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After a couple of days golfing near Hilton Head, SC, we depart for Ft Myers, Florida, to rendezvous with a fourth couple at their condo. From there we will head to Key West, Florida, for a couple of days before departing for our first Caribbean stop at Cancun, Mexico, on the Yucatan Peninsula. A better view of the BullfrogSim KHXD scenery addon that is available over on TO. Nice views of Hilton Head Island and the pattern of the inland water bodies shortly after takeoff. I see I still had my landing lights on. Passing Jekyll Island, Georgia, and the Jekyll Sound. A look at Amelia Island, Florida, just south of the Georgia border and north of Jacksonville. The airport in view is KFHB Fernandina Beach Muni. A view of the four mile long St George Island Bridge/Causeway bridge across the mouth of the St John's River. The city of Jacksonville, Florida, off in the distance just past the continuation of the Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway. A look back at the St Johns river mouth and more of the intercoastal waterway. The water patterns continue along the waterway as we pass over St Augustine, Florida, with the St Augustine Inlet separating Vilano Beach and Anastasia. Passing over Daytona, Florida, KDAB and the adjacant Daytona International Speedway as the waterway continues along the coast. And a final look at the Atlantic coastline and the waterway near New Smyrna Beach just before our turn to the southwest and the gulf coast. A look at the Orlando, Florida, area and that area's numerous lakes. That is KORL Orlando Executive below and KMCO Orlando International off the left wing. Nearing the Florida Gulf Coast near the Bradenton/Sarasota area, currently over Lake Manatee and the Manatee River. Good look at Long Boat Key and Sarasota Bay Down to 4,000 in our initial approach to Ft Myers. This is over the unique community of West Rotunda, Florida. Easy to see how it got its name. On final to KMFY Page Field, the Caloosahatchee River ahead to the left. It along with the Mayaka River provide a navigable connection from the large inland Lake Okeechobee to the Gulf of Mexico. This last screenshot from short final shows a strange graphics effect from this Kodiak livery's exhaust. It developed somewhat late in this flight and I have noted it late in a couple of other flights. So I will be back in N262P for the duration of this year's Caribbean Trek.

Great time in Cancun. Weather was perfect. Not too crowded this time. Most Covid restrictions lifted. Now off to Grand Cayman, which will be our "launch pad" for several of the next trek adventures. A look from the ramp at the addon MMUN Cancun International by Hold Short Simulations. It is available at TO. And another look just after rotation. Flying south along the coast looking back at Cancun and the splendorous Nichupte Lagoon that separates hotel row from the city. Over the Yucatan Caribbean coast nearing the island of Cozumel. Aeropuerto Internacional de Cozumel (CMZM) airport in view on the right and the small island paradise of Isla de la Pasión off to the left. A final look at Cozumel with a view of the long Punta Molas del Nte outer banks area along its north boundary. Pretty lonely skies with only a few scattered cumulus to keep us company. It was just under two hours out over the open water. Just making out the outline of Grand Cayman ahead with its beautiful blue tropical water. On final to MWCR Owen Roberts International on the island of Grand Cayman. Can just makeout a moored cruise ship just to the right off of the nose. Here are a couple of images of the MWCR Owen Roberts Intl by tsigut. It was originally available on TO, but now his improved versions are at his Github at https://github.com/tsigut/Owen-Roberts-International. An aerial view of the long "7 Mile Beach" that Grand Cayman is famous for. Grand Cayman has a lot of character, from its popular beaches, to rows of restaurants and drinking establishments, with splendorous views of the sea, and vacation rental homes along the beaches. The Cayman Islands have a wide array of traditional fish dishes with an individual touch unique to each establishment. Here you can see the variety from three of them. Most of the are lightly fried Mahi Mahi, Grouper, Snapper, and Monk Fish. The Caymans are also famous for Coconut Shrimp! Also pictured for you is Green Turtle Stew - regarded as the national dish of the Cayman Islands. The dish consists of stewed tomatoes, onions, peppers and turtle meat, and may also include some chicken and pork, typically served with rice or quinoa. Green sea turtle meat is silky and slightly chewy and tastes a bit like chicken or veal. Next to the stew is Fish Rundown. This fish-based seafood is a slow-cooked fish stew boiled together with coconut milk, cassavas, candy potatoes, plantains, and lots of different elements. Fashionable elsewhere throughout the Caribbean, each port offers its own distinctive tastes based on locale-specific food elements. The Grand Cayman fish rundown makes use of numerous fragrant herbs that produce scrumptious aroma. Heavy Cake or cassava hails from the Cayman Islands, where it's regarded as the unofficial national dessert. This intensely sweet dessert is made with a combination of boiled coconut milk, margarine, vanilla, brown sugar, spices, and grated cassava. For libation, a Mudslide is the most popular. The espresso and chocolate are combined together with Baileys Ice Cream, and Kahlua, and served it as a frozen drink. It was invented in the 1950s at Wreck Bar located on the north side of Grand Cayman. The man credited with creating the cocktail was a bartender fondly named Old Judd.Today, it’s still Grand Cayman’s signature drink! Note: My nVidia Shawdowplay that I use for screen captures did not work properly during my short final into Grand Cayman so I will have to capture those views later in the Trek. I will be flying out of MWCR as a base, so will have more opportunities to do so. I have also since added the Seafront Simulations enhanced AI ship and shipping routes addons and hope to see more sea traffic when out over the sea.

Has anyone else seen this from the Kodiak? It is some effect of heat from the exhaust. The top (2) images are from earlier in the week but I noticed it beginning to develop again today during my approach (3rd image). It is not as obvious in that image but it had its own color. There is always a bit of realistic heat distortion, but in these cases it becomes opaque to solid. I have not seen this with any other aircraft in MSFS.

Carribean Trek - 4 Key West to Cancun, Mexico. Our short time in Key West was quite enjoyable as you could see through the previous posting. It offered a truely American tropical experience. Now we are off to Cancun, on the Yucitan Peninsula of Mexaco, for some different cultural experiences! (Note: click on any for a larger image) Off of KEYW Key west, Key West and Stock Islands behind and below. This departure offers a distinctive look at the round shape of the Stock Island Yacht Club and Marina Now heading west back over Key West. The scattered layer of cumulus provides a different perspective. A better perspective of the dense population of resort homes and condominiums and the numerous marinas of Stock Island below. Beautiful tropical water and a better look at Key West Island with the Fort Zachary Cruise Ship Pier and smaller Sunset Key Island off the right side of the nose. Passing some of the numerous atols in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Two better shots of N262P at 8,000 ft. flanked by the lower level of cumulus so characteristic of the Gulf and Caribbean regions. Off the northwest coast of Cuba with a look at the various Cayo Rapado islands, which I believe to be uninhabited. Arriving at Cancun with a look at the long stretches of hotels, resorts, and beaches along the Yucatan coast. Short final to MMUN Cancun International. Good look at the freeware addon MMUN by Hold Short Simulations. It is available at TO. Just look at what Cancun offers. Fantastic accommodations, sweeping beaches, and colorful festivals. The Cancun cuisine has its own unique character. From the many offerings of tortilla soups to Tikin xic dishes which are made from the region's Grouper fish. Try one of the many varieties of Mexican Margaritas, or try a Zamá. It is a delicious mix of mezcal, lime juice, orange juice and kiwi. Mezcal is similar to tequila in that it is made from the agave cactus, although it has a very distinctive smoky flavor. And finish all off with a tastee Marquesita from the many street vendors.

These first five screenshots were captured during segments of a flight from Ft Myers, Florida, to Hilton Head, South Carolina, as I get my leased Kodiak 100, two-sixty-two Pappa, in position to begin a Caribbean trek. The weather started just south of Lakeland and continued until past Gainesville. Some incredible clouds, caught between layers at 9,000 ft. Looks like a vortex in the center of this shot, off behind the tail. Some stunning cloud formations and color. Looking more ominous despite tbe break off the right wing. I chose 9,000 ft to stay under reported icing conditions and above light to moderate chop reported at lower altitudes. Man! Talk about picking your way through.... Probably good that I was flying alone.... Finally breaking out into cleaner air between Gainesville and Jacksonville, Florida A look at the mouth of the Fort George River in the Nassau River-St. Johns River Marshes Aquatic Preserve north of Jacksonville, Florida, and just below the Florida-Georgia border. A view in the background of the snaking branches of the Mackay River between Brunswick and St Simon's Island along the coast of Georgia. Tomorrow I will be boarding an Allegiant flight from Hilton Head to Baltimore to get home, then packing and making other preparations. Then I will fly my wife and another couple to Hilton Head in my Turbo Bonanza. We will golf for a couple of days near Hilton Head. Then we will hop in the Kodiak and head back to Ft Myers to pick up two other "simulated" couples. That will be a quick stop, then on to Key West for a couple of days of golfing there before heading down to the Cayman Islands to begin the trek.

Being a huge fan of everything I can I do in AAO, I have finally gotten my Honeycomb Bravo working much better with the Kodiak / Floatiak after the latest update from SWS version 1.3.5. The idea was to have Forward Thrust from the idle detent 0% to 100%, and BETA and REVERSE in the correct reverse direction 0% to -25%. Because there is no axis on the Bravo in reverse I had to simulate it with buttons as best I could. This is what I did: 1. Create Axis Assignment "THROTTLE1_SET" and assign to the first throttle axis on the Bravo. (You can use whatever axis you like but note the button numbers below will be different.) 2. In the RPN Script Editor, create a script (I called It) "THROTTLE1_BETA" with the contents: 14·(>K:THROTTLE1_DECR) This will move the lever into BETA range approx 11% of reverse thrust. (This is what the animation displays if you hover over it in the sim.) 3. In the RPN Script Editor, create another script (I called It) "THROTTLE1_REVERSE" with the contents: 32·(>K:THROTTLE1_DECR) This will move the lever into REVERSE range approx 25%. (Also what is displayed hovering over throttle in sim.) 4. Create Button Assignment THROTTLE1_BETA to the reverse detent on the Bravo. It should read as Button 23. 5. Create Button Assignment THROTTLE1_REVERSE to the Go Around Button on the Bravo. It should read as Button 28. The GA Button on the Kodiak does not appear to have assignment, so I used it. You can use whatever button you like. If it is or does get used later, I can still use this method just give it a long button press of say 1 second. That should do it, works perfect for me. The BETA is really handy in the Float Version of the Kodiak, not sure it would be good to use full reverse there. Both work well in the Kodiak wheeled version too. Hope someone finds this useful. -HardCat