July 2, 20214 yr Bella Coola is a small community, in British Columbia, Canada, settled in a narrow valley and surrounded by scenic mountainous terrain. Here, for this post, I flew from Vancouver (CYVR) to Bella Coola (CYBD). My choice of aircraft is a Dornier-228, one of my favorite (STOL/Utility) aircraft. Its square fuselage (dictated by non-pressurized cabin) may not win a beauty-contest within its peers, but, the a/c is a proven winner been regarded as a highly fuel-efficient, rugged, and reliable twin turbo-prop transporter, such as e.g. in the (demanding) low-speed and high-altitude operations of the (harsh) Himalayas. Today, when I caught pictures of a Dornier-228, I was reminded of my decades-ago visit to Kathmandu/Nepal, where I'd got to to see, for the first time, a (RW) Dornier-228. I believe the Do-228 was in the livery of Yeti Air. Yeti Air was then operating Kathmandu-Lukla flights using their Do-228 (however, I couldn't take advantage of it, due to (prevailing) adverse weather conditions at the destination, a small regret to this day, of the missed opportunity). Today, I noted that the (original) two Do-228s of Yeti Air (one of which I must have seen) later got transferred to Tara Air (one of the two subject airlines of this post, see images), which, also, currently, operates flights to the same incredibly dangerous destination in Nepal (Lukla - Tenzing–Hillary Airport), using Dornier 228s and DHC6 Twin Otters. So, first of all, please find (my favorite, but out-of-place, in BC) Tara Air livery Do-228, lifting off, Vancouver. Then, to make it a bit more interesting, I looked for another livery of this Dornier 228, and, found a Do-228 repaint, in the Library, for Airnorth (not to be confused with the (Yukon based) Canadian airline, Air North). Airnorth (actually, always written with all lower-case font "airnorth") is a regional (charter) airline based in Darwin, Australia. [Side Note: For the non-locals, like I'm, the "north" in "airnorth" is due to the fact that this airline operates in Australia's Northern Territory (See "Do the TOP END" ("TOP" meaning "north")) tourism slogan on the front fuselage of this Do-228), btw, Northern Territory is also where the well-known giant monolith, Uluru, is located.] I've also included, below, a few pictures from a 2nd flight, with airnorth livery Do-228, making an approach into Rwy 05 of CYBD (Bella Coola). Please note my use of the word "approach", here, does not imply any kind of "Instrument Approach Procedures" because there are none listed/published for CYBD, the airport being limited to Day/VFR operations only. However, I've made it bit of a challenge, for myself, by reducing visibility to 2.5 miles (please see images). I've shown 5 successive images, as seen from the cockpit, while in a straight-in approach (and landing) into Rwy 05. With my self-imposed (hypothetical) 2.5 miles visibility, the landing turned out to be nerve-wracking, to tell you the truth, (at least, for this (virtual) pilot...🙂...), but, I managed to land properly, with my wheels touching down on the "05" marking...(please see images)...(btw, if you wish to try it in MSFS, you certainly can, please see below)... Finally, I've provided a few (close-up) pictures in and around the airport itself, gathered with the aid of my companion friend "BOB", as guide. Please notice e.g. the Bella Coola river meandering through the narrow valley, skirting the mountains, and, in fact, almost touching the (05-23) Rwy at its midpoint, on the north side of the Rwy. The river is (officially) named so, only for a few miles upstream of the town of Bella Coola, but, actually changes its name several times during it's westward journey, from its source, (seemingly) driven by its desire to merge with the Pacific. The river's mouth is at the town of Bella Coola, and it drains into the intricate system of (oceanic) inlets, in the proximity of Pacific Ocean. Hope you enjoy the (below) set of pictures of this (able) workhorse of a (Dornier) plane, in two different colors, along with a few sights from the (beautiful) Bella Coola airport and the vicinity. [Note to MSFS users: Orbx also has CYBD, for MSFS. Now, is it my imagination or those (MSFS) screenshots outdo my FSX images by a mile...🙂...(No, I don't think it's my imagination)...? And, without it i.e. [CYBD (MSFS)] being part of Orbx's (currently) on-going SALE, the add-on still costs less than that for FSX/P3D, which is now on SALE...! BTW, what do you think of that (brave or is it bold) airport employee politely waving the grizzly bear (seen only in the MSFS shots) to please back off...?] Thanks for your interest...! Happy July 4th (long) weekend to the folks in U.S. and a happy (normal) weekend to the rest...🙂...!! [Carenado (Do-228), Orbx (NA Pacific Fjords / CYBD), REX]
July 3, 20214 yr Author Alaska738, Todd, OnD: Many thanks for the comments and queries...!! 1 hour ago, olderndirt said: Whose Dornier is that one? This Do-228-100 is by Carenado...cannot find any fault on the look of their a/c...I like them a lot...(and, the airnorth repaint is by Matt Levi, who occasionally visits around here...)...
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