PNG Tour R1 - Return to the Highlands - AVSIM's Round the World Race Forum

May 24, 20179 yr

PNG Tour R1 – Return to the Highlands

In the next few weeks we return to the wonderful bush flying that is so necessary for life in Papua New Guinea … next to "the worst place to be a pilot." The first week takes us through the high mountains of the Central and Eastern Highlands, combining several regional airports that serve domestic passenger flights with a couple of smaller bush strips that might offer a modest airmanship challenge. The second week likewise combines some larger strips with a couple of more interesting hillside landings. These first two legs serve as a warm-up for the second pair of legs which offer the far more testing bush strips of the Tapini and Kokoda regions.

We start at the Mobil/Exxon oil and natural gas facility at Moro camp (AYMR) [PIS/FSX]. The airport is unsealed but it is plenty large and serves turboprop passenger and freight traffic for the industrial scale operations here. We depart for Mendi (AYMN) [OrbxE], a provincial capital nestled in a narrow valley. Then up into the wilder highlands to Wapenamanda (AYWD) [OrbxE] and a visit to Enga province. We turn back eastward, passing the high ridges to descend into the densely-populated Wahgi Valley and land at Mount Hagen (AYMH) [OrbxE], the commercial and administrative center of the Central Highlands. Then further east to Chimbu field (AYCH) [OrbxE]. Chimbu is in the middle of Kundiawa, a busy town and the starting point for those wishing to climb Mount Wilhelm (the highest peak in PNG). Rather than walk up, we fly to Keglsugl (KEG) [PIS/NW] which is a mountainside airstrip built for a Catholic mission that now facilitates climbers' getting to the interesting parts of the mountain. And then down to Bundi (BDI) [PIS/NW] which is a native village of some tourist interest. After entertaining ourselves with these strips, we climb back up to the major town and cultural center Goroka (AYGA) [OrbxE]. Finally we cross over the Ramu Valley to Madang (AYMD) [OrbxE]. Madang is well-established "expat" town with a relatively western-friendly atmosphere. The hotels and bars might be a good place to spend the evening…the older German colonial guest house, the Madang Resort Hotel, seems especially inviting.

The scenery keys in square brackets indicate FSX-default [FSX], Orbx "full-featured" [OrbxF], Orbx "enhanced" [OrbxE], and Pacific Island Scenery [PIS]. In addition, we have a handful of bare grass strips specially-constructed by our own Nick Wood [NW] which substitute for the PIS sceneries. You can probably fly the route without any of the Orbx payware scenery. But you will miss much of the interest here. The older Pacific Island Scenery provides extra color to a few of the bush strips but is not really needed. (We recommend it but don't feel that you should buy it for this event.)

Strongly Recommended Scenery.
Orbx FTX Global Base Pack for textures.
Orbx PNG Holgermesh (freeware)
Orbx Tapini.
Orbx AYPY Jacksons (and Kokoda Trail package).
Orbx AYEO Emo Mission (freeware)

Optional Scenery.
Pacific Island Simulations (PIS) PNG Bush Flying package (payware).
Specially-constructed grass strips by Nick Wood, available here.
Orbx Vector (with AEC disabled).

If you want to use the PIS PNG Bush Flying package (and it does enhance the experience), you will need to pay attention to the conflicts with the Orbx sceneries. For instructions about how to combine the two scenery packages, please read the Special PNG Scenery Installation Guide available in the flightplan download (see below).

Recommended Aircraft:
We shall be delivering packages to the towns and villages in the area. Most of the airfields have airline service and will handle larger aircraft, but a few of our destinations are village airstrips that require some STOL capacity. I shall fly the Aerosoft Twin Otter Extended DHC-6-300 (in the very 1970s colors of TalAir, the pioneer PNG airline). Other oft-used aircraft in the region include the Britten-Norman Islander BN-2A, Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, the Quest Kodiak and Pilatus PC-6. Historically, the DC-3 was a mainstay here. And smaller aircraft such as the Beech Baron and Duchess, Cessna 185, 206 and 337, de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver, Dornier 27, Piper Aztec, and many others have done yeoman service in the region. Any other similar aircraft will be just fine.

A flight plan and Pilot's Guide and other documentation are available here.

Particulars