After returning back to London from Cape Town, South Africa, (see my around the world adventure posts) I wanted to spend some time flying in and around Europe in some “Big Iron”. While I’ve flown to and from Europe in jets (mainly from the US), I haven’t done much route flying within the UK/Europe. I figure after spending the better part of my 25+ year virtual aviation career flying US domestic routes, it is time to add the UK/Europe region to my experience.
So I spent a little bit of time re-familiarizing myself with the iFly 737NG and slapped on the BA livery and began my pre-flight planning to fly from London Gatwick (EGKK) to Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino (LIRF). I do like British Airways and perhaps consider them my second real world favorite of airlines I enjoy simulating. This is emulating the real world British Airways flight BA2540. The real world flight uses a B734, but I’m going to use the B738 in my simulation.
BA2540 at the gate London Gatwick. Gatwick is especially busy today. Lots of company traffic as well as Alitalia, Air France, EasyJet, Portugalia and others all waiting to depart. Preparing to push back and taxi to runway 26L. Our flying time today will be 2 hours and 30 minutes. Note: I’m currently using the default FSX London Gatwick scenery. However, I really love the UK2000 Heathrow scenery I’ve owned for a few years that I believe I’ll pickup their Gatwick version soon.
The initial climb was a bit choppy.
Crossing the English Channel and climbing to FL360.
Intercepting the localizer runway 16R LIRF.
Down below the clouds the runway is in sight.
An uneventful and fun flight in the iFly 737NG. My passengers were pleased to arrive eight minutes early and I’m sure looking forward to their time in Rome. I’ll stretch my legs, grab a cup of coffee and prepare to head back to Gatwick tonight. I’m told to expect a packed flight with worsening weather conditions.
Until next time…
Happy Flying!!!
JT