Deuce Science Flight 9

Deuce is rolled out & has been made ready for today's flight. Maritime Service however says stormy weather is currently moving along our flight path over the Kerblantic so we will stand by to see how that develops

we have reports of better conditions along the flight path now and are proceeding with the mission. Flight Officers Tedman & Aldeny were already suited up on standby and are now heading off to Flight Control for their briefing

today's flight out to bit.ly/Area Z3N4 will be another record-breaker for sure and also will be the first aircraft to cross the Prime Meridian - yep, to date all aircraft missions have taken place in the western hemisphere of the planet

flight crew have completed preflight & the aircraft is taxiing out to Rwy27 for departure. It once again carries a full load of fuel and they could make it back to KSC from the Badlands if they need to. It will be daylight by the time they arrive over the target

after a good departure, Tedman in the left seat having command of the aircraft has come about to begin the long water crossing while climbing to initial cruise altitude of 3km ASL. After that the aircraft will gradually rise higher as it burns off fuel

in the right seat, running navigation and comms, Aldeny has signed off with us here at KSC as they near the horizon. If flight goes as planned, either Sheltered Rock or Ockr will pick them up coming back unless they need to turn about due to weather and return to KSC

given their last known course & speed, Ted & Aldy should be at or near the mission target. Ted will have to slow the aircraft down <100m/s then collect air samples from near ground level to as high as hopefully 6km AGL while Aldy monitors the various science instruments

once their overflight is complete, they will head to OKG, with SRG planned as alternate. The shorter trip to either one rather than returning all the way to KSC will help ensure fatigue doesn't become an issue. They will also switch roles

a few mins ago Ted hailed Ockr to report they were successful in their mission. Saw some lightning to the north during the Kerblantic crossing but hit no adverse weather in front of them. Great to hear! They are 140km out and have been given vectors to land on Rwy09

entering the traffic pattern to land, Aldy is not ashamed to say he's glad it's still light out because he hasn't flown this approach in a while outside of the sim and staying clear of the terrain is tricky. Ted can always back him up of course

a solid approach and landing by Aldeny, the aircraft is taxiing to the parking stand. Aldy will put them both up with his family at Ockr and they will return to KSC tomorrow. Here is a photo of sunrise earlier in the flight just as they began to see high terrain - great timing!

we just got this photo from the flight crew up at Ockr as they prep for departure shortly to return back to KSC. There was some consideration to heading northwards over the polar regions but the Deuce is actually overdue for servicing and needs to get home

after contacting Sheltered Rock Aldy was advised of severe weather in their path and has directed Tedman to fly north of the mountains. If the weather remains a problem heading back south they can divert around further west and even head to Kravass (KGA) if needed

Ted has the aircraft back on course heading direct for KSC and Aldy just signed off as they lose sight of Sheltered Rock's aerial. Cruising at 6.5km, we'll pick them up direct from KSC in about 30 minutes

hailed by Aldeny, Flight has confirmed they are ready for descent and have given them permission to approach and land on Rwy27. While we await their arrival, here's another photo from yesterday as they flew over the Badlands, a very dry & rocky place compared to the Grasslands

Deuce is taxiing back to the HAB after touching down w/o issue. It has logged 29 flight hours since 4/23/18 over a distance of 13,664km & is now being taken out of service for a full inspection - which is just fine considering focus will be on Dhumla testing for the near future

bit.ly/KSARecords has also been updated for Longest Mission Distance, Longest Single Flight Distance, Longest Continuous Flight Time, Longest Distance from KSC and Heaviest Aircraft Flown. Only Jeb & Val's altitude, speed, & Gs records are still intact