The new FS X version includes a popular line of jets, seaplanes, Cessna`s which are my personal faves (though I`d like to see a Piper Cherokee as I`ve been in one), and an ultralight which is absolute fun. Many airports are included around the world, the UK for once has a fantastic lineup and quite well detailed. The world view equals real time trees, people, animals, cars, lorries, other planes and the virtual screen is excellently detailed. Flying is now aided by the sat/nav consoles we all know and love, on the Cessna Skyhawk SP 172 I use most frequently, its the Garmin 500. This handles flights from (a) to (b) under full sat/nav conditions, including input of airport landing strip number, wherein it performs `flying the pattern` as per the control tower, then switches to `final to approach` under vectors. Turns the plane to the correct direction, pilot slows to half speed manually, as the sat/nav lines up with the airfield runway. Then, nerves all jangling, body temp well raised, telling the dog to STFU, Autopilot is released, throttle lowered, lining up and staying steady with the centre line, flaps adjusted for descent when the speed reaches 55-60 knots, throttle up slightly to compensate for flap adjustment (and the pilots flaps too), throttle down more, nose down (and the plane too), just hovering over the runway, throttle down, as its about to land adjust nose up (and the plane too, lol), throttle off and apply brakes, dig feet into the ground and hope the plane stops!!! This is not counting setting tower frequency, gaining radio permission from the tower, switching to ground control frequency etc....
I damn wish I`d bought the Deluxe version. Didn`t realise until after the event that the Cessnas and some jets and others have a glass cockpit....... Not the normal control equipment in these babies. The console is a full Garmin 1000 display which handles the sat/nav, engine and everything, like looking at a big tv screen. No updates are being made so I`ll have to find a way to get it somehow.
My current trip:
EGCC Manchester - Start of journey
EGNJ Humberside - touched down, cos I like the approach over the River Humber
Flew over The Wash by Norwich heading South, Landed somewhere down there in the dark and couldn`t find fuel. Only 10 gallons left, took off in the dark-I hate that!
LFAC Calais, France - Landed, refueled and awaited the morning.
Suitably refreshed, Sat/nav set for a course to Orly, Paris - I flew via Dieppe, over Pontoise airspace, checked out the variety of surrounding airplanes.
LFPO Orly, Paris - Saw the Trifle Tower on the way in, busy looking place as expected.
EDRK Winningen, Koblenz - Beautiful scenery of the Rhine/Moselle Valley, brilliant landing, refueled and set a course for Switzerland.
LSZB Bern, Switzerland - Had to fly in over a mountain and drop down on the airfield according to the maps and sat/nav, entered the data into another computer and got a satellite image of the airfield to visualise it before I got there. Landing was good, if a little short of the runway, nerves about the mountain I guess!
On the way in I saw and airfield at Reims that looked really good for landing, mental note for another day.
Set a course for Italy, - was suggested at 19,500 feet - erm wonder what the ceiling height of this plane is??? Fantastic snow capped mountains, impressive valleys, so high up, even bigger mountains looming. Height of the plane at that point was only 11,000 feet, needed to go higher and fast. Tried allsorts in vain, even altered the flaps, mixture, fuel pump on, going nowhere fast and a big damn mountain was looming ever nearer, same all around, no way to go around. Checked on the net, Skyhawk subject to weight has a ceiling of a little over 14,000 feet. mmm, jetison some fuel, no way jose! Abort and use nav without GPS to get out of here at the max attainable height. Set a new course for Spain....
LFCR Spain - feeling really clever, I looked at the logs and found out I would run out of fuel en route, so I landed at a one horse, single (luckily tarmac) strip at Rodez. Refueled, straight back in the air and orf we jolly well go. Total trip time from my jaunt in the mountains to my destination was over 5 hours so I set the simulation rate to 16 times to speed up flight over the mountains. The plane attained 18000 feet at this point, slowed to normal and tried, still went up to it - warmer atmosphere??? Altimeter was around 3000 rather than zero when landing so this would equate to some difference. A steep learning slope here, pun intended!
LERM Spain emergency landing at the side of the strip, no time to find it, no tower, Low Fuel warning light on, guages show running on vapours. Another one horse town, with a strip in a field surrounded by fruit trees. No tower, no trucks, no people, no airport buildings, oh damn- no fuel!!! erm, had to cheat and select fuel always full, temporarily. Couldn`t see Jose fetching some on a mule! There should have been enough fuel to get to the destination, have I sprung a leak? Oh, hang on, the used fuel was at the suggested height. I went up to 18000 feet, give or take so then it uses more fuel, doh!!! I think those Swiss mountains on the way to Italy scared me a bit, lol!
LEMD Madrid, Spain Landed, by Sat/Nav location of runway 31L I think it was, 4/5 airfields all close to one another so it was a massive relief to find I`d set the Garmin correctly to manage the approach, which involved what seemed many turns. Massive airport, waited forever for a fuel truck which never turned up, 4am real time-damn wheres the day gone? Will set a course for Portugal tomorrow, I`ve been there in real life, never visit again but this is only virtual so what the heck? Mayber fly over the marina I frequented during my fortnight there. Landing at Faro, last time it was a damn large field with a bumpy track as a runway. I`ll see how its improved over the years. The cabin staff even applauded the Pilot as he landed the plane, which rather worried me at the time......
Reider
