Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
P_7878

Winton to Sydney - Fast Forward 100 Years...

Recommended Posts

[Note: I'd recently touched on the history of Qantas, via several posts, fulfilling a long-held desire to get to know the Kangaroo a bit better....(I recall a member had even awarded me a "Kangaroo" for it....๐Ÿ™‚...hoping, though, it was from an Australian...)...including the most recent post on it where I'd flown the Qantas 787-9 to Antarctica (mimicking, in part, Qantas' upcoming sightseeing pleasure trips to overfly that exotic continent...). In less than two and half months, from today, on November 16, Qantas, will be reaching the remarkable milestone of its Centenary Birthday - only the 3rd (continuously operating) Airline in history to do so (after KLM and Avianca). I've been on the look-out for Qantas' Centenary repaints (in FSX/SE), since my previous Qantas Posts, but, this post, here, got triggered by a B787-9 repaint, I came across this past week in the Freeware Library - a most remarkable livery, with many embellishments on it (see images and notes, below). Additionally, if you missed, there was also recently a beautiful (single) screenshot, here, itself, by another member, on the same (Qantas) 100-year theme. Anyway, here we go, hope you enjoy this account and the images below of a special airline and "two" special aircraft...]

For Qantas, the humble beginning, had occurred on November 16, 1920, in Winton (Qld). Couple of (quick) Winton tidbits (for non-Australians, like me...๐Ÿ™‚...). Yes, first of all, that's where, 100 years ago, Qantas was born (i.e. it was the first home of its four homes). [Side Note: Winton, btw, is also the Birthplace of Waltzing Matilda, Australia's most popular folk song and bush ballad.] I read, "It's a typical rural Outback town with the flair of a great past..." These are the kind of towns that always fascinate me more than the big metropolis with tall skyscrapers...๐Ÿ™‚...I also read that Winton and the surrounding area is known as dinosaur country. Australia's largest dinosaur skeleton was found outside the town in 1999, and more discoveries of fossilized bones followed...so let's just say, this place has been around a while...and certainly a worthy site of origin for Qantas Airline...

There is another (small) town which also figures prominently in Qantas history i.e. Longreach (Qld), about 105ย  miles southeast of Winton (see MAP screenshot). The "Longreach" decal that is imprinted on many Qantas airliners (an old tradition with Qantas 747s), could be attributed to this town, in addition to the literal meaning that "Longreach" means "long-haul". It was Longreach, where, on December 22, 1919, the (famous) Vickers Vimy, piloted by Ross and Keith Smith, who were en route to Melbourne after winning/completing the first England to Australia air-race, had landed (having already reached Darwin, on December 10). So, Qantas, has, interestingly, passed through 4 homes (i.e. headquarters): (1) Winton (YWTN-Qld) (2) Longreach (YLRE-Qld) (3) Brisbane (YBBN-Qld) (4) Sydney (YSSY-NSW). Just FYI, for non-Australians, I've shown the locations of these 4 places on a SimBrief MAP, starting with Winton, at top LHS. The very first QANTAS aircraft (or, should we say, maybe, airliner...) was an Avro 504K (WWI Biplane) that was used by the airline for five years. Powered by a 100 HP engine, the Avro was modified to carry up to two passengers as well as the pilot. Currently, a high quality replica, of it, built by Qantas engineers and apprentices from the original plans, is on display as the central exhibit in Qantas Founders Museum, at Longreach.

Back to this post: I've themed my images, below, into 2 sets: the first three images are symbolic nostalgia for an Avro-504K (please excuse, couldn't find an exact livery, but the model is correct) lifting off from Winton (YWTN). And, in stark contrast, the rest of the images typify a flight of B787-9 (Qantas' modern acquisition) from Brisbane (YBBN) to Sydney (YSSY) - the later two homes of Qantas, and, of course, a full 100 years have passed in between the two sets (the word is "Time Capsule", if you examine the details on the shown Centenary 787-9 repaint).

"As it gears up for its 100th birthday, Qantas has unveiled a special centenary livery on its latest Boeing 787-9. The aircraft, registered VH-ZNJ ("same repaint, as shown, below"), had rolled out of the paint shop at Boeing's factory in Seattle, on October 01, 2019. The special livery, interestingly, features every Qantas logo since its founding in 1920. The widebody will be also named "Longreach", the same name given to the airlineโ€™s series of retiring 747-400s. This 787-9 is powered by General Electric GEnx-1B74/75/P2 engines. Its production had involved a total of 64 days of activity at Boeing Everett."

Now, about the QW 787 SIM, here: I'd recently flown it (though probably only for the 3rd time in the year)...it's a most remarkable SIM, for us virtual pilots......especially for someone like me, who is less than rigid, in aviation principles......๐Ÿ™‚...(I recall too well how long I/we had to wait for this SIM, it was, of course, worth it, though, as the years add, the waiting-game is losing a bit of its luster...๐Ÿ™‚...for me, personally speaking...)...Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised today to notice it has been simulated with 2 HUDs (Capt. and FO - See images) etc. For this flight, I did a Cold & Dark start-up, at YBBN, without any apparent issues (at least, from my non-expert perspective). However, later into the flight, I ran into a couple of issues...not wishing to elaborate at the moment...๐Ÿ™‚..., but, surely the pitfalls are with me, rather than the SIM...(so, it's time for greater practice and a closer examination of that excellent 187 pg Tutorial/Manual, provided by QW...)...

The shown livery (thanks to good work by the painter) features many intricate details - the number "100" incorporates the flying kangaroo logo forward of the wings (you will also catch the old and rare (flying) Kangaroo with wings...!). The airlineโ€™s different logos since its foundation, are also imprinted, as the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services (QANTAS) from the 1920s. It also has the (special) markings, "QANTAS TIME CAPSULE TOWARDS 2120" in the rear fuselage, next to the Registration and Flag.

So, forgetting any imperfections of flight, due to this hobby-pilot, hope, you enjoy the images below of these beautiful aircraft, carrying the rich tradition of Qantas, across a Time Capsule of 100 years...!!

Thanks for your interest, comments, or/and any supplementary feedback.

To the folks in U.S., Happy and Safe Labor Day (long) weekend...!! Hope, many of you will get some extra time to enjoy the ambience, beauty, and aircraft of the new MSFS SIM..., and, of course, a good weekend to all...whatever SIM (or SIMs?) you're currently flying and betrothed to....๐Ÿ™‚...!!

[QW(787-9)/FW(Avro-504K)/Orbx(AU)/REX]

Special Note of thanks: Livery by Mathew Tank
[Matt says, in the README, the most beautiful words (usually) heard, in the SIM world, from the Freeware contributors/Painters, which never ceases to amaze me, "Now most importantly....GO FLY AND ENJOY...", which is exactly what I did...Of course, Qantas, helped too...๐Ÿ™‚...]

7BjrTs.png

eiJQ20.png

EEnrnU.png

sZcEZn.png

PoQ2Jl.png

Db79ZK.png

Xfl7Iy.png

a6axo5.png

OScogu.png

PsHQeT.png

xGBYdy.png

qpigpq.png

SQhAz6.png

V9WqY4.png

BlDRCN.png

anqEnN.png

y8MwjD.png

Ns2gug.png

OPTpoi.png

lMlGRN.png

  • Like 5
  • Upvote 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Very interesting piece of aviation history and great screenshots, P_7878

  • Like 1
  • Upvote 1

Any attempt to stretch fuel is guaranteed to increase headwinds

My specs: AMD Radeon RX6700XT, AMD Ryzen 9 5900X, 32GB RAM, 34" monitor, screen resolution: 2560x1080

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Stunning photos!!!

may I ask, do you Have any CTโ€™ds using true glass and real light ?

thanks

mike

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Bernd and Ed: Greatly appreciated your comments and observations...!!

[Ed: I know you probably have a soft-spot for QW, from your bygone associations with the Posky days...๐Ÿ™‚...]

ย 

4 hours ago, mikeymike said:

.....

may I ask, do you Have any CTโ€™ds using true glass and real light ?

thanks

mike

Mike:

First of all, thanks for the kind words...!!

I believe you're asking about CTD issues, with Glass Cockpits, in "my" FSX/SE system, (and, also, about "real light"....sorry, could you tell me what you exactly mean, so I can explain my case, either here, or by PM...?)

Bits of "personal" notes, may or may not be relevant to you, if it helps you:

By now, I know both FSX/SE and (Payware planes/scenery) limitations of "my" system with it rather well, like the palm of my hand...๐Ÿ™‚...primarily because after about 10 years of FS9/FSX (~starting 2004), including a break from SIM of ~5 years, I've been exclusively and very actively on FSX/SE since its release (I believe ~2014)...(btw, only a couple of us FSX/SE "diehards" in the Screenshots Forum...here...at the moment...๐Ÿ™‚...)

On FSX/SE, my experience with CTD has been clearly much less than FSX - there is no question, but you know too well the pitfalls of 32bit...๐Ÿ™‚...I am not much of continuous tweaker...so, I've simplified (my life) by saving my settings into 5 grades, I start with the highest grade (sometimes pleasantly surprised, and sometimes not...), then I start sliding to left...๐Ÿ™‚..as needed...generally it has not been an issue with payware (you can examine my posts and the variety of payware in my posts...)

My flights, these days, are short (cannot do justice to long-haul flights)...Specifically, here, for the (QW) 787, I've used a medium setting, you can probably tell that, in the [VC], e.g. the Glareshield button markings are not clear and readable (so, I've to zoom in, as needed for input), but, the external images do look fine....And, during takeoff at YBBN (this, here, is Payware Orbx YBBN, btw), I did notice occasional (momentary) freezes (scary but recoverable blue circle...๐Ÿ™‚...) , but the rest was fine...

I'm quite sure YBBN (or any other dense airport) with any higher settings for this 787 will cause CTD...btw, more likely to do so near the Gates/Ramps, than on the Runway...etc...However, with my medium setting, here, it did not cause any issues on my system...especially for this (short) flight...If you need more from my experience, please send PM....while we all now look to MSFS. I surely would move to it, later, on a better system, but, for now, FSX/SE still has too much learning left for me still....(with nostalgic planes like PMDG MD11/JS41, LVLD 767, CS 727/707 etc. working still for me...when I need them...plus most of the later FSX ones)...

Let me know if you need more details...! Basically, the answer is, it depends...!

Good luck and have fun...!!

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
7 minutes ago, P_7878 said:

Bernd and Ed: Greatly appreciated your comments and observations...!!

[Ed: I know you probably have a soft-spot for QW, from your bygone associations with the Posky days...๐Ÿ™‚...]

ย 

Mike:

First of all, thanks for the kind words...!!

I believe you're asking about CTD issues, with Glass Cockpits, in "my" FSX/SE system, (and, also, about "real light"....sorry, could you tell me what you exactly mean, so I can explain my case, either here, or by PM...?)

Bits of "personal" notes, may or may not be relevant to you, if it helps you:

By now, I know both FSX/SE and (Payware planes/scenery) limitations of "my" system with it rather well, like the palm of my hand...๐Ÿ™‚...primarily because after about 10 years of FS9/FSX (~starting 2004), including a break from SIM of ~5 years, I've been exclusively and very actively on FSX/SE since its release (I believe ~2014)...(btw, only a couple of us FSX/SE "diehards" in the Screenshots Forum...here...at the moment...๐Ÿ™‚...)

On FSX/SE, my experience with CTD has been clearly much less than FSX - there is no question, but you know too well the pitfalls of 32bit...๐Ÿ™‚...I am not much of continuous tweaker...so, I've simplified (my life) by saving my settings into 5 grades, I start with the highest grade (sometimes pleasantly surprised, and sometimes not...), then I start sliding to left...๐Ÿ™‚..as needed...generally it has not been an issue with payware (you can examine my posts and the variety of payware in my posts...)

My flights, these days, are short (cannot do justice to long-haul flights)...Specifically, here, for the (QW) 787, I've used a medium setting, you can probably tell that, in the [VC], e.g. the Glareshield button markings are not clear and readable (so, I've to zoom in, as needed for input), but, the external images do look fine....And, during takeoff at YBBN (this, here, is Payware Orbx YBBN, btw), I did notice occasional (momentary) freezes (scary but recoverable blue circle...๐Ÿ™‚...) , but the rest was fine...

I'm quite sure YBBN (or any other dense airport) with any higher settings for this 787 will cause CTD...btw, more likely to do so near the Gates/Ramps, than on the Runway...etc...However, with my medium setting, here, it did not cause any issues on my system...especially for this (short) flight...If you need more from my experience, please send PM....while we all now look to MSFS. I surely would move to it, later, on a better system, but, for now, FSX/SE still has too much learning left for me still....(with nostalgic planes like PMDG MD11/JS41, LVLD 767, CS 727/707 etc. working still for me...when I need them...plus most of the later FSX ones)...

Let me know if you need more details...! Basically, the answer is, it depends...!

Good luck and have fun...!!

Thank you for the reply.

i am currently on P3d v5. If you havenโ€™t tried this platform yet. I suggest you do.

great sim!!! Very smooth and stable.

depending on your system of course.

as it has gone to dx12 using a lot of gpu vram.

but I guess there has a been a new update for real light and true glass for the qw 787 and P3d v5 which is causing ctds with true glass and real light. At the moment.

ย 

regards

mike

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

@P_7878 I never realised until now that Longreach is an actual place and not just a term for QANTAS' long-range aircraft.

Always a pleasure to readย the words to go with your screenshots!ย :cool:

  • Like 1

Mark Robinson

Part-time Ferroequinologist

Author of FLIGHT: A near-future short story (ebook available on amazon)

I made the baby cry - A2A Simulations L-049 Constellation

Sky Simulations MD-11 V2.2 Pilot. The best "lite" MD-11 money can buy (well, it's not freeware!)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Mike:

Thank you...for the explanations...! Those cockpit enhancements, are absent in my virtual cockpit images...seen here, in this post,...(being not applicable to FSX/SE)....

But, I just watched a couple of video clips of it for e.g. (P3D) TFDi B717, the rain/rain-drops effects look marvelously authentic...[BTW, I acquired that wonderful (FSX) TFDi B717, just a short while ago, for myself,...and had posted, here, my first experience with it, w/o those effects, of course...]

Anyway, I hope you can enjoy those benefits, on your P3D, with this QW 787, without any CTD or such...!!

[Regarding moving to new Platform(s), now, it has to be only MSFS, for several reasons....a bit hard to justify both P3D and MSFS related financial layouts with the "Home" department...๐Ÿ™‚...]

ย 

1 hour ago, HighBypass said:

@P_7878 I never realised until now that Longreach is an actual place and not just a term for QANTAS' long-range aircraft.

Always a pleasure to readย the words to go with your screenshots!ย :cool:

Mark:

Hmm...so, you have not been paying attention to the texts of my recent Qantas posts...๐Ÿ™‚....just kidding, that's OK, thanks for your passion with the SIM....even though you and I seem to be the last warriors, here, for FSX/SE,....๐Ÿ™‚...

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

***Spectacular***ย 

  • Like 1

100%75%50%d8a34be0e82d98b5a45ff4336cd0dddc

0D8701AB-1210-4FF8-BD6C-309792740F81.gif

Patrick

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
14 hours ago, P_7878 said:

Hmm...so, you have not been paying attention to the texts of my recent Qantas posts...๐Ÿ™‚....just kidding, that's OK, thanks for your passion with the SIM....even though you and I seem to be the last warriors, here, for FSX/SE,....๐Ÿ™‚...

At least I remembered what I'd read in this thread!ย :biggrin:ย ..my mind fades...the vision dims...

Don't worry about us being the last warriors, Ed (edetroit) is backing us up from FS9ย :cool:๐Ÿป

  • Like 1

Mark Robinson

Part-time Ferroequinologist

Author of FLIGHT: A near-future short story (ebook available on amazon)

I made the baby cry - A2A Simulations L-049 Constellation

Sky Simulations MD-11 V2.2 Pilot. The best "lite" MD-11 money can buy (well, it's not freeware!)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

  • Tom Allensworth,
    Founder of AVSIM Online


  • Flight Simulation's Premier Resource!

    AVSIM is a free service to the flight simulation community. AVSIM is staffed completely by volunteers and all funds donated to AVSIM go directly back to supporting the community. Your donation here helps to pay our bandwidth costs, emergency funding, and other general costs that crop up from time to time. Thank you for your support!

    Click here for more information and to see all donations year to date.
ร—
ร—
  • Create New...