Idaho Backcountry Scramble

Idaho Backcountry Scramble
For September 10, 2022
Michael MacKuen

Today we have some fun flying a Scramble in Idaho’s Backcountry. We revisited this area two months ago (Idaho Bush Strips) and had a great time. We go back again to enjoy the area once more before the weather changes. However, this time we change the format to a scramble just to shake things up a bit. (A delightful idea suggested by JTW.)


Mile High in Idaho

We start at Sulphur Creek Ranch [ID74]. This is a popular fly-in destination venue that normally requires advance booking. We were able to reserve the location “as a group” and will enjoy a good ranch breakfast in preparation for the day’s flying event. Our final destination is unknown.

The Scramble Setup
The “instigator” takes the lead by announcing the initial departure airport to set the stage before the event begins. On the day of the event, he will write down the names of the arriving participants and then randomly order those names in a sequenced “planner roster”. At departure time, the list will be published on TeamSpeak. Participants who join after the beginning will be added at the end of the list.

Then, at the start time, the instigator will announce the first destination. We shall fly to that airport. When everyone arrives, the next name on the ordered list becomes the next “planner” who will announce the next destination. We repeat the process until the ordered list is exhausted at which time we cycle back to the original planner. And so forth until we are done.

Notes.
- Having the list openly available will allow the next “planner” a little extra time to choose the next leg. As soon as he knows the next departure airport, he can begin to think about a suitable subsequent destination. There is no hurry to do this quickly. And this week we might take more time than is necessary while we work on how to do this well.
- Any pilot may “pass” on taking the planner role, either on a particular turn or altogether, as he wishes. (Pilots who have only limited access to a map may find it difficult to pick suitable airports “on the fly”.)
- Legs may follow any pattern. They may move in a single direction or they may veer left or right or may double back to create a jumble of directions.
- For this week, legs should be less than 20-30nm. (We might normally try to favor airports that are more likely to be in the Garmin Database -- to accommodate those using the TDS GTNXi. This is not possible for backcountry flying because Garmin typically ignores these tiny airstrips.)
- On this informal Scramble, we shall want to take it easy. Shorter rather than longer flights. No hurry to choose destinations. A light playful touch will make the experience more fun.

Documentation
There is no flightplan.

Aircraft
In central Idaho, there are plenty of airports/airstrips. We can concentrate on fairly short legs. My idea here is for light short-field aircraft with a little speed to be held in reserve. (Let us set a common target “fast cruise” of about 120-125 KTAS. Pilots of planes with more speed should exhibit their ability to control their throttles.) Popular aircraft suitable to this mission include the GotGravel Savage Carbon and Savage Grravel, Aviat Husky, Carboncrafters XCub and NXCub, GotGravel Monster NXCub, Cessnas such as the C172 (including Bagolu’s Tail dragger and Bush Kit), and the C182, and of course the Pilatus PC-6 Porter. I shall fly the GotGravel Monster NXCub in a Blue-White livery (by salasnet, privately customized for the Monster NXCub). As ever, please fly what you like.

As we gain experience with this format, we shall have a better idea of which sorts of aircraft make the most sense for different geographic settings.

Additional Scenery

Required Freeware:
Bush strips in Idaho & Oregon. Kronzky. 467kb.
(Please note that several of the classic Idaho backcountry strips are in this package and not in the default. These will be “in the available set” for our scramble.)

Optional Freeware:
Big Creek [U60]. Milosanx. (Runway/terrain altered for realism.) 100kb
Flying B Ranch [12ID]. Wookie042. (Lodge, cabins and private strip.) 98mb
Indian Creek [S81]. Milosanx. (Guard station, boat, bridge.) 58mb
Johnson Creek [3U2]. Baddweapon. (Fixes airport. Adds buildings.) 31kb
Mackay Bar [ID28]. Milosanx. (Adds buildings. Fictional lodge.) 19kb
Pistol Creek Ranch [49ID]. trfsto. (Rich rendition of actual lodge.) 198bm
Sulphur Creek [ID74]. Milosanx. (Removed tarmac for grass. Fixed houses and lodge.) 22kb
(Note that, except for Pistol Creek [49ID], these are in the default package. These addons provide extra eye-candy and slight alterations in the strips to make them more realistic. Not necessary, but useful.]

A package of the Optional Freeware is temporarily available here.

Optional Payware Scenery:
McCall Municipal Airport [KMYL]. MSX Creations. Excellent Idaho Backcountry “homebase” owned by many members. Not necessary but a quality addition. We may not get here today.

Feel free to use any addon scenery that you like but understand that others may not have that scenery. Because we do not know where we shall go, there is no way to plan ahead.

Time and Weather
For takeoff on Saturday, set the simulator at 10:00 am local for September 10, 2022.
We typically prefer real weather. This is mountain flying so we’ll adjust accordingly.

Multiplayer Particulars
Date and time: Saturday, September 10, 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!