(Almost) Blind Flying in the Milford Sound...

April 1, 20215 yr

Lately, I have got quite emboldened,...🙂..., by watching our (virtual) fliers, here, arrive into their destinations (whether big city or small towns - airports, or even tiny bush strips in the middle of nowhere), safely and effortlessly(?), while, often, simultaneously, challenged by their (opaque) windshields, (completely) crusted with solid ice, in addition to, of course, near-zero-visibility (weather) conditions, outside. So, I thought to myself, why not try a similar challenge, maybe not with a frozen windshield (not daring enough to try it), but, still make it just a bit exciting,...and, my mind drifted to a few mountainous locales that have been (always) of interest to me (e.g. Lukla, Aspen, Courchevel, Milford Sound etc.). Then, I also recalled a post, here, from a short while ago, with a collection of wonderful images of the Milford Sound (one of my perennial favorites). So, that settled it...

For this exercise, at my own (virtual pilot) discretion, in my virtual world, I set visibility to mile and a half, set time to dusk (appx. 6:30pm NZ start), and the Season to Spring (official first Spring Day, around here, was about a week ago, though, NZ will have its first Spring Day on September 21, but, for this post, I wished to avoid too much of snow and whiteness...). Thus, with my preset REX textures, I ended up with a "magical" (and "far-away") looking twilight condition, with barely enough light, to navigate along the (treacherous) narrow valleys of the Milford Sound region, while facing (B2B) layers of deceptive (but majestic) mountains, towering menacingly all around me and my little Piper aircraft...(please bear with my imaginations, here, a bit...🙂...and note that my trusty GPS flightplan magenta track (not revealed, below) was my competent guide)..., please also see the screenshots, below, and note the setting sun, down, behind the tall ridges, barely visible, only, in a couple of my screenshots, when I happened to fly high (~ 5,000 feet) to keep clear of the obstacles. Along the way, I spotted many waterways and waterfalls...you, too, can spot a few in my screenshots. [Side Note: Milford Sound is one of the most stunning natural attractions, in NZ, (never been there, myself, btw), and is supposed to be home to spectacular mountain peaks, lush-green rain-forests (it's one of the wettest places in the world), beautiful waterfalls, and unique flora and fauna etc.]

For my flight here, I've tried something else, too, which adds to the challenge. Those of you, who are familiar with Orbx (NZMF) would know that, the package also contains two other little gems, hidden, in there, "...Included with Milford Sound Airport is NZMJ Martins Bay and the very tricky T004 Quintin Lodge...." For this post, I have attempted to tackle the landing, please see (ending) screenshots, into the (T004) Quintin Lodge strip, which, I, indeed, found, yes, "very tricky"...! BTW, I've flown (virtually) many times from T004 to NZMF, but, this is the first time, I'm flying in the reverse direction i.e. from NZMF to Quintin Lodge/T004. I was able to land, in T004, after a couple of unsuccessful attempts, the screenshots, for which, of course, have been conveniently omitted, in my below set...🙂...I'm sure, many, here, must have attempted to squeeze their (bush) planes into the T004 grass-strip, but, if you haven't, and wish to try, below, is my take to land on that narrow (so-called) runway:

Make sure you stay high enough till about the last mile/minute or so, to clear one last hurdle/ridge, before you break free into empty space, and dive down, ready to aim for the grass-strip, assuming, you've been on the lookout for it, well in advance...
After clearing the last hurdle, a sharp left turn is needed, followed by a sharp right turn, to get aligned with the Rwy direction. Radio Altitude can be quite misleading/deceptive, because, it will be changing erratically, all the time, due to the undulating terrain underneath. So, note ahead that the Elevation of T004 is 793 feet above MSL (while that of NZMF is mere 10 feet).
Try to aim for the early part of strip, on the center, there being dense forestry, on either side of the strip. I appear to have landed, slightly, off center, but, at least, not in the bushes...
Once landed, prepare to slow down quickly, because, the Quintin Lodge (Cabins) is just at the end of the strip, straight ahead, with, normally, folks/families standing around, talking on the phone, or children playing right in front of it...(all, thanks to Orbx)...

So, here, we go,...hope you enjoy these images, below, of my trip from Milford Sound (NZMF) Airport to Quintin Lodge (T004). And, as I arrive there, late evening, well past sunset, in front of the Quintin Lodge, and, open up my Canopy (via Shift 1-2...!), (see last 2 images), I see no one outside, but lights "on" inside...(so, I keep my hope up for some dinner and lodging...🙂...). Tomorrow, I've my (dangerous) work cut out, for me, as I finally get to use these "crop-dusters" equipment (I have carried with me, fitted to this PAWNEE BRAVE 375), on some of those fertile farmlands of New Zealand...

[BTW, as a coincidence, I looked up a bit, on the Wiki, about Agricultural aircraft, of which, this Piper is a good example, and I read this (note the occurrence of "New Zealand" first in the list of mention) :

"...In places where farms are larger, such as New Zealand, Australia, the former Warsaw Pact nations and parts of the developing world, larger and more powerful aircraft have been used, including turboprop powered aircraft such as the PAC Cresco, twin engined types such as the Lockheed Lodestar and the WSK-Mielec M-15..."...]

Last week, I was flying the RNAV GPS Approach with RXP GTN 750, in a (trijet) Falcon 50, and, today, I flew this (piston-powered single-engined) Piper Pawnee, to the Quintin Lodge grass-strip, but, both flights were surely fun...of different kinds....!!

Thanks for your interest...! Good day...!

[Alabeo (PA36 PAWNEE BRAVE 375), Orbx (NZ/NZMF), REX]