While the heading corrections are useful, for some reason ATC doesn't catch the squall line ahead- I try to thread my way through, but the turbulence is intense, and I'm having trouble staying clear of the huge dark clouds, crackling with lightning.
Eventually NEQDC3 slips through a gap to clearer skies and smoother air. I've been in the air 9 hours... at least 10 more to go. I feel pretty good; as long as the night is calm, I'll be OK.
As long as I don't think about Keneru...
Night falls like a hammer; soon I'm sailing along under a sliver of moon. There are some clouds, but they're low, and the air above is silky-smooth.
About 15 hours from Nauru,I am handed off to Biak, Indonesia. Two hours later, I'm abeam the airport at Biak according to the VHF receiver, and on course according to their radar... Babullah is about 5 hours away.
Eventually I start to make out the coastline of Halmahera... I'm handed off to Ujung Padang Center, and given approach instructions for Babullah.
"Report airport in sight..." Right. It's very dark down there; at this distance, I should see the beacon or something. Wait a sec- does Babullah even have a beacon? I switch to the private team frequency, and make contact with Pickering, the navigator and radio man. I inquire about lights.
"Uhh... well, y'see, there's no beacon here, and what little runway lights they have are inop(It's true- this airport in FS9 doesn't have a beacon or anything)... There are no trucks or anything here, so we can't give you headlights on the runway. All the work lights are still packed in the Cat... which is still on its way back from Sorong. They had to pick up a few things over there..."
I mutter a foul oath. The night seems to close in around me, and that damn controller keeps calling headings...
"All right. I'm not that close yet; maybe I'll see the field later. there's still a little moonlight, and it's pretty clear. But tell them to step on it!!"
Next: The Curse of Keneru!!
About the FS9 Night Fix used here: Somebody asked about that in an earlier reply... it's basically just darker, as opposed to looking like daytime stuff through a dark filter. It's so dark, I had to tweak the exterior night shots so you could see the plane . Very realistic. Not sure yet how cities look at night with this... as for the moon, I noticed on this flight that long after it had set, there was still that reflection on the water... can't remember if that's a problem with the default files, or something about this add-on.
