Marquesas

The Marquesas Islands group is one of the most remote in the world. It lies about 850 miles northeast of Tahiti and about 3,000 miles west of Mexico (the nearest continental land mass).  It is thought to have been formed by a center of upwelling magma, called the Marquesas hotspot.  

Although Polynesia tends to be associated with images of lush tropical vegetation, and the Marquesas lie within the tropics, they are remarkably dry. That is because they constitute the first major break for the prevailing easterly winds that arise from the (atmospherically) dry Humboldt Current. This subjects the Marquesas to frequent drought conditions.

My curiosity about the Marquesas was piqued after watching a series of Youtube videos on the Madison Boatworks Channel.  The link below is to their first of two on the Marquesses.   Very highly recommended.   I ended up going back and watching the entire series from the beginning.

11 | Sailing the Marquesas Islands, Nuku Hiva and Hiva Oa (youtube.com)

The route starts from Nuku Hiva (NTMD) finishes at Ua Pou Airstrip (NTMP).  There are four airstrips in our sightseeing route, and we will land twice at Hiva Oa (NTMN) which will break up a longish diversion to Fatu Hiva which does not have a landing strip.   

The route is 320nm and the shortest field is 2257 ft.  I plan to fly the Twin Otter in Air Kiribati livery, but a Cessna Caravan would certainly be appropriate.  As always you are free to fly what you like.

Flight Plan HERE

I was surprised to find addon airports for each of our stops:

•        [NTMD] NUKU HIVA Airport FRENCH POLYNESIA for Microsoft Flight Simulator | MSFS
•        UAPOU Airport [NTMP] for Microsoft Flight Simulator | MSFS
•        [NTMN] HIVA-OA Airport FRENCH POLYNESIA for Microsoft Flight Simulator | MSFS
•        [NTMU] UA HUKA Airport FRENCH POLYNESIA for Microsoft Flight Simulator | MSFS

 

Recommend Departure time of 2:00PM local

Particulars:

•           Date and time: Saturday August 3, 18:00 UTC
•           RTWR Multiplayer Discord Channel
•           MFS Multiplayer: US Eastcoast 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!

 

 

Hmm, the last two airports are "currently unavailable"... You may have to provide a temporary download if you got them..

Here is a temporary version of the Marquesas airports. (For private use only.)

Spectacular flight. Great airports and outstanding island scenery. What a wonderful idea. ... The only thing wrong was the power outage that prevented our tour guide’s attendance.

Thanks so much!