MM

Excellent. This is a better solution than disabling the CVX file. The end result is similar (for me using P3Dv4.3 and FreeMeshX) but not necessarily for others. Creating a proper airport altitude designation constitutes a superior approach because it fixes the problem at its root and should work for everyone -- FSX and P3D. Thanks, Roman. M

What a great flight plan. The freeware airports are all pretty good and several are excellent. And the authors have painstakingly created replicas of the real airports – from which we benefit by enjoying an impression of being somewhere special. One thing. If you are having trouble with the addon Kastamonu Uzunyazi (LTAL), this work-around might help. (My problem is that there is a false "runway-like surface" about four feet above the real hard runway. Your situation may vary.) A bunch of trial and error indicates that the addon airport is usable and mostly intact if you disable one of the bgl files by renaming it as follows: "LTAL_ADEX_HD_CVX.bgl.OFF". This is merely a kludge, not an elegant solution. But the addon airport is reasonably good and much better than the bare misplaced slab that is the default airport. BTW. Most pilots will want to install Ordu (LTCB) which is not otherwise in P3D. This a dramatic "island" airport and is well worth the minimal-effort installation. (IMHO) It is tremendous fun to fly over rugged terrain and along the stunning Black Sea coastline. All in a region over which we have hardly ever flown. M

The flightplan and sceneries for this week are great. Lots of character. Two things to speed installation: 1. The scenery models are easy and quick to install. "Download, Drag, Drop, and Activate." No problems. But those running FTX Vector's AEC (Airport Elevation Correction) want to disable AEC for LTBA, LTBU, and LT86. (LT86 is now designated LTFK, but Vector uses the old designation. So LTFK may need special attention.) 2. A minor point. For Istanbul LTBA, the author Serdar Nuzhet has offered a corrected terminal building file "LTBA_Terminal.BGL" that avoids a crash. It is available at FligthSim.com here. Or look for "crash_fix_for_serdarnuzhet_s_ltba_ltfj_ltce_.zip". This may not be necessary for our usage which probably does not include docking at the jetways. But the update might be helpful and does not seem to hurt. Gunter, thanks for setting this up. The points of interest in Istanbul are nicely modeled and plentiful. (It is possible to spend too much time reading about the spectacular highlights of historic Istanbul.) BTW you would not be surprised to discover a couple of your wayward pilots flying under the first two Bosphorus Bridges. It is wonderful to be prompted to learn more about this part of the world.

In the spirit of fun, we'll bring that fearless pilot Snoopy to the event – in the form of the 1955 Navion once owned by Charles Schulz of Peanuts fame. This is the Ryan Navion B, a terrific freeware modeled by the LDR team that includes our teammate Roman Stoviak. Add the splendid "Snoopy" livery by our teammate Ron Attwood. The Navion aircraft is available at the Sim-Outhouse library and the Snoopy N30CB paint is available at the AVSIM library. Mike

The local FBO has a couple of lightly-used rentals. These are 1960s vintage planes. Definitely no GTN 750s. The fellow said something about installing the Lockheed "Bush" package.

Roman, just wonderful screenshots. A few border on "beautiful." Thanks! --M

Lovely livery, Ron. If anyone has the delightful Orbx Sonoma County airport (by Misha Cajic) and have some time before the Saturday flight, you might spawn in one of these spots. #17 Near fly-through Butler Hangar featured in It’s a Mad Mad Mad World (1964). #41 Near the Pacific Coast Air Museum. #43 inside a GA hangar. #18/#19 Near the Signature FBO and the Sonoma Jet Center. Or #5/#21 Near the Kaiser Air (the largest FBO at KSTS).

Left Coast. Golden Gate, Big Sur and Sideways. Departing from Santa Rosa and its Sonoma County Charles "Snoopy" Schulz Airport [KSTS], we see a region hard hit by the wildfires of 2017. When we reach Marin County, we cross Mount Tamalpais and pass over the great “old growth” redwoods of Muir Woods [MUIR], descend over Point Bonita [BONTA] and fly past the Golden Gate Bridge [GGATE]. (Let me remind you that flying under the bridge is hazardous and could be detrimental to your health.) We go low along the North Shore to pass the Presidio, Palace of the Arts, the Marina District and Fisherman's Wharf. And then circle out over San Francisco Bay to round historic Coit Tower [COIT] on Telegraph Hill and pass westward over (photoreal) Golden Gate Park [PARK] to Ocean Beach [BEACH]. We then turn south and land at the “Flight Unlimited II” signature airport Half Moon Bay [KHAF]. From here we embark on a trip down the peninsula, with a touch-and-go (or low-pass) at Bonny Doon Village [CL77] and a transit of Monterey Bay, to land at Monterey Regional (KMRY). We then turn southward to Big Sur. If you have the Orbx Monterey package, you might enjoy Jared Marshall’s detail of 17 Mile Drive and its famous points of interest: Cypress Point, the Lone Cypress and Pebble Beach. We pass Point Lobos [LOBOS] before taking a moment to experience the beautiful Bixby Creek Bridge [BIXBY]. It would be completely unsafe to fly underneath the bridge into Bixby Canyon. And it would be insanely reckless to then turn left up over the old Coast Road [OCR] and then immediately down Rocky Creek to fly west under Rocky Creek Bridge [ROCKY] back out over the Pacific Ocean [OCEAN]. Sensible pilots, and any surviving bold ones, continue south to observe Point Sur and the associated “haunted” Point Sur Lighthouse complex [PTSUR]. Then a quick turn inland to see the small hotels and restaurants of Big Sur before following the valley out over the ocean again. Then we fly 42 miles along the rugged coast alongside California 1, the famously narrow two-lane highway that twists and turns to provide its drivers with memorable vistas. Approaching San Simeon, we arrive at Piedras Blancas [PBLAN] on which there exists a lighthouse and an interesting elephant seal rookery. Turning inland, we circle over the famously ornate Hearst Castle [CASTL] perched high on a hill before descending to land at the associated airstrip [marked U001] [perhaps not in default P3D?]. As George Bernard Shaw said, the William Randolph Hearst mansion is “the sort of place God would’ve built, if he had the money.” Next we fly past Morro Rock ("the Gibraltar of the west") and the nearby decommissioned power plant to transit Morro Bay and land at San Luis Obispo [KSBP]. This is SLO CAL country, a land of measured pace. We depart south to see the beach and pier of iconic Pismo Beach [PISMO] where the "livin' is easy." And then we pass over the dramatic Oceano Dunes (a state recreation area that allows vehicles on the sand) and Guadalupe Dunes (a nature preserve that protects the fragile Dunes ecosystem). We fly further south along the coast, skirting most of Vandenberg Air Force Base. For a half-century, Vandenberg has been the primary site for testing and developing US military missiles and launch vehicles. With appropriate clearances, we turn at Space Launch Complex 4 (SLC 4). To the south we can see the huge Space Launch Complex 6 (SLICK 6) from which the Space Shuttle program launched during the 1980s. SLC 4 is now used by SpaceX and its reusable Falcon 9 launch system. And just slightly to the east, Lockheed Martin uses SLC 3 to test the Atlas V expendable launch vehicle. We continue 8nm to land at Lompoc [KPLC]. [Caution. You may experience pauses in the Dunes and Vandenberg sections of the flight.] Finally, we cruise eastwards over the Santa Ynez wine country of Sideways fame. At Lake Cachuma [CHUMA] we turn southeast to transit the Santa Ynez mountains through San Marcos Pass and then fly over Santa Barbara city [SBARB]. We circle to enjoy the sights, the wharf, marina, and red-tiled roofs of the Spanish Colonial style architecture. And we land at beautiful Santa Barbara Municipal Airport [KSBA]. At the end of the day, we might congregate in front of the Above All Aviation flight school (on the north side tarmac near the tower and west of Rwy 15R). [Orbx SOCAL Parking #39; Orbx Santa Barbara Parking #80] Look for the red-tiled roofs. Flight Plan The flight plan, in two formats, is available here. (If you are using the GTN *.GFP flightplan, you might also take a look at the *.PLN version in Little Nav Map to see the waypoints explicitly labelled.) Aircraft The route is 342nm. You probably want something that fast-cruises at 160kts (or more) so that we can complete our journey in the allotted time. Good choices might include faster singles like the Comanche, Bonanza, SIAI-Marchetti SF.260, Lancair Legacy or Vans RV7. Or you might prefer a light twin such as the C310, Baron, DA62, or possibly the C421 or Duke. Many other options will work just as well. The optional hijinks might suggest something nimble. Please fly what you like. Scenery This route features some impressive scenery by Orbx in its Northern California and Southern California regional packages. In addition to the scenery, the regions render all the airports that we shall use. That said, the experience should be fine with the Orbx basic packages: FTX Global, North America Landclass, and Vector. [If you have Orbx Northern California and Southern California, you might wish to disable FTX Vector to reduce the length of the inevitable pauses.] In addition, you might enjoy the Orbx airport sceneries for Sonoma County (KSTS), Half Moon Bay (KHAF), Monterey Regional (KMRY), and Santa Barbara (KSBA). But these are by no means necessary. And you might add (from Josh Kemp) the Santa Barbara Channel oil platforms, the spillage from which catalyzed the environmental movement in the United States almost 50 years ago. Time and Weather This is a scenic flight so we want very nice weather. Normally in the Fall, we should be fine. (If we have a foggy day, as can happen on the coast, you could set up Historic Active Sky starting at 2200 UTC on November 7, 2018. Or, if that does not work, you might select "Fair Weather" or some similar alternative.) You should set your departure time to 1:30pm local time (1330 PST). Where & When Date and time: Saturday November 17, 2018. 1900 UTC. Where: AVSIM RTWR Teamspeak - Casual Flights Channel Teamspeak Server Address: ts.teamavsim.com Cross-Platform Multiplayer: JoinFS. (FSX, FSX-SE, and P3D). 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!

Quick look. Syros tarmac at sunset. Six turbines and one little piston. Jeff, Nick, Roman, Gunter, Mike, Steve, and Ron. (We lost Norm and Josh before this end-of-flight shot.)

Great news Gunter. BTW. I too am eager to hear suggestions for a robust backup/image/restore software package.

The Visual Approach to Samos Runway 09 Samos is an interesting airport because most flights make a circle-to-land approach due to high terrain and a legally restricted airspace. The Runway 09 approach is preferred in most instances because tricky gusts and windshear make use of Runway 27 difficult for landing. That said, the high terrain north and west of the airport provide an interesting challenge for Rwy 09. Pilots require special training to land here. Here is an instructive video of a B737 landing with a crosswind. Strong northern "Meltemi" winds, combined with the high nearby terrain, often make for turbulence as well. To get some sense of the ferocity, look here. You might like a detailed written guide from the Pilots Briefing Room. The visual waypoints are: (a) the pier at Ireo (Iraion) when crossing the coast at 1100ft, (b) the village Mili (Miloi) just before which you turn right 120 degrees at 900ft, and (c) the white shed (greenhouse) over which you pass at 400ft on a direct line to finals. Here is another useful video for a cloudy day approach and landing (crisper video, better music, green season). In addition, while promoting their acclaimed payware scenery for LGSM, 29Palms have crafted a helpful video. Finally, here is a simulation that shows what can be done with state-of-the-art addons. Takeoff on either runway requires a quick turn to avoid terrain or Turkish airspace. When the northern Meltemi winds are strong and generating turbulence, locals suggest a Rwy 27 departure. While our smaller aircraft will not demand the precision required of airliners, it will be fun to fly the correct professional approach. And we'll get some appreciation for what is one of the world's more demanding airports.

Just a reminder. Today's flight (November 3, 2018) begins at 1900 UTC. That is 3pm EDT, 2pm CDT, 12pm PDT. Also, for departure you might set your simulator time at 2pm local time for October 31, 2018. (The current weather forecast looks pretty good except for spots of heavy clouds in the mountains. If you like, you might use Active Sky Historic Weather starting at 0100 UTC for October 31, 2018. Or maybe wait and see?)

Tradewind must regret having to pay the higher landing fee for the asphalt runway. Probably will take the difference out of the pilot's paycheck.

Sure. November 3. Hobby (77S), Redding (KRDD & O85), Blue Canyon & Quincy (KBLU & 2O1). November 17. Sonoma County (KSTS), Half Moon Bay (KHAF), Monterey (KMRY), Santa Barbara (KSBA) (and of course the Southern California, Northern California, and Pacific Northwest Region Packages)

Note one-day sale at 50% for most Orbx products on Halloween Day only.