The Piedmont to the Blue Ridge Mountains

[MM 422]

The Piedmont to the Blue Ridge Mountains. KRDU-24A.
For Saturday, April 9, 2022
Michael MacKuen

For a flight through North Carolina, we begin in the rolling hills of the Piedmont and head west to visit the Blue Ridge Mountains. Our route takes us to see the campuses of Duke, North Carolina and Wake Forest. And we see one of the first race tracks that made NASCAR famous. Once in the mountains, we shall follow a section of the splendid Blue Ridge Parkway. And we shall delight in several interesting airfields. If all goes well, we can return to Asheville and enjoy its craft breweries and NC barbecue.



We begin at the TAC Air and Signature FBOs at Raleigh Durham [KRDU] airport, locally known as  "RDU". The FBOs are adjacent to Rwy 23L and the apron is often jam-packed with GA aircraft, large and small. We head northwest to pass over the Research Triangle Park [RTP], the famous 1950s state-sponsored area for commercial research companies. And then we visit two world-class research universities, Duke [DUKE] and North Carolina [UNC]. Note Duke's famous Chapel and classic Gothic architecture. The campus at UNC is older and more eclectic in design. The yellow office building (marked by the waypoint) is where I work. We land at Chapel Hill Horace Williams [KIGX]. This university airport closed in 2018 but it remains largely intact. The MFS model is really very good. (Of course, KIGX will not be in an updated airport database.) Maybe we'll get some Shrimp 'n Grits for breakfast.

Next we fly to Greensboro Piedmont Triad [KGSO]. This is a mid-sized commercial passenger field with a substantial GA presence. More notable are the number of aviation-related companies that have moved here. It sites the mid-Atlantic hub for Fedex at the north end of the airport. And it hosts HAECO Americas, the U.S. base for the large scale aircraft maintenance and conversion company (that originated in Hong Kong) – on the southeast side of Rwy 23L/05R. Further, KSGO is the home of HondaJet's US operations along the northeast side of Rwy 23L/05R. And it will be the location for Boom Supersonic's first full-scale manufacturing plant.

Then we hop over to Winston-Salem for a low-pass over Wake Forest University [WAKE], a prestigious private university with a classic campus. Flying further west, we land at Wilkes County [KUKF]. Notably, before we land we circle over the North Wilkes Speedway [SPEED], one of the 1940s "birthplaces of NASCAR." At that time, this was real moonshine country and it spawned some very fast drivers...

We then fly up into the Blue Ridge Mountains, part of the greater Appalachians. The first stop is Ashe County [KGEV], a pretty hilltop airport with a comfortably long runway. Then we proceed to the popular Elk River [NC06] airport/golf resort – as special guests of the membership. The nearby mountainous terrain can be difficult to manage. But the field is frequented by light business jets and turboprop aircraft, so no real worries. The trick is to plan a careful curving approach through the valleys to land on Rwy 12. (And take off on Rwy  30.)

After departing, we fly toward and then around the peaks of Grandfather Mountain [GRAND] to take a look at an extended stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Parkway was initiated in the 1930s as a way to connect Virginia's Shenandoah National Park with North Carolina's Smokey Mountains National Park via a scenic byway. Stan Abbott, the landscape architect in charge, designed a drive with a varied tempo of mountains, ridges and valleys in an explicit attempt to create a scenic symphony ... "a rhythm of the road." Construction was largely finished in the 1960s but the final stretch, along the south face of Grandfather Mountain, was not completed until 1983. The Linn Cove Viaduct [LINN1 and LINN2] carries the Parkway along the mountainside as a "highway in the air" – essentially two miles of winding aerial superstructure that allows the route to pass along the mountain with only a minimal impact on the geologically fragile environment.

We continue along the Blue Ridge Parkway, some parts of which run through gently rolling highlands and others parts are perched right on dramatic ridgelines.

Near Little Switzerland, we land on Rwy 10 at Strawberry Ridge [STR]. This is a short grass field on a steep upslope and will demand careful speed management. (It has been used as a training site for pilots going to fly the hillside strips of Papua New Guinea. This sort of work will be familiar to us.) [Note that this airfield is NOT in the default MFS database. It is a real airstrip and the addon scenery is good – it looks much like the films of real-world landings there. You will want to download it.]

We depart to the south and curl along a dramatic section of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Turning to the north into Mount Mitchell State Park, we climb up to see the visitor center near the peak. Mount Mitchell [MITCH] is the tallest mountain in eastern North America (at 6,684 ft).

We proceed to land at Mountain Air Airport [2NC0], the highest runway east of the Rockies. This is a golf club with an air-minded membership. Perhaps more spicey than Elk River, Mountain Air requires special care to handle the upsloping runway built on a mountaintop setting. The community asks pilots to follow stringent safety procedures before visiting. (Here is a older 1995 instructional video, The Joy of Flying At the Top. Recommended if you have the time.) Beware of the turbulent winds and, especially, the wicked mountain downdrafts.

Then south to pass over Asheville [ASHVL], a now booming city whose modern amenities reflect a tradition of mountain resorts. We shall pass over the famous Biltmore Estate [BILT], built as a summer house for George Washington Vanderbilt in the 1890s. The iconic Gilded Age mansion is the largest privately-owned house in the United States. It is now operated as a profitable museum and tourist attraction with 1.4 million visitors a year. (Hard for me to admit this, but a visit here is well worth your time.)

We land at Asheville Regional [KAVL]. This is a small commercial field with lots of GA traffic.

The final leg of our day heads west and up onto the Great Balsams (of the Blue Ridge Mountains). Here we again pick up the Blue Ridge Parkway, now twisting along over the high ridges with plenty of spectacular vistas. From Devil's Courthouse [DEVIL], one can see four states: North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. We follow this stretch for about 20 miles before breaking off at the Richard Balsam Overlook [BALSM], the highest point on the Parkway. We descend into Jackson County Airport [24A]. This is a well-maintained hilltop airport that presents us with a beautiful setting at which to end our journey.

Highly recommended is a return to Asheville to sample an evening of North Carolina barbecue and craft beers. (Asheville has 21 craft breweries to go along with the east coast facilities for the national brands New Belgium and Sierra Nevada.)

Documentation
The flightplan(s) can be found here.

Alternate Routing. Included is a second "No Drama" flightplan that replaces Strawberry Ridge [STR] with Avery County [7A8]. The latter lacks the short-field challenge of Strawberry Ridge. The main geographic routing is much the same across the two flightplans. A matter of taste.

Aircraft
This is a general aviation flight. Its length is 296nm with nine landings. We shall want aircraft that can "fast cruise" at 150-160kts. I shall choose the Bonanza G36TN (by Asobo with Rob Young's Turbo Normalized flight model). This in a livery by Crispy136 for the (real world) N134BB.

Additional Scenery
Most but not all airports are in the default simulator. If nothing else, you will need to download Strawberry Ridge [STR].

Recommended:
Raleigh Durham [KRDU] (GhostbusterJeffrey) and KRDU Taxi & Lighting (BaptistDeacon). These two work together to generate an "ok" freeware version of the airport with custom-made depictions of the terminals and decent "stock" portrayals of the main buildings and garages at the airport.
Chapel Hill Horace Williams [KIGX] (Demant). This airport is now closed, but the scenery package provides an excellent rendition of its condition in 2015, three years before it was shut down.
Greensboro Piedmont Triad [KGSO] (BaptistDeacon).
Wilkes County [KUKF] (StudioCD). Note North Wilkesboro Speedway, birthplace of NASCAR.
Ashe County [KGEV] (BaptistDeacon).
Elk River (Banner Elk) [NC06] (Windhover). Very good custom work.
Strawberry Ridge [STR] (SkyborneVisions). Some handcrafted parts. This is a real grass field but is not in the default simulator.
Mountain Air (Burnsville) [2NC0] (Windhover). Very good custom work.
Asheville [KAVL] (mangosprout). Started as update to current runway & taxiway locations. Now with improvements in the airside facilities.
Jackson County (Sylva) [24A] (Windhover). Good custom work on small hilltop airport.

Temporarily, you can download the entire package here. [471mb]

There are payware airports for Raleigh-Durham KRDU, Elk River [NC06], Mountain Air [2NC0] and Asheville [KAVL]. I have the FeelThere KRDU and it is better than the freeware rendering. I'll use it because ... it is my home commercial airport. But this is not state-of-the-art work. None of the remainder are especially highly-rated. Other than KRDU, I shall be running the freeware packages.


Time and Weather
For takeoff on Saturday, set the simulator at 8:00 am local for April 9, 2022.
We typically prefer real weather. This is a scenic flight in the mountains, so some adjustments might be required.

Multiplayer Particulars
Date and time: Saturday, April 9, 2022. 1800 UTC
Where: AVSIM RTWR Teamspeak - Casual Flights Channel
Teamspeak Server Address: ts.teamavsim.com
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!

[fppilot 4,355]

1 hour ago, MM said:

If all goes well, we can return to Asheville and enjoy its craft breweries and NC barbecue.

Check out my birth town of Brevard, NC, just 20 or so miles south of KAVL.  Brevard is the mecca for craft beer breweries and pubs in the region and several years ago also scored an Oscar Blues brewery, propelling the local craft beer interest to a new altitude!  https://www.oskarblues.com/location/brevard-nc-oskar-blues-taproom/.  And add NC16 to your list of airports to check out.  A courtesy car will pick you up and transport you the three miles to the excellent Hawg Wild BBQ joint.  Brevard is also home to perhaps the best and most famous music camps in the world each summer, drawing in accomplished music students and world renown music conductors from around the globe  https://www.brevardmusic.org/.   

There is a nice KAVL continuing development for MSFS and available on TO.

Was just there two weeks ago....

Edited April 4, 2022 by fppilot

[MM 422]

Not to mention the White Squirrels of Brevard! 😎

[fppilot 4,355]

Taken two weeks ago from my 96 year-old, WWII veteran Dad's rear deck in Brevard.

Edited April 5, 2022 by fppilot

[somiller 694]

For those that don't want to download the airports I have to suggest at least 2NC0 and 24A.

[fppilot 4,355]

The freeware KAVL available on TO was updated again today...  Really shaping up.

[MM 422]

NOTAMS.

Just to get in the mood, here is a snappy tune that you can dance to. Appalachian Spring conducted by Aaron Copland. (A few minutes will do the job.)

Second, the mountain forecast today is for overcast skies, 20-25kts winds, and freezing temperatures.