Scotland is an interesting region of the United Kingdom...Along with the archipelago of the Shetland Islands (~100 miles to the North of Scotland), their northern edges constitute the northernmost points of the United Kingdom. In fact the starting point of travel for this post, the town of Kirkwall (in Shetland), may be considered the most northernmost (populous) settlement in the United Kingdom. The two most important cities, in Scotland, are the (large) seaport of Glasgow and the historic (capital) city of Edinburgh (the destination for this subject flight).

So, here, below, please find a set of (sample) images of a (~200mi) flight from Kirkwall (EGPA) to Edinburgh (EGPH). As I flew south, the peculiarities, I observed, were the (initial) snow covered terrains of Shetland (and northern Scotland), whereas such snow coverage on the ground gradually gave way to lush greenery (per Orbx's rendition. here). A bit of investigation revealed, this is, indeed, the expected case at this time of the year.

I read, "Despite being a relatively small country, one of the most surprising things about the Scottish climate is just how much it varies from one region to another. It's often the case that you can drive for 20 minutes and find that the conditions are completely different...". The sparsely populated and mountainous (Scottish) Highlands, of the north, experience nearly 100 days of falling snow, much more so, than the southern parts (with Winter, now, barely, getting over in Scotland) - which is what I actually noticed.

The aircraft, here, Beechcraft King Air, needs no introduction (an "often-seen" favorite, around here, in the SIM)! The exact variant used, in this post, is King Air 350i (Marketed name for, essentially, an updated version of B300 with interior upgrade - couple of screenshots included). The (best-selling) King Air family has had the longest production run of any civilian turboprop aircraft in its class. It has outlasted all of its previous competitors thanks to its remarkable legacy of continuous improvements, and, of course, the advanced Pratt & Whitney (PT6A) power-plants, on this model, are a proven winner in its class!

So, here, we go. Please note, the emphasis, here, in this post, is on the aesthetic appeal of this beautiful plane, rather than system fidelity. I was, at least, glad to be able to remove all the (pre-existing) orange lights on the Annunciation Panel, prior to takeoff run...the one that gave me most trouble was the one for "Rudder Boost", for which, an internet search (rather quickly) came to my rescue, by leading me to the correct switch! And, for the flight, it was possible to manually enter a Flightplan from a real (EGPA->EGPH) flight of the past days...But, that's about the extent of my interaction with the "Dual FMS"...etc.

Nonetheless, I hope, you enjoy these images of this aircraft, below, as much I, myself, enjoyed looking at them in motion...

[Carenado(King Air 350i)/Orbx(Scotland)/REX]

[Note: I wish to explore, later, (at least) the Edinburgh region of this scenery, further, with another slower (VFR-capable) aircraft. But, below, if you look carefully, in one of the approach shots, at top RHS corner of it, you may be able to notice the famous Forth Bridge, a cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth, 9 miles west of Edinburgh. It is considered as a symbol of Scotland and is also designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.]

Thanks for looking!! Comments are welcome!

Great pics, P_7878, Scotland is also one of my favourite places to fly over in TE England

***Stunning*** She sure is a Beauty,and FSX seems to be aging very well.

Bernd: Thank you! Yes, the TE GB (Northern/Scotland Part of it), I just scanned the images, look really nice and crisp...that being a much newer product. I will later see...about some of those structures/buildings there in the shots...how do they look in (my) FSX Orbx-SCO...

Patrick: Appreciated! Yes, you're correct on both counts...!!

On 4/4/2020 at 7:17 AM, Phantom88 said:

***Stunning*** She sure is a Beauty,and FSX seems to be aging very well.

Folks:

Just some rambling (Sunday morning) thoughts, prompted, by Patrick's remarks above, on my post here, and also my viewing of the Bargain Shack today. Please give a casual read, and, hope, it rhymes with some...

I was skimming the Bargain Hunter's Shack just now...and a couple of things, I noticed, that prompted me for some thoughts. The remarks, such as above, (about FSX), made me also re-think a bit...and, that kind of remarks, btw, you don't see often these days...🙂...(and especially from folks, who are, genuinely passionate about another SIM "currently"), or/and and have long moved off the FSX platform...

First, I noticed (the 1st entry!) the "Polish Airports V1 Free! Drzewiecki Design"...just excellent...I've purchased several Drzewiecki Design products, including Warsaw (Chopin), my very first, major (SIM) foot-hold in Poland...(w/o some add-ons, FSX Poland, is pretty much un-flyable)....this is great to do (short) hops in Poland (CRJ/ERJ/737/320 etc.)...new regions are always fun, to explore, in any SIM...whether one lives near or far from it..in RL..!

More, importantly, I noticed, "FSX Steam sale for ~U$6!...while, sorry to, also, note...there is no reply (yet) to that one there...

Particularly, if one is new to SIM (or the hobby), while we all anxiously wait for the new platform...these things are tremendous opportunities during the interim year or more...So, if one (especially new) is now interested in the "hobby" and not just in a specific "SIM"...then, there is no end to what FSX/FSX-SE can contribute to one's enjoyment for just "$6" (it could be lifelong...if you ask me...speaking from personal experience). Everything I've learned, experienced, and enjoyed, in Aviation, is due to FSX...and, sometimes, I feel I'm (still) scraping the tip of the Iceberg...in terms of variety...

Add to $6 (sometimes, it's even <$5, I recall, which had actually started it off, fresh, for me), the plethora of (pure) FW in FSX (e.g. if one starts to explore airliners, iFly "Freeware" 747 comes to mind, still in the Library, the one that had (truly) got me hooked, for the first time, to "seriously" thinking about authentic Airliner SIMs...long before (all) the premier developers came along...the date of submission is listed as "08-20-2007:"...still good as gold...!). Of course, you will (and should) like to move on (or/and keeping your old one(s) alongside) to newer/better platform(s), whenever, possible, in your case, that's for sure...

I aim these thoughts...mostly for the new-comers, with open minds...🙂...If any such folks wish to get started/re-started, let me know...(I occasionally do get inquiries from folks with "0" posts, here, on-line/off-line, of course "0" posts does not always mean they are new to SIM)...

And, thanks for your support and contributions, around here, no matter what "SIM" you deploy for your specific case! That enriches my (personal) interest too - even if I don't/can't fly that for myself!!

[Good rest of Sunday and a good week, ahead, while U.S. enters the "hardest, saddest" week in the crisis, I read today...]

 

Edited April 5, 20206 yr by P_7878