A Flying Challenge for Anyone Interested
I've had an account here for a couple of years but have only recently started reading the forums. So I'm a bit of a newbie here myself.
I just read the Favorite Airports Topic by Phoebe and I've found a number that I want to mention in a reply there.
But along the same line...
Here's something fun to try with MS FS2004 Century of Flight using default scenery and aircraft and a VERY interesting airport.
I recently completed a flight sim trip that took me all over the world. Along the way I found some interesting spots that presented some fun flying challenges. I'd like to share some of those with you here.
Okay here's the deal for the first one ....
(Don't preview the area or either of the two airports involved. That will spoil the fun.)
In FS2004 Create a flight using the information in this post, then be ready to go. You need to complete the challenge in a specific amount of time or else the locals say they'll burn your passport.
Apparently none of them know how to fly the Douglas DC-3 that they want you to fly. Or... considering the surrounding country side, they simply don't dare.
Holding your passport and your Cessna 172 hostage, they demand that you fly the fully (100%) fueled DC-3 to a nearby airport LB1B where you are to:
1. land on RW20
2. stop on the number 2 on the far end - note the time and remain stopped for 60 seconds
3. pickup a package - someone will be waiting for you - they'll bring the package* aboard and fly back with you
4. then return to the starting airport without damaging the aircraft (or jostling the package too much)
5. taxi to and stop on the numbers 29
6. cut the engines - as soon as the props stop spinning note the time.
If you make it back in 35 minutes or less they'll give you back the passport and keys to the Cessna and you can be happily off again to wherever it was that you were flying before you "just had to" try a landing at this airport. It was fun making the landing with the Cessna but you aren't too sure about doing it with a freak'n DC-3!
Set up your flight as follows:
DC-3 with 100% fuel - engines running but speed at zero.
Goto World then Map...
N42* 26.46
E22* 59.85
Alt 635.0
Hdg 203
0.0 KIAS
Set time to 1500, date to July 29th, and weather to Building Storms
AND you must use NORMAL simulation rate.
Don't forget to announce your takeoff and landings properly and maintain proper radio contact with ATC. The locals don't want anyone thinking there's anything strange about this flight.
Hints:
shift 3 will bring up your GPS in the DC-3
be sure to save your flight before starting to fly it, you may need a "do over" or two
the pause key is okay
if your computer is slow like mine, you will want to print this out and get off line before flying
You don't have to go crazy being fast. Just try not to waste time and you should be fine. The difficulty has more to do with some tricky flying.
*Package? You really don't want to know whats in it.
As soon as the scenery loads, be ready to go. Hurry back and be sure to check the clock to see if you make it on time.
Then come back here and tell us how it was.
Last edited by Steve (SpiderWings) on Fri Sep 29, 2006 5:39 pm, edited 1 time in total
17 Answers
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You may also be intrested in my previous post:
https://forum.flyawaysimulation.com/forum/topic/10430/exciting-flight-simulator-flights/
🙂
CRJCapt wrote:
You may also be intrested in my previous post:
https://forum.flyawaysimulation.com/forum/topic/10430/exciting-flight-simulator-flights/
🙂
Cool! I'll be sure to check them out and get back with you. Thanks
I'm surprised that no one has tried this. If you want an interesting flying challenge this should fit the bill. Its not easy but its not too hard either. Try it!
Welshflyer
Guest
I gave it ago, but when i started the flight FS9 placed me in the air about 500 yards from the mountain for some reason, and guess what happened? Yup, death and destruction.Got to try it a few more times though, cos it's a goodun.Nice one for finding it.
HEY! Spiderwings!! I DID IT!!!
Well, I crashed into the hill at the end of Rny 29 three times before I figured out how to turn around in that valley. (I should be dead!) I also, on the landings, ran off the ends of both runways but not more than a couple of plane lengths.
I turned around at LB1B, opened the door for 15 seconds, closed the door and took off. The plunge into LB0C sure is scary but I got down and stopped safely - if you don't count overrunning the runway.
Fabulous challenge!!! I wonder who invented that crazy terrain.
Google Earth (if you don't have it you should get it, it's free and it's incredible!) shows LB0C as the Dolni Rakovets airBASE at 2,083 feet elevation - not the 625 feet elevation that Flightsim gives it. LB1B is shown as the Stanke Dimitrov Highway Strip at 1,291 feet of elevation, again not the 3,447 feet that Flightsim gives it. But none of that really matters unless you're a Bulgarian, does it?
Google Earth also shows that LB0C is a military installation and you can see the dirt mounds around the aircraft parking spots - but no aircraft are present and the runway isn't numbered. LB1B shows clearly as just a stretch of road - so my running off the end of *that* runway shouldn't count. Right? GE shows further that the terrain around each airport is nothing like Flightsim's representation, but that's okay, I guess.
The whole round trip took 20 minutes and ten seconds. How did I do?
Pete 😀
PS: In order to set up correctly without FS putting you in mid air or into a hillside you should select Bulgaria and then specify the airport designation as LB0C and then in the flight plan section specify LB1B as the destination airport and answer "Yes" to the question "Shall Flightsim place the aircraft ready for takeoff?" or however that question is worded.
I'd rather fly a Super Cub in and out of those airports!
pdegraff wrote:
HEY! Spiderwings!! I DID IT!!!
Good job pdegraff! Hope you had as much fun as I did with it. I found that while on my flight sim tour of the world. I'm just now getting back into other flying after that long project.
pdegraff wrote:
The whole round trip took 20 minutes and ten seconds. How did I do?
Thats great! My best time is 30 minutes. But I see that you started at the end of the runway instead of where I had you parked in the grass. I didn't want to give away which way to takeoff. But your time would still be very fast. It doen't take long to taxi onto the runway.
pdegraff wrote:
I'd rather fly a Super Cub in and out of those airports!
I was in a Cessna 172 the first time I saw that spot. It was much easier to land but was still quite a thrill because I'd never made such a dive to a runway before. But on takeoff the DC-3 did better once I figured out how to fit the turn into the valley. The 172 required 1 full circle plus another half to climb out.
I've heard great things about Google Earth and wish I could have it here. But I'm still on dialup and that doesn't work.
I've got a few more adventures hidden away in my around the world log books. I'll share them as I get caught up on other things. In the meantime you might try the short flights pointed out by CRJCapt
CRJCapt wrote:
You may also be intrested in my previous post:
https://forum.flyawaysimulation.com/forum/topic/10430/exciting-flight-simulator-flights/
🙂
Since I was only half way around the world when I switched from FS 98 to FS2004, I never flew any of the flights that came with it until now.
In the last couple of days, I've outdone the Wrights with their flyer, keeping it up until I ran out of gas (1/4 gallon) and made a full circle back and past the starting spot. But then those guys had never flown before.
I've also started recreating the flight of the Vin Fiz (first crossing of USA) and having a lot of fun doing it without looking at instruments or maps... trying to do it like Rogers did.
And yesterday and this morning I've tried to match CRJCapt's feat of flying the Extra 300S through the barn upside down. I made it upside right (barely). That little plane is really hard to manage. I wonder if my computer speed is too slow for it. However, I did fly all the other planes that would fit through the doors through the barn... including the Bell 206B chopper! That barn has been a lot of fun and is neat with the chickens and bails of hay. I put my tower next to the viewing stand and its fun to watch the replay from that point of view. The P-51 Mustang looked awesome zipping through the barn at 130 knots.
Thanks CRJCapt for the headsup on what is right under my nose. I'll have to practice my upside down flying. Maybe I can do it with the P-51. The extra is real tough for me.
BashDaBish
Guest
SpiderWings - may I compliment you on your enthusiasm. You are a breath of fresh air. 👍 👏
Why thanks BashDaBish! Just havin fun and hoping I'm not rehashing stuff that everyone has already seen. I did some searches on flight challenges but found none. Did you try this challenge? I love the DC-3 and find it a dream to fly, land, taxi. However it doesn't turn real sharp - but sharp enough for this if you do it right. Give it a go and let us know how it went.
BashDaBish wrote:
SpiderWings - may I compliment you on your enthusiasm. You are a breath of fresh air. 👍 👏
I second that. There's so much more to aviation than just flying a Boeing 747-400 or Airbus, on autopilot, for 11 hours over the Atlantic. It's nice to see someone else look at other aspects of flying. 🙂
wow
This is a great challenge for people looking for adventure!!
It took me forever to figure out how to get out of that little canyon.
I was surprised when I came up on the runway!!
Flying off the edge of the cliff gave me quite a thrill though.
I recommend this challenge to people looking for adventure.
I liked it a lot.
I tuned my engines off entering the canyon on finial but my plane just dove straight into the ground!! 
Air-Head
Guest
In a word WOW!!!!!!!! Thanks for sharing that Spiderwings!!!
Must admit I got carried away and obsessed with the modern heavy metal that I forgot the great fun that could be in the older style airplanes...
What an excellent challenge!!!! Best post ive read! as a guest newbie 🙂
So glad to see some more folks giving this a try.... thanks for the kind words Air-Head and scab12! Makes me glad I posed this. If you are interested I know I've made some notes for others that I've thought of in my travels.
Sorry to be so slow reading your fun accounts.
very cool challenge! however, besides the landing at the end, the difficult part for me is taxiing the dc-3. it does not turn at all like the model in fsx.
is there a way to correct this deficiency?
Use differential breaking 
Tailhook wrote:
Use differential breaking
c'mon now, even i aint THAT much of a noob. 😂
for some reason even that doesnt work very well. i have tried to toggle the tailwheel lock as well, but it makes very little difference.
All right then, you could be flying the default or the MAAM. Don't know about the MAAM but what I do know is that some 3rd party add-ons have the tailwheel locked by default. You can unlock it in the .cfg.
cheezyflier wrote:
Tailhook wrote:
Use differential breaking
c'mon now, even i aint THAT much of a noob. 😂
for some reason even that doesnt work very well. i have tried to toggle the tailwheel lock as well, but it makes very little difference.
Shift+G should unlock the tailwheel. If it doesn't check the key assignments.
I taxi the DC-3 with full flaps.
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