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Flying in New Zealand

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I read a post a few days ago about how good New Zealand looked in MSFS. I am flying with A Pilots LIfe, and was offered a job with New Zealand Airways, which I took. Not only is the scenery gorgeous, but some of the airports are a real challenge to get in an out of. I just took of at NZQN in the Fenix, and it was a real nail biter to clear all the mountains on departure. There is also a large airport with no RNAV or ILS approach's, and it is in a valley, so getting down in time to make a landing, is a bit scary. Love flying around this area. 

 

 

 

New Zealand is perfect for me when I want do some flying in the the evening during winter nights, because they are exaxtly 12 hours ahead and have summer. So I get a chance to do some morning flights without too much turbulence, and mostly good weather. Airliner wise the routes are limited. You can only do flights to Wellington, Christchurch, Auckland and Queenstown ever so often without it getting boring. But Helicopter flights are the best. And the Southern Alps really deserve their name.

Edited by Farlis

Yes it is a beautiful country, very fun with GA as well

System: I ASRock X670E | AMD 7800X3D | 64Gb DDR5 6000 | RTX 4090 | 2TB NVMe | Seasonic Vertex 1000W I LG Ultra Gear 34 UW I

I am also flying in New Zealand these days, trying to complete the "Middle Earth" tour for the VA I am a member of. It's a beautiful country and there are many interesting and challenging places to visit. As Bobsk8 wrote,  NZQN is not only beautiful, flying there can be a challenge. I flew the approach in the Fenix and it was a great experience!

I got me the ATR just for this tour and combined with the Fenix for longer flights it's one of the best experiences I've had in MSFS2020. And something quite different after all the helicopter, DC3 and smaller aircraft flights I've done earlier. 

MSFS never ceases to amaze me... 🙂

Lots of really good payware and freeware airports for NZ.  Apart from the obvious areas mentioned above, the bay of islands is nice and the NZ world update provides some nice photogrammetry.

Ryzen 5800X3D, Nvidia RTX5080 - 32 Gig DDR4 RAM, 1TB & 2 TB NVME drives - Windows 11 64 bit MSFS 2024 Premium Deluxe Edition Resolution 2560 x 1440 (32 inch curved monitor)

4 hours ago, Farlis said:

New Zealand is perfect for me when I want do some flying in the the evening during winter nights, because they are exaxtly 12 hours ahead and have summer. So I get a chance to do some morning flights without too much turbulence, and mostly good weather. Airliner wise the routes are limited. You can only do flights to Wellington, Christchurch, Auckland and Queenstown ever so often without it getting boring. But Helicopter flights are the best. And the Southern Alps really deserve their name.

If you are operating aircraft like the 737 or A320 there is still Dunedin NZDN, Invercargill NZNV, Palmerston North NZPM, Rotorua NZRO (a challenge, Napier NZNR (short runway) or Hamilton NZHN (short). There is also plenty of 2.5 to 3.5 hour international options as well such as: Sydney YSSY, Brisbane YBBN, Melbourne YMML, Gold Coast YBCG, Norfolk Island YSNF, Hobart YMHB, Launceston YMLT, Noumea NWWW, Nadi (Fiji) NFFN, Tonga NFTF and the Samoan group Apia NSFA and Pago Pago NSTU.
As for regional turbo prop, or biz jet ops, there is plenty of other great regional airports to try out.

So no need to get bored…….and if you do then welcome to an airline pilots life!

 

Cheers

Steve Hall

5 hours ago, Bobsk8 said:

There is also a large airport with no RNAV or ILS approach's, and it is in a valley

I'm guessing that would be Queenstown.   There are some real world old cockpit videos on YouTube of 737-200s flying that approach down the valley.

EDIT:    Found it.  (3 parts, this is the 1st):-
 

 

Bill 😎
FS2024 • Currently in 'GA mode' : A2A Comanche 2024 & Aerostar • Black Square C208, Bonanzas, Barons, TBM850, Dukes • COWS DA40 & DA42 • FSW Legacy, C24R Sierra & C414 • Echo Falco F8L • FFX HJET, Visionjet and P180 2024 • Got Friends A32 Vixxen • FSReborn Sirius TL3000, Sting S4 and Piper M500 • Flyboy Rans S6S • Skyward DA50RG • SWS Zenith CH701, RV-8, RV-10, RV-14, PC12 • Milviz C310R • Air Foil Labs Bristell B23 
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  • Author

Approaching Auckland INTL....  NZAA

 

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, JYW said:

I'm guessing that would be Queenstown.   There are some real world old cockpit videos on YouTube of 737-200s flying that approach down the valley.

EDIT:    Found it.  (3 parts, this is the 1st):-
 

 

Been there for real, the approach is wonderfull

Try your hand at landing at NZWN (Wellington) on a typical windy day.  A short runway with water at both ends it is a nail biter in real life (which I have done many times as pax) and a challenge in the sim.

Bruce

Bruce Bartlett

 

Frodo: "I wish none of this had happened." Gandalf: "So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."

  • Author
8 hours ago, brucewtb said:

Try your hand at landing at NZWN (Wellington) on a typical windy day.  A short runway with water at both ends it is a nail biter in real life (which I have done many times as pax) and a challenge in the sim.

Bruce

Landed there twice already. Fun.

 

 

 

 

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