[Excuse my "catchy" title...🙂...so, right away, I wish to clarify that the reference to "Golden Eagle" is to the Cessna 421 a/c of the same name...Anyway, here is the account of my (virtual) journey in Wales, in 2 Parts...with pictures to view and travel notes...if you wish to read...]

A short while ago, I'd posted about (Alabeo's) Cessna C404 Titan touring the Central Rockies. At that time, I'd also picked up the (Alabeo) Cessna 421C Golden Eagle but had not flown it till today. In this post, I fly this nice twin-prop (with piston engines, no turboprops...but no issues there...), visiting Wales, an Orbx region, which, pretty much, I do not recall exploring in much details. Wales, part of the United Kingdom, is surely an interesting country, located on the western edge of England (see MAP below), and bordered by the Irish Sea to its the north and west...Now, one (quick) way to resolve one's curiosities about a (non-native/unfamiliar) country (without an extensive learning exercise...) is to search on-line for e.g., "Facts (or even better "Fun Facts...") about...", "Amazing Facts about...", "Interesting Facts about..." etc... And I discovered that Wales amply delivered...!

For just a select few examples:

1. Being fond of mountains, myself, and having visited the (great) Himalayas once, I learned that the highest Himalayan summit was named after Welshman (Sir) George Everest. Earth's highest mountain peak definitely sounds better with this name rather than the previous "Peak # XV", though Everest himself had opposed this naming...suggesting it be not named after him...for one or more reasons...
2. Within Wales, the highest mountain is Mount Snowdon at an elevation of 3,560 ft (see shots # 7/8/9/10 in my Part II, of Snowdon and its surroundings). Snowdon is no Mount Everest, but a most visited attraction in Wales and one of the busiest mountains in the UK. On a good day, they say, you’ll be able to see England, Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man from the top of Mount Snowdon. [Note: This is possible because Snowdon is the highest point in UK outside of Scotland, with Ben Nevis (Scotland), at 4,413 ft, being the highest summit in all of UK.]
3. There is a connection of Mount Snowdon with Mount Everest. Snowdon was used by (Sir) Edmund Hillary and his group during preparations for their 1953 expedition to climb Mount Everest. BTW, Hillary, in the other side of the world, in his own country, New Zealand, had also used Mount Cook, the highest mountain in New Zealand, as a training ground for his successful summit of Everest. So, both Wales and NZ had (indirectly) contributed to the conquest of Mount Everest.
4. Snowdon is known for Snowdon Lily, the pride of Wales, a dainty alpine flower which, in UK, is confined only to Snowdon and its neighbors. Unlike most alpines, it blooms alone, and often out of reach, in rock crevices. Well...I have shown a few sights of the Snowdon mountains in my Part II, but, no "hard-to-reach" Lily, for which one will have pay a (RW) visit to the Wales, or the Alps or the Rockies.
5. Being fond of Castles (and there being not too many around here, to be found easily...🙂...but actually, yes, there is one nearby that I pass-by often on the highway...if you are not a local resident...please search for "Chicago medieval times castle images"...not sure though if it would qualify in the strictest terms...🙂...). Anyway, there are more (real) castles per square mile in Wales than any other European country. Wales is/was home to over 600 castles. Caerphilly is the largest castle in Wales, and the second largest castle in Europe, after Windsor Castle in England. 
6. Wales is known for its capital city, Cardiff (starting point and focus of my tour). I've included several screenshots (see below) of the airport (Rwy 12/30) and the city in my pictures. Nestled on Wales’ southeastern coast, Cardiff has an impressive bay and plenty of lush green hills separating it from its neighboring country, England. River Taff can be spotted below, in one of the shots, flowing through the heart of Cardiff city. Cardiff even has a 2000-year-old castle, Cardiff Castle... (sorry, could only spot the castle compound (see shot #17, below), but no castle...(?)...will look again...) ...
7. Wales is home to some of the most beautiful bridges... (both classic and modern) ...The Second Severn Crossing, which is a gateway into Wales and an iconic structure that thousands of motorists use every single day, can be seen in a screenshot in my Part II. Wales also had the first road suspension bridge in the world, the Menai Bridge, located ~20 miles west of Snowdonia. The bridge was opened on 30 January 1826. At the time it was the longest bridge in world measuring 1,265 ft. I've included one shot of this iconic bridge in Part II (in that shot you can also spot the nearby Snowdonia mountains).

For this post, (per Route MAP below), I've lifted off Cardiff Airport (EGFF), flying west ~35 miles to Swansea, which is also a coastal city in the south of Wales, and the 2nd largest city in Wales. From Swansea, I've headed straight up north to the (mountainous) Snowdonia region, in north-western Wales, briefly skirting, on my way, the shorelines of the Irish Sea, on my port side (one (twilight) shot of this beautiful shoreline, shown in Part II). 

Regarding the a/c of my choice, Cessna has a long series of aircraft with 4XY designations, which are all fascinating (along with their names) ...e.g., 404/Titan, 406/Caravan, 408/SkyCourier, 414/Chancellor (see beautiful recent pictures of it from MSFS, here), 421/Golden Eagle (this post), and 425/Conquest etc. The Golden Eagle series is well-known for their performance, fuel-efficiency, and especially their on-board creature comforts (see interior cabin shots, below). I also liked the artistic (Golden Eagle) logo on the yoke column (see it in the close-up [VC] shot, below). The -421C variant, seen here, is/was characterized by an improved landing gear system, compared to the -421B, giving it the distinguished look of a higher stance (see shot #1, below), and a smoother landing...  

Hope you enjoy this collection of pictures and this (virtual) tour...!! 

Thanks for viewing...!!

[Alabeo (Cessna 421C), Orbx (Wales)]

Thorough, as usual. And thoroughly enjoyable.

John

The shots are a beauty, nice little plane by the way !

cheers 😉

Nice pics! 🙂 

14 hours ago, John F said:

Thorough, as usual. And thoroughly enjoyable.

John

+1 - 🤩🤩

Thank you, folks...!!

21 hours ago, johnbow72 said:

+1 - 🤩🤩

Being limited to the use of just one emoji around here...🙂...I had to look this one up for the exact meaning....so, I found:

"...This Emoji is a joyful face with a happy grin and stars instead of the eyes. It is meant to show that you are seized by a fit of euphoria, caused, for example.... etc..." Oh well...