Summer Scramble on the Sound

[MM 424]

Summer Scramble on the Sound

For 2019-06-22
MM

Today we shall spend a Summer afternoon flying over some of our most familiar territory in the Puget Sound region and the Salish Sea. Departing from Abbotsford in BC, we fly south to Paine Field. Then northwest to Friday Harbor and Vancouver Island and finally back to Orcas Island. All the while, we shall "scramble" to visit many airfields – either full-stop landings or touch-and-goes. The goal is to enjoy the weather and scenery and conversation while we visit some of our favorite airports that we have known so long.



Flight Description       
Here, the full-stop landings are designated in bold print while the touch-and-goes are in italics.

We depart from Abbotsford [CYXX], the large General Aviation airfield east of the Vancouver suburbs just north of the border. Heading southward, we do touch-and-goes at two grass strips West Wind [7WA3] and hard-to-find Riverside [4WA8] before landing at Skagit Regional [KBVS]. Then east to visit our oldest friends for a TnG at Israel's Farm [WA56] and then onward to land at Concrete [3W5] and Darrington [1S2]. Back to a TnG at Arlington Municipal [KAWO], host of the famous regional airshow. And then land on the General Aviation side of Snohomish County's Paine Field [KPAE]: 16L or 34R, with a left and right traffic pattern respectively. The local aircraft manufacturer, a world-famous specialist in self-activating autopilots, invites our pilots to take a close look at their facilities.

We then head westward over Puget Sound and Whidbey Island for a TnG at Jefferson County [0S9] and a full-stop landing at Diamond Point [2WA1] airpark. Then fly north along the west coast of Whidbey Island and pass historic Whidbey Naval Air Station – we have received clearance and the air controllers will watch out for our scramble. Proceed to the beautiful Deception Pass Bridge [DPB] a scenic point that is best appreciated from up-close. And continue to the northern end of Fidalgo Island to land at Anacortes [74S]. Anacortes serves as a gateway to the islands: it hosts a busy ferry terminal and air taxi operations at the airport.

From Anacortes we turn west again, this time over the San Juan Islands. We execute touch-and-goes at Blakely Island [38WA] and Lopez Island [S31] before landing at Friday Harbor [KFHR] on San Juan Island. At KFHR's airside is the widely praised Ernie's Café with its outside-grilled hamburgers, specialty Korean Bulgogi, and the famous mouth-watering PopOvers. We have made a special order of PopOvers to be sure that there are enough for everyone. Stop in and enjoy a quick treat.

Back in the air with a TnG at Roche Harbor [WA09] and west over the Haro Strait that forms the international border and separates Vancouver Island from the San Juan Islands. We land at Victoria Airport [CYYJ] and tip our cap to all Vancouver Island residents!  Then a return east over the Strait to an optional full-stop landing at Stuart Island West [2WA3]. (This last one is a challenge: a difficult-to-see short dirt strip nestled between two hills. You land East to West. Some pilots may prefer a low fly-by.) Finally, we head east for our final destination Orcas Island [KORS].

This will be a leisurely sociable afternoon. It is not a race. The distances between airports are short. And we expect that pilots of faster planes might be kind enough to recognize some of the slower aircraft and "self-regulate their own throttles" to yield an appropriate speed. No one will be left behind.

Caution. If you have several of the airport sceneries, you will have extra eye-candy on this afternoon. However, you will want to be wary of the demands on your system. Pacific Northwest is an old design and practically begs you to turn down your autogen settings. And the large number of detailed airports may pose a special resource drain...especially for anyone flying FSX/P3Dv3. And the pauses. If you don't have pauses ... you just don't have enough scenery. (!)

Aircraft
The route is 233nm and will involve low-and-slow flight coupled with many touch-and-goes and full-stop landings. Recommended aircraft: most of our favorite GA aircraft with a fast cruise speed of 130 KTAS or more. Some popular options include the Piper Cherokee, Cessna 182, Cessna 185, Ryan Navion, Piper Comanche, Beech Bonanza, Vans RV7, Wittman Tailwind, SIAI Marchetti SF.260, Cessna 310, and Lancair Legacy. Anything you like will be fine. We ask that pilots with faster planes accommodate pilots with slower aircraft.

Scenery
Strongly recommended scenery: Orbx Pacific Northwest region. This will provide both the scenic setting and the enhanced airports. Alternatively, North American Landclass and Vector should be fine.
Recommended is the Orbx freeware airport for West Wind (it includes Riverside).
Recommended are the "old favorite" Orbx payware airports for Skagit, Concrete, Darrington, Jefferson County, Diamond Point, Anacortes, Friday Harbor, and Orcas Island.
Also Recommended is Drzewiecki Design's Seattle X which provides an excellent Snohomish County Paine Field. (Do not purchase this package for this one event. A freeware demonstration package is available but installing this for the single event is not recommended.)

Flightplan
The digital flightplan (in *.pln and *.gfp formats) is available here.
(GTN users might look at the Little Nav Map rendition of the *.pln to identify the many named waypoints.)

Simulator Date and Weather
For departure, please set your simulator time for 5:00pm Local (2400 UTC). We shall fly real weather if possible. If we have low cloud cover or low visibility that impedes our sight-seeing, we shall choose weather for Sunday, June 16 at 2300 UTC.

Where & When
Date and time: Saturday June 22, 2019. 1800 UTC.
Where: AVSIM RTWR Teamspeak - Casual Flights Channel
Teamspeak Server Address: ts.teamavsim.com
Cross-Platform Multiplayer: JoinFS. (FSX, FSX-SE, and P3D).

Multiplayer Experience
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!
 

[MM 424]

PS. If the weather is good, I recommend that we set the simulator time at 5:00pm local for our departure.

[spokes2112 179]

Mike,

Thanks for the flight! A beautiful area..
Too bad my piloting skills were 👎  and a few sim problems occurred.
Still, all in all - fantastic! 

Some "Polaroids" have just been developed.... Here.
BTW - photo #27 shows a drastic accident.. Copyrighted.. Sold to CNN for $1 :)  

[MM 424]

Thanks for the delightful shots.

Nice to know the events that led to the odd scene that we saw moments later...

[Ron Attwood 3,465]

I have to say Roman, that we look like the only couple of fat kids on our first day at kindergarten.    Great pics!