Aviation Question, hoping there are some oversea-experienced pilots here...

Enquiring Mind | 11/30/2001 | MississippiMan

[MississippiMan]

This is a vanity post. I'm still working on my novel and once again my research needs have led me back here to FR, where I am most often able to get my questions answered. I've posted this question in aviation forums but have gotten no replies so I thought I'd give it a shot here. I'm a private pilot myself, but not active and even when I was active it was usually in a Cessna 172 flying within a few hundred miles of home. One of the characters in my novel, however, is fortunate enough to own a private Gulfstream GV-SP corporate jet. At the moment (literarily speaking), this guy has his corporate pilot whisking him from Omaha, Nebraska to Moscow, Russia. I do my best to maintain an air of authenticity in my writing and since I know nothing about the logistics of such a flight, I'm hoping to find a pilot or pilots here who can fill me in with some details. What would be the likely route a pilot would take from Omaha to Moscow? Time of year is August. The GV-SP has a range of 6750 nautical miles @ .80 mach. Is the above route within that distance; i.e. can the flight be safely made without a refueling stop? Could one pilot realistically make the whole flight or would a co-pilot be required? Are there any other little nuances, things to look for, peculiarites or odd requirements, for that flight that I should know about? Anything at all that comes to mind would be great. Thanks much for your help. I realize it would be simple enough to download a trial version of some decent flight planning software and get the vanilla answers to the hard-fact questions, but if there are pilots here who could help me out with the nuances for the sake of authenticity I sure would be grateful. Thanks... MM

[B4Ranch]

What are the numbers that go to the Cessna with a front and rear engine?

[Squantos]

0-2 ? .......336 /337 I believe.....great AC but very old when found. I'd love to have one though.....

Stay Safe !

[Aeronaut]

C-337

[OwenKellogg]

Free Flight Planning

[PRND21]

Funny looking contraption? Weird shape, kinda futuristic looking?

I am checking Cultural Jihad's GREAT sources from post 53, I'll let you know if I find it.

[B4Ranch]

Is this what you saw?

[B4Ranch]

Here is some more pics of 337's
http://www.skymaster.org.uk/photos/n15sa.jpg
N15SA (Spectrum SA-550) A conversion from a FTB337 with only a rear engine and lengthened nose and fuselage.

http://www.skymaster.org.uk/photos/ccppk.jpg

http://www.skymaster.org.uk/cards.asp

[PRND21]

That is it! It was a prop!
Cool, Thanks.

Did you see CJ's links on #53? I was close in a brief search, but was searching jets.
Thanks again.

[MississippiMan]

Thanks to all who have responded to this question. I'm more grateful than you know for all the responses here on the board as well as via Freepmail. I'm soaking up all you say so feel free to belt out the stories and thoughts.

I can't stand to read a book that makes it obvious the author made up material out of thin air over and over again. Even fiction should have an authentic ring to it and that's what I'm striving for here.

It also bears repeating that FR and all you fine folks are an incredible resource for me as a writer. I have yet to pose any question here, no matter how off the wall it may be, without drawing a breadth of great information in return. I've posed this same question on writer forums as well as aviation forums, and the reponses there (when there were responses at all) paled in comparison to the quality that surfaces here. My hat's off to you all.

MM