A Trip in "The Lady"

Enjoy a flight across the North Atlantic while piloting the MD-11F, as seen through the eyes of a fictional Lufthansa Cargo Pilot returning home to Frankfurt, Germany.  The following add-ons were used:

FSX Acceleration with DX-10 Enabled (Steve’s DX-10 Fixer)
PMDG MD-11F

FSDreamteam KJFK with GSX

Aerosoft Frankfurt 2.0

Active Sky 2016 with Active Sky Cloud Art (Global Dynamic)

Vatsim Network

REX Texture Direct and Sky Colors

Orbx Global, Vector, OpenLC Europe and North America
 

The crew van arrived an hour early at our hotel for an evening departure across the North Atlantic.  It was time to say farewell to my modern, albeit small hotel room which provided breathtaking views of the New York City skyline.  Due to reported thunderstorms, the company decided to bump-up our departure time back to Germany.   Thankfully, our earlier tour of the city had ended on time and my F/O and I had plenty of rest prior to the phone call from Lufthansa.  Yes, our three day layover had come to an end which wrapped up another stay in America.  New York City, with all of its sky scrapers and architectural beauty, had once again, proven to be a welcoming city to this time zone traveler.  The dark colored van arrived out front while the F/O finished up the details at the front desk.  As I stood at the curb, I couldn’t help but notice the towering clouds pushing in from the west.  A smell of mist from previous rainfall saturated the air and the humidity was quite high this evening.  Our flight bags filled with clothes and souvenirs for the family were loaded into the van and our driver quickly found an opening in the heavy traffic as we made our way to the airport.  The trip back to JFK would only take 30 minutes thanks to our driver who navigated the streets of New York with skill and prowess.  “Done this before I asked?”  The driver, with an unshaven face and thick New York accent, looked at me with little concern and said, “Good Flug.”  A man of few words but as a cargo pilot, I appreciate one who can efficiently navigate the routes for an on-time delivery.  Whether it is a package or a pilot needing to arrive at the airport….getting there on time is how to operate. 

The Lufthansa crew briefing room was quiet this Friday evening since we were the only flight preparing to leave.  Our dispatcher, Michael, gained my attention and waived myself and the F/O to the planning counter.  It appeared Michael had plans this evening and he wanted to brief us soon as possible.  Tonight, we would be flying the mighty MD-11F, or “The Lady” as she is affectionately known.  The flight time was scheduled for 6.5 hours and after studying the wind charts, it looked like we would be picking up some nice tailwinds as we navigated NAT Track “Sierra.”  We reviewed the weather inbound as well as the weather back at home and it was time to make our way to the jet.  

The tarmac was wet from rainfall and light rain continued to soak the pavement and surrounding buildings.  Our ground crew had already begun to load the various cargo items into the jet.  We would be transporting approximately 160K pounds of mixed cargo this evening and couple that with the needed fuel, we would be heavy tonight.  The F/O entered the stairs and made his way to the flight deck while I took a moment to oversee the loading operations and surrounding air traffic.  Surprisingly, JFK was not its normal self with few departures and arrivals into the airport.  I had flown into and out of JFK many times before, but tonight, well, it was eerily quiet.  I found myself staring at the dimly lit skyline in the distance and unfortunately, cloud cover would obscure the city during departure.  The ground crew was working hard to get us out for an early departure and now it was time for me to prepare the jet.  

Thankfully, the rainfall had ceased and since I lost an earlier bet with the F/O, it was my turn to complete the walk around.  Actually, I don’t mind the walk arounds.  As the PIC or pilot in command, it gives me an opportunity to inspect the jet for the long trip back home.  Tonight’s MD-11F, registration D-ALCO, had a clean maintenance sheet and had recently undergone flight inspections at Frankfurt.  While showing some wear from her many trips around the world, I was happy with the jet and now, it was time to enter the flight deck and get situated.  

I reviewed our dispatch sheet regarding the route and expected clearance while the ground crew entered the flight deck with a final load and balance sheet.  I reviewed the numbers and the appropriate data was entered into the flight management computer.  Delivery was called up on the set frequency and a young controller’s voice squawked the IFR clearance.  Tonight, we would be departing RWY 13R via the Kennedy 3 departure with radar vectors to the “Merit” intersection.  The clearance was copied as the cargo doors were secured and the ground crew was getting ready to attach the push-back tug.  The F/O and I discussed the departure briefing and final cockpit preparations were made.  The flight deck was coming alive with button presses, knobs turning to set speeds, altitudes, headings, etc. and now it was time to extinguish the dome light and push back from the cargo terminal.    The “before start” flows and checklists were completed as the mighty tug pushed The Lady back from her parking spot.  “Starting engine 3” was called out and the engine began to spool up.  “15%” was called out by the F/O and fuel was added to complete the start process.  This process was continued as the remaining two engines were “lit” and the roar of the engines came to life.  The rumble of the engines never gets old as The Lady came to life, ready to climb into the night sky.  Taxi clearance to RWY 13R was obtained and the light traffic provided a quick trip to taxiway “Papa.”  The before take-off checklist was completed as we made our way to the end of the runway and while the rain had stopped, the towering clouds were still lingering west of the airport.  “Kennedy tower, Lufthansa Cargo 8161 is holding short of RWY 13R, ready to go.”  Another thick, New York accent came over the radio and provided the current winds, and cleared us for departure.  “Lufthansa Cargo 8161, fly a heading of 110 after departure, clear for take-off RWY 13R.”  The auto thrust was engaged and the three throttle levers were advanced forward.  The flight deck began to rumble and shake as we accelerated down the runway as I anxiously awaited the call for “rotate!”  I slowly, and cautiously pulled back on the yoke and the MD-11 nose slowly rose off the runway.  For such a large jet, the MD-11 is quite nimble and responsive during the departure.  We began to accelerate to our top altitude of five thousand feet and the tower controller handed us off to Kennedy Departure.  The frequency for Kennedy departure had already been pre-set and a quick button press switched us over.  I waited a moment for other radio traffic and after a descent call to another aircraft, contact was made with the controller.  “Lufthansa Cargo 8161, turn left heading 060 and proceed direct to the Merit intersection when able.”  Our altitude “climb outs” were quickly increased as we were handed off to New York Center.  During the departure phase, the flight deck was busy with callouts, and there wasn’t much time to look out the window for sightseeing.  But since it was night time and the clouds were covering the majority of the East Coast, there wasn’t much to look at.  We continued our quick climb to FL310, all while preparing for our oceanic crossing.

We achieved our initial flight level of 310 and now it was time to get comfortable.  As we continued along the East Coast, we began to leave the clouds behind and the vast Atlantic Ocean was lit up by the full moon.  After a couple hours of flight, we burned off enough fuel to increase our cruise level and we achieved some nice tailwinds at FL330.  The F/O and I reviewed the cargo manifest and nothing too exciting was on-board tonight.  I continued to monitor the temperatures in the cargo compartments as well as the engine displays and as usual, all was good.   Air traffic was light tonight as we continued our journey at Mach .84 with ground speeds reaching 572 knots at times.  We encountered various cloud layers during the cruise and as we reached our half-way point in the flight, the sky ahead began to lighten as the familiar glow of the sun became visible above the horizon.  

We began to reach our final “exit” point from our oceanic crossing and we would soon be reaching the west coast of Ireland.  Unfortunately, varying cloud layers obscured most of the trip across Ireland and the U.K. this morning but when it was visible, the familiar green fields were prominent as always.  The local commuter flights were beginning to fill the skies above the U.K. with various radio calls coming across frequency.  Our flight was nearing its end as we crossed the English Channel and neared the coast of Europe.  

A final check of the weather at Frankfurt would have us landing on 25R while descending via the UNOKO 25N RNAV arrival.  The cloud layers began to build with towering cumulus clouds as we began our descent and thankfully, the weather and clouds did not affect our arrival.  A few bumps rattled the flight deck as we neared Frankfurt but nothing The Lady couldn’t handle.  Local departures and arrivals were filling the skies around Frankfurt while the F/O and I completed our approach briefing and final cockpit preparations for our arrival.  It was good to be home as the familiar terrain broke through the clouds and I was excited to be home after a 10 day trip to South and North America.  We were cleared for the ILS Y approach to 25R and a banking right turn quickly aligned us with the localizer.  The automated landing system was armed as the airport became visible and I called out the various flap settings as we reached our approach speed.  The glideslope was captured and “gear down” was heard over the intercom.  The MD-11 was configured for landing and we slowly descended down the glide path for 25R.  The F/O was scanning the skies for other aircraft as I called for the landing checklist and The Lady was configured and ready for landing.  The autopilot and auto throttle were disconnected as the gentle giant continued its descent toward the runway.  The familiar altitude callouts filled the flight deck and as we reached 20 feet AGL, the throttles were pulled back and a gentle flare put the main gear down on the runway.  A gentle shake in the flight deck was felt as the reversers were engaged and the auto brake began to slow the jet as we quickly decelerated. 
 

We vacated 25R to the left and the F/O completed the after landing items.  A short taxi had us greeting the hard working ground crew at stand F233 as we set the brakes, turned off the engines, and opened the doors for unloading.  6 hours and 51 minutes was the final flight time and another trip was completed.  The aircraft’s logbook was completed as D-ALCO was unloaded and secured for a future trip.  The F/O and I headed down the stairs and as my feet touched the tarmac, I turned back and gazed at The Lady as she sat on the tarmac.  A wonderful cargo jet known for its quirks and “special flight characteristics” that require special care and attention.  Yes, just like a lady.