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birdguy

Around the world with a twist...and a twist...and a twist...

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Back in the world of FS2002 I flew around the world eastbound in an Aviat Husky.

When I upgraded to the world of FS2004 I did it again westbound in the same aircraft.

Both trips I made with amphibious floats so I could land on a waterway if not airport was in the vicinity.  I did that in the Kurile Islands between Japan and Petropavlovsk.

Then I tried it again in the Southern Hemisphere, but there's too much water to cross.

A couple of years ago I decided to try an exotic around the world flight in P3D but found too many airports I wanted to land at in Africa with elevation problems, so I gave it up.  I had a number of flightplans covering Central and South America and I think I gave them to some people here, but I forgot who.

Well with P3Dv5 and all the Orbx regions and airports and especially the mesh and landclass for South America and Africa installed I'm at it again.  This time I'll fly in my Quest Kodiak.

I have the route generally mapped out with flights lasting between two and three hours.  Now I'm working on the flight plans. I estimate there will be close to 300 of them.  I just finished #118, a flight from Astana Kazakhstan to Omsk Russia.

I'm surprised at the number of P3Dv5 airports I am finding at places like Osk Kyrgyzstan and Balaksh Kazakhstan with nice airports to land at.

I start at my home airport of Roswell NM and fly through Mexico and Central America before circumnavigating the continent of South America.  Then it's up through the Windward Island and the east coast of North America to Greenland - Iceland - the Faroe Islands - and down through western Europe before circumnavigating Africa....well, you get the point.

I figure it will take me another month or so to complete the flight plans and then I'll start flying.  Before someone asks why I don't fly and do the flightplans at the same time; I thought about it but decided to get the flightplans and corrections out of the way before starting to fly.

Why am I doing this?  When I retired almost 30 years ago I did all the things I wanted to do.  Mostly outdoor activities.  I've reached an age where I can't physically do them anymore.  I'm more or less housebound.  You can only read books for so long and fly in your simulator for so long during the day.  I ran out of places I wanted to fly to, airplanes to collect, startup airports to fly out of.  I needed something different.  So this is it.  The around the world flight should last a year or so, maybe more, and make a nice break between reading and watching old movies on TV.  

And who knows?  If I'm still around in my 90s I may take a notion to do it again, backwards.

Noel

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The tires are worn.  The shocks are shot.  The steering is wobbly.  But the engine still runs fine.

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Round the world are always fun flights.

I first did one back around FS2000 or FS2002 days, the "RTW Buzz" which had a website where we would enter and track our progress.  It was set up by an English chap Cap'n Slarty and Dean and had some old time simmers like Ade Mansbridge and I think @DMullert was in that too.  I can't remember everyone.  We used a Mooney TLS.

I didn't fly RTW again until 2019-2020, when I did it in P3D using the A2A Cherokee 180.  For this one I followed the route of some Indian Air Force pilots who did it in a little two-seat trainer.  I almost bought the farm at Vagar, thank goodness for RealityXP's GNS430 with a terrain page.  Since I work, I could only fly a leg here-and-there, so it took me about 6 months to do it.

I had a thought of doing it again with the PMDG777 by only have four legs, and starting at Boston, Massachusetts and going to Ushuaia, Argentina.  Then from Usuaia to Beijing, China, and from Beijing, China back to Boston.   This would be a very interest "over-the-poles" flight where the flightplan takes you over the South Pole and the North Pole.  Who does that?  I've never heard of it being done, so it's a thought, anyway.

Another thought was flying RTW using INS navigation (inertial nav), and for that I'd use the Michael Cependa/published-by-Aerosoft Douglas DC-8.  I really like using INS, it's neat to update the unit using a known fix just like they did in the 60's and 70's.


Rhett

7800X3D ♣ 32 GB G.Skill TridentZ  Gigabyte 4090  Crucial P5 Plus 2TB 

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Here's the world explorer bumping the sim rate switch.

DSC_1969.jpg&f=1&nofb=1


Ryzen5 5800X3D, RTX4070, 600 Watt, TWO Dell S3222DGM 32" screens spanned with Nvidia surround 5185 x 1440p, 32 GB RAM, 4 TB  PCle 3 NVMe, Warthog throttle, CH Flightstick, Honeycomb Alpha yoke, CH quad, 3 Logitech panels, 2 StreamDecks, Desktop Aviator Trim Panel.

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This will be great to see, Noel, and I agree with you, planning is half the fun.

I too am contemplating an ATW trip, but want to 1) take my family along on certain legs, ordaining at least a six-seater, and 2) generate a travelogue narration. What are the highlights of the places we visit? For example, the first leg is San Jose Norman Mineta (KSJC) to San Diego (KSAN). How can anybody not visit San Diego overnight and not have dinner in the Gas Light District, or stay at a posh hotel overlooking the harbor? Virtual money is no object!!!

I am still debating the aircraft to use. I had everyone home a couple of weeks ago and asked if they would rather sit rear-facing or front-facing, and without hesitation it was front-facing. This rules out a lot of airplanes! I also had them fess-up their current weights - clearly, the pandemic has been tough on the whole family! But, in the interest of realism I needed to know. No jets are in consideration, and very likely a turboprop will be the choice. After all, PT6As are ubiquitous throughout the world, so "repairs" could be handled in Nairobi as easily as San Jose.  

But, like I said, I am just starting out. I use Plan-G from Tim Arnott for flight planning, and he was kind enough to tell me how to configure Plan-G on my household (non-sim) computer where I can safely access the web for the investigation of the places we visit. My sim computer is locked down, very limited external access, and has a dinky keyboard that is not suitable for touch typing. But, I think it will be fun, and could very well take up a fair number of days to plan and certainly to execute.

Have fun, Noel! 


John Howell

Prepar3D V5, Windows 10 Pro, I7-9700K @ 4.6Ghz, EVGA GTX1080, 32GB Corsair Dominator 3200GHz, SanDisk Ultimate Pro 480GB SSD (OS), 2x Samsung 1TB 970 EVO M.2 (P3D), Corsair H80i V2 AIO Cooler, Fulcrum One Yoke, Samsung 34" 3440x1440 curved monitor, Honeycomb Bravo throttle quadrant, Thrustmaster TPR rudder pedals, Thrustmaster T1600M stick 

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It's really good to see you back again Noel.

Good luck for your prodgect and your inevitable return trip.

Very Best Noel.

Phil

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You might want to consider the Quest Kodiak John.

183 knot cruise

10 passenger

high wing for viewing scenery.

The only problem with it was the runaway engine when starting.  But two or three years ago someone PMd me a fix for that.  Now it starts normally for me.  If you decide on it let me know and I'll PM you the new engine mods.

Noel

  • Like 1

The tires are worn.  The shocks are shot.  The steering is wobbly.  But the engine still runs fine.

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Hi Noel, 

By Quest Kodiak I am assuming you are referring to the LHC Kodiak? I used to have it my hanger, enjoyed it (I flew the float version), but it got lost in the "store" conflict, and I have yet to get back to it. 

I am right now ping-ponging between the TBM 850 and the PC-12, both Carenado offerings. I like the idea of 200 kts+ (if only to get across Africa and Asia!). I know a lot of people disparage the Carenado offerings, but they pretty much do exactly what I want them to do. The write-up from Avbuyer.com (https://www.avbuyer.com/articles/turboprops-compare/daher-tbm-850-vs-pilatus-pc-12-46565) suggests the TBM is superior, but I am still debating.

Actually one of the more entertaining internal debates I have had...   🙂


John Howell

Prepar3D V5, Windows 10 Pro, I7-9700K @ 4.6Ghz, EVGA GTX1080, 32GB Corsair Dominator 3200GHz, SanDisk Ultimate Pro 480GB SSD (OS), 2x Samsung 1TB 970 EVO M.2 (P3D), Corsair H80i V2 AIO Cooler, Fulcrum One Yoke, Samsung 34" 3440x1440 curved monitor, Honeycomb Bravo throttle quadrant, Thrustmaster TPR rudder pedals, Thrustmaster T1600M stick 

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I may do around the world some day. It would be in the Electra 10a which was built to directly compete with Boeing's 247D. I kind of like the MSFS Electra (Aeroplane Heaven).

This site says Amelia's can still be seen as well as her message in the beach sand.

https://roadtoamelia.org/


Ryzen5 5800X3D, RTX4070, 600 Watt, TWO Dell S3222DGM 32" screens spanned with Nvidia surround 5185 x 1440p, 32 GB RAM, 4 TB  PCle 3 NVMe, Warthog throttle, CH Flightstick, Honeycomb Alpha yoke, CH quad, 3 Logitech panels, 2 StreamDecks, Desktop Aviator Trim Panel.

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Yeah John, it's the LHC Quest Kodiak.  I've been using it since the FS2004 days and have upgraded it ever since as I advanced though FSX and the P3Ds.  I added a couple of panel popups like a taxi speed gauge and a radar altimeter.  I like bush flying and it's been my go-to aircraft for years.

I also modified the float contact points a bit.

For bush flying looking down at what's beneath you is quite important hence I am willing to sacrifice a bit of speed for a high wing configuration.  And I like to watch the scenery as it pass below the aircraft.

Noel  


The tires are worn.  The shocks are shot.  The steering is wobbly.  But the engine still runs fine.

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