Located on the Arctic Ocean, 330 miles north of the Arctic Circle, (formerly called) Barrow (the new official name being "Utqiagvik") is one of the northernmost towns in the world but with a sizeable human population of about 4,500. The nearby Point Barrow is the northernmost piece of land in all of U.S. It's off this Point Barrow, 15 miles out into the ocean, in 1935, where the famous aviator Wiley Post and the actor/humorist Will Rogers had lost their lives, when their plane had crashed into a lagoon after an engine failure. The airport (PABR), I'm lifting off from, here, is named after these two iconic individuals.

Barrow conjures up (always has for me) the stark perceptions of one of the coldest and remotest location on the Earth. Temperatures, there, can plunge to -70F degrees in winter, with Wind Chills down to -90F degrees (in Chicago area, I recall one -50F "Wind Chill" day, once, and it was not fun retrieving mail from the mailbox...🙂...). Barrow is characterized by open Tundra...with no mountains, hills, or trees. There are no permanent roadways connecting it to other villages and towns, and air transport remains the only mode of access to Barrow.

Regarding sunlight, here are the uniquely interesting features of this town. Come winter, Barrow does not see the Sun, and is in 24-hour darkness, for 67 days, between November 18 and January 23 (today here is November 23). So, imagine this, during last weekend, 5 days ago from today, when the Sun went down in Barrow, there would be no sunrise there, for 67 days, till January 23, through Christmas Day... (there will be put-up lighting, of course, on that special day) ...! Likewise, come summer, it would receive 24-hour daylight (the so-called midnight Sun), for 80 days, between May 10 and August 2.

So, today, I took the XCub out for a (test) sortie, and ventured up and over the Arctic Ocean, on 3-separate dates (magically set in the SIM...🙂...), to find out for myself, if the (lighting) peculiarities, mentioned above are perceptible, in the SIM. The scenario dates, I chose are:

1. June 20 (Midpoint of the 80 days, between May 10 and August 2, of un-interrupted sunlight) - [First 5 screenshots]
2. January 23 (Date of first Sunrise after 67 days of darkness) - [Last 5 screenshots]
3. November 18 (Date of last sunset before 67 days of darkness) - [No Screenshots shown, because, I didn't find, in the SIM, any perceptible difference from scenario 2]

Anyway, I'll let you appreciate the difference (in the virtual world) between the gentle twilight conditions (both Port and Starboard side views shown) of January 23 (that anticipated day when 67 days of darkness is finally giving way to emerging sunlight), as contrasted with the overhead Sun's brilliant glow in a mid-summer day on June 20, to last un-interrupted for another 40 days till August 2. It all feels unreal, for us folks, used to the normal Circadian rhythms based on 24-hour cycles...with the inconvenience of (+/-) 1 hr. adjustment twice a year...🙂...

Hope you enjoy the few images, below. Thanks for your viewing. Cheers...!

Edited November 23, 20232 yr by P_7878

Fine shots! 😉 

Nice set !

cheers 😉

Always appreciative of the extra effort that goes into preparing your posts. (Plus I get to learn something.🙂)

Will, pmplayer, John:

Appreciated the comments and glad you liked these images out of this hauntingly desolate (and cold) place ...🙂 ...

 

3 hours ago, John F said:

(Plus I get to learn something.🙂)

Thank you, John. BTW, the same holds true for me too...🙂...When one is trying to replicate such things in the SIM, one is always prompted to think a bit deeper and dig a bit deeper too...even though one might have heard/read about it before...

Nice shots - have been to Barrow in real life (it was great) and also on MSFS

Wonderful that you've had a chance to visit this place...I was curious whether you'd visited during the so-called dark months or the bright months ....🙂...

It's strange to think that the Sun has already set, in Barrow, a week ago, for the remainder of this year (2023), only to rise again in the next year...2024... (A bit of data from the internet: This year, the Sun set in Barrow at 1:48 pm on November 18, and won't rise again until 1:03 pm on January 23...) Imagining sitting on the Porch, on November 18 evening, and looking at the setting Sun with some mixed emotions...🙂...

Wonderful colors in your shots, P_7878 and thanks for the interesting narration!!

I visited in summer - flew up for the day with Alaska Airlines to and from Fairbanks and did a quick tour of Barrow - we landed in Prudhoe Bay en route - flew up in B737 combi

 

On 11/25/2023 at 10:15 AM, bernd1151 said:

Wonderful colors in your shots, P_7878 and thanks for the interesting narration!!

Appreciated the comment, Bernd...!

 

On 12/6/2023 at 12:55 AM, ozpilot said:

I visited in summer - flew up for the day with Alaska Airlines to and from Fairbanks and did a quick tour of Barrow - we landed in Prudhoe Bay en route - flew up in B737 combi

Thanks for getting back, Michael...

It seems like a very interesting trip, along with a flight in the Alaska Airlines B737 Combi...🙂...