The BARON 58 World Tour

David, you may be interested in looking at http://www.ivao.org/flightops where you'll see info on their World Tour 2004. Additionally, if you click the World Tour button on the left side, it'll list WT 2003 and WT 2004. If you select 2003, it shows several world tours, including one specificly for VFR. Check 'em out.

I hope you set the auto-log so you can have a record of it to look back on.
Happy flying and don't forget to change the oil!

I flew a Curtiss Jenny across USA once, ran out of fuel, and had to land IN the grand canyon. Luckily, i had 5 gallons in the front seat as ballast!

To get out again, (mind you, i was on a cliff) I simply (haha) taxied to the end of the cliff thing, and dropped off at full throttle, and held back on the stick and prayed.

it worked...

Great replies guys.....

ArkyDave, thanks for that link - checking it out on lunch today (at work).

RadarMan, Nope, didn't set the AutoLog, so I am recording everything on paper! (caveman), but it's kind of fun doing that,, recording countries, Airports, Codes, Fuel and of course dates n' times. How do you switch the Autolog on ? I know you were probably joking about the oil but are there really any maintenance options that I ain't aware of in FS9 ?

F_E_M - You are crazy man !! so funny to hear you managed to land IN the Grand Canyon.... you've set the pace for others to follow now, I'm gonna have to try and land a Bell Jetranger on top of the Eiffel Tower some time !

Well, the Baron 58 World Tour is currently in "Makhachkala" in Dagestan, South-West Russia ..... it's rough down here and the Chechen rebels have seized most of the fuel.. But I have some Marlboro so no doubt I'll soon be taking off in the blessed Baron, with at least enough Fuel to get the Grassy steppes of Kazakhstan !!

Ok, better give my imagination a break now...

The-GPS-Kid wrote:

Well, the Baron 58 World Tour is currently in "Makhachkala" in Dagestan, South-West Russia

I have a challenge for you. Try to design a world tour with the stipulation that you can't use any airfield that you can't pronounce. 😉 Have fun.

Here's how to set the auto-log.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;280390

Yes I was kidding about the oil but if you want reality you would have to factor maintenance and down time in, it could delay your flight just as real world weather can.

Here's a quick update on the BARON 58 WORLD TOUR.....

Well firstly I've been to Norway (I'm talking in the real world) on a mini-cruise but what a treat - as the ship was leaving Bergen Harbour, I heard an almighty roar and looked over the edge to see a Cessna Amphibian, screaming through the harbour and climbing... it turned 45 degrees and flew right over the ship - COOL ! What struck me was how low the climb angle was on the real plane (and how loud the engine was)... for a moment I thought it was gonna hit the boat I was on!

Anyway, the BARON world tour is a FS learning experience for me - and on this chapter, I've learned that you can't just go anywhere, in any plane... I left Makhachkala (Russia) and flew over to Mashhad in Iran, no problems, but from there I wanted to get into the mountains so I headed for Afghanistan with a view to re-fuelling and heading over the Chinese border, into Tibet.... However, I didn't consider the altitudes required to fly in such mountainous areas and I found the Baron was unwilling to get to it's Service Ceiling of 20,600..... at 16,000 it decided it didn't want to go higher and I found myself having to travserse the mountains to avoid crashing....

Eventually an emergency landing needed to be made - at a tiny grass airfield in Feyzabad, Afghanistan....

The locals looked after me here ( 😀 ) but it was clear that the Baron was out of it's depth up here..... even flying at 12,000 above sea level, I was JUST managing to miss mountains!

So my only real option for continuing the world tour was to charter the larger King Air 350 to get me out of the mountains.... So I switched planes and headed due south, out of the mountains, to Lahore, Pakistan... Thte King Air was a different story all together, It comfortably got up to 23,500 where I was out of trouble... and 2 hrs 20 mins later, I was touching down on one of the ILS Runways at Lahore (a surprisingly big airport).....

My King Air has been returned to the Lease company's branch in Lahore so I am now without a plane, in Southern Pakistan!

But hopefully, I'll soon be back in the Baron (or back in SOMEONES baron!), and Airbourne.....

So the moral of the story is one of PLANNING - if you want to fly to the moon, don't set off in a Cessna 152....

I could certainly have gotten around the world in the BARON but I should have planned for Altitude issues... (my only real consideration has been FUEL endurance)...

Tune in same time next week for the next Chapter !

The-GPS-Kid,

It sounds like you've run into some of the same problems I've had on my longer trips. When you're trying to cover a lot of ground, there's nothing like being able to fly high and fast.

I started off on one of the historical flights in FS09, the race from London to Melbourne. Started off in the de Havilland Comet, but eventually got burned out on sitting and flying the darned thing all day (and the fact that I couldn't taxi that silly thing to save my life-- it would always spin around and turn turtle). So about a thousand miles into the trip, I went to a Baron. When I had trouble clearing some of the mountains, I went to the King Air 350.

By the time I got to India, I thought, "Well, I really should visit Mount Everest while I'm here," so it was time to whip out the platinum Visa and take the Lear Jet (29,000 ft is easy in a jet). The Lear took me all the way to Melbourne.

Now I'm on a grand tour of Africa. Started in in Alexandria with the King Air, but man, that is a big continent. Had to pick up another Lear Jet. I'm on a little island at the north end of Madagascar, at the moment.

Ed

Sounds Great Ed !

Well the BARON 58 WORLD TOUR has been through DELHI since the last insallment (from Lahore, Pakistan) and this morning, I flew to KATHMANDU INTL, Nepal..... If you're luck enough to have a decent performing PC, I'd really recommend a fligt to Kathmandu. You have to Approach the Airport at 9,500 feet, just to be clear of the mountains but then you spot the Airport in a valley and need to descend pretty quickly !!

(I think this required rate of descent is why there is no ILS on any of the Airports Runways here)....

A great landing is possible though if you approach slowly enough - this was probably my best (completely manual) landing so far with FS9... and the scenery down on the ground at this Airport is superb (again, if you have the graphics settings HIGH).....

There are a couple of 737s parked up at the gate next to my BARON, I really wouldn't like to be on one of those, knowing that their is no ILS to help the Pilot in !!

So after spending a couple of days here in Nepal, I'll be heading towards the jungles of Burma / Myanmar, before heading down through the Indonesian islands and on towards Papua New Guinea and Australia...

So far I've travelled from Newcastle, UK just over 2 weeks ago - I've gotten quite far in the trusty Baron (although one leg from Afghanistan to Lahore was completed in a King Air 350).... and all in 'Real Time' !

Check out Kathmandu though - it's worth a go!

Best of luck to you Sir! I tried the “world tour” idea about 6 months ago. No cheating, no time compression, etc. I made it from Salinas, CA, USA around the globe to a field in China(ZUUU I think) in a Shorts 360. The plane is still on the ground in China however as I could not find a path across the pacific, given the 360s range.

Now I am gonna have to hit http://www.ivao.org/flightops and see what they have for a route.

Wow - you got pretty far Kurt... !!

I know what you mean about the Fuel range - I have this concern coming up when I get to the Pacific but I'm determined to find a way !

Well..... I left Kathmandu this morning, VFR, and headed off south-west at 220 degrees..... I later filed a flight plan for YANGON (Rangoon), in Myanmar (country formerly known as BURMA)....

The scenery passing through the watery marshlands of Bangladesh was fantastic... I recently installed a Terrain add-on and it has made an amazing difference to VFR flying.... I don't know if it was active in this part of the world or not but the topography around here is superb - lots of hills and valleys....

I checked my GPS and when I saw an estmaited journey time of almost 5 hours, it was clear that the BARON was not going to have enough fuel on board to get all the way from Kathmandu, to Rangoon ..... so I found a fab little town called "Sittwe" in North-West Myanmar.... the Airport had no NAV aids at all (no ILS or NDB) so it came as a surprise on Approach when I discovered that the Airport was no grass field - it was quite substancial....(ATC etc) some of these Airports in Asia are a real graphics treat (with HIGH graphics settings)... this one was no exception and the scenery of the 'Town' itself starts immediately next to the Airport...

So I've parked the BARON up here for the day.... tonight, I'll complete the remaining 2 hour leg over to Rangoon.

Then I'll be headed across to the Indonesian islands, heading East... Ultimately, I'm headed for Papua New Guinea then Australia.

Reaching Australia will be some achievement - all the way from North-East England to Oz in a little Baron !! (Apart from one short leg in the King Air).....

But from Oz, how on earth will I get across the Pacific?... answers on a post card !

I've been flying my own world tour since October, and I'm now almost 3/4 done with it ... It takes a LOT of time to get around the globe. I've used DC-3 all the time, which just barely took me over the Himalayas and the Andes. The next big challenge is to cross the Atlantic! I totally agree that Kathmandu is a place worth a visit.

Good luck with your world tour!

My online flight log can be found at http://www.iki.fi/kesaniemi/fs2004/.

Ari

You're a brave man Ari, undertaking a World Tour in a DC-3.... !!

10 Months is a superb commitment to the simulation and obviously you must be sticking to the rules !

When you're looking at crossing the Atlantic you may be able to consider Greenland for refuelling the DC-3, then Svalbarrd (if there's a FS Airport there!)....

Well done though, bet it's been real fun.

The question came up as to how to cross the Pacific with the limited range of a light twin-- my answer was to go around it.

I started in Hong Kong, and flew north and east along the Pacific coast of Asia. I refueled in Taiwan, in Japan, and on the Kamchatka Peninsula (Velizova was the airport, I believe).

Then I turned east and followed the Aleutian Islands chain, refueling once or twice before I reached Anchorage, Alaska. Then I turned south, refueling in Juneau, Alaska, Victoria, BC, and of course stopping in Bremerton for old time's sake.

By the way, have any of you ever seen the Aurora Borealis when flying around Alaska at night? Very pretty.

From Bremerton, I followed the Pacific coast south, and finally went all the way to Tierra del Fuego at the south end of Chile.

All this was in the King Air 350, but I must confess to running at 16X simulation rate on some legs. I just don't have that much time!

Ed

GPS,

Goes without saying (but I will say it anyway) that taking a month to complete your circumnavigational journey of the Earth is a very admirable committment. Enjoy your flights and many good landings to you. My TRAINEE hat is officially off to you!

Thanks George,

This is proving great fun, the only slight monotony comes from flying the same plane across the entire journey... I love the Baron but I have craved to fly others when on the journey but sticking to the same plane makes it more realistic and like you are actually travelling to these places (well, in the Virtual World at least)... But I break this World Tour up... in other words, I'll intermingle the tour with some "stand alone" flights in my add-on crafts, mainly the big jets.

The BARON 58 world tour is now in YANGON (Rangoon) in Myanmar... nice airport, well represented... Next I'll be heading South East to the Malaysian Peninsula with a stop off in Borneo planned... Should hopefully be some interesting Approaches in the jungles !

PS> Ed.... Wow, can't wait to check out the Aurora Borealis !

I agree with you Kid that flying the same plane all the way around gets old. You have inspired me to resume my “circumnavigational” plans and continue form ZUUU in China back to good ol’ KSNS! But I have acquired the Legendary 727 since I abandoned the trek. I have put MANY HOURS into learning to fly the Legendary 727 and don’t really wanna go back to the Shorts360 now.

I flew from ZUUU to Singapore last night. That was a bit of a stretch though. I had only 268 fuel in the main tank when I shut ‘er down at the gate 😳 . Will be heading for Port Moresby this evening.

Hi Kurt,

Glad you've resumed! Why not fly back home in something different ? Then you can say that you circumnavigated half of the globe in the Shorts 360 (to China), and came home in something different !

I've not been flying for a couple on nights due to weddings, family, life, etc, so I'm still enjoying the scenery of Yangon at the moment...

.... but hoping to get airborne soon and to complete some big legs, as I want to get towards Australasia....

Incidentally, Port Moresby is on my list too but be careful - there are still some areas in Papua New Guinea where canibilism continues today 🙄 ..... But hopefully nowhere near the airport !!

Good luck - let us know howe you get on in getting home from China.

sounds like fun. just wondering since you're flying the baron, how do you have your controller sliders set for elevator and ailerons sensitivities? i'm experimenting trying to find one that's flyable. thanks, william

Hi William,

Good Question - I had trouble with Joystick Sensitivities with the BRAVO...

Generally, I have adjusted the SENSITIVITIES as follows:-

RUDDER: Turned down SENSITIVITY by about 10%, increased NULL ZONE by about 10%

AILERONS: Turned down SENSITIVITY by avout 10%, no change to NULL ZONE.

*** I've not adjusted any other Sensitivity settings ***

The best settings for you depends on your Joystick though...

Good luck!

thanks david, from what i've found out is that the mooney has a defective fuel selector or something defective with fuel to make it roll the way it does. it's not yaw. thanks for the info on the sensitivities. where do you have the slider for the elevator? that's my main concern for the baron. i really want to enjoy that plane but it's sooooooo pitch happy it's almost unflyable. looking foward to your elevator settings and anyone one elses too! william

david, just noticed you mentioned you haven't changed any other sensitivities so i take that to mean you left the elevator settings at default. you don't find the baron to pitch sensitive at the default setting? i moved it all the way to the left and it help cut out some of the sensitivity, makes it alittle more flyable. i'm open to trying anything to make it flyable. i also use pressure on the stick and NOT stick movement, that makes alot of difference too. william

Will,

Mmm.. I'm thinking that the issue maybe with your stick, as I've never heard of anyone having these types of issues with the Baron... It is generally the most stable twin-egine in the Flight Sim Hangar (and a lot easier to fly smoothly than the Mooney Bravo in my view...)

Anyway, I have the sensitivity slider for the ELEVATOR set right in the middle, which is the default setting for my stick (Logitech Wingman 3D), and the Null zone slider is at about 1/3 of the way. Try this.

It sounds like your particular stick is generally too sensitive if your finding the planes too pitch happy.... so try setting ELEVATOR, and AILERON to minimum sensitivity - see what that does.

To your last question - yip, I left the other settings where they were, default settings, which is usually the middle of the sliders. (Make sure you always have the THROTTLE slider on MAXIMUM sensitivity, and with NO null zone !).

Good luck - I'm just worried that the issue is with your stick, rather than settings.

hi david, funny, because i have a logitech wingman extreme 3D, it's black. i bought a saitek not long ago but pretty much have the same problem with it also. i'll check the sensitivities again and do some more testing. thanks again david, william

Hey Orlando George,

Noticed you're from Texas, have you done any FS flying around Port Aransas / Mustang Beach yet ...... there's some great scenery around there if you have your GRAPHICS settings up high..... even a couple of Oil Platforms just off the coast !

(I don't have first hand experiance of this area as I'm from England 😂 but I have a friend who lives in Port A, so I was checking the area out, virtually!)....

If you're reasonably new to flying, I'd recommend flying MUSTANG BEACH - CORPUS CHRISTI... fly it all by hand (about 15 mins), and I'd recommend the Cessna 182 .....

hey david, fixed the baron! i fought this plane for a long time but got it flying GREAT! i'm running in 800x600 resolution but ran my desktop at 1024x768. i changed it to 800x600 and also re calibrated my stick. what a difference it makes! what a great aircraft! like a whole new one. i changed everything in FS9 settings to default awhile back and noticed a BIG difference in performance in most everything and it doesn't look bad at all in 600x800. as you mentioned the default scenery really does look nice as is. seems the change in desktop resolution to match FS9 did something. just wanted to pass this on. william

Hey GSP-Kid...Greetings form Tarawa. 😂

William,

EXCELLENT - Pleased you sorted the BARON out... Even though I spend more FS hours on the complicated technologies of things like the 737 NG, I still always make time for a spin out in the BARON, to check out the scenery...!

Kurt,

You got to Tarawa, wow! What did you fly into Tarawa in ?

Well, the BARON WORLD TOUR, has left Myanmar behind and after some really enjoyable VOR to VOR navigation, I landed in PNOMH PENN, CAMBODIA......, Using nothing more than a NDB to get me in towards the Runway, then a smooth manual landing.... The BARON is my GA airplane of choice so I have mastered landings in pretty much all scenarios including short-field... (can't say the same in all planes!) .. However Pnomh PEnn is an International Airport with a good sized, ILS Runway. 😂

This was a rare flight session whether I had a good few hours to sit back and get some good time in, so I decided to take straight off but DISASTER! .........

I try to make the World Tour as realitic as possible, especially on Fuel planning, and when I had flew straight off in the Baron I had FORGOTTEN TO REFUEL AT PNOMH PENN !!

So, the engines cut out at around 2000ft..... luckily I was clear of most of the built up areas around the airport, although, as the Baron came down with no power and full Flaps set, I did need to make some last minute sharp steers to avoid some 'huts'.. !!

I touched down 3 minutes after the engines had cut-out, NOT TOO HEAVY! ...... in a grass field about 100 feet from a farm house... I am 13 Nautical Miles from Phomh Penn Airport, so the Baron and I are in our perhaps most remote position so far on the tour !! I have locked the Baron up and have headed off to the local Market to barter for some Aviation Fuel.....

It was a good lesson runnning out of fuel like that.... I could have used the "Auto Refuel" while in mid-air to resolve the problem but I wanted to learn from my lesson - YOU JUST CAN'T FORGET TO REFUEL!!....

So I let the plane come down with no engines and landed as best as I could - I don't believe their is any damage but I won't know for sure until I have refuelled and I'm trying to start the engines....

MAYBE I SHOULD STICK TO AIRLINERS !!!!

Watch this space - when I'm refueled and fixed, I'll be heading South East from Cambodia, towards Indonesia.

David, I have to confess that in the same circumstance, I would definately have restarted the flight, refueled, and taken off again. Your self discipline is quite impressive, and as a result, you're learning a lot more than I ever will about using all that this sim has to offer. Congrats.

..... It's really just because I wanted to try and get the Baron up and out of a field !!

The field is on a steep gradient, so I'm planning to taxi (ok, DRIVE) to the top of the field, and then shott down at full throttle and try to take off before hitting the hedge !

Will let you know how it goes (or doesn't go, as the case may be!)

Hi GPS-Kid. When I started the "trip around the world I was flying a Shorts360.

I left it in China and have continued on in the CaptainSim Legendary 727(payware, but worth every penny). It took me a month to get comfortable with the 727 but would not go back to the Shorts360 now.

I have chosen an early 1980’s model 727-100 in the old PSA “Catch our Smile” livery (It brings back old memories). It has its down sides. The auto-pilot is very basic. No auto-throttle, no GPS(it has the hand-held but I choose not to use it 😎 ). She handles like a pig at low speeds even with a fair amount of flap deflection. But on the good side, it will cruise at 375kts indicated for about 1750 miles before needing a drink. 😂

The closest I have come to disaster is a flight from Chengdu China to Singapore. I had less than 270lbs of fuel left when I shut it down at the gates. 😳

I flew from Tarawa to Midway last night. I figure that I will make it back home in three more hops. Midway to Dutch Harbor Alaska. Dutch Harbor to Seattle, WA(just to see RadarMan 🙂 ). Seattle,WA to Salinas,CA is a cake walk.

I am already plotting out another circuit of the globe. This time I plan to explore the southern hemisphere. On this turn I have barely dropped south of the equator.

Cool run Kurt....

I also fly the same payware 727 as you - although I always fly it as freight only, so usually the TNT or the DHL liveries.... I love to take that plane to far off places like GREENLAND, or perhaps the KAMCHATKA peninsula in North-East Russia..... I plan to land it in Antarctica soon if there are any Airports there (I haven't checked)...

I love the Autopilot in the 727 !! At first, I couldn't use the "PITCH" control as I was leaving the "ALT HOLD" button on while adjusting the Pitch.... but you've got to release the "ALT HOLD" do your pitching, then lock the HOLD up again.... This plane always captures the Localizer and Glideslope well too - a lot quicker than some modern planes do !!

I have to confess though - this is my most commonly crashed plane to date... you're right, she handles like a Latvian Farm Hand at slow speed and I tend to come in too quickly.....

what speed do you land her at ? And do you use full flaps ?

PS..... Enjoy Midway, we could do with some Midway weather, here in rainy England !

... no offence intended to any Latvian Farm Hands !

The-GPS-Kid: "what speed do you land her at ? And do you use full flaps ?"
Yes, flaps are a must to keep her speed down(I do my best to keep it between 125 and 135kts) on approach and they also allow a nice easy rate of decent. It is VERY easy to rip the mains right out from under the 727 if one hits too fast and/or too hard.

Kurt

wow man thats sounds like a fragile plane to me do you know what year it was made??? because i dont

Late 60s / Early 70s I believe..... but many stayed in Passenger services through to the 90s, and many are still in service as Cargo planes.

The 727 is the only large Jet that I enjoy hand flying - it really feels like it's weight!

I love Airliners, but in most, I activate AutoPilot pretty soon after take-off, at about 1200 feet (or 200 feet in the Airbus's!) ........ but in the 727 I always hand-fly right out of the Departure ATC zone before switching over to A/P.

Love it - what a bird !

You are right on the mark Kid. The 727 is the only large aircraft I have found that has the feel component.

I had the pleasure of skipping a day at work yesterday and make good use of my time. I am all but done with my first full curcuit of the globe! My 727-100 is sitting on the ramp at SeaTac. Just a quick hop down to Salinas Muni and I will be done.

I only wish that I was there in reality. My brother lives on Widbey(sp?) Island and I would like to have a chance to shake hands with RadarMan too. 😀

Wow!!! I just found this thread!!! GREAT!! I thought I was the only one that was ate up enough to do this. This reminds me of a guy in another forum that sked something like- What is this game for!! It is boring. I sold it.' EVERYONE gave him a piece!!

I fly all over. I started in St. Maarten in a 727 that I built there (Addon aircraft. I put a panel in it and such) I flew it from there to Miami. There I built a DC-10-30 and flew it to Salt Lake City. From there I flew,,, to Seattle. The other night, I flew a 747 that I built to Anchorage. In Anchorage, I drove a car all over the mountain roads. Now I am flying a Tr-motor all over Alaska.

Great fun!!!

Cool stuff Elkin.....

I have just got "World Airports 2" and you get a little "Follow-Me" vehicle (a van), that you can drive all over so I'm thinking about flying somewhere where I have great add-on scenery (like Punta Cana, Dominican Republic), and driving around the island ! Then trying to get back to the Airport to fly out...

Awww... seeing this post again reminded me of the Baron 58 WORLD TOUR and how I've not moved from it for 4 weeks !!

I got all these bleedin' amazing add-ons and now the appeal of the Baron is limited (compared to something like the Cessna Golden Eagle)....

Will have to get back to CAMBODIA, and finish the tour !!

Yeeha!

Finally got time to get the BARON WORLD TOUR resumed again !

You might remember from my last proper installment that I had to make a forced, unpowered landing in rural cambodia, due to forgetting to re-fuel!

Well it took 4 weeks to get the AVGAS over by van but I finally got Airborne. I needed to make up some distance so I did some nice hand-flying over the mountains and then set up A/P and watched a few DVDs with some friends...... Quite a few hours later, I landed in

PORT MORESBY, PAPUA NEW GUINEA...

After parking up, I switched vehicles to the "FOLLOW-ME VAN" that you get with Just Flight World Airports 2.... and I drove all over !! It is so cool doing this, you really feel like you are seeing the area... Yes there is a lot of "Auto Gen" scenery but the town is still well laid out, and you can see the main buildings of the City Centre about 5 miles off from the Airport and you can drive over to them.... It definately adds something to the sim... (rather than just doing airport to airport and not being able to get out of the airport)....

While driving through 'downtown' Port Moresby, I noticed onew of those huge Chickens on a tall mast, that people have talked about...

Let me tell you... they are actually "Kentucky Fried Chicken" - type fast food places that have masts coming out of the roof, with a huge chicken on !!!

There are 3 in downtown Port Moresby.

So parked the van up next to a Motel type building and SAVED the sim there - so when I resume I need to find / drive back to the Airport (I'm about 5 miles away from it), switch back to the Baron and resume....

Aussie here we come !

OK, this may be a dumb question.

When I fly, I get to my destination and then shut that flight down and open up another one to go the next airport. I do almost all of my flying with VA US Air.

Is there a way to refuel and load another flight plan without going back out to the main menu? Just curious.

Aviator,

If you're using default aircraft, or some add-ons, SURE.... you can go into the Flight Planner, stick a new plan in, go into the Aircraft Fuel screens, etc, etc and you're off without "reseting" the sim.

Some add-ons (especially complex ones like 737NG) will not allow you to do this... the FMC cannot be properly reset after a landing.

But you can go into "Select Aircraft" on te FS menu and jusr select a plane from their (even the same one in the case of the 737NG) and then you can plan your next leg.... at least it's better than starting from scratch again.

I'm really into exploring the scenery at the moment, so whenever I land, I usually select teh "Follow me Van" that you get with World Airports 2 and I drive right out of the Airport into the town or country !

I have just started following this thread again.

GPS I am going to get that world airports 2 and do the round the world thing. I think I will do it in the tri motor. I put a autopilot and an adf in it so I can do weather flying. I took the eqpt. from the DC-3. I actually have removed the GPS's from all my planes.

😉

The-GPS-Kid wrote:

Aviator,

I'm really into exploring the scenery at the moment, so whenever I land, I usually select teh "Follow me Van" that you get with World Airports 2 and I drive right out of the Airport into the town or country !

GPS Kid,

I don't have World Airports 2, but I get out and explore, too. You can taxi your airplane right off the airport, and drive around. A while ago, I landed near San Francisco in a little Cessna, and taxied right into the middle of the city. Another time, I landed on a road near the Pyramids at Giza, and taxied right up to the Sphynx. It gets a little rough, and you usually can't cross bridges, but you can get around.

Ed

... Yeah, I nearly always go for a drive, once I've landed in a new city... the ones with proper roads are the best..... the other day I flew to Dublin, then DROVE the van up to Belfast !!! and flew home from there!

I resumsed the BARON 58 world tour lasy night - I'm still in Australia (that's right, I've flown from Newcastle EGNT - Australia in a Baron!! but with 26 stops on the way).

I flew through a rare Australian rain storm last night - was really throwing the Baron around. Flying back towards the East Coast (Maryborough), so that I can soon start the REAL CHALLENGE - crossing the Pacific in the Baron (via the south pacific islands)

Hey, that post made me a CHIEF CAPTAIN ! Do I get a raise ?

The-GPS-Kid wrote:

Hey, that post made me a CHIEF CAPTAIN ! Do I get a raise ?

Now you have to buy a 🍻 for the house!

The (Virtual Beers) are on me !

RM I think there should be a new Category to reflect you number of Postings: "Director of Flight".

All those in favour of nominating RadarMan for promotion from Chief Captain to Director of Flight, speak now or forever hold your peace !

I second that motion...what the heck. 😉

I go for "Director of Tail Dragger Flight" myself. Sounds like him more.

😎 I like "General Aviation Director" kind of has a Leader quality to it. Ric

Well I managed to clock up some more flight time in the Baron on Friday evening.... The Tour that has taken me from North-East England to the South Pacific, via Scandinavia, Russia, Middle East, Asia, and Australia.

There have been some fun moments (discovering some great FS scenery along the way, and "driving" around some of the stop-off points, in my FS Mercedes Van), and also it's been a learning experiance with Flight Simulator.... (Running out of fuel at 3000 feet in Cambodia and performing an engine off landing and surviving - with "Crash Detect" set ON !

Anyhoo.... The last leg of the tour that I flew on Friday was from New Caledonia, over to Fiji.... The flight took 2.5 hours (I do all simming in real time, never cheat with the Sim Rate), and I completed a windy but successful Visual Landing.

While flying over to Fiji I was considering whether I should take a left Heading and aim towards Hawaii, and the US... or whether I should continue with a heading of 90 degrees, that will currently see me eventually reach SOUTH AMERICA.

The deciding factor is that, within FS, I have never flown to or seen any South American scenery or Airports yet, so decided to stay down South and head to Chile.

From Chile I aim to navigate through the Andes and fly over the Amazon into Brazil... It will be interesting to see how the Amazon has been represented within FS.... I'm hoping that the density of the land below will be recreated with some really tall trees and greenery... I expect some of the take-offs from this area could be challenging !

I'll eventually get over to Rio de Janeiro, where I plan to cross the South Atlantic over to Africa..... A tour of North West Africa should bring me up into Europe (after 4 months away!).... I aim to enter Europe again via Gibralter.... a). because it's the south eastern mouth of Europe... and b). because it's a British territory so I'm afraid theres some national pride there too !

Anyway, I'm weeks away from that - my immediate challenge is trying to find a path of islands within the South Pacific that will lead me from Fiji over to South America..... The Baron has a modest Fuel Tank so the route needs to be planned around an Endurance rate of around 3.5 hours flying maximum.

One definate plan is to land on "Christmas Island"..... I don't believe it has an Airport, or any NAVAIDS so finding it will be a real challenge, and landing will require a nice long straight area of Beach !

looks like you have a way to go still
Very curious to hear how you will cross the big pacific
Sounds like some very precise planning is required...good luck !

I can see your love for the Baron now.....while I was completing the last leg of my little tour, from North - Norway back to Amsterdam, my flightpath took me over the Norwegian coastline, and I thought I'd take advantage of the opportunity and have a closer look at what's said to be the most beautiful part of Scandinavia.
I landed at a little airport and took a little tour in a Baron.....and boy it was magnificent. There's definately something very relaxing about VFR flying...just do whatever you feel like without ATC jumping you for deviating off course 😀
Beautiful scenery there....I'm glad I didnt pass over it at FL330 🙂

The Baron was the perfect plane for it...quiet, allows for both slow-flight and nice cruise speeds, enough power to do some steep mountain-climbs...
Definately will do this more often 🙂

Glad you enjoyed it ARD.

I do love the Baron, but after this tour ends it'll be replaced..... I have the "Flight One Cessna Golden Eagle 421c" add-on from Just Flight, and it's a VERY similar plane to the Baron.... same seating layout, similar handling and power.... As an add-on though it has more realistic systems and functions.

I'm sticking with the Baron for this tour (as it's been good to me) but when I touch down back in Newcastle, it'll be retired as there aren't many hours left on the Engine or Airframe ( 😂 ).

The Cessna 421c is shiny and new and will be the focus for any future tours, along with the new Flight One Piper Archer that I've just got - which is also excellent.

Congrats GPS on your eligibility,, for,,, promotion? I think you should be promoted to- Emperic Universal Order Over Group Force Administrator of,, bottle washing! HA! HA! HA! HA H a h ha ...

Seriously, I am interisted in this world tour. I am mapping it out. I want to fly the Tri Motor though. I have just equiped it with a limited autopilot and VOR/ADF (Old style).

😉

Elkinallen wrote:

Seriously, I am interisted in this world tour. I am mapping it out. I want to fly the Tri Motor though. I have just equiped it with a limited autopilot and VOR/ADF (Old style).

😉

Elkinallen,

You, my friend, are a glutton for punishment. Around the world in a Tri Motor? Makes my butt sore just thinking about it. 😉

I rode in a Ford Trimotor, back when I was a kid (in the 1950's, I guess). The 1935 Island Airlines flight in FS09 is based on a real airline-- my dad took us on a flight from Sandusky Ohio out to Kelley's Island in Lake Erie. What I remember is that the seats were narrow and hard, the engines were VERY LOUD, and during the takeoff (from a grass strip) EVERYTHING rattled, like it might fall apart before we got off the ground.

I have flown the Tri Motor in FS09, but that is one of the more difficult planes to control-- sort of like a school bus with wings. As I remember, once you start a turn it wants to just keep on turning-- you have to work to bring it back out of the turn. And no brakes! I ran off the end of the runway into the trees, and had to taxi back!

Ed

So, The-GPS-Kid, are you home yet? Did you complete the tour? That is truly an epic trip, worthy of special mention in the Flight Simmer's Hall of Fame (okay, it's a virtual Hall of Fame).

Do you have any final stats? Total miles flown? Number of days to complete the trip?

Enquiring minds want to know!

Ed

Hi Ed,

Your timing is perfect - The Baron 58 World Tour finished last evening!

In typical reserved North-East English style, the pilots opted against a huge celebration, although a small number of photographers and journalists were invited along to EGNT to mark the occasion.

Not many stats as the trip lasted so long, it passed through 3 different FS re-installs which reset all of the flight time recording stuff that was on the go. However I can say :-

- The tour was approximately 16,000 - 20,000 miles in distance including some drastic detours (to avoid mountains), and a couple of Oceans that wouldn't shorten for me.

- The entire distance was flown in a the default BARON 58, except for one leg of approximately 400 miles (near Kathmandu) that was flown in a borrowed King Air 350.

- The tour visited: UK, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Afghanistan, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar/Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Australia, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Cook Islands, Uncharted Pacific Islands, Christmas Island, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuala, Trinidad & Tobego, Bonaire, St Maartin, Antigua, Jamaica, Cuba, USA, Canada, Greenland and Iceland ......

..... in no particular order!

- The tour lasted approximately 5-6 months.

Great fun but glad its over.... flying VFR is liberating but boring on very long stretches with little scenery.

At a certain point you realise you've come too far to turn back or give up.

Next I'm going try the excellent amphibian idea, from the most northerley point in the UK to the most southerly. I've decided to do it in the fantastic DC-3 add-on from maam.org as it comes with a fab Amphibian version.

Will wait until the CH Yoke that I've just ordered arrives before starting that ! (I was jealous at FEM's superb Throttle unit, so had a word with Santa).

Good luck to all other tourers out there !

Merry Christmas n' a Happy New Year y'all !

The-GPS-Kid,

Congrats on a successful trip. Quite a voyage.

Do you have a picture of that amphibious DC-3 that you can post? I poked around maam.org for a while and couldn't find it.

I must say, that sounds like an ungainly thing. An airliner on floats--that's got to take a fair stretch of water to get airborne! Have you flown it yet?

Ed

lol GPS-kid, it is nice, but we had to send it back, engine 3's lever would slowly creep up to about 14% on its own...The second problem I face is when I dink with the throttle, i dont have my hand on the stick, cause its to the right...maybe i'll have pa bolt it to the table on my left till i get a yoke.