OPERATION DEEP FREEZE 2021

Spirit Airlines (NKS) 245 MMUN-KMSP 

KMSP FNO 01/22/21

Our short layover in sunny, tropical Cancun, Mexico came to an end and the crew bus would shortly be  parked outside our hotel.  I had finished reviewing the company dispatch for today's flight and my attention was drawn to the warm, tropical water as it continued to roll effortlessly onto the white, sandy beaches outside the window.  The crew and I gathered our things and made our way out the front door of the hotel.  A warm southerly breeze brushed across our faces as we exited the hotel foyer and made our way to the crew bus.  We pulled our heavy suitcases filled with trinkets purchased from local vendors, wet beach towels, and tropical attire and met the friendly crew bus driver.  Each of us slowly boarded, not wanting to leave this tropical paradise as we knew our destination, Minneapolis, Minnesota would not be as accommodating.  The forecast for arrival would be a balmy 12 degrees Farenheit, with a winter advisory in effect.  We hoped to make it in and out before the white stuff began to blanket the surrounding area, thus causing yet another deep freeze.  But, this would be an overnight stay with no beach or tropical weather in sight.  

We arrived at the airport, quickly made our way through security and grabbed a quick snack before heading to the gate.  The previous crew left our Airbus A321 in pristine shape and the F/O began the walk-around while I set up the MCDU for our 4+ hour flight which would take us across the Gulf of Mexico and enter the southern United States near New Orleans, Louisiana.  The flight plan continued north across Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, and finally into Minnesota.  I had a quick look at the departure board at the airport and noticed we'd be joined by two other flights heading back to KMSP this afternoon: Sun Country (SCX) 574 and Delta (DAL) 1936.

The lead flight attendant notified us boarding would begin soon just as the F/O returned to the flight deck.  The pre-flight cockpit preparation was completed and the flight plan was received via a company ACARS message.  The sound of voices began to appear near the left front door as boarding began while baggage carts arrived at the side of the jet.  Clearance delivery was contacted and today's departure runway would be 12R, via the NOSUG 1A RNAV departure to the north.  A quick look at the charts would provide for a scenic departure overhead the hotels and lovely white beaches surrounded by a thick blanket of tropical trees.  Unfortunately, the cloud base was low today so our views would be short lived during the departure. 

There wasn't much traffic at the airport today, other than ourselves, our friends SCX and DAL, along with a Turkish flight and a pair of Aeromexico flights taking the taxiway.  Our preparation was completed, the passengers were boarded, and the ground crew handed me the final loadsheet.  We were heavy today and we input the final performance numbers for take-off.  "Ground cockpit" was heard over the intercom as final push instructions were provided to the ground crew.  We'd be last to push today on the apron while SCX and DAL took the lead for our departure.  

We were pushed "tail right" and the jet came to rest facing south along Terminal 4.  Sun County and the Delta flights had already made their way down taxiway C and Delta 1936 was cleared to line-up on runway 12R as SCX departed to the north, climbing through the low layer of clouds.  The F/O and I worked our way through the relative checklists and we began our taxi to runway 12R.  

I gave a quick wave to Delta 1936 as the A321's CFM engines came to life, hurdling 1936 down the runway.  The tower cleared us to line-up and wait on 12R while a United flight approached from the northeast, preparing to arrive on runway 12L.  After waiting a few minutes for flight separation on today's route, we were cleared to depart.  The throttle levers were pushed forward, allowing the engines to stabilize.  The throttles were advanced forward to flex speed and our IAE engines came to life and Spirit Wings 245 began its journey to the great "Deep Freeze" in Minneapolis.  

I hand flew the departure as we entered the clouds and the call for "autopilot 1" was called.  The F/O activated the autopilot and we settled in for the flight.  The cruise to the north was rather uneventful with fairly smooth air, but a quartering headwind would keep our ground speeds at bay, slowing our progress.  Which was fine, because a METAR report from the company showed expected cold temperatures in Minneapolis so we weren't too upset out being slightly delayed.  

 

We continued along the planned route and the high center frequencies were rather quiet for this flight.  Traffic and radio chatter began to pick up as we crossed into Kansas City and Chicago Airspace.  Descent preparations were made and one last check of the MSP ATIS would have us prepare to land on runway 30L.  Thankfully, the snow had not moved into the area and the arrival  runways would be free of snow and ice, making things a bit easier on the landing rollout.  Performance data was entered into the MDCU and descent instructions were handed over as we transitioned to Minneapolis Airspace.  We would be descending via the BLUEM 3 arrival into KMSP and as other pilots began connecting to the frequency, the arrival board for MSP began to fill up with numerous arrivals from both the west and east.  We would be lucky to slot into the mix without any delays or go-arounds.  The MSP controllers are always top notch so the flight deck was calm and collected while going over the approach checklist.

We were handed over to the MSP approach controller and our planned arrival onto runway 30L was changed to a visual approach to runway 35.  No worries, as we had plenty of time to update the MCDU for the new arrival as well as add a few range rings and an extended center line.  A few vectors right of our course were provided for sequencing and a final heading was provided toward the airport.  The localizer was captured as we entered the final flight path for RWY 35 and the airport was called "in-sight."  We were handed over to tower, who was handling multiple arrivals onto runways 30L, 30R, and 35.  We were nearing the 5 mile mark when I was able to finally contact tower and advise "inbound visual 35."  "Spirit Wings 245, cleared to land RWY 35" and the gear was lowered along with final flap callouts. 

The A321 crossed the threshold and the main gear touched down with a gentle "bump" and the nose gear was slowly lowered onto the center line.  I vacated RWY 35 onto taxiway Y and not being familiar with this side of the airport, I had to quickly gain my bearings while receiving taxi instructions to the E concourse at Terminal 1.  The night lighting at the airport and surrounding ambient lighting was wonderful as we made our way to our holding point "W8" and holding short of RWY 30L for arriving traffic.  The taxiways were full of other aircraft tonight as we navigated the taxiways and listened for radio calls from the tower. After an approximate wait of 5 minutes, we were finally cleared to cross RWY 30L and to contact ground on the other side.  After a few more turns, holds, and delays, we finally made it to E2 and shut down the engines, while the ground crew began to unload the baggage.  

The shutdown checklist was completed while our A321 was secured for the next flight.  The plane would remain parked at the gate for tonight, with an outbound flight back to MCO planned for an early morning departure.  The crew and I grabbed our things and changed our "tropical mindset" for a "bitter cold" mindset as we entered "Operation Deep Freeze."  

Thanks to the wonderful service and various controllers on the VATSIM frequency tonight in MSP airspace and surrounding airspace.  FNO's are always a joy to fly and "The Nutters" always look forward to participating.  Until next time......

Software used for today's flight:

P3D v5 

Flightsimlabs A321

FSimStudios MMUN Airport

Flightbeam KMSP Airport

ActiveSky P3D with Active Sky Cloud Art

Navigraph Charts and Database

VATSIM w/vPilot

GSX

Orbx NA openLC

                                                                                                                                    

 

 

     

FNO Texas Style

How ‘bout a big Texas howdy yall?  Oh wait, I am jumping ahead of myself…that greeting will come later, courtesy of Houston Center.  I’m still sitting (virtually of course) at the ramp at Prestwick Airport in the UK, waiting for the various cargo containers to be loaded onto my trusty PMDG 747-8F.  And yes, the blog has been revived.  October 2017 was the last post and after a few of us Nutters had a trip down memory lane on Flightsim Pictures and Videos (shameless plug), along with this blog, I decided it was time to document another trip across the virtual skies of P3D and VATSIM.  

 

Maybe a short trip to warm things up and to get back into the swing of things, or maybe an 8 hour and 53-minute flight across the Atlantic?  Yes, that will do…it is “The Nutter Way” to be exact.  Anything under 4 hours?  Sheesh, that’s a short haul son, and don’t even bother trying to plan something under 2 hours with a certain pilot.  Nope, not having it.  Of course, time zones are always a deciding factor of when this pilot’s alarm clock must go off in the early morning of North America.  I’ve been on this rodeo before and once again, I learned that I woke up too early for this flight.  A quick search on FlightAware the previous evening showed real world flights at 10 or so hours and after getting up, starting the coffee, letting the various animals out for their morning business (yes, I operate the equivalent of a small petting zoo---all properly zoned of course), I was able to sit down at my dispatch center, the Discord flight planning room, and look at the upcoming trip.  Well, it looked like I’d be going through the full motions today with complete cargo loading, checklists, and staring out the window, enjoying the beautiful coast of Scotland and the countryside.

Four virtual aviators would be completing the flight today, myself as CLX 43N, Mr. Red, KLM 661, Mr. Hold the Celery and champion of flying the British Flag, BAW 26E, and the one, and only, Mr. Ireland, Mr. England, Mr. America, or wherever he calls home today as “The” GTI 5201.  We had to spread the callsigns around which also created various starting points in Europe, the UK, and Ireland.  Prestwick, Amsterdam, London-Heathrow, and Dublin would provide the departure points and we started monitoring VatSpy and Project Fly to determine when and where to meet up.  Nat Track “A” would be the route across the Atlantic today and the forecast showed light winds for the journey along with a cloud layer covering the chilly waters.  MALOT was our entry point and surprisingly, VATSIM was quiet, other than a group of Virtual RAF Eurofighters trying to land their planes in IMC conditions at an airfield on the eastern side of the UK.  Swanwick was controlling military ops and apparently, those RAF jockeys don’t have the option of clicking “approach” mode and perform a CAT III Autoland in those things.  Suffice it to say, I kept hearing go-arounds with a let out of despair, asking to divert. 

Onward and upward…and it was time to finally push-back with all my cargo loaded.  Company traffic had entered the cargo area behind me, and it was clear for the pushback.  I would be departing runway 12 via the TRN 2L departure, or Turnberry 2L, with a 5 mile climb out, continuing to a right turn and then up to my initial cruising altitude of FL340, or 34,000 feet.  Our planning worked out quite well with three of us meeting at our NAT entry fix, or MALOT, properly spaced and on track. “The” GTI 5201 would be joining later after washing and drying his golf clubs in the garage, even though he sadly can’t use them thanks to COVID-19, but rest assured, the clubs are clean, well maintained, and will be ready to go once the restrictions are lifted at his Irish village.    

It was time to settle in and wait for Oceanic to log on for the trip across the Atlantic, but it wasn’t meant to be.  I still haven’t had the opportunity to test out the web based Oceanic procedure tool which allows Oceanic clearances along with web-based position reports.  The concept is a welcomed one, along with simulated ADS-B in the virtual world.  If you’ve ever had the joy of participating in VATSIM’s Cross the Pond event, (RIP), you’ll enjoy the constant radio chatter with pilots talking over one another, trying to make position reports, asking for clearance, yadda yadda, etc., and it gives one quite the headache.  Throw in the pilots who decided to make CTP their first VATSIM event and there you have it: chaos.  Yes, it is supposed to be fun but, in the end, you hope to blend in with the other virtual ants, marching across the sky on Unicom, hoping for some peace and quiet.  It isn’t very realistic, or so I’m told, so web-based procedures and ADS-B to prevent the need for position reports is a wonderful thing.  Oh, and hopefully we’ll have fully implemented CPDLC operations in the future with all the top aircraft.  One can hope.  

 

As we departed MALOT and tracked toward 53N050W, another pilot, Japan Air, was obviously on the same track.  The pilot was cruising at a flight level two thousand feet above me and flying much faster, which allowed for some nice screenshots.  I enjoy seeing other virtual planes, knowing they are being operated by a human pilot.  The crossings across the Atlantic don’t always provide “visual” contact but when they do, the other planes are close at altitude traveling in the same direction, or blast by you at Mach .84 traveling the opposite direction.  Things don’t always work out in the virtual world so yes, please make sure “crash detection” is disabled. 

While we happily cruised toward Texas, dinner or “tea” time was nearing for those living on the other side and suggestions were made for what to get.  This afforded one pilot the opportunity to order Chinese take-out, take-away, or whatever your local culture calls it, and meals were being picked up and delivered to the hungry pilots.  Chinese (no celery), American, and Italian were all on the menu and while some have lovely lead flight attendants to deliver the food, others had to make their own arrangements.  In the end, everyone was fed, watered, and landfall was nearing, just in time to enter Boston Airspace and endless chatter on the frequency. 

 

Boston Center, New York Center, and finally some peace and quite before we entered Houston Airspace, ending the journey at KIAH, or George Bush Continental Airport.  Each of us verified our STAR or standard terminal arrival for the descent into Houston and we would be descending via the DOOBI2, planning for 26R or 26L.  The ATIS was up, and we were entering Houston Airspace for this Friday’s operation: Texas Crossfire.  KIAH, KHOU, KDAL, and KDFW were fully staffed for the event and these types of events always attract plenty of traffic.  We were arriving a little early, but fortunately, the various center and approach positions were starting to light up, ensuring an easy and effortless approach into KIAH.  I was greeted with “Howdy,” which is a standard greeting in Texas, and the controllers did an excellent job dealing with the sudden influx of traffic into the airspace.  Each of us began our descent, answering the radio calls, and adjusted accordingly when asked to either speed up or slow down to keep the arrival spacing.  I had to make a final adjustment for the ILS runway 26L arrival and after the final transition points were updated and approach fixes entered, the 747-8F flew the arrival wonderfully and I was on course for a smooth landing.  

 

Nighttime was upon us for the arrival and normally, having EA or enhanced atmospherics enabled in P3D during the nighttime is not warranted or desired.  A strange “Planet Mars” effect can present itself when descending below the clouds and views outside the aircraft aren’t screenshot worthy.  Admittedly, I haven’t spent much time with adjusting specific settings in the .cfg file but during the daytime, EA doesn’t disappoint with the latest P3D version. 

 

As I descended through base layer of clouds, the night lighting came to life and the three runways at KIAH were coming into sight.  I was handed off to two approach controllers, and finally tower as I captured the localizer and glidepath for runway 26L.  The weather was calm tonight, with a slight crosswind from the right.  KLM 661 had already landed when I crossed the threshold and firmly planted my 747 onto the runway.  Spoilers deployed, reversers were normal, and the autobrakes had me quickly decelerating on the runway.  I turned off runway 26L to the right, which allowed me to witness the arrival of BAW 26E and GTI 5201.  Unfortunately, screenshots don’t capture much during the darkness, but the rest of the aviators touched down safely and began the final journey to their respective gates or cargo aprons. 

Yep, another one done and in the virtual logbook.  Our fight simulators/computers behaved quite well, albeit one crash but that is why autosave is a must, courtesy of FSUIPC.  Houston provided wonderful service into KIAH, as always, and we look forward to flying there again.  Thanks for flying/reading along, enjoy the screenshots and oh, don’t forget, please hold the celery.

Software/Add-Ons: 

·         Lockheed Martin P3D v5.1 w/EA enabled

·         Orbx openLC Europe/openLC North America

·         UK2000 EGPK Extreme

·         PMDG 747-8F

·         FSDreamteam GSX and FSDT KIAH

·         HiFi Simulations ActiveSky P3D

·         VATSIM with vPilot

·         FLAI Model Matching

·         Simbrief for flight planning

·         ProjectFly for flight tracking

·         VATSpy for VATSIM on-line clients/controllers

        ·         Discord for Nutters Chat/Banter