Majestic Wilderness

[MM 422]

Majestic Wilderness

We visit the western section of the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in southern Alaska. This flight is over a wilderness populated by black bears and grizzlies, moose, caribou, and mountain goats with rivers rich in salmon and trout. We depart from Valdez [PADV] to follow the southernmost sections of the famous Richardson Highway and the parallel Trans Alaska Pipeline. We fly through the Chugach Mountains, over Thompson Pass [K55], to the Pipeline's Pumping Station Number 12 [PUMP] and then direct to land at Chitina's airfield [CXC] on the Copper River. Then along the Chitina River to land on the small airstrips at Long Lake [4AK3] and then Glacier Creek [KGZ]. We ascend the valley, climbing to 10,000 to fly along the shoulder of the University Range and, subsequently, descend down Hawkins Glacier to the Chitina River below. We land at the Ultima Thule Lodge (in Orbx SAK) [THULE] (or if you do not have Orbx SAK, at the fictional Last Resort at Bear Island [BEARI] or further along at Jakes Bar [AK0]).

After a cheese sandwich (or something more local) and a coffee, we push on from the luxurious lodge to the historic settlement McCarthy and its active airstrip [15Z]. We pass the famous Kennecott Mine and climb the Kennicott Glacier to an elevation of about 10,000, pass between Mount Blackburn and the Atna Peaks, and enter the glaciers and snowfields of the Wrangell Range. At waypoint [TOP], elevation 7380, we land on skis, tundra tires, or ordinary tires and stop to admire the crisp panoramic views. (This real world airstrip at the top of the Nabesna Glacier is used by professional pilots for skiing, climbing, and scientific expeditions. Not depicted in the simulator.) Then westward along the top, we pass the massive volcano Mount Wrangell on the south and the Copper Glacier on the north. Finally, we descend between Mount Sanford and Mount Drum along the Sanford River onto the plain below. Rejoining the Copper River and the Richardson Highway, we land on the lighted asphalt runway at busy Gulkana airport [PAGK].

For an excellent introductory film about flying in the Wrangell St. Elias wilderness, see this personal Bush Pilot's View, narrated by Lynn Ellis (5:45).

Flight Plan
The flight plan and a Pilots' Guide are available here.

Aircraft
The route is 305nm so you probably want something that cruises at 150kts or more so that we can complete our journey in the allotted time. Aside from the first and last airfields, we shall be landing on gravel/dirt/snow fields so you might prefer an aircraft with sturdy landing gear designed for rough surfaces. Good choices might include the C182, C185, C206 Soloy, DHC-6 Twin Otter, and the Quest Kodiak. Many other options will work just as well. Please fly what you like.

Scenery
This route shows off the landscape artistry of Orbx Southern Alaska Region scenery package. It works well enough with the Orbx basic packages: FTX Global, North America Landclass, and Vector.

The Orbx payware PAVD Valdez Pioneer Field provides a stylish departure point: before the flight, you can check out the Trans Alaska Pipeline terminal across the bay from the airport. Additional eye-candy is available with two Return to Misty Moorings packages: Chitina-Kennekot and Last Resort at Bear Island. These add some enhancements to the airstrips, some cabins, and the Kennecott Mine. They do not require the RTMM scenery libraries. (If you do not have Orbx Southern Alaska, you might install the Last Resort at Bear Island to create an alternative landing site on the Chitina River. Or you might just proceed to Jakes Bar.) None of these enhancements is necessary.

Weather
The weather will matter. The first choice will be live weather. But if we have clouds that prevent mountain flying (as is often the case in Alaska), then we might consider switching to historical weather. Zane Jacobson's 2015 C170 trip to the region (see the  report and video in the Pilots' Guide) encountered beautiful weather and we shall use his experienced environment to be sure that we can do our flying on the scheduled day. (Start Active Sky at 1800 UTC on May 4, 2015.) Or, if that does not work, you might select "Fair Weather" or some alternative that will allow you to fly safely in the mountains.

Where & When
Date and time: Saturday July 7, 2018. 18:00 UTC.

Where: AVSIM RTWR Teamspeak - Casual Flights Channel
Teamspeak Server Address: ts.teamavsim.com
Cross-Platform Multiplayer: JoinFS. (FSX, FSX-SE, and P3D).

If you want to help others enjoy the multiplayer experience, don't forget to enter your aircraft details on the multiplayer spreadsheet (linked here). Your courtesy will save others a lot of time and effort. Thanks!

Recommend that you set your departure clock to 1730 hours (5:30pm) in local time. While we should finish before sunset, Gulkana airport does have lights to insure a safe arrival in the event of unexpected delays.

[Viking01 181]

That sounds like fun! And very interesting links, they will keep me busy for a while!

[CavalierDuck 106]

When I saw the title I thought, "Ah, we're doing it in Q400s".... 😲

[MM 422]

Addendum. You might like to trace the route on this excellent map of the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. (Download and blow it up for the detail.)

 

[jt_williams 291]

6 hours ago, CavalierDuck said:

When I saw the title I thought, "Ah, we're doing it in Q400s".... 😲

Patience Nick,  Next week in Q400's😉

[xxd09 67]

What a terrific flight plan

Even better with RTMMs BWEP installation-the pipeline and accosiated airstrips all there

I fly in an Alabeo CruzPipersport with the bubble canopy-all the better to see the scenery 

Thanks again

xxd09

[Ron Attwood 3,464]

On 7/5/2018 at 10:13 PM, jt_williams said:

Patience Nick,  Next week in Q400's😉

[Viking01 181]

Someone with Miliz seems to read our threads here...

Just in time they released the Turbo Otter. Interesting airplane, but another Milviz.. I don't know. And then, P3D V4.3 ist not supported, the list of supported versions ends at 4.2, strange!

[jt_williams 291]

Ron Landing on the Nabesna Glacier