SU567 Moscow - Pyongyang with Tu-154B2

[Tushka 0]

Original Tu-154B-2

 

 

I'm about to begin a historical flight from 1977 as the interesting routes with fuel limited planes are today gone.

 

Our equipment will be the legendary Soviet airliner Tu-154B-2 and we'll be flying from Moscow Sheremetyevo boarding at the futuristic Sheremetyevo-1 (today Terminal B ) where our trip begins and we'll make it to Pyongyang Sunan airport, the heart of the DPRK.

 

The flight number is SU567 operated by Aeroflot Soviet Airlines and will depart Moscow at 17:10 arriving at Pyongyang 10:10. However we will have technical stops at Omsk and Irkutsk along the route.

 

Here is the timetable for flight in english:

 

 

Why Pyongyang you might ask? Well... It's an interesting route to Asia and I do want to take a long haul in this direction, not to mention most other long flights are performed by Il-62. Also the personality of the flight, is interesting and unique.

 

Unfortunately due to flight being made on FSX there will be modern equipment aboard the plane such as TCAS, electric altimeter and retrofitted INS system due to vatsim requirements. Also addon airports as you will noticed, are modern as well. As it's divided in several legs Moscow-Omsk will be covered in the next post!

 

Route map:

 

[ilhan kesmez 13]

can you tell me please what add on will you be using for tu -154. I want to start flying Russian jets. I personally would like to have a yak 42 for fsx. Its a plane on which I have flown many times as passanger from Donetsk to Istanbul.

[sauviat 137]

 http://www.rossiya-virtual.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=19&Itemid=19〈=en&64c091dc97d4d447b5287bbfc1849db6=e96003b2a2dce6a49018d0fc4bf85566

 

Scroll down to the aircraft et voila!

 

Regards

 

Sauviat

[Tushka 0]

can you tell me please what add on will you be using for tu -154. I want to start flying Russian jets. I personally would like to have a yak 42 for fsx. Its a plane on which I have flown many times as passanger from Donetsk to Istanbul.

The Tu-154B-2 that I will be using is the Project Tupolev one and can be downloaded from here, credit goes to PT team and Kirill:

 

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/15852802/Tu-154B-2%20FSX%201.2.exe

 

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/15852802/Tu-154B-2%20FSX%201.2.1.exe

 

It has a very good VC, and is of extreme quality as it's one of the most complex aircraft you can find for FSX.

 

The link Sauviat provided for Russian aircraft is also very simple to use for english speakers and you can find a lot of aircraft in there.

 

Will update thread with screenshots when landing at Omsk...

[PatrickM 2]

Unfortunately due to flight being made on FSX there will be modern equipment aboard the plane such as TCAS, electric altimeter and retrofitted INS system due to vatsim requirements.

 

That must be a totally new requirement of VATSIM.. No, there isn't such a requirement. The only requirement is: you must know how to handle your aircraft and you should be able to do what ATC says.

[sauviat 137]

The Tu-154B-2 that I will be using is the Project Tupolev one and can be downloaded from here, credit goes to PT team and Kirill:

 

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/15852802/Tu-154B-2%20FSX%201.2.exe

 

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/15852802/Tu-154B-2%20FSX%201.2.1.exe

 

It has a very good VC, and is of extreme quality as it's one of the most complex aircraft you can find for FSX.

 

The link Sauviat provided for Russian aircraft is also very simple to use for english speakers and you can find a lot of aircraft in there.

 

Will update thread with screenshots when landing at Omsk...

Project Tupolev is where I get my downloads from, but did not have the link directly to hand.

 

Looking forward to the screenshots.

 

Regards

 

Sauviat

[ilhan kesmez 13]

Thank you very much guys.

[Tushka 0]

Frist phase of flight Moscow - Omsk is complete, I was only 2 minutes late! However now the boredom starts... I arrived at 23:15 local time and won't depart until 00:25. Nobody is allowed to leave the airplane despite being on Soviet territory and Irkutsk might get even worse.

 

So now I'm having a coffee, a light meal and just chatting in real life   Not to mention I only have made 1/3 of the flight to Pyongyang

 

Here's the tripreport!

 

A familiar sight - Aeroflot Tu-154B2 right outside Sheremeyevo-1

 

At 16:40 Moscow time boarding starts, caterers begin, baggage onboard! It's going to be an interesting flight although the ground equipment must be from future!

 

 

Everything was going well, vspeeds calculated, fuel loads set, systems working. All was well until engine no,1 failed to start. Flight engineer immediately stopped the startup and proceeded to retry again after a cool down... And thank god it worked!! Wouldn't have been fun having to change equipment at engine start... Something is clearly wrong with the aircraft but we decided to take a chance anyway as reporting small problems boss would not be happy!

 

 

Bye bye Sheremetyevo-1! Well see soon!

 

 

Majestic terminal built specifically for the Olympic games. It's still in use as of 2014 in real life

 

 

Take off checklist complete, navigational systems for STAR BESTA rwy 7L set!

 

 

Climbing trough Moscow airspace... The beaty of the skies and the clouds slowly passing your wings remind you why your dream is to become a pilot, and why all the hassle is worth it...

 

 

 

Engineers panel... Engine no.1 is operating normal, rest of engines too, all systems functioning! Cruise over Ufa...

 

 

A short tempered controller was controlling the airspace around Sverdlovsk, I was cleared direct to a waypoint over 550 km away which was very surprising (my TOD waypoint) and a chinese aircraft in the area was having a very though time as the controller was blaming him for not mantaining correct flight level due he was new to aviation... I hope the controllers shouting won't make it his last flight... Surprisingly, there is a lot of issues with controllers around this area... :( And yes, I know my tail is more red than it should be!

 

 

On NANOL4 STAR proceeding to RWY25. RWY7 is right in front of me and I wish meteorological conditions would have enabled me to land there... but no! There's a severe storm in Omsk right now! Heavy crosswinds... with strong gusts... this is certainly going to be interesting.

 

 

A very bumpy approach, the conditions was worse than I thought and passengers must have been very scared. But flight was safe all around while the wind was throwing me around while I had to constantly correct for the ILS

 

 

Landing was way harder than usual due to the winds, but everything is correct. Airplane is on the ground taxiing to stand at Omsk and flight engineer is about to shut down engine 2 as per recommended procedures.

 

 

On stand at Omsk, fuel truck to arrive shortly... Passengers are not allowed to leave the plane... Don't ask me why, ask the autorities! Crew won't be changed at we have to be at the ground for about an hour and 10 minutes before continuing forward to Pyongyang.

 

The aircraft behaved very badly, occasionally lights in the cockpit flickered, there was some minor issues with the pitot tube and the autopilot was very rough. Not to mention we haven't found out why engine no.1 didn't start at first... Very odd issues and I considered changing aircraft in Omsk but refrained from doing so. Who knows what happens at Irkutsk...

 

 

Next portion of flight to arrive later...

That must be a totally new requirement of VATSIM.. No, there isn't such a requirement. The only requirement is: you must know how to handle your aircraft and you should be able to do what ATC says.

I am fully aware you can fly anything on VATSIM, however occasionally busy controllers forget you're not operating an RNAV FMC equipped Airbus and hence clear you on some very complicated RNAV approaches. I have got this and many other problems when flying non RNAV equipped airliners hence it's more of a requierement for me personally.

[Tushka 0]

Just arrive in Irkutsk 15 minutes ahead of schedule... It's going to be crazy staying here on the ground for an hour and 25 minutes before continuing onwards to Pyongyang, and in Irkutsk passengers aren't allowed to leave the aircraft either.

 

It was a fun flight, no technical errors such as in the last one, and everything went very smooth... The joy of flying is true on the classic jets.

 

However the previous aircraft I flew from Moscow to Omsk had to be taken out of service due to an electrical failure shortly before preparation for the second leg unfortunately (or not so) hence a replacement aircraft had to be found (CCCP-85360 is our replacement aircraft). And this aircraft has no maintenance issues at all and did fly extremely smooth.

 

CCCP-85360, a first look!

 

Captain, copilot and navigator taking seats in the almost cold and dark aircraft with electricity systems already prepared!

 

 

And lastly, flight engineer already took his seat and thus is right now configuring us for the next flight

 

 

Taxiing to Runway 25, everything is going well with replacement aircraft but the taxi music in the cabin is just horrible... like some sort of classical music designed to scare you... However, I'm sure Aeroflot didn't put it on intentionally. Its very dark outside but the storm have cleared a little bit so we shouldn't get any issues for the takeoff...

 

 

Byebye Omsk! You're a beautiful city and I will see you on my return flight from Pyongyang to Moscow... And obviously that will be after I got drunk in Kim Jong Uns kingdom :north-corea-flag:

 

About to reach cruise level, this familiar sight of being in the Tu-154 cockpit where I so far have 700 flight hours in never ceases to amaze me with how beautiful it looks at night... If Tupolev 154 was a human girl instead of a plane... she must be extremely beautiful

 

 

Cruising over Novosibirsk with navigator updating navigation on the NVU Orthodromic navigation system... Uses corrections from the heart of Soviet navigation (RSBN beacons).

 

 

Well, time to descend and put our nose down!

 

 

Low visibility, but all set and stable, welcome to Irkutsk!

 

 

Of course... similar horrible classic music on the taxi back... :( I love classical music, don't get me wrong, Mozart, Tchaikovsky... all amazing, but the aeroflot ones are just, hm, how can I explain?

 

 

Arrived in Irkutsk, brakes set, engines off... As we're 15 minutes early we still have 1 hour and 25 minutes before continuing on to Pyongyang, our final destination! Flight attendants are probably either drunk or asleep, as I don't hear very much from them anymore! Passengers... must also be tired... However, this is one of my best flights ever, and the most fun!

 

 

Third and final part from Irkutsk to Pyongyang will come soon... This flight is actually a direct Moscow - Pyongyang... Omsk and Irkutsk are just service stops

[vc10man 732]

Downloaded this, but all the panels are in Cyrillic. Is there an English lay-over interface for the overhead panel so that I can at least get this plane started?

 

Fabulous shots, by the way.

[Tushka 0]

Downloaded this, but all the panels are in Cyrillic. Is there an English lay-over interface for the overhead panel so that I can at least get this plane started?

 

Fabulous shots, by the way.

Actually no, sorry. But an extensive 165 page english manual comes with it and should get you started as it has all the information necessary operate the aircraft for english speakers.

[Neuhaus 1]

Downloaded this, but all the panels are in Cyrillic. Is there an English lay-over interface for the overhead panel so that I can at least get this plane started?

 

Fabulous shots, by the way.

There's one posted by ce_zeta in this thread that gives you the different translations: 

http://www.protu-154.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12611&sid=94d1ce0faebbe306bb2f61bb0523c999

 

Awesome screenshots Tushka

[Superpilotv2 2]

Downloaded this, but all the panels are in Cyrillic. Is there an English lay-over interface for the overhead panel so that I can at least get this plane started?

 

Fabulous shots, by the way.

 

That was also my pronlem when I tried that plane out some time ago. Flipping switches with no knowledge what is reads beneath is just silly. Thankfully I can learn russian at the university  

[Tushka 0]

That was also my pronlem when I tried that plane out some time ago. Flipping switches with no knowledge what is reads beneath is just silly. Thankfully I can learn russian at the university  

The manual explains perfectly what switch does what... Even if the Tu-154 had an english cockpit it would still be impossible to fly without manual as systems and logic function is different. Many people would probably drop flaps before gear and then a loud siren blows their ears out.

 

It's a great addon aircraft, one of the best for FSX. Just hit the manual, some tutorials, and you won't find it hard. Many non Russian speakers use it (in a correct way).

[vc10man 732]

There's one posted by ce_zeta in this thread that gives you the different translations: 

http://www.protu-154.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12611&sid=94d1ce0faebbe306bb2f61bb0523c999

 

Awesome screenshots Tushka

Thanks, Neuhaus, but that's a dead link.

 

Indeed, Tushka, looks a very interesting proposition to try out.