Merry Christmas from the team at UKDirect; Simon Dobby UKD131, Ruud Blaauwijkel UKD104, John May UKD182 and myself UKD171, who are grateful for your enthusiasm, efforts and support throughout the year and a special mention to two in particular  - Simon Pal UKD239 (who I regard as a staff member anyway - don’t tell him!) and Mike Cremonini ex-UKD189 (past staff and good friend to UKD). I'd like to welcome/introduce two new people as well: Matt Smith UKD312 is our new Public Relations officer and will be trying to promote UKDirect on other websites and forums and Charlie McKenna UKD301 who will be writing a (I hope to be) regular section highlighting specific flights.
The real-world news section has been colour coded so you can choose what type of news you want to read - those in green are non-fatal incidents and/or accidents that you may find interesting. It is curious how many accidents mirror the kind of mistakes our pilots make (myself included) in FS Airlines. Other entries in RED are those that were unfortunate enough to include a fatality. It's a sad fact that there are many of these to choose from but I try to limit them to those of special interest or significant crashes, therefore I have included one such report this time around. Finally see if you can spot the odd-one out (sorry Simon I couldn't resist!).

This issue features special articles by Simon Pal UKD239 and Charlie McKenna UKD301.
Charlie intends to make a series of posts highlighting flights and/or aircraft that are popular with pilots to share with others who may have missed these gems. Likewise he may choose flights that are overlooked!  He would like to hear from you if you have any particular favourites and of course if your stuck for an idea of where to fly, Charlie is your man. Go on, drop him a line!
Simon has compiled a list of his top five favourite addon’s to date. As his quest for realism is relentless this list may already be out of date!
The rest of the magazine is rounded out with the usual quiz, screenshots, videos and amusing stuff. Finally I've been asked to remind everyone that if you have any requests for airframes or routes then you should not hesitate to contact any of the team!

Taking advantage of my position I want to wish you all a very...

 

Merry Christmas from Newshound aka Mark UKD171

I don't fail. I succeed at finding what doesn't work.

John May UKD182 was flying UKD0526, Boeing 737-800  en route to Stuttgart when he  was momentarily moved by a moment of FSX magic and remembered to press  the Print Screen button, well done that man! :)

Do you have a screen shot you are proud of and wouldn't mind seeing messed up on here? Please send it in and share it with us.
To enter in the next e-magazine send your entries to Newshound: mark[at]planecrazy.me.uk

ASN ACCIDENT DIGEST   http://aviation-safety.net/index.php

Thankfully this year there haven't been many fatal accidents or major incidents.
I’ve colour-coded the news below - GREEN text is a non-fatal incident or accident of interest,
                                                               RED has fatalities so now you can skip those if you want.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
19 October 2013 11:49   British Aerospace BAe-146-200  SkyJet Airlines   RP-C5525   C/n / msn: E2031  First flight: 1985-02-07 (28 years 9 months)
A British Aerospace BAe-146-200 passenger plane was damaged in a runway excursion accident at Balesin Airstrip, Philippines. There were no serious injuries among the 75 passengers and crew. The airplane was operated by SkyJet on a charter flight on behalf of Alphaland Corp., a company that operates the Balesin Island Club. On landing at the dirt airstrip the airplane suffered a runway excursion, The nose came to rest partially submerged in the sea water.
Rumours that Simon UKD239 was at the controls are totally unfounded.


25 October 2013 1:15   Fokker F-27 Friendship 500F   Europe Airpost   I-MLVT   C/n / msn: 10373  First flight: 1968-10-04 (45 years 1 months)
A Fokker F-27 cargo plane was damaged in an accident at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), France.
Europe Airpost flight FPO5921 departed Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), France on a regular night time mail flight to Dole-Jura Airport (DLE), France. A few minutes after takeoff the left hand (nr.1) Rolls-Royce Dart 532-7 engine suffered an uncontained failure. This resulted in the loss of the propeller.
Propeller blades sliced through the fuselage of the airplane, exiting on the other side. A safe emergency landing was carried out back at Paris-CDG at 01:20.

3 November 2013 19:08   Pilatus Britten-Norman BN-2B-21 Islander   Channel Islands Air Search   G-CIAS   C/n / msn: 2162   First flight: 1982
At approximately 18:20 hrs on 3 November 2013, the Channel Islands Air Search organisation was alerted to carry out a search for two fishermen who were in difficulties near Les Écréhous, a group of rocks north-east of Jersey, Channel Islands. The pilot, accompanied by the search director, and three observers, gathered at the aircraft's base at Guernsey Airport, and made preparations for flight. There was no moon and the Channel Islands were affected by poor weather, with strong southerly winds, low cloud, and poor visibility.
The aircraft took off at 18:47 hrs and, taking account of the cloud base and visibility, the pilot levelled the aircraft at approximately 700 ft amsl on track towards the search area.
When the aircraft was approximately six miles north of Jersey Airport, the right engine rpm began to vary, repeatedly reducing and then increasing. The observer seated to the right of the pilot, observed the fuel pressure fluctuating but this was not noticed by the pilot. The pilot selected the alternate intake air but the engine then stopped. The pilot feathered the propeller and then completed the engine shutdown checks. Following a brief conversation with the search director, the pilot turned the aircraft towards Jersey Airport and declared a MAYDAY to ATC, while the search director made a similar call on the maritime frequency. The pilot applied full power on the left engine and put the aircraft into a climb.
The aircraft had climbed to approximately 1,100 ft amsl when the left engine rpm began to fluctuate before the engine ceased to produce power. The pilot informed ATC that the aircraft was "going down" and the search crew stowed their equipment. No attempt was made to re-start either engine.
An offshore lifeboat operating nearby changed its course to be in attendance should the aircraft ditch. As the aircraft descended, the radio altimeter issued an alert prompting the pilot to switch on the landing lights and instruct the crew to brace. As it continued its descent the aircraft's landing lights suddenly illuminated ground ahead and the pilot manoeuvred for a touchdown.
The north coast of Jersey is characterised by rocky cliffs and roughly undulating terrain, however, the aircraft's descent brought it towards one of the very few relatively benign areas suitable for a forced landing. Following a ground roll of 140 m, during which the left main landing gear collapsed rearwards, the aircraft's progress was halted when its nose lodged, in a gentle impact, in the base of a tree.
The pilot and search crew were uninjured. After making the aircraft safe they made their way to nearby habitation, where they were met by emergency services personnel who had been dispatched to search for them.
Initial examination of the aircraft revealed that both main fuel tanks were found almost full and the tip tanks were empty. Switches in the cockpit were found in the 'tip tank' position. It appears that the tip tanks had been selected on a flight the previous day and the selection had not been changed. At the commencement of the accident flight, each tip tank contained approximately 5-6 USG.
It's not just UKD pilots who run out of fuel, I'll send Matt Smith to recruit him - he might fit in with us!! :)  On a more serious note it illustrates how just one simple switch can have a disastrous effect if you don’t pay attention and follow procedures.


9 November 2013 15:24   Boeing 737-921   UKDirect   G-UKWA   C/n / msn: 5134   First flight: 2013-08-08 (3 months!!!!)
A Boeing 737-921 passenger plane, operated by UKDirect suffered minor damage and one bruised ego at Dakhla Airport (VIL), Western Sahara. At approximately 13:35 hrs on 9 November 2013,  flight UKW9021 departed Banjul International Airport (BJL), the Gambia to continue the next leg of it's planned  ‘Round the World’ trip. The pilot in command, Simon UKD239 accompanied by co-pilot FDC ‘Live’ cockpit had had an unremarkable flight except for one short period when the REX weather engine created a powerful but beautiful storm requiring several course corrections. After a brief conversation with ATC Edit Voice Pack they were cleared to land. At this point there was confusion in the cockpit, it appears the co-pilot made a series of switch selections relating to the realism settings. He did not inform the pilot of his actions as the pilot was preoccupied setting up a new program called Real Solid Ground (RSG).
Seconds later flight UKW9021 impacted the runway at max realism. The damage to the aircraft was minor (RSG obviously needs some adjustment!),and  localised to the undercarriage and fuel tanks which ruptured, dispensing approximately 3 tonnes of av-gas.
Captain UKD239 released a statement on a social media site “ I just don't bloody believe it. What the hell happened. All went well until landing. Really, really, really annoyed. Going to break something then take the dog out. So sorry for the negative score chaps. “
At approximately 17:50 hrs, the hastily repaired plane and crew made their escape departed Dakhla Airport bound for Gran Canaria Airport (LPA) where the local police were waiting. They are required to undergo medical examination, drug tests and proficiency checks before they can be cleared for further flights.


17 November 2013 19:23   Boeing 737-53A   Tatarstan Airlines   VQ-BBN   C/n / msn: 24785/1882   First flight: 1990-06-18 (23 years 5 months)
A Boeing 737-53A passenger plane, operated by Tatarstan Airlines, was destroyed in an accident at Kazan Airport (KZN), Russia. All 44 passengers and six crew members were killed. Flight U9-363 departed from Moscow's Domodedovo Airport (DME) at 18:20 local time on a scheduled service to Kazan (KZN).
During the approach to Kazan's runway 11/29 the airplane was 'not in a position to land', according to an initial statement by the Interstate Aviation Committee. TOGA (Take Off/Go Around) mode was selected and the autopilot switched off. The engines spooled up to takeoff power and the crew raised the flaps from 30° to 15°. The airplane began to climb and the pitch angle increased to 25°. Consequently, the indicated airspeed began to decrease. When the airspeed reached 125 knots, the crew reacted by pushing the control column forward. Up until that moment, from the execution of the go around, the crew had not used the flight controls.
From a height of 700 m the airplane entered a nose down attitude, reaching a -75° pitch. The airplane impacted the ground at a speed of 450 km/h.
Time from the start of the go-around to the impact with the ground was 45 seconds. The investigation is ongoing.


4 December 2013 21:19   Boeing 747-281BSF  Saudi Arabian Airlines  EK-74798  C/n / msn: 23698/667  First flight: 1986-12-13 (26 years 12 months)
Upon landing on runway 04 at Abuja International Airport (ABV/DNAA), Nigeria, according to some reports, the plane suffered a runway excursion and ran into a maintenance area and stopped. There is said to be some damage to the left wing of the airplane. The airport was closed!
I picked this one in honour of all those UKD pilots who land at the wrong airport! :p


10 December 2013 3:30   Gulfstream G550  Alpha Star Aviation Services   HZ-A6   C/n / msn: 5038   First flight: 2004
A Gulfstream G550 corporate jet sustained damage in a landing accident at London-Stansted Airport (STN), U.K.
The airplane is believed to have touched down about 25 m short of the  threshold of runway 04. It apparently struck an antenna and suffered  undercarriage door damage as well as scratches to the hull.
As a result of the accident, the ILS for runway 04 was "withdrawn from service".
The identity of the plane has not yet been confirmed - however latest reports suggest the pilot could have been on loan from UKDirect answering to the name of Simon UKD239. :)

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Simon UKD239 kindly offered the following opinions of his FSX experiences with some  interesting choices. It was hard work but he finally narrowed it down to make his own personal top 5.

How To Make FSX Realistic....ish

When I started out flying on my  old laptop using FS2004, I was really chuffed with my 10-15 FPS (frames  per second), no AI traffic, basic airports and okay weather clouds. I  thought this was the best a man could get. However I never realised what a difference a better computer could give you. So having saved up my  pennies and getting a mid range PC I was completely blown away at what  you could see at over 60 FPS. (Although from research apparently there  is not much point over 30FPS)
So for the first few weeks finding my  feet with FSX,  I thought this was really the best a man could get. But  thanks to the great guys on UKD I was introduced into the world of  making FSX really real. I was totally blown away a what little add-ons  you can get that make the world of difference.
Therefore in this  article I wanted to just share in my humble opinion the top five add-ons that really make the experience fun and very addictive.
So in my best Tony Blackburn typing here is the top five FSX add-on chart.

Number 1:

FSX Edit Voice Pack.
Location: www.editvoicepack.com
Cost: Free.

What does it do?
This in my mind is the most important bit of kit when flying with UKD. This  is because it gives you the treat of having ATC actually call out “UKDirect”€�. After installing you will need a small file which will load the voice pack that makes ATC say “UKDirect”. � This you should find attached here. It is quite easy to do and once done you never need to do it again. Makes you really feel like you belong to the airline.

Number 2:

REX Essential + Overdrive Texture Packs.
Location: www.flightstore.co.uk
Cost: About £40 plus any p.p or you can get it as a download

Number 3:

EZ DOK Camera.
Location: http://www.ezdok-software.com/
Cost: Around £24

What does it do?
This bit of software is really very cool in that it jumps you into the  reality zone by giving you a view as if you were in the cockpit. In its  basic form it gives you the head movement that you would expect if you  were sat in that hot seat sweating over the controls. You can then at  your leisure set up individual cameras with as much or as little effect  that you want. Watch how you get bumped around the seat as you roll down the runway for take off. Personally I love this one.

Number 4:

FDC Live cock pit.
Location: http://www.flightstore.co.uk/search/fdc
Cost: Around £30

What Does It Do?
In a nut shell it gives you a co-pilot who will help out with some of the  controls. The whole thing is fully self contained and you can let it run and give you all the chat and company so that you don't get bored. You  can set it up to give you a load of pre-flight checks, then he or she if that rocks your wings, will call out speed checks as you roll down the  runway to take off, rotate commands and will even look after your  landing lights, flaps and undercarriage duties. Easy to set up and tweak to suit your own needs.

Number 5:

Accu-Feel v.2 AL&S: Global FSX Enhancement
Location: http://www.a2asimulations.com/
Cost:  Around $20 (From the USA so check out will convert to £)

What Does It Do?
This is the icing on the cake for me. With everything in place all that was  missing was that wonderful bump and rattle sounds when you land. Also  when you taxi you hear those thuds as you wheel over the lights on the  tarmac. This bit of software is very subtle but really does make a  difference in making the whole FSX UKD flying experience very realistic.

Time to get that grey matter working!. Email answers to mark “at” planecrazy.me.uk or use the message facility on FS Airlines.  Answers will be posted in the next Directions but if you email me your guesses I will reply straight away (in confidence - so no need to worry about embarrassment.

1> What does the term "trimming" most commonly mean in aviation?

a)  The garnish around the turkey.
b)  Moving fuel from one tank to another to maintain balance
c)  Distributing the cargo/baggage to balance the plane.
d)  Adjusting the controls to keep the plane in same attitude when you let go of them.

2> What does the term "banking" most commonly mean in aviation?

a) Using the rudder to steer the nose left/right.
b) Programming the next altitude step-climb in the autopilot.
c) A co-ordinated turn using the ailerons and rudder to change heading.
d) Moving flaps down to increase the surface of the wing area, increasing lift to turn the wing.

3> Can you name the airports from the following IATA codes?

a: NCL
b: BHD
c: BRS
d) ABZ

Answers to last Directions quiz:

1. Which is the worlds busiest airport? Answer is d) Atlanta  handles nearly 89 million passengers. Heathrow is top of the list for  International passengers with just over 60 million.
2. What flight controls are controlled by the plane's yoke?
   Answer is  c)  The ailerons and elevator direct the plane's pitch and roll.
3. The four main forces acting on an air plane are: lift, drag, thrust and ...? Answer is a) weight (or gravity) is the force opposing lift.
    

Prepar3D v2

The blurb says: The most  affordable high-fidelity visual simulation platform on the market today  is a few days away from revealing a whole host of exciting new features  and capabilities. Create missions and learning experiences in minutes  with the intuitive all new SimDirector!

Prepar3D v2 will offer  the highest-fidelity immersion brought to you by an all new DirectX11  rendering engine. Experience like never before realistic shadows,  volumetric fog, dynamic lighting, special effects, cockpit  self-shadowing, HDR lighting and much more!


Lockheed  Martin have a license to sell Prepar3d as a tool for education and  training purposes and are not allowed to sell it for use as a  personal/consumer entertainment product. Consequently you will never see it advertised as such, however as UKDirect promotes training and encourages our pilots to develop and learn more about aviation then any UKDirect member is in effect a student and using the products for simulation.!

I have Prepar3D v1.4, do I get an upgrade or a discount for Prepar3D v2?
If you have purchased Prepar3D v1.4 within 60 days of your purchase, per  the refund policy, you can request a refund and then purchase the  desired license of Prepar3D v2. There are no exchanges, upgrades, or  discounts available.

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Stansted to
Newquay

In this new series we will be taking a look and reviewing UK Direct short to medium haul routes if you have any suggestions for the next send me a FSA message at Charlie McKenna UKD301. In this article we will take a look at the Stansted to Newquay route (the route is posted at the end of the article) and the POSKY 737-900WL that goes with it.
The route of the flight will take us along the coast of the English Channel where you should expect to get a good battering with the winds because once when I was flying it (with real world weather) I was blown into a 60˚ bank and when I was coming into land the wings were flexing like a fat pigeon's wings trying to fly at 10,000 feet!
Overall the POSKY (Project Opensky) 737-900 is a very nice freeware plane however it is nowhere near as good as the PMDG 737NGX or the iFly 737.
 

On the left is the PMDG version, on the right is the Project Opensky cockpit.
The PMDG model has flexing wings, upgraded virtual cockpit and of course she bears the livery of everybody’s favourite airline; UKDirect!

The route

Before you fly you need to load your fuel. Here is what I take:
737-800 = 4700kg
737-900 = 4900kg
A320 = 4800kg
To set up, turn on your battery and then start the APU which (as you know) powers the generators. After you have started the APU gather the ATIS and pull up the charts (I use Rocket Route for PC, MAC and IOS).

Once you are ready for departure pushback and start the engines using  the keyboard shortcut (Ctrl+E), or if you have been doing this for ages  (like me) start the engines manually. Once your engines are at a stable  N1 (roughly 20% to 30%) and you have been given the salute from the  brave guy on the ground walking inches from your nose gear (just imagine it because FSX does not come with such benefits), receive your taxi  clearance. At such a big airport like Stansted I recommend you use  progressive taxi as it doesn't lose you points. That takes me on to a  good tip; do not be afraid to use progressive taxi, I use it and my  Ryanair 737-8AS is getting on a bit.
For take-off use flaps 5 to  reduce drag. Get your take-off clearance and turn on every light you  have. Rotate at 139 knots and be careful not to strike the tail! Climb  up to 1000 feet on take off thrust and then set climb thrust by sound. I wouldn’t normally suggest that but you can tell the climb thrust  setting because of that lovely high pitched whine you get, and after  that the low pitched buzzsaw that seems to go on forever! I think you  can tell how into aviation I am (and maybe Ryanair)! Before passing ten  thousand feet turn the landings lights off and follow the flightplan to  Newquay. Climb to 25,000

At a distance of 70-80NM start thinking about descending and open up your flight planner to program in your desired approach. Get your required frequencies from a reliable source and tune them. By the time you reach the intersection known as DIDEL you should be below 15,000ft and should be soon be able to pick up the local NDB. Continue your descent aiming to be at an altitude between 3500ft and 2000ft when intercepting the ILS (if using runway 30). Here is another top tip for flying the 737 series, slow down well before hitting FL100 because it is a good aircraft to fly but a hard one to land. If your planning to use runway 30 then set your NAV1 to 108.7 and set the Course to 3040. If you have input the route into Flight Simulator's flight planner then you should be able to call up the frequencies from the sim menus.

Once you are at your GSIA (Glide Slope Intercept Altitude) and you have just passed your IAF (a.k.a the start of your approach)  get you plane into landing configuration, use flaps 40 because it is a really short runway for the biggest plane in the 737 family to be landing on. Set autobrakes 2 and  arrm the spoilers/speedbrake.
As soon as you touch down apply reverse, close your eyes and grit your teeth because it will be a rough ride down that runway. Okay maybe don’t close your eyes.

Take the last exit on the end of runway 12. Park up, clean up and press the end flight button in FSA.
To finish off I would like to give you my thoughts on this route and why you should give it a go. Reason 1 ; it is short and is good if you don’t have a lot of free time and reason 2; it is good for practicing you skills.
I hope you enjoyed this article and give the route a go!

The flight plan:

All the charts you need are available online for free here: http://www.nats-uk.ead-it.com/public/index.php

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Above is the route from RouteFinder - a free online route planner. The route is illustrated below by Aerosoft FSCommander (I still cant believe Simon didn't put it in his top 5!). At this point I have to confess my sim isn't up to date - Newquay EGHQ was known as St. Mawgan EGDG when UK2000 v.1 was made! So if you can't find EGHQ then try EGDG.

UKDirect Boeing 737-800(WL) G-UKAU €”Alpine Skies” somewhere snowy :)
The latest repaint!!

Now you know what it looks like - try the jigsaw below!! (requires free Adobe Flash to be installed)

Simon Pal UKD239 was flying over the Swiss Alps when he was momentarily  moved by a moment of FSX magic and ..... what is it with all the  737-800’s? We do have other planes ya know!! :p

Do you have a screen shot you are proud of and wouldn't mind seeing messed up on here? Please send it in and share it with us.
To enter in the next e-magazine send your entries to Newshound: mark[at]planecrazy.me.uk