Flying over Iran will be tricky from now on. There are vast arid regions combining flat desert and isolated mountains. Visual navigation is hard, due to the lack of clear references. Instrumental navigation is also hard, due to the lack of long range VOR stations. So I decided to do a few long legs, flying high to spot chains of mountains, rivers and dry lakes easier, being able to orient myself better than at a ground level.
This first long leg was from the stunning road strip at Shahabad to Yazd, about 430 nm away, a city with unique Persian architecture that has been declared a Heritage Site by UNESCO. I decide to fly at FL195, the limit for VFR, and I file a Z-VFR plan to arrive on IFR, since I cannot find VFR charts and the airport seems to be busy. The takeoff was intense, with cars waiting for the road to be open again.
The landscape from so high is amazing, full of textures and shapes.
As I approached Yazd, the sunset was more evident. I didn't calculate well the time of the day, I forgot that I'm flying more into the East, so I'll have to takeoff sooner from now on.
Luckily I was entering on IFR mode by that time, because the night became pitch black and I didn't see any light till near Yazd. Despite the night, a very beautiful approach and landing, with the moon rising on the horizon.
Two remarks. The first one is that I used for the first time the analog RNAV computer on board to create artificial fixes, and it worked really well. I like a lot this piece of equipment. The second, I got a CHT alert on short final for the left engine. Cowl flaps were closed, as usual, but the CHT was on the red for both engines. With more than 30 degrees outside, I'll have to tweak a bit my procedures these days.
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KHORRAMABAD SHAHREKORD BORUJEN IFR TOVTA TOVTA1N
OICC 041330Z 29016KT 9999 FEW045 33/M04 Q1015 A3000
OIYY 041530Z 36006KT 9999 SCT040 SCT200 35/03 Q1012
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