Years ago, I was flying the Airbus planes (318/319/320/321), mostly from Aerosoft, quite regularly, as often as I would be flying the PMDG/iFly 737NGs. Somehow, after the years of break from SIM, when I resumed, I never got back into flying these jets much. In recent months, I've occasionally flown (and also posted) about PMDG/iFly 737 NGs, but, I don't recall having flown any Airbus in recent memory.

I like flying the Airbus SIMs...I've recently made a couple of posts about e.g. the early A300/A310 variants, and, have periodically (but regularly) enjoyed flying the SimCheck A300B4. After all, the history of Airbus planes is as fascinating, as that of the Boeing, though a slightly shorter one...🙂..., but it does not make it any less interesting. The first successful (commercial) Boeing (B707 quadjet) first flew in 1957. The first successful (commercial) Airbus (A300 twinjet) first flew in 1972, 15 years later, though the concept of an "Airbus" (a conveyance in the "air", capable of transporting 100 or so people, over short to medium distances, at low cost, similar to a "bus"), dates back to the pre-60s, among EU a/c manufacturers. And, in all technology, there are pros and cons, to starting "fresh" (a clean slate of paper, so to speak), vs. building on the (proven) base of old-fashioned methodology. The challenge, in the latter case, is to evaluate what to keep, what to evolve, and what to discard...etc.

The commonality of Airbus cockpit, is well-known, starting from A318/A319 (btw, we note, here, that the A318 actually flew 7 years after the A319) i.e. A318 was a later evolution from A319. A318/A319 can be likened to (and compared with) the Boeing 737 classic series (300/400/500), the 500, there, in the series, being the shortest. For length comparison, the 737-500 is 102 ft long, and the 318 is at 103 ft. I am especially fond of the stocky and stout...🙂...looking 737-500, and, likewise, the stocky looking Airbus 318. When examining the pictures, this week, from a member post, of the Vueling Airlines A320 (this Spanish LCC, Vueling Airlines, fleet is entirely based on Airbus a/c, since its inception), I recalled that I had flown this livery years ago (>5 years ago)...yes, indeed, a Vueling A318 was patiently waiting for me to revisit...🙂...since all these years. Vueling never actually flew an A318 (they started with A319, and still fly them). The repainter Readme, for this livery, correctly says, "Aerosoft Airbus A318 EC-EGL "Vueling"; Done as a request from a forum member. So not 100% correct; "Vueling" only have 319's...Enjoy...".

The repaint was surely not my request, but, it suits me well, here, and I am thankful to the original requestor (and, of course, the obliging repainter)...because, it gave me 2 things, today, that I was seeking, for my enjoyment (1) a revisit of Vueling Airlines, and (2) a revisit of Airbus in the form of my favorite stocky 318...!

So, please bear with one more post about Vueling, this week, but with the twist of an Airbus 318 rather than an Airbus 320. The (~300nm) flight, of this post, spans the space over (and along) the Baetic System of mountain ranges, in south-eastern Spain, between Cadiz (LEJR) and Alicante (LEAL), flying from West to East (coast to coast; see MAP). You can spot the Alboran Sea, in a few shots, on the starboard side of my plane, to the south. The flightplan is also shown below, which was directly uploaded into the Airbus MCDU. I've started from a Cold & Dark cockpit (easily pre-configured via the MCDU menu; see shot), and, then, performed a (Tutorial Based) engine start procedure, on the tarmac at Cadiz airport. I've included a few en-route pictures of the Baetic System of mountains. Importantly, the most well-known segment of the Baetic System is the Sierra Nevada, where the (11,413 ft) Mulhacén, the highest mountain in continental Spain and in the Iberian Peninsula is found. I've included one screenshot (please see #15) as I pass just to the left this highest summit. That's also the only segment, atop which, I noticed snow, during this flight, justifying its name ("Sierra Nevada", meaning "mountain range covered in snow")...

The flight makes full use of the automated lateral/vertical climb/cruise/descent modes, to the best of my ability, and the landing is into ILS Rwy 10 of Alicante (LEAL). This Aerosoft A318 SIM, after all these years, performed without any perceptible issues, in all phases of the flight, at least, to the pleasure and satisfaction of this virtual pilot...And, it was a bit of good and different kind of fun...after a long break, with scope for additional enjoyment and learning with it...

Hope you enjoy these pictures, below, of the Airbus 318 in the color of Vueling...neither this Airbus variant nor this airline been seen much around here...

Thanks for your interest...!!

[AS (A318 CFM), MSE (Spain)]

Another great set of shots from your side !

cheers 😉

Very nice shots! btw bad procedure.

Thanks,... pmplayer and Alaska738....!!

[Alaska738: Yes, you're correct....and you can tell I'm no RW pilot...🙂...Seriously, I did detect discrepancies during the Approach (and also a few other issues), but, didn't have time to investigate and resolve them. First of all, I'd wished to re-install this SIM afresh, on my system, which I always do, when reverting back to a 5+ years old/un-used (a/c) SIM installation...here, I skipped my usual precautionary measure, but, indeed, I plan to do a re-installation of this (A318/A319) combo, and repeat the flight, next time, with, maybe, the A319...I really like this pair of a/c...!]

11 hours ago, P_7878 said:

Thanks,... pmplayer and Alaska738....!!

[Alaska738: Yes, you're correct....and you can tell I'm no RW pilot...🙂...Seriously, I did detect discrepancies during the Approach (and also a few other issues), but, didn't have time to investigate and resolve them. First of all, I'd wished to re-install this SIM afresh, on my system, which I always do, when reverting back to a 5+ years old/un-used (a/c) SIM installation...here, I skipped my usual precautionary measure, but, indeed, I plan to do a re-installation of this (A318/A319) combo, and repeat the flight, next time, with, maybe, the A319...I really like this pair of a/c...!]

It's not a problem, it's just a flight simulation. But to have more realism it is rather nice to read the Airbus manual SOP in order to fly like in the IRL. 🙂 

***Fantastic Series***

On 8/19/2021 at 6:13 PM, Phantom88 said:

***Fantastic Series***

Appreciated, Patrick...!