Papua 1 Busy Mountain Flying
For Saturday, October 16, 2021

We visit Papua, the Indonesian province on the western side of New Guinea. We begin in the northern lowlands and climb up to visit a number of established airports as well as the highest mountain between the Himalayas and the Andes. These are mostly short hops into remote high-altitude mountain airfields. In this first week, most of the runways are paved and fairly well-maintained. The next week(s) in Papua will offer up some smaller rough airstrips.



We depart from Dabra [WAJC] on the banks of the Baliem River. From the lowlands, we climb up over a ridge (at 7,100') into the wide valley below to land on the one-way grass runway at Karabaga Airstrip [WAOG]. Then south along the river to the larger modern Karabaga Airport [WAVG]. Then we turn onto "The Freeway", a series of airfields along the Tariku Valley and beyond. The first two are the well-maintained airports at Ilu [WAVC] and Mulia [WAVA]. Mulia is the capital of the Puncak Jaya Regency (maybe equivalent to a "county"). Mulia has a reputation as one of the coldest city temperatures in typically tropical Indonesia (as low as 9°C at night and, in some seasons, down to freezing).

We divert off the Freeway and turn south (and upward) stopping first at the two-runway airport at Sinak [WABS], a regular stop for Susi Air. Then a vigorous climb over the mountain ridges (at 13,400') to descend into the Ilaga Valley and land at Ilaga [WAYL], a small farming and administrative town. This is a more remote area populated mostly by the Western Dani people. The town has a few non-Papuan traders and government officials, but it is mostly a local outpost. (In recent years, the Papuan independence movement OPM has been strong in this area – capturing the town briefly in 2001.)

Next, we fly west and south over gradually rising country to over 15,000' where we turn south onto a shoulder of the Sudirman Range marked by the highest peaks in Oceania. On the sharp ridge of Puncak Jaya (16,024 ft) is the tallest mountaintop between the Himalayas and the Andes. We stop at the (possibly fictional) Puncak Jaya Mining Airstrip [WXPJ]. This short field may take some care. Just over the edge lies the enormous Grasberg Mine – the largest gold mine in the world. The 19,000 person enterprise (with a very deep pit and underground mines and processing plants) is now jointly owned by Freeport and the Indonesian government. Quite a feat to create such a massive mine on the top of this very remote mountain. Worth a look.

Then a descent over high country to Beoga Airport [WABA]. The village and paved strip are nestled in a tight valley. A bit of a climb over the Beoga Pass (about 10,000') and then a descent, takes us to a second Beoga Airstrip [WADJ] perched on a protruding ridgeline. Plenty of space but the bowl-shaped surface demands attention.

Turning west, we drop down to the valley floor to make a careful slow approach to a sharp, almost hidden, turn into the short flat strip at Hitadipa [WABJ].  Then a climb up to the much larger, paved, and busy Bilogai Sugapa [WAYB]. Not a serious challenge, but a dramatic-looking landing onto a narrow ridgeline.

Documentation
The flightplan and a compendium of approach/landing videos can be found here. (There are two versions of the digital flightplan. The "spare" one has the airports and a few turning points. The "full" one also includes more guidance and for each sloped runway a short approach line with the airstrips' average altitude indicated. The first is more clear and the second more informative.) The materials cover what will be two weeks' flying in Central-West Papua. A third week of much more challenging airfields lies farther ahead.

Aircraft
We want to experience the pleasure built into flying through these forested mountain valleys and landing at interesting medium- and high-altitude airports. In reality, almost all these fields are routinely serviced by the C208 Caravan. Many also see the Pilatus Porter, the Kodiak, and the Twin Otter. I'll take the Milviz Porter in the evocative "Big Five" livery of ZS-PCS (which spent its youth tracking poachers in the Kruger National Park). You should, of course, fly what you like.

Additional Scenery

All the airports are included in the default.

I recommend that you install several addon airports to improve the airfields. You might want Western New Guinea Airports (package), Hitadipa, Mulia, Puncak Jaya Mine Airstrip, Pogapa, Timika, Apowo, Kegata, Nabire, and Papua New Guinea terrain fixes.  For your convenience, you can download the full package of Central Papua Airfields here.

In addition, you might temporarily turn your "Trees" slider down, perhaps to Medium. While the Papuan mountains are forested, the trees around the airports are far less dense than Black Shark thinks.

Time and Weather
For takeoff on Saturday, set the simulator at 8:00 am local for October 16, 2021.
While we typically prefer real weather, this time I recommend the "High Clouds" or "Few Clouds" preset. This is very much a VFR operation.

Multiplayer Particulars
Date and time: Saturday, October 16, 2021. 1800 UTC
Where: AVSIM RTWR Teamspeak - Casual Flights Channel
Teamspeak Server Address: ts.teamavsim.com
Cross-Platform Multiplayer: JoinFS. Latest version is here. (FSX, FSX-SE, and P3D and MSFS2020)
Microsoft Flight Simulator Multiplayer: United States East server.

If you want to help others enjoy the multiplayer experience, don't forget to enter your aircraft details on the multiplayer spreadsheet (linked here). Your courtesy will save others a lot of time and effort. Thanks!

FYI. Porter pilots who are waiting for compatibility with the WT G1000 NXi might like to use the PMS50 Garmin GTN750. You get the FREE Version GTN750 here. Then the JDs PMSGTN750 on Others Mod and Milviz PC-6 GTN750 Integrated Navigation System by CaptainButters. Install into the Community Folder (1) the GTN750 and (2) JD's base files and also (3) the GTN-PC-6 mod. (Instructions in the last download.) Easy peasy.

You do need to uninstall the current WT G1000 NXi to use the Milviz PC-6. While in MFS, go to your Content Manager and search "Garmin". Uninstall. When you want the G1000, go to the Content Manager, search "Garmin", and Install. Each install/uninstall takes less than a minute and is routine.

Thanks Mike!

Couple of last minute thoughts.

First, the weather forecast for the region indicates both scattered clouds and periods of thunderstorms. At the moment (three hours before takeoff), the first legs appear to be fine but the higher valleys are in pea soup with heavy rain. This may clear a bit, but in Papua the weather is both local and unpredictable. We might start with "Live" weather and, by your choice, shift to "Few Clouds" or "Scattered Clouds". (Or, for best views, "High Clouds".)



Second, for PC-6 pilots, a couple of practical tips. (a) You might consider adding some cargo (maybe 400 pounds) to emulate a light load. This has the possible advantage of shifting the center of gravity back a bit and modestly stabilizing the aircraft on the ground. And (b), as is standard practice to control MFS turboprops' taxiing behavior, shift the condition lever to low idle, and perhaps cut the prop. YMMV.

Flying the Porter in PNG is great fun. 

Landing somewhere or other.

Landing in the hills

Hoping to practice my camera work next Saturday.  Using my CH Pro Throttle main axis allows great tracking shots.  Just need more subjects. 

Nick or Bert Drone Shot landing

Very neat Buzz.. nice !!.. Looks real even!!