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Juliana Daily - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
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Merry Christmas from the team at UKDirect; UKD is another year older and on the whole 2014 has been a good year. UKDirect has expanded into the Caribbean again with CDA thanks to Graham UKD140’s efforts and as a result the fleet has grown to incorporate many new aircraft types. In April John 103 started up another UKD franchise - UKD Air Taxi and a small fleet (of small) aircraft has been painted for use with the new routes. Flight Simulation as a hobby seems to be on the rise too. Last year the future was far from certain but now Dovetail Games has acquired the license to market FSX (see news below) and is working on a successor sim’ which is sure to be visually appealing (if nothing else). Additionally X-Plane and Lockheed Martin’s P3Dv2 are growing in popularity and seeing more developers working on add-ons. Hopefully next year you will never even notice I have gone missing for awhile but If UKD appears to be quiet in 2015 please bear in mind that its temporary due to my job and I will be watching from afar! I will be trying to keep Directions regular (and not with bran!) and of course the rest of the team will be here and on the forums to help you out.

This year saw John 103, Simon 102 and Ruud 104 start a round-the-world trip in a trio of Beechcraft Barons and are just about on the final leg. For more details and screen shots of this and other stories about our group of airlines please visit the forum. Our intrepid heroes demonstrated those Barons can take one hell of a battering from flying into rough fields and extreme environments and still remain airworthy. That said I bet they are probably just about life-expired now.

Some statistics to throw at you - the most popular aircraft with UKD pilots (by a long way) is the Boeing 737-800, in 2nd place is the Boeing 747-400 and 3rd is the MD-11F. UKDirect is comfortably the 5th most popular UK based airline on FSAirlines (by mileage, profits, number of flights and time) and your flying has generated £14.1bn in virtual money. After deductions for repairs, servicing, a new water-cooler for the crew-room (plus printing costs for Directions) we could just about afford a few new Barons for UKD Airtaxi which are going to have to last for long time, oh wait... agghh bugger... everyone start flying again! Send the water cooler back!

Many of you may be unaware but 2014 has not been one of the best years for Simon UKD102. He is fighting hard to win a personal battle against serious illness and I know everyone here will be right behind me in wishing Simon a very speedy recovery and positive outcome. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family Simon, get well soon mate (and get that Baron back!)


Please enjoy reading this Christmas special, it contains some puzzles and games to occupy your time on those long flights while your co-pilot sleeps!
(hmmm... if your watching the videos and the co-pilot is sleeping.... who’s flying the plane?..!)

Merry Christmas from UKDirect

Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.
Henry Ford

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C208 at Nevis

Christmas Caribbean style - a nice screenshot of the default FSX Cessna 208 at Nevis submitted by Graham UKD140.

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

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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.


There has been no major loss of life incidents since the last Directions so I put in a few you might find interesting. Almost incredibly there are no A380 or Dreamliner incidents either!
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27 November 2014 various aircraft at Archerfield, Brisbane YBAF
A particularly destructive storm hit this Australian airfield during the night and caused widespread damage. Many aircraft suffered minor damage while some were flipped over on to their backs. More planes were damaged when a hangar door was ripped off and left more exposed to  water damage.

YBAF after storm

UKDirect Caption competition - email your funniest, wittiest captions to me at mark[at]planecrazy.me.uk

YBAF

If your looking for a cockpit for your home simulator I know where you might find one!


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29 November 2014 Airbus A320  Air India   VT-ESE   C/n / msn: 431  First flight: 28/05/1993
Air India flight 705 from Dibrugarh to Kolkata via Dimapur had a tyre burst after landing at Kolkata airport. The undercarriage caught fire but was quickly extinguished. All passengers and crew are safe.

The landing gear is pictured below - the feet in the shot are not bystanders, they are the firemen!!
 

Remains of landing gear after tyre burst and fire

 Another round of tweaks was required after Simon 102 was experimenting with the braking settings in Frictionality.

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Dash-8 at sunset

The Dash-8 is one of our popular commuter aircraft.

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

Hawker Siddeley 748 in CDA livery

Graham 140 posted this on the forum and as I was short of piccies I nicked it :)  It is of course a Hawker Siddeley 748 in CDA livery.

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

G-UKSB B737-800 Karen

The Boeing 737-800 has been the most popular aircraft with UKD pilots flying almost twice as many flights as the next favourite.

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Plane Crash in the Caribbean - SBH St. Barth [2.21]
Piper Aztek crash/ runway overrun. Video taken on 23rd May 2009 in Saint Barthélemy (St. Barth / St. Barts) at Gustaf III Airport (SBH) in St. Jean

 

Difficult landing runway airstrip ST. Maarten & ST. Barths [7.55]
You’ve watched the above video, now see how it should be done! Both are captured in high quality digital format from multiple filming angles and locations providing the viewer with an experience thats almost as good as going there themselves!

 

Air Crash Investigation S13E07 - Terror In Paradise HD [44.58]
Not very Christmassy but interesting none the less. On 9 August 2007, Air Moorea Flight 1121, operated on an Air Moorea de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter airplane, crashed shortly after taking off from Moorea Airport on Moorea island in French Polynesia; the plane was bound for Tahiti's Faa'a International Airport.
 

Flying Cars For Everyone?  [3:57]

In partnership with BBC Future, Headsqueeze is very happy to be bringing you the most interesting topics from the World Changing Ideas summit. Missy Cummings believes that the idea of having a part car, part plane, part drone parked outside your home may not be as far-fetched as it seems.
 

FlightFactor A350 XWB for X-Plane10 {advertisement}  [2.31]
Published on 1 Dec 2014
Introducing yet another simply amazing addition to the heavy collection by FlightFactor aero, the Airbus A350 XWB. Fully 3D modeled inside and out with very special "add-ins" like ground crew and equipment to a submersive sound effects collection you won't believe !
 

Christmas - FSX Movie  [2.08]

Created using FSX with Pmdg 777, Gsx, Orbx Global, Fraps, Rex Essential Plus Overdrive, Airbus X Extended A318/A319
 

"All I Really Want For Christmas"  FAMILY GUY

Family Guy follows the adventures of the endearingly ignorant PETER GRIFFIN (Seth MacFarlane), and his hilariously odd family of middle-class New Englanders in Quahog, RI. LOIS (Alex Borstein) is Peter's wife, a stay at home mom with no patience for her family's antics. Then there are their kids: 17-year-old MEG (Mila Kunis), a social outcast and Griffin family punching bag; 13-year-old CHRIS (Seth Green), a socially awkward teen who doesn't have a clue about girls; and 1-year-old STEWIE (MacFarlane), a diabolically clever baby whose burgeoning sexuality is very much a work in progress. Rounding out the Griffin household is BRIAN (MacFarlane), the family dog, a member of Mensa with a penchant for dry martinis and dumb blondes.

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Answers to last Directions quiz:

  1. The pitot tube is part of what system? c)    Instrument - specifically the airspeed indicator but is also used in the rate of climb indicator.
  2. What does the N1 gauge indicate? b)   Ooops!  The speed of the first stage of the engine (not temperature)
  3. Which of these systems/equipment is not found on aircraft? a)     Hydrofoils -  They are similar in appearance and purpose to airfoils used by airplanes but a hydrofoil is a lifting surface, or foil, which operates in water.
     

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.

Something different this time - anagram and crossword combo!.

Try to solve the anagrams first by re-arranging the letters to make a word. Read the clue to get an idea which word we are looking for. If your still stuck then try the crossword which uses the same anagrams plus some other words which may help you out.

Anagrams

A lone pear (21 down)

a dreamy icon (20 across)

duck tire (6 across)

riot rap
(10 across)

burp troop
(23 down)

hotel price
(29 across)

glue safe
(4 down)

big one
(19 across)

men strut in
(13 down)

in car babe
(5 down)

what hero
(24 down)

I do cretins
(9 down)

car smiths
(2 down)

nee rider
(18 down)

hurl pod
(30 down)

sue can slew
(15 across)

hovers too
(14 across)

Clues

something you fly in

a shape which reduces drag

everyone’s favourite VA

somewhere to land

jet powered propeller

rotary wing

main part of an airframe

major aircraft manufacturer

what you look at when flying

new market UKD expanded into!

UK airport

everyone’s favourite inflight mag

event at this time of year

sleigh power

famous sleigh power

A good king...

missed the runway

Directions Christmas crossword

Well this is embarrasing! I meant to give you the answer to 12 down to start you off which is why I put in a silly remark instead of a clue and then forgot to delete it, ooops :)  The answer to 12 Down is Undercarriage - yes my remark was juvenile ;)

Click the image to open a PDF version to download or print. For those of you that cant wait for the next issue I will upload the answers on the forum after Christmas Day.

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Airbus A319 on finals

UKDirect Airbus A319-133 G-UKAA ‘Maid of the River’ approaching Sion :)
 

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





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FSX on Steam

DOVETAIL GAMES CLEARS MICROSOFT FLIGHT SIMULATOR X: STEAM EDITION FOR TAKE-OFF ON DECEMBER 18

December 9th, 2014 – Dovetail Games, the multi award-winning developer and publisher of the Train Simulator series and Dovetail Games Fishing, today gave flight sim fans a lift for the holiday season with the announcement that Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition will launch on December 18 at a spectacular introductory price.

Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition delivers an authentically accurate aerial experience for simulation enthusiasts and those with a passion for all things flight. Pilots can climb into the cockpits of over twenty aircraft, from commercial and fighter jets to single-engine private planes and helicopters. More than 80 missions will test players in a variety of ways, including search and rescue challenges, test pilot scenarios, races and more. The game features updated multiplayer functionality, Windows 8.1 support and over 24,000 airports, delivering a beautiful, connected world and vast horizon begging to be explored.

First released in 2006, Microsoft Flight Simulator X’s arrival on Steam marks the first exciting steps in the global licensing deal between Dovetail Games and Microsoft announced earlier this year. In addition to distributing Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition, Dovetail Games is also working on its own original titles based on Microsoft’s flight technology, carrying on nearly three decades of tradition established by this award-winning franchise. Dovetail Games and partners will also be launching a range of add-ons for Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition on Steam in the New Year.

Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition will be available on Windows PC via Steam on December 18. This title is rated E (Everyone) by the ESRB.
 

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UK2000 sale

Gary Summon’s UK2000 scenery range is on sale at up to 40% off. The excellent scenery covers virtually every airport in England and Wales including some in Scotland and Northern Ireland. For FS2004, FSX and P3D there are few if any add-on UK airports that beat these.
The sale only applies to download versions and ends 31st  Dec 14.  http://www.uk2000scenery.com

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"TWA 2341, for noise abatement turn right 45 Degrees."
"Centre, we are at 35,000 feet. How much noise can we make up here?"
"Sir, have you ever heard the noise a 747 makes when it hits a 727?"

From an unknown aircraft waiting in a very long takeoff queue: "I'm f...ing bored!"
Ground Traffic Control: "Last aircraft transmitting, identify yourself immediately!"
Unknown aircraft: "I said I was f...ing bored, not f...ing stupid!"

Control tower to a 747: "United 329 heavy, your traffic is a Fokker, one o'clock, three miles, Eastbound."
United 239: "Approach, I've always wanted to say this... I've got the little Fokker in sight."

A DC-10 had come in a little hot and thus had an exceedingly long roll out after touching down. San Jose Tower noted: "American 751, make a hard right turn at the end of the runway, if you are able. If you are not able, take the Guadalupe exit off Highway 101, make a right at the lights and return to the airport."

A military pilot called for a priority landing because his single-engine jet fighter was running "a bit peaked." Air Traffic Control told the fighter pilot that he was number two, behind a B-52 that had one engine shut down. "Ah," the fighter pilot remarked, "The dreaded seven-engine approach."

Allegedly, a Pan Am 727 flight waiting for start clearance in Munich overheard the following:
Lufthansa (in German): "Ground, what is our start clearance time?"
Ground (in English): "If you want an answer you must speak in English."
Lufthansa (in English): "I am a German, flying a German airplane, in Germany. Why must I speak English?"
Unknown voice from another plane (in a beautiful British accent): "Because you lost the bloody war."

Tower: "Eastern 702, cleared for takeoff, contact Departure on frequency 124.7"
Eastern 702: "Tower, Eastern 702 switching to Departure. By the way, after we lifted off we saw some kind of dead animal on the far end of the runway."
Tower: "Continental 635, cleared for takeoff behind Eastern 702, contact Departure on frequency 124.7. Did you copy that report from Eastern 702?"
Continental 635: "Continental 635, cleared for takeoff, roger; and yes, we copied Eastern... we've already notified our caterers."

One day the pilot of a Cherokee 180 was told by the tower to hold short of the active runway while a DC-8 landed. The DC-8 landed, rolled out, turned around, and taxied back past the Cherokee. Some quick-witted comedian in the DC-8 crew got on the radio and said, "What a cute little plane. Did you make it all by yourself?" The Cherokee pilot, not about to let the insult go by, came back with a real zinger: "I made it out of DC-8 parts. Another landing like yours and I'll have enough for another one."

Allegedly the German air controllers at Frankfurt Airport are renowned as a short-tempered lot. They, it is alleged, not only expect one to know one's gate parking location, but how to get there without any assistance from them. So it was with some amusement that we (a Pan Am 747) listened to the following exchange between Frankfurt ground control and a British Airways 747, call sign Speedbird 206.
Speedbird 206: "Frankfurt, Speedbird 206 clear of active runway."
Ground: "Speedbird 206. Taxi to gate Alpha One-Seven." The BA 747 pulled onto the main taxiway and slowed to a stop.
Ground: "Speedbird, do you not know where you are going?"
Speedbird 206: "Stand by, Ground, I'm looking up our gate location now."
Ground (with quite arrogant impatience): "Speedbird 206, have you not been to Frankfurt before?"
Speedbird 206 (coolly): "Yes, twice in 1944, but it was dark,... and I didn't land."

Allegedly, while taxiing at London's Gatwick Airport, the crew of a US Air flight departing for Ft. Lauderdale made a wrong turn and came nose to nose with a United 727. An irate female ground controller lashed out at the US Air crew, screaming: "US Air 2771, where the hell are you going?! I told you to turn right onto Charlie taxiway! You turned right on Delta! Stop right there. I know it's difficult for you to tell the difference between C and D, but get it right!" Continuing her rage to the embarrassed crew, she was now shouting hysterically: "God! Now you've screwed everything up! It'll take forever to sort this out! You stay right there and don't move till I tell you to! You can expect progressive taxi instructions in about half an hour and I want you to go exactly where I tell you, when I tell you, and how I tell you! You got that, US Air 2771?" US Air 2771: "Yes, ma'am," the humbled crew responded. Naturally, the ground control communications frequency fell terribly silent after the verbal bashing of US Air 2771. Nobody wanted to chance engaging the irate ground controller in her current state of mind. Tension in every cockpit out around Gatwick was definitely running high. Just then an unknown pilot broke the silence and keyed his microphone, asking: "Wasn't I married to you once?"

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Barbados Morning Flight to St Lucia

Barbados Morning Flight to St Lucia by Graham UKD140.
ATR 72-500 G-UKRY  ‘The Island of Mosteroy’

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

Boeing 727-200F in UKWC colours

Boeing 727-200F Advanced
G-UKCH  ‘Maverick’
 

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