Viking01

Today we fly in the border region between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We depart from Pakuba (HUKFF), Uganda, at the northern tip of Lake Albert. This lake is part of the complicated system of the upper Nile. Its main sources are the White Nile, ultimately coming from Lake Victoria to the southeast, and the Semliki River, which issues from Lake Edward to the southwest. The water of the Victoria Nile is much less saline than that of Lake Albert. The lake's outlet, at its northernmost tip, is the Albert Nile section of the White Nile. The river later becomes known as the Mountain Nile when its course enters South Sudan. We head west, land at Mahagi (HUPI), DR Congo, and then follow the lake shore south until we reach Bunia (FZKA), DR Congo. This is by no means a peaceful area, so we depart, cross back into Uganda, and land at Fort Portal (HUFP). We cross the northern part of the Rwenzori Mountains and land at Bundibugyo (HUBU), before flying over the main ridge of the Rwenzori Mountains. The highest peak of the Ruwenzori reaches 5,109 meters (16,762 ft), and the range's upper regions are permanently snow-capped and glaciated. Rivers fed by mountain streams form one of the sources of the Nile. Because of this, European explorers linked the Ruwenzori with the legendary Mountains of the Moon, claimed by the Greek scholar Ptolemy as the source of the Nile. Virunga National Park in eastern DR Congo and Rwenzori Mountains National Park in southwestern Uganda are located within the range. We land at Kasese (HUKS), the gateway to the Queen Elizabeth National Park. Kasese began as a small trading post in the early 20th century. Its growth was significantly stimulated in the 1950s with two major developments: the establishment of the Kilembe Mines for copper and cobalt extraction, and the construction of the western extension of the Uganda Railway to the area, creating a transport hub. The town was planned and built to support the mining industry, which attracted a large workforce and spurred commercial activity. We cross the mountains again and land at Margarita (HUMH) before heading to Beni (FZBM). Time permitting, we continue south to finish the flight at Rughenda (FZMB). The flight is 270 miles long and has 8 landings. I planned the flight for the Cessna Caravan, but, as always, please fly what you like. The flight plans are here. Most airfields are not in the GTN database. Therefore, the GTN flight plan departs from HUGU and finishes at FZNA. Recommended scenery: Pakuba – HUPA. Please set your simulator for a 9 am local departure. We try real weather. Multiplayer Particulars: Date and time: Sunday, June 7, 2026. 16:00 UTC Microsoft Flight Simulator Multiplayer: United States East server These flights are events posted at DigitalThemePark. For these Sunday flights, we use DTP’s Discord Server for communication. 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!

This is the second part of a new visit to the River Danube. We continue from where we finished part I: from Langenlebarn (LOXT) and head towards Vienna. We overfly the City - including a circle over the town - and land at Vienna International Airport (LOWW). It is Austria's largest airport and serves as the hub for Austrian Airlines. Departing to the east, we follow the river that flows broadly across a flat plain. The Danube flows through ten countries and passes through four capital cities: Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, and Belgrade. The next stop gets us to the Slovakian capital, Bratislava. The landscape is low and marshy — this is the edge of the Pannonian Plain, where the river begins to slow and spread. After the Danube emerges from the Hungarian Gates Gorge near Bratislava, the river stream slows abruptly and loses its transporting capacity, causing enormous quantities of gravel and sand to settle, forming a network of islands on both the Slovak and Hungarian sides of the river. We overfly Bratislava Castle. Its roots date back to 907 AD. The castle building features four towers — one on each corner — and a courtyard with an 80-metre-deep water well. The largest and tallest is the Crown Tower on the southwest corner, dating from the 13th century, which for approximately 200 years housed the crown jewels of Hungary. We land at Bratislava's International Airport (LZIB). Slovakia's capital sits gracefully along the Danube with a beautifully preserved old town, Baroque architecture, welcoming squares, and a hilltop castle watching over it all. Now we cross into Hungary and head southeast. The Danube here divides into multiple arms and channels, forming the Szigetköz wetland on the Hungarian side — a floodplain maze of river branches, oxbow lakes, and poplar forests that is now a protected nature area. We stop at Győr (LHPR). The Town sits at the confluence of the Danube, Rába, and Rábca rivers in northwest Hungary's Western Transdanubia region, earning it the nickname "City of Rivers." We depart for a short southeastward leg to reach the ruins of Tata Castle. It stands on the shores of Öreg Lake (Old Lake) in the town of Tata, Hungary. Built between 1397 and 1409 by King Sigismund of Luxembourg on the foundations of an earlier fortification, it became one of the king's favourite residences. During the Ottoman occupation, the castle was an important fortress of the Hungarian borderland defensive system. Today, it houses the Kuny Domokos Museum. Rejoining the Danube, the route now enters one of the most dramatic stretches of the entire river. The flat plain is left behind as forested hills close in on both banks. East of Komárno, the Danube enters the Visegrád Gorge, squeezed between the foothills of the Western Carpathians and the Hungarian Transdanubian Mountains, where the steep right bank is crowned with fortresses, castles, and cathedrals of the Hungarian Árpád dynasty from the 10th to the 15th century. We pass Esztergom, with the Esztergom Basilica, the largest church in Hungary and the seat of the Catholic Church in the country. The next POI is Visegrád Castle, crowning a 333-metre hilltop above the Danube Bend, built following the devastating Mongol invasions of the 13th century and evolving from a defensive stronghold to a royal residence, serving as guardian of the Hungarian Holy Crown for nearly two centuries. Visegrád became the country's capital during the 14th century reign of Charles Robert of the Anjou dynasty. The Citadel was connected to a Lower Castle by a high stone wall that ran all the way down to the bank of the Danube, ending in a watchtower. The sharp bend at Visegrád — the Dunakanyar — is the most photographed landscape in Hungary. Now the Danube widens again as the hills recede and the great Hungarian capital comes into view. We overfly Budapest, Hungary's capital city. Split by the Danube into hilly Buda and lively Pest, the city is an extraordinary mix of grandeur, grit, elegance, and energy, offering one unforgettable view after another. We pass the green dome of the Parliament Building and land at Hungary's main International Airport (LHBP). South of Budapest, the river enters the Great Hungarian Plain — the Alföld — a vast, largely flat agricultural landscape stretching to the horizon. The Danube here becomes broader and slower. We land at Kalocsa (LHKA), Hungary's paprika capital — the fields of red peppers surrounding the town are one of the most distinctive features here. Our next turnpoint, Baja, is at the meeting point of two large regions: the Great Hungarian Plain and Transdanubia, with the River Danube separating the two. Continuing south, the Danube crosses the Hungarian-Serbian border. The landscape becomes increasingly flat, and the river widens further, dotted with sandy islands. South of the border, we are in the Vojvodina region of Serbia. We finish the flight at Klisa (LDOS), an urban area of the city of Novi Sad, Serbia's second-largest city. Novi Sad itself is a major cultural centre and the administrative capital of Vojvodina. The flight is 300 miles long with 5 landings. I will be in the A2A Aerostar. As always, please fly what you like. The flight plans are here. Recommended scenery: Langenlebarn – LOXT, you may have this airfield already Vienna – LOWW Bratislava – LZIB Gyor – LHPR Hungary VFR, we used this addon before. It is also available via ORBX We try real weather. Please set your simulator for a 4 pm local departure. Multiplayer Particulars: Date and time: Sunday, May 31, 2026. 16:00 UTC Microsoft Flight Simulator Multiplayer: United States East server These flights are events posted at DigitalThemePark. For these Sunday flights, we use DTP’s Discord Server for communication. 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!

Sorry, I cannot set tags, and I have found no way to insert a screenshot. ☹️

We continue our tour around the Black Sea and depart from Pashkovsky (URKK), Krasnodar's main airport. We head back to the Black Sea and cross the Caucasus. The Greater Caucasus forms a nearly impassable wall, a natural barrier separating two very different air masses — and historically, two different worlds. On the north side: Russia's flat steppe. On the south side: the lush, subtropical Black Sea coast. Once clear of the ridge and beginning to descend toward the sea, the landscape transforms completely — dense green forest, rivers tumbling down to the shore, and the blue of the Black Sea stretching out to the west. We land at Agoy (UAGG), a small village with a beach stretching over 400 metres, and trees growing right up to the water's edge. The village is over 100 years old, founded in 1915. There's no big resort infrastructure here — it's the kind of place Russian families come for a quieter alternative to the crowds further south. Next up is Sochi (URSS). Sochi was established in 1896 on the site of a former military fort and began developing as a resort area in 1902. The presence of mineral springs, beautiful coastal and mountain scenery, and a warm, humid subtropical climate quickly made it a large and popular holiday destination. Sochi is the only city in Russia with a humid subtropical climate — palms, magnolias, and citrus trees grow alongside traditional Russian birches and pines. In the early 1930s, the Soviet government allocated 1.4 billion rubles to develop Sochi, inviting the best architects and engineers. The resort was meant to show the whole world how a person would live under communism — a Utopian fairy tale by the sea. By the 1960s, Sochi was home to a network of sanatoriums and rest homes serving the Soviet elite, with retreats for artists and intellectuals. Sports celebrities and cosmonauts trained and recovered there. It became a kind of Shangri-La, a "dream place." Then came the 2014 Winter Olympics, which transformed the infrastructure again. Greater Sochi stretches about 145 kilometres along the coast, making it technically the longest city in Europe. The nearby Rosa Khutor ski resort, built for the Olympics, is now one of Russia's premier winter sports destinations. After Sochi, the coastline continues southeast, and we pass the border from Russia into Abkhazia. This is one of the most geopolitically loaded stretches of coastline in the world. Abkhazia is a small disputed territory on the eastern shore of the Black Sea that declared independence from Georgia in 1999 following a civil war in 1992–1993. Despite recognition by a handful of nations, including Russia, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, Abkhazia's sovereignty is not recognized by most of the international community. Georgia regards it as occupied territory. After the 2008 Russo-Georgian War, Abkhazia allowed Russia to take control of its border, railways, and airport, and to build military bases in the region. The territory is effectively a Russian protectorate — it uses the Russian ruble, Russian passports are widespread, and Russian soldiers are stationed there. Our next stop is Gudauta (UG23), the capital of Abkhazia. It's the administrative center of its district and has a population of around 9,000 people. The area has its own microclimate — the bay is small, and the town is more exposed to sea winds, making it a bit cooler than nearby villages. The town is a traditional, calm Black Sea resort — but like most small resort villages in Abkhazia, it's somewhat neglected: roads are in disrepair, the city park is abandoned, and buildings are dilapidated. Gudauta is also notable for hosting a Russian military base, which tells something about the current reality on the ground. Our next landing is at the Vladislav Ardzinba Sukhum International Airport (UGSS) — formerly known as Sukhumi Babushara — the main airport of Abkhazia. On 1 May 2025, it resumed operations and direct flights with Moscow for the first time since the 1990s and the war in Abkhazia. The airport was built in the mid-1960s during the Soviet era, when it was used purely for domestic flights — primarily to bring Soviet citizens to the beaches of Abkhazia. Close to 5,000 people a day used to pass through in the summer months. Then the civil war hit in the early 1990s, and everything stopped. The airport was heavily damaged, and land mines were subsequently cleared from its grounds by the HALO Trust, the only mine clearance agency active in Abkhazia. It then sat largely dormant for over 30 years before recently reopening. The entire story of this airport is essentially a condensed version of Abkhazia's own turbulent history. Now we cross into Georgia proper. Georgia (Sakartvelo in Georgian) is a country of extraordinary geographic variety — from the subtropical Black Sea coast to alpine glaciers to semi-arid wine valleys. The Georgian script is one of only a handful of unique alphabets in the world. The country has had a turbulent recent history. It gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, went through a chaotic and violent 1990s, experienced the Rose Revolution in 2003, which brought a pro-Western government to power, and then fought a brief but consequential war with Russia in 2008 over South Ossetia, which, like Abkhazia, remains a frozen conflict and Russian-backed breakaway region. Georgia has been on a path toward EU integration, though that process has had its tensions. What visitors almost universally remark on is the warmth of Georgian hospitality — there's even a saying that a guest is a gift from God — the remarkable cuisine, and the wine culture (Georgia is considered one of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world, going back some 8,000 years). We land at Kopitnari (UGKO), the airport serving Kutaisi, Georgia's third-largest city. Officially named David the Builder Kutaisi International Airport, it is the second busiest airport in Georgia, handling 1.7 million passengers in 2024. Originally a military airfield built after World War II, the site was used during the Soviet years for domestic flights connecting Kutaisi with other cities across the USSR. It was closed for renovation in 2011 and reopened in 2012 with Wizz Air as a key partner, which quickly made it Georgia's main hub for low-cost airlines connecting the country with European destinations. Kutaisi itself is an ancient city — one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world — and was historically the capital of the Kingdom of Colchis (the land of the Golden Fleece) and later the capital of the united Kingdom of Georgia. We finish at Batumi (UGSB), the second-largest city in Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara. The city has been a place of importance for a very long time — the earliest known written reference to Batumi is attributed to Aristotle in the 4th century BC. The ancient Greeks called it Bathys Limen — "the deep harbor" — which is still accurate; it remains a major working port today. Its economy historically relied on maritime trade and oil transit, particularly after the construction of the Baku–Batumi pipeline in the early 20th century, and it remains a key transit point for Caspian energy exports. Today, Batumi is often referred to as the "Las Vegas of the Black Sea" for its gambling industry, modern hotels, and nightlife. The flight is 300 miles long with 5 landings. The flight plans are here. We want to cruise at about 220 knots and have one stop with a 2000-foot runway. I will be in the SWS PC-12, please fly what you like. Recommended scenery: Agoy – UAGG Sochi – URSS Babushara – UGSS Kutaisi – UGKO The complete package is here. We try real weather. Please set your simulator for a 12 noon local departure. Multiplayer Particulars: Date and time: Sunday, May 24, 2026. 16:00 UTC Microsoft Flight Simulator Multiplayer: United States East server These flights are events posted at DigitalThemePark. For these Sunday flights, we use DTP’s Discord Server for communication. 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!

The Comoros & Mayotte Today, we explore the Channel of Mozambique and fly from the Comoros Islands to Majotte, searching for Sailing Ships and wrecks. The Comoros is formed by Ngazidja (Grande Comore), Mwali (Mohéli), and Ndzwani (Anjouan), three major islands in the Indian Ocean, located in the Mozambique Channel between the African coast and Madagascar, with no land borders. The islands emerged from the floor of the Indian Ocean as a result of volcanic activity and are often called the "perfume islands" for their fragrant plant life and scenic beauty. Comoros is the third-smallest country in Africa at 1,862 km². All three islands feature rugged topography with steep peaks formed by volcanic activity. The highest point is the active volcano Karthala on Grande Comore, rising to about 2,361m. Comoros has experienced more than 20 coups or attempted coups, with various heads of state assassinated. President Azali Assoumani has consolidated power since 2019 by cracking down on the opposition and limiting press freedom. In January 2025, his ruling party won parliamentary elections, taking 28 out of 33 seats; opposition parties rejected the results. Under the constitution of 2001, each island elects its own governor and legislative assembly. The government of each island is free to administer its own affairs so long as its actions do not infringe upon the rights of the other islands or the federal union. Comoros' economy gained momentum in 2025, with real GDP growth estimated at 3.8%, driven by construction linked to the Galawa Hotel, El-Maarouf Hospital, and infrastructure for the 2027 Indian Ocean Island Games. Remittances from the large diaspora are a major economic pillar. Mayotte is a special case: it is an overseas department of France. It is geographically part of the Comoro Islands, but politically French. The Union of the Comoros claims it but does not administer it. We depart from Prince Said Ibrahim International Airport (FMCH), the principal international airport of the Comoros, on the Island of Grande Comore. It is the only airport in the country equipped to handle international flights. We fly along the island and cross over to the Island of Mohéli and land at Mohéli Bandar (FMCI). The airport does not publish a METAR — the nearest weather station is Dzaoudzi Pamandzi International Airport, 174 km away. It's a small, simple airfield serving the least populated of the three Comorian islands, known for its pristine nature and sea turtles. We head over to the Island of Anjouan and land at Ouani (FMCV). Anjouan is the most densely populated island of the Comoros. Airlines serving the route include Int'Air Îles, Comores Aviation International, and Ewa Air, connecting to Mohéli, Dzaoudzi, and Moroni. Now we fly once more across the Mozambique Channel and arrive in Europe - kind of. We reach Majotte, a French Overseas Department. It is an outermost region of the European Union and, as an overseas department of France, part of the eurozone. We land at Chirongui (FMCR), a small general aviation airstrip on the main island of Mayotte (Grande-Terre). It's a minimal facility with no scheduled commercial service. We head over to the Petite-Terre Island, fly around it clockwise, and land at Aéroport de Mayotte – Marcel Henry (FMCZ). The airport faces significant vulnerability to tropical cyclones and to rising sea levels, given its elevation of only 7 meters. Time permitting, we should jump into a helicopter and check out the many sailing ships and shipwrecks that come with the ship addons for Majotte. The flight is 200 miles long with 3 landings. The flight plans are here. There is no flight plan for the helicopter flight. A typical aircraft for the area could be the Brittan-Norman Islander, the Caravan, or a Cessna 404. Since we want to operate from a 1000-foot runway, I will be in the Islander. For the helicopter flight, I will probably be in the Huey again. As always, please fly what you like. Recommended scenery: Pamandzi – FMCZ Sailing Ships and Wrecks Sailships Library Scilly Sailships Dapani – FMCR Prince Said Ibrahim – FMCH The complete package is here. We try real weather. Please set your simulator for a 10 am departure. Multiplayer Particulars: Date and time: Sunday, May 17, 2026. 16:00 UTC Microsoft Flight Simulator Multiplayer: United States East server These flights are events posted at DigitalThemePark. For these Sunday flights, we use DTP’s Discord Server for communication. 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!

The Okavango Delta is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the few interior delta systems in the world that does not flow into a sea or ocean. It was also named one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa in 2013. Covering between 6,000 and 15,000 km² depending on the season, the land is astonishingly flat — dropping just 60 metres over a distance of 250 km — and the river dissolves into an intricate maze of channels, lagoons, floodplains, and palm-fringed islands. We will split the flight into two parts: a fixed-wing flight across the area and a helicopter flight to see the animals, camps, and lodges. The fixed-wing part has a length of 150 miles and 9 landings on dirt strips or near lodges. We depart from Seronga (FBSH) and finish at Xakanaxa (FBMF). In between, we have the chance to overfly some camps and animals. The helicopter tour departs from Guma Airstrip (FBGU), next to the Guma Camp, with some hippos nearby. This part is about 190 miles long with countless spots, camps, animals (if we see them), and dirtstrips. I assume we will make it up to Rann Airport (FBMQ), consider the remainder of the flight an option, time permitting. For the first part, I suggest a STOL aircraft like the C208, the Kodiak, or similar aircraft. For the helicopter part, a smaller helicopter is suitable, like the H125, the 500, or the H135/H145. I will probably be in the BlackSquare Caravan in the Zambia Flying Doctor Service livery and in the TAOAG Huey. As ever, fly what you like. The flight plans are here. Recommended scenery: The dirt strips are in the simulator's database. To see the eye candy, you want to have the Okavango Scenery from SWS (also available via ORBX). We try real weather. Please set your simulator for a 9 am departure. Multiplayer Particulars Date and time: Saturday, May 16, 2026. 1800 UTC RTWR Multiplayer Discord Channel Microsoft Flight Simulator Multiplayer: South East Asia 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).

I agree. I flew both versions for some time and the 2020 version seems indeed better than the 2024 version. Unfortunately, the support is non existent, the Turbo Version and the GTN are not useable.

Hi, did someone try to use GTN patch for the 2024 version? On my end, the patch install a BN-2 Turbo Prop folder, but without a manifest.json. Therefore, the Turbo Prop Version does not show up and neither does the option for the GTN. I tried reinstalls, downloads without anti virus, but the patch never creates a manifest.json.

This flight follows one of Europe's most scenic river corridors, the Danube (Donau), from the heart of Bavaria in southern Germany to the outskirts of the Austrian capital. Along the route, we will pass through two countries, two distinct cultural landscapes — the Bavarian Gäuboden lowlands and the celebrated Austrian Wachau valley — and encounter nearly two thousand years of continuous human history. The Danube is the second-longest river in Europe after the Volga, running approximately 2,860 kilometres from the Black Forest in Germany to the Black Sea in Romania. We did this flight before. We depart from Manching Airbase. It is a dual-use airfield, home of the Bundeswehr Technical and Airworthiness Center for Aircraft. The first flights for the Tornado and Eurofighter prototypes took place here. A couple of miles downstream lies Kelheim, at the confluence of the Altmühl and the Danube — an important archaeological site with Celtic and Roman-era remains. Just across the river and up in the hills to the south is Weltenburg Abbey, a Benedictine monastery believed to be the oldest in Bavaria, founded around 620 AD by Irish and Scottish monks. Weltenburg operates what is often cited as the world's oldest monastery brewery, still producing beer on site today. The surrounding Danube Gorge between Kelheim and Weltenburg is a dramatically narrow limestone canyon, one of the most striking natural features in Bavaria, popular with kayakers and hikers. Shortly after passing Regensburg, the distinctive white marble silhouette of the Walhalla becomes visible high on the Bräuberg hillside. The Walhalla is one of Germany's most extraordinary monuments. Conceived in 1807 by Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria (later King Ludwig I) as a patriotic hall of fame for distinguished figures of the German-speaking world, it was built between 1830 and 1842. The building is a faithful recreation of the Parthenon in Athens, constructed in white marble, sitting on a massive, terraced substructure rising 55 meters above the Danube valley. The colonnade consists of 46 Doric columns, and the structure is 66.7 meters long. Its name comes from Valhalla of Norse mythology, the hall where fallen warriors rested. Inside, the walls are lined with 130 marble busts and 65 memorial plaques honoring notable Germanic figures spanning 2,000 years of history, from Arminius (victor at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD) through modern times. Figures as varied as Charlemagne, Dürer, Gutenberg, Mozart, Beethoven, Kant, and Sophie Scholl are represented. The Bavarian Council of Ministers selects new entrants every few years; the original 96 busts installed in 1842 have since grown considerably. Our first landing is Straubing Wallmühle (EDMS). It handles around 27,000 movements per year, with business aviation accounting for more than half of the traffic, and over 100 aircraft are based there across 11 hangars. Deggendorf (EDMW), our next landing, has a single asphalt runway, oriented 09/27. The Danube harbour at Deggendorf is the only trimodal freight centre on the Bavarian Danube and was for many years the only free port on the river in Bavaria. Vilshofen (EDMV) lies directly on the Danube and is noted among pilots for its friendly atmosphere, good facilities, and proximity to the town. Noise abatement procedures along the river are in effect, particularly at weekends. Vilshofen has a remarkable claim to brewing history. A son of the town, Josef Groll (1813–1887), travelled to Pilsen in Bohemia in 1842 and there brewed the world's first pale golden lager, the beer that became Pilsner Urquell and inspired more than two-thirds of all beer styles produced globally today. He is remembered as the father of the Pilsner. Just downstream lies Passau — the three-rivers city where the Inn and Ilz join the Danube — though today's route continues south-east following the river as it enters Austria. Crossing the German-Austrian border at Passau, the Danube enters the narrow gorge of the Schlögener Schlinge — one of the most dramatic river loops in central Europe, where the Danube cuts through the granite of the Bohemian Massif in a series of tight meanders. Following the river, we approach the city of Linz. Linz Airport (LOWL) is a dual-use facility, sharing the site with the Austrian Air Force's Fliegerhorst Vogler military base. It is Austria's second-largest cargo airport and handles scheduled and charter operations. The city of Linz, Austria's third largest with about 200,000 inhabitants, is the capital of Upper Austria (Oberösterreich). Continuing downstream into Lower Austria, the route enters the Wachau — a stretch of the Danube valley between Melk and Krems inscribed as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. The Wachau is famous for its terraced vineyards, apricot orchards, castle ruins, and small wine villages that seem barely changed since the Middle Ages. The first great landmark of the Wachau is Melk Abbey (Stift Melk), visible from many kilometres away as a massive golden-yellow Baroque complex perched on a sheer granite cliff directly above the river. The site was originally a castle-residence of the Babenberg dynasty, Austria's ruling family from 976 to 1246. On 21 March 1089, Margrave Leopold II gave the cliff and its buildings to Benedictine monks, and a monastic community has lived here without interruption ever since — nearly a thousand years of continuous occupation. The magnificent Baroque complex visible today was built between 1702 and 1746, following a fire and reconstruction programme. The great abbey church with its twin towers and magnificent dome, the marble hall, and the library — which holds over 100,000 volumes including priceless medieval manuscripts — represent one of the finest ensembles of Baroque architecture north of the Alps. The library possesses manuscripts more than a thousand years old brought by the founding monks. Melk Abbey managed to survive the dissolution of monasteries under Emperor Joseph II in the 1780s due to its great academic reputation, and it remains an active religious and educational community today, running a secondary school for nearly 900 pupils. In his 1980 novel The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco chose to name his narrator "Adso of Melk" as an homage to the famous abbey. A short distance downstream from Melk, the white walls of Schönbühel Castle appear on the right bank of the Danube, rising from a rocky outcrop about 40 metres above the river — precisely where the Wachau valley begins. The castle is known as the "Keeper of the Wachau." The site has been occupied since at least the 12th century, when it was first built by Marchwardus de Schoenbuchele as a defensive structure, possibly on the footprint of an earlier Roman fortification. Originally the property of the Bishop of Passau, it passed through many hands over the centuries, including a long tenure under the powerful Starhemberg family from 1419 until 1819. After falling into disrepair, the castle was purchased by Count Franz von Beroldingen in 1819 and substantially renovated, making it habitable again by 1821. The Seilern-Aspang family, who acquired it in 1930, remains its owner today. Though not open to the public, Schönbühel is one of the most photographed castles in Austria and a defining image of the Wachau from the river. Further downstream, on the north bank of the Danube high above the river on a rocky spur of the Dunkelsteinerwald forest, stand the dramatic ruins of Aggstein Castle — arguably the most atmospheric castle ruin along the entire Austrian Danube. The castle was probably begun at the start of the 12th century and came into the possession of the Kuenring family in 1181. The Kuenringers became notorious robber barons. The castle withstood every direct assault; it was never taken by force. About 55,000 visitors come each year to explore the hidden stairways, dungeons, knight's hall, and chapel, and to enjoy one of the finest panoramic views of the Wachau. The castle ruins regularly host medieval festivals and theatrical events. We land at Langenlois (LOAG), also known as Krems-Langenlois. The town of Langenlois is Austria's largest wine-producing municipality. The Kamptal wine region, named after the River Kamp that flows southward through it before joining the Danube east of Krems, is one of the most prestigious wine districts in the country. With around 3,600 hectares under vine, it is renowned above all for Grüner Veltliner and Riesling. Langenlebarn (LOXT) is a military airfield of the Austrian Air Force. The airfield has a history that mirrors the turbulence of the 20th century with particular vividness. The Austrian First Republic planned a military airfield here in the 1930s; the German Luftwaffe took up those plans after the Anschluss in 1938 and built the base with local labour, completing it by March 1939. During World War II, its primary function was pilot training. In a remarkable postwar moment, Pan American World Airways operated scheduled passenger service from New York to Langenlebarn from June 1946 — one of the first transatlantic air links into central Europe after the war. When the Austrian State Treaty was signed in 1955, US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles arrived here. The airfield was handed over to the reborn Austrian Air Force on 30 September 1955. For motor racing fans, the airfield hosted Formula Two Championship rounds from 1967 to 1971 on a 2.9-kilometre circuit laid out on the runways. The Austrian driver Jochen Rindt won the inaugural race here in 1967 before future world champions Jack Brabham and Jim Clark also competed on the circuit. Our next POI is Kreuzenstein Castle. The lords of the castle were not only ruling over large parts of the Tulln field and the Korneuburg basin, but also surveyed the nearby city of Vienna, as well as vast areas of Lower Austria. The first medieval castle was presumably constructed here at the beginning of the 12th century. During the final years of the Thirty Years' War, the Swedes largely destroyed it by demolition charges during their retreat. During the following decades, the ruins were used by the surrounding inhabitants as a quarry for construction materials. The castle's current appearance owes everything to one remarkable man. It was Austrian nobleman Johann Nepomuk Count Wilczek who decided to rebuild the castle in the 19th century, inspired by the Romantic ideal of the Middle Ages. Between 1874 and 1906, an ambitious restoration project was carried out using original elements from medieval ruins and materials collected throughout Europe. The castle remains in the Wilczek family's possession today. It has also become a popular film location — scenes from the Netflix series The Witcher were shot here in 2019, and in 2023 it served as a backdrop for the Disney+ series Shardlake. Before landing at Schwechat, the route passes over the city of Vienna (Wien), the Austrian capital and one of the great imperial cities of European history. Vienna International Airport (LOWW) is Austria's largest airport and the hub of Austrian Airlines, as well as a major base for Ryanair and Condor. The airport handles over 31 million passengers per year and connects Vienna to 195 destinations in 68 countries, operated by 65 airlines. The 109-metre-high ATC tower, completed in 2006, is the tallest control tower in Europe. The flight is 265 miles long and has 6 landings. Any GA airplane is suitable. I will be in the A2A Comanche. Please fly what you like. The flight plan is here. Recommended scenery: Manching – ETSI (dependency: Lossiemouth EGQS, KXTA Homey Airport, and Turtle Tanks library) Straubing – EDMS Deggendorf – EDMW Vilshofen – EDMV Linz – LOWL Krems – LOAG Langenlebarn – LOXT Vienna – LOWW is available as Payware The package is available here. You may have downloaded some of the airports before. We try real weather. Please set your simulator for an 11:00 am local departure. Multiplayer Particulars: Date and time: Sunday, May 10, 2026. 16:00 UTC Microsoft Flight Simulator Multiplayer: United States East server These flights are events posted at DigitalThemePark. For these Sunday flights, we use DTP’s Discord Server for communication. 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!

Thanks for directing me to more scenery for the Falklands! These add-ons improve the airstrips, make them easier to find, and add two POIs: a radar station and Mare Harbour. Mare Harbour Radar Head Mt Kent Falkland Island Airstrips If you downloaded the flight plan before Thursday noon (UTC), please download it again: Flight Plan

Today, we simulate a typical day of operations for the Falkland Islands Government Air Service (FIGAS). Since 1979, FIGAS has operated 5 Britten-Norman Islander. They replaced the DHC-2 Beaver, which had been used since 1953. The Islander fleet underwent a couple of significant modernization upgrades and is now equipped with Glass Cockpits, Autopilot, and Satellite Tracking. The various airstrips form the backbone of the islands' infrastructure. Next to Port Stanley and Mount Pleasant Air Base, more than 30 airstrips across the islands are regularly serviced. Most strips are simple grass tracks. Before a plane lands, a local farmer often drives a vehicle along the strip (a "strip run") to ensure there are no geese, sheep, or deep ruts that could endanger the landing. Since there are no fixed terminals with departure boards, the daily flight schedules (who flies when and where) are traditionally broadcast every evening on FIRS (Falkland Islands Radio Service). For residents of the "Camp" (the local term for the countryside), this is the most important information of the day. This service is offered only through FIGAS. Unlike regular airlines, FIGAS does not have a fixed flight schedule. It operates more like an on-demand air taxi service. Passengers must submit their flight requests by 10:00 a.m. the day before. The pilots don’t plan the route for the next day until the afternoon of the previous day, based on the bookings. The route is then announced on local radio (FIRS) and on Facebook. Often, the planes fly in a loop from Stanley, visiting several airstrips in sequence to drop off or pick up passengers. The prices vary, depending on the status of the passengers: tourists pay between 150 £ and 190 £ for a single tour to some of the smaller islands. Scenic flights cost about 170 £. Residents pay about 60 £ per flight. There is a strict limit for the luggage (max 20 kg/person), and over baggage must be requested in advance and is very expensive. Tourists need to book their flight many weeks in advance. We depart from Mount Pleasant AB (EGYP) and visit 8 strips on a clockwise tour, finishing at Port Stanley (SFAL). Shortly before reaching Port Stanley, we pass byPembroke Lighthouse, time and weather permitting. The trip is 190 miles long with 8 landings. The shortest runway is 1382 feet long. The Britten-Norman Islander is the ideal aircraft, but any aircraft cruising at about 140 knots and capable of operating from a 1300-foot grass strip is suitable. I will probably be in the Blackbox Islander. As always, please fly what you like. The flight plan is here. See post below! Additional scenery: Port Stanley – SFAL RAF Mount Pleasant – EGYP Pembroke Lighthouse To see all details at Mount Pleasant, you should activate nickb007’s Lossiemouth. The complete package (without Lossiemouth) is here. We try real weather. Please set your simulator for a 9 am local departure. Multiplayer Particulars: Date and time: Sunday, May 03, 2026. 16:00 UTC Microsoft Flight Simulator Multiplayer: United States East server These flights are events posted at DigitalThemePark. For these Sunday flights, we use DTP’s Discord Server for communication. 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!

We meet for another flight in the Papua Pegunungan (Highlands) region of Indonesia to help many local villages by providing urgently needed goods. We depart from Seradala (HP19), one of the major hubs supporting the surrounding villages. We pick up passengers or goods and head for the highlands. We will land at 11 airstrips in the region. The waypoints located in front of the strips indicate the approach points for the preferred or mandatory landing direction. We finish the flight at Ambisibil (WAUA). The flight is 110 miles long with 11 landings. Ideal aircraft include the PC-6, the Kodiak, and other STOL aircraft. The Twin Otter and the Caravan are listed as “Critical Aircraft” for some airstrips with very short runways. I will be in the SWS Kodiak with Tundra tires. Please fly what you like. The flight plan is here. Mandatory scenery is the Highlands Papua Airstrip Collection. We have been here before, please check for duplicate scenery. We try real weather. Please set your simulator for a 7 am local departure. Multiplayer Particulars: Date and time: Sunday, April 26, 2026. 16:00 UTC Microsoft Flight Simulator Multiplayer: United States East server These flights are events posted at DigitalThemePark. For these Sunday flights, we use DTP’s Discord Server for communication. 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!

We continue our tour around the Black Sea and fly around the Sea of Azov. It is notably shallow and about 340 km long and 135 km wide, with icebreakers sometimes needed for winter navigation. We depart from Mariupol (UKCM), Ukraine. This was a serious industrial powerhouse — for decades it was home to the Azovstal Iron & Steel Works, one of the biggest steel producers in Europe, occupying about 11 square kilometres between the Kalmius River and the sea. The plant had tunnels and bunkers capable of withstanding a nuclear attack, which took on grim significance when it became the last Ukrainian stronghold during the 2022 siege, before ultimately falling to Russian forces. Departing eastward along the northern shore, we're flying over the Taganrog Gulf, a low sandy shoreline and the spits that jut southward into the sea — the Sea of Azov is characterized by numerous sand-coquina spits, and the coastline is generally low and uniform. The water below is remarkably shallow; the sea has an average depth of only about 8 metres and low salinity compared to most seas, becoming almost freshwater near the Don's outflow, Vajiram & Ravi. We land at Yuzhny (URRT), Russia, near the city of Taganrog. Taganrog was founded by Peter I in 1698 and became the main port on the Sea of Azov. It's also the birthplace of Anton Chekhov. Continuing northeast, we're now crossing the broad Taganrog Bay — the largest bay in the Sea of Azov, with the Don and three other rivers flowing into it. The bay is so shallow and silted that constant dredging is needed to keep the channel open for Rostov traffic. The next two fields lead us around the city of Rostov-on-Don, the region's largest city. First, we land at Rostov Air Base (USEY), then fly around the city, and land at Platov International (URRP), the newer airport, opened in 2017. The town was established in 1749, and before the Russian Revolution, it was the empire's most heavily industrialized city. Thanks to the Volga-Don Canal, completed in 1952, Rostov earned the title "port of five seas" — reachable from the Black Sea, Azov, Caspian, White Sea, and Baltic. Just south of Rostov across the Don, our next stop, Bataysk (XRBB), is essentially a satellite town — a railway hub and industrial suburb. From here, we turn southwest, beginning the long leg down the eastern Azov coast. Flying southwest along the Russian shore, the coastal landscape stays flat with wide sandy beaches and the occasional liman (shallow lagoon). We pass over the Kuban delta region — the Don and Kuban rivers discharge into the northern bays, forming rich wetland deltas supporting huge numbers of migratory birds, including pelicans and herons. We land at Yeysk (URKE). Yeysk is a port and resort town built primarily on the Yeysk Spit, which separates the Yeysk River from the Sea of Azov. It was founded as a port in 1848 and is well known as a health resort, famed for its medicinal sulfur and mud baths. The mud is hauled in from nearby Lake Khanskoye. These days it's also popular for windsurfing and kitesurfing — the spit creates reliable wind conditions. The town had a naval flight school that relocated here in the 1930s, with over 300 graduates later becoming Heroes of the Soviet Union. Turning south, the coastline gets more interesting — we pick up the Taman Peninsula ahead and the distant profile of the Crimean hills to the west across the strait. The Temryuk Bay on our left is known for its mud volcanoes. Now we reach the Kerch Bridge. With a length of 19 kilometres and a cost of $3.6 billion, it's the longest bridge in Europe, carrying both road and rail traffic across the Kerch Strait between the Taman Peninsula and Crimea. Construction began in 2016, and the road section opened in 2018, with the rail section following in 2019. It's been a recurring target during the war — hit by explosions in October 2022 and July 2023, and repaired both times. Crossing into Crimea, we land at Baherove (UKBH). This was a Soviet air base established in 1947 to support nuclear weapons testing and delivery, with a 3.5-kilometre concrete runway 100 metres wide — one of three USSR strips built as an emergency landing site for the space shuttle Buran. The base was abandoned in 1996 and has been a ghost field ever since, though that enormous runway is still very much there. Kerch city itself is close by — an ancient place with Greek, Genoese, and Ottoman layers of history, and now a front-line city given its position at the bridge's Crimean end. We recross the strait, heading back to the Russian (Taman) side. We land at Vitayazevo (URKA), the airport serving Anapa, a well-known seaside resort town on the Taman Peninsula coast. The landscape changes noticeably here — we transition from the flat Azov steppe to the beginnings of the Caucasus foothills. Flying southeast along the Black Sea coast, things get more scenic, and we land at Gelendzhik (URKG). The name "Gelendzhik" has Turkic roots, often translated as "White Bride" — the unofficial symbol of the city. Established as a modern city in 1831, it has evolved into one of Russia's premier vacation spots, with visitors drawn to its beautiful beaches and vibrant promenade. From Gelendzhik, we turn inland, climbing away from the Black Sea coast and crossing the low western ridges of the Caucasus. Our destination is Krasnodar's Pashkovsky Airport (URKK), one of the largest airports in Russia. Krasnodar was founded in 1793 as Yekaterinodar — "Catherine's Gift" — as a military post and centre of the Kuban Cossacks. Today, it's a booming regional capital of over a million people. The airport handles a mix of domestic and international traffic and achieved a record 5 million passengers in 2021 before closing in February 2022 due to the war, then resuming operations in September 2025. The flight is 490 miles long with 8 landings. I suggest we use a small business jet like the CJ4, the Longitude, or the Vision Jet. I will probably be in the Honda Jet. As always, please fly what you like. The flight plans are here. Recommended scenery: Mariupol UKCM Kerch Bridge Rostov URRP The package is here. You may have downloaded UKCM already. We try real weather. Please set your simulator for a 9 am local departure. Multiplayer Particulars Date and time: Saturday, April 25, 2026. 1800 UTC RTWR Multiplayer Discord Channel Microsoft Flight Simulator Multiplayer: South East Asia 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).

This tour takes us on a journey from the Atlantic coast of Central Africa into the equatorial rainforest interior. The route crosses two nations and traverses some of the most biologically rich and historically layered terrain on the African continent. The landscape is dominated by dense equatorial rainforest and meandering river systems. We depart from Bata (FGBT), Equatorial Guinea, the largest city and the commercial and administrative heart of the country's continental territory. The population has grown dramatically in recent decades, driven by oil revenues and internal migration, and estimates now place the city at well over half a million inhabitants, making it one of the fastest-growing urban centers in Central Africa. The city has a long and layered history rooted in Spanish colonial administration. Departing Bata and heading south-southwest over the Gulf of Guinea, we cross the mouth of the Muni River estuary and arrive at Corisco Island (FGCO). The island covers only about 14 square kilometers, making it small enough to see in its entirety from the air. The island's name, Corisco, originates from the Portuguese word for lightning, a testament to the fierce gales encountered by early sailors. Corisco International Airport opened on 10 October 2011 and was originally conceived as part of a project to turn the island into an important tourist centre. The airport currently lacks a functioning control tower for commercial scheduled services. From Corisco, the route crosses briefly back over open water and enters Gabonese airspace, tracking south along the coast to the capital. We land at Libreville's Léon M'ba International Airport (FOOL). The town is the administrative capital of Gabon, located on the northern banks of the Gabon River as it opens into the Gulf of Guinea. Originally a port city for the timber industry, Libreville grew significantly during French colonial rule in the nineteenth century and has remained the capital since Gabon's independence in 1960. The city's founding story is one of liberation. In 1848, freed slaves founded the city of Libreville, which literally meant "free town," naming it as the symbol of their own liberation. Departing Libreville and heading southeast, we follow the Ogooué River basin, one of the great rivers of Central Africa. The landscape below transitions from coastal urbanization to dense equatorial jungle broken only by the shimmering loops and channels of the river. We arrive at Lambaréné (FOGR), sitting on an island in the Ogooué. Lambaréné is a trading and lumbering centre with a steamboat landing, an airport, and road connections to Kango, Ndjolé, and Mouila. The town is globally known for one extraordinary reason: it is where Albert Schweitzer established his famous hospital. Albert Schweitzer opened the hospital in 1913 in Lambaréné, where he ran it until he died in 1965. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952 for his work there and used the prize money to build a leper colony. Schweitzer was a remarkable polymath — a theologian, philosopher, organist, and physician — who spent the majority of the last five decades of his life caring for the sick along the Ogooué River. The hospital continues to operate today and has become a leading African center for malaria research, recognized by the U.S. National Institutes of Health. The leg from Lambaréné to Koulamoutou (FO23) takes us deeper into the interior of Gabon. The town sits at an elevation of approximately 326 meters above sea level. Its name is said to derive from local words meaning "place of the mango trees." The final leg gets us further east and slightly south, descending from the forested uplands toward the Ogooué River once more. Franceville is most strongly associated with one of Gabon's most important political figures. The city was the birthplace of President Omar Bongo Ondimba, who ruled Gabon for 42 years until he died in 2009. Franceville is an active trading centre in a mining region. The exploitation of manganese at Mouanda and uranium at Mounana, both to the northwest, has greatly stimulated population growth and commerce in the area. We land at the M'Vengue El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba International Airport (FOON), the third largest airport in Gabon, which is also home to the Gabonese Air Force. The flight is 380 miles long with 4 landings. The flight plans are here. We want to cruise at about 250 knots. I will be in the Beech Starship, but the King Air, the PC-12, the PC-24, or other small business aircraft are suitable. Please fly what you like. Recommended scenery: Bata – FGBT You may have downloaded it already. We try real weather. Please set your departure time to 8 am local. Multiplayer Particulars: Date and time: Sunday, April 12, 2026. 16:00 UTC Microsoft Flight Simulator Multiplayer: United States East server These flights are events posted at DigitalThemePark. For these Sunday flights, we use DTP’s Discord Server for communication. 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!

We explore the Swiss Jura, the Vosges Mountains, and the Alsace Our flight begins in Porrentruy (LSZY), Switzerland, a historic small city in the Swiss canton of Jura, strategically positioned on the ancient crossroads between Alsace, the Jura mountains, and the city of Basel. Porrentruy was already an important transit hub in Roman times, and the river Doubs served as a significant waterway connecting it to the wider region. Our first waypoint dominates the city from above. The Château de Porrentruy is a Swiss heritage site of national significance, and its oldest surviving element is the thirteenth-century Réfous Tower. This remarkable tower was probably erected around 1271 and stands 32 meters high to its battlements, with a diameter of 12 meters. Today, the complex houses the judicial authorities of the Republic and Canton of Jura, but its courtyards and towers remain open to visitors. Turning south and then tracing westward and northward along the Doubs, we will cross into France and fly over one of the most scenic river corridors in Eastern France. The Doubs is a 453-kilometre river that strays into western Switzerland, forming the border between the two countries for approximately 40 kilometres north of Saint-Ursanne before turning west and southwest. We land at Courcelles-lès-Montbéliard (LFSM). A notable local memory lives on the airfield: a stele commemorates Étienne Oehmichen, who in 1921 completed his first successful helicopter flight near here. Continuing southeast, we reach the small aerodrome of Belfort-Chaux (LFGG). This aerodrome was created during the First World War and hosted twenty-one successive squadrons throughout the conflict. One of those squadrons, the Escadrille MS 49, counted among its pilots Adolphe Pégoud, who had made history before the war by performing the first loop in aviation. Our route now enters the southern Vosges mountains, crossing into the Alsatian side of the range. We land at Masevaux (LF6821), which lies in the southeastern Vosges, where the valley of the Doller widens before entering the Upper Rhine plain. During the First World War, Masevaux became the administrative capital of reconquered Alsace, welcoming personalities including the President of the Republic, King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, Georges Clemenceau, and Marshals Joffre and Pétain. Continuing northward through the forested southern Vosges, we land at the small ULM field of Ramonchamp (LF8851), situated in the Vosges department in the Grand Est region of France. I recommend landing and departing on runway 09 due to power lines. The village of Ramonchamp itself lies in the upper Moselle valley, a deeply wooded and historically remote part of the mountains that acted for centuries as a natural barrier between Lorraine to the west and Alsace to the east. The Vosges act as a natural barrier against oceanic weather coming from the west. The crest experiences significant rainfall, sometimes more than two metres per year, while the towns along the Alsace Wine Route benefit from a protected microclimate. The Foehn effect explains much about the mild and sunny conditions enjoyed by Colmar and its surroundings. We land at Colmar (LFGA). Colmar is one of the jewels of Alsace and a city where every street seems to belong to a different century. The first documentary mention of the city was attested in 823, and in 1226 it was elevated to the status of an imperial city by Emperor Frederick II. The city is also the birthplace of Auguste Bartholdi, sculptor of the Statue of Liberty, and is home to the Unterlinden Museum with its extraordinary Isenheim Altarpiece. Colmar sits at the heart of the Alsace Wine Route, surrounded by grands crus vineyards that stretch northward toward Strasbourg. Heading northeast into the western Vosges foothills, our next stop is the aerodrome of Saint-Dié-Remomeix (LFGY), a civil airfield managed by the local aeroclub. The airfield carries a distinguished name: on 21 June 2009, on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the aeroclub and the centenary of aviation, the field was officially named after René Fonck, the celebrated French ace pilot of the First World War. A full-scale replica of the SPAD S.XIII aircraft Fonck flew was constructed by eighty students and now adorns the entrance to the aerodrome. Now we reach the Château du Haut-Königsbourg, situated on a rocky ridge at 757 meters. The castle takes its name, meaning "royal castle," from its commanding position, and its origins go back to the twelfth century when it was first constructed. At the turn of the twentieth century, Wilhelm II commissioned an eight-year restoration that returned the fortress to its former glory, and after the First World War, it became the property of the French state. Just north of the Haut-Kœnigsbourg, we descend toward the intimate Val de Villé, a quiet valley tucked between the Vosges foothills. We land at Albé (LF6721), runway 09 is recommended for landing. Our final destination is Steinbourg (LFQY), a quiet Alsatian village. The aerodrome is used mainly for gliders and ultralight aircraft. The flight is 174 miles long with 7 landings. Most airfields have short, soft runways. We want to fly low and slow. The Pipistrel, Piper Cup, or the Draco, among others, are suitable. I will probably be in the Draco X. As always, please fly what you like. We want to cruise around 100 knots. The flight plans are here. Porrentruy is not in the GTN database. The GTN flight plan starts at LSZQ! Recommended scenery: Porrentruy – SZY Montbliard – LFSM Chaux – LFGG Colmar – LFGA Remomeix – LFGY Steinbourg – LFQY The complete package is here. We try real weather. Please set your simulator for a 9 am local departure. Multiplayer Particulars Date and time: Saturday, April 5, 2025. 1900 UTC RTWR Multiplayer Discord Channel Microsoft Flight Simulator Multiplayer: South East Asia 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!

Mike found another scenery: Neuburg - ETSN

I removed the LECI link from the post above. There is no scenery for this airfield.

We’re visiting some iconic hubs, ranging from North Sea coastal bases to the foothills of the Alps. We'll see a mix of the "old guard" F-16s and the rapidly expanding F-35 fleets. We depart from Vojens (EKSP), also known as Skrydstrup. This is the heart of the Royal Danish Air Force’s fighter capacity. Fighter Wing Skrydstrup is the resident unit. They are currently transitioning from the F-16AM/BM to the F-35A Lightning II. Our first stop is Wittmund (ETNT), home to the Luftwaffe’s Tactical Air Force Wing 71 "Richthofen". They’ve fully moved on from their legendary Phantoms and now fly the Eurofighter Typhoon. It’s one of the primary Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) hubs for Northern Germany. Next, we hop over to the Netherlands. Leeuwarden (EHLW) is a massive F-35 hub now. The 322 Squadron operates the F-35A here. The MQ-9 Reaper drones are stationed at this base for ISR missions. Moving south to Volkel (EHVK), we find 312 and 313 Squadrons. While Volkel was the long-time home of the Dutch F-16, by now the F-35A has taken over as the primary teeth of the base. Crossing into Belgium, we hit Kleine-Brogel (EBBL). This is the home of the 10th Tactical Wing. They still operate the F-16MLU, though the transition to the F-35 is ongoing. Then we track down to Florennes (EBFS), home of the 2nd Tactical Wing. Like their colleagues at "KB," they are F-16 operators, but Florennes is also the first Belgian base to officially stand up F-35A operations and houses the new MQ-9B SkyGuardian drones. We head back into Germany to visit the big US hubs. Spangdahlem (ETAD) is the home of the 52nd Fighter Wing. They operate the F-16C/D Fighting Falcons of the 480th Fighter Squadron (the "Warhawks") here. Just a short flight away is Ramstein (ETAR). No fighters here; this is the heavy-lift capital of Europe. The 86th Airlift Wing operates C-130J Super Hercules, C-21, and C-37 transport aircraft. Continuing southeast, we reach Neuburg (ETSN). This is the base for Tactical Air Force Wing 74. Like Wittmund, they are a Eurofighter Typhoon unit and handle the QRA for Southern Germany. Then we cross into the Alps to land at Zeltweg (LOXZ) in Austria. This is the main interceptor base for the Austrian Air Force. The Überwachungsgeschwader (Surveillance Wing) operates its fleet of Eurofighter Typhoons from here, alongside PC-7 Turbo Trainers used for pilot schooling. Finally, we arrive at Istrana (LIPS) near Treviso. This is the home of the 51° Stormo (51st Wing) of the Aeronautica Militare. While this base was famous for the AMX "Ghibli," those have been retired. The base is now a dedicated Eurofighter Typhoon hub, providing air defense for North-Eastern Italy. The flight is 1000 miles long with 9 landings. The flight plan is here. We want to be fast! The F-35, F-14, Tornado, Eurofighter, or any aircraft cruising at about 420 knots are suitable. I will probably be in the IFE Typhoon. As always, please fly what you like. Recommended scenery: Wittmund – ETNT Zeltweg – LOXZ Zeltweg Airpower Show Vojens – EKSP Leeuwarden – EHLW Volkel EHVK Dutch Airport Library Kleine Brogel – EBBL Florennes - EBFS Spangdahlem – ETAD Ramstein – ETAR You may already own some of these addons. All airports are in the simulator database. The Zeltweg Airpower scenery is heavy and just eye candy. We try real weather. Please set your simulator for a 3:30 pm local departure. Multiplayer Particulars Date and time: Saturday, March 28, 2025. 1900 UTC RTWR Multiplayer Discord Channel Microsoft Flight Simulator Multiplayer: South East Asia 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!

We explore a part of the Pyrenees, visiting France and Spain. We depart from Biarritz (LFBZ), France. The airfield existed before World War II, was heavily damaged, and had to be rebuilt, finally reopening to civilian aircraft in 1954. Only about 25 km to the south, we reach San Sebastián Airport (LESO), Spain. The airport sits at just 16 feet MSL on a sandbar. The city of San Sebastián (Donostia in Basque) is a small seaside city. It is home to the second-highest concentration of Michelin-starred restaurants in the world — Kyoto is number one. From San Sebastián, we head southeast, tracking inland across the rolling green hills of Navarra to Pamplona (LEPP), Spain. It is about 6 km from the city centre. Pamplona is, of course, famous the world over for the Fiestas de San Fermín — the running of the bulls — which runs from 6 to 14 July each year. Eight consecutive mornings, six bulls (and two or three steers to calm them) are released through the narrow old streets for about 825 metres to the bullring, with however many foolhardy participants happen to be running in front of them. But Pamplona is more than the encierro — it's the historical capital of the Kingdom of Navarra, which at its medieval peak stretched from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. The city's medieval walls, Gothic cathedral, and old town are beautiful. From Pamplona, we head east and slightly south, into the foothills of the Aragonese Pyrenees. We reach Santa Cilia de Jaca (LECI), Spain, a small airfield with a strong gliding and skydiving culture: there's apparently a swimming pool for pilots waiting between flights! We're now entering the heart of the range. The Pyrenees stretch roughly 430 km from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, forming the natural border between France and Spain. They're geologically distinct from the Alps — older, more compact, and in many ways more dramatic, because the highest summits rise almost directly from the plains with very little transition. The range contains around 200 peaks above 2,000 metres, with the highest, Aneto, reaching 3,404 metres on the Spanish side. Pyrenean weather is notoriously changeable — Atlantic fronts pile in from the west and can build fast. Now we head north back across the border into France, threading through or over the high ridgeline. The first POI is the Lac De Gaube. It is famous for its beauty and well known because the Lake can be easily reached. The next Lake is Lake de Cap-de-Long, one of the largest reservoirs in the Pyrenees. Its dam stands 101 meters tall and holds back over 67 million cubic meters of water. The reservoir supplies water for power generation at the Pragnères power plant—one of the most powerful hydroelectric plants in France. Next, we reach the Pic du Midi de Bigorre, home to the Pic du Midi Observatory. Nowhere on the northern side of the Pyrenees is there another mountain of comparable altitude so close to the plain — the surrounding peaks reach 2,500 metres at best, which makes the Pic du Midi geometrically extraordinary. The Pic du Midi is where NASA's lunar map was drawn up in 1969, and it's the world's oldest high-mountain astronomical observatory. It's also the only Dark-Sky Preserve in France. The observatory has been operating continuously since the 1880s. Scientists have made the arduous trek up since 1884, and the history of research here goes back to 1774. From the air at this point, if visibility allows, we could see the Col du Tourmalet directly below — the highest paved road pass in the French Pyrenees at 2,115 metres and one of the most legendary climbs in the Tour de France. The Tourmalet has been included in the Tour de France more often than any other pass, since 1910, when the Pyrenees were first introduced to the race. We arc east and then south to Bagnères-de-Luchon (LFCB), France. Bagnères-de-Luchon (often just "Luchon") is a classic 19th-century spa town in the high Garonne valley. The thermal baths have been in use since Roman times. It's also a Tour de France landmark — the Col de Peyresourde just above town has featured in the race almost every year. We cross back into Spain, heading south, descending from the Pyrenean spine into the dry, pre-Pyrenean hills of Aragon, and reach Benabarre Airport (LENA), Spain. From Benabarre, we head east across the pre-Pyrenean plateau, tracking the southern flanks of the range as the terrain starts climbing again towards the eastern Pyrenees. Then we turn north into the mountain valleys, picking our way through the Alt Urgell to the destination Andorra–La Seu d'Urgell Airport (LESU), Spain. It is a public airport owned by the government of Catalonia, located in the municipality of Montferrer i Castellbò in eastern Spain. It serves the city of La Seu d'Urgell and the microstate of Andorra, which is 12 km north of the airport. La Seu d'Urgell is a small Catalan city with a remarkable Romanesque cathedral, the 12th-century Seu d'Urgell Cathedral, and it's the seat of the Bishop of Urgell, one of the two co-princes of Andorra. Andorra is a landlocked microstate in the eastern Pyrenees, bordered by France to the north and Spain to the south, covering just 181 square miles. It is the world's only co-principality, jointly ruled by the President of France and the Bishop of Urgell. That arrangement has been in place since 1278 — the treaty that ended a dispute between the Count of Foix and the Bishop of La Seu d'Urgell. The French president, therefore, inherits the title of Prince of Andorra the moment they take office, which makes Emmanuel Macron, among other things, a feudal prince. Andorra has never formally belonged to either Spain or France. Andorra la Vella is the highest capital city in Europe, at about 1,023 metres above sea level. Andorra is the only country in the world where the sole official language is Catalan. It uses the euro but is not an EU member. Around 80% of Andorra's GDP comes from tourism and related services. Millions of visitors come annually, mainly for duty-free shopping and skiing — the Grandvalira ski area has over 300 km of slopes. Andorra has no army, no railway, and, effectively, no airport of its own. Andorra claims to be the last surviving fragment of the Marca Hispanica, the military buffer zone created by Charlemagne to keep the Moors from advancing into the Frankish empire. Whether or not that's strictly accurate, it is genuinely one of the oldest political entities in Europe with continuously unchanged borders since 1278. The flight is 291 miles long with 5 landings. I will be in the A2A Aerostar, but almost any GA single-engine or Twin is suitable. As always, please fly what you like. The flight plans are here. Use the gfp plans with care; they will not be read by my systems. Recommended scenery: Biarritz - LFBZ San Sebastian - LESO Pamplona - LEPP Bagneres - LFCB Se de Urgel - LESU LESU, LESO, and LEPP are available as payware. We try real weather. Please set your simulator for a 3 pm local departure. Multiplayer Particulars: Date and time: Sunday, March 29, 2026. 16:00 UTC Microsoft Flight Simulator Multiplayer: United States East server These flights are events posted at DigitalThemePark. For these Sunday flights, we use DTP’s Discord Server for communication. 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!

We continue our tour around England. We start at Tatenhill (EGBM), a friendly GA airfield near Burton-on-Trent. It has a great rural feel and is home to some active flight schools. Our first POI is the Villa Park stadium in Birmingham. We stop at Wolverhampton (EGBO), also known as Halfpenny Green, a classic ex-RAF base with three runways. From Wolverhampton, we head west, fly over the Iron Bridge, and continue toward the border to land at Welshpool (EGCW), a mid‑Wales airport born not from the Air Ministry but from a local farmer‑turned‑aviator, Bob Jones, who started with a grass strip on his land in 1990. Developed into Welshpool Mid‑Wales Airport with a hard runway and hangars, it became both a business and community hub, even hosting the Wales Air Ambulance base from 2006. After departure, we fly over Powis Castle. It is the best-kept castle in Wales and is also known for its gardens. Now we’ll climb over Lake Vyrnwy. It’s a massive Victorian reservoir with a famous stone straining tower that resembles a fairytale castle rising out of the water. From there, we swing back east to land at Shawbury (EGOS). This is a major military helicopter training base. Next, we track north to Liverpool John Lennon Airport (EGGP). As we depart, we’ll be overflying the city of Liverpool. Look for the Silver Jubilee Bridge and the Mersey Gateway Bridge spanning the River Mersey. A short hop east takes us to Manchester (EGCC). Here we see the Old Trafford Stadium. It dates from 1910, was rebuilt after WWII bomb damage, and today holds around 74,000 spectators, making it the largest club football stadium in the UK. We see that the Hulme Arch, which was opened in May 1997, has a 52 m steel arch with cable stays, and is mainly there to restore the historic road route while acting as a local landmark. Beetham Tower (Hilton Tower) is a 47‑storey mixed‑use skyscraper on Deansgate, completed in 2006, and for years the tallest building in the UK outside London at 169 m. 1 Angel Square is known for its distinctive glazed, triangular form and highly energy‑efficient design. As soon as we leave Manchester heading east, we’re crossing the Peak District. As we cross the hills, we’ll fly over Chatsworth House (The Palace of the Peak), one of the most famous stately homes in the UK. It’s massive, surrounded by yellow-green parkland and the River Derwent. Chatsworth is often called the finest country house in England. It has been the seat of the Duke of Devonshire since 1549. After that, we’ll touch down at Doncaster (EGCN). The RAF Base (depicted in the addon) was decommissioned in 1996, and became an International Airport which ceased operations in 2022. Finally, we head to our destination: Humberside (EGNJ). It’s a busy hub for offshore helicopter operations serving the North Sea gas rigs. The flight is 238 miles long with 6 landings. The flight plans are here. I will be in the BlackSquare Duke; any GA plane able to cruise at about 160 knots will do. Recommended scenery: Tatenhill – EGBM Wolverhampton – EGBO Welshpool – EGCW Shawbury – EGOS Liverpool – EGGP Manchester – EGGC Finningley – EGCN Humberside – EGNJ As payware, we have EGBM, EGBO, EGCC, EGCW, EGGP, EGNJ available from or via ORBX. We try real weather. Please set your simulator for a 10 am departure. Multiplayer Particulars: Date and time: Sunday, March 22, 2026. 16:00 UTC Microsoft Flight Simulator Multiplayer: South East Asia server These flights are events posted at DigitalThemePark. For these Sunday flights, we use DTP’s Discord Server for communication. 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!

No, the starting time remains unchanged for North America. I will start 1 hour earlier.

This flight traces a path across occupied and contested Ukrainian territory — Crimea, Kherson Oblast, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, and Donetsk Oblast. All of these regions are internationally recognised as Ukrainian territory but have been fully or partially under Russian military occupation since 2022. We're departing from Khersones Air Base (UKSV), perched on a small cape at the southwestern tip of the Crimean Peninsula, right on the Black Sea. The airfield sits just a couple of kilometres from the ancient ruins of Chersonesus, one of the most significant archaeological sites in the former Soviet world. The ancient city was located on the shore of the Black Sea on the outskirts of present-day Sevastopol, where the site is referred to as Khersones — and the name Chersonesos in Greek literally means "peninsula," which aptly describes the location. The ruins date back to 422 BC, and this is famously the place where Volodymyr the Great was baptised into Christianity in AD 988, launching what would become the Russian Orthodox Church. As for Sevastopol itself, the city has had one of the more dramatic histories in the region. The Russians began constructing a naval base there in 1783, named Sevastopol the following year, and after the base was completed in 1804, it became the home of the Black Sea Fleet. Today, Crimea has been under Russian military occupation since 2014, internationally recognised as Ukrainian territory. We're heading northeast across the Crimean Peninsula. The terrain shifts as we move inland — the dramatic Crimean Mountains running along the southern coast give way to the flat, dry steppe of central Crimea. Our first stop is Gora Klementyeva (UKKB), a small strip used for gliding and skydiving. The "Gora" in the name means "mountain" in Ukrainian and Russian — it refers to the hill that made this spot famous for soaring in the Soviet era. This was one of the earliest aviation sites in the USSR and hosted international glider competitions. We follow the coast north. Our next stop is Henichesk (UKHE), actually destroyed, but usable in the sim. Henichesk arose in 1784 as a crossing and border fortification on the site of a Turkish fortress called Enichi, which dated to 1703. It was a port and trade centre on the salt route running from Crimea north through Ukraine and Russia, and by the turn of the 20th century, it had one of the largest flour mills in southern Ukraine. Salt was the engine of this town for generations — the hypersaline lakes nearby and the Syvash lagoon system made it a natural hub for the trade. The town became one of the main export points for bread, salt, and wool in the Azov region. The real star of the area, visible right from the airfield, is the Arabat Spit. It's the largest sand spit in Ukraine, separating the Syvash Bay from the Sea of Azov — about 115 kilometres long and between 270 metres and 8 kilometres wide, formed by sand washing roughly 850 years ago. Before the war, it was a hugely popular Ukrainian holiday destination — warm shallow sea, therapeutic mud, and thermal springs. Heading northeast, we stay over the flat steppe of southern Ukraine. The landscape here is classic Eastern European agricultural plain — broad open fields of wheat, sunflowers, and grain. The next stop is Melitopol (UKME), a large industrial center. Melitopol has been under Russian occupation since late February 2022. For our final leg, we head east along the northern coast of the Sea of Azov, crossing into Donetsk Oblast. The Azov coast is flat and wide, with long sandy spits and shallow lagoons — the sea is famously shallow, rarely more than 15 metres deep, which gives it warm summer temperatures but also makes it more susceptible to storms. Our destination is Mariupol (UKCM). The city was founded in 1778 as Pavlovsk, on the site of a former Cossack encampment, and renamed Mariupol in 1779 to honour Maria Fyodorovna, the second wife of Crown Prince Paul. In 1780, its population grew rapidly after many Greeks from the Crimean Peninsula were resettled there. Known as "the ocean gateway of the Donbas," Mariupol was used by Ukraine to export metals, grain, salt, and machinery while receiving iron ore, manganese ore, and cement. The flight is 290 miles long with 3 landings. We want to cruise at about 250 knots, and we have some grass runways. Among others, the King Air, TBM, or PC-12 are suitable aircraft. I will be in the BlackSquare Starship. As always, please fly what you like. The flight plans are here. The airports are not in the GTN database. Recommended scenery: Khersones – UKSV Melitopol – UKME Mariupol – UKCM We try real weather and want to depart at 3 PM local. Multiplayer Particulars: Date and time: Sunday, March 15, 2026. 17:00 UTC Microsoft Flight Simulator Multiplayer: United States East server These flights are events posted at DigitalThemePark. For these Sunday flights, we use DTP’s Discord Server for communication. 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!

We’ll be hopping across three very different Gulf of Guinea neighbours, all in a relatively small geographic area, but with very different histories and vibes. We depart from Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (DNAA), which serves Abuja, Nigeria’s modern planned capital in the Federal Capital Territory. Abuja was developed from the late 1970s to replace Lagos as the capital. Nigeria is the regional giant: Africa’s most populous state with more than 230 million people and over 250 ethnic groups, including Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, and many others. It is a federal presidential republic with the economy strongly driven by oil and gas, agriculture, and a big services sector. We make our first stop at Markudi (DNMK), and from there we fly to Bebi Airport (DNBB), a small regional strip, serving the rural area around Bayaluga, and is used mainly for domestic connections and access to local resorts and communities. The next stop is at Calabar International Airport (DNCA), serving Calabar in Cross River State near Nigeria’s southeastern border with Cameroon. Calabar has a long history as a major port and administrative centre dating back to the slave‑trade era and British colonial rule, and today it is known for tourism, the annual Calabar Carnival, and its position close to rainforest reserves. Next, we cross into Cameroon and land at Douala International Airport (FKKD), serving the country’s biggest city, Douala. The airport is both public and military and is by far Cameroon’s busiest, handling around 1.5 million passengers and significant freight each year, and acting as the main international gateway for the country’s commercial capital. Douala itself is a hot, humid port city on the Wouri River estuary, the economic engine of Cameroon with heavy industry and shipping. Cameroon is often described as “Africa in miniature” because it packs in rainforest, coastal lowlands, highland plateaus, and Sahel‑type north in one state. It had formed in its modern shape when the former French and British Cameroons merged in the early 1960s, and today it is a republic whose economy leans on agriculture, timber, oil, and hydropower. We track down the Gulf of Guinea coast towards Equatorial Guinea and finish at Bata Airport (FGBT). Bata is the main city on the mainland (Litoral Province), and its airport is the second‑busiest in the country after Malabo. Bata grew from a colonial port into a modern regional centre, with oil‑related business, a seafront promenade, and neighbourhoods that stretch inland from the coast. Equatorial Guinea is our final country and one of Africa’s smallest by land area and population, split between an island part (Bioko and others) and a mainland section wedged between Cameroon and Gabon. It gained independence from Spain in 1968 and is officially a republic, though political power will be highly concentrated in the presidency. The discovery and exploitation of offshore oil had transformed Equatorial Guinea into one of sub‑Saharan Africa’s highest GDP‑per‑capita states, even though many people still rely on subsistence agriculture. The flight is 530 miles long with 4 landings. We want to cruise at about 300 kias. This calls for a subsonic jet. The Hawker Hunter, the MB339, M346, the T-45 Goshawk, or the Hawk T1 are suitable. The PC-21 is also fast enough, as well as small business jets, with this speed range. I will probably be in the MB346. Please fly what you like. The flight plans are here. Recommended scenery: Abuja – DNAA Calabar - DNCA Douala FKKD Bata - FGBT We try real weather. Please set your simulator for an 08:00 local departure. Multiplayer Particulars: Date and time: Sunday, March 08, 2026. 17:00 UTC Microsoft Flight Simulator Multiplayer: United States East server These flights are events posted at DigitalThemePark. For these Sunday flights, we use DTP’s Discord Server for communication. 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!

Thank you, Mike! I have no idea which, if any, add-on blocks the Corsair on my system. I'll take the P-38 instead.

Great plan! I wanted to take the Blackbird Corsair. It flies ok, but the RPM and Oil Temp indicators are dead. Did anyone try the Corsair and get all the panel instruments working? Thanks