View Full Version : BOTA
The Boss
09-07-2004, 08:05
Hey guys, it's been brought to my attention that some of us are needing to get to Africa for the start of BOTA. I figure we have a choice -- we can fly ourselves there each in our own planes, all of us fly there together (each of us flying a different leg), or just rely upon Air Elbonia to get us there in time.
What do you say? Shall we stea... er, borrow a big plane from someone and all of us go together? I might even be able to conjure up the near-mythical PGA C-130 for the trip.
Otherwise, if you decide to make the flight yourself, go ahead and post the PIREPs in the "Long Hauls" forum, just so we're all on the same page. I was going to suggest the "Adventures" forum, but it seems to be full of grues at the moment.
:charge:
Captain Geoff
09-08-2004, 11:02
Ahem, if I may be so bold. In reading the prequel, and Ray's response to me, I'd suggest we fly to Italy, since he's in italian casinos and the race begins in europe.
You are going to need something big to fly across the pond. My Baron made it, but just barely and then it took me weeks to get there, flying all the way to iceland, greenland, and england.
Knowing Ray there's two possibilities - the Swiss Alps or Rome. I'm going for Rome, so he can be religious, of course.
See you there.
Captain Geoff
09-12-2004, 09:27
One week to go, brave BOTA pilots. Make sure you have downloaded the textures you'll need. See the BOTA site for the files - 4 in all as I recall.
Looks like there are a couple of loudmouthed airlines/pilots this year. Once again, they ignore PGA at their peril. We will slip under their radar and whack them viciously over the head with The Boss' Priming Crank Handle.
And if we end up in the middle of the pack I'll be ecstatic. After all, the fun is really completing each stage. Have fun mates!
The Boss
09-13-2004, 01:49
Thanks for the clarification, Geoff -- someone's gotta pay attention to this stuff!
Mr Boss and I will be setting out shortly. I'm using a borrowed internet connection at the office where I used to work, and am told it'll be Thursday (at least) before I have one at home again. In the meantime, Mr Boss and I can fly to Rome.
Looking forward to this... it is fun completing the stages. I just hope Goo lets me do better than last time... :-D
I'd like to put in for a ride over the Big Drink. Was going to fly myself in the Seneca, but problems have arisen with this particular a/c. To be fair, it lies with the manufacturer...and I don't mean Piper... So could someone give me a lift?...
Captain Geoff
09-13-2004, 05:25
Where Are you?
I'm currently enroute St John Newfoundland. I'll refuel there and then be on my way to Shannon, Ireland probably about 1830Z.
Not sure where the others are. If you have to I suppose you could go commercial. I'll be staying overnight in Shannon so if you can get there by tomorrow I'll be glad to take you along.
In real life? Let's just say that with about an hours' notice, you could have picked me up if you'd landed at KLNK for fuel...:-D
Hmm...I don't see anything that'll get to Shannon before 7 AM on the 15th. Thanks for the offer, though.
The Boss
09-14-2004, 08:57
In real life? Let's just say that with about an hours' notice, you could have picked me up if you'd landed at KLNK for fuel...:-D
Hmm...I don't see anything that'll get to Shannon before 7 AM on the 15th. Thanks for the offer, though.
The Elbonians are warming up a... erhm... "launch element" if all else fails. ;-)
Mr Boss and I could probably give you a ride. I have to ask him what we're flying, but knowing him it will be heavy on luxuries and make me roll my eyes a lot. ;-)
Mr Boss and I could probably give you a ride. I have to ask him what we're flying, but knowing him it will be heavy on luxuries and make me roll my eyes a lot. ;-)
...actually, I miss flights like that. I'd appreciate the lift. Virtually speaking, as of the last Long Hauls entry I was fast asleep on the couch in the KBFI lounge. You may still find me there... :sleep:
By the by, Geoff, did we as participants receive the pilotcodes that BOTA requires to install the software? I don't recall seeing anything like that. Sorry if I've missed something here...
Captain Geoff
09-15-2004, 05:43
No, the codes AFAIK have not been sent. However these are the codes listed online for us.
PG015 Geoffrey McLean PG026 Philippe Damerval
PG037 Shawn Damerval PG048 Rick Smith
PG050 Darby Wilcox PG061 Luke X Com
BTW did you all see the rules changes this year? Yikes! You cannot miss more than two stages before you are dropped, and teams below six entries for each leg suffer - what was it - 30 minute penalty plus the slowest time submitted. So I hope you all can do this for the team. If not, so be it. We're so tiny compared to most of the VAs some are fielding 60+ pilots. At least we still will have individual scores.
Good luck! I'm on my final leg from Charles De Gaulle to Capodichino should be there in an hour. I'm going to practice the helo some more to see if I can get the hang of it better.
Prelim stage is out now, folks:
http://bota.airpacifica.org/race/stages/0_briefing.htm
How do we want to do this? Team captain; what say you?...
Captain Geoff
09-20-2004, 08:43
Just fly fast and low.
Some tips from my first try....
I *think* the babes are the banners so when you see one go low <200 feet and fly directly over it.
Pay attention to the altitudes and freqs as they are presented scrolling across the screen - I got penalized because the briefing said the cuise altitude was 2000 & visually BOTA ordered me to 6000 - but I didn't see the announcement.
The red & white poles help to guide you on the ground. So turn right when you leave the hanger at the start & you'll see them. Listen for dings along the way toward takeoff - they're recording your progress.
I dunno other than that. I flew it manually as the autopilot was too slow for the tight turns during the first flight stage. Good luck! I should be able to cut about 13 minutes off my time without any problem (penalties for altitude & too fast when taxiing to the hanger). The rest is just tweaking it.
I downloaded all the stuff to have a go at this to see what it was all about, I failed to get even the taxi part right, it said I missed number 6,7,8 taxi points, but I went all over the bloody place, I mean if you are sent to runway 6 you would think it would be fairly logical process, but those markers went right down the runway??
And then once I got to the threshold I waited and waited with comm 1 set to 133.32 but not a dickie bird so I took off anyway, thinking it would just penalize me and get on with it, but nothing from then on apart from more penalties.
I must be thick I think, it never made any sense to me at all.
Cherry Pneumatic
09-20-2004, 11:22
Matrix games with rules...I go pale at the thought of it. At least I'm not going stale at the thought of it.
Captain Geoff
09-21-2004, 01:05
When you go down the runway (24) the red&white lights send you up the first taxiway to the left - then right, right again, left, right, right and straight onto the runway 06 - BEFORE the numbers.
Make sure you line up centerlined facing 057 and stop BEFORE the numbers. Make sure you have the IFF code entered and the departure freq dialed up. Bota will clear you for take off to 2000 ft runway heading. I forgot the IFF code once dummy me and I got hit with too fast a taxi. After that I deliberately crashed the plane to start over.
Another hint: set up your radios,VOR, heading & altitude for autpilot before you dial up 118.00. Bota doesn't start timing you until the freq is entered.
Cheers Geoff I will have another crack at it tonight.
The Boss
09-21-2004, 03:08
We're on it here too, Geoff. Making my first run at it tonight after the Goo-unit is in bed, and Mr Boss probably will do the same after his rehearsal is over.
Captain Geoff
09-21-2004, 05:48
I am still not sure where the babes are. I thought they were at the banners, but perhaps not. I flew over everyone of those banners at less than 200 feet and still managed to get 2 not perfect scores. (2 points instead of five).
It *appears* that climbing out after the babes part you can do 2000fpm maybe less - it looks like we have 5 minutes to climb to 6000 so maybe as low as 1200fpm. I would recommend (and I'm going to try next time) 150 until you hit the 137 radial from SOR, then the 137 until approach tells you to turn.
I tried going well out to sea and turning inbound 098 at LICA, but at about 11 miles ATC told me to fly 278 - reciprocal. That pretty well did me in. Better to take a 90 degree turn closer in than a 180 just to have to turn around and come back. Sheesh. I think they've got a bug there.
Anyways, with the fixing of of these minor "bugs" if all goes well, the next flight may be my last. My best score to date is 25:52. I expect I can make it maybe to 20 minutes with a *lot* of luck. Gotta get all those babes though. Of course, that means someone will probably get 10 minutes. But like last year I just don't see how.
Good luck everyone!
I'm in trouble already. My King Air won't roll, not even at full screaming revs, not even a wobble, I'm still in the hangar, working on it :smash: ....yes the brake is released.
Captain Geoff
09-21-2004, 10:58
Dunno if this will help - but I've noticed that my flight yoke buttons are no longer matched with what they were - ie autopilot which I have used in the past as a button instead brings up the aircraft info button. The gear down button does something else - make sure you hit the B button on the keyboard - not your joystick/yoke buttons.
Let us know if that helps!
Same here; the BOTA program must'a changed it, huh? Wow. Way different flying here than what I'm used to in the King Air, Geoff. Any other tips?..
Captain Geoff
09-22-2004, 05:16
well, I just posted a 24:09 time. Still getting hammered for the first "babes" one. I'm beginning to think that perhaps the first one is either *before* or at the cathedral. I *know* I overflew every one of those banners at less than 120 feet. Since it is the first babes I'm screwing up it has to be before the first banner. I still think 20 minutes is doable - tough - but doable.
I see some smarty pants is already claiming sub 15 minutes. Anyone tried to turn off the landing runway at the *first* taxiway yet? I wonder if that could save time? Might be worth a try if my score doesn't improve much (Ie - I still miss full score on the first babes).
Good luck!
Already heard it doesn't pay to turn off the first runway...will try again tonight...
Got it!
Did not set up the plane right before taxiing. Ctrl+F4 did the trick (found that on BOtA's technical forum).
Anyway I should have waited for the revs to wind down before feathering the props as I shot out of the hangar narrowly missing a billboard sign and got penalised 10 minutes already..Sheeeesh!...abort! abort!.
Will have a serious 1st attempt after work tonite.
:charge:
Captain Geoff
09-23-2004, 11:12
Oh, yeah. And boy does that plane skid. Here's what I've figured out. They've tighted the cheating part so much I'm not sure how scrape more time off. I've gotta find where the first babes are. Next figure out which banners can be skipped - but who the heck has time for that? I mean I only get one flight a day or so for a total of maybe five attempts per week.
Some of the hard core guys fly eight hours a day all week. So they figure out all the nuances. Which is why I hope we can all work together to figure out how to get the best possbile scores. I still think 20 minutes is doable - the question is can I get there? All I need is one "perfect" run.
Mmm, I don't let the rpms slow - on my YOKE I simply move the prop and thrust slightly and return to zero & let off the brakes, using the right brake to help turn/slow. I keep the speed at just about 40 knots while taxiing, sliding around the curves. I've found that BOTA does not care if you are centerlined or not - and also you can go straight from the second last to the last guide post before the runway for takeoff - saves a few seconds - just don't hit one - they do cause a crash.
Good Luck!
Cherry Pneumatic
09-23-2004, 07:23
I'm proud that PGA is represented by such a hot team of go-getters! You guys and gal ROCK!
Captain Geoff
09-23-2004, 11:03
Where are the babes?
I took an exploration flight today - namely I paused the sim at each and every flag. This is what I discovered:
#1 pink - We Love Ray (WLR)
#2 pink Green/Yellow "Bota Pilots turn us on"
# 3 green Barbie & Tanya send kisses
#4 pink
#5 pink
#6 purple "Stop here for some fun"
#7 purple
#8 pink
#9 Green/Yellow
#10 Pink Green
#11 Pink
#12 Pink (I think - I forgot what was what at this point)
#13 Triple - 2 pink & Green/Yellow.
Logically the pink ones would be the babes - BUT I still have yet to get full credit for the first one which means I'm too high for the first "babes". Now I've been over that first banner at 100 feet so I know I'm not too high. So maybe it's not the banner - at least for the first one. I'm going to try flying 270 instead of directly to the cathedral and turn toward the cathedral well north of it and descend down to 100 feet well before I get to the cathedral.
Urrgggg!!!! this is frustrating! But doesn't surprise me since Ray is pretty devious.
Captain Geoff
09-24-2004, 03:54
Well, I tried it and it made it easier to fly over the first banner, but I still didn't get max points. So, the babes are not there. they must be something else. but what?????
Had a bit of problem on my end, folks...namely fire. Power supply decided to roach itself and and did a number on the case as well. :fire: Will try to get back in the BOTA saddle ASAP and sorry it's taken me so long to get word out (Thursday pm) Will try to check in on the sorry public facilities the remote Midwest offers...
Had a bit of problem on my end, folks...namely fire. Power supply decided to roach itself and and did a number on the case as well. :fire: Will try to get back in the BOTA saddle ASAP and sorry it's taken me so long to get word out (Thursday pm) Will try to check in on the sorry public facilities the remote Midwest offers...
EEK!! Hurriedly turn up the cooling fan on my own PSU.
Hope you manage to get sorted in time m8.
I havent submitted any of my two attempts so far. But now that I have a fair idea of the course and reading all the tips here, tomorrows the big day! It'll be my last real chance before 3rd October.
Cheers and up up and away.
Captain Geoff
09-27-2004, 11:00
Good Luck Darby - I haven't completed a run since last week. I keep stressing the plane making those sharp turns. As far as I know I still haven't been able to get the fist babes < 200 - even though I fly over the flags < 200.
I am wondering if the altitude reading is taken when the falgs are first "seen".
Again Good luck!
Captain Geoff
09-29-2004, 10:34
Ah HA! Victory!! The first checkpoint *IS* the cathedral. When the bell tolls it takes your altitude. I believe the song is one; and the "proceed " to final destination is the last.
I flew my last run on AUTOPILOT the whole time (after the initial descent). I've temporarily lost my flag chart, but I'm beginning to suspect that maybe it's only the double flags that count.
I scored a 20:11 final, which I can probably cut some time off - maybe a minute. I placed 75th overall as I recall with a 24:09 score so I'm probably in the top 50 - maybe. Still I am sure I can get it to 19 minutes if I have the time for another run.....
Good luck all!
The Boss
09-30-2004, 02:17
Yay Geoff!
Mr Boss and I are still working on it... haven't had the chance to finish a run yet. :-(
We'll get there...
Greetings from Purgatory; for what it's worth, I'm back and trying to get things up and running. Will try flying tomorrow. Good to see you making some headway, Geoff. Wish I was more help to the cause. Keep it up, Captain...
I got a successful run completed but my time was atrocious. The flight breifing states 'fly to the cathedral then decend to 200 and follow the coastline etc etc.' I think really you need to be low over the cathedral to get down for the first banner. Are the 7 babes the pink ones?????. In my practice I got 20 bonus minutes but for my real flight I only got 14.
I'm going to have to go it again somehow before Sunday as I lost 10 bonus minutes at the other end for incorrect taxi and missed 3 taxi points.
BUGGER!!!!!
"To the bat mobile!!"
I'm improving. 20 bonus points for my low level babes flyover. No penalties and I passed all the taxi points. I will have another go and try to get more bonus points for the low level stretch. As far as my time goes I will have to work at it. Taxi faster (up to 40+ I beleive is ok) but also have to stay in control of the plane. If I stay up late after work tonite I can get another trial run in and then will have time for another run on Saturday. After that I will submit my best effort. I can't see me getting it down to 20 minutes though.
or can I?
Captain Geoff
10-04-2004, 01:26
I'm not sure, but I think the babes are located at the dual flag spots. The cathedral, music, and I believe the resume course to final destination aka climb to 6000 feet are THREE of the spots - ie you must be below 200 feet when the gong, music, and your score is printed on screen. I am going to try one more run monday morning.
Been out this weekend to Toronto, Canada. We went to see a taping of The Red Green show. Great laughs - and I was selected to be in the finale as one of the Lodge members - hahaha you might see my back!!!
Anyways, we had dinner at the CN Tower which has a revolving restaurant. Got to see a couple of C-172s doing T&Gs in the evening light from our altitude of some 1150 feet. Interesting to watch the planes from above - they seemed awfully low! The restaurant turns 360 degrees in 72 minutes. If you ever get a chance I *Highly* recommend it. Fabulous food and since the trip up is $19 and the el cheapo dinner is $36 (which include the trip up) it is well worth going for dinner - plus you get express service up - leaving all the poor wanna look only schmucks far behind. Absolutely awsome! The view of the Lake Ontario, Toronto, the ships moving in and out of port, and naturally the planes at the waterfront (and at the international airport too) were icing on the cake. And my was the cake delicious. For three of us (my daughter included) with wine, it was about $250 with tip. Canadian dollars. Not cheap - but considering $49 just for the the ride up and the fact I went with the more expensive dinner and a $39 bottle of wine, well, it was just well worth it. Service was impeccable too. If you get there do try it.
Ok, now I gotta try one more BOTA flight. Cheers!
Captain Geoff
10-04-2004, 05:00
My oh my, but time has gone by. Looks like 20:11 will be my final. Darn! I *still* haven't figured out which are the right babes. Oh well, there is only so much time one can put into something like this. Still it was fun. Next week it starts in earnest. For now, Im going to get some work done.
Cheers everyone.
My time was not good. Since I don't know how to spell abysmal, let's just say now I know what to expect. Sure not used to the King Air, that's for sure; can we expect to fly other a/c or am I doomed to this one?...:lightning
I understand there will be different planes to fly including a chopper at some stage. I finished at the meeting place with 23 bonus points and no penalties but a long way short of 20 minutes I will have a peek at the arrivals list and see if I feature
Ta Daaaaaaaa!
Captain Geoff
10-05-2004, 11:18
Mmmm hey Rick - I replied, but guess I must have forgotten to hit submit. <sigh> Anyway, yeah, last year we flew a jet floatplane, a 747 with space shuttle, space shuttle, C-130 Herc, and an ultrlight.
But it's not just the planes - expect short runways with obstacles, engines that blow up, impossible altitudes to climb to. In other words anything that can ruin your day. This one was easy. And of course there's the puzzles trying to figure out what you are really supposed to do.
So I'm hoping if we pool our resources together, we can figure out what to do to get the best possible times. None of us has the amount of time to devote to BOTA that the top contenders do (some of them fly a mission a hundred times) so if we help one another we should be able to be in the middle of the pack. Just make sure you are having fun - as that's what counts!
Good enough; let's wait for the next stage to come online and then meet back here for a drink, then?...
:beerchug:
Captain Geoff
10-05-2004, 05:37
Well I've been reading the forum over at BOTA and it seems that some fellows managed to cheat, switching aircraft and dumping fuel. I tried to switch aircraft, but couldn't - I guess it was a keystroke method. Anyways, there's a hullabaloo over that, and apparently there wasn't any "method" to the babes - the only way to figure it out was to fly 4 deliberate missions to find the correct ones - something I had not the time to do. (just think - 4 hours of time just to find the "secret").
It also appears, as I correctly surmised that there was a lot of bellowing about 5 minutes times etc... the usual fare of the guys who don't seem to do so well, but want us to believe they are. with my time of 20:11, and subsequent attempts to find the correct flags I feel that it would be reasonable to command a time of 18 minutes. You might squeak another minute or two out, but I don't see how. so given my belief that 18 was doable, I'm willing to bet that the winning time will be 9 minutes - giving a total flight time of 44minutes (35 bonus + 9 actual). I don't think you can fly that fast even in a straight line. Ok, I did the math...
take off 3 minutes to get into position
landing 1 minute to taxi back
leaving 40 minutes - 225 MPH from take off to turn off the runway at LICA.
That includes the minute to get up to 2000 feet, then turn around and fly back which really leaves only 38 minutes which raises the speed to 235 MPH straight line. It also assumes someone figured out the exact spot (if there is one) in which LICA tower will allow you straight in and not make you take the oubound leg - even for a minute. because that minute will bring you up two minutes total dropping time to 36 minutes available and the subsequent speed of 248 MPH - again straight line. Since I don't think I ever even topped out at that speed on the straight away at 6000 I doubt that 9 minutes is possible. Then again, :whoa: last year I saw my times consistenly halved by the top contenders. Oh, and my time of 18 minutes yields a 198 MPH straight line flight - taking 2 minutes out for the climb & turn & 2 minutes out for the alignment to final at LICA.
I know I know, I drive myself crazy trying to come up with how someone could do it. Well let's see what the official times are and go with that. A week off from flying! wow, I need my fix. :whack:
The Boss
10-06-2004, 09:22
I'm afraid I haven't had a single successful flight yet. I've had my system lock up twice, and four mission aborts due to demands of children.
:banghead:
I'm not going to give up, though, because I understand under the new rules we can only miss two legs to stay in the running as a VA team. Now that my big show is over, I should have a little more time to dedicate to such matters. :nod:
But I can't see how some of those times are achieved, either. It just doesn't seem possible, but I suppose if you're a kid with nothing to do but sim all day long... well, maybe. Then again, my job is to be cynical and suspicious, so I'll admit that I am. :-) Unfortunately, too many people take more pride in cheating the system than in earning something honestly.
Apart from trying to figure out how to beat the clock without running outside the rules the prelim flight was fun. I would'nt mind finding a volunteer co-pilot to listen to/read ATC instructions, twiddle the radio, set altitudes etc and leave me to concentrate on whats outside the window. I'm sure I could gain a bit of time there. Anyways, see how we go on the next leg.
Personally, for me the Beech King Air has always been the most difficult plane for me to handle with flightsim. My taxiing is all over the place and I cant hold an altitude during turns. This is the first time I have used this plane in a couple of years.
Captain Geoff
10-08-2004, 04:42
Autopilot (for altitude) is a wonderful thing. Just be careful when applying aelerons and rudder as the plane tends to raise and lower more than 100 feet if not careful. The plane flies much like my beloved Baron. just that with supercharging - it takes longer to rev up and down, but it is faster.
Take the weekend off - for Monday begins the race in earnest! Cheers.
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