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Leg #56 SAWH - YSRN

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EHM-2097 Andrei:
This is another leg more suitable for high altitude VFR, because there are few "detail" landmarks while the overall distance is easier to assess from high above. Thus you can fly this in a jet, more precisely any aircraft you are able to put down at destination (paved runway, but a narrow one without glide slope lights).

After takeoff, head east and note two ranges of hills in this direction: a bigger one (both larger and higher) on the left, and a smaller one on the right. Aim between the two ranges.

As you get near these hills, a lake appears northeast. Fly towards this lake (there is a road below going in the same direction).

Before reaching the lake, note a large river a little further ahead. This is Rio Grande, which is the same river we have been following in the legs 26 and 27. In between, we have flown a large loop to the west.

From this point, the route basically follows the Rio Grande to the ocean (more precisely, the Gulf of Mexico). As soon as the ocean appears in sight, it is recommended to descend, especially if you are flying at jet altitude.

In fact this is the biggest problem of this leg. The destination airport is a small one that cannot be seen from the distance, thus the area where it is located should be approached at low speed and low altitude; otherwise expect some circuits around it.

When the ocean shores become distinguishable as details, note a large lagoon to the south, separated from the ocean by a long and thin isthmus. When this feature becomes obvious, it is safe to leave the Rio Grande to follow the inner shore of this lagoon.

While following the lagoon further south, note a series of thin islands that almost form an isthmus across the lagoon. From this point, the destination airport is close and will appear in sight within minutes. Maintain direction until you see it, then turn right for base leg or turn right "preemptively" to intercept the runway centerline on a longer finals leg.

EHM-2097 Andrei:
This is definitely a jet flying leg; just don't plan to fly too high because it is a short leg too. The whole leg is following the ocean shore to the south, with only a few landmarks worth mentioning:

[*]The southern tip of the lagoon we have been flying over since the previous leg;
[*]A river flowing into the ocean, with a town (La Pesca) and an airport near its mouth;
[*]A second river flowing into the ocean, with a larger town (Tampico) and a larger airport. This is exactly the leg destination, so be sure you start descending as soon as you spot this second river and the city (even if the airport is not yet in sight).
[/list]Approach is easy, there is ILS but personally I got lazy as the airport appeared in sight, I preferred to get down visually than to fly a large loop (I was too high and too far from the runway centerline to make good use of the ILS).

You may think I also got lazy in writing shorter and shorter route descriptions? Nah, this was just because orientation was (too) easy in these latest legs, but next leg we're going up the mountains again so be prepared to look for elusive landmarks again.

EHM-2097 Andrei:
This is another leg I have flown, with the A318, as high level VFR... and documented as such. Runways at both departure and destination are paved, long and large so almost any aircraft could do the job (not sure about the A380 though).

After takeoff, climb to 13500ft and turn to the southeast along the ocean shore. Fly over the lake (or should I say lagoon?) just south of Tampico, then over the larger one further south. Following roads is out of the question as there is plentiful of these running in all directions.

When reaching the southern tip of the larger lake, note a river flowing into the ocean further south. This is Tuxpan River, and while flying towards it try to locate the city of the same name and eventually the local airport (MM0X), which is close to the riverbank and parallel to it.

Over Tuxpan, turn to the south and note a larger city ahead, which is Poza Rica. Fly towards this city; shortly before reaching it, the airport of Tajin (MMPA) also appears in sight north of the city. Over Poza Rica, note and follow the river flowing through the city, to the west then southwest (upstream).

As we get near the mountains the river is flowing from, it becomes difficult to spot the "main" valley from high above, and nearby roads don't help much either. Instead, most waypoints from now on are lakes, which are easier to spot from a higher level.

Without a dramatic change of direction, aim between a very small lake on the left and a larger one (roughly cross-shaped) on the right. The larger lake (Tejocotal) is to look for especially, but be warned its apparent shape depends a lot on the angle of view, while flying west towards it, it looked more like a large-based "Y" letter.

After Tejacotal Lake, continue on a southwesterly course towards a larger  (and especially longer) lake, which is Tecocomulco Lake. After crossing the mountain barrier, the terrain below consists mostly of high plateaus, with mountain peaks rising here and there above these.

Over Tecocomulco Lake, maintain the rough "along" direction of the lake, to the southwest, between two such peaks. After passing these peaks, a large lake and a large city become visible in the distance. This is the capital city of Ciudad de Mexico. The city is quite large, so fly towards the airport (MMMX) as soon as you have it in sight.

Over the city, note the mountain range west of it. This range is to be crossed, but be sure you choose a lower crossing point as it is a good idea to start descending to. As soon as you get a sight of the landscape beneath these mountains, the town of Toluca should be visible ahead. The destination airport is just northeast of the town.

You may choose a visual pattern approach but personally I enjoyed the comfort of an ILS (runway 15) approach. To do so, when reaching the airport fly on the (reciprocal) runway heading, then do a procedure turn (anti-clockwise) to intercept the localizer. I doubt this is the standard procedure but it works while keeping the aircraft over safe grounds (which is not quite obvious with all those peaks around).

EHM-2097 Andrei:
This is another leg above the high plateaus of Mexico, with heavy jet compatible runways at both ends. In other words: another job for the A318!

After departure, climb to 13500ft and turn east, back towards ciudad de Mexico. While doing so, be sure you get high enough to clear the mountains in between.

Once above the city, and possibly with the international airport in sight, note the range of peaks southeast of Ciudad de Mexico. The most southerly one, which is also the highest, is Popocatepetl. Fly towards it, more precisely south of it then turn east around it.

While flying over the southern mountainside, note a large lake, having a very irregular shape, ahead (this is Valsequillo Lake). North of it (which is left as you look) is a large city, Puebla. A little north of the city is the Huejotzingo airport (MMPB). Fly towards the city and locate a railroad starting from there to the southeast.

Follow this railroad along a shallow valley (which is the first one east of Valsequillo Lake). Caution, the railroad makes a long and unexpected (and useless too, as it seems from above) loop before heading again southeast, and this happens exactly within an area where it is not clearly visible due to vegetation.

South of this area the valley becomes deeper and is easier to follow, so you no longer need to look for the railroad. Note the Tehuacan airport (MMHC) on the left side of the valley. The town with the same name should be there too but apparently it is not rendered in FS.

South of Tehuacan is the lowest point within the valley. From this point the river flows east through a perpendicular valley. The exact spot, however, is not obvious in FS except if you have a high-resolution terrain mesh.

Further south, the valley splits into several parallel variants. However, it does not matter which one is the "principal" valley, because the target is visible in the distance, in the form of flatter ground ahead (south). Fly towards this new plateau.

Soon the town of Oaxaca will appeared in sight, followed by the destination airport just behind. As far as approach is concerned, runway 01 is better because there is room to the south to descend and do a procedure turn.

EHM-2097 Andrei:
This is the last leg inside Mexico, and it goes down then up again. The runway at destination is long enough (for jets) but is narrow and has no glide slope lights, so it is not best suited for heavies. I personally flew this leg with the A318 but was somehow confused reading the airport elevation so I kind of overshoot, stopping after the runway end (ouch).

After takeoff, fly east to the plateau east of Oaxaca (and caution the peaks in between, of course). There is a railroad heading in the same direction, and it is a good idea to follow it, but it ends where the plateau ends... while we should be going further.

Where the railroad ends, follow a road to the south. The road itself makes plenty of turns along a valley, but soon it becomes obvious it heads towards a lake having a (roughly) triangular shape. As we fly towards this lake, the Pacific Ocean itself appears ahead. After the lake, follow the river that drains it, which leads to low and flad ground along the ocean shore.

Two airports are visible in the area: Ixtepec  (MMIT) on the left and Salina Cruz (MM1X) on the right.

If anything happens and orientation becomes unsafe before this point, at any moment you can fly south to the ocean then follow its shore southeast until you reach Salina Cruz.

After Salina Cruz, more mountains are visible to the northeast, in he distance. Fly towards the closest high peak; about reaching it, a long lake appears ahead. Fly to this lake, over several villages on top of lower peaks and high plateaus.

Over the lake, follow its eastern arm then the river that flows into it upstream. More and larger lakes appear on your left, but these should remain in the distance, being located behind the mountain we need to "climb".

As you fly along the southern side of the mountain, note Tuxtla Gutierrez airport (MMTG) on your right, then a road that crosses your path and continues up on the mountain.

Follow this road over the mountain. On top of this mountain is a shallow valley. Here, the road reaches the town of San Cristobal de Las Casas, where there is a crossroad, while the destination airport appears slightly to the north along this shallow valley.

As the terrain around the airport looks rather misleading (in the ability to tell the low spots from the higher ones), I choose to descend in a 360 degree turn right on the spot (where I first saw the airport), then headed towards it at low level.

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