...🙂...OK...this time it's a complete and determined long-haul of about 3,000 miles...with no excuses and no short-cuts taken...starting with a cold & dark cockpit, while replicating a RW flight mimicking a RW schedule, and, significantly, no increased sim rate...since that is not for the puritan simmers as I understand...🙂...not that I myself come anywhere close to that definition. I'd recently attempted a 10,000 miles ultra-long-haul flight from Sydney to New York (to replicate one of the proposed (and future) Qantas Sunrise Project 10,000+ miles scheduled service). This Qantas flight would set new records as the longest distance a (normal) human like you and me (astronauts excluded...🙂 ...) has ever travelled (non-stop) in the air in a an airplane. However, my over-ambitious flight-plan initiative, in spite of exemplary capabilities of the iniBuilds A350-900 ULR on my hand, had failed; btw, for no fault of the a/c but mine alone (see one of my earlier posts of, if you wish).  

As I'd sat down, one fine weekend morning, to transcend, in my virtual world, this human flight-distance barrier, I'd asked one of my (Xbox knowledgeable) younger family members for some pilotage help, for this marathon undertaking. I'd said, "Today, I'm trying to break my own long-haul flight record (and that of my fellow simmers too, in modern times), with this iniBuilds A350-900 ULR. Can you support my ambition, please...?" The response was this, "What's "iniBuilds" and what's "A350-900 ULR"? Moreover, what flight record are you trying to break, while sitting on that stationary (OfficeMax) chair of yours...🙂...and pretending to fly...?" However, undeterred, I went ahead with my ambitious plan but was not successful. I now recall the old saying, "if you shoot for the stars, you might land on the moon". This is a metaphor encouraging ambitious goal setting. So, today, I'm shooting for the moon instead (not the stars), so-to-speak, for this exercise...🙂...And, indeed, I was successful in this flight!

I've strictly adhered to the SimBrief Flight Plan for Dubai International (OMDB) to Venice Marco Polo Airport (LIPZ), from OMDB/12R-Runway to LIPZ/04R-Runway, the route uplinked conveniently to the (on-board) FMC via the PMDG 777F EFB's seamless integration with the SimBrief server (see shot #2 for my Route). Per SimBrief, the block time was 6 hr 3 min and total distance was 2,580 nautical miles (= 2,970 statute miles). Note that I'm flying westward here, and Venice is 2 hours behind of Dubai time. So, for a flight duration of 6 hours, if e.g., you depart Dubai at 9am, you would arrive in Venice 4 hours later at local time 1pm (having gained 2 hours during your travel). Indeed, FlightAware showed me the most recently arrived (RW) Emirates 777 flight (UAE135), that left OMDB yesterday at 9:08 am and arrived in LIPZ same day at 1:05pm (effectively just 4 hours later). The actual (RW) distance was 2,837 miles (~60 miles more than the SimBrief distance I flew today). 

For this flight, I stayed true to myself and the spirit of this long-haul, so, there was no Sim Rate applied (though I briefly tested 2X for the PMDG 777F during cruise phase; it handled well (good to know) although I did notice minor oscillations at 2X in cruise in my Xbox system). I left Dubai at 9am just as the RW (Emirates) flight, and as the morning sun rose up above and moved west, I too travelled westward, racing with the sun. So, it was daylight for me throughout (I did miss sights of the brilliant (MSFS) lighting of spectacular sunrise or sunset though...🙂...typical in a long-haul...). 

I kept track of my positional awareness on the MSFS EFB/MAP (see inset screenshots). Interestingly, the direct (OMDB->LIPZ) magenta line, shown on the MSFS/EFB Maps, deviated, quite significantly, as expected, from the realistic SimBrief Route (so-called "great circle" route). Eventually, however, the magenta line merged exactly with the SimBrief Route (see screenshots below of MAP and cockpit ND displays). Today, I've done a cold & dark start-up of the 777F, for the first time, in MSFS/Xbox, in challenging weather conditions of rain, clouds, and fog. I did review the 777 manual (need to spend more time with it), but, here, I've followed through an on-line (15 mins...🙂...) YouTube (777-quick-start) Video from a gentleman (who claimed to be a RW pilot, though I was not sure if RW pilot on a Cessna 172 single prop or a Boeing 777 Heavy Freighter powered by the monstrous GE90 turbofan engines...🙂...) ...Anyway, though not perfect, it all nicely fit my (busy) schedule (and other planned non-pilot duties I'd in mind) today ...🙂...

On this flight, I flew over parts of the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East (totally un-concerned about any Geopolitical or other RW Safety concerns), and across the deserts and mountains of this part of the world, to finally reach the skies of Eastern Europe (Venice is located at the easternmost edge of the Alps foothills). En route, I was extra attentive when I passed over the "Black Sea" (see one shot below; look for the blue water under the white clouds; Black Sea is not Black), filled with a sense of respect and awe for that unique natural body of water (I have always wondered why Black Sea is called "Black" and why it's not a "Lake"; actually it's an inland Sea similar to the Mediterranean Sea). Decades ago, when I used to take (RW) long-haul flights from Europe (such as Frankfurt) to Asia/SE-Asia destinations, I distinctly recall passing over the Black Sea. Those were the days of no individual seatback screens, so, you had to look up at the TV monitors hanging from the cabin ceiling, for flight progress information. While flying high and directly above the Black Sea, I would always take a long and deep breath, tinged with a bit of un-easiness...🙂...

Through the cloud layers, I also spotted, today, the mountains of Montenegro, and visualized in my mind how pretty that region must be down below, recalling some scenes from the film "Casino Royale"...🙂...of my iconic super-hero James Bond character. Apparently, Casino Royal, Daniel Craig's first mission as 007, though, had a storyline that was set in Montenegro, it was actually not filmed in Montenegro. BTW, who's the next James Bond after Daniel Craig...🙂...I think we don't know yet...Oh well...

Despite no new 777F repaints in the Marketplace, I've chosen an Emirates route here (for the PMDG livery 777) because Emirates is by far the largest B777 operator in the world today. From my (RW) transit through OMDB once, in the Emirates 777, I recall seeing numerous 777s sauntering around the airport (see e.g., my shot #6 below in Dubai airport; you can spot a few generic 777s). Emirates SkyCargo (the cargo division of Emirates) is also a leading global player in freight movement across the world (especially from Europe and U.S. via Dubai to Asian destinations; the route I'm flying today being a common one for this carrier).

Hope you enjoy the collection of images from this successful long-haul trip today, with yours truly, the Xbox warrior, at the command of the 777F Freighter...🙂...as I replicate a (RW) Emirates flight. The (PMDG) 777F delivered stellar performance today without a single hitch...from takeoff to touchdown...across the 2,800 miles of (virtual) airspace. I hope, if you also happen to own this PMDG 777, you're also having fun flying this exceptional SIM a/c...one that's arguably at the top (if not topmost) of the select list of big boys in our MSFS today...!

Thanks for viewing!

Edited August 16, 2025Aug 16 by P_7878

Third from the bottom...beautiful!

Another great set of photos!

Glad you're happy for the T7F! I must admit, I did chuckle a little viewing photo #11...must be something with the shading, as I haven't seen that within my sim...the engine exhaust looks like those old DC-8 and B727 take-offs I used to watch many years ago rather than high altitude contrails!  🙂 

Enjoy the flight!!!

1 hour ago, John F said:

Third from the bottom...beautiful!

Thank you, John.

Actually, I had a few more shots of my 777 approaching the threshold of Runway 04R, over that pretty Venetian Lagoon. However, something seems to be wrong with my Xbox/Console storage...it silently dropped some of my captures. There was especially one shot with the shadow of the 777 projected next to a Cruise Ship on the Lagoon...that shot is now lost forever...🙂...

 

[BTW, folks, I just noticed that I messed-up (aka mis-stated) the mileage numbers in my narrative. My SimBrief flight distance was ~2,970 miles, just 30 miles under the 3,000 mark. And the average of the last 3 completed (RW) Emirates (Dubai->Venice) 777 flights averaged ~2,870 miles.

So, this Xbox aviator, travelled 100 miles more than the RW flight...🙂...on this exercise, which was good fun, and didn't actually seem that long even at sim-rate 1X...]

9 minutes ago, rmeier said:

Another great set of photos!

Glad you're happy for the T7F! I must admit, I did chuckle a little viewing photo #11...must be something with the shading, as I haven't seen that within my sim...the engine exhaust looks like those old DC-8 and B727 take-offs I used to watch many years ago rather than high altitude contrails!  🙂 

Enjoy the flight!!!

Thanks, rmeier. Yes, I posted that image just for that effect...right or wrong...🙂...

You're correct. I/we are quite sure these modern machines would no spew out that kind of (black) exhaust such as what one would expect to see from the legendary (Pratt & Whitney) JT3Ds and JT8Ds of 707s and 727s...🙂...

I think it's some kind of atmospheric phenomenon in MSFS...BTW, I recall seeing it also in my A350 flights at high altitude... (need to find out what's going on...) ...

Cheers...!

2 hours ago, P_7878 said:

... (need to find out what's going on...) ...

LOL...no worries!

Seems like a life time ago...the odd time I flew real world "back of the bus" on Delta's B772's across the Atlantic...I certainly don't remember dark contrails like that...I'll have to take a closer look next time I fly the T7 Freighter in MSFS2020 to see if I can replicate that look...

Great photos anyway...like I said...that one photo just reminded of the "old days"...  🙂 

Great set of shots !

cheers 😉

7 hours ago, pmplayer said:

Great set of shots !

cheers 😉

Thank you for the comment, pmplayer. A nice Heavy to fly in all of MSFS, especially in Xbox…🙂…

Cheers…!