Microsoft Flight Sim 2020/2024

[ZachariasX]

4 hours ago, Bremspropeller said:

Isn't that pic above showing Everest's Kangshung (North) face?

No, looking from the south-west past Hilary Peak to Everest.

 

 

The red circle is Everest, the cross my approximate flight position. Everest the tall one with Nuptse to the left. I couldn't even fly past Everest peak, as the ridge south of Everest from Nuptse to Lhotse was higher than my max ceiling...

[LukeFF]

5 hours ago, Hoots said:

Just a thought but you hadn’t knocked the fuel pump into high had you?

 

Yes, I'm thinking that might've been the issue. I was clicking lots of things in that part of the cockpit when this happened, so that might well be the cause. 

 

3 hours ago, JimTM said:

I don’t know about your problem in the air, but I have had your runway start problem. Try setting your RPM and mixture controls close to the maximum before spawning on the runway. Then, just as you spawn, push those controls to maximum. 
 

I enjoy your globe-hopping flights.

 

Thanks! Will remember that tip. I don't often start from the runway, but when I do it's always so annoying when that happens.

[Mtnbiker1998]

On 4/14/2023 at 5:10 PM, BOO said:

As tempted as I am, having spent best part of £250 in a month already.............:-) 

 

I did pick up the Kodiak though whilst I was hanging about (aboot) at Cartwright Airport. 

 

 

Nice fella came up to me "Im C. Sis" - bit formal I thought but thats probably a Canadian manners thing. Anyhow Mr Sis explained it was a bit of a fixer upper but that the Cartel who owned had had some bad luck recently so it was going for a song. I said I was in an acraft cartel myself once but got sick of finding sucked boiled sweetss in the ashtray and sandwich wrappers stuck down the side of seats.......anyhow it was 50% off list so.......

 

Had a fun day working out some control logic to suit the Warthog throttle.

Hows the Kodiak treating you? I've been eyeing it with the sale but I'm not sure how much I'd actually end up flying it. Seems the closest plane to it I have is the default Cessna 208, which as it is I don't really spend much time with. 

 

Maybe the Floats version? Its at least cheaper, but then I'd almost be tempted to go with the Twin Otter instead... Tough choices, and trying not to blow my whole paycheck on virtual planes!

[Lusekofte]

Twin Otter is a gem in my pow, Kodiak is a lot of peoples first choice for round the world trip. And it got a lot of praise.  I do not own it myself for same reasons as you. 

Because what matter is what jour flying is, and what to do. The  kodiak is described as one of the best modules in its class, almost realistic, it is a beloved airplane.

But will one use it?

[CUJO_1970]

The Twin Otter is one of the top shelf aircraft in the sim.

 

Will be interesting to see what they re-emerge with following the weird developer freeze on the aircraft.

[BOO]

4 hours ago, Mtnbiker1998 said:

Hows the Kodiak treating you? I've been eyeing it with the sale but I'm not sure how much I'd actually end up flying it. Seems the closest plane to it I have is the default Cessna 208, which as it is I don't really spend much time with. 

 

Maybe the Floats version? Its at least cheaper, but then I'd almost be tempted to go with the Twin Otter instead... Tough choices, and trying not to blow my whole paycheck on virtual planes!

 

So - Caveat - Im coming from the NX Cub so eveything is gonna feel a little heavy but I like it. ? . Its a very nice module, certainly for the money I gave for it. Manual is basic but i think thats par for course with most MSFS stuff.  FPS takes a bit of hit over the X Cubs little pit but thats to be expected  given the detail and all the extra sceens etc. You can claw some back by switching off the Standby Attitude screen and the co-pilots MFD using the CBs.  Its easy to fly once you get the hang of it not being on rails and it makes you think about approaches etc. Take off can be sketchy until you learn to judge the rudder trim for and how to use it in crosswinds. Its more "alive" than say the Beaver or An2 in that respect but unlike those doesng have a whoppin great radial to get you out of trouble. The Turboprop nature of it doesny really lend itself to sloppy, last minute decisions.

 

The devs certainly worked hard on the controls and their recommendation to ditch curves is to be taken seriously. Its very well dampered. That said, things like reverse thrust and prop feathering take some thinking about if you aint got a GA Johnny set up. Happily ts a simple enough pit to point and click easily for stuff you cant bind and doesnt take very long to become familiar with having a very logical layout.

 

Externally there are some oddities with the lighting but I dunno if thats the sim or the module - I found the strobes and Beacon a bit hit and miss in whether they worked or not but it could also be me. 

 

Whilst it ticks a lot of boxes for me, I also think its a little souless in its modern clinical build. I dont necessarily think the module is at fault here more that this is what the RL thing is. Flight model wise though it feels far from stolid and makes pulling off a nice landing a worthwhile experience. 

 

 

 

 

 

Me on my way to Greenland

 

Edited April 17, 2023 by BOO

[BOO]

All good things must come to an end.

 

“Its not you, its me. Look. Youre fun and easy to get on with but, at my age, I just want…..more”  So ended by brief relationship with the NX Cub. It’s a brilliant aircraft and its great for backwoods adventures. But this isn’t a backwoods adventure no matter how often I pop down low and slow (not very often given the undertaking).

 

The limitations of the G3X means lots of staring out of the window, Time I could be spending swearing at a more capable glass screen system that I don’t understand. Then there’s the range. Im about to cross a lot of wet stuff and, with a headwind, that 695Nm range doesn’t look so great given the potential for having to power up to performance cruise to even go forward in some of the winds ive seen.

 

So, after leaving the Cub in the care of some oddly unfriendly locals we’re stepping up to the Kodiak. 

 

 

 

 

Day 9 Cartwright, Newfoundland – Narsaruaq, Greenland.  591Nm, Realtime, Real Weather.

 

 

After a little time with the keybinds, a little practice, we’re off across t’ocean (Labrador Sea to be exact) to) Greenland in our second hand, gaffer taped and duluxed Kodiak.

 

 

The journey is flown RT and with real weather and we cimb out over the the Newfoundland Coast in broken cloud, enjoying the view from altitude.

 

 

Soon its pretty much 10/10 cloud cover and there isn’t a lot to see but the clouds. And they are are a sight to see. Oddly, not boring at all.  I use the time to watch tutorials on using the various navigation aids on the G1000 and set up an RNAV approach. Im glad of the power, speed and fuel capacity of the Kodiak. This isn’t a fraught journey.

 

 

Under clearing late evening skies we approach Greenland just as the game crashes. I know my position as Id just been looking at it so, undaunted I reboot but the game doesn’t appear to like partial routes and the whole RNAV thing is messed up. I make a new route, flying from an airfield up the coast from and this time, RNAV behaves as advertised.   In the darkness I take time to appreciate what I have. More screens than my local Cinema.

 

 

Finally at  Narsaruaq, and after an uneventful landing, I am once again greeted by the same groundcrew as Ive been greeted by since the start and a long leg is over.

 

Edited April 17, 2023 by BOO

[BOO]

9 hours ago, CUJO_1970 said:

The Twin Otter is one of the top shelf aircraft in the sim.

 

Will be interesting to see what they re-emerge with following the weird developer freeze on the aircraft.

 

"We will fix issues if its easy enough" to paraphrase Mr Kok. Not exactly confidence inspiring. 

[Gingerwelsh]

15 hours ago, Lusekofte said:

Twin Otter is a gem in my pow, Kodiak is a lot of peoples first choice for round the world trip. And it got a lot of praise.  I do not own it myself for same reasons as you. 

Because what matter is what jour flying is, and what to do. The  kodiak is described as one of the best modules in its class, almost realistic, it is a beloved airplane.

But will one use it?

I spent a lot of time in FSX with the Kodiac, going into very short, narrow, sloping private fields in the Rockies.

 

I guess that's what I would do if I had MSFS 2020.

 

 

 

..

[Lusekofte]

I will eventually make myself a bush strip where I make myself some flights.  As a base I mean. 
but first I get to make this crap work. It is heaven when it does and he’ll when it doesn’t 

It is by hart a gem when you can fly. 
I am sort of stuck in vintage commercial planes right now. But rubbish at aproaches and flight planning

[DD_Arthur]

11 hours ago, BOO said:

Finally at  Narsaruaq, and after an uneventful landing, I am once again greeted by the same groundcrew as Ive been greeted by since the start and a long leg is over.

 

 

What a great, dependable, dedicated bunch they are?.

 

Kodiak is one of my absolute faves and the reason I’ve never got round to getting my hands on the Twotter.

My G1000 training was coming along quite nicely until I got heavily diverted by a 737?.

 

I might be wrong but I don’t think the Kodiak has a beta range as such but to get reverse thrust on landing you’ll need a convenient button on your throttle or joystick and assign it in power controls:

‘Hold throttle reverse thrust’.

 

On landing, close throttle, press and hold assigned button and then open throttle for reverse thrust.

 

 

I think that’s how it goes. I haven’t had a chance to fly in nearly a month….☹️

 

 

 

[BOO]

I only found out today that the scooter bloke has aminated pushback. Then after I saw the quality of said animation, I kinda wisjed he didnt. 

 

reverse Throttle - Yup -Thats how it goes - or you can assign a hold function on something like the thumb momentary on the warthog and just engage it as is your want. 

 

As much as i like the Kodiak (and I do)  Im finding the glass screens a heavy fps hit. Queenstown in NZ is almost unflable on anything but low settings.  I may go back to the Cub once range isnt a thing (at least until either the game or my pc gets more grunt). 

[BOO]

The thing about the Kodiak is this – it costs 15 fps more than the X-Cub. That’s 15 fps I can’t really afford. BUT – it’s such a great module, especially when things are tight. See, putting the Xcub down on a 5 cent coin of land is quite easy. It has such a responsive engine and one you can hang off to get out of a low speed stall. The Kodiak takes prep, it moves about much more and there’s no very last minute get out of jail free card thanks to its slower responding Turbo Prop nature and mass.  As such those same landing s are much more rewarding.  Plus its got all the modern bells and whistles and you can throw it about like a loon.. So it stays.

 

DAY 10 Narsarquaq – Kulusuk Greenland – 548 Nm. Real Time, Real Weather.

 

 

There really is not a lot to be said about this flight. Initially I decided to fly it VFR but two things changed my mind. Firstly, Greenland does not appear to be well represented Bing wise. As such there are many blocks of low res “stuff” around and about. Not that you’d guess from the shot below

 

 

 

Secondly, as I climbed away from Narsarquaq, a large weather front was building which became apparent as I flew over the inlets to the South. If MSFS Greenland was a slight disappointment, the Clouds building above it most certainly were not!

 

 

Going IFR, I climbed up to 12,000ft. Above the worst of it but nicely snuggled in between the multiple layers to enjoy the spectacle. Letting the GPS and AP do the work, I sat back and just marvelled at the sight for about 90 minutes. This should be boring. But it isn’t. The clouds constantly change, their density and heights varying as you pass through the front. Captivating.

 

 

Approaching the Northern edge of the front, the clouds begin to build and darken, at first below me….

 

 

….then all around me. The Weather Radar shows the worst of it but, thankfully, Im above most of it and only have light rain to contend with. Flying through the tunnels of cloud, for the first time, I wish for VR. Then I remember that I can barely run the sims in 1080P without it looking 20 years old so satisfy myself with the 2D sights that I have. And they are sights.

 

 

Eventually, after turning East and pressing on a little more, descending though the cloud, we make it through the front and into a magical reddening dusk sky. The lights of Kulusuk Airport are blinking in the distance as I let the RNAV function of the Nxi G1000 do its thing.

 

 

And it does, leaving only the last 3Nm for me to bring it home.

 

 

 

There aint a lot here. No aprons, nothing. The Zinertek Airport textures pack I added however, makes what would be an ugly grey mass (trust me, I tried with it uninstalled see Day 11 later) a bit more lovely and interesting.

 

Edited April 19, 2023 by BOO

[BOO]

Day 11 Kulusuk, Greenland – Keflavik, Iceland. 504Nm. Real Time, Real Weather.

 

 

Im not gonna lie – nothing to see here – move on. A very straight forward hop across the Denmark Strait as night falls. What little drama is caused by the nightfall and inclement weather at journeys end, is dealt with, right down to the deck by AP and ILS.  I luuuuurv the Kodiak!!

 

All that was left for me to do was take pretty pictures, something MSFS does incredibly well. But first an ugly one.

 

 

This is what the runway at Kulusuk looks like without the Zinertek add on. Eww. The image isn’t helped be me forgetting to raise the detail on the clouds as id mistakenly lowered them earlier. TBH that doesn’t help the general “meh” feel of Greenland I was left with. The land that Bing forgot.

 

Now for a much nicer portrait of me doing the Denmark Strait like a champ!.

 

 

And what MSFS does best of all  – sunset shots!

 

 

Approaching Iceland

 

 

Look Ma. No hands! My first G-1000 ILS in MSFS was so easy I was sure I’d forgotten something (apart from killing the ATC bar for the screenie)

 

 

Hello old friends…old wet friends. I keep em waiting to annoy the sulky one.

 

 

I did read that is was a long time before MSFS had gliders. Clearly no-one paid any attention to the ground crew who moonwalk about like good uns. Push back Pete here is even more absurd. At some airports he gets it right, albeit ponderously. At others he rams into me before teleporting into position. All very odd and something I wish  could be done a lot better after 3 years (DCS deck crew being a good example of good location fixed animation) .....and dont start me on the crappy vehicle models with their wierd tyres.....or bouncing Airliners...or airliners half buried in the tarmac.......or

 

Ah...minor gripes - as a whole its quite something...

Edited April 19, 2023 by BOO

[ZachariasX]

1 hour ago, BOO said:

DAY 10 Narsarquaq – Kulusuk Greenland – 548 Nm. Real Time, Real Weather.

With the XCub that would have been something. Especially without GPS.. NIce shots... keep em comming!

 

Edited April 19, 2023 by ZachariasX

[JimTM]

38 minutes ago, BOO said:

...

 

 

I did read that is was a long time before MSFS had gliders. Clearly no-one paid any attention to the ground crew who moonwalk about like good uns. Push back Pete here is even more absurd. At some airports he gets it right, albeit ponderously. At others he rams into me before teleporting into position. All very odd and something I wish  could be done a lot better after 3 years (DCS deck crew being a good example of good location fixed animation) .....and dont start me on the crappy vehicle models with their wierd tyres.....or bouncing Airliners...or airliners half buried in the tarmac.......or

 

Ah...minor gripes - as a whole its quite something...

 

As Push Back Pete mutters under his breath, "Turn off those bloody lights!"    

 

Nice pics BOO. 

[LukeFF]

Fantastic shots! ?? I wish I had more time for things like the Kodiak, but there are a billion other things I want to do after completing my round-the-world trip, and I know there are areas where I need to improve on flying the C310.

[Enceladus828]

Completed my first bush trip, From the Sea Into the Desert. South Australia is very picturesque and makes me want to fly over here IRL ?

 

Highlights

 

Over the Flinders Range in the first 4 pics

 

Approaching Dutchman's Stern

 

 

 

 

 

Landing at Marree

 

Love the scenery here!

 

The vibrant colours of dawn mixed in with the Tirari Desert make this scene beautiful

 

Over Lake Eyre, which is situated 49 feet below sea level

 

Approaching William Creek airport

 

And I'm finally here after a wonderful trip sightseeing adventure.

 

Edited April 24, 2023 by Enceladus
mainly a typo

[BOO]

Day 12, Leg 1.  Keflavik, Iceland – Vagar, Faroe Islands.  448 Nm, Real Time, Real Weather

 

 

Today I had marked down as a sightseeing day……..

 

 

With low clouds to the West and North of Iceland, I abandoned such notions and instead decided to take advantage of the calm conditions to the east of the country and over the Norwegian Sea. Flight plans hurriedly changed, I set off on a direct route across the South of Iceland to Hornafjörður Airport. If Im honest, I didn’t really expect more than a transit hop but the clearing skies of the South revealed some beautiful sights as I first flew over green rugged countryside……

 

 

….before hitting the huge  Vatnajokull Glacier…….

 

 

….and taking a break at Hornafjörður.

 

 

After a short break and whilst studiously ignoring those odd “tree sitting on a tree” firs that predominate in MSFS, I set off over a millpond sea and into still skies.

 

 

The Faroe Islands are, to be frank, poorly represented in the sim. Missing out it seems on any subsequent updates to NA and to Europe, they look, for all world like relics from Flight Sim 2002 and suffer as Greenland does. To add insult to injury the cliffs pop and morph maniacally (apparently an issue in the sim with more northerly locations now partially solved with the updates apparently).

 

 

I don’t stay long at Vagar and, although I take a good few screenshots, this is the least offensive.

 

 

Day 12  Leg 2. Vagar, Faroe Islands – Out Skerries, Shetland.  213 Nm, Real Time, Real Weather

 

 

At this point I had intended to end the leg but the conditions are so good I decide to go the whole hog and fly onto Shetland and, specifically Out Skerries.

 

 

Out Skerries is one of those special places in the sim. Hand crafted and truly stand out. The difference between this and what went before is night and day. This is as good as it gets.

 

 

Except it gets better….

 

 

…and better

 

 

…and better. This, by the way, is the runway. It has “Kodiak” written all over it!!  The detailing is sublime.  I’ve played in this location every day since getting the sim a month ago. It just doesn’t get old. 

 

 

And so to rest in photo realism and beautiful surroundings. The //42 camp out addon calls……

 

 

 

Edited April 22, 2023 by BOO

[ZachariasX]

The Shetlands are a true gem!

[BOO]

29 minutes ago, ZachariasX said:

The Shetlands are a true gem!

Santa Catalina and the Orcas are also very good but the Shetlands......something else. I havent tired yet but, if the Powerlines and solar farms and we love VFR addons cover the area It could be even moreso. 

 

When i got the sim I was looking for a "happy place" to help take me away from some RL horrors for a few hours  (happily things a lot less horrific at the moment). I thought Id find it in a glider in the alps or something but I can just loose myself in the Shetlands for hours even through there is nothing much there on the face of it (I mean no great landmarks) the whole ennvornment has a quality to it that just draws me in. Sunny day or storm - each condition brings something esle out. 

 

Whoever did this needs a huge promotion and a position of influence in Asobo.!! 

[LukeFF]

On we go southwards, to the southern end of Myanmar and near the border with Thailand: Naypyitaw Intl (VYNT) to Dawei (VYDW). Real-time weather, time of day, and traffic. Distance flown: 353 NM

 

 

It was another hot, hazy morning on the ramp, and from the stats on the tablet, our friends in the back were not enjoying the lack of AC as we prepared to move out. In the time since our last flight I decided to upgrade our navigation system and so I installed a pair of GTN 750Xi units (which are much closer to the real thing than the PMS GTN750, except for the lack of the most current charts, weather radar, and vertical navigation). 

 

So, after confirming everything looked good on the plane, we fueled up and were on our way:

 

 

The first leg of our journey provided us with views of the mountains to the east and green farmland below us. In between taking screenshots, I fiddled around with the new GPS units to get things how I wanted them to be:

 

 

Soon we reached the Bay of Bengal, where I hoped to see some of the new shipping traffic I bought recently on sale, but the waterways were pretty empty today. So, we took in the views instead of the emerald-green water:

 

 

Mountains soon rose up again as we approached our destination,l but it was around this time I noticed my plane was not really tracking with the course set out in the flight plan. I clicked on the DME readout, which told me that the vertical speed indicator was conked out, which certainly was true. With no circuit breakers popped, I'm guessing something went out with the navigation system since my HSI was waving a big red NAV flag at me. 

 

[LukeFF]

 

Since VYDM is a VOR DME approach from the north, this would involve a lot of hand-flying anyway. Thankfully, the visibility was much clearer down here than up north, and we were cleared straight in, so I didn't have to worry about dealing with a misbehaving autopilot while trying to manage my altitude.

 

Stupidly, I forgot to activate the custom scenery I'd downloaded for VYDM before loading this flight, so the airport didn't look nearly as good as it will when I depart. Ah, well - at least we made it down without any issues.

 

 

As my passengers clambered out of the hot and sticky cabin, I had a look around at the plane with my co-pilot to see what we could find. Yep, problems were found:

 

 

We're going to cut east across Thailand from here, probably en route to Vietnam. I'm going to save traveling south to Australia for a later trip.

[ZachariasX]

That's the stints the 310 likes. Myself, I was up for another flight across the hump with my flying ambulance.

 

 

Another shorter hop to Dibrugarh (VEMN), the historic stopover on the way to Kunming.

 

 

The weather (real weather, real time) looked better then expected. Again, I just put in about half the cargo (a good 10'000 pounds) and and about 10'000 pounds of fuel. Just to be sure.

 

 

Ehhm... ok. Nothing an ambulance couldn't handle.

 

 

Takeoff... I barely get climb power at low blower settings with everything maxed out. I dare not use the second blower gear, the engines absolutely hate doing takeoffs like that. As I was struggling with the AP (switching stacks wasn't that easy, as I had to boot the garming first and promt "enter" twice before it was ready to be set on VNAV. before that, not even the heading would work. Note to self: for the next takeoff, I'll put some grease on the bottom of the hull...

 

 

Finally, but barely, turning back across the airport and on my way to Dibrugarh.

 

 

Flying past the mountain Yarla Shampo, one of the "ultras" in Tibet, 6'636 m with a priminence of 1'805 m.

 

 

Ewww... do they have monsoon over there in India? Suddenly FL230 doesn't feel high, given that probably soon I can't see anymore where I am going. And still no beacons to be received, I'm just going by heading.

 

 

Finally I receive a beacon when I am about 35 miles away from my destination, still at some 20k ft. I descend through the clouds, as there are no mountains here (supposedly). After some goofing around I can get established on the ILS but the airport is nowhere in sight and I'm getting low.

 

 

Finally the runway popped up. There is something about blind approaches, when you are never sure if everytthing is right even though things feel wrong... and suddenly *pooff* you see the runway right in fron of you with the satisfaction of finally having done something right.

 

 

Another note to self: the runway was 1'800 meters and not 2'800 meters. Reverse thrust is no luxury. Ah, well. I'll load her lightly for my next leg to Kunming. this is almost sea level and I'll have plenty of power and I won't require that much fuel for those ~500 nm.

 

[ZachariasX]

Dibrugarh (VEMN) to Kunming is less spectacular. In my first world tour, I made that trip with the C172, but it took some creativity regarding the route. With the DC-6, it is easier, and with only half the load and 1/3rd the fuel 1800 meters runway are enough.

 

 

the weather got marginally better and I went off just by heading, again fighting a bit to get the AP working.

 

 

That side of the hump is much more DC3 friendly, but still challenging indeed if one has no second supercharger gear.

 

 

The problem is more that this side of China is rather empty and hilly enough that there is hardly a beacon that can be dialed in. Only if you are withing ~35 miles or so, sometimes one gets a signal. Looking at these hills, having more than one engine is a great comfort. I wouldn't want to land here.

 

 

Eventally I receive the beacon next to Dali Airport (ZPDL) and I have my bearings again.

 

 

I reach Kunming at sunset. Weather looks nice, but there is a crosswind strong enough to kick out the AP and I have to set her down by hand. As long as there is good visibility that is ok... Still it came rather unexpected. Windy said it would be headwind...

 

 

Overall, it is obvious what a monumental challenge it was back then commuting over the "hump" with only a marginal weather forecast. There were a lot of unsung heroes doing their job here.

[LukeFF]

5 hours ago, ZachariasX said:

 

Ehhm... ok. Nothing an ambulance couldn't handle.

 

LOL yeah, that's why I went with the other airport scenery available on Flightsim.to. Not as many fancy features but it has better runway/taxi markings and no uneven ground like this.

[BOO]

59 minutes ago, LukeFF said:

 

LOL yeah, that's why I went with the other airport scenery available on Flightsim.to. Not as many fancy features but it has better runway/taxi markings and no uneven ground like this.

Im learning the hard way that not everyhing you pay for works....I can report jowever that the Camp Out utility does! ?

[LukeFF]

On we go into the unknown: Dawei (VYDW) / Parking 4 to Siem Reap International Airport (VDSR). Real-time weather, traffic, and time of day:

 

 

Another hot day on an airfield surrounded by tall vegetation on all sides, so the heat was even more stifling. As we began our preflight inspection, I figured out why I was having navigation problems on our last leg: the circuit breaker for the GPS had popped and I'd not noticed it. ? So, let's push that thing back in...

 

 

The weather was clear, at least, so we climbed over the mountains to the east, which are a very vibrant green. 

 

 

The terrain flattens out before reaching the Gulf of Thailand...and that's when the fun began. My left engine power started fluctuating, and the needle on the fuel flow gauge was dropping rapidly. Now, with this incident the third time this has happened to me, I finally realized what was going on: the engine-driven fuel pump had failed. I quickly switched the auxiliary fuel pump to the High position and the engine power stabilized.

 

With such a large open body of water ahead of us (not to mention what the checklist said to do in this sort of emergency), it was time to cut this flight short and make for the nearest airport. Thankfully, one was not far away: Hua Hin (VTPH), an international airport with avgas and repair facilities on site. 

 

We quickly radioed the tower which gave us clearance to land...which of course would have us first go out over the water and then over some hills before straightening out for the final approach. Fun!

 

[LukeFF]

 

After peeking through the haze and finally gaining sight of the runway (and hoping nothing else would go wrong), we finally made it down and breathed a sigh of relief as we taxied and shut down the plane. The post-flight inspection indeed revealed what we already knew: the left main fuel pump had failed, plus the oil supply in the right-hand engine was low. Thank goodness we caught all this before heading out over the water.

 

[BOO]

Day 13 – Out Skerries, Shetland – Fort Augustus Airstrip, Glencoe Estate, Scotland. 243 Nm, Real Time, Real Weather.

 

 

A bright but blustery morning greeted us as we lined up on the “runway” at Out Skerries.

 

 

Accelerating down the strip I notice the windsock extending horizontally along its full length and point across to the left. Too late to slow and realising my rudder adjustment was the opposite of what was needed I gritted my teeth and lifted. The Kodiak lurched into the sky then almost over onto its port side as it caught the wind. Violent stick pulling and luck saved the day but a lesson in observation has been well leant.

 

 

Disaster averted we compose ourselves and head South, across and then from the Isles at 2000ft.

 

 

Approaching the Orkneys, the weather begins to turn a lot more “Scottish”. Still, the conditions are fair and the beautiful rendered islands pass below us serenely whist beautifully rendered clouds begin to build above.

 

 

We soon reach the coast of the Scottish mainland, looking to our right to seek out John O Groats in the near distance…….

 

 

……whilst the jagged blades of the Duncansby Stacks pass below us.

 

 

On route to Inverness the scenery under the glowering sky is marvellous, so marvellous I forget to capture any of it! Only on reaching the old RAF Tain do I remember….. Sorry

 

 

Passing over the Cromarty Firth with its production lines of Oil Rigs and onto Inverness, I snap away but sadly none of the images do justice to the experience so are not linked here. Happily my ability improves a little as we reach the head of Loch Ness

 

 

Heading down its length, we ignore the occasional mismatched elevations of land and water along the Loch with easy to find distractions elsewhere. (I will say here that I do want to mention stuff that isn’t right. Its my experience of the sim afterall. But, it comes with a huge caveat. Yes, there are lots of things that could be done better in one way or another if you look but they crop up really only occasionally, are rarely more than fleeting (cough….Faroes) and most ost can, and are, often soon forgotten by looking at something amazing elsewhere (cough Faroes again).

 

 

Anyhow, at the end of the Loch is our destination. Checking the wind, its going to be a downhill landing with a view to die for. Its something of a bumpy ride in.

 

 

Crossing the threshold, the downhill slope makes for the gentlest of landings and enables a posey nose up roll to the end.

 

 

Posing over, we pull off to a grassed area to the side and, having paid our camping fee to //42, set up for the night.

Edited April 23, 2023 by BOO

[LukeFF]

That really is some beautiful scenery there! 

[LukeFF]

Anyone planning on picking up the ATR 42 when it comes out this week? If it's as really "study-level" as it's claimed to be, it's going to be very tempting to pick up, for myself. 

[ZachariasX]

5 hours ago, LukeFF said:

Anyone planning on picking up the ATR 42 when it comes out this week? If it's as really "study-level" as it's claimed to be, it's going to be very tempting to pick up, for myself. 

It‘s gonna be a tough choice between the 42 from asobo/hartmann and the 72-600 from milviz. Buth supposedly have the full stack of the cockpit functionally simulated.

 

But I am more inclined towards just Flight‘s mod for the Baron and the Bonanza. They get a lot of praise for how they modded those stock planes into full study level modules.

[BOO]

Day 14 – Fort Augustus Airstrip, Glencoe Estate, Scotland – Andreas Airfield Isle of Man. 326 Nm (plus quite a bit for a diversion), Real Time, Real Weather.

 

 

Pt 1

 

Welcome to Scootlund! If the rain doesny drown ye, the midges will eat ye alive!

 

 

Actually, its not all that bad of a morning as we set off on what will be a bit of a pit stop tour of Ireland north and south.

 

 

With clearing skies, we begin one of those “I didn’t know it would be this good” sections as we approach Lock Linnhe.

 

 

The trip down and along Loch Linnhe is breath-taking.

 

 

Its easily a contender for some exploration in the Kodiak and the Kodiak Floater later.

 

 

Turning South we make our way along the headland toward Campbeltown Airport on the West Coast of Scotland.

 

 

Reaching the end of the peninsula, and of Scotland, I’m surprised by just how close Ireland is.

 

 

And just a few minutes later it’s a lot closer still!

 

 

Working our way inland toward Crumlin Airport for a touch and go, the weather becomes decidedly anti social making the unlit runways a tough spot for a T ‘n’ G…

 

 

….but one I pull off with unusual aplomb (but the usual a little to the left)

 

 

Climbing back out and continuing our journey south, the weather begins to clear once more. By the time we hit the boarder, its spring-like once again. So much so I decide to visit my old chum Mr The Edge in Dublin.

 

 

Sadly, stock game Dublin is a bit of a let-down. This image about sums it up. Its not awful by any stretch but, if you know Dublin at all, you will know the Poolbeg Power Station Towers. They have become something of an icon in recent times. So iconic, despite their relatively short existence, that Dubliners petitioned against their destruction after the power station closed.

 

Anyhow. Absent. What the Actual Fergus? I dunno if its something I’ve done but I cant see how. Of course, if Dublin was your regular haunt and they are not there you could buy an add-on to resolve this or even chance a user made one but even so…they’re 680ft tall, hardly a small detail.

 

 

Aggrieved by this omission I double down my efforts to seek out Mr The Edge. I’m hoping he will be able to make representations to Mr The Bono on my behalf who can, in turn have a word with, I dunno, King Bob The Geldof or someone. Over Howth, I spot Edge pruning his bonzai in a weird manner that makes then look like a fir tree stuck on top of another fir tree but, having now calmed down a little, decide against calling in. He only repeats himself anyhow.

 

 

Resuming north, I make my southern touch and go at Laytown Airstrip…..

 

 

….Before heading out into the Irish sea for the Isle of Man.

 

Day 14 – Fort Augustus Airstrip, Glencoe Estate, Scotland – Andreas Airfield Isle of Man. 326 Nm (plus quite a bit for a diversion), Real Time, Real Weather.

 

Pt 2

 

 

A short hop across another suspiciously calm stretch of water lies the Isle of Man. A beautiful place and a handy stopover between Ireland and the Lake District.

 

 

But all is not well. The graphics glitch badly due to issues with the satellite imagery in the south of the Island. A long-standing issue not resolved. Shame.

 

 

Thankfully it’s a passing phase and soon the only purple and pink to be seen are the heather topped mountains and hills in the centre of the Isle.

 

 

Before reaching our destination, I make a detour to the old airfield of RAF Juby. In the early part of the war this served as No5 Navigation and Bomb Aiming School and had, as a student, my partner’s Great Uncle Norman  Today it houses a motorsports event company and a prison.

 

 

Landing at Andreas we are greeted with…..nothing. Its eerily quiet. We pick our way around some huts along an old disused runway to find Pushback and Sulky skulking about the place and even more surly than usual.

 

 

We park ourselves.

 

Day 14 – a slight return to Dublin

 

 

After enabling the “We love VFR” region 1 free add on we staged a dramatic re-enactment of the Dublin leg with Tom Cruise playing me.

 

The pack does a good job at adding missing details such as these. When you consider the scale of the venture and that its free nature it’s even more impressive. However, there are some minor issues. Firstly, there is some AA glitching at a distance  No there isnt Cretin...thats the heat blur from the exhausts...(utter moron),  Secondly, Firstly, some items seem to pop in quite late but this could just be me not allowing enough loading time from spawning in. Finally, they are not totally accurate but rather very acceptable representations. AS a great "world tour" addon though - very difficult to complain about. 

 

If I was told this cost a tenner, I still buy it. If I’d had it turned on when first flying over Dublin, Id have been quite contented. As you can see, the towers are pretty noticable. 

Edited April 24, 2023 by BOO
Im a moron

[ST_Catchov]

BOO, the master of pics and storylines, critiques 'n'all. I feel I know the Kodiak! God damn you man, you are a wily temptress trying to impregnate the barrier I erect to ward off temptation. Yet, you will not succeed, NEVER, for I know I shall surely go down the rabbit hole of frustration and intemperance. You shall not pass ....

[LukeFF]

3 hours ago, ZachariasX said:

It‘s gonna be a tough choice between the 42 from asobo/hartmann and the 72-600 from milviz. Buth supposedly have the full stack of the cockpit functionally simulated.

 

But I am more inclined towards just Flight‘s mod for the Baron and the Bonanza. They get a lot of praise for how they modded those stock planes into full study level modules.

 

I didn't know Milviz had an ATR in development, but then I just read that they've put the project on hold, largely because of the one being done by Asobo. 

 

https://msfsaddons.com/2023/01/10/blackbird-milviz-suspends-the-development-of-the-atr-72-for-msfs/

 

Re: the Bonanza and Baron: do you mean Black Square? In any case, yes, those are great improvements they've made.

[ZachariasX]

3 hours ago, LukeFF said:

Black Square? In any case, yes, those are great improvements they've made.

Yes, Black Square. JF also has has one done like that, I mixed those up:

https://www.justflight.com/product/steam-gauge-overhaul-analog-bonanza

But it is indeed the Black Square one that gets that much praise amung the usual suspects.

EDIT: It's the same, just JF is the publisher...

 

Didn't know milviz put the ATR on hold. I know there were at it for some time and I expected quality, whereas the Asobo ones I expected to be simpler. Turns out it will be a very comprehenive package, milviz stopping the work on their speaks volumes.

 

 

4 hours ago, BOO said:

Edited April 24, 2023 by ZachariasX

[BOO]

I hit Liverpool today. Not literally (though lord knows it needs it, speaking as a Manc). 

 

The whole thing became something of a jerky mess (again, not unexpected, speaking as a manc......).  Seems those glass cockpits really do take a toll on the ole fps. In the An2 for instance I can fly down to street level without a stutter. The G3X of the Xcub with its less complex pit also copes well.

 

For now, i will press on. Thankfully in the Kodiak you can pop CBs and with all but the pilots one disabled  the fps is sufficent to stop the stutter at all but the lowest levels. Not ideal but Im loathed to drop the plane because of built up areas. Rolling Cache also seems to cause me stutters as well but that could be a)placebo or b) becuase i have it on the same drive as the sim. 

 

So - after some "adjusting" - MSI afterburner and it curves can do one - so can all the gumf advice from "pros" out there about using it. So thats gone and that removed the CTD issue with the GPU. Now the GPU can have its "prefer max power" setting applied. This actually makes a huge difference. MSFS is the only one of the sims where it does but there we go. Also dialled back one or two settings in the game a touch (off screen pre cache, texture sythethis and building detail all down one step from Ultra) although the terrain and object LODs have been upped to 185 and 145 respectively from 160 and 130)  and now Liverpool is as smooth as butter.

 

 

Fereeeeeeeee cross the Merseeeeeeee.........    er....  even though that one belongs on the Solent...still closer than the Regional Quantas ATR I saw up in Canada.....ah well...cant have everything!

Edited April 24, 2023 by BOO

[LukeFF]

9 hours ago, ZachariasX said:

Yes, Black Square. JF also has has one done like that, I mixed those up:

https://www.justflight.com/product/steam-gauge-overhaul-analog-bonanza

But it is indeed the Black Square one that gets that much praise amung the usual suspects.

EDIT: It's the same, just JF is the publisher...

 

Yes, that Bonanza is very tempting, especially since the other big realism overhaul on the stock G36 Bonanza has been stuck in neutral for well over a year now. But, the thing is, after I complete my world tour, I really want to spend some time in Milviz's DHC-2 and the JPL C152 mod. And then there's the aforementioned ATR, A2A's Comanche coming at some point, and, and... ? How does one squeeze the time in for all of these?

[DD_Arthur]

16 hours ago, BOO said: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But all is not well. The graphics glitch badly due to issues with the satellite imagery in the south of the Island. A long-standing issue not resolved. Shame.

 

That’s weird. Kippers and motorcycle racing are two of my favourite things, so I’ve spent quite a lot of time over The Island and I’ve never seen that before.

 

Another big update tomorrow afternoon so if you’re happy with your settings, make a note of ‘em now as the update process can often scramble stuff…?