Sea of Marmara Round Robin

[Viking01 181]

We continue our tour in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea. This time - I hope - without the risk of becoming entangled in international politics….

We depart from Canakkale (LTBH), where we made a short stop-over during our last trip here. We head towards Gökçeada, with 279 square kilometers the largest island of Turkey. The island is very mountainous. Cape Avlaka, near Uğurlu, is the westernmost point of the island, and of Turkey as well.
In ancient times, it was believed that the Greek sea god Poseidon rested his horses in the deep sea between Gökçeada and the Greek island of Samothrace, which is to the north of Gökçeada.
The former name of the island, İmroz, which derived from its Greek name (Imvros), was officially changed to Gökçeada in the 1970s, in light of deteriorating Turkish-Greek relations in the context of Cyprus dispute. The airport Gökçeada (LTFK) was opened in 2010 and has a concrete runway, orientation 01/19. 

After landing we will check our sea survival gear and depart for Kesan (LTFL), equipped with one concrete runway 01/19. Keşan had a permanent population of 54,314; in the summer this increases to 70,000 because of an influx of tourists. 

We are now on the northern shore of the Sea of Marmara. The Sea of Marmara is entirely within the borders of Turkey, and connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea, thus separating Turkey's Asian and European parts. The Sea of Marmara is the smallest sea in the world. It has an area of 4,380 sq mi, with dimensions 174 mi × 50 mi). Its greatest depth is 4,490 ft.

Next stop is Corlu Airbase (LTBU). The single concrete runway has an orientation of 05/23. The city of Corlu is booming today because many mainly textile producing factories that opened there in the recent past. Outlet Centers should attract customers to come to Corlu. The city is the sister town of Montgomery, Alabama and many other cities around the world. 

From here is just a short flight to Ataturk Istanbul International Airport (LTBA). It has two runways 36/18 and one 06/24.

Istanbul, historically known as Byzantium and before 1924 as Constantinople, is the most populous city in Turkey and the country's economic, cultural, and historic center. Istanbul is a transcontinental city in Eurasia, straddling the Bosporus Strait (which separates Europe and Asia) between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea. Its commercial and historical center lies on the European side and about a third of its population lives on the Asian side. Istanbul was one of the most important cities in history and its importance is still growing today. 
Ataturk International Airport is the most important airport in Turkey and with respect to passengers handled there the 11th busiest airport in the world. It was named after Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first president of the Republik of Turkey.

After departing Istanbul we head towards WP1. We are crossing the Strait of Istanbul, better known as the Bosporus, a narrow, natural strait and an internationally significant waterway. It forms part of the continental boundary between Europe and Asia and separates Asian Turkey from European Turkey. The world's narrowest strait used for international navigation, the Bosporus connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara, and, by extension via the Dardanelles, the Aegean and Mediterranean seas. Three large bridges cross the Bosporus, and we are overflying the 3506ft long Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge which was completed in 1988.

We continue for a short look at the Black Sea before we head back towards the Sea of Marmara. Our next stop will be Yalova AB (LTBP) with its two concrete runways, 18/36 and 08/26. Yalova was home to Atatürk in his final years and has some attractions for tourists. Among them are the home of Atatürk and some hot springs. 

From here we move on to Topel AB (LTBQ), a Turkish Navy air station. The airport is in joint use for military and civilian air traffic with one asphalt runway 09/27. Restructured in 1976, it hosts the Turkish Naval Aviation Command with two flying units, the 301st Squadron of fixed-wing aircraft and the 351st Squadron of rotorcrafts.
The facility, formerly a base of the Turkish Air Force, is named after the Air Force fighter pilot Capt. Cengiz Topel, whose F-100 Super Sabre was shot down on August 8, 1964, during Turkey's military intervention in Cyprus. He ejected safely over land but was promptly captured after landing and lynched by members of the Cyprus National Guard. He was the first Turkish pilot ever killed in action. 

On our last leg, we can see Lake Iznik. In 2014, during aerial photography to survey the local monuments, the remains of an underwater Byzantine basilica -possibly erected in the 4th century- were identified, a discovery which was named one of the top 10 discoveries by the Archeological Institute of America. The basilica was dedicated to St. Neophytos of Nicaea and it is thought that the effects of an earthquake which took place in A.D. 740 provoked its collapse. Plans are on the way to establish an underwater museum.

Our destination today is Yenisehir AB (LTBR). The airport has two concrete runways, 07/25 left and right.

Source: All information taken from Wikipedia

Airports: With the exception of Istanbul International (LTBA), all airports can be found here

Istanbul can be downloaded from this VATSIM site, which is also an alternate source for some of the other Turkish airports. Scroll down a bit and look for LTBA from Zerdar Nuzhet.

All airports work well with P3DV4, running the elevation correction tool from ORBX Vector may be required.

Flight Plan: The flight plan, in PLN and GTN format can be found here .

Aircraft: The route is 318nm. A cruise speed of about 150 KIAS would be sufficient to complete the flight in time. A fast GA single like the Comanche or the Bonanza would be a good choice, but a light twin would be fine as well. Please fly what you like.

Time and Weather: Weather should be fine to enjoy the flight. In case of adverse weather conditions, we could use historical weather. Wednesday, 19 September 2018, 14:00 UTC should give us some clouds and a bit of haze.

You should set your departure time to 13:30 hrs local time. That should get us to Yenisehir at dusk.

Where & When
Date and time: Saturday, December 1, 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!

 

[nbrich1 116]

Amazing work Gunter.. (Busy times but do hope to make it to Turkey next week if possible)

Just want to take opportunity to say thank-you to all of you: you guys do great work on these trips and it is greatly appreciated.

 

Norm

[somiller 694]

I second Norm's sentiments...thank you all for the flights, and the editorial that goes with them. This looks like another good one Gunter (do I see some ship traffic in those images)!

Unfortunately, work is cutting into my leisure time, so it's been difficult to find time for flight planning a trip. I hope to be able to contribute at some point.

Kind Regards,

[MM 422]

The flightplan and sceneries for this week are great. Lots of character.

Two things to speed installation:

1. The scenery models are easy and quick to install. "Download, Drag, Drop, and Activate." No problems. But those running FTX Vector's AEC (Airport Elevation Correction) want to disable AEC for LTBA, LTBU, and LT86. (LT86 is now designated LTFK, but Vector uses the old designation. So LTFK may need special attention.)

2. A minor point. For Istanbul LTBA, the author Serdar Nuzhet has offered a corrected terminal building file "LTBA_Terminal.BGL" that avoids a crash. It is available at FligthSim.com here. Or look for "crash_fix_for_serdarnuzhet_s_ltba_ltfj_ltce_.zip". This may not be necessary for our usage which probably does not include docking at the jetways. But the update might be helpful and does not seem to hurt.

Gunter, thanks for setting this up. The points of interest in Istanbul are nicely modeled and plentiful. (It is possible to spend too much time reading about the spectacular highlights of historic Istanbul.) BTW you would not be surprised to discover a couple of your wayward pilots flying under the first two Bosphorus Bridges. It is wonderful to be prompted to learn more about this part of the world.

[spokes2112 179]

Thanks Gunter for the flight - an area I would really like to visit in real life..

Insomnia has set again.... Caused by the thoughts of great food! Kabobs, Gyros, lots of Tzatziki & lots of Dolmada's - YUMMY!
Getting all set up for Saturday. A lot of water around, so can you guess what I'll be in? hehe
Did the pre-flight scenery check out - this is what I have found, again in FSX.

These tests were with FreeMesh on. (thanks Mike for all your tips, tried them all)

LTBH (Canakkale AB) - OK
LTFK / LT86 (Gokceada) - AEC disabled results in the airport well depicted but in it's own valley, AEC enabled results in badness.
LTFL (Kesan AB) - OK
LTBU (Corlu AB) - OK w/ AEC disabled
LTBA (Ataturk) -  AEC disabled results in a good depiction but the airport surfaces are well above surounding land elevation,  AEC enabled results in badness.
LTBP (Yalova AB) - OK
LTBQ (Topel AB) - OK
LTBR (Yenisehir AB) - OK

WOW! what an exercise in futility! LTBA & LTFK(LT86) were a "PITA" (yummy! lamb in pita's - lol) even turning off FreeMesh made no difference. Really wanted to keep it on.
But alas.. Before performing hara-kiri, one last try was given. Below is what fixed 'er all up! 

ORBX\FTX_VECTOR\FTX_VECTOR_APT\scenery
ABP_LT86.bgl.inactive
*ABP_LT86_Default.inactive (unchanged)
ABP_LTAB.bgl.inactive

ORBX\FTX_VECTOR\FTX_VECTOR_AEC\scenery
AEC_LTBU.bgl.inactive
AEC_LTBA.bgl     !!! Yes on...
AEC_LT86.bgl.inactive

BTW.. The TV/Monitor fix worked.. For 2 days, then it blew up again. 
Electronics repair is not difficult based on the premise that it is only the smoke that makes them work, let the smoke out and they don't work anymore! hehe 
It all comes to good though - went to new 4K from 1600x900. I guess I am not going blind - HOLY COW! Like a new sim! Can see stuff now, able to clearly read the instruments (and markings) from default zoom - UNBELIEVABLE!
Caught a MASSIVE deal on the pre- "Cyber Monday" 8 hour sale the day before. The price then went up $100  - HA! Suckers...

Time for sleep, c'yall on Saturday

[Viking01 181]

Thanks Mike for the Heads Up about the fix!

[spokes2112 179]

Once again - Thank You Gunter for the excellent flight!
Some screenies are up here --> https://www.dropbox.com/sh/57x12q3xryi64so/AABHYUdvAvvmx7WpC5TAHp1Ba?dl=0
There's a comment on the first picture for more info. Very sad..
Oh BTW the shots are in 4K (   lol!  ) .. Divided by 2 for bandwidth. 

[robrooke 42]

roman, 

  superb shots as usual,  incredable clarity of istanbul with the topkarpi palace & the blue mosque.

regards.

[Viking01 181]

Excellent shots, thanks Roman!

[spokes2112 179]

Gunter, cannot say this enough. THANK YOU!
How can one have a perfect sim one day then pure garbage the next? 
With zero (except for teamspeak) changes?
That is one for the sim-gods above.
Would have went thru at least 4 rolls of Kodak 36 exposure if it wasn't for the lock ups. 
Very pretty.
This is all I got.. --> https://www.dropbox.com/sh/yaucvp8q2xf5n3h/AACwCPhsqwvlJkgb-MWPGcBka?dl=0



PBR - DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE PURE TASTE!

[Viking01 181]

Thanks Roman, I like the shots, especially the Bloody Mary ...

BTW, I had the same problem a couple of weeks ago: Shut down P3D and the computer after and flight and the next morning P3D wouldn't start, no matter what. Strange, but true...