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Leg #56 SAWH - YSRN

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EHM-2097 Andrei:
This leg is mostly about crossing the altiplano, vith just some variety near the end to spice up things a little. The runway at destination is long, wide and has PAPI lights. However, before selecting the B747 remember the departure has to take place on the modest dirt strip at Titicaca Lake. So, for me it was the PC12 again.

After take off (westwards, I assume, due to the high terrain east of the runway), turn first right towards the lake to gain altitude then a full 180 right again to cross the narrow isthmus west of the airfield. Climb to 14500ft while doing so.

After the isthmus, fly southeast to the end of the lake and then south until crossing a railroad that runs east to west. Follow this railroad to the east (there is a parallel road too). Note that the capital city of La Paz is quite near, which could provide an unmistakable waypoint, however it is only barely visible from this angle. Thus we stick to following railroads.

Along the railroad we reach the town of Viacha, where a railroad junction is located. Two (!) tracks go northeast into La Paz; one goes southwest across the mountains, all the way to the Pacific coast, while the one we need to follow goes south, parallel to a river. Caution, there is no single junction but rather several "cascading" junctions so picking the right one is not trivial.

The railroad crosses several roads. Another road on the left goes in the same direction, almost parallel to the railroad. There are not many terrain features, except for a range of hills on the left and, a little further south, a lake on the right.

We reach a large river, which the railroad follows for a while to the southeast. Then the railroad leaves this river and here comes another long and uneventful ride across the altiplano. Eventually a large lake appears to the south and the railroad turns towards it.

Before reaching the lake we fly over Oruro town, and the local airfield Juan Mendoza (SLOR).

From Oruro we follow the railroad southwards, along the eastern shore of Lake Uro Uro. A secondary railroad climbs along a valley, while we continue south towards a larger lake - Poopo Lake - along the railroad and a parallel road.

While flying along the eastern shore of Poopo Lake, a small lake appears on the left, between the hills. From this point on, there is a "safe" route and a "spicy" route as well. The safe option is to continue south along the railroad until reaching a major junction, which is a waypoint in the next leg too. From that junction, it is thus possible to do the beginning of the next leg in reverse and reach Sucre this way.

The other option avoids flying that route section twice. In order to do so, a mountain crossing is required which calls for attention and terrain awareness and, as such, is not guaranteed to succeed. Should one get lost in this section, it is possible to recover either by flying back to Poopo Lake and following the safe route, or by flying south until reaching a railroad which is part of the same safe route.

If you prefer this more challenging route, fly to the small lake between the hills. Note that a road goes in the same direction. Follow the river that flows into the lake upstream, along one branch of this road (caution, there are more of them). The valley becomes narrow, then back wider. Follow the road which first runs within the valley, and then climbs on the mountainside on the left. While doing so the heading is south, then southeast and east, and eventually even northeast.

Note that at this point we are not so high to clear all terrain around, so you may prefer to follow the road while flying lower, nearer to the valley.

Shortly the road reaches flatter terrain and heads northeast. In this area look for a road junction, and follow the "new" road to the southeast. This road climbs to a saddle and continues in the next valley. Here is another road junction, close to the lowest point of the valley crossing.  The roads are not of high importance though.

From this point, the important is to follow the valley downstream. The first segments are oriented to the east and northeast, but it is impossible to provide a full description due to the lack of any visual clues except for the numerous river bends and tributaries. Also, following the valley may seem easy but in this case it is not always obvious to tell the upstream from the downstream.

In all cases, follow the valley as far to the east as you can, while looking for the city of Sucre in the same direction. The city is located on top of the hills, so it is visible from distance. Eventually, an easy approach at destination rewards this difficult section.

EHM-2097 Andrei:
In the last three legs we have been flying over the altiplano, east of the high peaks of the Andes. Time has come to cross the mountains again in this leg!

The dirt runway at destination limits the aircraft choice. I used the PC12.

After takeoff, climb to 13500ft and fly over the town of Sucre (which means a 180 turn if departing to the north). There are two railroads going out of the town, and both are heading roughly to the south, so be sure to pick the right one. The one to follow is leaving the town close to its western limit and runs south along a valley.

The railroad does not remain on the bottom valley for long, instead and climbs on its western side. While doing so it has a series of sharp turns so watch it carefully while you follow it (to the south, southwest and eventually west).

After a while (and a number of the abovementioned sharp turns), the railroad leads us to the town of Potosi and the nearby airport of Capitan Nicolas Rojas (SLPO). As soon as you get the town in sight, climb to 16500ft due to the higher ground ahead.

After Potosi keep following the railroad, This one climbs steeply on the mountainside left of the valley, then along a green valley towards a desert plateau. The look of the landscape changes - to desert - while the railroad continues its series of sharp turns. After crossing this desert, landscape color changes back to green, as the terrain gets lower. We are now out of the mountains, and back into the altiplano.

Shortly after, the railroad we are following ends at a junction on the main line. The main line is the very one that we have been following in the previous leg, and even the Poopo Lake is visible in the distance (unless it is a very well done illusion). As mentioned in the previous leg description, if one does not want to take the chance of getting lost in these mountains (and does not bother to fly the same leg section twice), this is the safest way to end that leg too.

From the junction we follow the railroad to the south while descending to 14500ft. This new section of altiplano crossing should be quite uneventful and possibly unimpressive in FS, but in real life we would see a quite outstanding feature: the Salar de Uyuni, or see of salt. In FS, however, there is no dedicated terrain class for salt so patches of sand desert are displayed instead.

After a while we reach Uyuni, in the southeastern corner of the Salar. The town is not displayed in FS but there are junctions on both the railroad and the road running parallel to it. There is one railroad track running east, into the mountain. The track to the southeast crosses out of the mountains, to reach lower ground in Argentina. Instead, follow the track heading southwest.

In the first part, this railroad follows the southern limit of the Salar, which we do not see in FS, so it is again rather uneventful. As we get closer to the mountains, however, the terrain changes. First some patches of desert appear, and then terrain turns to just desert.

The landscape becomes interesting, as high volcanic peaks appear on both sides of the (rather flat) valley we are following. After a while, we get to a railroad junction, as it happens we are done crossing Bolivia and have reached Chile now. Follow the railroad to the southwest. This is upstream so expect to reach higher and higher ground. The railroad has again numerous turns but generally follows the valley so it is easy to follow.

The railroad eventually climbs on the right mountainside towards a saddle. Caution, this saddle is only visible after one starts to turn along the railroad. The road parallel to the railroad is heading for the same saddle, so whichever you can follow is just as good.

West of this saddle, we are still over high ground and the terrain is a desert again. However, while flying southwards along the railroad the terrain gets lower so descend to 11500ft. At some point the railroad reaches a "false" junction, it is only a loop so continue southwards.

A town appears ahead, this is Calama. As we get closer, the El Loa airport appears in sight too.

After Calama orientation is tricky because we have to leave the railroad. Follow the road that exits the city north of the airport and runs to the southeast. This road seems to lead nowhere but in fact we are slowly climb towards the edge of a large terrain depression.

As this fact becomes visible, be sure to follow the road towards that edge (there are a few crossings to avoid). Once over the edge, continue along the road but look ahead. The spot we are aiming for is an oasis in this desert. Do not expect palm trees or water bodies, but the texture is different enough to make it visible from distance. As you get closer, the destination runway appears in sight too.

EHM-2097 Andrei:
A little bored of following railroads, and sensing the finish line is close (I mean Ushuaia), I slipped again into the "high level VFR" temptation. Departing from the dirt runway at San Pedro with a big iron seems somehow unrealistic, so it is time for my ATR72 again.

After takeoff, fly south while climbing to FL190. This way one has a good view of the depression and its sea of salt: the Salar de Atacama (unfortunately there is nothing but sand desert displayed in FS). As long as you reach the cruising level, turn left straight to the east and "just cross the mountains". At this level and in this area there are no impending mountain peaks so just fly straight and enjoy the view.

The best route further is to follow - again - a railroad. Be for the lookout as you reach the last (easternmost) deep valley, for a railroad running along this valley. Then follow this railroad to the south and out of the mountains, flying over the towns and airports of Jujuy (SASJ) and Salta (SASA). As it results from these airport codes, we are now in Argentina.

There is no problem if you miss the railroad; in this case continue east until clear of the mountains, then along the eastern mountainsides until reaching Salta.

In both cases, the Salta airport is easy to identify due to its very specific 3-runways layout. Caution, the airport is not actually in the town but on top of the hill west of it.

Once south of Salta, fly to and over a long lake. Then proceed along (but east of) the eastern mountainsides until reaching Tucuman and the Tenente Benjamin Matienzo airport (SANT).

After passing Tucuman, turn slightly to the right to keep the mountains in sight. A large reservoir lake appears on the left - Termas de Rio Hondo - but this is not of interest for orientation. Instead, while abeam this lake; look for a tiny reservoir lake ahead and to the right (Dique de Escaba).

Fly to this lake and note, to the south, a region of hills crossed by several north-south oriented valleys. Follow the nearest valley and soon these valleys merge into a single wide and flat valley, where a town is visible too. This is Catamarca, and the destination airport is just southeast of the town.

Note: if you are not in a hurry as I started to be, there is a more classic low altitude VFR route possible. Continue to the south over the Salar de Atacama until reaching a railroad. This railroad, if followed to the east (and to the north at the single junction along it) leads on a longer way to Salta.

EHM-2097 Andrei:
This is another leg to fly high; only this time I used the A318 due to convenient paved runways at both ends.

From Catamarca, fly south while climbing to FL270. Like in the previous leg, follow the eastern mountainsides. There are also a couple of large lakes on the left, which do not appear on the map.

Roughly between these two lakes, but closer to the mountains, is the town of La Rioja, as well as the Capitan Vicente Almonacid airport (SANL).

South of the second lake, the mountainside is less distinct and thus more difficult to follow. Maintain roughly the same heading (southwest) and look to the left for a massive but isolated mountain peak, covered with desert-like terrain. The next waypoint is just southwest of this peak, this is the town of San Juan. East of the town is the local airport (SANU).

South of San Juan, the mountainside is easier to follow until the next waypoint, which is the town of Mendoza together with El Plumerillo airport (SAME). At Mendoza, turn right for a straight west crossing of the mountains. The landscape is impressive but the difference from the previous crossing is obvious: the souther we get, the narrower are the Andes thus the shorter the crossing.

West of the mountains (and bck into Chile), do not fly all the way to the ocean. Instead, look to the south for a large city, which is Santiago, visible from the distance. While locating the city is easy, finding the destination airport is a more delicate matter as there area many of them within the city.

When approaching from the north, the first one in sight is the Arturo Benitez International airport (SCEL). The second airport to appear in sight, south of SCEL (and slightly to the east), is our destination Los Cerillos. The airport can be recognized to its main taxiway at a (non-square) angle to the runway. The suggested approach is to fly a downwind leg southwest while losing what is left as extra altitude, then turn around before reaching the high rocky terrain between the city and the ocean for the finals leg to the northeast.

EHM-2097 Andrei:
The (partial) finish line at Ushuaia seems closer and closer. To further accelerate things, there is a full bunch of legs that can be flown with jets (I used the A318) and almost in straight lines. This leg leads south along Chile (no mountain crossings - for once).

After departure, climb to FL270 and fly south. As soon as we get some altitude, the terrain features around become clear: the Andes of course to the east, while the ocean is barely visible to the west. Between the two there is a range of hills. Most of this leg is to be flown above the flat area between these hills and the mountains.

The first town that appears (after leaving Santiago and its suburbs) is Rancagua, with a lake south of it and the local airport de la Independencia (SCRG). Then there are several towns along the route with no airports and thus more difficult to identify.

Next is the town of Talca, which is located just west of a large lake (Colbun), and has an airport (SCTL). South of this point there are no more hills, and the area between the ocean and the mountains is too wide to navigate without landmarks, so fly to the coast and then south along the coast.

The destination is located next to a bay formed by a long, narrow and curved peninsula. The city of conception is located in the very spot where a large river flows into the ocean. Start descending with the city in sight and fly towards this. In fact, while flying over the city the El Carriel airport appears in sight too.

To loose extra altitude, the best is to fly over the airport and then do a procedure turn or half a pattern for a finals leg to the north. In this case ILS is available too.

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