September 3, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments
This will serve as the introduction and first of a multi-part blog tutorial series for how I learn and fly sim aircraft that might be classified as the more complex, study-level, payware aircraft types. While some will argue that products developed by QualityWings, CaptainSim, Carenado, Aerosoft (just to name off a few) aren’t in the same category or classification as the likes of PMDG, A2A or FSLabs. While I agree partially with this argument, there is still a learning process with these different aircraft models and more or less the same method I use can be applied to each of them.
The Fine Print
I’m sharing the methods I use to learn and fly study level aircraft. This series of tutorials are not designed to be the end-all, be-all of methods to accomplish this task. These are simply the methods which have worked well for me over the years. Actually, the process has become a lot easier since the dawn of YouTube and Google. If you have different methods that work, great. Likewise, if you prefer to first start by studying the Boeing manual…I take my hat off to you. However, many of us just don’t have the time, nor the desire to go to the full depths of understanding when it comes to “when I flip this switch in the cockpit, this is what is happening behind the scenes with all the complex theory behind it” type scenario. As I have stated many times…I have no desire to learn how to fly a plane in real life. But I get a lot of stress relieving satisfaction from the time I spend in flight sim and the other simulation based platforms I enjoy. There’s nothing wrong with any method. Let’s get on with this first tutorial.
The New Aircraft
So PMDG, FSLabs, QualityWings etc. have released their latest and greatest version of whatever real world airplane they’ve been spending years developing. This new virtual aircraft is the closest thing us flight simmers can experience to the real thing short of spending time in a full-size simulator or becoming a real-world airline pilot. Almost every button, switch, dial in the cockpit has been programmed to simulate the same real-world operation we’d find on the real flight deck. It’s truly a thing of beauty…but, just like in the real world…a series of steps must be carried out and in most cases these steps must be followed in a specific order before we’ll ever get the aircraft into the skies.
I don’t know about you, but when I first purchase, download and install the latest and greatest from my favorite developers the first thing I really want to do is fly the darn airplane. While I absolutely love flying on the VATSIM network, I’ll never fly a brand new aircraft until such time as I’ve learned more about the aircraft and can perform all the necessary functions as not to embarrass myself on the network or more importantly, not cause any disruption or dissatisfaction with other pilots.
I’ll be open and honest, in the beginning for each new aircraft I’m just concerned with the minimum effort needed to get the aircraft in a state where I can fly it, control it and land it. Once I can do this….I then proceed with diving a little deeper and deeper into the aircraft. As time goes by, I’m following more of the “checklist flows” for how things are done. Once I reach this point, this is when I’m willing to use the new aircraft on the VATSIM network.
Over the course of the next few written tutorials, I’ll share the steps I follow to learn these new aircraft and to develop a proficiency at flying them well enough to fly online. As I’ve stated in the past, I’ve been flying on VATSIM from the very beginning. I have over 18 years of online experience, I’ve never been banned, I’ve never been given a warning. I take great pride in always being professional and always following the rules.
But how do I begin the learning process?
Read the Manual
Yes…it starts with reading the manual. I’m sure you’re probably thinking to yourself, surely (don’t call me Shirley) Jerry has figured out a better process to all this versus reading the manual. Well…all I can say is the manual generally has a lot of valuable information that will assist you in the process of learning your new aircraft. But even I’ll admit that a lot of the information contained in these manuals provide more of the theory behind how things function versus the how do I do this and why should I do this procedure. But at the very least….know where the manual is located (where it’s been installed on your PC) and familiarize yourself with it. It’ll make for great reading material during the cruise phase of your first flight.
Tutorial Flight
Most complex, payware aircraft will include a tutorial flight. As I begin laying out the framework of this article (early July timeframe), I’m in the process of learning the FS Labs Airbus A320 (and the A319). I’m relatively new to the FSLabs Airbus and you can read more about my decision to purchase this add-on here. The tutorial flight for the A320 is a short flight from Vienna, Austria to Copenhagen, Denmark. It’s written in a step-by-step fashion and can very easily be followed.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always learned by doing. I can sit in a classroom listening to someone explain something until my eyes glaze over and not learn a thing. Or I can actually roll up my sleeves and follow along by actually doing the same thing the person is talking about and learn everything I need to know. Well, learning how to fly is the same thing for me. The FS Labs tutorial flight is one of the best documented processes I’ve seen and after flying this flight twice, I was ready to fly to other destinations using the processes documented in the tutorial.
YouTube is your Friend
The first complex payware aircraft I purchased was the Level-D 767. This aircraft came out before YouTube was born and I must admit that the learning curve for the 767 (for me) was much steeper than any other aircraft since the dawn of YouTube. Prior to the 767, I was a CTRL-E kind of guy. So trying to follow along in the manual (and I can’t remember if there was a tutorial) was much like trying to fly to the moon. But now days, within days (sometimes hours) of an aircraft release, you’ll find really detailed videos from very talented individuals on full, immersive flights.
Some YouTube content creators will go over the flow based on the provided checklists and others will hit the highlights of just what’s needed to power up the aircraft and fly it. As I previously mentioned, I’m more inclined to initially take the path of least resistance in the beginning. But there are a few real world airline pilots who also record YouTube videos and stream on Twitch while flying in P3D. I thoroughly enjoy watching their content, especially once I’ve somewhat mastered the basics and it helps me to then go back and fill in some of the areas I’ve either missed or perhaps just don’t understand why a process is done.
Checklist Flows
Once you’ve completed the tutorial flight(s) and have a better understanding of your new aircraft. Future flights are easier and setup a lot faster when using a checklist. Again, most of the developers will include a checklist within the documentation of the aircraft. However, in some cases these checklists when used without any additional aids may not be enough to get you over the learning curve. This is where my modified checklists come into play.
Modified Checklists
Generally after a few tutorial flights, then a few flights loosely based on the tutorial flight, I begin creating my own checklist flow. I do this for a few reasons. One, in some instances there are steps on the official checklist that just don’t provide enough details as to the steps I need to follow. For example, in the FSLabs A320 checklist provided in the documents, the first checklist item in the Before Start section is “Cockpit Preparation”. What does all this entail I ask? To a veteran airline captain or first officer, they know all the finer details behind all that goes into this important checklist item. But for me…it’s simply not enough…at least not in the beginning stages. So I’ve developed a method of creating my own Word document lists which somewhat mirror the actual A320 checklist, but at the same time helps me to remember everything I need to do to ensure the cockpit is fully prepped. In addition, when I lay out these flows, I try (as best as possible) to follow a flow that works best for me. Yes, I realize this may deviate from how things are done in the real world. But if it keeps me from having to bounce all around cockpit then that just saves me a little time. And honestly, we’re not talking about major differences…just a few shortcuts here and there. I may consider making an effort to clean these documents up and make them available to anyone interested.
Just to repeat myself
There’s no right or wrong way with these things. Yes, there are those “hard core” types that actually dress up like a real pilot to enjoy their computer based sim. But the thing everyone needs to keep in mind is that what we’re simulating…the workload and role of an airline pilot in the real world is carried out by two highly skilled pilots. Unless you are using an aircraft capable of shared cockpit functionality, you’re really doing all the work typically shared between two pilots. There are add-ons available for some payware aircraft which simulate a multi-crew experience. FS2Crew is one that I’m most familiar with. The add-on is capable of performing various tasks on the flight deck using voice recognition. I’ve used it in the past on the Level-D 767 and one or two of the PMDG aircraft I own. While I’m no longer using it, I certainly recommend it if you’
Final Thoughts
The old saying, “Practice Makes Perfect” is certainly a very wise suggestion. The more you fly your brand new aircraft, the easier it will be to commit all the steps necessary to memory. But remember, even real world pilots use a checklist for each and every flight so don’t feel bad if you (from time to time) need to reflect back to your checklist. It’s just all part of the process. Finally, for the sake of all others (and your own reputation)….spend a little (or a lot) of time flying your new aircraft off-line to familiarize yourself with it fully before contemplating going online with VATSIM, IVAO or the other online networks.
I hope this information helps you.
Until next time…
Happy Learning!
Jerry
September 1, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments
Before we get started with this tour update, I would like to remind everyone why I’m doing this. When you have a moment, (or right now) please visit the WorldFlight website. This is the official site for the 2018 event and from that webpage you can find links to other sites such as Simfest UK, CB-Worldflight Team USA and others. Each team of participant groups from around the world are raising money for various charities. The official WorldFlight Event for 2018 will begin on 3 November at 2200z with teams departing Sydney, Australia and conclude a week later on 10 November around 0845z back in Sydney. These teams will stream their flights on Twitch and YouTube for the world to watch and hopefully donate towards the charities these teams are sponsoring.
This particular tour update has many special meanings for us and our long journey around the world. First, it somewhat marks the downhill segment of our tour. However, we’re still flying somewhat uphill on the globe. Second, today is the 1st of September and for those of us in the northern hemisphere it means fall is just around the corner and third…it marks the start of the 3rd month of our long tour. Finally, upon landing we’ll reach the furthest in latitude we’ll achieve on this tour. With our starting location of Sydney, Australia being the furthest south.
Now in the real-world, my wife and I should be enjoying the English Countryside down in Kent (Tunbridge Wells). We would have departed Antwerp yesterday for the short 1 hour hop over the North Sea, then traveled by train from London City Airport out to the southeast of England. Pretty much our favorite place on earth. Of course I’m writing and posting this in advance of leaving for our vacation.
History of City
Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. Situated north of mainland Europe, it is about midway between continental Norway and the North Pole. The islands were first used as a whaling base in the 17th and 18th centuries. Coal mining came to the area in the early 20th century with the establishment of several permanent communities. Svalbard is a breeding ground for many seabirds, and also features polar bears, reindeer and the arctic fox just to name a few.
History of Country
Norway is a unitary sovereign state in Northwestern Europe whose core territory comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. Norway has a total area of 148,747 square miles and a population of 5,258,317.
History of Airport
Svalbard Airport, located in Longyear is the main airport serving Svalbard, Norway. It handles approx. 150,000 passengers annually.
History of Airline
Scandinavian Airlines, usually known as SAS is the flag carrier of Sweden, Norway and Denmark and operates out of its main hub at Copenhagen-Kastrup Airport with connections to over 50 cities in Europe.
Flight Briefing
SAS1066
ENTC – ENSB
Planned Fuel – 12,000 lbs
Planned Altitude – 38,000
Distance – 517nm
Flight Time – 1hr, 40min
Route: TC603 LOMVI P853 UVSAS BJO PITOL ATSOT ISD LALAD LOLVO
Flight Journal
The theme of today’s (or actually, should I say tonight’s) flight is “Chasing the Midnight Sun”. To somewhat maximize our travelers time while visiting Norway, we’ve been departing during the late evening hours. The flight tonight is no different as we have a scheduled departure time of 11:00 PM. My flight crew and I have arrived at the airport and in the process of getting our Boeing 737-800 ready to go. We’re shuttling another SAS aircraft and this happens to be a real world flight as well which is operated by SAS and also in the B738.
Pushing back with the help of the SAS ground crew. It’s just before 11, we should be airborne in the next 10 minutes.
Lined up and ready to go.
Off we go into the clear cloudy somewhat blue yonder.
Making our right-turn to join the departure route.
We’ve passed through one layer of clouds only to find another.
I’m sure we’ll find some clear skies soon.
Finally we’ve climbed above the clouds and are on our way of chasing the midnight sun. This time of year the sun at this latitude never sets fully. During our flight the sun will begin to rise again before we land.
Just before top of descent, our B738 is bathed in the light of the rising sun.
It’s midnight.
The moon is visible off the right wing.
The arrival into Svalbard is quite challenging and made even more so under this level of visibility. But in our instruments, we trust.
On final, the PAPI lights are visible.
Such a nice approach.
Cleared to land, runway 28. I’ll most certainly want to try this approach under clear conditions as I’m sure the views are simply amazing.
Parked at our gate and ready to deboard our passengers.
Simulator Specifics
Prepar3d v4.3
ActiveSky Weather Engine
ActiveSky Cloud Art
Envtex & Envshade
PMDG Boeing 737-800 (Scandinavian livery)
Orbx Global Texture
VATSIM
Route Planning Tools
AivlaSoft & PFPX
Navigraph Charts Desktop
FlightAware
FlightRadar24
SkyVector
Google Maps
Computer Hardware Specs
While it’s late, our travelers will spend the next two days exploring this area of Norway and do so mostly in the late afternoon and evenings. Tomorrow evening they’ll take a special tour (weather permitting) to once again enjoy the midnight sun and dinner in a beautiful Norway. As previously mentioned, this is as far North we’ll travel on our tour. Once we depart Norway, we’ll fly west to Greenland and being our North American tour segment. I hope you’ll join us.
Until next time…
Happy Flying!!!
Jerry
August 29, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments
As the title reads, this is our 23rd leg of our 46 total leg journey around the world using the WorldFlight 2018 route schedule. Upon completion of this flight, we will have reached the half-way point for our long, long journey. As a reminder, as you are reading this on or around the 29th of August….My wife and I are still in Belgium and will be departing Antwerp in just a few days time to fly back to London. Once reaching London, we’ll spend a week in the English countryside in the county of Kent. As I write this in early August, I’m really excited about our trip…but still really busy with work. But the days seem to be flying by at a fairly good pace and I’m sure I’ll get everything done that truly needs to be done before vacation starts.
The magenta dots are cities/airports we’ve visited and the blue dots are cities/airports yet to be visited. But we’re making progress as it seems like it was just yesterday we were turning the corner down in South Africa and that was many, many miles and hours ago.
History of City
Established in 1838, Tromso has a population of approx. 64,376 and is the 9th most populous municipality in Norway. It is the largest urban area in Northern Norway and is warmer than most other places due to the warming effect of the Gulf Stream.
History of Country
Norway is a unitary sovereign state in Northwestern Europe whose core territory comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. Norway has a total area of 148,747 square miles and a population of 5,258,317.
History of Airport
Tromso Airport began operations in 1864, replacing the older airport. It is the 5th busiest airport in Norway handling 1.9 million passengers annually.
History of Airline
Scandinavian Airlines, usually known as SAS is the flag carrier of Sweden, Norway and Denmark and operates out of its main hub at Copenhagen-Kastrup Airport with connections to over 50 cities in Europe.
Flight Briefing
SAS1066
ENVA – ENTC
Planned Fuel – 12,000 lbs
Planned Altitude – 39,000
Distance – 419nm
Flight Time – 1hr, 22min
Route: NIGE1A NIGEX AMIMO AMIM4L
Flight Journal
Not only has the Norway experience been a nice one for the flight crew, our travelers are also finding the Norway experience awesome as well. Our group spent a few days exploring and now it’s time to move onto our second of three Norwegian cities on our tour. Once again we’re departing in the late evening. It’s nearly 9 PM and if not for the cloud cover, you might think it was only late afternoon.
Lining up and waiting for our take off clearance. For this flight we’re moving a Boeing 737-600 up to Tromso. The last time we flew this variant of the 737 was the JANET flight out to Diego Garcia.
Up, up and away once again.
Wing view to the right
Wing view to the left
Our Scandinavian Boeing 736 at flight level 390. (39,000 feet)
More of those fluffy clouds.
Beginning our descent into Tromso, Norway.
Absolutely love the arrival into Tromso. Reminds me of some of my favorite flying spots in Alaska.
Approaching 10:30 and the sun is still high in the sky.
The descent path is taking us over some beautiful mountains and Fjords. I’ve definitely got to come back here for some low and slow bush flying.
On final into Tromso.
Short final into Tromso
Under a very cloudy sky, it’s approaching 11 PM and still light enough to see what we’re doing.
Simulator Specifics
Prepar3d v4.3
ActiveSky Weather Engine
ActiveSky Cloud Art
Envtex & Envshade
PMDG Boeing 737-800 (Scandinavian livery)
Orbx Global Texture
VATSIM
Route Planning Tools
AivlaSoft & PFPX
Navigraph Charts Desktop
FlightAware
FlightRadar24
SkyVector
Google Maps
Computer Hardware Specs
This was another fantastic flight and as previously mentioned, marks the completion of the first half of the tour. Our travelers will spend two days exploring the Tromso area before another late evening departure to Svalbard. This will mark our third and final stop in Norway before we turn west towards Greenland and North America.
Until next time…
Happy Flying!
Jerry
August 25, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments
As you are reading this tour update entry, my wife and I have hopefully (I wrote this obviously in advance) safely arrived in Antwerp Belgium and are enjoying ourselves visiting family and seeing a few sights in the area. I believe this is my 7th or 8th time to visit Belgium and we always find new things to do and revisit a few places again. We’ll stay in Belgium for a week, then return back to England where we will stay a week out in the English Countryside of Kent. But don’t worry…while I’m traveling around Belgium and England, you’ll still have regular/scheduled tour updates over the next two weeks. Plus if you are somewhat new to study level aircraft, I’ll be releasing an article on 3 September with tips on how I learn these complex aircraft.
It’s been a whirlwind of travel and touring the past couple of weeks for our jetsetters. The week of relaxation experienced by all back on the island of Madeira is all but a distant memory. But not to worry, once we reach Svalbard, Norway…we’ll once again pause travel for a week before heading west across to Greenland and North America.
History of City
Trondheim, founded in 997 as a trading post and served as the capital of Norway during the Viking Age until 1217. Today, Trondheim has a population of 193,501 and is the third most populous municipality in Norway.
History of Country
Norway is a unitary sovereign state in Northwestern Europe whose core territory comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. Norway has a total area of 148,747 square miles and a population of 5,258,317.
History of Airport
Trondheim Airport, is an international airport serving Trondheim, a city and municipality in Trondelag County, Norway. The main airlines at the airport are Scandinavian Airlines, Norwegian Air Shuttle and Wilderoe.
History of Airline
Norwegian Air Shuttle, is a Norwegian low-cost airline. It is the third largest low-cost carrier in Europe behind EasyJet and Ryanair and the ninth-largest low-cost airline in the world and the largest airline in Scandinavia.
Flight Briefing
NAX1066
EGNM – ENVA
Planned Fuel – 15,000 lbs
Planned Altitude – 37,000
Distance – 694nm
Flight Time – 1hr, 55min
Route: POL UP17 TIPTA UM82 RIVOT UM89 ALOTI T400 ZOL P5 TOTKO Z86 NELSU NELS1L
Flight Journal
While our stay in Leeds may have been short, our travelers packed a whole lot of touristy things into the time they had available. Visits to the Royal Armouries Museum, Harewood House and Kirkstall Abbey. I think some of our travelers were a bit confused when they learned Leeds Castle is not located in Leeds, England. Well that’s down in Kent and is one of the spots my wife and I plan to visit on our European holiday. But I digress….
Our chariot (A Norwegian Boeing 737-800) awaits us at the Leeds Airport. The ground crew here has been spectacular at helping us keep to our schedule.
Pushing back from the stand and getting our engines started.
It’s actually late evening, but being this far north the sun doesn’t set until fairly late. We’ll arrive into Norway well after 10 PM and it should still be daylight.
Up, up and away….
Our Orbx EU England ground textures are really providing the nice eye candy for our departure across northern England. Looks like some really nice farm land down there.
Naturally all the other add-ons I’m running to enhance the weather, sky textures, colors etc. are all doing a fantastic job here.
As a child, my wife believed if she had a plastic bag and a tall enough ladder that she could scoop up the puffy clouds and place them in the plastic bag. Who can really argue against that possibility?
Norwegian honors various individuals by incorporating their likeness into their liveries. The individual featured here is Max Manus who was a Norwegian resistance fighter during WWII. You can read more about Max here.
The Fjords of Norway are visible as we are flying over Norway. Orbx Global Texture does a fantastic job keeping the visual senses filled with immersion.
We’ll soon reach our top of descent.
I really like the Norwegian livery.
The view from the “left seat”.
I realize I may have gone a bit overboard with the images for this posting. But the views and ground textures are simply amazing.
Making our turn along the arrival into Trondheim.
The shadows are getting long, but still very much light at almost 10 PM.
Making our turn on final approach with the city of Trondheim just off the right wing.
Gear down.
Another view from the right wing on final approach.
Can’t have the left wing get jealous….What a view across the Trondheim Fjord.
Norwegian Flight 1066 cleared to land.
This approach over the water somewhat reminded me of landing at SFO.
At the gate and shutting down. We’ll soon depart for Tromso, Norway (our second of three Norwegian destinations).
Simulator Specifics
Prepar3d v4.3
ActiveSky Weather Engine
ActiveSky Cloud Art
Envtex & Envshade
PMDG Boeing 737-800 (Norwegian livery)
Orbx Global Texture
Orbx EU England
VATSIM
Route Planning Tools
AivlaSoft PFPX
Navigraph Charts Desktop
FlightAware
FlightRadar24
SkyVector
Google Maps
Computer Hardware Specs
Of the twenty-two flights of this years tour, this was one of my favorite as the views of this part of the world are extraordinary. This is certainly a place I hope to visit someday in real life. Until then…I’ll certainly do more flying in this part of the world. As Real As It Gets Right?
Until next time…
Happy Flying!!!
Jerry
August 23, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments
Just a little over one month ago, I wrote about the FlightSimStore, their demise and my own personal story regarding an issue I had been experiencing in attempting to upgrade a flight sim add-on aircraft. If you happened to miss this article, I encourage you to read it first as it will provide much of the backstory which I’ll omit from this follow-up and closure article.
One thing I do want to reiterate from the previous article. My decision to write about my struggles with the FlightSimStore was not in any way meant to name & shame the add-on aircraft developer (who I’ll name in just a minute). In addition, my intention was to not an effort to get something for nothing. I simply wanted to alert the flight sim community to be careful about making future purchases from the FlightSimStore and to also protect their investment by downloading their purchases and making copies of their purchase receipts/transactions.
Our Community
The flight sim community is small and I believe we’re a special breed of simulation gamer. While I’ll always argue that flight simulation is NOT just a game, it’s a simulation….but to the outside world it is just a game. But I believe our community which is comprised of those of us who enjoy flight simulation and those who develop the add-ons are a very special breed of gamer. I would wager to guess that nearly each and every developer of flight sim add-ons are also flight simmers. While capitalism and the free enterprise system makes it possible for those developers to operate a business, employee others and market their creations….I believe they also do it because they love and care about the hobby of flight simulation. After all, it shows in their finished product and it shows in the way they support their customers.
Thank you Majestic Software
Yes, the aircraft add-on which all this has been about is the Majestic Bombardier Dash-8 Q400. I originally purchased this aircraft from the FlightSimStore back in May 2016 for Prepar3d v3.x. Again, I direct you to my published article from early July for all the backstory details.
As I explained back in July, I reached out to Majestic for their help. While it took a few weeks for Majestic Software to provide a solution, I certainly don’t fault them for the delay. Majestic Software relies on their online partners/retailers to market and sell their add-ons to the flight sim community. Other than technical support, this partnership handles all the rest. For a small business, this usually a fantastic relationship as it allows the developer to do what they do best, while leaving financial transactions, bookkeeping etc. to someone else. While some developers may sell direct and also market through online retailers, Majestic Software only utilizes online retailers. So naturally Majestic needed a few weeks to work with their other online retailers on a solution.
The Solution
If you are like me and originally purchased your Q400 from the FlightSimStore and either need to download your aircraft again, or wish to upgrade it to the 64 bit version for P3D v4, then just follow the steps below.
+++ATTENTION FLIGHT SIM STORE CUSTOMERS+++
Over the past few months there has been some difficulty for Flight Sim Store Customers who purchased the download versions of the Majestic Software products. We are now making the downloads available to customers who have originally purchased the Q400 from the Flight Sim Store.
1. Acquire the full installers for your originally purchased Q400 Edition:
Since FSS no longer allows users to download products, we now provide the full installers of the MJC Q400 to all customers who purchased the Q400 from Flight Sim Store.
2. Where can Flight Sim Store users gain access to the new installers?
The new installers are accessible via the USER AREA which can be found on the Majestic Software website.
3. The Flight Sim Store customers who would like to upgrade their existing Q400 edition, can write to our Support Department (support (at) majesticsoftware (dot) com). Be sure to include supporting credentials used for the purchase of your original Q400.
a. Order Number
b. Vendor
c. Email address used with purchase
d. Full name used with purchase
e. Indicate which 64 bit version of the Q400 you are interested in upgrading to
Please note:
This announcement is applicable ONLY to owners of the Majestic Software PILOT and PRO Editions of the Q400.
The Majestic Software Team
Final Thoughts
I’m once again a very happy virtual pilot. I once again have the Q400 in my virtual hangar and I can’t wait to install a few liveries and fly it once again. Of course, it’s been well over a year since I’ve flown it and it’ll be a few weeks before I get the chance to start the learning process all over again. I must state for the record, the Q400 is perhaps the most difficult aircraft I have in my virtual hangar. As a reminder I own a lot of add-ons including all PMDG offerings for P3D v4, the QW787, CS757 and many others. The Q400 challenges me in a good way and I look forward to flying this beautiful aircraft and learning even more than I knew before. Thank you Majestic Software!
Until next time…
Happy Flying!
Jerry
August 22, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments
Ladies, Gentlemen and Children of ALL AGES, the time is here….as you’re reading this edition of the WorldFlight 2018 GBS Tour blog update, we’re T-Minus ~ 24 hours from the start of our European vacation. We will be departing Denver for London Heathrow on the British Airways daily flight. Our flight leaves (if on time) at 19:35 on Thursday and we arrive in London just before lunch (11:35 AM) the next day. We’ll spend a few hours making our way across London to London City Airport where we will fly to Antwerp, Belgium. This all makes for a super long day, but the business class seat on the BA flight does help as we both can get a few hours sleep.
But not to worry…I’ve worked hard the past couple of weeks to not only complete ALL items on my honey-do list…but also complete enough flights in advance to keep up with the twice weekly updates during the time we’re away, plus a few extra. Once we return from vacation, I plan to increase the blog release schedule to release three updates per week just so I can wrap up the tour around the time the real tour will complete around 10 November. Of course, there’s more motivation to have the tour completed prior to 20 November as that is the day Farming Simulator 19 releases. YEA!!!
History of City
The City of Leeds dates back to 1207, when Maurice Paynel granted a charter covering a small area adjacent to a crossing of the River Aire. Today Leeds has a population around 784,000 making it the second largest city in England.
History of Country
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and shares borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the West. The best known evidence of human presence in the area dates back to approx. 780,000 years ago.
History of Airport
Leeds Bradford Airport began operations in 1931 as Yeadon Aerodrome. The Leeds airport is the highest airport in all of England at an elevation of 681 feet and the 15th busiest airport in the UK. It serves as a base for Eastern Airways, Jet2 and Ryanair.
History of Airline
British Airways is the flag carrier and largest airline in the UK based on fleet size. Established in 1974 after a merger of four airlines, British Airways serves over 160 destinations around the world and has a fleet size of over 270 aircraft.
Flight Briefing
BAW1066
EDDL – EGNM
Planned Fuel – 11,000 lbs
Planned Altitude – 36,000
Distance – 345nm
Flight Time – 1hr, 25min
Route: SONE7T SONEB UP64 TENLI UL602 SUPUR UL60 KOLAG L60 SOPEK L989 BODSO Y70 GOLES BATLI
Flight Journal
After a short stay and tour around the Dusseldorf area of Germany, our travelers must move on to our next destination in the WorldFlight 2018 tour with that being the city of Leeds, England. While not the shortest flight of the tour (that was the last flight) this flight is just under 350nm away, with a flying time of just under 90 minutes. For this leg we’re ferrying a British Airways Airbus A319 up to Leeds where it is scheduled to resume normal service.
While our travelers enjoy the more roomy/spacious Boeing 787, 777 or even the 737 (or Airbus A320), for a short flight like this, the A319 will do the job and we’re just fortunate to have the support and use of this BA aircraft.
We’re lined up and waiting for our take off clearance. We were just behind a larger Boeing 772 and need to allow a bit of separation to avoid any wake turbulence caused by the larger aircraft.
All safe now, cleared for take-off and we’re airborne.
Making our turn to join the departure. The Rhine River is below us.
The greater Dusseldorf area as we climb to our cruising altitude.
Just off the coast of Holland as we fly over Amsterdam headed towards the North Sea.
A wing view over looking the clouds building over the North Sea.
Making great progress.
Land Ho…the coast of England coming into view. We’ll soon begin our descent.
On final approach into Leeds.
Leeds
Cleared to land.
Parked at the gate in Leeds, England.
Simulator Specifics
Prepar3d v4.3
ActiveSky Weather Engine
ActiveSky Cloud Art
Envtex & Envshade
FlightSim Labs Airbus A319 (British Airways livery)
Orbx Global Texture
Orbx EU England
VATSIM
Route Planning Tools
AivlaSoft PFPX
Navigraph Charts Desktop
FlightAware
FlightRadar24
SkyVector
Google Maps
Computer Hardware Specs
Finally, some cooler weather. It appears the heat wave which has kept much of the UK and Europe has finally broken its hold on the area. Nice and normal daytime temps in the mid 70’s have moved into the area. Our travelers will spend three days in the Leeds area before heading to our first of three stops in Norway. We’re just two legs away from reaching the half-way point of our tour. I appreciate you coming along for the ride.
Until next time…
Happy Flying!!!
Jerry
August 20, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments
Not everyone appreciates the joy of study level aircraft in the flight sim world. At one point in time, I was one of these individuals. My argument (and I believed at the time it was a valid one), was simply I just didn’t have the available time to spend 30 minutes or more on the ground flipping switches and programming a complex FMS. I simply wanted to spend less time kicking the tires, and more time lighting the fires and flying.
It must sound strange…
…to a non-flight sim enthusiast that anyone would spend the amount of money and time on a hobby like this, but truly have no desire to learn to fly in the real world. The argument is a valid one, I’ve spent at least a high four figures (perhaps five) over the years which would have more than paid the costs of obtaining my PPL. While I absolutely love flying in real life (as a passenger), I just simply don’t share the same interest in obtaining my private pilots license.
There’s No Right or Wrong Way
Something my YouTube viewers have heard me say many, many times. There’s no right or wrong way to enjoy the hobby of flight simulation. I recently wrote an article titled, “Default/Freeware Aircraft in P3D v4” where I discussed some of the history of both default and freeware aircraft and the fact that there is nothing wrong with using these models to simulate flight. As I was writing that article, I saw a comment posted in one of the Facebook groups I follow. The individual discussed the fact that he simply doesn’t have the time to study, study level aircraft. He expressed many of the same reasons for not flying the complex study level aircraft which I mentioned in the first paragraph and his bottom line was he wanted to spend time flying for maximum enjoyment to escape the stresses of his day-to-day hectic life. Sound familiar? It does to me.
While I’ll always argue and defend the fact there’s no right or wrong way to enjoy flight simulation. I’ll also add that over the years I’ve found I actually get the maximum enjoyment from the more complex, study level, payware aircraft I once avoided.
Point A to Point B and EVERYTHING In-between
I absolutely enjoy all aspects of flight simulation. I enjoy the flight planning, the setup of the aircraft, the taxi, departure, climb, cruise, descent, arrival, approach, landing, taxi…..basically everything. To me, a flight from point A to point B isn’t complete unless all the I’s are dotted and all the T’s are crossed. Yes, it takes some time. But over the years I’ve developed a process which I use to both learn and also fly these types of aircraft.
New Tutorial Series
The past two articles I’ve written did get me to thinking that I should share my processes for how I conduct my flights with the payware, study level aircraft I enjoy flying. I’ve only really started the frame work portion of how I draft and write my articles so I’m not sure just how many tutorials or how in-depth they’ll actually be. But in keeping with my philosophy of “There’s No Right or Wrong Way”, if you are the type of simmer who enjoys dressing up like a real world airline captain and working through each and every checklist, then most likely you’ll not get a lot out of these future tutorials. HOWEVER, if you desire not to spend greater than 30 minutes, 45 minutes or even up to an hour on the ground just to enjoy a flight…then perhaps you’ll learn something from these upcoming tutorials. We’ll see.
The first article will focus mainly on how I learn/study the process of flying a new aircraft and I hope to bring that to you within the next week or so. As I’m looking at my calendar, I have two work related trips I’ll be taking in July, followed by one in early August. Then my wife and I are leaving for Belgium/England for two weeks in late August, early September. I honestly can’t wait for this vacation, but will do my best to at the very least get the tutorial series started before vacation.
As always, thanks for reading. Until next time….happy flying!
Jerry
P.S. You can read my other Flight Sim Tutorials, by clicking Flight, then Flight Sim Tutorials on the GrizzlyBearSims website.
August 18, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments
Before I get going with this tour update, I just wanted to give a brief shout-out to my fellow virtual pilots from virtual United Airlines. I recently joined this fine virtual airline and one of the members posted a friendly note in the forums about my blog site. Thank you! If you’re looking for a friendly, relaxed virtual airline…visit vUAL and fill out an application. When I’m back from vacation in mid September, I’ll do a proper write up on this wonderful VA. I’m having a lot of fun flying the friendly skies for vUAL and so can you.
As I’ve been keeping you informed on my honey-do list progress the past few tour updates, I’m pleased to let you know that as we’re less than six days from leaving on our real world European vacation, the list is almost 100% done. This blog posting is releasing on Saturday, 18 August and hopefully by the time the sun sets on Sunday…the list will be done. I’m fairly confident the list will be completed, but to be honest the few remaining tasks are not critical to our leaving and if they get done, they get done…otherwise I’m not going to stress over it. As my father often says, “Life is just too short to stress over the little things”. I agree….Let’s go flying!
History of City
Dusseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the 7th most populous city in Germany. Dusseldorf is known for its academy of fine arts, its pioneering influence on electronic/experimental music and its Japanese community. Located on the river Rhine, Dusseldorf is ranked 6th in the most livable city in the world.
History of Country
Germany is a sovereign state in central-western Europe. It includes 16 states covering an area of over 137,000 square miles. Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union with an approx. 83 million inhabitants.
History of Airport
The Dusseldorf airport is located approx. 4.3 miles north of downtown Dusseldorf. The airport is the 3rd largest airport in Germany after Frankfurt and Munich handling 24.5 million passengers in 2017. It is a hub for Eurowings and serves as a focus city for many other airlines.
History of Airline
Eurowings is a German low-cost airline based in Dusseldorf and a fully owned subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group. Founded in 1996, it serves a network of domestic and European destinations and some long-haul routes.
Flight Briefing
EWG1066
LSZH – EDDL
Planned Fuel – 11,000 lbs
Planned Altitude – 28,000
Distance – 240nm
Flight Time – 1hr, 15min
Route: DEGE2S DEGES Z1 ETAGO DCT HAREM/N0462F340 UN851 LOHRE Z850 ADEMI T854 DOMUX DOMU2G
Flight Journal
You might remember back a few legs (Leg 13), this was the longest leg of the tour with a flight distance of 2,130 miles. This leg, leg #20 will be our shortest leg of the entire tour measuring only 240 miles. But regardless of the distance, the same amount of planning is required. As we’re a bit rushed to get out of Zurich, we’ll start with push-back and engine start up.
Climbing out via our departure.
One last look at Zurich Airport as we circle around to join our departure route.
A quick climb to flight level 280 (28,000 feet) and head towards Dusseldorf.
Our Eurowings Airbus A319 cruising over Germany.
Beginning our descent.
The Rhine River is visible below.
Making our turn to join the visual approach.
The Dusseldorf airport ahead.
Bugs on the windshield? Yep, this is an immersion feature of the FSLabs A319 (soon to be coming to the A320). The windshield will become a bit dirty with bug splats which can only be cleaned while on the ground.
Parked at the gate and deboarding our passengers.
Unloading the bags from another successful flight.
That bag looks heavy. I’m sure that bag belongs to my wife.
Simulator Specifics
Prepar3d v4.3
ActiveSky Weather Engine
ActiveSky Cloud Art
Envtex & Envshade
FlightSim Labs Airbus A319 (Eurowings livery)
Orbx Global Texture
VATSIM
Route Planning Tools
AivlaSoft PFPX
Navigraph Charts Desktop
FlightAware
FlightRadar24
SkyVector
Google Maps
Computer Hardware Specs
Once again our stay in Dusseldorf will be rather short as we’ll be departing for Leeds in just under 80 hours. But that will give our travelers enough time to explore the area and enjoy their stay here.
Until next time…
Happy Flying!
Jerry
August 15, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments
As I mentioned in the previous tour update, the honey do list has been growing at a pace faster than I’ve been able to keep up with. But it seems as if everything that needs to be on the list, has been placed on the list and a hard days work last Saturday has things looking pretty good. There’s a good chance I won’t be left at home with chores to do while my wife enjoys vacation without me. LOL Of course, she wouldn’t do that…right? Let’s get right into the tour update so I’ll have some time to get back to the list.
As you can tell from the updated tour map below, the color magenta is slowly, but surely beginning to take a bigger presence on the map. While we haven’t yet reached the half-way mark, we’re very, very close.
History of City
Founded by the Romans in 15 BC, Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in north-central Switzerland and has an estimated population of just over 400,000. Today Zurich is a leading golabl city and among the world’s largest financial centers despite having a relatively small population. The city is home to a large number of financial institutions and banking companies. The official language of Zurich is German.
History of Country
Switzerland is a sovereign state in Europe and consists of 26 cantons (similar to states) with the city of Bern serving as the seat of the federal authorities. Switzerland is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland has existed in its current form since the adoption of the Swiss Federal Constitution in 1848. However, the oldest traces of human existence in Switzerland dates back about 150,000 years.
History of Airport
The Zurich Airport, known as Kloten Airport, is the largest international airport of Switzerland and the principle hub of Swiss International Airlines.
History of Airline
Swiss International Air Lines is the national airline of Switzerland and operates scheduled services in Europe and North America, South America, Africa and Asia. Its main hub is Zurich Airport with a focus city operation in Geneva. Swiss operates a fleet of 86 aircraft of which all but 10 are Airbus. They operate 10 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.
Flight Briefing
SWR1066
LEBL – LSZH
Planned Fuel – 15,000 lbs
Planned Altitude – 36,000
Distance – 462nm
Flight Time – 1hr, 45min
Route: DALI2P DALIN UN870 MAXIR UN853 MOBLO UZ662 LAMUR Z57 DOPIL DCT
Flight Journal
As we’ve officially entered the European segment of our world tour and while we’re still not at the half-way point, there’s still a level of accomplishment to be pleased about. The next few flights will have us visiting Switzerland (next stop), Germany, England and Norway. We’ll actually visit three different cities/airports in Norway before turning and heading towards Greenland. But before we can get to Greenland, we must depart Barcelona for Zurich.
Lined up and waiting for our take-off clearance. It’s a hot day today in Barcelona and our travelers are ready for a cooler (hopefully) stay in Zurich. But then again, all of Europe is currently suffering under heat wave conditions, but thankfully the hotel has air conditioning.
Up and away from Barcelona.
Heading out over the beautiful Balearic Sea towards the South of France.
Snow in the Alps…that’s a welcome sight.
With the recent high temperatures, I highly doubt there is that much snow in the Alps. But it’s still pretty to look at and I can confirm (living near the Rocky Mountains) that our high mountain peaks will still have snow on the very top usually through much of July and into August.
Beginning our descent into Zurich.
Runway in sight
The Swiss countryside. I hope to visit Switzerland someday in real life. My wife actually lived in Switzerland for several years before we met.
Short final view from the flight deck.
Another Swiss Air just pushing back from their gate and about to depart Zurich.
Parked up at our gate and in the process of deboarding.
Simulator Specifics
Prepar3d v4.3
ActiveSky Weather Engine
ActiveSky Cloud Art
Envtex & Envshade
FlightSim Labs Airbus A320 (Swiss Air 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 a little over 72 hours in Zurich before we pack up and head to Germany. Until then, I hope you are having a wonderful month of August and enjoying the tour.
Until next time…
Happy Flying!!!
Jerry
August 11, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments
As the weeks of summer quickly tick by, so do our flight legs. With a third of the tour safely in the books, we’re closing in on the half-way mark. Life of course is busy, busy, busy for me right now. With less than two full weeks before my wife and I fly to Belgium, I’m struggling to keep up with the honey-do list. It seems for every item I manage to check off, there are a couple more items added. At this rate, I’m really not sure when it all will get done. But the good news for me is I did manage to convince her that we don’t start anything new until after we return, so for now the tasks more or less all involve finishing up a few small projects and then just focusing on things that MUST be done prior to leaving. But of course, this brings up the dreaded “S” word….yes….shopping! Wish me luck!
I hope you enjoyed the write up from tour leg #17. I can’t wait to find another reason to fly into Madeira. I think (for now) this has been one of my favorite legs. As I had never flown into the island before, the visual approach was slightly stressful. Now of course if you are not a flight simmer, perhaps you can’t understand how a flight made in a simulator can be stressful. I guess that’s just the immersion and perhaps the closest thing I can compare this to with other simulation based games might be the stress we feel when we’re running late on an ETS2 or ATS delivery job or perhaps the final days of fall in Farming Simulator and the weather forecast shows rain, but you still have over half of your crops still on the field. It’s a good level of stress and again it just further adds to the immersion. After all, I think that’s one of the reasons we all enjoy our simulation based games so much.
History of City
Barcelona is the capital and largest city of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. Founded as a Roman City in approx. 15 BC, in the middle ages Barcelona became the capital of the County of Barcelona and later merged with the Kingdom of Aragon. Today Barcelona is the home to around 4.8 million people, making it the sixth most populous urban area in the European Union after Paris, London and Madrid.
History of Country
Spain is a sovereign state mostly located on the Iberian Peninsula in Europe. With an area of 195, 360 square miles, Spain is the largest country in Southern Europe, the second largest country in Western Europe and the European Union and the fourth largest country in the European continent.
History of Airport
The Barcelona-El Prat International Airport is located 7.5 miles southwest of the center of Barcelona. It is the second largest and second busiest airport in Spain behind Madrid-Barajas Airport and the 7th busiest in all of Europe.
History of Airline
Vueling Airlines is a Spanish low-cost airline based in Barcelona with hubs in Barcelona-El Prat and Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport in Rome. Its name comes from the Spanish word vuelo, which means flight. It is the largest airline in Spain by fleet size and the number of destinations it serves. Vueling serves over 100 destinations in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
Flight Briefing
VLG1066
LPMA – LEBL
Planned Fuel – 21,000 lbs
Planned Altitude – 36,000
Distance – 1037nm
Flight Time – 2hr, 45min
Route: DEGU3N DEGUN DCT NARTA/N0410F180 B18 ESP G52 MAGUM/N0452F240 UN870 PORLI/N0457F370 DCT UREDI/N0455F380 UN870 RBO/N0451F240 R870 PONEN/N0454F380 UT600 CASPE DCT
Flight Journal
The extra few days we’ve stayed on the beautiful island of Madeira have made a huge difference with the morale and attitudes for all. Our travelers and crew have enjoyed time on the beach, a few diving excursions and just the relaxation of not being under a tight schedule. But it’s time we resume the tour and head into the continent of Europe. Next stop…Spain!
We’re shuttling this Vueling Airbus A320 over to Barcelona. But before we can depart, we need fuel.
Myself, my first officer and cabin crew typically arrive about an hour before our flight to get the aircraft ready for departure. Our travelers have now made their way to the airport and are in the process of boarding.
But of course, we can’t leave until all bags have been loaded and the ground crew here are doing a great job helping us stick to our scheduled departure.
The ground crew attaching the tow bar and push truck to our A320.
Gear going up and off we go headed towards Spain.
One last look at the island of Madeira. I’ll be back…..
High above the clouds at a cruising altitude of 36,000 feet.
The west coast of Portugal.
Beginning our descent into Barcelona, Spain. Our arrival will bring us out over the Balearic Sea.
Final approach into Barcelona.
The Spanish coast looks nice.
Cleared to land.
On the ground in Barcelona, Spain.
Simulator Specifics
Prepar3d v4.3
ActiveSky Weather Engine
ActiveSky Cloud Art
Envtex & Envshade
FlightSim Labs Airbus A320 (Vueling livery)
Orbx Global Texture
Aerosoft Madeira X Evolution (LMPA)
VATSIM
Route Planning Tools
AivlaSoft PFPX
Navigraph Charts Desktop
FlightAware
FlightRadar24
SkyVector
Google Maps
Computer Hardware Specs
Another spectacular flight in the books. Once again we’ll resume our faster paced touring schedule and will be departing Barcelona in just three short days and we’ll knock out the European portion of the tour in just a few weeks (hopefully). We’ll slow things back down again once we reach Norway. As always, thank you so much for reading the tour progress articles.
Until next time…
Happy Flying!!!
Jerry
