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Left Coast. Golden Gate, Big Sur and Sideways. (Active Threa

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Left Coast. Golden Gate, Big Sur and Sideways.

CS_LC_Dunes_2.jpg?dl=1

Departing from Santa Rosa and its Sonoma County Charles "Snoopy" Schulz Airport [KSTS], we see a region hard hit by the wildfires of 2017. When we reach Marin County, we cross Mount Tamalpais and pass over the great “old growth” redwoods of Muir Woods [MUIR], descend over Point Bonita [BONTA] and fly past the Golden Gate Bridge [GGATE]. (Let me remind you that flying under the bridge is hazardous and could be detrimental to your health.) We go low along the North Shore to pass the Presidio, Palace of the Arts, the Marina District and Fisherman's Wharf. And then circle out over San Francisco Bay to round historic Coit Tower [COIT] on Telegraph Hill and pass westward over (photoreal) Golden Gate Park [PARK] to Ocean Beach [BEACH]. We then turn south and land at the “Flight Unlimited II” signature airport Half Moon Bay [KHAF]. From here we embark on a trip down the peninsula, with a touch-and-go (or low-pass) at Bonny Doon Village [CL77] and a transit of Monterey Bay, to land at Monterey Regional (KMRY).

We then turn southward to Big Sur. If you have the Orbx Monterey package, you might enjoy Jared Marshall’s detail of 17 Mile Drive and its famous points of interest: Cypress Point, the Lone Cypress and Pebble Beach. We pass Point Lobos [LOBOS] before taking a moment to experience the beautiful Bixby Creek Bridge [BIXBY]. It would be completely unsafe to fly underneath the bridge into Bixby Canyon. And it would be insanely reckless to then turn left up over the old Coast Road [OCR] and then immediately down Rocky Creek to fly west under Rocky Creek Bridge [ROCKY] back out over the Pacific Ocean [OCEAN].

Sensible pilots, and any surviving bold ones, continue south to observe Point Sur and the associated “haunted” Point Sur Lighthouse complex [PTSUR]. Then a quick turn inland to see the small hotels and restaurants of Big Sur before following the valley out over the ocean again. Then we fly 42 miles along the rugged coast alongside California 1, the famously narrow two-lane highway that twists and turns to provide its drivers with memorable vistas.

Approaching San Simeon, we arrive at Piedras Blancas [PBLAN] on which there exists a lighthouse and an interesting elephant seal rookery. Turning inland, we circle over the famously ornate Hearst Castle [CASTL] perched high on a hill before descending to land at the associated airstrip [marked U001] [perhaps not in default P3D?]. As George Bernard Shaw said, the William Randolph Hearst mansion is “the sort of place God would’ve built, if he had the money.”

Next we fly past Morro Rock ("the Gibraltar of the west") and the nearby decommissioned power plant to transit Morro Bay and land at San Luis Obispo [KSBP]. This is SLO CAL country, a land of measured pace. We depart south to see the beach and pier of iconic Pismo Beach [PISMO] where the "livin' is easy." And then we pass over the dramatic Oceano Dunes (a state recreation area that allows vehicles on the sand) and Guadalupe Dunes (a nature preserve that protects the fragile Dunes ecosystem).

We fly further south along the coast, skirting most of Vandenberg Air Force Base. For a half-century, Vandenberg has been the primary site for testing and developing US military missiles and launch vehicles. With appropriate clearances, we turn at Space Launch Complex 4 (SLC 4). To the south we can see the huge Space Launch Complex 6 (SLICK 6) from which the Space Shuttle program launched during the 1980s. SLC 4 is now used by SpaceX and its reusable Falcon 9 launch system. And just slightly to the east, Lockheed Martin uses SLC 3 to test the Atlas V expendable launch vehicle. We continue 8nm to land at Lompoc [KPLC].  [Caution. You may experience pauses in the Dunes and Vandenberg sections of the flight.]

Finally, we cruise eastwards over the Santa Ynez wine country of Sideways fame. At Lake Cachuma [CHUMA] we turn southeast to transit the Santa Ynez mountains through San Marcos Pass and then fly over Santa Barbara city [SBARB]. We circle to enjoy the sights, the wharf, marina, and red-tiled roofs of the Spanish Colonial style architecture. And we land at beautiful Santa Barbara Municipal Airport [KSBA]. At the end of the day, we might congregate in front of the Above All Aviation flight school (on the north side tarmac near the tower and west of Rwy 15R). [Orbx SOCAL Parking #39; Orbx Santa Barbara Parking #80] Look for the red-tiled roofs.


CS_LC_Sunset%20KSBA.jpg?dl=1

Flight Plan
The flight plan, in two formats, is available here. (If you are using the GTN *.GFP flightplan, you might also take a look at the *.PLN version in Little Nav Map to see the waypoints explicitly labelled.)

Aircraft
The route is 342nm. You probably want something that fast-cruises at 160kts (or more) so that we can complete our journey in the allotted time. Good choices might include faster singles like the Comanche, Bonanza, SIAI-Marchetti SF.260, Lancair Legacy or Vans RV7. Or you might prefer a light twin such as the C310, Baron, DA62, or possibly the C421 or Duke. Many other options will work just as well. The optional hijinks might suggest something nimble. Please fly what you like.

Scenery
This route features some impressive scenery by Orbx in its Northern California and Southern California regional packages. In addition to the scenery, the regions render all the airports that we shall use. That said, the experience should be fine with the Orbx basic packages: FTX Global, North America Landclass, and Vector. [If you have Orbx Northern California and Southern California, you might wish to disable FTX Vector to reduce the length of the inevitable pauses.]

In addition, you might enjoy the Orbx airport sceneries for Sonoma County (KSTS), Half Moon Bay (KHAF), Monterey Regional (KMRY), and Santa Barbara (KSBA). But these are by no means necessary. And you might add (from Josh Kemp) the Santa Barbara Channel oil platforms, the spillage from which catalyzed the environmental movement in the United States almost 50 years ago.

Time and Weather
This is a scenic flight so we want very nice weather. Normally in the Fall, we should be fine. (If we have a foggy day, as can happen on the coast, you could set up Historic Active Sky starting at 2200 UTC on November 7, 2018. Or, if that does not work, you might select "Fair Weather" or some similar alternative.)

You should set your departure time to 1:30pm local time (1330 PST).

Where & When
Date and time: Saturday November 17, 2018. 1900 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!

 


--Mike MacKuen
MikeM_AVSIM.png?dl=1

 

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And all that was written in your own time? Mmm, :dry:

My steed for Saturday:

n23674a.jpg

Edited by Ron Attwood

Eva Vlaardingerbroek, an inspiratiom.

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Lovely livery, Ron.

If anyone has the delightful Orbx Sonoma County airport (by Misha Cajic) and have some time before the Saturday flight, you might spawn in one of these spots. #17 Near fly-through Butler Hangar featured in It’s a Mad Mad Mad World (1964). #41 Near the Pacific Coast Air Museum. #43 inside a GA hangar. #18/#19 Near the Signature FBO and the Sonoma Jet Center. Or #5/#21 Near the Kaiser Air (the largest FBO at KSTS).

  • Upvote 1

--Mike MacKuen
MikeM_AVSIM.png?dl=1

 

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Here are some extra goodies for the flight if you want. This will add in a bigger Hearst Castle, A nicer Moro Bay, Bigger Vandanberg area and all the Oil platforms up the cost.  

https://www.mediafire.com/file/eb0v1myenjpkjz2/California_Scenery.zip/file

Edited by FreeBird(Josh)

CPU: Intel i9-11900K @5.2 / RAM: 32GB DDR4 3200 / GPU: 4080 16GB /

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Mike,

Mad, Mad World is one of my favorite movies of all-time. Can you imagine what it would cost today to make a movie with that many BIG names in it? When I think of Phil Silvers, or Cid Cesar, or Jonathan Winters tearing up the gas station, it just makes me laugh! Here is a list with pics of all the talent: https://www.google.com/search?q=actors+in+it's+a+mad%2C+mad%2C+mad%2C+mad+world&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-1-ab

Interesting video of Butler hanger...looked like (2) A-7's in there, and I don't know what that big twin was - looked a bit like a B-25, but can't see the tail. Outside looked like an F-15 Strike Eagle

Kind Regards,


Steven_Miller.png?dl=1

i7-6700k Gigabyte GA-Z170X-UD5 32GB DDR4 2666 EVGA FTW ULTRA RTX3080 12GB

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Roman,

Great shots. I like the ship traffic ( I assume to taunt Gunter). Are the launchers with the Falcon, and the Shuttle part of Orbx SC/NC, or are they included in the scenery that Josh posted?

Kind Regards,


Steven_Miller.png?dl=1

i7-6700k Gigabyte GA-Z170X-UD5 32GB DDR4 2666 EVGA FTW ULTRA RTX3080 12GB

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7 hours ago, spokes2112 said:

Mike,
Once again, Thanks for the excellent flight!
Some screenshots are here, mainly POI's and some action shots. 

Guess which one is me?? :cool:

ps. Inspired by this flight, I now have my FSX Marchetti installed in P3D.. looking better than ever..

 


Bert

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Roman, just wonderful screenshots. A few border on "beautiful."
Thanks!
--M


--Mike MacKuen
MikeM_AVSIM.png?dl=1

 

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