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Hey everyone, Here are the links for these 2 upcoming events. Times are listed in the following links. AK Hop: http://msflights.net/forum/calendar....=2013-6-16&c=1 Air-Race #1: http://msflights.net/forum/calendar....=getinfo&e=152 Hope to see you there! F50ACE

Hey Everyone! We are continuing our Alaska airport hops! We'll hop to each land airport in Alaska! We'll start off at Buckland(PABL). We'll be using warbirds for fastest flight. Time: Sunday 8pm EDT UTC-4 Where: Alaska Teamspeak: msflights.jmainguy.com(not a link, but server address!) and go to MS Flight Lobby http://skyvector.com/?ll=69.08817876100274,-156.86499023528162&chart=301&zoom=10&plan=A.PA.PABL:A.PA.PASK:A.PA.8AK3:A.PA.PAIK:A.PF.PFNO:A.PA.PAOT:A.PA.PAWN:A.PA.PADG:A.PA.PAVL:A.PA.PAPO:A.PA.PALU:A.PP.PPIZ:A.PA.2AK8:A.PA.PAWI:A.PA.PAWT:A.PA.PABR

Hello Folks, This post is for those who want to learn some more details about Alaska. It is also a great reading while flying! Source: "Alaska: Land and People — Infoplease.com." The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. © 1994, 2000-2006, on Infoplease. © 2000–2007 Pearson Education, publishing as Infoplease. 15 Jul. 2012 <http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/us/A0856534.html>. Introduction Alaska (ulă'sku), largest in area of the United States but third smallest (exceeding only Vermont and Wyoming) in population, occupying the northwest extremity of the North American continent, separated from the coterminous United States by W Canada. It is bordered by Yukon Territory and British Columbia (E), the Gulf of Alaska and the Pacific Ocean (S), the Bering Sea, Bering Strait, and Chukchi Sea (W), and the Beaufort Sea and the Arctic Ocean (N). Facts and Figures Area, 656,424 sq mi (1,700,135 sq km), including 86,051 sq mi (222,871 sq km) of water surface. Pop. (2000) 628,932, a 14% increase since the 1990 census. Capital, Juneau. Largest city, Anchorage. Statehood, Jan. 3, 1959 (49th state). Highest pt., Mt. McKinley, 20,320 ft (6,198 m); lowest pt., sea level. Motto, North to the Future. State bird, willow ptarmigan. State flower, forget-me-not. State tree, Sitka spruce. Abbr., AK Land and People Nearly one fifth the size of the rest of the United States, Alaska is, at the tip of the Seward Peninsula in the northwest, only a few miles from the Russian Far East; the two are separated by the narrow Bering Strait. The Seward Peninsula, chiefly tundra covered, is sparsely inhabited. The Bering Strait widens in the north to the Chukchi Sea, which slices into Alaska with Kotzebue Sound; in the south the strait widens to the Bering Sea, which cuts into Alaska with Norton Sound and Bristol Bay. Toward the south the state again extends toward Russia in the Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands, reaching a total of 1,200 mi (1,931 km) toward the Komandorski Islands; together they divide the Bering Sea from the Pacific. The Aleutian Range, which is the spine of the Alaska Peninsula, is continued in the grass-covered, treeless Aleutian Islands; the climate there is unremittingly harsh—foggy, damp, and cold in the winter and subject to violent winds (williwaws). Once traversed by Russian fur traders hunting sea otters, the Aleutians are now chiefly of strategic importance. They contain several active volcanoes. The southern coast of Alaska is deeply indented by two inlets of the wide Gulf of Alaska, Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound; the Kenai Peninsula between them extends southwest toward Kodiak Island. The narrow Panhandle dips southeast along the coast from the Gulf of Alaska, cutting into British Columbia. It consists of the offshore islands of the Alexander Archipelago and the narrow coast, which rises steeply to the peaks of the Coast Range and the Saint Elias Mts. Winters in the Panhandle are relatively mild, with heavy rainfall and, except on the upper slopes of the mountains, comparatively little snow. The interior of Alaska, on the other hand, has very cold winters and short, hot summers. In Arctic Alaska, north of the Brooks Range, the temperature in winter reaches -10°F to -40°F (-23.3°C to -40°C). The land there is mostly barren, cut by many short rivers and one long one, the Colville. Alaska's major river is the Yukon, which crosses the state from east to west for 1,200 mi (1,931 km), from the Canadian border to the Bering Sea. The northernmost reach of Alaska is Point Barrow. Alaska's climate and terrain (rough coast and high mountain ranges) divide it into relatively isolated regions, and transportation relies heavily on costly airlines. The Panhandle is the most populous region; Juneau, the state's capital and third largest city, is there. The Panhandle's connection with Seattle is by ships, which ply the Inside Passage between the coast and the offshore islands. In S central Alaska, Anchorage, the state's largest city, is the center for the Alaskan RR and for airways; it is also connected with the Alaska Highway. On the Seward Peninsula and Norton Sound, Nome, founded when gold was discovered (1898) in the sands of local beaches, is now a small, isolated settlement. Southern ports including Seward, Anchorage, and Valdez are linked by highway with Fairbanks, the state's second largest (and largest interior) city. Cordova and Kodiak depend upon the ocean lanes. On the North Slope, the entire Arctic coast is icebound most of the year, and the ground remains permanently frozen. The state abounds in natural wonders. In the Panhandle, the scenic beauty of the mountains and the rugged fjord-indented coast are augmented by such attractions as the Malaspina glacier and the acres of blue ice in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. In the Alaska Range of S central Alaska stands the highest point in North America, Mt. McKinley (Denali) in Denali National Park and Preserve. The Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands have numerous volcanoes; Katmai National Park and Preserve contains the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, scene of a volcanic eruption in 1912. In the mid-1990s slightly over three quarters of the state's population was white and some 15% was Native American (largely Eskimo and Aleut). Economy Alaska has very little agriculture, ranking last in the nation in number of farms and value of farm products. The state's best arable land is in its S central region, in the Matanuska Valley N of Anchorage and the Tanana Valley (around Fairbanks). The state's most valuable farm commodities are greenhouse and dairy products and potatoes. Alaska leads the nation in the value of its commercial fishing catch—chiefly salmon, crab, shrimp, halibut, herring, and cod. Anchorage and Dutch Harbor are major fishing ports, and the freezing and canning of fish dominates the food-processing industry, the state's largest manufacturing enterprise. Lumbering and related industries are of great importance, although disputes over logging in the state's great national forests are ongoing. Mining, principally of petroleum and natural gas, is the state's most valuable industry. Gold, which led to settlement at the end of the 19th cent., is no longer mined in quantity. Fur-trapping, Alaska's oldest industry, endures; pelts are obtained from a great variety of animals. The Pribilof Islands are especially noted as a source of sealskins (the seals there are owned by the U.S. government, and their use is carefully regulated). In 1968 vast reserves of oil and natural gas were discovered on the Alaska North Slope near Prudhoe Bay. The petroleum reservoir was determined to be twice the size of any other field in North America. The 800-mi (1,287-km) Trans-Alaska pipeline from the North Slope to the ice-free port of Valdez opened in 1977, after bitter opposition from environmentalists, and oil began to dominate the state economy. The Alaska Permanent Fund, created in 1977, receives 25% of Alaska's oil royalty income. The fund is designed to provide the state with income after the oil reserves are depleted and has paid dividends to all residents. Government—federal, state, and local—is Alaska's major source of employment. The state's strategic location has generated considerable defense activity since World War II, including the establishment of highways, airfields, and permanent military bases. Alaska's tourism increased dramatically with the help of improvements in transportation; it now follows only oil among the state's industries. The Inside Passage, Denali National Park, and the 1000-mi (1,600 km) Iditarod sled-dog race are major attractions. Government, Politics, and Higher Education Alaska operates under a constitution drawn up and ratified in 1956 (effective with statehood). Its executive branch is headed by a governor and a secretary of state, both elected (on the same ticket) for four-year terms. Alaska's bicameral legislature has a senate with 20 members and a house of representatives with 40 members. The state sends two senators and one representative to the U.S. Congress and has three electoral votes. Democrats at first dominated state politics, but Republicans have gained gradual ascendance since 1966. A Democrat, Tony Knowles, was elected governor in 1994 and reelected in 1998. The GOP recaptured the governorship in 2002 when Frank Murkowski was elected to the office. In 2006 Republican Sarah Palin was elected governor, defeating Murkowski in the primary and Knowles in the general election. She was the first woman to win the governship. Alaska's educational institutions include the Univ. of Alaska, with divisions at Fairbanks, Anchorage, and Juneau; and Alaska Pacific Univ., at Anchorage. History Russian Colonization The disastrous voyage of Vitus Bering and Aleksey Chirikov in 1741 began the march of Russian traders across Siberia. The survivors who returned with sea otter skins started a rush of fur hunters to the Aleutian Islands. Grigori Shelekhov in 1784 founded the first permanent settlement in Alaska on Kodiak Island and sent (1790) to Alaska the man who was to dominate the period of Russian influence there, Aleksandr Baranov. A monopoly was granted to the Russian American Company in 1799, and it was Baranov who directed its Alaskan activities. Baranov extended the Russian trade far down the west coast of North America and even, after several unsuccessful attempts, founded (1812) a settlement in N California. Rivalry for the northwest coast was strong, and British and American trading vessels began to threaten the Russian monopoly. In 1821 the czar issued a ukase (imperial command) claiming the 51st parallel as the southern boundary of Alaska and warning foreign vessels not to trespass beyond it. British and American protests, the promulgation of the Monroe Doctrine, and Russian embroilment elsewhere resulted (1824) in a negotiated settlement of the boundary at lat. 54°40'N (the present southern boundary of Alaska). Russian interests in Alaska gradually declined, and after the Crimean War, Russia sought to dispose of the territory altogether. Early Years as a U.S. Possession In 1867, Russia sold Alaska to the United States for $7,200,000. The U.S. purchase was accomplished solely through the determined efforts of Secretary of State William H. Seward, and for many years afterward the land was derisively called Seward's Folly or Seward's Icebox because of its supposed uselessness. Since Alaska appeared to offer no immediate financial return, it was neglected. The U.S. army officially controlled the area until 1876, when scandals caused the withdrawal of the troops. After a brief period, during which government was in the hands of customs officials, the U.S. navy was given charge (1879). Most of the territory was not even known, although the British (notably John Franklin and Capt. F. W. Beechey) had explored the coast of the Arctic Ocean, and the Hudson's Bay Company had explored the Yukon. It was not until after the discovery of gold in the Juneau region in 1880 that Alaska was given a governor and a feeble local administration (under the Organic Act of 1884). Missionaries, who had come to the region in the late 1870s, exercised considerable influence. Most influential was Sheldon Jackson, best known for his introduction of reindeer to help the Alaska Eskimo (Inuit), impoverished by the wanton destruction of the fur seals. Sealing was the subject of a long international controversy (see Bering Sea Fur-Seal Controversy under Bering Sea), which was not ended until after gold had permanently transformed Alaska. The Gold Rush Paradoxically, the first gold finds that tremendously influenced Alaska were in Canada. The Klondike strike of 1896 brought a stampede, mainly of Americans, and most of them came through Alaska. The big discoveries in Alaska itself followed—Nome in 1898–99, Fairbanks in 1902. The miners and prospectors (the sourdoughs) took over Alaska, and the era of the mining camps reached its height; a criminal code was belatedly applied in 1899. The longstanding controversy concerning the boundary between the Alaska Panhandle and British Columbia was aggravated by the large number of miners traveling the Inside Passage to the gold fields. The matter was finally settled in 1903 by a six-man tribunal, composed of American, Canadian, and British representatives. The decision was generally favorable to the United States, and a period of rapid building and development began. Mining, requiring heavy financing, passed into the hands of Eastern capitalists, notably the monopolistic Alaska Syndicate. Opposition to these “interests” became the burning issue in Alaska and was catapulted into national politics; Gifford Pinchot and R. A. Ballinger were the chief antagonists, and this was a major issue on which Theodore Roosevelt split with President William Howard Taft. Territorial Status Juneau officially replaced Sitka as capital in 1900, but it did not begin to function as such until 1906. In the same year Alaska was finally awarded a territorial representative in Congress. A new era began for Alaska when local government was established in 1912 and it became a U.S. territory. The building of the Alaska RR from Seward to Fairbanks was commenced with government funds in 1915. Already, however, gold mining was dying out, and Alaska receded into one of its quiet periods. The fishing industry, which had gradually advanced during the gold era, became the major enterprise. Alaska enjoyed an economic boom during World War II. The Alaska Highway was built, supplying a weak but much-needed link with the United States. After Japanese troops occupied the Aleutian islands of Attu and Kiska, U.S. forces prepared for a counterattack. Attu was retaken in May, 1943, after intense fighting, and the Japanese evacuated Kiska in August after intensive U.S. bombardments. Dutch Harbor became a major key in the U.S. defense system. The growth of air travel after the war, and the permanent military bases established in Alaska resulted in tremendous growth; between 1950 and 1960 the population nearly doubled. Statehood to the Present In 1958, Alaskans approved statehood by a 5 to 1 vote, and on Jan. 3, 1959, Alaska was officially admitted into the Union as a state, the first since Arizona in 1912. On Mar. 27, 1964, the strongest earthquake ever recorded in North America occurred in Alaska, taking approximately 114 lives and causing extensive property damage. Some cities were almost totally destroyed, and the fishing industry was especially hard hit, with the loss of fleets, docks, and canneries from the resulting tsunami. Reconstruction, with large-scale federal aid, was rapid. The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (1971) gave roughly 44 million acres (17.8 million hectares; 10% of the state) and almost $1 billion to Alaskan native peoples in exchange for renunciation of all aboriginal claims to land in the state. In 1989 the tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, releasing 11 million gallons of oil into the water in the worst oil spill in U.S. history and severely damaging the ecosystem. A jury in 1994 found Exxon Corp. (now ExxonMobil) and the ship's captain negligent, but the amount of punitive damages ($507.5 million) to be paid to some 33,000 commercial fishermen and other plaintiffs was ultimately fixed by a Supreme Court decision in 2008, which severely reduced the original award ($2.5 billion).

Some users will have noticed that performance degrades with Alaska, particularly in densely-wooded forests and in Anchorage. Please note that this is not due to anything in Alaska that is different from Hawai'i. Rather, the last title update changed the way the target framerate is set. Here is the explanation from a member of the MGS team: From our tests, Alaska performance tends to be the same as Hawaii. Of course mileage on different hardware may vary. The title update did change how we try to manage framerate when v-sync is on, and depending on your system, this can make things better or worse. Previously we only measured CPU frame time when trying to set a target framerate, but if you end up having a slow GPU, or you are heavily CPU bound, it would try to render too fast. It also accounted for some of the jittering when v-sync was on because we weren't maintaining a constant display rate to the screen. Now, frame rate will drop down to the next lower integer divisor of your monitor refresh. For example if your monitor is 60Hz and you get an average of 45 FPS, the game will run at 30FPS to make sure that it can consistently hit every other v-blank. Normally even though the frame rate is lower in this situation it actually looks smoother. However if your average is just barely above 30, Flight may bounce between 20 and 30 fps, and that could end up slightly worse experience than previously. Determining which setting has the most impact can be difficult because it depends heavily on whether you are CPU bound or GPU bound. It is not always straightforward to figure this out, but one general approach I use is to look in task manager at CPU usage on the primary core. If it is 90% or higher, it is possible you are CPU bound. You can also look at the GPU activity in the Catalyst control center, or nVidia control panel to see how close to 100% they are. I'm sure there are other programs that can display this info too. So, in principle, even if framerates are halved in certain situations now, performance should be smoother overall and the degradation may be less noticeable than before. Best regards. Luis

I no longer have fsx installed and I am not familiar with alaska, but anyone who is- it would be really cool if you guys could find some similar ( they dont have to be exact) locations in fsx to the ones in MS's alaska screenshots, it would be cool to show some comparisons. Thanks

Just found this new items avalable on the MS Flight Website: 1) Alaskan Wilderness Pack; 2) Alaska Shared; 3) Cold Climate Wilderness LC; 4) Gridded Urban LC; 5) Shared Resources; 6) Temperate Climate Wilderness LC; 7) Universal LC; ... More on this later! ;) Oh, the "Cub Crafters Carbon Cub" DOES NOT HAVE A VC!

Instead of popping around from place to place using the map or doing random jobs as I've done in Hawaii, I decided try out a different way to explore Alaska. I'm going to make one big, continuous tour, deciding my next destination along the way, and stopping in on random airstrips as I go. I don't plan on landing at every single dirt strip or seaplane base, obviously, but I figure that I can hit most of the major stops. Some trips I'll use VOR stations to navigate, others I'll just try to fly visually, some of those dirt strips are pretty small though, and I'll have to use the overhead view or the map. Yesterday I flew around Anchorage, then up to Wasilla (does everyone have their own private airstrip there?). After that I went through the mountains to the east and ended up landing at Lake Louise on a tiny, hazardous strip along the southwest shore of the lake. Today I took off from there and headed east to Gulkana, then on north to Allen AAF. Around this time was where I actually came up with this tour idea. So I decided to stop at a few airstrips on the way, while following the flight path from the Gulkana VOR station to Allen. Flying north from Gulkana towards Paxson Airport, I'm above Paxson Lake here. The airstrip is just visible above my airspeed indicator. After a successful landing at Paxson. I switched to the Carbon Cub and headed northeast again. Now you can start to see some real mountains. I'm flying in the spring with the weather set to 'among the giants.' I like the low level clouds and how they stack up against the mountains. Coming in for a landing at Black Rapids airstrip, now about 30nm south of Allen AAF. I like this weather setting, but the poor Carbon doesn't seem to handle the wind very well. You can see the tiny airstrip on the right. I'm pointed about 40º left of the runway, but I'm more or less headed straight for it. And it only got worse as I came in for the landing. Luckily the Cub can take a few bounces of the ground while going almost sideways. Here I am after a successful, if harrowing landing. Now in the Stearman headed for Allen. I took Roboray's advice and flew through the pass. The river that I'm above (Delta River I think) stretches from Black Rapids all the way to Allen where it joins with another river (maybe that's the Delta, google maps isn't too helpful for rivers). Coming in to Allen as the sun is setting. And I'm down for now. Next up I think I'll head to Fairbanks, a short distance to the Northwest. From there I'm thinking I'll head all the way out to Nome, on the west coast of Alaska, stopping a few places on the way. I'll see if I can't see Russian after that. And then, who knows, I could spend weeks just making 2 or 3 hour hops all throughout Alaska.

Hey Everyone! We'll be flying thru part of the Alaska Range mountians and exploring some of the many areas in the range! Time: Sunday 8pm EDT UTC-4 Where: Alaska Teamspeak: msflights.jmainguy.com(not a link, but server address!) and go to MS Flight Lobby Plane: Carbon Cub/ RV-6A Now that the Alaska Hops are over, we'll be alternating group flights between Hawaii and Alaska every week! http://skyvector.com/?ll=61.5317735112495,-153.45483398540105&chart=301&zoom=7&plan=A.PA.TPO:G.60.56807789994856,-153.5075683603992:G.60.775255326474166,-152.84289550885998:G.60.95711072728909,-152.46386718856073:G.61.11405946443238,-152.0134277354515:G.61.212089161445284,-151.99694824326457:G.61.23324473974395,-152.4473876963738:G.61.598558954599135,-152.91430664166998:G.61.78611047093843,-152.72753906355152:G.61.97510572076778,-152.61767578230535:G.62.10131232942931,-152.73852539167612:G.62.180887175375716,-152.94177246198151:G.62.067879969197584,-153.10656738385072:G.61.91309898724106,-153.18347168072304:G.61.728923960324245,-153.43615722758918:G.61.838006056249405,-153.5130615244615:G.61.96219803299889,-153.31530761821844:G.62.1552407134143,-153.3757324229038:A.PA.8KA:G.62.45140588619264,-153.53503418071074:A.PA.PAFW

Hey Everyone! We are continuing our Alaska airport hops! We'll hop to each land airport in Alaska! We'll start off at Chicken (CKX). We'll be using warbirds for fastest flight. Time: Sunday 8pm EDT UTC-4 Where: Alaska Teamspeak: msflights.jmainguy.com(not a link, but server address!) and go to MS Flight Lobby Plane: Carbon RV-6A/Warbirds http://skyvector.com/?ll=62.85364177464043,-144.95471191538616&chart=301&zoom=8&plan=A.PA.CKX:A.PA.PAOR:A.PA.3T4:A.PF.PFTO:A.PA.8AK9:A.PA.TSG:A.PA.5BK:A.PA.PAXK:A.PA.4AK5:A.PA.DDT:A.PA.9AK0:A.PA.IBN:A.PA.CZN:A.PA.4Z5:A.PA.KGZ:A.PA.MYK:A.PA.0AK5:A.PA.AK0:A.PA.PAMX:A.PA.AK31:A.PA.K55:A.PA.CXC:A.PA.Z93:G.62.0795426146268,-145.45349121224368:A.PA.PAGK

Hey Everyone! We are continuing our Alaska airport hops! We'll hop to each land airport in Alaska! We'll start off at Sleetmute(PASL). We'll be using warbirds for fastest flight. Time: Sunday 8pm EDT UTC-4 Where: Alaska Teamspeak: msflights.jmainguy.com(not a link, but server address!) and go to MS Flight Lobby Plane: Warbirds http://skyvector.com/?ll=61.55655146501506,-156.0915527353087&chart=301&zoom=7&plan=A.PA.PASL:A.PA.4AK8:A.PA.ZNC:A.PA.AK64:A.PA.PASV:A.PA.2AK:A.PA.SRV:A.PA.6AK:A.PA.8KA:A.PA.PAFL:A.PA.PAFW:A.PA.PAFS:G.63.240553409173735,-154.71441650488816:A.PA.2K5:A.PA.01A:A.PA.PAMH

Hey Everyone! We are continuing our Alaska airport hops! We'll hop to each land airport in Alaska! We'll start off at Fairbanks (PAFA). We'll be using warbirds for fastest flight. Time: Sunday 8pm EDT UTC-4 Where: Alaska Teamspeak: msflights.jmainguy.com(not a link, but server address!) and go to MS Flight Lobby Plane: Carbon Cubs/RV-6A/Warbirds http://skyvector.com/?ll=64.73257751633828,-145.830322266918&chart=301&zoom=7&plan=A.PA.PAFA:A.PA.AK28:A.PA.32AK:A.PA.MTF:A.PA.PAFB:A.PA.AK52:A.PA.31AK:A.PA.95Z:A.PA.5AK3:A.PA.5AK2:A.PA.PAEI:A.PA.AK41:A.PA.0AK0:A.PA.9AK4:A.PA.AA22:A.PA.D66:A.PA.AK09:A.PA.29AK:A.PA.11AK:A.PA.45AK:A.PA.AK77:A.PA.PABI:A.PA.76AK:A.PA.AK13:A.PA.PACE:A.PA.CHP:A.PA.L20:A.PA.PAEG:A.PA.BYA:A.PA.CKX

Hey Everyone! We are continuing our Alaska airport hops! We'll hop to each land airport in Alaska! We'll start off at Adak (PADK). We'll be using warbirds for fastest flight. Time: Sunday 8pm EDT UTC-4 Where: Alaska Teamspeak: msflights.jmainguy.com(not a link, but server address!) and go to MS Flight Lobby Plane: Warbirds http://skyvector.com/?ll=56.07326185866724,-169.52124023483853&chart=301&zoom=10&plan=A.PA.PADK:A.PA.PAPB:A.PA.PASN:A.PA.PADL

Hey Everyone! We are continuing our Alaska airport hops! We'll hop to each land airport in Alaska! We'll start off at King Salmon (PAKN). We'll be using warbirds for fastest flight. Time: Sunday 8pm EDT UTC-4 Where: Alaska Teamspeak: msflights.jmainguy.com(not a link, but server address!) and go to MS Flight Lobby Plane: Warbirds http://skyvector.com/?ll=57.19342699808046,-157.3604736337018&chart=301&zoom=8&plan=A.PA.PAKN:A.PA.PAKL:A.PA.ORI:A.PA.4K5:A.PA.PAKD:A.PA.PADQ:A.PA.6R7:A.PA.PAKH:A.PA.PALB:A.PA.PAKY:A.PA.PAII:A.PA.AK60:A.PA.PAPN:A.PA.9A8:A.PA.UGB:A.PA.PAPH:A.PA.PAJC:A.PA.KCL:A.PA.A79:A.PA.PAPE:A.PA.Z52:A.PA.PAAL:A.PA.PAOU:A.PA.AK33:A.PA.PASD

And here we are, looking through the HUD and breaking through the clouds down on our way to Ketchikan. Back in flightschool my instructor always preached "trust your intruments" and since then they have never betrayed me. At around 500 feet the runway lights popped out of the fog and I disconnected the autopilot, taking the machine back in my own hands. We touched down with confidence - "speedbrakes up, reverse green!" and slowed down to a safe speed. We made it, without any strong winds on final for which Ketchikan is well known for. The parking brakes were set and it was time to relax for a while before we fly back to Juneau. New passengers were boarding our aircraft and the FA's were busy with their daily routines. Meanwhile we recieved the latest weather report for Juneau, which predicted some heavy fog - typical for those early morning hours. However it was quite acceptable in order to perform our flight on time. The boarding was completed, the aircraft fueled up and I briefed my co-pilot for our departure which was basically just straight forward with a right 180° turn short after. We were pushed back and were busy with the respective flows and checklists. Taxiing up the sloped taxiways in Ketchikan is always something special and requires a lot more thrust than usual. Finally we lined up, received our clearance, applied takeoff thrust and thundered down the runway, lead by the bright bright lights. "80 knots - checked" , V1 - rrrotate , positive rate - gear up!" We climbed out and broke through the low cloud ceiling just to admire the gorgeous morning sky. Afer the 180 we were heading towards Juneau, enjoying every second of this short but beautiful early morning flight. We were reaching our cruising altitude of 34.000 ft. and I was mentaly preparing for the RWY 08 approach in Juneau, which is even quite challenging in perfect weather conditions. After a couple minutes of cruise we were already descending. During the descend a 90 knot tailwind was making it hard to lose speed and altitude at the same time. ...so we spread our feathers a little bit in order to slow down and stay on profile. Soon we found ourselves in a cloud-sandwich. The visibility remained almost 0 down to the Sister Islands but luckily we have our "magic box" to see through the heaviest fog. Then suddently I saw the lead-in lights of RWY 08, kicked out the autopilot and did my best staying on profile and aligning onto the final runway course on short flinal. Once again we touched down with confidence and slowed down quickly - that was one interesting approach and I definitely felt my adrenaline. Taxilights off - APU avaible. We set our parking brake, finished our shutdown flows and checklists and left the building. It was 9AM and Elvis has left the building. B) The End. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ I hope you guys enjoyed this little flight report, which I originally wrote and posted in German on a German Forum but decided to post a shorter version of in English by request from a member on this Forum. Any feedback, questions or comments are appreciated!

I leave this morning for a 4 month hunting season in the Aleutian Range south of Denali. I just got my good old 1957 Super Cub out of the hangar. Engine preheated because in this morning of mid-November, the temperature is below -10°C. Loaded to its maximum with dried meat, rice, hunting bait, some tools and a rifle on the wing strut. According to my calculation we will take off just 2 lbs below MTOW. And no front wind to give us a bit of lift. This should be a long run. The skis almost grazed the treetops, but here we are. A few wing waves to greet the house where we'll be back in Spring. Somewhere south of Fairbanks, enroute to Healy, our entry door to the Denali National Park Clouds are getting thicker, but not enough to lose track of the George Park hwy The sky temporarily clears just above Otto Lake after Healy. Approaching the bridge over Nenana River, we'll have to find our way below the clouds to head to McKinley Park I guess this is our chance... Still following George Park hwy, we now fly over the Hurricane Gulch Bridge (this default bridge does not come close to the impressive real one) As we pass North of Talkeetna, before entering Rainy Pass, large cumulus show up on the horizon. I'm not sure I'll be able to make it to the camp today... Indeed, only 50 miles from the camp, snow, degraded visibility and cloud cover forces me to land. After 3 hours of waiting on the ground I have to see the evidence. I'll have to camp here while waiting for the sky to clear out. The temperature drops rapidly after sunset. You just have to look up to the sky to understand why. Clouds slowly dissipate and from cloudy, the sky becomes starry. The night was short but the early morning is full of hope. Sky is perfectly clear and calm. It should barely take 30 minutes to fly to my hunting cabin. 20 minutes later, I'm above the Stony River valley, a few miles North of Lake Clark Preserve & Wilderness. My destination is here, somewhere. GPS makes searching almost too easy, and I arrive directly downwind. It's an expression, because at that moment there is not even a breeze in the valley. A last left turn, the flaps extended, and a landing as if on cotton. The Super Cub glides smoothly to the foot of the spruce trees that surround the cabin. Going back to your cabin after months is also risking finding surprises. Bears in particular tend to be overly curious, especially before hibernating. After a careful inspection, nothing to report. The wood cut in the previous season quickly heats the cabin. Everything is quickly ready for a successful hunting season. But here in the wild, you always have to adapt to the unexpected.

And here we are, looking through the HUD and breaking through the clouds down on our way to Ketchikan. Back in flightschool my instructor always preached "trust your intruments" and since then they have never betrayed me. At around 500 feet the runway lights popped out of the fog and I disconnected the autopilot, taking the machine back in my own hands. We touched down with confidence - "speedbrakes up, reverse green!" and slowed down to a safe speed. We made it, without any strong winds on final for which Ketchikan is well known for. The parking brakes were set and it was time to relax for a while before we fly back to Juneau. New passengers were boarding our aircraft and the FA's were busy with their daily routines. Meanwhile we recieved the latest weather report for Juneau, which predicted some heavy fog - typical for those early morning hours. However it was quite acceptable in order to perform our flight on time. The boarding was completed, the aircraft fueled up and I briefed my co-pilot for our departure which was basically just straight forward with a right 180° turn short after. We were pushed back and were busy with the respective flows and checklists. Taxiing up the sloped taxiways in Ketchikan is always something special and requires a lot more thrust than usual. Finally we lined up, received our clearance, applied takeoff thrust and thundered down the runway, lead by the bright bright lights. "80 knots - checked" , V1 - rrrotate , positive rate - gear up!" We climbed out and broke through the low cloud ceiling just to admire the gorgeous morning sky. Afer the 180 we were heading towards Juneau, enjoying every second of this short but beautiful early morning flight. We were reaching our cruising altitude of 34.000 ft. and I was mentaly preparing for the RWY 08 approach in Juneau, which is even quite challenging in perfect weather conditions. After a couple minutes of cruise we were already descending. During the descend a 90 knot tailwind was making it hard to lose speed and altitude at the same time. ...so we spread our feathers a little bit in order to slow down and stay on profile. Soon we found ourselves in a cloud-sandwich. The visibility remained almost 0 down to the Sister Islands but luckily we have our "magic box" to see through the heaviest fog. Then suddently I saw the lead-in lights of RWY 08, kicked out the autopilot and did my best staying on profile and aligning onto the final runway course on short flinal. Once again we touched down with confidence and slowed down quickly - that was one interesting approach and I definitely felt my adrenaline. Taxilights off - APU avaible. We set our parking brake, finished our shutdown flows and checklists and left the building. It was 9AM and Elvis has left the building. B) The End. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ I hope you guys enjoyed this little flight report, which I originally wrote and posted in German on a German Forum but decided to post a shorter version of in English by request from a member on this Forum. Any feedback, questions or comments are appreciated!

Hello all, we are excited to announce Alaska Air Virtual resumes operations as of Feb/March 2023! We were established back in 2017 yet suspended operations during COVID! Check us out! We have over 17,000 real world routes, updated monthly, although we are Alaska Air, as a member of the One World Alliance we have incorporated all members schedules! Come fly what you want, where you want within our network; automatic PIREP grading, Simbrief integration, customized ACARS (works with FSX, P3D, MSFS, XPLANE) and of course an official partner of VATSIM. www.alaskaair-virtual.org - Fly Different!

As part of my world tour I arrived today in PAYA Yakutat in my trusted N5AM. I was greeted by a lovely little airfield, designed with passion by Northern Lights. A bit weary from a 2 hr IFR flight with not much to see above the thick cloud layer, I was a bit amused by the "food shelter booze" sign at "The Yakutat Lodge". A highly recommended scenery! Tomorrow I'll check out Mt St Elias, the second-highest mountain in both Canada and the US. With it's altitude of 18,008 ft, it was hovering above the cloud layer as I came in for the approach. But now it's time for some food 'n booze!

After flying around Alaska for a bit have you found any unique airports that would be interesting for fellow pilots to try to land at? Here are a few of my favorites: http://www.airnav.com/airport/PALR/ Chandalar Lake Airport http://www.airnav.com/airport/PAWB/ Beaver Airport http://www.airnav.com/airport/PASC/ Deadhorse Airport

Well, according to microsoft the f4u is the last warbird... So would that make Alaska next on the DLC list? It seems like with the warbirds in hawaii theme, they could do " bush flying in alaska" and release vc-enabled planed for a couple months =) seems the most likely. Does anyone know any more about all this?

Excuse the artifacts, had to boost the gain as it was pitch black out when I made the flight (you keep hearing me say that during video). Next flight will be daylight I promise! Am very confident in this plane at this point. Takeoffs are now exciting not terrifying!