My First RTW : Leg 8

Although it is lunchtime I really don't feel like eating much at this altitude so I stagger over to the beautifully painted Lan Chile A320 and fire up the engines. Visibility from this cockpit is not what I'd like, I keep having to play with the seat height. I know I have some better airbus panels somewhere, if I could just find it ... Well, back out to the end of the runway it looks like I'm ready to head off to Quito, Ecuador next.

Brakes on I advance the throttles until the little A320 is quivering, ready to go. Brakes off and ... and ... finally, here we go. Even with this newer little plane acceleration from 13,300 feet is anemic to say the least. Rolling, rolling, rolling. I have eaten up half of the runway only to be passing 80 knots. Are the spoilers up? "No my friend, that's what happens here". Do I need to RTO? I can see the dirt coming up fast, I pull back, back, waaaay back ... Umph. I try my best to keep the rate of climb at only about 300 fpm and pull up them gear quickly too - don't want to trim the trees with your mains hanging out there!

Finally I am up through 20,000 feet and have the aircraft cleaned up and accelerating normally. Quito is another one of those Dangerous Airports out there, which we simmers love to fly to. The approach into Quito has a couple of procedure turns and I try my best to follow just what the paper says. Besides, there are some clouds out there and it's almost easier to follow the paper. However, by the time I roll out of the last right-hand turn and look up for the airport all I can see is earth with a line of red PAPI lights on top. "Hmmm, not good."

I go missed, shoving the throttles in and pulling up the gear. "Uuuh, ladies and gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. Do not worry about the fact that the ground seems a bit close out there...this is actually a "standard" approach for me into this airport, done it at least five-thousand times before so sit back and enjoy another trip around the basin." (I hope they bought that.) This A320 handles very nicely - dare I say better than the 737? Certainly better than a 732 that's for sure! Second time around I do better but the landing is not a work of art.