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Yellowstone an American Treasure For June 18, 2025 Michael MacKuen Today we shall take a couple of hours to enjoy the spectacular scenery of Yellowstone National Park and surrounding areas. Here we resurrect a 2019 flight (in P3D) that explores the Beartooth Highway, Yellowstone Canyon, the Big Sky ski country, the geyser basins including the Grand Prismatic and Old Faithful, and finish in the Grand Tetons. This will work best if we fly low in the valleys where possible to get a good sense of the landscape while, in other areas, we fly high over the mountain ridges. Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone We depart from Red Lodge [KRED] to follow the majestic Beartooth Highway (US Route 212) over the Beartooth mountains. The first set of waypoints [BEAR1 – BEAR4] show the way through the valley and up onto the high country of the pass. We shall have to climb to 11,000 feet to clear the terrain. We then descend to Luckinbill Airstrip (WY06), a rough grass field south of the Clark Fork of the Yellowstone River. (Some pilots may wish to execute a touch-and-go or simply a low flyover.) Bearing sharply north after takeoff, we proceed along US 212 in the valley of the Clark Fork. And then turn southwest over Cooke City, over the Park's North East Entry Gate [NEGAT] and into the Lamar Valley [LAMAR], home of Yellowstone's bison herd. We reach the waypoint [YCAN1] which sets us up for the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. The adventurous pilot might be tempted to follow the canyon by flying below the rim. At [LFALL] you will get a view of the stunning Lower Falls of the Yellowstone – which drop twice the depth of Niagara Falls. Pop up quickly to pass over the waterfall and then enjoy the Upper Falls [UFALL]. (Again, the waypoints [YCAN1-YCAN2-YCAN3] help mark the turns in the canyon. At two points you will come to what seems to be a fork in the canyon. In both instances, keep to the right.) Then climb out to the west and follow the Norris Canyon Road, past some fire-burnt areas, to the Norris Geyser Basin [NORGB], the most dynamic of the Park's thermal regions. Steamboat Geyser, at the south end of the basin, is the world's tallest currently-active geyser. (It blows only erratically, sometimes with years separating the eruptions. Since 2017, it has been more active on a more-or-less monthly schedule.) Turn north and fly along the Grand Loop Road, before diving down Kingman Pass [KPASS] to Mammoth Hot Springs [MAMOT], the park headquarters, and then a landing just outside the park at Gardiner [29S]. Next, turn northwest and climb up over the Gallatin Range – you may need 11,000' or more to crest the peaks – to visit two of the nation's famous skiing resorts. First we fly over the Yellowstone Club's golf course and resort [YCLUB] and pass the ski slopes of Pioneer Mountain [PINER]. This is a private residential resort whose membership includes many world-famous personalities. We proceed to turn over the grand setting of Cedar Mountain with its enclosed lake and waterfall [CEDAR]. Then we examine the peak of Lone Mountain [LONE] and optionally slalom down the slopes to the expansive Big Sky Resort below [BSKY]. Next turn southeast 14nm over the ridges to the land at Nine Quarter Circle Ranch (1MT0). This is a grass strip that the owners say can handle twins – so no worries for the skilled pilot. Just approach East-to-West and reverse the directions for takeoff. (The high altitude runway is sloped.) This long-successful dude ranch might be able to serve up a steak sandwich with all the fixin's. Next, fly over Sage Peak and Mount Hebgen to land at West Yellowstone (KWYS). Located here is the Aerial Fire Center, a base for smokejumpers and tankers whose firefighting resources serve the broader region. Now depart to fly low-and-very-slow over the Park's most famous thermal features. Start with the Western Entry Gate [WGATE] and follow Route 191 along the Madison River and over Nine Mile Hole [9MH], the trout fishing hole near the spot where Forest Fenn in 1988 buried a million dollar treasure to create a public search. A young medical student/adventurer found the treasure box in 2020 after Fenn published a clue-filled poem. We swing to the south at Madison Camp [MADSN]. Within six miles you will see the extensive Lower Geyser Basin and turn over the colorful Fountain Paint Pots [PAINT]. Then 2nm to the southwest to pass over the Great Prismatic Hot Springs [PRISM]. This spectacular sight might be worth a quick circle to take in the colors. Then, following the highway, we turn over the Black Opal Pool and the West Geyser [WESTG] and enter the grand Upper Basin with its large number of geysers. Tracing the Firehole River, we bend at Castle Geyser [CASTL] before flying over the historic Old Faithful Inn [OFINN] and Old Faithful [FAITH] itself. Again, it might be worth circling over the complex to see Old Faithful in action. Finally, we turn south for 50nm to enter Jackson Hole, admire Jackson Lake, pass over the famous Jackson Lake Lodge [JLLOD]. The dramatic Grand Tetons to our west will provide a spectacular backdrop for our approach and landing at Jackson Hole Airport [KJAC]. We have dinner reservations at the Blue Lion. Documentation The flightplan can be found here. The package also includes a long Pilots’ Guide from the 2019 flight. Aircraft The route is 272nm and will involve some low-and-slow flight coupled with some climbs over the mountain peaks. Recommended aircraft: modestly quick GA aircraft with a speed of 150-170 KTAS or more. Some popular options include the Beech Bonanza, Cessna 182RG, Cessna 208 Caravan, Cessna 310, Cirrus SR22, Piaggio P.149, Piper Comanche, and the Vans RV-14. Anything you like will be fine. Note that two landings will be grass strips (one optional). No need for a high altitude cruiser – we shall be flying mostly scenic legs near the ground – for the sheer fun of it. As ever, please fly what you like. Scenery Here are some airport improvements that you might appreciate. One is a FS2020 scenery that works well in FS2024; the second is a FS2024 scenery. Thanks for the authors for their excellent work. West Yellowstone [KWYS]. Windhover Jackson Hole [KJAC]. StratusSim (Get the FS2024 version) Note that there are payware versions of KWYS and KJAC. (You might consider KWYS because it adds better depictions of Yellowstone’s richly-colored geyser fields and hot springs – at the cost of some minor tiling in FS2024. This addon is not necessary to enjoy the flight as the photoreal default depiction is pretty good.) Time and Weather For takeoff on Wednesday, set the simulator at 3:00pm local for June 18, 2025. We typically prefer real weather. Multiplayer Particulars Date and time: Wednesday, June 18, 2025. 1900 UTC RTWR Multiplayer Discord Channel 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!

Spring Warmup in the Blue Ridge For June 4, 2025 Michael MacKuen It is Spring in North America and time to begin some bush flying. Today we shall do a “warmup” flight in the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Virginia. We begin in Gatlinburg and fly over the Great Smoky Mountains. And then further northeast over the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Virginia border. These are brief flights in the mountainous region aimed to renew our skills. Instead of starting the season on bush strips, we shall do our “warmup” operations into fully certified airports. Of course, some are more interesting than others. Dancing over the Blue Ridge Mountains After a delightfully quiet weekend at Blackberry Farm, we depart from Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge [KGKT]. (While waiting for your friends, you might visit the air museum.) On departure we climb up and over the higher ridges of the Great Smoky Mountains, and pass over the elegant Kuwohi Lookout Tower. (Last year the Smokies’ tallest mountain was renamed from Clingmans Dome to Kuwohi – the original Cherokee name.) We land at Sossamon Field [57NC]. Just 7nm to the east lies Cherokee NC, center for the Eastern Cherokee tribe and their successful casino. We then turn south in the Smokies to land at the lovely rustic strip at Tusquittee Landing [NC08]. And then southeast, just over the Georgia border, to Heaven’s Landing [GE99] – a wealthy mountain airpark with facilities for private jets. We turn northeast 27nm to Jackson County [24A], a distinctive ridge-top airport with sheer drop-offs that increase the false sense of drama. We depart to the east, flying over the Blue Ridge Parkway at the Pisgah Inn [PGINN]. We finish the Smoky Mountains segment when we stop at Six Oaks [NC67], a small grass strip in Fletcher, a suburb near Asheville. After a moment we head north for Skyline Peak [33NR]. Built in 2009 for the Wolf Ridge ski resort nearby, this mountaintop airport was closed indefinitely as of 2016. But Microsoft has somehow opened it up for a “Landing Challenge” … so we shall take advantage of their efforts. (FS2024 does not capture the way the runway was carved out of a ridge with dangerous overhanging cliffs. See here.) After our successful landings, we jog over to the famous Mountain Air [2NC0], the beautiful mountaintop fly-in residential community that we have visited several times before. Lots of fun here. We turn around and climb up to the top of Mt Mitchell [MITCH], the tallest mountain in the eastern United States. Then a descent from the peak to turn and carefully land on the steep uphill grass strip Strawberry Ridge [STR]. Next we take a scenic excursion. First we look at Linville Gorge [GORG1 and GORG2], the deep and rugged “Grand Canyon of the East”: Gorge description and cinematic video and fighter jet video. Then we go north to Grandfather Mountain and in particular the Mile-High Swinging Bridge [SWING] (the parking lot and visitor center are depicted, the bridge is not). Then we go back to work and execute the complicated approach and landing at Elk River [NC06], preferably on RWY 12 rather than the terrain-inhibited RWY 30. Departure is on RWY 30. This is a private airport serving the Elk River club and happily we have permission to visit. All four of these airports will pose a little challenge and require some care. For a real world orientation, look here: Mountain Air description here and instructions here. Strawberry Ridge instructions here. Elk River description here and instructions here. (For an entertaining “spicey” demonstration of ad hoc technique, see AvAngel’s The Courchevel of North Carolina, a 2022 flight from Mountain Air to Elk River.) The final optional challenge will be Skyland [NC50]. This small private airfield is a little hard to find and tricky to land. Alternatively, it you prefer, choose Ashe County [KGEV], the larger and better maintained public airport that is just 3nm away. Our final destination is Mountain Empire [KMKJ], down in the Virginia foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Just a quiet moment of sympathy for the people of Western North Carolina whose lives were devastated by the floods of Hurricane Helene. Documentation The flightplan can be found here. Aircraft This flight is designed as a prelude to the bush-flying season. The target aircraft is the Microsoft/Carenado Cessna 185F, the legendary bush operator that worked so well for us in FSX and P3D. We shall want an opportunity to acquaint ourselves with the aircraft’s capabilities and limitations in FS2024. Of course any aircraft with a speed of 140kts will do the job nicely. Most of these airports are designed for faster aircraft and not for bush flying. I’ll take the C185F. As ever, please fly what you like. Scenery Here are some airport improvements that you might appreciate. All are FS2020 sceneries that work well in FS2024. Thanks for the authors for their excellent work. Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge [KGKT]. scottmc606 To see the museum, a dependency is totof-aircraft library v4 by Totof33120 Tusquittee Landing [NC08]. NoticalMyles Heaven’s Landing [GE99]. WhishingWell (Opachki) Jackson County [24A]. Windhover Mountain Air [2NC0]. Windhover Strawberry Ridge [STR]. SkyborneVisions Elk River [NC06]. Windhover Ashe County [KGEV]. BaptistDeacon Mountain Empire [KMKJ]. TheAirportGuys You can get a package of the airport scenery here. (440MB) Note that there are payware versions of 2NC0 and NC06. The freeware versions are excellent. Time and Weather For takeoff on Saturday, set the simulator at 3:00pm local for June 4, 2025. We typically prefer real weather. Multiplayer Particulars Date and time: Wednesday, June 4, 2025. 1900 UTC RTWR Multiplayer Discord Channel 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!

Breezing through Crete and the Dodecanese Islands For May 31, 2025 Michael MacKuen This afternoon we shall complete this year’s Aegean holiday tour. We shall fly over the rugged terrain of Crete and then visit Rhodes and several of the smaller Dodecanese before flying west to Santorini. Stunning setting for Kalymnos Departure We depart from Chania [LGSA], a former military base and now a joint use facility. This is not a truly developed civilian field but it is nevertheless one of Greece’s ten busiest airports. We climb out to cross over the mountains to the south coast to land at Tympaki [LG54] which is mainly an Hellenic AFB but also accommodates some civilian use. Then north east, skirting around the higher terrain. We catch a glimpse of the Minoan Palace Knossos [KNOSS] which is quite a large site. (You can separately download the scenery here or simply glance at the photoreal textures on the spot.) Then we land at Crete’s capital city Heraklion [LGIR]. This is Greece’s second busiest airport, behind only Athens. After taking a look, we head southeast to fly over Kasteli AB which is now under construction to became a joint-use facility with a large modern international airport. (It is due in 2027.) We turn east to fly through the mountains to land at Crete’s easternmost city Sitia [LGST]. After a moment we shall proceed east over the sea to land at Kasos [LGKS], an interesting little coastal airport. Depending on the wind, this can be very interesting. Then northeast, over Karpathos to reach Rhodes and its international airport Rhodes Diagoras [LGRP]. Rhodes itself is the largest island and the capital of the Dodecanese. It has been an important place through the years, especially during the Hellenic Period after Alexander’s death. The old inner city, on the tip of the island, is a testament to the Rhodes’ long and important role in the history of the Mediterranean. We then visit three more Dodecanese islands starting with the most popular tourist destination and its airport Kos Ippokratis [LGKO]. Kos has been important in the region, second to Rhodes. It is perhaps best known as the home of Hippocrates, the leader of the classic Greek era who “invented” medicine as a profession (hence the name of the airport). It is now a very successful tourist destination with many beaches and a younger-set-nightlife. A quick jump takes us to Kalymnos [LGKY]. For many years Kalymnos was best known for its sponge divers who turned the enterprise into local wealth. And recently it has become a regional magnet for European climbers who can enjoy the dramatic terrain. For pilots, the airport should provide its own entertainment. Finaly, Astypalaia [LGPL] is a much more quiet option. We finish our journey at the strikingly famous caldera-rim-as-island Santorini [LGSR]. After visiting earlier this year, we should be able to find a good meal and a spot to enjoy the evening together. Documentation The flightplan can be found here. Aircraft This flight is about 400nm in length. A fairly quick aircraft is need to complete the journey on time, one that can fast cruise at about 200ktas. A good choice for this mission would be the Cessna 414, Beech Duke, Daher TBM, Pilatus PC-12 or the Beech King Air. (I’ll take the PC-12.) As ever, please fly what you like. Scenery Here are some airport improvements that you might appreciate. All are FS2020 sceneries that work well in FS2024. Thanks for the authors for their excellent work. Chania Ioannis Daskologiannis [LGSA]. JDot029 Tympaki [LG54]. (Greek Airports 3). jackzyg Heraklion [LGIR]. JasonGR Sitia [LGST]. (Greek Airports 2). jackzyg Kasos [LGKS]. (Greek Airports 1). jackzyg Rhodes Diagoras [LGRP]. Viktoren69 Kos Hippocrates [LGKO]. JDot029 Kalymnos [LGKY]. (Greek Airports 3). jackzyg Astypalaia [LGPL]. (Greek Airports 2). jackzyg Santorini [LGSR]. (Greek Airports 5). jackzyg You can get a package of the airport scenery here. (1.1GB) In addition, you might like a special scenery depiction (not necessary at all): Knossos (Ancient site). NikPrist Note that there are payware versions of LGSA, LGIR, LGRP, LGKO, LGKY, and LGSR. (I’ll use the 29Palms version of Santorini LGSR.) Time and Weather For takeoff on Saturday, set the simulator at 3:00pm local for May 31, 2025. We typically prefer real weather. Multiplayer Particulars Date and time: Saturday, May 31, 2025. 1900 UTC RTWR Multiplayer Discord Channel 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!

Using default avionics in the SWS PC-12 and BKSQ TBM 850 Here is a suggestion from some experimentation this week. These two excellent aircraft are FS2020 in their roots. As distributed, they still use the Working Title GNS530/GNS430 Version 1 (for 2020). As far as I can tell, the distributed versions do not have the capacity to activate the Working Title Version 2 avionics. Thus, they do not have all the features such as loading in flightplans after the flight has begun. (At least this seems to be the case.) If you want to use the *.PLN files, you might treat them as FS2020 avionics aircraft. When starting a flight, select the aircraft, starting location (?) and flight conditions. You should now be sitting at the World Map with a satellite view of the starting location. Then use the EFB to IMPORT the *.PLN file (I use the 2020 version to be safe but the 2024 version might work). If the acquisition executes properly, the EFB should now show the flightplan waypoints in the text and the flightpath on the World Map. Now use the EFB command to SEND the flightplan to ATC and the plane’s avionics. Only after all this should you activate the flight and FLY NOW. Once in the cockpit, the flightplan will appear in the avionics (with a delay of several seconds). All this is comes from an afternoon’s experimentation. Obviously, this is only a tentative suggestion and your experience may vary. Let’s compare notes. It seems that using this FS2020 procedure works for these aircraft when selecting the PMS50 GTN750 avionics (as well as the Working Title GNS530). The simple idea is that when flying aircraft with FS2020 avionics, the pilot might use the FS2020 procedure to load and activate a flightplan from the World Map. (That is before actually starting the flight and entering the cockpit.)

Kenyan Highlands and Great Rift Valley. For May 24, 2025 Michael MacKuen Today we shall fly over the Kenyan Highlands and then its famous Great Rift Valley. We depart from Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta Airport [HKJK], where we pick up a number of potential foreign investors who this morning are visiting the Swissport cargo facilities (Gate F 8). We’ve been asked to show in broad strokes the overall lay of the land in this nation’s widely varying countryside. We almost immediately pass over Karen Blixen's farm [BLIXN] (now a suburban museum celebrating her Out of Africa). Next, we see the double volcanic crater of Mount Suswa [SUSWA] and then pass over Hell's Gate National Park [HGATE]. Note the two extinct volcanos and the Olkaria Geothermal Stations. (The park, including Pride Rock and the Gorge, served as a model for the 1994 film The Lion King.) We land at Naivasha [HKNV], a large town whose main industry is now floriculture (you can see the vast arrays of greenhouses). Nowadays the flowers are rushed to Nairobi where Lufthansa, Etihad and other cargo airlines transport more than 90 tons of temperature-controlled packets per week to Europe and the wealthy Gulf States. On the lakeshore is the colonial Naivasha Country Club [LNCC], once a colonial hangout and now a luxury hotel, which in the 1930s served as an intermediate stop for Imperial Airways' flying boat service from Durban to London. Shallow seasonal Lake Logipi on the floor of the forbidding Suguta Valley Heading northwest, we fly over Lake Nakuru [NAKURU], the famous soda (alkaline) lake whose dense algae attract a population of a million flamingos – and turn them pink. (We pass over the childhood home of Beryl Markham [BMARK] (aviatrix and author) and then land on the neat grass strip of the international private St. Andrews School Turi [HKQM]. We head west over the protected forests of the Mau National Reserve to land at Marinyn [HKKQ] (preferred approach to land from the west). This is one of the small local airports that serve the many large tea plantations in the Kericho area. Kenya is one of the world’s main producers of Black Tea and tea is the nation’s most significant export product. (About 40 percent of this mainstay of Kenya’s commercial agriculture is produced by large plantations and the remainder by thousands of small independent farmers.) We proceed west to Kisumu [HKKI], Kenya’s third largest city and its primary presence in the Lake Victoria region. Then flying north, we fly over rural Kenya with its large swaths of subsistence farms. Then as we climb into the highlands (7,000-9,000 ft) and approach Eldoret, we can see more commercial farming. The region was successful during the colonial era and has continued to prosper. The new international airport Eldoret [HKEL] was designed to link the central highlands with the outside world. While this has been only modestly successful, the airport does service regular air cargo operations than link local fruit and vegetable producers with markets in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Flying east over the highlands, we approach the western edge of the Great Rift at the long dramatic Elgeyo Escarpment which towers 5,000 feet over the Kerio Valley below. We land at Kabarnet [HKTG], the home of long-time president Daniel Moi and today a center for the sometimes-violent Kenyan politics. The airstrip lies just north of Kabarnet town in the Tugen Hills (in which paleontologists have made numerous discoveries). Views to the west provide a great view of the region’s spectacular scenery. These Kenyan highlands, including the Eldoret area and the Tugen Hills and especially Iten, are home to many World and Olympic long-distance-running champions. On departure, we scale the ridge of the Tugen Hills and then descend to execute a low pass over Lake Baringo [BRNGO] near Loruk. We want to inspect the rising waters of the lake that are threatening the fishing dependent communities on its shores. Proceeding to the northeast, we pass over the wide Rift Valley to climb over the northern reaches of the Lakipia Escarpment. The country turns dry and we land at the small remote settlement at Barsaloi [HKOJ]. This is Samburu country whose native peoples continue to practice a semi-nomadic pastoral life. Cattle are the currency of success in this very traditional social order that is changing only very slowly. A quick jaunt north lies the larger Samburu town Baragoi [HKSY]. It was from here that in 2012 about 40 national police officers traveled west into the bleak Suguta Valley to impose order over cattle rustlers. The paramilitary police were lured into an ambush and almost all were massacred. (The national government has provided arms to local Turkana and Samburu tribal communities and asked that they maintain order. This plan is not working well.) We head west over the dry ground to crest the Losiolo Escarpment and descend into the Suguta Valley [SUGUTA]. (The valley floor is about 1,000ft.) This is breathtaking desert scenery. The surreal landscape of lava, sand, and dried mud is broken only by occasional volcanic cinder cones and geological features to the east and west that rise to elevations of 3300 feet. The Barrier Volcano to the north provides a natural break between the valley and Lake Turkana. At that northern edge lies the seasonal Lake Logipi whose alkaline shallow water can attract flamingos. This is a remote inhospitable land with difficult desert terrain, few resources, and soaring temperatures. It is sometimes called the “valley of death.” We travel north onto Lake Turkana, the world's largest desert lake. The green-blue jade color of the water is created by the presence of algae. The waters contain 40 species of fish and the shores provide sunbathing beaches for Nile crocodiles. (At one time, this was the home to the world's largest concentration of Nile crocodiles.) The indigenous people continue a partly-pastoral lifestyle although increasingly they are turning to fishing as a way to support their populations. The ecological value of the area, as well as the number of truly significant paleoanthropological discoveries, have led to a UNESCO World Heritage Site designation. We end our trip at remote Loiyangalani [HKLY]. This small village subsists on fishing and gold panning. It also caters to a small tourist trade with a few lodges near the airstrip. Just a month ago, heavy rains caused Lake Turkana to swallow up the critical access road to the town. (Loiyangalani was the setting for the tragic finale in John le Carré's novel The Constant Gardener.) On a more upbeat note, the ambitious Lake Turkana Wind Power Project was completed six years ago to take advantage of the persistent wind called the Turkana Jet. Its 365 wind turbines now produce 310MW of relatively inexpensive “green” power for the national grid. This massive array is depicted in the simulator some 15nm along C77 south of Loiyangalani. Documentation The flightplan and a (2021) Pilot's Guide can be found here. (This flight is a modification of our 2021 Kenyan venture.) Aircraft This flight ranges over the Highlands and the Rift Valley and is about 450nm in length. A fairly quick aircraft is need to complete the journey on time, one that can fast cruise at over 200ktas. We land at three grass strips (one is a challenge). A good choice for this mission would be the TBM, Pilatus PC-12 or the Beech King Air. (I’ll take the PC-12.) As ever, please fly what you like. Scenery Here are some airport improvements that you might appreciate. All are FS2020 sceneries that work well in FS2024. Eldoret International [HKEL]. Jacques Botha Kisumu [HKKI]. Jacques Botha Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta [HKJK]. Chak991 Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta [HKJK] Enhancement. Andrew.Glowacki. (This enhancement is way more than you need but works well. Pick the “no static and building” option. Use only if you have spare time.) You can get a package of the scenery here. (3.5mb) Time and Weather For takeoff on Saturday, set the simulator at 7:00am local for May 24, 2025. We typically prefer real weather. Note May is the end of the “Long Rains” season, but it may not be finished yet. Multiplayer Particulars Date and time: Saturday, May 24, 2025. 1900 UTC RTWR Multiplayer Discord Channel 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!

@billkirk8888 You might try this solution: Some Black Square Aircraft have trouble in 2024 SU2.

Some Black Square Aircraft have trouble in 2024 SU2. A useful fix. As you know, four of the excellent Black Square aircraft rely on pieces from the Asobo default aircraft. This includes the C208B Caravan, Bonanza, and King Air for many parts. And the TBM 850 for sounds. These can be made to work in MSFS2024 by installing the Black Square aircraft in 2020 and copying the aircraft into the MSFS2024 Community folder. And then copying the Asobo default aircraft into the MSFS2024 Community folder. (Note that until SU2, those Asobo default aircraft could be copied to the MSFS2024 Official2020/OneStore folder. But this no longer works.) If you have copied the Asobo default aircraft into your MSFS2024 Official2020/OneStore folder, then simply move (not copy) them into the MSFS2024 Community folder. See this thread and in particular this summary of the solution. (Note that this process does not work for the Baron.) Hope this helps.

Scramble from Goodwood in Tiger Moths In Gunter’s absence, and at Jeff's suggestion, we shall have a Scramble over England. Starting from Goodwood [EGHR], pilots will take turns selecting a new destination after each leg is completed. An ideal aircraft would be a Tiger Moth, though any vintage biplane will do nicely.

@Malcolm Street Here is a possibility but not a real diagnosis. When flying the C414AW (FSW) in 2020, I had exactly the same problem. After a long period of diagnostic work (including many dead ends), here is what I think was happening. My controller (a joystick) had a small but constant bit of spiking which persisted through each flight. The aircraft’s autopilot would react by cranking a bit of trim to counteract each of the spikes. After a while, those counter-actions cumulated and led to the autopilot switching off. And left the aircraft in an awful maximum trim in one direction or the other. The plane would spiral into the earth below. The “solution” was to build in a larger “null zone” into the simulator controller settings which blocked the small spikes from getting to the autopilot. Now this exact problem is unlikely to be directly relevant given your high quality controllers. But my particular experience may suggest a way to approach your problem. Hope this helps. Mike

Here is a good overview documentary about the Democratic Republic of the Congo by BBC (2018). [46:51] Posted on YouTube. Congo: A journey to the heart of Africa – BBC Africa

For MB-339 pilots. IndiaFoxtEcho Aermacchi MB-339 Autopilot display mod. Author: garfield (Marcel Ritzema). This mod is a small in-panel annunciator for the (hidden default) autopilot. It works in 2024.

Into the Mouth of the Congo For May 3, 2025 Michael MacKuen For something different, we fly into the mouth of the Congo to get a sense of an unfamiliar part of the world. Starting from the Atlantic coast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), we fly up the Congo River to the ports of Boma and Matadi and the hydropower Inga Dams. Then we venture briefly into the interior before rejoining the Congo to reach Kinshasa, Brazzaville, and the Pool Malebo. Afternoon over the Lower Congo We depart from Muanda [FZAG], a small city that serves the modest offshore oil industry. Passing the small old port Banana, we cross to Soyo [FNSO], Angola’s large oil town that handles that nation’s considerably larger offshore oil production. Then we turn east up the wide Congo River to the city airport of Boma [FZRJ], the DRC’s older colonial port. Following the river, we reach the larger city Matadi which for more than a century has been the country’s (and earlier, the colony’s) main port for international trade. The Matadi Airport [FZAM] is north of the river and on a high plateau. You may notice the Maréchal Bridge which is one of only two bridges spanning Congo River during its 2900 mile length. This is the world’s deepest river, has the third highest discharge volume, and ninth in overall length. The Congo Basin has an area of 1.5 million square miles, or 13 percent of the entire African landmass. Today’s flight over the “Lower Congo” covers only about 250nm of the river’s immense extent. Heading 20nm upriver we reach the Inga Falls and their dams to land at Inga Aerodrome [FZAN]. The falls of the fast-running river have long been thought to be the ideal spot for hydroelectric power – perhaps the best spot in the world. The two dams and hydro plants Inga I and Inga II were designed by the Belgian colonial government and completed by the newly-independent country (with American financing and expertise) in 1972 and 1982. The two dams’ original 1.7GW capacity has deteriorated over time due to disrepair. And the ambitious plans to power the mines of Katanga Province have not worked out at all. The original scheme, still being promoted, was to build a “Grand Inga” project which would construct additional dams to create a massive reservoir whose waters would power multiple hydro plants capable of producing a total 44GW of power. When completed, the project would yield the most hydro power in the world, doubling China’s impressive Three Rivers project. This amount of readily available electric power might drive a measurable change in the lives of Africans from Nigeria to South Africa. However, while current engineering technology looks able to accomplish this task, the investor community has serious doubts about the political and social stability needed for success. From this point north and east, the Congo River is dotted with a series of rapids dropping 900 ft in 200 miles. Named Livingstone Falls (after the British explorer), this constitutes a natural barrier to navigation between the Atlantic ports and the vast interior of the Congo. Accordingly, the colonial Belgians built the Matadi-Kinshasa Railway in 1890-1898. Departing from Inga we bypass the rapids and turn east to Lukala [FZAP], a small town on the Matadi-Kinshasa Railway. Then north to rejoin the Congo River and then land at Celo Zongo [FZAD]. This is the site of the Zongo Dam and hydro plant along the Inkisi River (one of a number of the Congo’s tributaries that have been dammed for local power production). Finally, we fly up the river to Kinshasa N’Dolo [FZAB], the capital city’s older unpretentious “working” airport. The town was established as a trading center at the base of the Pool Malebo (previously the “Stanley Pool” after the British-American journalist-adventurer who did so much to explore and map the heart of Africa). This is a lake-sized widening of the Congo just above the Livingstone Rapids. From here, for a thousand miles north and east, the Congo (and its many tributaries) are navigable and thus open to transport and commerce. The small town grew with the arrival of the railway and became the central connection between the Atlantic ports and the rest of the country. In 1923 it became the colonial capital and has expanded over the years. While suffering from the new nation’s half-century of political turbulence and civil wars, the city has been a haven for refugees fleeing the dangers of ethnic conflicts. Kinshasa is now one of the fastest growing cities in the world with an estimated population of somewhere between 10 and 17 million. It is a city of contrasts between the relatively affluent “modern” sectors near the river and the more distant crowded slums in the surrounding hillsides. We take a quick hop to Brazzaville, capital of the Republic of Congo. At 2 million, this is a large city but of course only one fifth the size of Kinshasa. Notable on the cityscape is the Nabemba Tower which stands tall as a symbol of modernity. We turn at Maya-Maya [FCBB] the international airport with non-stop flights to Paris (4 times a week) and Kinshasa (1 time a week). Brazzaville has been harmed by the ongoing civil wars in the DRC with deaths, displacement, and unexpected migrants crossing the river. While this is a large metro area of two capital cities, there is practically no cross-national coordination. The long-mooted cross-Congo bridge is still a matter for the “near future.” We then circumnavigate the Malebo Pool to land at Kinshasa N’Djili [FZAA], the capital’s modern-ish international airport. Documentation The flightplans can be found here. Aircraft This is a flight of 290 miles. It is designed for the DHC-4 Caribou but it is suitable for anything capable of 150kts “fast cruise.” As ever, please fly what you like. Additional Scenery Most of the airports are in the default simulator. I recommend the following scenery to enhance our experience. (These are MSFS2020 sceneries that work well in MSFS2024.) Thanks to the authors for their talent and efforts. Recommended: Muanda [FZAG]. Vortex_SD Kinshasha N’Dolo [FZAB]. TheAfricanFlyer. Required – NOT in the default? Kinshasa N’Djili [FZAA]. EchoMikeRDC Temporarily, you can find a scenery package here. Time and Weather For takeoff on Saturday, set the simulator at 2:00pm local for May 3, 2025. We typically prefer real weather. Multiplayer Particulars Date and time: Saturday, May 3, 2025. 1900 UTC RTWR Multiplayer Discord Channel 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!

@Ricardo41 Again, your help is much appreciated. I managed to spend three hours reading back through this Working Title Discord subforum. Learned lots of things. But nothing directly explaining why one can read a *.pln once and then completely fail to read the exact same *.pln the next time. Will have to figure out something here, but it is pretty hard to debug a system where one has no control over the process. Hope our community has some ideas...

@Ricardo41 Thanks for the reference. Perhaps you would be so kind to point me toward the WT Discord sub-forum that you have in mind. (I did look around a while, but felt overwhelmed.) Much appreciated.

I would like to express a “wish” item here to see if anyone has a solution. Our always-helpful friend @MattNischan has recently indicated that the Working Title EFB “is now the primary flight planning interface in the sim.” (here) The problem is that the EFB cannot consistently read a flightplan in the common *.pln format. (It cannot consistently read either a FS2020 or a FS2024 format *.pln.) My own experience, repeated frequently by others, is that often the EFB cannot read a flightplan such as “FLIGHT.PLN”. (My tests include an intervening user waypoint, not simply departure and arrival airports. The flightplan is generated using Little NavMap which has for years been able to create properly formatted *.pln files.) One hour the EFB can read the FLIGHT.PLN with all the intervening waypoints. All is perfect. Then, after shutting down the sim and coming back an hour later, the EFB cannot read the same FLIGHT.PLN. That is to say, the EFB has no departure airport, no arrival airport, no intervening waypoints. Nothing at all. (Then, again shutting down the simulator and computer, restarting the computer and simulator, and repeating the read attempt – the EFB may or may not be able to read the same flightplan.pln file. Sometimes it works; sometimes it fails.) Thus the EFB is capable of reading the FLIGHT.PLN file. But it cannot do so consistently. You can understand just how important consistency is for the 2024 primary flight planning interface. Does anyone have a trick to encourage the Working Title EFB to read *.pln flightplans? Thanks, Mike