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♪Come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly away If you can use some exotic booze there's a bar in far Bombay♪♫ Today begins our adventure. In this thread, we will be flying around the world, visiting major sights and sites across the globe, all in real time, with real weather, and real flight plans. Welcome to the journey.  What is this thread? As outlined above, I'm going to make my best effort to fly around the world in real time in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020. This will be with all settings to full realism. I've got a few hundred hours in real aircraft under my belt, so I'll be following realistic flight plans, using FS2020's live dynamic weather system, and, of course, using full-realism flight models. Only a few nods towards creative license will be granted (I'll get to those in a moment). We will start our journey near my home town in Michigan, USA with a general plan of flying to South America, Africa, Europe, Asia, the south Pacific, Canada, and back home. If all goes to plan, this will likely take several real-time years to complete. I'm a big WWII nerd, so I'm going to be making a point of visiting sites of major battlefields in Europe and the Pacific. As I do, I'll try to give a little history on the places. The thread will be updated as I complete the various legs of the flight and will include screenshots of various sights and commentary on the flight itself. Not every flight will have super spectacular views or world-famous sights, but in general, FS2020 is one of the prettiest games I've ever seen, so most of the screenshots are fun to look at. Constraints As I said, I will be doing these flights with all realism settings enabled and a little role playing thrown in for fun. For every flight, I am calculating weight and balance (i.e. the cargo & fuel load) of the airplane to include my family, our old, fat dog (Fatpuppy), and luggage. That incentivizes me to make this as realistic and safe as possible. Sure, we'll have some fun doing things like blasting down the Panama Canal at treetop height, but in general, I'm going to stick to realistic behavior. If I crash due to my own stupidity or bad decision making, that's it. Game over. We will be using FS2020's live, dynamic weather system. The game has the ability to access aviation weather data from a global network of weather stations and then render that weather in the game. Generally, this works pretty well and can make for some interesting flying. I'm instrument rated in real life, so we'll be doing instrument approaches for landings as necessary. All flights will be made in real-time with no time acceleration. Through the miracle of the app Parsec, I'm able to follow my flight as I go about my day. So, while the flight is in real-time, I'm not necessarily sitting in front of my PC for 6 hrs at a time. Allowances In the end, this is a game and I'm trying to have fun, so we need to make a few concessions in the realism department. First, if I crash due to something dumb and gamey, the dead is dead rule will not apply. For example, I found out the hard way that if you open the cockpit window in the Beech 18 at any time in flight, you get insta-killed because you "overstressed the airframe." Hilariously, the button to open the window is right next to the cockpit (where you're always clicking during the course of a flight) and there's no "are you sure you want to kill yourself?" confirmation box. If the game crashes at any time, I'll do my best to resume the flight in the air at the last known waypoint. Second, the AI ATC is a bit goofy at times. I will ignore it when it tells me to land in a 25 knot quartering tail wind. I'll exercise my right as Pilot in Command (PIC) to call "hard pass" on that one and land on whichever runway I want. Most flights will be under VFR flight rules, meaning I won't have to manage much w/regard to communications radios. I find that the AI ATC hands you off from frequency to frequency too often, and since I won't be in front of my PC every time, flying with IFR flight plans will be a no go. Lastly, fuel. The Beech 18, as modeled in this game, has a range of about 1000 miles with full tanks. That's simply not long enough to get across the vast expanses of ocean I'll be exploring. So, we'll compromise. Whenever I have a flight longer than 1k miles, I'll add weight to the forward and aft baggage compartments to simulate auxiliary tanks being installed. The Aircraft For this trip, we will exclusively be flying the Beech D-18S. Designed in the 1930's as a light cargo and transport aircraft, it has proven to be an extremely robust, reliable, and adaptable aircraft. Despite production ceasing in 1970, many of these fine aircraft are still flying today. We will be using this airframe for a number of reasons. First, I'm a big fan of WWII aviation, so this checks the box for all things round-engined and shiny. It served significant service during WWII under the military designation C-45 Expeditor. Second, I have a personal history with the D-18. For many years, I worked the line at a local airport that had a heavy skydiving presence. This was one of the jump planes:  I have many fond and not so fond memories of this airplane. Highlights include: 1. Pumping untold thousands of gallons of 100LL fuel into her tanks while sitting on the top of the mirror-finish wing in 100* sunshine. 2. Watching an impatient jump pilot take her off from the taxiway when other aircraft were taking too long to line up for takeoff. 3. Watching it come in for a landing with the left engine feathered because the cowling broke loose and was working its way forward towards the prop. 4. Pushing it off the fueling apron by myself when everyone else was on lunch and another aircraft needed gas. It probably weighed about 6000lbs at that point. In the recent photo above, you can see that she's fallen on pretty hard times. The skydiving business closed, the FBO at the field at the time went under due to embezzlement, and insofar as I can tell, she's been rotting on the ramp for the last 15-20 years. As an added bonus, she also appears in the NTSB crash reports for a ground loop, so she's had a pretty hard life, unfortunately. That said, she'll always hold something of place in my heart, so part of the role playing for this trip will be to say that I won the lotto, bought her, and completely refurbished her. This trip will be her swansong.  With that, I'll end the OP. The first post will have updates from several legs, as I didn't take a ton of screenshots until the 3rd leg. Bookmark the thread and check back soon! Leg Galleries: (Leg Number - Departure Location - Region) Leg 01 - Michigan - USA: https://postimg.cc/gallery/4nSwCfn Leg 02 - Florida - USA: https://postimg.cc/gallery/zf22vjW Leg 03 - Havana - Caribbean: https://postimg.cc/gallery/V6yJGdB Leg 04 - Vilo Acuna - Caribbean: https://postimg.cc/gallery/d3T1Fvs Leg 05 - Haiti - Caribbean: https://postimg.cc/gallery/TT6xj8g Leg 06 - St Croix - Caribbean: https://postimg.cc/gallery/4g39Tzk Leg 07 - Pedernales - South America: https://postimg.cc/gallery/F9BqQ1m Leg 08 - Maracaibo - South America: https://postimg.cc/gallery/D8030CP Leg 09 - Panama City - South America: https://postimg.cc/gallery/Zpt1ykN Leg 10 - Quito - South America: https://postimg.cc/gallery/Rws9kMs Leg 11 - Lima - South America: https://postimg.cc/gallery/WzxMNPd Leg 12 - Tacna - South America: https://postimg.cc/gallery/287cYrh Leg 13 - Uyuni - South America: https://postimg.cc/gallery/K3SvfGH Leg 14 - La Serena - South America: https://postimg.cc/gallery/RwwN0Gk Leg 15 - Santiago - South America: https://postimg.cc/gallery/1DXwm4w Leg 16 - Puerto Montt - South America: https://postimg.cc/gallery/7G42wYD Leg 17 - Punta Arenas - South America: https://postimg.cc/gallery/F08jRcy Leg 18 - Port Williams - South America: https://postimg.cc/gallery/ZpHFFFn Leg 19 - Mount Pleasant - South America: https://postimg.cc/gallery/yc70dQB Leg 20 - Puerto Deseado - South America: https://postimg.cc/gallery/1Q3CwN4 Leg 21 - Montevideo - South America: https://postimg.cc/gallery/PT8LBy6 Leg 22 - Asuncion - South America: https://postimg.cc/gallery/J0HcbwJ Leg 23 - Rio de Janeiro - South America: https://postimg.cc/gallery/99RncMF Leg 24 - Natal - South America: https://postimg.cc/gallery/ghsHFb3 Leg 25 - San Fernando de Noro - South America: https://postimg.cc/gallery/V5BLJRf Leg 26 - Ascension Island - Mid Atlantic: https://postimg.cc/gallery/mFjycFd Leg 27 - Tabou - Africa: https://postimg.cc/gallery/SCfb5Hn Leg 28 - Mopti - Africa: https://postimg.cc/gallery/tsS82Nf Leg 29 - Senou - Africa: https://postimg.cc/gallery/PDcPSvD Leg 30 - Kankan - Africa: https://postimg.cc/gallery/jjQLXgX Leg 31 - Freetown - Africa: https://postimg.cc/gallery/2mjw9RQ Leg 32 - Banjul - Africa: https://postimg.cc/gallery/5xhkZPm Leg 33 - Cape Verde - Africa: https://postimg.cc/gallery/Y0HC51C Leg 34 - Nouakchott - Africa: https://postimg.cc/gallery/c3N3Q5p Leg 35 - Dakhla - Africa: https://postimg.cc/gallery/PCFvTNN Leg 36 - Tenerife - Africa: https://postimg.cc/gallery/06Jw2m6 Leg 37 - Marrakesh - Africa: https://postimg.cc/gallery/Vcpp5RM Leg 38 - Aguenar - Africa: https://postimg.cc/gallery/bhYgySV Leg 39 - Tahoua - Africa: https://postimg.cc/gallery/X5bTTdG Leg 40 - Ouagadougou - Africa: https://postimg.cc/gallery/Lg1G6xt Leg 41 - Tamale - Africa: https://postimg.cc/gallery/LPr5Lyn Leg 42 - Owerri, Cameroon - Africa: https://postimg.cc/gallery/t7Bm4DP Leg 43 - Luanda, Angola - Africa: https://postimg.cc/gallery/bZF0BTj Leg 44 - Luderitz, Namibia - Africa: https://postimg.cc/gallery/pWZtRhg Leg 45 - Cape Town, South Africa - Africa: https://postimg.cc/gallery/062HJ5j Chuck_D fucked around with this message at 13:24 on Nov 12, 2022 |
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Aug 13, 2022 18:21
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Very cool, I look forward to following along. What kind of controls are you using when you're on Parsec? What's that interface like?
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Aug 13, 2022 18:34
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Chill flying? Sure
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Aug 13, 2022 19:16
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Awesome! watching with interest.
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Aug 13, 2022 19:18
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mlmp08 posted:Very cool, I look forward to following along. What kind of controls are you using when you're on Parsec? What's that interface like? Sadly, just mouse and keyboard with Parsec. The general process is to use my main rig for takeoffs and landings, transitioning to Parsec on a laptop or desktop elsewhere during cruise. Parsec on another PC is pretty functional for things like adjusting radio freqs and general fine tuning. But, I don't have another stick or gamepad for any of my other PCs. So, for critical flight phases, I stick with my main rig which has a Warthog Hotas and some old CH rudder pedals. Parsec's mobile app is marginally functional to the point of almost being read only.
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Aug 13, 2022 19:28
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This seems really sentimental and sweet, you don't see that in an LP every day. You clearly care a lot for this particular plane, and aviation in general. Watching with interest, excited for the first update.
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Aug 14, 2022 10:01
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Will you be using period or modern navigation aids?
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Aug 15, 2022 02:36
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Well, I'm in South America at the moment, so period.
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Aug 15, 2022 02:56
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This is a really cool thread idea. Nice plane pick, too.
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Aug 15, 2022 06:55
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 Date: July 28th, 2022 Leg: 001 Depart: Marshall, MI (KRMY) Arrive: Palm Beach Florida (KBPI) Route: Direct Total time: 6.3hrs Instrument time: N/A Night time: N/A Takeoffs (Day/Night): 1 Landings (Day/Night): 1 Instrument approaches: 0 Total trip time: 6.3hrs Route:  Narrative: Nothing like a long first flight to set the tone. A few weeks back, we finished the trip to visit all 50 state capitals and sent the Beech in for inspection. After a clean bill of health, we loaded up our luggage, Fatpuppy, the family, and as much fuel as she could carry. At over 960 miles, this first flight would put 72Z’s range to the test. Takeoff out of Marshall was uneventful and we turned south towards Florida. Setting the autopilot seemed problematic as it didn’t want to seem to hold a heading. Eventually, I was able to get it to cooperate and we were on our way. As we neared the Appalachian Mountains, a thick wall of clouds built up in front of us. Climbing over the top at 13,500’ we cruised along in bumpy air with the mixtures as lean as I dared go.  The undercast remained heavy till we reached southern Georgia.  Over eastern Florida, the clouds broke up and the air cleared, leaving us sailing in clear blue skies for miles. We passed near Cape Canaveral, but naturally forgot to take photos.  The traffic around Palm Beach was heavy. I’m not sure what the local controller was thinking when he vectored a mid-size regional jet to land on runway 10R (3214’) while simultaneously vectoring us for 10L (10,001’), but ours is not to question why. In the end, the landing was a little bumpy and we taxied to the ramp with 1/10th fuel remaining after over six hours aloft.  Now for a well-deserved burger, beer, and rest. Hoping to bum around Palm Beach for a few days, then head south to Havana.
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Aug 16, 2022 01:21
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It is in human nature to fly and to forget to take pictures.
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Aug 16, 2022 09:38
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Oh man I am HERE for this. Bookmarked
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Aug 16, 2022 13:48
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Gimme a holler should you set down on ol' EKVG! I spent many a summer earning vacation money by maintaining the grounds there. I even saw Bryan Adams pee al fresco one time.
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Aug 16, 2022 16:32
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inscrutable horse posted:Gimme a holler should you set down on ol' EKVG! I spent many a summer earning vacation money by maintaining the grounds there. I even saw Bryan Adams pee al fresco one time. Okay, bring it on. Maybe when I get there, you can provide some local information? It'll be a while though.  It was dark, so I didn't take any pics. Screenshots pick up in leg 3 with plenty on each leg after that. Date: 7/31/22 Leg: 002 Depart: Palm Beach, Florida, USA (KBPI) Arrive: Playa Baracoa Airport, Cuba (MUPB) Route: Direct Total time: 1.9hrs Instrument time: N/A Night time: .7hrs Takeoffs (Day/Night): 1/0 Landings (Day/Night): 0/1 Instrument approaches: 0 Total trip time: 7.5hrs Route Map:  Weather: Clear, no clouds. Light winds. Narrative: After spending a few days in Palm Beach, we again loaded up the Beech in preparation for the trip to Cuba. The weather forecast was clear with unlimited visibility. With Fatpuppy securely buckled into his FAA-approved dog bed, we were off with the sun setting over the western horizon. For this relatively short trip, we only topped the main tanks, leaving the auxiliaries dry. On this trip, I learned, or was reminded, of a couple valuable lessons. First, flying over dark water at night is essentially flying on instruments. You can, to some limited degree, make out the horizon if there’s adequate star visibility, but in general, it becomes exceptionally easy to succumb to vertigo. Judicious use of the autopilot and a complete faith in the flight instruments were key to safety. I’d known this in theory, but I’d never made such a flight before, so this was the first time it really struck home. Second, it is unwise to assume that every controlled airport is illuminated. I took this for granted while flying in the continental US, but learned the hard way that not all airports are lit at night (or perhaps MSFS doesn’t have lighting modeled for each airport yet - not sure which yet). The distance remaining indicator on the GPS ticked down to single digits and the original destination, La Habana Jose Int’l (MUHA) was nowhere in sight. Just a big, dark hole in the middle of an urban area told me that the airport was unlit and unusable. We opted for our alternate of Playa Baracoa a few miles to the west. Fortunately, this airfield was well lit. The only downside was that there was a stiff 17kt crosswind. The landing was ugly and bouncy, but 72Z took it in stride. Taxied to GA parking and shut down for the night. Planning to get airborne for the Caribbean at dawn tomorrow.
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Aug 16, 2022 19:16
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Gewehr 43 posted:Okay, bring it on. Maybe when I get there, you can provide some local information? It'll be a while though. Sure will! I spent a few years teaching local history, my dad was the head AFIS operator, and we lived next to the WW2 museum; I've a wealth of knowledge to pour 
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Aug 16, 2022 19:44
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This is such a novel concept for an LP, I love it. I had high hopes for FS2020, but a lot of the systems were broken at release. Did they ever fix weather simply not working at all or the autopilot that drove you straight into the ground upon activation? I was able to find my house though, that was pretty neat.
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Aug 16, 2022 20:41
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I mean, kinda. Weather seems to work pretty well, but autopilots do have occasional jank. I feel like that's dependent on the individual airplane type though. For example, the autopilot stops tracking course or heading when I turn on the landing lights in the Beech. Otherwise, it works pretty well. Bottom line is that it'll never be perfect, but it has come a pretty long way since release.
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Aug 16, 2022 20:53
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Are FAA approved dog beds really a thing? Now that one's been mentioned I expect they are, but I don't know. What do they look like, if so?
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Aug 17, 2022 05:36
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idhrendur posted:Are FAA approved dog beds really a thing? Now that one's been mentioned I expect they are, but I don't know. What do they look like, if so? Google tells me no. It appears there are FAA approved dog carriers, but as his nickname alludes, Fatpuppy would practically need a shipping container to carry him.  Date: 7/31/22 Leg: 003 Depart: Playa Baracoa (MUPB) Arrive: Vilo Acuna (MUCL) Route: via Nueva Gerona (MUNG) Total time: 1.2hrs Instrument time: N/A Night time: N/A Takeoffs (Day/Night): 2/0 Landings (Day/Night): 2/0 Instrument approaches: 0 Total trip time: 8.7hrs Route:  This would be a quick touch and go landing at Nueva Gerona for no other reason than to check it off the list, before turning east into the rising sun for our destination of Vilo Acuna. Given the relatively short flight length and lack of ground obstacles, we’ll be flying at ~1500’ today. Weather: 2/10ths broken clouds at 2000’, moderate southerly winds Narrative: The next morning dawned warm and humid. Wanting to get an early start on the day, we topped 72Z’s tanks, fired up, and roared off into the sunrise.  In the early morning, convective action hadn’t yet had a chance to build any clouds, so we cruised smoothly through crystalline skies.   After a brief overwater flight, the Isla de la Juventud slowly slid into view.   We detoured around the ~1000’ peak situated between us and the runway, then picked up the airport visually.  The approach and landing were smooth and just after touchdown, I applied full throttle for the touch and go. Once again, 72Z roared happily into the air. Turning east now, we tuned in the Vilo Acuna VOR as a backup to the GPS and cruised, enjoying the sunrise and brilliant white clouds.     The approach into Vilo Acuna was smooth, but the touchdown was bumpy. With a ~17kt crosswind from the south, it was all I could do to maintain directional control once on the ground. (All aircraft, but taildraggers in particular are really squirrely on the ground in FS2020.)  Taxi and shutdown were without incident. The next leg will be significantly longer as we pass through some of the larger Caribbean islands like Grand Cayman and Jamaica on our way to an overnight stop in Haiti. Chuck_D fucked around with this message at 17:52 on Aug 17, 2022 |
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Aug 17, 2022 17:44
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Gewehr 43 posted:(All aircraft, but taildraggers in particular are really squirrely on the ground in FS2020.) I've read a period pilot complaining about this re: taildraggers. Apparently British-designed aircraft usually allowed you to lock your tail strut, but American aircraft usually skipped that feature.
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Aug 17, 2022 20:48
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The Beech actually has a locking tailwheel. The problem is that, in this game, the second the tailwheel comes up off the ground, the aircraft slews haaaard left - unrealistically so. I tend to leave it unlocked so that I'm already ahead of the rudder rudder when the tail comes up. I've got about 20hrs in taildraggers and they don't behave like this.
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Aug 17, 2022 21:05
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How necessary is a flight stick for this? I used to absolutely love one of the OLD versions way back when, and this one looks gorgeous, but I'm also hesitant to drop $ on something I'll literally only use for one game
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Aug 18, 2022 04:38
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Zipperelli. posted:How necessary is a flight stick for this? I used to absolutely love one of the OLD versions way back when, and this one looks gorgeous, but I'm also hesitant to drop $ on something I'll literally only use for one game It definitely helps, but an Xbox controller is absolutely adequate too. They did a pretty good job of optimizing controls for a controller (so I'm told), so it's pretty accessible in that regard. Keyboard and mouse only would be pretty underwhelming in my opinion.
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Aug 18, 2022 10:48
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Zipperelli. posted:How necessary is a flight stick for this? I used to absolutely love one of the OLD versions way back when, and this one looks gorgeous, but I'm also hesitant to drop $ on something I'll literally only use for one game It's definitely playable with an xbox/PS controller. The simpler planes don't have many features so the controller works fine for basic control surfaces and looking around. The more complicated planes are mostly flown by clicking around the cockpit with your mouse anyway so the few critical periods like takeoff and landing are also just fine with a controller. On top of that, there are enough accessibility settings and options that you may either start cold and dark in the parking area with a full startup process or already airborne and ready to go where none of that matters. It's a great game to do some casual sightseeing since you can click anywhere on the map and quickly be flying around. I always recommend that people check it out on Gamepass since it's so cheap to give it a shot.
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Aug 18, 2022 18:56
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Ahh Cuba. "Where the sun is warm and, so is the comradeship."
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Aug 19, 2022 15:33
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I'll just pile on to the others saying this is a great idea for an LP.
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Aug 19, 2022 20:25
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Thanks! The flying itself is proving pretty fun and rewarding too. As with real flying, it's hours and hours of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror. Most of the flights so far have been pretty chill, but I had a pretty hair-raising adventure last weekend. Night, heavy rain, poor lighting, poor charts, etc, etc. We'll get to that part of the narrative soon. 
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Aug 19, 2022 21:48
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This LP inspired me to reinstall FS2020 and give it another try. I somehow forgot about the 120GB initial download followed by the 95GB mandatory update. So, uh, I guess I'll be flying in two days or so.
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Aug 19, 2022 22:08
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Glad it inspired you! My A#1 complaint with it is its gigantic disk footprint. That actually led me to hesitate buying it for quite a while, but in the end storage isn't all that expensive and I have several M2 SATA slots on my mobo, so yeah. Here we are. I hear there's another big update just around the corner too. Wheeee.
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Aug 19, 2022 23:03
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 Full screenshot gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/d3T1Fvs Date: 08/01/2022 Leg: 004 Depart: Vilo Acuna, Cuba (MUCL) Arrive: Port-au-Prince, Haiti (MTTP) Route: Overfly Grand Cayman, overfly Kingston, Jamaica Total time: 5.5hrs Instrument time: N/A Night time: N/A Takeoffs (Day/Night): 1/0 Landings (Day/Night): 1/0 Instrument approaches: 0 Total trip time: 14.9hrs Route:  Weather: Clear with generally light winds. Heavy turbulence over mountainous areas. Heavy haze over Port-au-Prince. Narrative: After a brief overnight on the beautiful island of Cayo Largo del Sur, we checked the weather, planned our flight, and loaded up 72Z for the trip to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. With such beautiful tropical weather, we decided to take something of a scenic route, bouncing from Cayo Largo to Grand Cayman, to Jamaica, then Haiti. This also helped keep us reasonably close to land in case something went south and the Beech decided she’d had enough. Climbing to our cruising altitude of 7000ft, it wasn't long before Grand Cayman Island slid over the horizon.   On reaching Cayman’s southern shore, we swung east and headed towards Jamaica.  It wasn’t long before the lush green island came into view amid a scattering of puffy clouds.     Soon, Jamaica’s capital, Kingston, hove into view.   I was surprised by the density of the urban area. It was by far the most dense we’d seen since leaving the US.  Just east of Kingston is a series of mountains with towering peaks that, despite our altitude, we were looking up at. We detoured slightly to the south to avoid them… almost. I wanted to get a good up close view, so I flew probably a little closer than I should have. The turbulence was terrific. At one point, we were tossed upwards at over 2000 feet per minute by the winds racing up the mountain slopes.    Back over the ocean, the turbulence calmed and we were soon over Haiti’s long southern peninsula. Again, the mountain turbulence tossed us all over the sky.    As we neared our destination of Port-au-Prince, I tuned in the AWOS (automated weather observation system) there to get a bead on the weather. The news wasn’t good. An afternoon fog had rolled in, dropping visibility to just the bare minimums for visual flight.   To be safe, I had my instrument approach charts handy, but opted to at least try for a visual approach first. Making heavy use of the GPS to approximate lining up with the runway, we groped further into the afternoon murk.  At three miles, the faintest outline of the runway emerged from the fog and we swung round to the final approach bearing.    With a squawk, 72Z’s tires kissed the damp pavement and we rolled to a stop. Despite requesting parking at the GA ramp, ground control insisted we taxi to the main terminal gates. Seemed odd, but I’m not one to argue.  After half a day in the cockpit, we were all relieved to be on the ground again. But, we weren’t planning on staying long as we wanted to get to St. Croix soon. Calling the line crew for fuel, I was off to plan the next leg of our flight.
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Aug 20, 2022 03:27
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Loving this journey.
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Aug 20, 2022 04:44
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sniper4625 posted:Loving this journey.
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Aug 20, 2022 05:10
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Glad you're enjoying it! I just lifted off for leg 16 and should round the southern tip of South America today. Edit: Please feel free to let me know if there's more you'd like to see out of this thread or the posts themselves. Pardon the pun, but I'm just kind of winging it here. Chuck_D fucked around with this message at 18:28 on Aug 20, 2022 |
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Aug 20, 2022 12:53
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Are you using VatSim at all during this flight?
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Aug 21, 2022 10:39
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No. I considered it, but by virtue of the fact that I'm not sitting in front of the PC the whole time, I don't want to miss a real ATC call. Plus, sometimes I need to bend the real-life rules a bit. It seemed to me to be unfair to ruin someone else's VATSIM experience just so I could do something like bomb down the Panama canal.
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Aug 21, 2022 13:06
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Thats fair! It does seem like a fascinating add-on and community though.
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Aug 21, 2022 13:59
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 Date: 8/1/22 Leg: 005 Depart: Port-au-Prince, Haiti (MTTP) Arrive: St. Croix, US Virgin Islands (TISX) Route: Direct Total time: 3.6 hrs Instrument time: .1 hrs Night time: 2.7 hrs Takeoffs (Day/Night): 1/0 Landings (Day/Night): 0/1 Instrument approaches: 0 Total trip time: 18.5 hrs Route:  We will be departing Port-au-Prince, climbing through the valley between the mountains to the east, then detouring south of the remainder of Haiti and Puerto Rico to hit St. Croix after dark. The idea is to keep us relatively near land, but far enough away that we don't have to worry about hitting a mountain in the dark. Weather: Very hazy with low vizibility at Port-au-Prince, light clouds throughout remainder of flight with relatively clear skies near destination. Flight Log: Welcome aboard for the next leg of the journey. This one will take us from the capital of Haiti to tropical resort island of St. Croix. In our last leg, we landed in poor visibility after a long overwater flight over Grand Cayman and Jamaica. We wanted to make a quick turnaround, so after arriving at Port-au-Prince, we refueled, stretched, hit the head, and got ready to go again. The weather was, as can be expected, still lousy, but 72Z (which, I realize I forgot to mention, would be referred to as "seven two zulu") wound up faithfully. Seconds after engaging the starters, both engines were purring smoothly. She seemed ready, if not eager to fly again. Taxi and takeoff were normal and we were soon climbing out of the murk.    The urban density really stood out to me. Even from afar, it was clear to see how closely packed the buildings were. Sadly, I can only imagine the squalor of some of the living spaces there and my heart goes out to those residents.  Extending ESE from Port-au-Prince is a long valley filled with lakes and with steep, rugged mountains lining either side. This flows east until it hits the Caribbean Sea at Neiba Bay. This valley made a perfect lane in which to climb to our cruising altitude.     One of the lakes, Lago Enriquillo, was almost an ocean unto itself.   Racing eastward, away from the setting sun, sunset descended upon us quickly.  Undaunted, 72Z carried us into the deepening darkness.  Slowly, the lights of St. Croix began to emerge from the inky blackness.  Descending, we lined up the runway, switched on the landing lights and prepared for landing.  GUMPS check!  Gas Undercarriage Mixture Props Seatbelts   With a gentle wind down the runway, touchdown and landing were uneventful. We taxied to park and cut the mixtures, letting 72Z's Pratt & Whitney R-985s wind down to silence, ticking softly as they cooled in the tropical night air. Chuck_D fucked around with this message at 23:17 on Aug 24, 2022 |
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Aug 24, 2022 23:14
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tempting me into getting FS2020 just to see how pretty it gets maybe if crypto crashes again or something and GPU prices approach sanity again
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Aug 25, 2022 06:46
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Psion posted:tempting me into getting FS2020 just to see how pretty it gets Most GPUs at this point are at or below MSRP! Get on it!
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Aug 25, 2022 13:51
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Man, I'd love to get a new GPU, but it's just not in the cards right now. I was kicking around the idea of doing some video recordings to add to the flair of the thread here, but I'm not sure my old 1070ti is up to it. It'd be hard to capture effectively too, as I don't believe FS2020 has any kind of replay feature. I struggle taking engaging screenshots on takeoff and landing because of that, too. The whole "active pause" feature in the game is weird too. For example, you can go into active pause mode at 150 knots, pull the throttle to idle while paused, exit active pause and be at 60 knots at the verge of a stall. I didn't realize that and it almost killed me once, so I don't use that feature very often. Thus, screenshots at critical phases of flight are very challenging. Edit: It appears I'm wrong. There is a replay feature as well as some 3rd party tools to the same effect. Interesting. I'll have to play with that a bit. Chuck_D fucked around with this message at 17:31 on Aug 25, 2022 |
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Aug 25, 2022 17:27
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