OK, I've never heard of a sightseeing (VFR) flight with an FBW modern (commercial) Jet a/c, equipped with full lateral and vertical navigation guidance, max speed of 540 mph and a ceiling altitude of nearly 40,000 ft...🙂...Oh well...

Anyway, I wished to fly (for the first time) the MSFS/Xbox A320neo in AF colors, today, along with my new installation of the MSFS (optional) Scenery Update for France region, wishing to test this Update for myself (France is a country that I've never had a chance to explore, in the past, in my (past) SIM world...) ...

So, I have set up, here, a low-altitude flight (flown at 10,000 ft or less) with my A320neo, this a/c equipped with CFM LEAP-1A engines (the A320neo comes with PW1100 series and CFM LEAP-1A series powerplants). The flight is from Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport (LFLL), via an (enroute) overfly of Montpellier (see shot #s 11/12/13), to Toulouse–Blagnac Airport (LFBO), site of Airbus's home, headquarters, and factory. The LFBO airport hosts the Airbus manufacturing plants. Having visited the Boeing Everett Factory twice, I'm thinking, it would be surely nice to visit the Airbus Factory in Toulouse, one day...🙂...I was looking up a bit for curiosity, ""Let's Visit Airbus" invites you to enter the sites, with three different tours: <Airbus>, <Airbus XL> and <Airbus Kids>...", and having witnessed the 787 and 748 a/c on the assembly line, I would opt for the <Airbus XL> tour, I think...which, I hear, includes the "A350XWB assembly line"...🙂...

This flight of mine tracks (southward) the skyways above the valleys in southeastern France, between the (French) Alps range (that lie to my east near French border with Italy and Switzerland), and the Massif Central in south-central France, that lies to my west. The Massif Central is not rugged and towering like the mountains of Alps, but consists of smaller (but scenic) mountains, and picturesque plateaus and highlands, that appeared like rolling hills and quite pretty from my viewpoint (see my shot #s 5/6/7). In these valleys, among several rivers, flows the famous Rhône River, having originated in the glaciers of the Swiss Alps, and now, meandering southward through France for its meeting with the Mediterranean Sea. The moment my a/c was airborne, off Lyon Airport, I caught sight of it (see shot #s 2/3),...sight of such major rivers, always integral to the history and culture of the respective nations, are always comforting (here, seen on and off, from above, the Rhône River never seemed to part company from me throughout my flight)...I thought I could just follow it south towards Montpellier...🙂...

Hope you enjoy this collection of 20 pictures from my flight...of the VFR scenery and of the AF Airbus A320neo.

Great IFR (I Follow Rivers...or is it just the Rhone?) flight. 🙂

Edited December 27, 20232 yr by John F

Beautiful shots P_7878 !

cheers 😉

On 12/26/2023 at 8:27 PM, John F said:

Great IFR (I Follow Rivers...or is it just the Rhone?) flight. 🙂

Correct, John, IFR = I Follow River or I Follow Rhone...here....🙂...I also recall I Follow Road... 

BTW, now, I am recalling how the Mississippi River had given me company, on the recreation of my road-trip from Chicago all the way to New Orleans...🙂...

 

On 12/27/2023 at 2:28 AM, pmplayer said:

Beautiful shots P_7878 !

cheers 😉

Appreciated the comment, pmplayer. Glad you liked.