AAL802 KDFW to CYUL

Well I got one flight in for April! Time constraints sure do suck and it shows by the lack of posting on my blog here.

I had planned on doing a cargo flight in the 744F, CYVR - PANC (Vancouver to Anchorage) but the weather here in the east has been very late spring like with temps in the mid +20C range I wanted to stick close to home.

ALL802 KDFW - CYUL

AAL802 is a mid afternoon flight from KDFW (Dallas) to CYUL (Montreal). Fly Tampa's version of Montreal is the closest payware Canadian airport to me (KBUF is actually closer if you count the ones in the USA).

Gate D21 KDFW

Our lightly loaded 737-800 with only 80 some passengers are making the trip north this afternoon. KDFW ATIS was wind 180/07kts with clouds broken at 1'900ft and overcast at 2'300 in a balmy +24C. Using the AKUNA4 departure off 18L that has you circle back north to the MLC VOR.

Making my way down 18L

Turning back north on the AKUNA4 SID

Enroute weather was excellent with nothing to really talk about. On the flight NNE you do get to fly over some large American cities like Saint Louis and Detroit before turning NE and heading along the north shores of Lake Erie and Ontario. Even passing over my home town of Toronto before getting ready for the arrival into CYUL.

On my way to 06L at CYUL

Weather at CYUL was winds variable at 6kts and clouds broken at FL240 and a mild +23C. Using the HABBS2 arrival (named after the Montreal Hockey Team, Les Habitant aka Les Canadiens) I set the box up for a 24R arrival only to have to scurry to set it up for a 24L after ATC cleared me for the approach. I had to vector myself out over the south shore to bleed off altitude and speed but it took all of five minutes and I was on my way in again following a now defunct Olympic Airlines A340.

Short final 06L at CYUL

I made a nice enough landing even though I stretch it out a bit. You can view an HD video of it by click HERE.

Driving around CYUL

3 hours and 26 minutes gate to gate.

Gate 81 CYUL

WJA505 CYUL-CYVR

Back in the iron lung again today for a flight across this great land of Canada.

WJA505 CYUL - CYVR

WJA505 takes us in the 737-800 for a trip using both recent Canadian payware airport's,  CYUL (Montreal) to CYVR (Vancouver). I must admit it is nice to be able to do that in the sim now. Really looking forward to Toronto's CYYZ when it comes out.

Getting set to depart at CYUL

Getting waved off

Departure weather at CYUL was pretty shitty (seems to be snowing there all the time). Wind 126/06kts with visibility down to only 1 mile in snow at 500 overcast and 0C. Using the KIPAX4 departure off runway 06R with vectors to our first fix of the YUL VOR.

The shitty weather and 06R at CYUL

Not much to look at on the way out except for the de-ice switches and a blank windscreen. I finally broke out on top at FL110.

Breaking out on top

The ride west so far was smooth as we passed north of Elliot Lake in Ontario. Offering us one of the few glimpses of the ground since we left Montreal. It was short lived mind you.

Elliot Lake below

Once over the Alberta area we had some moderate chop all the way through to the Rockies until the interior plateau.

Approaching the Coastal Range Mountains

CYVR ATIS reported windy conditions. Wind 275/28kts with cloud 6'000 few at +7C. Using the CANUC2 arrival on runway 26R.

City of Vancouver off to the left while flying the CANUC2 ARR

The arrival gives you some great views of downtown Vancouver and the Coastal Mountains. Doing an S turn over the south east end of the city while lining you up for final as you can see on the HSI above.

Turning for final at CYVR 26R

While admiring the views we cannot forget the NGX gets a little slippery on the way in after clearing the Coastal Mountains. While on approach I heard a Korean Air and Japan Airlines 747 were lining up for take off.

On final 26R CYVR with the city in full view

I set up a bit of a floater but it was not too bad a landing. I did get a great look at the JAL 747-400 as I was on short final.

Short final 26R CYVR

You can see an HD video of the landing by clicking HERE

CYVR gates

I did blow the fuel calculation by 1'500lbs, but the freeware fuel planner at http://fuelplanner.com/ does a decent job I must admit.

It was 5 hours and 1 minute gate to gate. I did have some issues on this flight. I got the OOM pending gong from FSUIPC. I have FSUIPC set up to auto save my flight every five minutes so I was able to quit and restart exactly where I left off and save an OOM error (and you never notice it saving in the sim, it is a fantastic feature). I also had an issue with the gates not deploying at CYVR as you can see above.

I don't have any shots from the real world CYUL (Dorval as it was known in my era of using it) but I did get some shots of CYVR a few years back...

Shot I took at CYVR circa 2008