July 21, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments
As mentioned in the last tour update, our travelers since leaving Australia, have been bouncing from one island to the next. Most of their activities have been focused on various island style activities. One might think our group has had enough ocean fun…but that’s just not true. Our next destination is Cape Town, South Africa. What’s so interesting about Cape Town (especially when it comes to the ocean)? Well…it just so happens this blog posting (completely by luck) will drop on the day before the 30th installment of the Discovery Channel’s popular Shark Week. And just off the shore of Cape Town, you’ll find something very special. The Great White sharks off the coast are some of the largest sharks on the planet and they do something a little different down here. They breach and leap out of the water. It’s truly an amazing sight…but you’ll really need a bigger boat with these guys. If you’ve never heard of the breaching Great White Sharks, then check out this YouTube video.
History of City
Cape Town is a coastal city in South Africa. It is the second-most populous urban area in South Africa after Johannesburg. Cape Town is the capital and primate city of the Western Cape province. Located on the short of Table Bay, Cape Town is the oldest urban area in South Africa and was developed in 1652 by the Dutch East India Company as a supply station for ships sailing to East Africa, India and the Far East.
History of Country
South Africa, known officially as the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa and includes over 1,700 miles of coastline stretching along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans. South Africa is the largest country in southern Africa and the 25th largest country in the world by land area. The population of South Africa is estimated to be near 56 million and is the world’s 24th most populous nation.
History of Airport
Cape Town International Airport (FACT) is the primary airport serving the city of Cape Town and is the second-busiest airport in South Africa and the third busiest in Africa. Opened in 1954 to replace the previous airport, FACT provides direct flights to South Africa’s other two main urban areas of Joburg and Durban as well as to smaller airports with South Africa. The air route between Cape Town and Johannesburg was the world’s 9th busiest air route in 2011 with an estimated 4.5 million passengers.
History of Airline
South African Airways is the flag carrier of South Africa. Founded in 1934, South African Airways flies to 38 destinations in 26 countries in Africa, Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Australasia. The airline has a strong presence in Southern Africa. Their current fleet consists of an all Airbus passenger fleet including the Airbus A319, A320, A330 and A340. They do own three older Boeing 737-300 freighters which are leased from Star Air Cargo.
Flight Briefing
SAA1066
FAOR – FACT
Planned Fuel – 22,000 lbs
Planned Altitude – 36,000
Distance – 686nm
Flight Time – 2hrs
Route: RAGU3A RAGUL UQ10 CSV UZ26 ERDAS ERDA1A
Flight Journal
Our travelers have spent the past several days exploring the Johannesburg area, including a safari tour and overnight stay in Kruger Park. I believe all had an enjoyable stay, but it’s time to once again move on. Up to this point in our tour, our routing has taken us northwest as we traveled through Singapore and Indonesia, then we turned southwest towards Maldives and have been traveling mostly a southwesterly direction. This will be the last leg (for a while) that we head in a southerly direction. Once we depart Cape Town, out progress will be northwest and northeast until we reach Norway. But for now, our direction remain southwest so let’s get started.
We’re back in the Airbus A320 and shuttling a South African Airways aircraft down to Cape Town. This happens to be a real-world flight. Meaning, South African Airways operate an Airbus A320 between Joburg and Cape Town in real life. It’s a late afternoon departure with a flight time of 2 hours, we should arrive in Cape Town just before dinner.
Lined up and waiting for our take off clearance from ATC.
Up, up and away and goodbye Johannesburg.
Making our turn to the southwest to join the departure out of FAOR.
Could be a stormy night for the residents of Joburg.
A bit of a bumpy climb, but ATC were accommodating and vectored us around the strongest of the storm cells.
Our livery shot as we’re just about above the storm and clouds. The sun is setting fast.
The sun has set.
High above South Africa with the warm glow of the setting sun just visible along the horizon.
The view from the office at FL360.
The city lights of Cape Town, South Africa.
On short final into FACT.
Simulator Specifics
Prepar3d v4.3
ActiveSky Weather Engine
ActiveSky Cloud Art
Envtex & Envshade
FlightSim Labs Airbus A320 (South African Airways livery)
Orbx Global Texture
VATSIM
Route Planning Tools
AivlaSoft PFPX
Navigraph Charts Desktop
FlightAware
FlightRadar24
SkyVector
Google Maps
Computer Hardware Specs
Our travelers have a busy few days exploring Cape Town. Soon we’ll depart and begin our northerly trek. The next leg will be the longest leg of the entire tour as we travel from Cape Town, South Africa to Libreville, Gabon which is 2,122 miles away. For this next leg, we’ll be in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner which should help make the almost 5 hour, 20 minute flight breeze bye.
Until next time…Watch out for those jumping sharks!
Jerry
July 18, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments
A part of me is celebrating the fact we’ve just completed the first 10 legs of the 46 leg journey, but the other part of me realizes we still have 36 legs to go. I began this journey on 2 June, the first post hit the interwebz on 6 June and I’m actually writing this blog post on Monday, 9 July. Yes, I’ve been busy flying the segments….but pacing myself on writing/releasing the articles as I like to be somewhat consistent and this helps me ensure I can keep at the very least two blog updates each week documenting the journey. As we’ve just completed our 10th leg (that’s somewhat of a milestone) let’s review some of our statistics of the journey so far.
Miles Flown – We’ve logged 8,667 miles of the over 36,000 miles it will take to complete our around the world trip.
Hours Flown – Just prior to starting the 11th leg, we’ve logged just over 25 hours of flying time. Flying time is calculated from the time the parking brakes are released and the aircraft is pushed back from the gate of the departure airport to the time of landing, taxi and parking brakes applied at the destination airport.
Fuel burn – We’ve burned a whopping 138,460 pounds of fuel. As a point of reference, a Boeing 747-400 flying between Denver and London will consume approx. 198,000 pounds of fuel.
In the real world, my wife and I are just returning home from spending a week in the mountains (11th wedding anniversary and US Independence Day holiday). Between all the work stresses of the past few weeks…this was a much needed break. I’m home the week of 9 July (the week I’m writing this) and head back to California next week. But enough of all that…let’s get on with this story.
Our updated map showing our progress thus far.
History of City
Johannesburg or Joburg for short, is the largest and most populous city in South Africa and ranks in the top 50 for largest urban areas in the world. The city was established in 1886 following the discovery of gold.
History of Country
South Africa, known officially as the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa and includes over 1,700 miles of coastline stretching along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans. South Africa is the largest country in southern Africa and the 25th largest country in the world by land area. The population of South Africa is estimated to be near 56 million and is the world’s 24th most populous nation.
History of Airport
O.R. Tambo International Airport (FAOR) is a major international airport in Kempton Park located very near Johannesburg. It serves as the primary airport for domestic and international travel to/from South Africa and is Africa’s busiest airport with a capacity to handle up to 28 million passengers annually. The airport handles non-stop flights to all continents except Antarctica. It serves as the hub of South Africa’s largest international airline and domestic carrier, South African Airways.
History of Airline
Comair Limited is an airline based in South Africa that operates scheduled services on domestic routes as a British Airways franchisee. Founded in 1943, Comair serves 11 destinations throughout the region and has a current fleet consisting of seven Boeing 737-400 and nine 737-800 aircraft.
Flight Briefing
CAW1066
FMCZ – FAOR
Planned Fuel – 24,000 lbs
Planned Altitude – 38,000
Distance – 1250nm
Flight Time – 3hrs, 15min
Route: DZP UM307 EPSEK UZ33 NESAG UZ7 OKPIT OKPI4B
Flight Journal
With exception to the first two legs of this long journey, we’ve been basically hopping from one island to another as we’ve made our way across the Indian Ocean. Our travelers have seen some pretty incredible sights along the way, but I overheard one traveler speaking to another, and he said “once you’ve seen one island…you’ve seen them all”. This perhaps is a very valid point and perhaps it’s a sentiment shared by most as there seems to be a level of excitement building to finally begin the African segment of this tour. Over the next few weeks (including today), our travelers will complete six stops within the African Continent as we make our way north along the western edge.
Our passengers have arrived, all gear has been safely loaded/stowed on board our Comair Boeing 737-800 and we’re taxing out to the active runway for an on-time departure.
With no time to waste, we’re off and away.
Taking one last look of the island before making our turn to join the departure.
OK…I lied. Really…just one more “last” look at the island across the wing of the B738.
Our “livery” shot. Other than the fact that British Airways no longer operates the Boeing 737 (in any variant), the only differing markings I can spot is the Comair United logo on the front of the aircraft.
Just off the starboard side, the coastline of Africa.
Over land once again. Just a few more miles until we reach top of descent.
Another wing view as the clouds begin to develop.
Airport just ahead as we take the visual approach for runway 21L.
One last wing view of the Joburg area.
Short final for runway 21L.
After what seemed like a really long taxi (after all, this is the largest airport we’ve visited in a long time), we’re parked up at the gate and the Comair ground crew are doing a great job getting our aircraft unloaded.
After clearing customs, our travelers and crew will board a bus for the quick ride to the hotel and then dinner. We’ll explore the Johannesburg area for the next few days before departing to Cape Town where they’ll spend several more days exploring that area as well.
Simulator Specifics
Prepar3d v4.3
ActiveSky Weather Engine
ActiveSky Cloud Art
Envtex & Envshade
PMDG 737-800 (Comair Airlines livery)
Orbx Global Texture
VATSIM
Route Planning Tools
AivlaSoft PFPX
Navigraph Charts Desktop
FlightAware
FlightRadar24
SkyVector
Google Maps
Computer Hardware Specs
I hope everyone’s enjoying the blog postings, the tour and the variety of aircraft/liveries I’m presenting. Up to this point it’s been a fun tour for me as I’ve learned a lot about the areas we’ve visited in my research for the story line. Time to get busy planning the next leg of the tour. Thanks again for reading.
Until next time…Happy Touring!
Jerry
July 14, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments
If you also follow along with my Discord channel, you know I mentioned just before the US Independence Day holiday that my wife had surprised me with a get-a-way to the mountains. This was in celebration of our 11th wedding anniversary. The few weeks leading up to the holiday were hectic both with work and at home. We had a few home repair issues to deal with and I had two work related trips in June that were hectic and stressful. July is no different from the work side of things. But as we’re back from the mountains, it’s time to do a little flying and resume where we left off with our tour.
As we begin our 10th leg of this 46 leg journey, we now have two different Airbus airframes we can use. I’ll mix in the A320 and the smaller A319 from time to time as we continue to also fly Boeing aircraft as well. While I feel most comfortable in Boeing equipment, I’m starting to gain a better appreciation for the Airbus. This leg we’ll be flying the Airbus A320.
History of City
Dzaoudzi (don’t even ask me how this would be pronounced) is a commune in the French overseas department of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean and is located on the small island of Petite-Terre. The commune once held the recognition as being the capital city of Mayotte, but in 1977 the capital was moved to Mamoudzou on the island of Grande-Terre. The commune is the home to 14,311 people (as of the 2012 Census)
History of Country
Mayotte consists of one main island, Grande-Terre, a smaller island, Petite-Terre and several islets around these two. The area of Mayotte is approx. 144 square miles and has a population of 256,518 as of the 2017 Census. While Mayotte is an integral part of France, the majority of the inhabitants do not speak French as a first language.
History of Airport
Dzaoudzi-Pamandzi International Airport is located in the commune of Dzaoudzi. It is the only airport in Mayotte with scheduled services, mainly to destinations within Africa and to metropolitan France. The airport currently can service aircraft up the Boeing 777 size. A new runway (15/33) to the west of the current runway is being planned and will be 2,600 meters in length to accommodate aircraft such as the Boeing 747 and the Airbus A380.
History of Airline
Air Mauritius is the flag carrier airline of Mauritius. The airline is the 4th largest carrier in Sub-Saharan Africa and has an important standing in the European, African and Indian Ocean regional markets.
Flight Briefing
SEY1066
FIMP – FMCZ
Planned Fuel – 23,500
Planned Altitude – 36,000
Distance – 846
Flight Time: 2hr, 30min
Route: NIBIS1 NIBIS SOAVI
Flight Journal
After a couple of relaxing days in Mauritius, once again it’s time for our travelers to depart on the next leg of the long, around the world journey. We’re picking up a brand new Airbus A320 which had been ferried to Mauritius from the Airbus factory in Tianjin, China. Yes, it still has that “new” airplane smell to it. This is an early morning departure and hopefully we’ll get out before the storms open up. In the photo below, our Airbus A320 is being fueled for the journey. The new update to GSX and the features of the FSLabs A320 handle fueling automagically with nice eyecandy to watch.
Our passengers have just arrived by bus and will immediately board the awaiting A320.
We can’t push-back until the last of the bags have been loaded.
Finally, the last bag was loaded (I believe that was mine) and now the ground crew will push us back while I begin the engine start procedure of the Airbus A320.
Small airports mean short taxi distances. Looks like the sun might just burn off these clouds after all. We’re ready to go on runway 14.
The FSLabs A320 is a joy to hand fly. I’ve found the learning curve to be just slightly more difficult than the PMDG 737. But then again, I have spent the majority of my simming time flying Boeing aircraft. So learning the Airbus ways of doing things is similar to learning a second language.
The A320 offers two different types of engine variants. This particular aircraft uses the IAE (International Aero Engines) V2500 and they are doing an excellent job.
The beautiful Air Seychelles livery looks amazing on the A320.
Another wing shot as we fly over Madagascar. I wonder how those Penguins are fairing?
Another view of the coastline of Madagascar as we’re beginning our descent. Not much longer to go.
Just off the portside, we see a smaller island with a mountain and the main island mentioned earlier. The smaller island (one with the mountain) contains the airport. Our approach will take us around that smaller island.
The view from the captains seat of the larger island.
Our turn to final is coming up very soon. Note the PAPI lights of the airport behind us.
Again, the FSLabs A320 is a joy to hand fly. Admittedly, I rolled out of that turn just a bit low. But no worries, there’s nothing but water under us and we’ll be just fine.
Two reds, two whites…we’re alright.
On the ground and it looks like it will be an awesome day.
Simulator Specifics
Prepar3d v4.3
ActiveSky Weather Engine
ActiveSky Cloud Art
Envtex & Envshade
Flight Sim Labs A320 (Air Seychelles livery)
Orbx Global Texture
VATSIM
Route Planning Tools
AivlaSoft PFPX
Navigraph Charts Desktop
FlightAware
FlightRadar24
SkyVector
Google Maps
Computer Hardware Specs
Our travelers will depart the smaller island later today by ferry to the larger island where their hotel awaits them. A few days here, then we’ll depart and travel the 1200nm’s to O. R. Tambo International Airport in South Africa. Since departing from Broom, Australia…we’ve been hopping from one island to another. The next half dozen legs will keep us on the African continent as we begin our eventual northern journey up the western coast of Africa and into Europe.
Until next time….
Jerry
July 12, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments
I’ll apologize in advance for interrupting whatever it is that you might be doing with a slightly off-schedule blog posting. But before I get into all the details, allow me to say one simple thing. This blog posting is NOT about me trying to get something for nothing. The purpose of this blog posting is to simply alert my readers to a very important news story which has been bouncing the interwebz for a few days now. As I’ve often said, my writings are typically not about news type stories. I’m just one guy and I really just enjoy sharing my knowledge, sharing my experience and telling a few stories along the way. I don’t always have the time to eat, sleep and breath all the happenings in the global flight sim community. However, I don’t mind sharing information…especially when this information could help others. Second, this writing is not an attempt to “name and shame” anyone. As a matter of fact, I’m going to omit a developers name as it is not my intention to gain anything out of this. I simply want to alert my viewers to some information which I have, hopefully help others in the process and finally….I’d love to be able to purchase the aircraft in question at the discounted rate. Finally, to repeat my first point, this blog posting is NOT about me trying to get something for nothing.
The past week or so, the flight sim community has been made aware of some serious issues taking place with one of our popular online retailers. A few months ago I heard some rumblings on some of the social media platforms I follow regarding issues with the FlightSimStore.com website being down, moving to different servers and issues with customers being able to download purchased items. The issues with downloads were reported by customers who were trying to re-download files they had purchased long ago and even customers who had just completed the online purchase, with money changing hands…but no ability to download the software. I’ve been a customer of the FlightSimStore for many years and were first introduced to them with a purchase of some Orbx scenery as the FlightSimStore (FSS) for many years served as the only online retailer selling Orbx scenery. However, a little over a year ago, Orbx built their own e-commerce system (which is awesome) and removed their products from the FlightSimStore.
As I began to make the move from P3D v3 over to v4 (64 bit) I started the process of downloading the necessary add-ons as they became available for the new 64 bit platform. I keep pretty meticulous records and had made a purchase of a popular add-on aircraft for FSX/P3D (32 bit) over two years ago. But with all the issues I had been hearing from other users, I opted to just wait until the FlightSimStore corrected their website issues, moved their servers and basically just got control of their issues. I’ll admit some time passed and in the course of this, I sort of forgot about this particular aircraft add-on. Well….as I began building my new gaming PC (GBS Beast V), I started looking over my add-on spreadsheet and discovered that I had forgotten to update that one particular payware aircraft.
Now, as most of you will know…not all payware purchased for FSX/P3D (32 bit) can be upgraded/updated for P3D v4 free of charge. Thankfully, 80% (perhaps more) has been made available at no extra cost and some of the balance is available at discounted prices and only a small handful of developers have charged full price. The aircraft in question (which I had purchased from the FlightSimStore over two years ago) was discounted considerably and I was looking forward to purchasing the 64bit version to have in my virtual hangar. But even around the May/June timeframe when I was getting all my add-ons reinstalled on the new PC, others continued to report issues with the FlightSimStore website. So once again I paused just to be on the safe side.
Fast-forward to the present day
Just in the past week or so, many more customers and even other developers have reported major issues with the FlightSimStore. A major flight sim scenery developer, Drzewiecki Design made an announcement last week via their website and their Facebook page (see below)
Here’s a snippet of the various comments from actual Customers.
Even other flight sim news media outlets are discussing this story and urging customers to be cautious or just simply avoid the FlightSimStore. You can read these blogs from FSElite here and here. Even the guys from the popular “On Approach” podcast spent over 14 minutes discussing the issues and their advice is to take screen captures of all your purchase transactions, download what you can and basically avoid the FlightSimStore for any future purchases. You can watch/listen to the FlightSimStore segment via this link. I will just caution my readers that the language used during this segment is NOT Rated G. https://youtu.be/yFIKpnT4P54?t=12m52s
Back to My Story
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m writing this article as a warning to my readers AND just to share my story as it directly relates to the FlightSimStore debacle. I’ll once again state for the record that I desire no special treatment, I am not writing this in an effort to obtain anything “free” from the developer of a specific aircraft I purchased for FSX/P3D of which I desire to upgrade to P3D v4 compatibility and yes, I’d like to do that at the discounted price. Also, this writing is not designed to be a name and shame either. However, I took the advice and reached out via email to the developer of the aircraft in question and here’s how that email exchange played out.
Email from Jerry to the Developer
I attempted to contact your group via your Facebook page and was told by
XXXXXXXXX to email you. I purchased your XXXXXXXX Aircraft from the
FlightSimStore on 30 May 2016. I made the move to P3D v4 last year,
but have been slow at updating all my various add-ons. As I’m sure
you are aware, the FlightSimStore has been experiencing various
challenges with their website, their files and haven’t been doing a
very good job in providing support to their customers. I’ve been
involved with the flight simulation hobby since the mid 1980’s and am
an active member of the community today and absolutely loving P3D v4.
Fortunately, the majority of my purchases from FSS were Orbx and of
course that is a non-issue now. But the XXXXX is one aircraft which I
would dearly love to have in P3D v4. I realize small developers such
as yourself may not be able to justify the day to day management of
your own retail site and therefore I’m sure selling your products
through 3rd party sites is helpful. But I feel (and hopefully you
agree) that developers should honor the purchases even in situations such as this.
I’ve attached a screenshot of the FlightSimStore XXXX aircraft purchase.
Hopefully you have a solution.
Thank you for your time and prompt attention to this matter.
Response from Developer to Jerry
Hello Jerry
Thank you for your message.
Yes, we know of the problem with Flight Sim Store.
However, your version is not compatible with Prepar3D V4 anyway, you would need to upgrade your copy, when Flight Sim Store restores the functionality. The upgrades are not free, although they can be made on discounted price if you use the same store where the original copy was purchased
If Flight Sim Store does not restore the XXXXXXX upgrades within the reasonable time, we will find some kind of solution for your case.
Reply from Jerry back to Developer
Please understand that I was NOT asking for anything free. I’m aware I needed to pay for the update and I’m aware the version I have is not compatible. Please let me know what a reasonable timeframe is to wait?
I’ll admit that I’m not really that pleased with your reply as I firmly believe that YOU as the developer of the product needs to stand behind your product regardless of what your online retailers do. While I may purchase something from the FlightSimStore, JustFlight or simMarket, it is YOUR product that I’m purchasing. You truly have an opportunity to help out and I realize my delay in updating is at my own doing…but to be honest the FlightSimStore has been having issues for several months and from all accounts, they very likely will not survive this.
But I do truly appreciate you getting back to me.
Jerry
Reply from Developer back to Jerry
Hello Jerry
Please understand, that as developers we are indeed responsible for the functionality of the product, but not for the commercial or marketing side of it.
The discount is done entirely by the stores, and it is not something that has to do with us.
If it happens that Flight Sim Store is definitely no longer selling our product, we will attempt to make an agreement with another store to transfer the customer base to enable to discounts for them, but since it was never attempted before, I can’t give a guarantee that this will succeed and the other store accepts such transfer
I am sorry I can’t assist you properly on this matter. But we do have an indication that XXXXX sales are coming back online at Flight Sim Store shortly.
My Not So Final Thoughts
While I’m not pleased with the answers/responses from the developer, I certainly can appreciate that perhaps they are only now coming to terms with this situation. Hopefully, they are discussing it and they are researching their options. I also would sincerely hope they are also working directly with the FlightSimStore as well. But from a customers viewpoint, I believe they are wrong in saying they have no responsibility with the commercial or marketing side of the transaction. Remember, I work in the IT software business and while software ownership/licensing etc. is a tricky area….one simply can’t just walk away and say your only responsibility is to support the functionality of the product and wash their hands of anything to do with the marketing, sales and distribution. Said in another more direct way, ANY software developer worth their salt, would be bending over backwards to help their customers and I’m hopeful this is exactly what will end up happening.
I also will acknowledge this developer has stated multiple times they ARE willing to work with me at a point in time in the future. I’m still not 100% clear just how much more time needs to pass before they are willing to help and just exactly what this help will be. So I’ll continue to wait and see….but I’ll say this…unless I begin hearing that the FlightSimStore has resolved all their issues with product downloads AND are taking care of their customers, I’m not interested in spending any more money with this particular online retailer. My gut tells me it will all be in vain.
Finally, I’ll be honest and say that I don’t understand how retailer discounts work in the flight sim world. Especially when taking into consideration what the developer stated “The discount is done entirely by the stores, and it is not something that has to do with us”. What does this actually mean? If I’m a developer of a flight sim add-on and selling that add-on through an online retailer, would I not expect to receive X amount of money for each product sold? Are the online retailers simply waiving the 30% fee they would normally charge the developer in these cases and passing these savings down to us the consumer? In my mind, the discount is the developers way of saying, “I know you’ve purchased XXXX aircraft for FSX/P3D 32bit at full price, as the P3D v4 aircraft is not a 100% rewrite of code, we’re allowing you to purchase at a considerable discount”. Sounds fair right?
So What Do I Want?
My goal is two fold. First, I would like this particular developer to ensure that all customers of their aircraft product from the flightsimstore, who also fall into the same scenario as I’ve described…have the opportunity to update/upgrade their aircraft at the discounted rates being advertised by simMarket, JustFlight and FSPilotShop. As for me, yes….absolutely I would also appreciate the same opportunity.
Mr. Developer….please don’t subject your customers to the potential of losing further money in dealing with an online retailer who appears to show no compassion or remorse to their customers. Please take the actions necessary to have YOUR Customers license information moved from the FlightSimStore over to simMarket, JustFlight or FSPilotShop so we can all continue to enjoy your beautiful aircraft in Prepar3d v4. For those that purchased it for FSX/P3D 32bit, allow us to benefit from the same discount at another online retailer.
Thank you for reading.
Jerry
July 11, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments
Moving right along with our WorldFlight 2018 tour, as mentioned in the leg 8 update, our wealthy (and very lucky) tourists were only able to spend a few hours exploring the island of Diego Garcia. The tour was conducted by US DOD (Dept. of Defense) officials and unfortunately no photographs were permitted during the tour. But once again we were provided photos of our aircraft for the purpose of this update. But as you can see from the updated tour map below, we are just a few hops away from reaching the shores of the African Continent and I believe we’re making great progress. I would just like to remind all of my readers why I’m doing this tour. If you refer back to the article I wrote back in early June, I explained who was behind the WorldFlight organization and the purpose of that annual event. It truly is a great cause and the event is fun to watch. Stay tuned for future news and updates regarding the event for 2018 which is scheduled to take place in November.
Also, just to note. Between leg #8 and this leg #9, an update to Prepar3D v4 was released. I’m now running Prepar3d v4.3. The upgrade was very smooth and the benefits are slightly better performance. If you haven’t updated your P3D to v4.3 and would like to do so, I wrote a step-by-step guide which should help you complete the update with as little headaches as possible.
History of City
Plaine Magnien is a village in southeast Mauritius located in the Grand Port District. According to the 2011 census, the population is just under 10,500. The village is the location of the only airport on the island.
History of Country
Mauritius is an island nation in the Indian Ocean located approx. 1,200 miles off the southeast coast of Africa. Formerly founded by the Dutch in 1638, then the French maintained a colony between 1715 – 1810, Mauritius became a British colonial possession in 1810 and remained so until 1968. Mauritius is a major tourist destination and ranks 3rd in the region and 56th in the world. The tropical climate, clear warm sea waters, beaches flora and fauna make it a favorite destination for some. And if you’ve ever heard of the Dodo bird, this now extinct bird called Mauritius home until the last one was killed in 1681.
History of Airport
Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport, FIMP is the main international airport in Mauritius. The airport is located 26 nm from the capital city of Port Louis. The airport has direct flights to several destinations in Africa, Asia, Europe and is home to the country’s national airline Air Mauritius. The airport has one runway (14/32) measuring 11,056 ft in length and the airport terminal can handle aircraft as large as the Airbus A380.
History of Airline
Air Mauritius is the flag carrier airline of Mauritius. The airline is the 4th largest carrier in Sub-Saharan Africa and has an important standing in the European, African and Indian Ocean regional markets.
Flight Briefing
SEY1066
FJDG – FIMP
Planned Fuel – 24,800 lbs
Planned Altitude – 38,000
Distance – 1162nm
Flight Time – 2hrs, 50mins
Route: NKW R329 DUDIP GBY1
Flight Journal
What a wonderful and very lucky experience our travelers had on the island of Diego Garcia. While this entire trip could be summed up as “Once in a Lifetime”, the opportunity to visit a place almost a secure as Area 51 can only be described as “Once in a Lifetime”. We only had a few hours to visit and as previously stated, we were under the watchful eye of the US DOD the entire time. Our JANET airlines B737-600 departed out of FJDG shortly after we arrived headed to points unknown. Fortunately all our bags and other supplies were loaded onto another Boeing 737-700 which was an older, retired Air Seychelles aircraft which had arrived a few days ago under “mysterious” circumstances. I asked one of our handlers what happened to the passengers and crew, he politely said…”DON’T ASK”! So I just zipped my lips and went on about my business.
Once all our passengers were safely on board the Air Seychelles B737, we were immediately given our clearance and instructed to depart without haste. I really don’t think this means we out stayed our welcome, just perhaps we had too many eyes which could witness something they didn’t want us to witness.
A very quick taxi to runway 13 (how fitting) and it was time to kick the tires and light the fires once again and get this bird in the air.
The runway on the island of Diego Garcia as we climb out.
Our departure couldn’t have come at a better time as weather was starting to move in.
Clouds have somewhat been a theme for this adventure. But then again we are in the tropical regions of the world.
Nice views
The Air Seychelles Boeing 737-700 (retired).
We’ve managed to leave the clouds behind (for now)
As I said, for now. LOL The clouds have returned just in time for our arrival into Mauritius.
Speed brakes deployed to help slow our descent.
You may have noted the lack of winglets on this aircraft. Nice views as we get closer to our destination.
A few afternoon storms are expected and we’ve asked ATC to vector us around a few strong cells. But we’re still on-time for our arrival.
Looks to be a thriving place down there.
On final approach.
It’s been a bit of a long day for everyone. We’ll be glad to spend a few days exploring this area.
Our Boeing 737 parked up. Not sure what this old girl has in store for her.
Simulator Specifics
Prepar3d v4.3
ActiveSky Weather Engine
ActiveSky Cloud Art
Envtex & Envshade
PMDG 737-700 Expansion (Air Seychelles livery)
Orbx Global Texture
VATSIM
Route Planning Tools
AivlaSoft PFPX
Navigraph Charts Desktop
FlightAware
FlightRadar24
SkyVector
Google Maps
Computer Hardware Specs
We’re due to stay here for a few days before departing to our next destination of Dzaoudzi, Mayotte, France.
Until next time…Happy Flying!
Jerry
July 7, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments
I hope you enjoyed the information I passed along during the update for leg 7. Just as a point of reference, before beginning leg 8 we have 18 hours, and 20 minutes of flying time logged on this tour. We’ve traveled 5,965 miles and burned just over 99,000 pounds of fuel since we left Sydney, Australia on 2 June. Once again this flight will take us south of the equator.
You may also remember I told you that not all flights operated during the course of this WorldFlight 2018 tour will be 100% accurate. From time to time I may take some artistic license and go fully fictional in what I choose to fly. As you’ll soon learn by reading more about our next destination, commercial flights simply do not operate into this airport. While this airport may be used as an ETOPS (Extended Range Twin Engine Operations) emergency landing site (this will explain our flight for Leg 9), non-military/government flights do not operate here. But more about this later in the article.
History of City
Diego Garcia is an atoll just south of the equator in the central Indian Ocean and the largest of 60 small islands comprising the Chagos Archipelago. Settled by the French in the 1790’s and was transferred to British rule after the Napoleonic wars. Diego Garcia was initially one of the dependencies of the British Colony of Mauritius until it was detached in the newly created British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) in 1965.
Between the years 1968 and 1973, the native population was forcibly removed by the United Kingdom and the United States to establish an American military base. As of March 2015, Diego Garcia is the only inhabited island of the BIOT, the population is composed of military personal and supporting contractor agencies.
History of Country
The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) is a British overseas territory of the United Kingdom situated in the Indian Ocean halfway between Tanzania and Indonesia. The territory consists of seven atolls of the Chagos Archipelago with over 1000 individual islands amounting to a land area of just 23 sq. miles.
History of Airport
The airport located on the island of Diego Garcia is under the operation/control of both the governments of the United Kingdom and the United States. While no commercial airlines operate into or out of Diego Garcia, the airport may be identified as an ETOPS (Extended Range Twin Engine Operations) emergency landing site or an en route alternate for flight planning purposes for commercial airliners. ETOPS allows for twin engine commercial aircraft (Airbus A330, Boeing 767, Boeing 777 or Boeing 787) to make theoretical nonstop flights between city pairs such as Perth to Dubai, Hong Kong to Johannesburg all while maintaining a suitable diversion airport within 180 minutes of flying time with one engine being inoperable. The airport also served as one of 33 emergency landing sites for the NASA Space Shuttle program.
Many conspiracy theorists suggest that Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 which disappeared on March 8, 2014 after departing from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing was flown to Diego Garcia.
History of Airline
If you’ve been to Las Vegas, you may have seen several white Boeing 737-600’s with a red stripe flying into or out of McCarran International Airport. These US Government operated aircraft, shuttle employees from Las Vegas out to the Nevada National Security Site (Area 51) and to the Tonopah Test Range Airport (KTNX) also known as Area 52. The airline name JANET, is derived from Just Another Non-Existent Terminal or Joint Air Network Employee Transportation. Janet flights operate under the ICAO airline code of WWW and flights can often be tracked on websites such as FlightAware.
Flight Briefing
WWW1066
VRMM – FJDG
Planned Fuel – 22,000 lbs
Planned Altitude – 36,000
Distance – 690nm
Flight Time – 2hrs
Route: A4D ATISA R329 MOMMA DCT NKW
Flight Journal
Until just before departure, our travelers believed we were flying direct to Plaisance, Mauritius. However, we have an incredible opportunity to spend a few hours touring Diego Garcia. One of our travelers, knows someone who knows someone else connected with the island and assisted in arranging for this brief stop and tour. And just to add a little touch of mystery to the day, we’re flying one of the Boeing 737-600 JANET airlines which the US Government needed shuttled out to the island. NOTE: The JANET airlines aircraft do not operate in this part of the world, but just to mix things up this is the story I’m going with. Enjoy.
Our passengers have boarded and we’re all buttoned up and ready for push-back. We’ve been instructed to tanker out additional fuel in the slight chance we’re unable to land at Diego Garcia.
Making the turn to line up and wait for departure on runway 18.
Positive rate, gear up.
A wing shot as we climb to our cruising altitude of 36,000.
Just making the announcement about our brief stop-over. I can hear the clapping and excitement of our lucky travelers from the flight deck.
The JANET airlines livery on the PMDG Boeing 737-600. Just a reminder, JANET airlines do not operate in this part of the world that I’m aware of.
The island of Diego Garcia just off the starboard side.
The water looks amazing.
Our island runway
Making our turn to join the visual approach for runway 31.
Interesting island
We’ll be on the ground shortly
Short final into Diego Garcia
Photography is strictly prohibited on Diego Garcia. The US DOD will provide the exterior photos to document our brief stay on the island.
Simulator Specifics
Prepar3d v4.2
ActiveSky Weather Engine
ActiveSky Cloud Art
Envtex & Envshade
PMDG 737-600 Expansion (Janet Airlines livery)
Orbx Global Texture
VATSIM
Route Planning Tools
AivlaSoft PFPX
Navigraph Charts Desktop
FlightAware
FlightRadar24
SkyVector
Google Maps
Computer Hardware Specs
Our stay on Diego Garcia will be short. In approx. 3 hours we’ll depart in a retired Air Seychelles Boeing 737 for Mauritius where our travelers will spend a few days exploring and doing all the things tourists tend to do.
Until next time…Happy Flying!
Jerry
July 4, 2018 / admin / 2 Comments
As I had mentioned in the tour introduction posting I wrote before starting the 2018 version of the WorldFlight tour, I’ve circumnavigated around the world many times. I’ve done it in big and fast aircraft and I’ve done it in small and slow aircraft. I’ve done it with many legs (much like this tour) and I’ve done it in as few as 3-4 legs utilizing aircraft like the Boeing 747 and Boeing 777. Back in the FS9 days (when FS9 had the default Concorde) I went around the world (northern hemisphere) in 3-4 legs (can’t remember exactly) but did it at supersonic speed. That was cool. While the flights I conducted in only 3-4 legs were fun, I certainly learn a lot more when visiting more locations and especially taking the time to research some of the destinations.
In thinking back to some of my earlier “round the world” adventures, it got me thinking about just how much time it would take to go around the world if there was no need to stop to fuel (or mid-air refueling could be performed). So I asked Dr. Google and this is what I found out…
Cessna 172 – 132.7 hours.
Boeing 747-400 – 41.96 hours
General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon – 18.9 hours
Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird – 11.3 hours
Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo – 10 hours
International Space Station – 2.27 hours
Interesting stuff and hopefully you also find these sort of facts interesting as well. Enough of this, let’s get on with the tour. As you can see from the updated tour map (below), the first six legs have primarily been making our way northwest. We’re now turning and headed southwest and will soon dip back below the equator.
History of City
Male is the capital and most populous city in the Republic of Maldives and has a population of approx.. 133,000 and an area of 2.2 sq. miles making it one of the most densely populated cities in the world. The city is geographically located at the southern edge of North Male Atoll and consists of a central island, an airport island and two other islands under control by the Male City Council.
History of Country
The Maldives, officially known as the Republic of Maldives, is a South Asian sovereign state, located in the Indian Ocean and lies southwest of Sri Lanka and India. The Maldives is one of the worlds most geographically dispersed countries consisting of a chain of 26 atolls spanning approx. 115 sq. miles.
History of Airport
Velana International Airport, also known as Male International Airport is the main international airport in the Maldives. It is located on Hulhule Island in the North Male Atoll and nearby the capital city/island of Male. The airport first began operations in 1960 with the first runway being constructed of slotted steel sheets measuring a length of just 3,000 ft. As tourism increased in the early 70’s, the airport was further upgraded to handle the volume. Today, the main asphalt runway measures 10,499 feet and routinely handles aircraft up to the Boeing 777.
History of Airline
China Eastern Airlines is a major Chinese airline operating international, domestic and regional routes and is the second largest carrier by passenger numbers in China. The airline was established in 1988 and currently operates 496 aircraft. China Eastern typically operates a Boeing 737 between VCBI and VRMM.
Flight Briefing
CES1066
VCBI – VRMM
Planned Fuel – 13,500
Planned Altitude – 38,000
Distance – 420
Flight Time: 1hr, 35min
Route: BASU2D BASUR P570 TVM R457 MUGBA M3B
Flight Journal
The visit to Sri Lanka, while enjoyable….most days consisted of rain, more rain with short breaks from the rain where the sun would come out and the humidity would soar, then it would rain again. I believe our travelers are weary from the heat and humidity and ready for a break. But as I’ve shared with them, the next few legs will mostly be much of the same. Perhaps a brief break from the damp, sticky climate will come once we reach South Africa. But even that will only be brief.
For this leg of our journey, we will be flying a China Eastern Boeing 737-700. China Eastern operates flights between these two airports in the real world, so I felt it only right to do the same in our virtual tour. Our passengers have arrived for a very wet, late afternoon departure.
We can’t depart until all the luggage has been loaded and the ground crew is working extra hard on this wet day to ensure an on-time departure.
With the doors securely closed and locked, it’s time to pushback this Boeing 737-700 for the trip.
Position and Hold on runway 04. We’re ready to go…
Up and away.
We may eventually find some sunshine…somewhere.
Ahhhh, there we go. Clear skies and sunshine as we cruise at 38,000 feet.
As previously mentioned, our departure out of Sri Lanka was in the late afternoon and the sun is beginning to sink into the Indian Ocean.
A beautiful view as we descend into our destination.
The view from the flight deck.
One more wing view as the sun has just about disappeared.
We quite a strong cross-wind for our approach into Male.
On short final, we’ll be on the ground shortly.
On the ground at Male International Airport just before darkness sets in.
Simulator Specifics
Prepar3d v4.2
ActiveSky Weather Engine
ActiveSky Cloud Art
Envtex & Envshade
PMDG 737-700 (China Eastern livery)
Orbx Global Texture
VATSIM
Route Planning Tools
AivlaSoft PFPX
Navigraph Charts Desktop
FlightAware
FlightRadar24
SkyVector
Google Maps
Computer Hardware Specs
Our travelers will spend two days in Male before our next flight. I certainly hope you’re enjoying following along with the journey and learning a few things along the way. I’ll see you right back here for the next leg.
Until next time…
Jerry
July 2, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments
If you follow the happenings around the flight simulation community, then you should be well aware that the 2018 FlightSimExpo which was held in Las Vegas on 9-10 June was a success. Flight Sim enthusiasts from around the world flew into LAS for the event and just about everyone I’ve heard from had nothing but positive thoughts regarding the 2018 event and look forward to 2019 and beyond.
As the dust begins to settle from the event, the organizers have been quick to communicate to those who attended the 2018 event regarding their opinions for future shows. Specifically their interest/opinion regarding specifically where they might wish to see the 2019 event held.
From what I understand the survey sent out to the 2018 attendees, identifies a list of six US cities including ATL, DEN, LAS, MIA, MCO and SAN. The survey also includes a write in slot as well. But most likely people will focus on the six named cities.
Of course, yours truly would absolutely love to see Denver named as the 2019 host city location. Denver (and the surrounding area) has a lot to offer and would be well suited to host the 2019 Flight Sim Expo and even future years as well. Denver International Airport is the international destination of many European carriers including British Airways, Lufthansa, Norwegian, Icelandic and Edelweiss. It is also a major hub for United Airlines and is served by most all the US carriers including American, Delta, Frontier and Southwest just to name a few. While the event would certainly save me a lot of $$$ and allow me to even sleep in my own bed, is Denver (or any of the other cities listed) the best choice for FlightSim Expo 2019 and beyond?
In short, I say NO!
Yes absolutely, Denver (and all the other cities) have excellent airports with plenty of flight options. Yes, Denver (and all the other cities) have plenty of state of the art conference facilities which could host this type of conference. Yes, Denver (and all the other cities) also have a suitable nightlife to keep everyone entertained after the conference event ends for the day. But….neither Denver…nor any other city listed has the nightlife that Las Vegas can offer. Especially when you think about location and proximity.
Consistency is Key
I believe the key to having a successful conference year after year after year is consistency. I believe it’s important to hold annual conferences around the same time each year and in the same location each year. While one might could say that holding a conference in Denver on an annual basis could get old and stale after a few years, I really don’t think the same can be said for Vegas. After all….when I think of Cool…the image of the Rat Pack comes to mind. Frank, Dean, Joey, Sammy and Peter absolutely understood just how cool Las Vegas was and still is.
The other advantage to holding a conference in the same location each year ultimately comes down to cost. Once a conference can establish themselves as an annual event, the organizers should be able to better negotiate deals with the hotel/conference center and pass those savings down to the attendees or use it to better enhance the event itself.
My Advice
If the organizers of FlightSimExpo care to listen, I say Vegas Baby! Consider moving the event up the strip…but keep FSExpo19 in Fabulous Las Vegas. You’ve got a really good thing going here….keep it consistent and it’ll grow.
Finally
Yes I realize some will say (in a nasally voice), “but Las Vegas is too hot”. I’m actually writing this (to be posted next week) while I’m traveling for work. I’m currently in MCO (Orlando) and this is how the weather report was posted earlier today online “Hot, Sticky, Steamy, Soupy, Wet, Swampy and Nasty”. Does that sound fun to you? Yes, it’s hotter than a two dollar pistol in Vegas, but remember…it’s a dry heat. MCO can’t claim that! Oh no….just Nasty!
Until next time….
Perhaps I’ll see you next year in LAS.
Jerry
June 30, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments
After a four day business trip and visit from my parents, it’s great to get back into the sim and resume our WorldFlight tour around the world. I had to spend just a bit of time reading the past trip reports to bring myself up to speed on where we left off and what leg was next up.
The magenta dots are slowly but surely starting to take numbers on our world map. But we still have a lot of ground (and water) to cover before this tour is complete. So let’s stop talking, and start flying.
An updated version of our tour map showing the five previous stops.
History of City
Colombo is the commercial capital and largest city in Sri Lanka. Known for its natural harbor, Indian, Greek, Persian, Roman, Arab and Chinese traders have been visiting this area for over 2000 years. The metro area of Colombo has a population of over 5.6 million with 752,993 in the city proper.
History of Country
The pre-history of Sri Lanka goes back 125,000 years and possibly even as far back as 500,000 years. Today the island is home to many cultures, languages and ethnicities. The majority of the population is from the Sinhalese ethnicity, while a large minority of Tamils have also played an influential role in the island’s history.
History of Airport
The Bandaranaike International Airport (also known as Colombo International Airport) is the main international airport serving Sri Lanka. It is named after former Prime Minister SWRD Bandaranaike and is located 20 miles from the commercial capital of Colombo. The airport began as a Royal Air Force airfield in 1944. Today the airport is more than capable of handling the world’s largest passenger jets including the Boeing 747 and the Airbus A380.
History of Airline
Garuda Indonesia is the national airline of Indonesia. Named after the holy bird Garuda of Hinduism from the national emblem of Indonesia, the airline is headquartered in Jakarta which we visited a few legs ago. The airline was founded in 1947 as KLM Interinsulair and commenced operations as Garuda Indonesian Airways in 1949. They have a fleet size of 142 aircraft consisting of 73 Boeing 737-800, 10 Boeing 777-300ER and 13 Airbus A330 to name just a few.
Flight Briefing
GIA1066
WITT – VCBI
Planned Fuel – 21,500 lbs
Planned Altitude – 34,000
Distance – 933nm
Flight Time – 3hrs
Route: ANSA1B ANSAX P574 DUBTA L645 SADRI N563 ADKIT T3 BEBOK A465 DABAR DABA1A
Flight Journal
We begin our flight today in the late afternoon. We’ll be serving light snacks and should reach Sri Lanka in the early evening with enough time for our travelers to have a nice dinner before heading to their hotel. We wasted no time in getting boarded and all loaded up for the flight. As the WITT airport is rather basic, I thought I would just cut to the chase and get us airborne.
Hopefully you’re not getting bored with the 737. The fact of the matter is the Boeing 737 is a workhorse aircraft for so many airlines around the world, that it shouldn’t be uncommon for it to get a lot of rotations on our tour. Until the Aerosoft Airbus A319, A320 and A321 releases for Prepar3D v4, the B737 is our best option for short field operations.
Climbing out of WITT for FL340
Spiral contrails from our Boeing 738 with the crescent moon visible.
Another well done livery scheme
Our Garuda Indonesia Boeing 737-800 fully configured for landing at VCBI
Another fairly basic default airport.
Down on the ground just before the afternoon thunderstorm rolls in. We’re fortunate to have the ground power and most importantly the ground AC unit. It’ll be another hot and sticky visit.
Simulator Specifics
Prepar3d v4.2
ActiveSky Weather Engine
ActiveSky Cloud Art
Envtex & Envshade
PMDG 737-800 (Tiger Airways livery)
Orbx Global Texture
Orbx Australia
Orbx Cairns Airport
Orbx Broome Airport
VATSIM
Route Planning Tools
AivlaSoft PFPX
Navigraph Charts Desktop
FlightAware
FlightRadar24
SkyVector
Google Maps
Computer Hardware Specs
As always, I truly appreciate you reading this trip report. I hope you are enjoying the tour and learning a little something along the way. I know I have.
Until next time…
Happy Flying!
Jerry
June 27, 2018 / admin / 4 Comments
There seems to be a lot of confusion regarding the process of how to update Prepar3D. While the geniuses at Lockheed Martin have created a super easy to follow instruction manual, the confusion regarding this process seems to run rampant on social media. I’m not sure why really. Perhaps it’s the reluctance of reading the manual or perhaps the manual just contains too much detail and not enough step-by-step-by-step guidance. In any event, I’m going to do my best to provide you a step-by-step guide for how to update Prepar3D. Or at the very least, how I update my own instance of Prepar3D.
About this guide
This step-by-step guide was written specifically for the Prepar3D version 4.2 to 4.3 update and written/published in late June of 2018. Lockheed Martin released P3D v4.3 on 25 June 2018. If you are referring to this guide anytime after version 4.3 (v4.4, v4.5 etc.) then this method should also work as well. Unfortunately my crystal ball isn’t working for peering into the future, so who knows how the update process will work for P3D v5 (if there is such a thing). What I’m trying to say here, is content on the Internet tends to live forever and you might be stumbling on this writing a year, two or more from the time I wrote it. Just keep that in mind.
The Update Process
Just a little background for those that may not be aware. I believe, starting with P3D v3.x, Lockheed Martin developed P3D to be somewhat modular in the way one can update and maintain the simulator. This modular setup consists of three main files with the first being the Client, the second being the Content and the third being the Scenery. When Lockheed Martin develops, tests and deploys an updated version to us, we no longer need to completely uninstall the entire P3D application just to take advantages of the updates. In many cases, only the “Client” portion of the update needs to be applied. But you should do your homework to best determine exactly what you need to update to take advantage of all the new bells and whistles available.
Prepar3D version 4.3 Change Log
To aid you in understanding all the changes included in the P3D v4.3 update, please follow this link. Use this information to determine what you want to update.
My Update Process
I’ve studied the change log and have determined my action plan. In short, I don’t see enough value add in the Scenery updates to worry at this time with updating. That’s really the beauty of this modular update system. However, I will of course update the client and also the content. If you are not interested in flying the six different versions of the C-130, then I suppose you can simply skip the content portion. But as I previously stated, my update plan is to update both the client and the content portion of P3D.
Step One
Make note of P3D Settings. Before I perform an update, I typically will start up P3D and take screen captures of all the settings screens. This way, if anything gets changed during the update process…I’ll be able to quickly reset everything back to the way it was before. I like to run P3D with the updated version with the same settings I ran on the previous version first, before tweaking anything. This way I have a better determination on just what improvements were made and how these improvements impact my setup.
Step Two
Download the update files required. As I previously mentioned, I’m only planning to update the Client and the Content. So you’ll need to login to the downloads section of the Prepar3D website with your license or account credentials. Once there, click to expand the individual component downloads section and download the following four files: Install_Client.msi, Install_Content.msi, cont1.cab and cont2.cab. Once downloaded, I typically place all the files into a new folder I create on the Windows desktop for ease of access.
Step Three
We’re going to uninstall one component at a time. I’ve found this to be the least error prone way of doing this. On your Windows gaming PC, go to Control Panel > Programs and Features. From here we’re going to uninstall the P3D Client ONLY.
When prompted “Would you like to deactivate your P3D installation?”, Click NO!
Step Four
Next we’re going to install the updated P3D Client which we downloaded in step two. As previously mentioned, after I download all the appropriate files (in this case four), I create a folder on my Windows desktop and place all the downloaded files in that folder. Right-click on the Install_Client file and select Install.
Pay very special attention during the install to make sure the updated client is being installed in your specified P3D install directory. In my example, everything defaulted in just as it should have.
Step Five
Return to Control Panel > Programs and Features and locate the P3D Content component and just as you did before, uninstall this component.
Step Six
Again, as before…right-click on the Install_Content file and click Install. The Install_Content installer will automagically access the two cab files (cont1 and cont2) as necessary to perform the updated content installation.
Step Seven
Pending everything installed successfully, reboot your PC. While the P3D update/install files will not prompt you or even require you to reboot, it is ALWAYS in your best interest to reboot after installing software and we’re wanting a trouble-free upgrade…so just reboot! Trust me, I’m an IT Guy!
Step Eight
Once your Windows gaming PC has successfully restarted, launch P3D. Don’t be alarmed if P3D takes a little longer than normal to launch the first time. P3D is doing a lot of work behind the scenes and in my experience it took perhaps an additional 1-2 minutes than normal.
Once P3D launches, pay special attention to the screen below. If all was successful with your update, you should see the new “Add-ons” button at the bottom. If so, SUCCESS! Pat yourself on the back as you’ve just successfully updated P3D. At this point, I closed out of P3D as I still needed to perform a few other updates to software accessories such as ActiveSky, Envtex etc.
Additional Notes of Interest
I’m writing this just a little over 24 hours from when Lockheed Martin released the update for Prepar3D v4.3. At the time of this writing, third party developers are working hard to update all the various add-ons which required some level of change due to the new P3D update. Within just hours of the P3D update, ActiveSky, Chaseplane, Envtex/Envshade all had updates available for P3D v4.3. Once I updated these add-ons, these along with all my other 3rd party add-ons work including all my PMDG aircraft, QualityWings 787, A2A aircraft, Carenado aircraft and sceneries including Orbx, FlightBeam, FSDreamTeam etc. etc. all worked as expected. In other words, I did not need to reinstall any add-ons.
Benefits to Updating?
After I managed to get everything updated and launched P3D, I noticed a much faster load/launch time and I’m seeing a very slight increase in FPS performance. The amount of time it took me to perform the update process was about 15-20 minutes. But I can certainly understand ones reluctance to updating…especially if your current v4.2 setup is running stable. To my knowledge, no 3rd party add-ons at this particular time require version 4.3. However, if you’re an Aerosoft Airbus fan and are anxiously awaiting the release of the A318/A319 and A320/A321, then you may need to update to 4.3. But as the release date for the Aerosoft Airbus has been pushed to sometime in mid-late July, you have plenty of time.
Final Thoughts
Over the past 24+ hours I’ve seen a lot of frustration from others who have attempted to update P3D to 4.3. This is one of the reasons I decided to document my update process in the hopes it helps others. However, let me say this. My gaming PC is 100% rock solid. I was experiencing zero issues before deciding to update to v4.3. P3D v4.2 was stable and the only CTD I’ve experienced was caused by the wx radar in the QW787. If you’re experiencing issues with your gaming machine, if you’re experiencing issues with Windows on your gaming machine and especially if you’re experiencing issues with v4.2, then your upgrade/update process may not go as smooth as mine did. While this process is super simple (especially following my method), it won’t solve problems which exist in your system. These problems (what ever they may be) may result in a less than desired outcome.
I wish you the very best of luck. I truly believe if you follow my guide step-by-step as I’ve laid it all out, you’ll have the very best chance for a successful update. Again, the best of luck to you and I hope to see you in the virtual skies very soon.
Until next time….
Happy Updates!
Jerry
P.S. After I have more time to spend flying in P3D v4.3, I’ll post an updated settings post. I don’t anticipate anything changing, but need to update the page anyway.
