptop. It will be on Youtube so you could also view it on most game consoles or internet enabled TV's. This movie was nominated in 1930 for an academy award and is actually kinda good! I will crack the seal on the canister and reveal the movie at the appropriate time.

    As always with these Around the World flights the preferred aircraft is the timeless Captain sim C130 Hercules, but feel free to use any cargo prop that can maintain 240 KIAS at around 30,000 ft. Please do Not bring a jetliner to this event because they stick out like a sore thumb and are a distraction. Many suitable free planes are available from Storms skydrive including the excellent Antinov AN-12 and Howard :http://tinyurl.com/storms-onedrive


    Hope to see everyone there!

    Happy landings,
    Lazer

    Last edited by Lazerbolt; August 28, 2014, 09:20 PM.
    Happy landings,
    Lazer


    Please visit my Onedrive here:

  • #2
    The original aircraft that successfully made the first westbound crossing...



    This is the Latécoère 28-3 flown by Jean Mermoz. The plane differed from a straight 28 in that the engine was more powerful and wing area was increased.

    The first crossing was made in prototype #909, tail number F-AJNQ, and named Comte de La Vaulx in memory of the French balloonist Comte Henry de La Vaulx who had died just three weeks earlier on a demonstration flight between Albany and New York City. The crossing was difficult, especially in the Doldrums, where Mermoz had to fly between 100 ft and 700 ft.

    Mermoz wanted to return with the same weather conditions, but tried more than 50 times (!) to do so between June 3 and July 28. When he eventually managed to get started with the eastbound flight, he developed a major oil leak after around 1,100 nmi and had to ditch in the sea. He was picked up by the sloop Phocée, but the aircraft sank after the left float failed. This is why we have to complete the flight for him!

    There is a freeware version of the Latécoère 28 available here from Simviation, in both wheel and float variants. Although it looks good and is a very important airplane historically, I don't find it pleasant to fly as it has poor visibility. It also has slow acceleration and needs quite a long take-off run. That combined with a few other gauge and texture related problems, I don't think I'll be adding it to my OneDrive Vintage Hangar in the foreseeable future. But YMMV!

    (I'll be flying the Antonov An-12 for our group flight.)

    Comment


    • #3
      FLIGHT PLAN, APPROACH MAP, FREQUENCIES AND AIRPORT DIAGRAM
      Download PLN file here.
      Tabular flight plan:



      Approach map, frequencies and airport diagram:

      Comment


      • #4
        Hey Lazer, is it necessarily a bad thing to bump down the starting time just a little for the AtW trips after this? Most of these are on weekdays, and you know, you don't get individual vacations from school (preplanned ones, that is). I do see the downside however, people on here living anywhere in western Europe would have to wake up early, especially for this one.
        Cheers,

        Yours Truly

        Comment


        • #5
          Reminder! Bring your C-130s and An-12s to SBNT at 9pm ET for our epic crossing of the South Atlantic. Flight plan and maps above here.

          Comment


          • #6
            Real life called and I was unable to see the journey through to the end, however here are a couple of snaps from the part I could do!

            Safe Skies!

            Novawing24













            Per Ardua Ad Astra

            Check out my videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/Novawing24
            Join me on Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/Novawing24
            Follow me on Twitter! https://twitter.com/novawing24
            Official Novawing24 website! http://www.novawing24.com
            My Onedrive! http://tinyurl.com/novawing24-onedrive

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            • #7
              Screenshots from our trans-Atlantic flight. (Please click on each pic for full-size/clarity.)













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              • #8
                Thank you, Lazer, for a stunning and most memorable event: a fitting final flight to Monday Mail Runs. :eagerness:

                Comment


                • #9
                  I'm a bit late on getting these up but here they are. I want to thank all of you for such a memorable bunch of flights and a great ending. I doubt anybody that's not a part of our hobby would ever understand it. Regardless, I enjoy every single minute I get to spend flying with you all. The memories we make might be based around a computer program, but they still rock!
                  When God finally says, "King, my office. Now!" I want to go barreling in there half spun out with holes in my clothes, smoke rising from me, and my hair in a mess. I want to be busy. I don't want to go explain myself and not have a great story to go along with it.

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