MattW_IFA

In 1066, England’s fate was forged in three furious clashes fought barely three weeks apart. Follow me on a tour in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 for a documentary-style aerial exploration that retraces each turning point from the sky: * Fulford (20 Sept) – sweep over the River Ouse flood-meadows where Harald Hardrada and Tostig Godwinson crushed the northern fyrd. * Stamford Bridge (25 Sept) – orbit the narrow Derwent crossing where King Harold Godwinson raced 190 miles north to repel the Vikings in a surprise counter-attack. * Hastings / Senlac Hill (14 Oct) – descend along the Sussex ridge line to witness how William the Conqueror shattered the shield wall and claimed the crown.

One of the joys of the 2 latest generations of FlightSimulator is that you can really explore the world and visit places you probably couldn’t oder wouldn't go to in real life. I call that Virtual Tourism – it actually works in many cases, because the scenery in the sim looks pretty real. There are a lot of locations on this planet which have a special meaning to humanity – because of their beauty or maybe because something special happened there. I want to do exactly that: Rummage through the history of this planet as well as our civilization and pick places which are interesting to explore, do a Virtual Aerial Exploration and tell a story about it. My first humble experiment is the following video – excuse the rough edges and lackluster narration/voice in the background, I’m still figuring stuff out. Please do leave a comment below if you have any kind of feedback – even if it’s critical (in a constructive way). If you want to do this tour yourself, here’s a download of the (very simple) flightplan. Thanks for watching!

Been trying SAI last couple of weeks, in all kinds of scenarios, also getting feedback from Brian (CEO). He wasn't very happy with what I had to say, but I'm not a sales representative... https://www.icefireair.com/sayintentions-ai-analysis-and-review/

Tour has ended, and it had a beautiful finale with recognizable locations from the movies. See playlist on previous post above. Thanks all who flew along or watched - hope to see you again!

Let’s embark on a new epic flight adventure: 11.000 nautical miles along the western edge of the Americas, from the rugged shores of Dutch Harbor, Alaska, to the windswept wilderness of Tierra del Fuego. This journey follows the vast Pacific coastline, tracing a path through some of the most breathtaking and remote landscapes on Earth. More information about this tour: Pacific Edge: From Alaska to Tierra del Fuego – IceFireAir Preferred aircraft: Single turbo prop fixed wing, like C208 or K100. Simulator: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020. (Why not 2024?) I’ll post details about all legs on our Discord server about an hour before each take-off. As usual the legs will also be streamed on Twitch and archived on the Youtube channel. Very much looking forward to your company!

Lately people have asked me quite often why I'm not doing these tours in FS2024. I've tried to compile an answer here so I don't have to repeat myself again and again. 🙂 https://www.icefireair.com/why-not-fs2024/

Lately people have asked me quite often why I'm not doing these tours in FS2024. I've tried to compile an answer here so I don't have to repeat myself again and again. 🙂 https://www.icefireair.com/why-not-fs2024/

still a couple of legs to go. to make sure people find their way and the tour dates, please take a look at the FS community calendar. playlist of all legs so far:

this tour will be running for quite some time to come (its loong). to make sure people find the take offs and dates on which the legs start, please take a look at the FS community calendar. playlist of the legs so far:

First leg done - it's actually fun when you're able to really (kind of) recognize these locations from the LOTR films. Take a look:

We've decided to expand the tour stuff for a bit of variety. We're flying tours in turns - one day a leg from this tour, another day from a different tour. The new tour Lord Of The Wings explores the locations on New Zealand which were used for various scenes of the "Lord Of The Rings" films. Hobbiton and Lothlorien, Minas Tirith and Mount Doom, Isengart and all the other fantastic sceneries can be explore in MSFS. And those who know the films inside out might even be able to recognize some of these spots, despite the fact that CGI did play a big role in the films. Here's your checklist with recommendations & requirements PLEASE DO READ about the tour: https://www.icefireair.com/flying-tours/lord-of-the-wings-over-new-zealand/ For various reasons we're currently using FS2020 - you have to have this as well if you want to fly along Join the Discord server to get the latest information and notifications when a leg starts and to talk to us. If you're unsure whether this tour is for you, watch a leg on Twitch while we stream. Youtube playlists will be added later. As usual: This is a hop-on hop-off tour, so you can join and leave at any time, even during flight. Easy as pie.

(I'm not sure where else to put this, so if any mod has a better location for this, please feel free to move) After the Flight Of Passage (which was quite epic and took a while to complete), here comes another tour event based on a real story. This time we’re going to follow the aerial footsteps of Stephen Coonts who flew his Boeing Stearman literally all over the USA in 1991. And he wrote a book about it: "The Cannibal Queen: A Flight Into The Heart Of America" I’m streaming the legs on Twitch and there’s a YT playlist which shows the tour progress. For those who like to join the group flights it might make sense to visit our Discord server, so we're able to communicate more easily. I encourage anyone to join in. Doesn’t matter whether you only come along for some short legs or the entire (very long!) tour. I’ll be flying a Stearman, but you’re welcome to use any single piston engine aircraft you like. Unless you have the same Stearman addon installed you’ll probably see me as a generic plane like a Cessna 172 or a Bonanza. We're flying several times a week, if the real world allows. My nickname on MSFS Multiplayer is StudentWolke4, so add me as a friend to make it easier to join me or the group if we're already in the air. Here's your checklist with recommendations & requirements For various reasons we're currently using FS2020 - you have to have this as well if you want to fly along Read about the tour on this website to know what it's about Watch past legs of tours on YT. Join the Discord server to get the latest information and notifications when a leg starts. If you're unsure whether this tour is for you, watch a leg on Twitch. Blue skies to all of you! More info about the book on Goodreads More info about the Stearman Addon + Realism Mod

After the Flight Of Passage (which was quite epic and took a while to complete), here comes another tour event based on a real story. This time we’re going to follow the aerial footsteps of Stephen Coonts who flew his Boeing Stearman literally all over the USA in 1991. And he wrote a book about it: The Cannibal Queen. I’m streaming the legs on Twitch and there’s a YT playlist which shows the tour progress. > Here are the Cannibal Queen tour description and flight plans. > Stream on Twitch > Join on Discord I encourage anyone to join in. Doesn’t matter whether you only come along for some short legs or the entire tour. I’ll be flying a Stearman, but you’re welcome to use any single piston engine aircraft you like. Unless you have the same Stearman addon installed you’ll probably see me as a generic plane like a Cessna 172. The tour starts at KBDU tonight at 8:30pm zulu. Past videos can be found in this playlist: > Cannibal Queen on YT

The Flight Of Passage has finally come to an end. There's a playlist which contains all 19 episodes with around 40 hours of flying from coast to coast. With the exception of one leg we've done the entire tour with VFR, no radios, no GPS, no autopilot. Just maps, eyes, compass and a little bit of cheating with the weather. Because I discovered for myself it's not a good idea to fly a Cub during the freezing winter season using "Live" weather. Merry XMAS everyone, and a Happy New Year!

13 legs so far, some funny, some boring, a completely frozen up Cub (because I forgot to adjust the weather), some zero visibility stupidity, ICAO alphabet training and other silly stuff. Past legs: https://www.youtube.com/@mattw_ifa Streaming: https://www.twitch.tv/mattw_ifa Give it a shot, it won’t hurt or cost anything

Starting tonight (hopefully around 8pm UTC) I am going on this Flight Of Passage from scratch and streaming the entire tour with all its legs on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/mattw_ifa Probably over several weeks (I got wife, kids and a day job to take care of, so I’m not going to stream for 8 hours at a time…) You’re very welcome to join me if you’d like, either in the virtual world (FS2020) or on the Twitch platform. Beware - I’m not a seasoned streamer-bro but a middle aged guy who’s trying to stay in step with the younger generation. I’m curious how all of this is going to work out!

Maybe some of you have read the lovely book "Flight Of Passage - A Memoir" by Rinker Buck. It's a story about two teenage boys flying from coast to coast in a Piper Cub across the USA. For IFA (www.icefireair.com) I've created a tour (and a soundtrack!) which retraces as best as possible this grand adventure. I'd love you to join IFA if you're a fan of bush flying. But all flightplans (FS2020, FSX, P3D and XP11/12) as well as route descriptions and the sound track link are available without registration. Visit https://www.icefireair.com/ifatours/tours/12 for more info. You can also join me on Discord for any questions, feedback or just for fun. Clear skies for all of you!

Small update on the Discord Link from above, the old one wasn't valid indefinitely. Take this one instead: https://discord.gg/5x2CMZ8X4A Sorry for the inconvenience.

Hello fellow pilots, to anybody who’s not had the chance to take a closer look at Iceland, I’d love to show you around, and I guess the best way to do this is by creating a live event where we meet and do a little sight seeing. I’m thinking of a 1-3hr event where we gather at an airport and visit some beautiful landmarks. Before planning something in detail I’d like to ask whether there are people who would be interested in taking part in such an endeavor. I use FS2020 and I guess it might be an easy option to join up using FS2020 multiplayer. Suggestions/Remarks are very welcome.

If you tried to reach us within the last 24 hours you probably saw a warning from ICANN that the domain was suspended. That’s because I forgot to click a link in an email to validate my email address at ICANN. Sigh. We were not hacked, the system was not broken, just a lousy bureaucratic slip on my side. Deeply sorry for any inconvenience.

Updates! Our small fleet’s growing: Bought a used but well maintained Cessna T207A Turbo Stationair (MSFS default) and added it as an option to our tours/charters. There’s also a couple of new tours, from rescue missions to scientific research flights - check it out! https://www.icefireair.com

I would like to introduce a new VA: IceFireAir -> https://www.icefireair.com IFA has begun operations just recently and is offering a new home to pilots of all experience levels who have a special love for bush flying - on ICELAND! Our base of operations is in Reykjavik (BIRK) with another hub on the eastern coast in Egilsstadir. We fly small to medium sized piston engine and turboprop aircraft. We’ve got a relaxed rule set with ACARS and (in most cases) automatic PIREP approval. We’re not trying to simulate in every little detail a real airline. Instead the focus is on entertaining charters and tours with a story background, awards and live events where we fly together and enjoy the awesome landscape Iceland has to offer. We’d love to welcome you! Any questions or comments? Join us on Discord! P.S. First 10 pilots to join will receive a special founding flyer award. :-)