Nearly six years ago (I can't believe it has been that long!) I successfully made the first return trip to Trieneou AA-A h2, which is still to my knowledge the system furthest from the galactic plane which can be visited and returned from by starship (further out systems can be reached, but you'll need a fleet carrier to rescue you). Now better known as The Great Escape, the system takes its name from the extreme difficulty associated with the voyage, which required unprecedented levels of planning and precision flying to pull off. The original thread with all the details is here; I also made a video of the story:
I made the flight in my Anaconda Endurance, which could jump 84.36LY fully optimised; this was the best possible range at the time, and was only just sufficient; I needed a 'pre-fuel' from a wingman as I jumped away in order to have enough fuel for the round-trip, and I escaped AA-A h2 with just 400kg fuel remaining, needing further refuelling to reach safety. But the march of progress is relentless. The double-engineered 6A v1 FSD courtesy of the Colonia Bridge initiative made the solo round-trip possible; careful fuelling was still required, albeit without the original razor-thin margins. Now, with double-engineered SCO v1 FSDs, I decided to revisit the system myself.
For this I rigged my new Mandalay for maximum range; stopping off in Colonia to apply Etienne Dorn's G5 lightweight life support blueprint, the Quest can push 99.38LY. Fuelling was no concern; following my original route, I topped off my tanks and headed down on a relaxed flight - a far cry from my first visit, when I had only 27 minutes before return was impossible and a 350kLs flight to the neutron star that could send me home. On my way I recreated some of the pictures of the historic flight:
By way of illustrating just how much more range our ships have now, I realised only after making it that the Quest did the jump back from AA-A h2 with its Guardian FSD booster switched off (I deactivated it to save fuel, out of habit more than necessity).
I made the flight in my Anaconda Endurance, which could jump 84.36LY fully optimised; this was the best possible range at the time, and was only just sufficient; I needed a 'pre-fuel' from a wingman as I jumped away in order to have enough fuel for the round-trip, and I escaped AA-A h2 with just 400kg fuel remaining, needing further refuelling to reach safety. But the march of progress is relentless. The double-engineered 6A v1 FSD courtesy of the Colonia Bridge initiative made the solo round-trip possible; careful fuelling was still required, albeit without the original razor-thin margins. Now, with double-engineered SCO v1 FSDs, I decided to revisit the system myself.
For this I rigged my new Mandalay for maximum range; stopping off in Colonia to apply Etienne Dorn's G5 lightweight life support blueprint, the Quest can push 99.38LY. Fuelling was no concern; following my original route, I topped off my tanks and headed down on a relaxed flight - a far cry from my first visit, when I had only 27 minutes before return was impossible and a 350kLs flight to the neutron star that could send me home. On my way I recreated some of the pictures of the historic flight:
Racing to the neutron star
Supercharged at AA-A h2 C
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Ready to engage for the homeward journey
By way of illustrating just how much more range our ships have now, I realised only after making it that the Quest did the jump back from AA-A h2 with its Guardian FSD booster switched off (I deactivated it to save fuel, out of habit more than necessity).
The Quest approaches AA-A h2 C - still the smallest jets I have ever seen on a neutron star
