While myself being still in the process of an inter-city relocation, I chose to get back to a bit of sim today. I picked up a couple of Carenado aircraft, and the Orbx Valdez (PAVD) scenery from their SALE.

Valdez (Alaska) is a former Gold-Rush town located in the "Last Frontier". It was (inaccurately) promoted to be a quicker route to the famous Klondike Gold fields, while actually, its Glacier-filled track (you can locate a few of these glaciers in the posts below) was twice as long, steep, and perilous. Many prospectors died while attempting this route. It's the southernmost point of the Trans-Alaska pipeline. Valdez, as you may recall, back in 1989, was the infamous site of the devastating Exxon Valdez tanker spill. The tanker while departing the Valdez terminal struck the Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef at midnight local time 25 miles from the town, spilling 10.8 million U.S. gallons of oil causing extensive and irreparable damage to marine life in the region.

The Valdez (PAVD) runway surrounded by towering mountains makes for a very challenging approach, while at the same time offering breathtaking scenery of the Prince William's Sound. It has a 6500 feet Asphalt runway. Era Aviation (please see their livery in one of the posts), which has lately rebranded itself as Ravn Alaska, under the parent Alaska Airline, offers 45 minute (Dash 8/8Q) flights from Anchorage to Valdez.

So, please find, below, a collection of images from a test-flight to/from Valdez. The aircraft is Hawker H850XP, often cited as the best-selling midsize business jet, known for its remarkable performance, and industry-leading space and comfort in the cabin (please see shot). There are several Private Charter Airlines that operate jet-services to Valdez. One of those, Priority One, interestingly operates Hawker jets. Thanks for viewing these images, and Happy Holidays! [Orbx/Carenado/REX]

Edited December 16, 20187 yr by P_7878

Pity I did not see this post earlier.  I love bizjets.  Only bizjet I ever went inside was the IAE Westwind, which pulled up on the tarmac in Napa one day to pick up pax while me and my two friends were returning from a 172 flight around the Bay Area.  It was cool to see inside it, to see how nice bizjets are.  We watched it leave Napa, it took off from 18R, then circled the airport before heading to its destination, Monterey....

John

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IAI_Westwind

WOW!!! So Crisp and Clean!!!

Excellent pictorial, loving those Alakian mountains and of course the aircraft!

Fantastic shots!