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Orbx Pacific Northwest Tour, Leg 2: Willamette Valley and Columbia River Gorge

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Orbx PNW Tour, Leg 2: the Willamette Valley and Columbia River Gorge

 

As I wasn't around for last Saturday's fun and games, I'm making the assumption that you're expecting Leg 2 of the Oregon tour for this weekend.  If you guys came up with something else you'd rather do on Saturday that's no problem, this can wait till you want to do it.

 

The theme for this second leg of our tour is the valley and the gorge.  We'll head north up the Willamette valley, cross the city of Portland, then fly east up the Columbia River Gorge.

 

We restart our tour where we left it at Hobby Field in Creswell (77S).  The first leg will be a short hop to Jasper Ridge Airstrip (36OR), just a few miles away.  Your practice on small strips last week will come in handy, as this is a tricky one traversing a hillside.  Pilots making a successful landing here will be rewarded with a spectacular view across the southern Willamette valley.  Leaving Jasper Ridge we fly north up the valley, following either the river or the freeway as both will take us to our next stop at Albany Municipal Airport (S12).  From here we continue to McMinnville (KMMV), home of the Evergreen Aviation Museum and the Spruce Goose. Next stop is Stark's Twin Oaks Airpark (7S3), a small GA facility south of Hillsboro.  From here a heading of around 050 will take us towards downtown Portland, but watch for the radio transmitter towers on the West Hills above Portland (extra points for flying between them).  Crossing downtown Portland adventurous pilots might be tempted to make a closer investigation of the numerous bridges across the Willamette (make sure you have the free Orbx downtown Portland scenery installed) before we make our way to Troutdale Airport (KTTD), conveniently located at the start of the Columbia Gorge.  Flying up the gorge we pass Bonneville Dam, a major hydroelectric power plant built in the 1930's as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. The leg finishes at Ken Jernstedt Airfeld (4S2) in Hood River.  However, if we've made good time an additional flight further along the Columbia River to The Dalles (KDLS) could possibly be done.  Both 4S2 and KDLS have lit runways.

 

This leg works out to be 157nm, or 173nm if we continue to The Dalles, and will ideally be flown at quite low altitude.  The ideal aircraft will therefore be your favourite for low'n'slow - aim for around 100kts. I will be flying the de Havilland Chipmunk; other good candidates could include the Cessna 172 or Piper Cherokee, or even the Antonov An-2 (all of these can get in and out of Jasper Ridge).

 

Recommended Scenery:

- Orbx FTX Pacific Northwest (PNW) Regional Scenery

- Orbx downtown Portland (freeware, found here)

 

Skyvector flight plan here.

 

Date and time: Saturday August 23, 19:00 UTC

 

Where: AVSIM RTWR Teamspeak - Casual Flights Channel

 

Teamspeak Server Address: ts.teamavsim.com

Multiplayer FSX Multiplayer (IP will be provided on Teamspeak)

 

(I will make an FSX flight plan later in the week, I'm away from home at the moment.)

 

On a slightly separate subject, if anyone is interested I have posted a compilation of all the video I shot at the Eastbourne Air Show last weekend on YouTube here.  Only minimal editing so far, I've just taken out the bits where I filmed my feet or the back of someone's head :unsure:  The highlight is the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Lancaster flying with the visiting Canadian Lancaster - the last two flying Lancasters anywhere in the world.  8 Merlins in formation...... stunning.  We got the full display from the Red Arrows as well, as the weather was just about perfect.

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Nick,

 

Excellent video! The Chinnook  was cool, as of course, 10 Merlins passing by. Music to the ears.  :Applause:  2 Lancs! Once in a lifetime! Glad Mother Nature was nice to you.

 

Going to give it a try with the Spartan Executive this eve., although I believe it may be a bit too big. 

 

Here is the flight plan if you want to do it this way.  Copy the complete text below and paste it into a blank .TXT document, save as  "whatever you like" dot PLN.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<SimBase.Document Type="AceXML" version="1,0">
    <Descr>AceXML Document</Descr>
    <FlightPlan.FlightPlan>
        <Title>77S to KDLS</Title>
        <FPType>VFR</FPType>
        <CruisingAlt>11000</CruisingAlt>
        <DepartureID>77S</DepartureID>
        <DepartureLLA>N43° 55' 55.45",W123° 0' 33.36",+000538.00</DepartureLLA>
        <DestinationID>KDLS</DestinationID>
        <DestinationLLA>N45° 37' 06.80",W121° 10' 02.40",+000216.00</DestinationLLA>
        <Descr>77S, KDLS</Descr>
        <DeparturePosition>PARKING 6</DeparturePosition>
        <DepartureName>Hobby</DepartureName>
        <DestinationName>Columbia Gorge Regl/The Dalles</DestinationName>
        <AppVersion>
            <AppVersionMajor>10</AppVersionMajor>
            <AppVersionBuild>61472</AppVersionBuild>
        </AppVersion>
        <ATCWaypoint id="77S">
            <ATCWaypointType>Airport</ATCWaypointType>
            <WorldPosition>N43° 55' 55.45",W123° 0' 33.36",+000538.00</WorldPosition>
            <ICAO>
                <ICAOIdent>77S</ICAOIdent>
            </ICAO>
        </ATCWaypoint>
        <ATCWaypoint id="36OR">
            <ATCWaypointType>Airport</ATCWaypointType>
            <WorldPosition>N44° 0' 10.82",W122° 52' 43.77",+001122.00</WorldPosition>
            <ICAO>
                <ICAOIdent>36OR</ICAOIdent>
            </ICAO>
        </ATCWaypoint>
        <ATCWaypoint id="S12">
            <ATCWaypointType>Airport</ATCWaypointType>
            <WorldPosition>N44° 38' 16.38",W123° 3' 32.66",+000223.00</WorldPosition>
            <ICAO>
                <ICAOIdent>S12</ICAOIdent>
            </ICAO>
        </ATCWaypoint>
        <ATCWaypoint id="KMMV">
            <ATCWaypointType>Airport</ATCWaypointType>
            <WorldPosition>N45° 11' 40.00",W123° 8' 09.40",+000147.00</WorldPosition>
            <ICAO>
                <ICAOIdent>KMMV</ICAOIdent>
            </ICAO>
        </ATCWaypoint>
        <ATCWaypoint id="7S3">
            <ATCWaypointType>Airport</ATCWaypointType>
            <WorldPosition>N45° 25' 44.00",W122° 56' 29.17",+000154.00</WorldPosition>
            <ICAO>
                <ICAOIdent>7S3</ICAOIdent>
            </ICAO>
        </ATCWaypoint>
        <ATCWaypoint id="KTTD">
            <ATCWaypointType>Airport</ATCWaypointType>
            <WorldPosition>N45° 32' 57.70",W122° 24' 04.50",+000036.00</WorldPosition>
            <ICAO>
                <ICAOIdent>KTTD</ICAOIdent>
            </ICAO>
        </ATCWaypoint>
        <ATCWaypoint id="4S2">
            <ATCWaypointType>Airport</ATCWaypointType>
            <WorldPosition>N45° 40' 22.46",W121° 32' 08.69",+000610.00</WorldPosition>
            <ICAO>
                <ICAOIdent>4S2</ICAOIdent>
            </ICAO>
        </ATCWaypoint>
        <ATCWaypoint id="KDLS">
            <ATCWaypointType>Airport</ATCWaypointType>
            <WorldPosition>N45° 37' 06.80",W121° 10' 02.40",+000216.00</WorldPosition>
            <ICAO>
                <ICAOIdent>KDLS</ICAOIdent>
            </ICAO>
        </ATCWaypoint>
    </FlightPlan.FlightPlan>
</SimBase.Document>

20AUG21_Avsim_Sig.png?dl=1  FS RTWR   SHRS F-111   JoinFS   Little Navmap 
 

 

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I'll be impressed if you can get the Spartan in and out of Jasper Ridge! I think someone's going to be calling for a tow truck to get their aircraft back up the hill...

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Those Lancasters and Spitfires make a lump in the throat. But tell me, what where the aircraft with the flappy wings and can you get them for FSX?


Eva Vlaardingerbroek, an inspiratiom.

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http://www.nemethdesigns.com/ has very nice goodies to alieve your flappy wing fix. I have the EC-135 & the CH-53E, both are very nice..  http://www.eaglerotorcraftsimulations.com has well praised flappers too although cannot comment on them myself. 


20AUG21_Avsim_Sig.png?dl=1  FS RTWR   SHRS F-111   JoinFS   Little Navmap 
 

 

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Look forward to flying on Saturday!

 

Just got my Sky-Nav paper VFR chart book for the North West, so should be all set  B)


Bert

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http://www.nemethdesigns.com/ has very nice goodies to alieve your flappy wing fix. I have the EC-135 & the CH-53E, both are very nice..  http://www.eaglerotorcraftsimulations.com has well praised flappers too although cannot comment on them myself. 

Ha! Tried to catch me in the 'Work of the devil' trap eh? Well it won't work, I know what those things can do to you.

 

I was referring to the seagulls. That one fell flat on it's face. :(


Eva Vlaardingerbroek, an inspiratiom.

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Ha! Tried to catch me in the 'Work of the devil' trap eh? Well it won't work, I know what those things can do to you.

 

Humbug!  Fiddlesticks!  I've flown on many a whirlybird (and even a little stick time  :Big Grin: ) and have lived to tell the tale.  My only complaint would be with the way MS chose to model the controls. 

 

I guess you'd burn me at the stake if I brought one to one of our little adventures...  :Whistle:


Craig Taylor

Craig.png?dl=1

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Humbug!  I've flown on many a whirlybird (and even a little stick time  :Big Grin: ) and have lived to tell the tale.  My only complaint would be with the way MS chose to model the controls. 

 

I guess you'd burn me at the stake if I brought one to one of our little adventures...  :Whistle:

A humbug is a person or object that behaves in a deceptive or dishonest way, often as a hoax or in jest

 

 

The only part of that description that applies to me is the 'jest' part. As for my burning you at the stake, a little bit harsh, even for me! :wink:


Eva Vlaardingerbroek, an inspiratiom.

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FSX flight plan for this week's flight here.

 

Also, I've written an info document describing the area we'll be flying in which can be downloaded here.

 

 

Took the Spartan up for a cruise.. No problem getting in/out of Jasper Ridge as long as the eyeballs can find it.

 

 

 

Good job!  It's not the easiest to see, is it....

 

 

I guess you'd burn me at the stake if I brought one to one of our little adventures...

 

 

This flight would be a good one for a whirly thing, we'll be low and slow all the way, plus if you feel like entertaining us there are some landable rooftop helipads in downtown Portland! :P

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Just a little poke at your "Work of the Devil" comment, Ron.  No offense intended.  (Some) language corrected.  :ph34r:

 

Nick, I'm not sure my mixmaster skills are good enough for primetime - especially on tiny helipads.  I'm lucky if I can get one remotely close to an "H" at an airfield!  :lol:


Craig Taylor

Craig.png?dl=1

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My 'work of the devil' comment was my way of saying I can't fly a chopper to save my life! Don't you just love the internet? :rolleyes:

 

As for what to fly, I'm in full indecision mode. :unsure:

 

EDIT: I've decided. A Beaver, forestry probably.


Eva Vlaardingerbroek, an inspiratiom.

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Ron, I was just trying to have some fun with it.  :wink:

 

Just tried the first leg in the Cera Bell 412.  I'm definitely rusty with the collective!

 

I'm not sure if I will make it tomorrow, but if I do it will probably be in something conventional.  Maybe the Maule can make it this time.


Craig Taylor

Craig.png?dl=1

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