Check out John Woodward's Beaver first. I do feel Aerosoft's is better, but not by a whole lot. Really, I haven't flown his new version yet more than once or twice, so I am not poo pooing it at all, it is a very nice model. I just have more experience with the Aerosoft model, so that's what I keep choosing to fly. I also tend to gravitate towards old cockpits, since, if I were to ever get a chance to fly these birds, that's probably what I'd see. Plus, I'm a nostalgic kind of guy. Aerosoft is a very good company to work with in my experience.Thomas[a href=http://www.flyingscool.com] http://www.flyingscool.com/images/Signature.jpg [/a]I like using VC's :-)

acutally the trip im talking about is tons longer, where you hit the coast of south america, im planning on keeping going to encircle the entire south america contient then continue to go back up - i didn't know where to start so im planning just to start at my home airport which will be kcub in columbia scciao!Brian S

so many choices! i was going to go with the A36 but now - something about doing it old school kinda apeals to me - didnt' think of the aerosoft beaver! - i just might do it in the beaver - .... - very tempting - it would be quite adventourous that wayciao!Brian S

F1's Commander 112 would be an excellent choice for the altitudes and time frames planned for each leg, plus the view from the cockpit is quite nice too. If you want to go back to a real classic Bill Lyons' Stinson would be hard to beat for enjoyment. I'd also consider using FSD's O-2 and remove the right seat so you could see through all those windows, I've made a number of canyon runs in the O-2 flying low and fast and weaving my way through a mountain pass... loads of fun... and with the TH2Go it was breathtaking ;).Zane

oh man, i just took the aerosofts beaver through a test run - thats it! wow - great nostalgic adventure type of feeling! Im taking that and going for it, I hope to start my trip tonight when i get home from work (im on lunch now) so... chat with you all soonciao!Brian S

>>Lord Howe?? Norfolk?? :) When you flew from NZ to>Australia, did you use dead reckoning or did you use GPS?I'd love to be able to say I used DR, but I "cheated" and used the GPS! I take my hat off to the likes of Sir Francis Chichester who first flew this route in 1930 in a Gipsy Moth. He was truly one of the pioneering greats of aviation (he actually flew solo from London to Sydney after only 5 hours tuition!)

>I've been planning a flight from Maine to Newfoundland to>Greenland to Iceland and to Ireland. Right now I'm leaning>toward the Flight 1 Cessna 441 Conquest.>>Jim> Jim,A guy I know wanted a vacation in Florida last year, so he flew there and back in his TB20, from Cranfield (just North of London) to Naples Florida. He documented the whole thing in a blog, which you can find here: http://www.polestaraviation.com/?page_id=3 It gives a real insight into the kind of planning needed if you want to do this kind of trip for real!

>acutally the trip im talking about is tons longer, where you>hit the coast of south america, im planning on keeping going>to encircle the entire south america contient then continue to>go back up - i didn't know where to start so im planning just>to start at my home airport which will be kcub in columbia sc>>>ciao!>Brian SCool. When you said "back to Florida" I envisioned something like I'm doing. I live within sight of the Canadian border and I think when I get back I'm going to take the A36 and fly the coast and border of the continental U.S starting from my home airport in New York. That should keep me busy a couple of weeks with the amount of time I get to play on the computer. Have fun.

>This is interesting since I've just started reading a book>about pilots who ferry GA planes all over the world. From the>west coast, over the Pacific to Australia, Singapore, etc. >From the east coast, over the North Atlantic to Europe.>>I've been planning a flight from Maine to Newfoundland to>Greenland to Iceland and to Ireland. Right now I'm leaning>toward the Flight 1 Cessna 441 Conquest.>>Jim> Jim:What book is that you're reading? Sounds very interesting and something I'd like to read, too.

>What book is that you're reading? Sounds very interesting and>something I'd like to read, too.>"Air Vagabonds: Oceans, Airmen, and a Quest for Adventure"by Anthony Vallone.Jim

. . .of course there's the old faithful B25J "Briefing Time" from MAAM-Sim. . . There's a few folks on this site that have been 'round the world in her. Not much heat in the cockpit, thogh, and she's a tad short on the fancy carpets. . . but the sound. . . oh. . the sound. .

well i took my first leg of many KCUB - KHXD and im not nearly as excited as i was before about the beaver! whew! what a workhorse - i just flew 105nm and it took me almost 1.5 hrs!! whew way to slow! i think i might have to switch over to the A36 afterall - the beav is great for hauling stuff out to the bush but mmmm.. not sure about this long xcountry tripciao!Brian S

Hmm, that sounds awfully slow. You should be doing at least 140 kt I think (It's been awhile). Was there a strong wind?Thomas[a href=http://www.flyingscool.com] http://www.flyingscool.com/images/Signature.jpg [/a]I like using VC's :-)

not sure, i dont think it was anything high, around the 7-10 kts range, i had 28 mp at 2000 rpm and was hitting about 123kiascoming into land it was very gusty and windy...i will switch over to the a36 and try that - it will have much better ifr capabilities if i need itciao!Brian S

Well, I was wrong. 123 kts is about right for max cruise. But 1.5 hours to travel 105 nm works out to an average of 70 kts. That's less than climb speed. How high did you get? Was most of the flight climbing? Seems slow.Thomas[a href=http://www.flyingscool.com] http://www.flyingscool.com/images/Signature.jpg [/a]I like using VC's :-)