The Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico

[MM 426]

Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico
For Wednesday, March 6, 2024

We visit the last vestiges of British and American colonialism in the Caribbean. Starting at St. Croix, we visit the British Virgin Islands and the US Virgin Islands – and then the “Spanish” Virgin Islands. In the last part of the day, we come to the main island of Puerto Rico to take a look at San Juan and Ponce. We finish with a trip through the rugged interior to land at Arecibo.


The clear waters off Caracas Beach, Vieques

We start in St. Croix, the largest of the US Virgin Islands. The islands are a United States territory that was purchased in 1917 from the long-time colonial ruler Denmark. In a story common in the Caribbean, when landowners could use slave labor the sugar industry was profitable. But after emancipation (1848), the islands’ economies declined precipitously. The US acquired the economically unviable islands for strategic reasons during World War I. On St. Croix, in 1966 Hess Oil built one of the world’s largest refineries which became a mainstay of the island until it closed in 2012. (The old oil terminal remains a storage facility and there are hopes for reestablishing the refinery.) Nowadays, the US Virgin Islands’ primary economic engine is tourism.

We depart from St. Croix Henry Rohlsen [TISX] and pass over the Oil Terminal and then over Christiansted, the former Danish capital and very quaint small colonial city. The harbor hosts many visiting boats as well as hourly Seaborne Air DHC-6 seaplane connections with St. Thomas to the north. Further along lies the easternmost facility of the Verly Large Baseline Array (VLBA) of radio telescopes and then Point Udall, a National Park Service “sundial” that marks the eastern landmark of the United States. (The westernmost point on Guam is also Point Udall, the locations separately named after brothers Stewart and Mo Udall whose careers were in public service. As said at the time, America’s day begins and ends at a Point Udall.)

Next are the three major islands of the British Virgin Islands. A legacy of the colonial era, the BVI is a British Overseas Territory with a semi-autonomous local government overseen by Westminster and whose people are British citizens. Since the 1960s, the islands have shifted away from an agriculture-based economy toward tourism and, especially, financial services to become one of the wealthiest areas in the region. (“...Britain sits, spider-like, at the centre of a vast international web of tax havens, which hoover up trillions of dollars’ worth of business and capital from around the globe and funnel it up to the City of London. ... the British Virgin Islands ... are some of the biggest players in the offshore world.” Despite BVI having fewer than 25,000 inhabitants, it hosts over 800,000 companies. [wiki here])

The British and US Virgin Islands are closely connected. They share a currency (the US dollar) and both drive on the left side of the road (though both drive mostly American imports with left-hand-drive controls). And both were hit hard by the 2017 Category 5 Hurricanes Irma and Maria – with recovery not yet complete.

After flying a few minutes, we land at the small airport of Virgin Gorda [TUPW] just on east side of Spanish Town. We continue on to one of the great harbors of the world, North Sound (historically “Gorda Sound”), surrounded by islands and connecting reef systems that keep the waters calm. At the eastern end is the Bitter End Yacht Club, which provides anchorage and superb amenities for mega yachts from around the globe. Saba Rock is a small island hosting a hotel-restaurant-bar – connected by shuttle to the yacht marina. It has developed into a famous stop for the celebrity yachting crowd...being consistently ranked as one of the most popular watering holes in the Caribbean. Then 10nm to Horseshoe Reef and the low flat coral island Anegada Auguste George [TUPA]. This sparsely-populated island attracts thousands of tourists, especially for the fly fishing and for the coral reef diving environment.

Then back west to Tortola. Technically Tarrance B Lettisome [TUPJ] is on Beef Island and connected to the main island by bridge. The capital and main city is Road Town with its horseshoe-shaped Road Harbour, ferries, yacht charters, and cruise ships. (Cruise ship passengers  are not as profitable as long-term visitors or yachtsmen, but have they their own very powerful constituency – the taxi drivers association.)

We fly west into the US Virgin Islands, passing St. Johns and landing at St. Thomas Cyril E. King (TIST). We pass over the territory’s capital and largest city Charlotte Amalie. The beautiful deepwater harbor hosts hundreds of ferries and yachts each week and is now one of the Caribbean’s busiest cruise ship ports of call. (The seaplane wharf serves the hourly connections to St. Croix.) This was a Danish town and the place names and architectural style show the Danish heritage. (The rise of tourism has led to a massive effort to restore the old town to host restaurants and shops.) One tourist magnet is Blackbeard’s Castle (a National Historic Landmark) which was built high on Government Hill as a watchtower (Skytsborg) to protect the town against pirates. It is now part of a hotel and one of the most visited attractions in town.

Next are the Spanish Virgin Islands. These were Spanish-ruled until they were ceded along with Puerto Rico to the United States after the Spanish American War. The first island Culebra will provide an interesting approach into Culebra Benjamin Rivera Noriega [TJCP] with a runway of 2,600 ft. The prevailing winds indicate Runway 13, a fact made more interesting by there being a mountain less than 1,000 feet from the threshold. The professional safe approach is to come from the northwest, alongside Flamenco Beach (perhaps the most beautiful beach in Puerto Rico), to fly over Flamenco Lake and simply follow the road between the hilltops for a curved final. A little finesse avoids drama. Alternatively, pilots sometimes select the Tamarindo Approach (over Tamarindo Beach) which comes from the southwest and dives over the ridge and down the mountainside for a more direct approach onto Runway 13. This technique can look a bit spicey. Or you can eschew finesse and go straight in. Culebra is thought be useful training for Saint Barts.

Then to Vieques. In 1941 the US Navy acquired two-thirds of the land (by then the sugar industry had declined) as an extension of the Roosevelt Roads Naval Station on the Puerto Rican mainland. For six decades, the Navy used the eastern half of the island as a live munitions target range. After several years of protests, in 2003-2004 the Navy withdrew from Vieques and then closed the Roosevelt Roads station. After the Navy withdrawal, the small island’s economy has further weakened – having to depend on low-level agriculture and modest development as an “unspoiled” island of pristine deserted beaches. The best beaches, including Caracas and Sun Day, lie along the southern coast. Of moderate historic interest is the Puerto Ferro Light, now disabled, which remains an “example of official neo-classic minor lighthouse style.” After enjoying the beautiful coastline, we cross over to land at Vieques Antonio Rivera Rodriguez [TJVQ], a small regional field with light commercial traffic.

We fly to mainland Puerto Rico, a United States territory whose residents are US citizens. The island was especially hard-hit by Hurricane Maria (2017) losing 3,000 lives and about $100 billion in damages. We pass over the now civilian Roosevelt Roads [TJRV] on the way to the territory’s capital and main city San Juan. The metro area is about 2.5 million – about 75 percent of Puerto Rico’s population. San Juan is the Caribbean’s largest port and its most powerful financial center. We ignore the airspace restrictions and fly over the city’s attractions and beaches along its north coast. These include Isla Verde Beach and Condado Beach, which host high rise hotels and resorts along with chic shops and high-end restaurants. Then the Fortin de San Geronimo and the nearby Caribe Hilton complex – birthplace of the Piña Colada. And then the Capitol of Puerto Rico, the Castillo San Cristóbal, and the Castillo San Felipe del Morro. We cross over the channel to El Canuelo. The massive Castillo del Morro was built to protect San Juan and its critical valuable harbor from piracy and from invasion by rival nations. The fortified city was successfully attacked twice, once by the British and once by the Dutch, but those incidents were short-lived. After the additional forts were built, San Juan stood strong and eventually defeated a massive late eighteenth century British attempt to capture the city.

In a moment we encounter the Casa Bacardi “Cathedral of Rum” complex, a wildly popular tourist attraction that celebrates the famous company’s history – and offers free samples. We then circle back over San Juan Bay to land at San Juan Isla Grande [TJIG]. (renamed Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport but typically called Isla Grande.) This is San Juan’s very busy General Aviation airport which also hosts regular commercial domestic and international flights. It lies nestled in between San Juan Bay, the Cruise Ship Terminal and the Puerto Rico Convention Center. This jaunt around San Juan makes for a scenic approach and landing.

After the hustle and bustle of San Juan we depart southwest over the rugged center of the island to Ponce Mercedita [TJPS] located on the city’s eastern side. Ponce is Puerto Rico’s second city, although far smaller than San Juan. Only a hamlet in 1800, the city grew to rival San Juan by the end of the century. However, when the conquering Americans concentrated resources in San Juan, the rest of the country, including the southern city of Ponce, began a long period of stagnation. It has made a comeback as the south’s main center and as an attractive option for those seeking a quieter traditional Puerto Rican lifestyle. And it has begun to attract some of the lucrative tourist trade. We depart to the west, flying over the old city center and can see two landmarks above. The most striking is Cruceta del Vigía (the Watchman’s Cross) which is  a ten-story vertical tower and a horizontal sky bridge with panoramic views of the city and Caribbean Sea. Starting in 1801, settlers built a smaller cross to watch the sea and port below to notify authorities of incoming ships and possible threats. Just below lies the Museo Castillo Serrallés (here). The four-story house was built in the 1930s for the owner of one of Puerto Rico’s largest rum distilleries and stands as an example of the Spanish Colonial Revival style. (The museum showcases the history of sugar cane and the rum industry.) It receives something like 100,000 visitors per year.

We proceed northwest into the mountains to the lovely town and airport Adjuntas [PR20]. The strip sits on the top of a nearby mountain and it provides an interesting airmanship experience. Sensible pilots may opt for a touch-and-go.


Arecibo Observatory before the collapse

Heading north, we find the Arecibo Observatory whose telescope Microsoft has been nicely reconstructed to its former glory. Started in 1963, it was the world’s largest radio telescope (until 2016) used for distant radio astronomy, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, and for near-earth object detection. The telescope started to lose its NASA and NSF funding in the 2000s. Several hurricanes, especially Hurricane Maria (2017), caused damage and stressed the budget. And then in late 2020, the supporting cables and one tower failed which caused the instrument platform to crash down through the dish. (Find much more here.) There are no plans to resurrect the telescope (outside of Redmond and Bordeaux). For an action-packed view of the telescope in its earlier days, see the finale of Golden Eye.

We complete our journey at Arecibo Antonio Nery Juarbe Pol [TJAB], three miles east of the city. This is a General Aviation facility and a center for Sport Aviation in Puerto Rico. It is home to a large number of light-sport and ultralight aircraft. Skydiving is popular here.


Documentation
The flightplan can be found here.

Aircraft
This flight is set for General Aviation fields in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. The length suggests an aircraft that can fast cruise of over 150kts. That said, we shall want to fly relatively low and slow to appreciate the tropical colors. I shall take the A2A Comanche. You should, of course, fly what you like.

Additional Scenery
All the airports are included in the default but many lack features. I recommend that you install several addon airports to improve the airfields.

St. Croix Henry E Rohlsen [TIST]. lexuz2020
Christiansted Harbor [VI32]. jsorochin
Virgin Gorda [TUPW]. Totof33120
Anegada Auguste George [TUPA]. Totof33120
Totola Terrance B Lettisome [TUPJ]. lexuz2020
St. Thomas Cyril E King [TIST]. lexuz2020
Culebra Benjamin Rivera Noriega [TJCP]. wilfridlisandro
Vieques Antonio Rivera Rodriguez [TJVQ]. Nelpilot
San Juan Isla Grande [TJIG]. Nelpilot
Adjuntas [PR20]. Beowulf99x
Arecibo [TJAB]. Nelpilot

In addition I recommend the following scenery enhancements that will enrich the renditions of San Juan and Ponce. These are fairly large for “extra eye candy” so caution about downloads.
San Juan VFR. PuertoRico787
Port of San Juan, Puerto Rico. PuertoRico787
Ponce, Puerto Rico VFR. PuertoRico787
Cruzeta El Vigia, Ponce, Puerto Rico. pilotrank

Temporarily, you can obtain the airport package here (207MB). In addition you can obtain a curated city package here (374MB). This second package includes the two San Juan sceneries with the photogrammetry for Old San Juan dropped (because it conflicts with the excellent Asobo Castillo del Morro). For Ponce it includes only a partial subset of the whole city’s scenery, with an emphasis on the buildings over which we fly.

SLHSimDesigns has good payware renditions for Culebra [TJCP] and Tortola [TUPJ]. You may have these already if you purchased the “value pack” a few weeks ago. There are also two payware sceneries for St. Thomas [TIST]. (Please avoid duplicates in the freeware package.)

Time and Weather
For takeoff on Wednesday, set the simulator at 1:00 pm local for March 6, 2024.
We typically prefer real weather and will follow form if the weather is good. If not, I recommend the ”Josh #1” preset with ground winds at 12kts from 80 degrees magnetic. The latter to mimic the prevailing winds.

Multiplayer Particulars
Date and time: Wednesday, March 6, 2024. 1900 UTC
AVSIM Discord Server: https://discord.gg/K5Vy6UxWNm  - AVSIM GROUP EVENTS-WED. COM1
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). Please be kind enough to enter the title exactly as it stands in the title=”xxx” line of the aircraft.cfg file. Your courtesy will save others a lot of time and effort. Thanks!

[MM 426]

Here is a tweak to the flightplan that we may use if we are running ahead of time. (It will add about three minutes or so.) When we leave Vieques [TJVQ], instead of flying direct to San Juan, we divert to see the Fajardo area (with its huge marinas) and cruise along the gorgeous north coast of Puerto Rico before we get to the sights of San Juan. Follow the prescribed flightplan out of Vieques until we hit the mainland of Puerto Rico. Then turn north along the coast and, just north of Fajardo harbor, turn to the west to follow the north coast beaches and resorts. When we get to San Juan, we join up with the tour of San Juan before landing at Isla Grande [TJIG].

If we choose this extra sight-seeing diversion, there is no need for an extra flightplan. We can fly VFR along the coast and all will be well. (If you want a quick look in Little NavMap, you can download the ALTERNATE flightplan here. But no need as we can do this visually.)