Tag: Microsoft flight simulator 2020

Around the world in flight simulation (9)

Post author By Stanley
Post date 18 October 2024
No Comments on Around the world in flight simulation (9)

The Antonov 225 taking-off from the Antonov airport (UKKM) in Ukraine heading to Sochi, Russia.

Today, the Antonov 225 is reborn for another leg of this world tour of flight simulation. In reality, this aircraft was destroyed by Russia during its invasion of Ukraine. At the time of writing, war is still raging between the two nations. But in virtual mode, we have more latitude to alter the course of events and simulate peace.

So, we leave Ukraine’s Antonov airport (UKKM), fly over Crimea and then stop off in Sochi, Russia (airport code USSR). Our destination is Lublin airport (EPLB) in Poland.

The weather is looking good, with clear skies for the arrival in Sochi. The scenery around Sochi is splendid, and it’s best to land in good weather.

Take-off is a breeze, but the Antonov 225’s heaviness takes some getting used to. The weight of the aircraft means that every time the pilot makes a maneuver with the flight controls, initially nothing happens. Then, the aircraft slowly begins to obey. So, you have to expect delays and anticipate the outcome of maneuvers.

Navigraph is used for navigation. Of course, I plan to deviate from the initial route to fly over Crimea and then on to Sochi.

The pink triangle indicates the position of the Antonov 225 entering Crimea on its flight to Sochi in Russia and then Poland.

Below, the ploughed fields of the Ukraine. Ukraine is considered the breadbasket of the world.

The Antonov 225 over the cultivated fields of Ukraine.

Crimea is a beautiful region from the air, but fiercely contested on the ground. A pilot would say that today, it’s more turbulent down there than up.

The Antonov 225 entering Crimea on its flight to Russia then Poland

A few minutes later, the flight over the Sea of Azov begins in the direction of Sochi.

The approach is spectacular, with the surrounding mountains. As with all large aircraft, the Antonov has to be stabilized well in advance to avoid overcorrecting on final.

Antonov 225 on long final for runway 06 in Sochi (USSR), Russia.

The cargo plane stops in an extremely short distance for such a heavy aircraft. When the thrust is reversed on six engines, there’s no need to set the brakes to maximum, especially in Sochi. We make a short stopover.

Antonov 225 parked for a short stopover at Sochi (USSR), Russia.

Just after our arrival, a Russian Sukhoi 27 military jet makes a low pass near the tower. The fighter jet was created at the time in response to the construction of the American F-15.

A Sukhoi Su-27 makes a low pass at the Sochi Airport (USSR), Russia.

The flight resumes in the late afternoon. Below, the Antonov 225 is on final approach to runway 25 at Lublin airport in Poland.

Antonov 225 on final for rwy 25 at Lublin airport, Poland

The thrust reversers allow the aircraft to exit onto the taxiway in the middle of the runway.

Antonov 225 with thrust reversers after landing at Lublin (EPLB) airport in Poland.

We get a little help with parking.

Antonov 225 with some help for the parking at Lublin airport, Poland

The next stage of this round-the-world flight simulation will be with a smaller aircraft, heading for Germany. A flight over Göttingen is planned with a helicopter (D-JORG). The trip will end at Paderborn Lippstadt Airport (EDLP).

Click on the link to read more about this round-the-world flight simulation on my blog.

Flight Simulation

Around the world in flight simulation (7).

Post author By Stanley
Post date 11 July 2024
No Comments on Around the world in flight simulation (7).

A surprise awaits us as we depart from the Sandane airport (ENSD) for Sweden, Stockholm-Bromma airport (ESSB).

Drone on the ground at Sandane airport (ENSD) in Norway.

A Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk drone is at the airport. This long-range surveillance aircraft has an autonomy of around 35 hours and a range of 22779 kilometers. It flies at altitudes of up to 60,000 feet (18288 meters). Its maximum speed is 635 km/h, and each hour of operation costs $24,000.

Beech 350I airborne from the Sandane Airport (ENSD) heading to Stockholm-Broma airport (ESSB)

Today, we’re repositioning a twin-engine Beechcraft King Air 350I that hasn’t flown in ages. The usual checks have been carried out to ensure that no birds have nested under the engine cowling. We also checked that there was no condensation water at the bottom of the fuel tanks. Finally, we ran the engines for a long time on the ground. The aircraft takes off from Sandane for a planned altitude of 18,000 feet.

Over Norway snowcapped mountains heading to Sweden in flight simulation.

We fly over the mountains of Norway towards Sweden. Everything goes according to plan.

Navigraph chart showing a flight from Sandane (ENSD) to Stockholm-Bromma (ESSB)

The Navigraph map shows the planned route between the two countries.

Engine failure on a twin engine aircraft with Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Suddenly, the left engine experiences problems. It stops and the propeller feathers to minimize drag. Since we’re approaching the runway at Stockholm-Bromma airport, we choose to continue on our way, as we benefit from a large airstrip and emergency response services. Now unsure about the reliability of the second engine, we keep a slightly higher altitude than a normal approach would generally dictate.

Double engine failure on a twin engine with Microsoft Flight Simulator.

A few minutes later, the second engine stops. The plane becomes a large glider. The clouds prevent a good view of the surrounding area, but we feel our altitude is sufficient to attempt an approach to the airport when the runway is in sight.

On final for Stockholm-Bromma airport with a double engine failure

The flaps and landing gear will only be extended once we’re established on final and the aircraft is stabilized and certain of reaching the runway. Microsoft’s flight simulator doesn’t allow us to do just anything with an aircraft. If we exceed the aircraft’s structural capabilities when attempting to reach the airport, the flight will stop immediately.

On the ground at Stockholm-Bromma with a double engine failure on a Beechcraft 350I in flight simulation.

The final approach and taxiing caused no problems. The aircraft gradually slows down until it comes to a complete stop on the runway. The poor air traffic controllers now have to apply Plan B to reorganize air traffic around the airport, with the main runway temporarily blocked.

Beechcraft maintenance hangar at the Stockholm-Bromma virtual airport

Fortunately, Beechcraft offers maintenance services at Stockholm-Bromma airport. So, we’ll leave the aircraft for major repairs and find something faster for the next flight to Ukraine. Why not an F-14 Tomcat? It is not in military service anymore and thus its presence in the air should not worry too much.

P.S. This story is based on a real even that happened in Quebec several years ago. An acquaintance of mine (Paul B.) was scheduled to fly from the Val-d’Or airport (CYVO) to Rouyn-Noranda (CYUY) in a light twin-engine aircraft that hadn’t flown in a long time. Halfway between CYVO and CYUY, the first engine failed. The pilot decided to continue. With the runway in sight in the distance, the second engine stopped. The pilot hovered the aircraft and managed to land on route 117, just behind a large truck which accelerated to give way to the aircraft he could see descending in his rear-view mirror. The aircraft landed safely and without damages!

Click on the link for more flight simulator flights around the world on my blog.

Flight Simulation

Around the world in flight simulation (6)

Post author By Stanley
Post date 7 June 2024
No Comments on Around the world in flight simulation (6)

The sixth leg of this world tour of flight simulation continues with a journey from the Molde (ENML) airport to the Sandane/Anda (ENSD) airport in southern Norway.

Ready for departure from Molde (ENML) virtual airport to Sandane (ENSD) airport.

The destination can’t accommodate a private jet like the Cessna Citation Longitude, as runway 08/26 is only 3182 feet long. A good old light twin-engine plane, repainted a hundred times over, will have to be rented for the trip, and we’ll just have to hope the engines hold out.

Enroute to the virtual Sandane airport (ENSD) in Norway with Microsoft Flight Simulator. — Enroute to the virtual Sandane airport (ENSD) in Norway with Microsoft Flight Simulator

The mountains of Norway come into view, and the ascent continues gradually to ensure that the highest peaks along the route pose no problems.

The navigraph tool for flight simulation and the VFR map from ENML to ENSD.

Above, a view of the aircraft’s instrument panel as it climbs, with a Navigraph map showing the route flown in visual flight. Virtual weather is integrated in real time whenever a new weather report is issued by a ground observation station around the world.

View of the Norwegian mountains from the pilot seat

Morning sun over the Norwegian mountains with Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Another sunrise view that brings Norway’s magnificent mountain landscape to life.

Approaching the Sandane virtual airport in flight simulation.

We are now almost at our destination. The plane is in left base for runway 08 at Sandane/Alda airport.

Turning final for runway 08 at Sandane (ENSD) virtual airport in Norway.

Over the still-frozen Innvikfjorden, the final turn is made to stabilize the aircraft on final runway 08. On short final, there’s a cliff just short of threshold 08, and a difference in runway height to take into account for the landing.

View of the Sandane (ENSD) virtual airport with Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Above, a view of the Sandane/Alda virtual airport (ENSD) using Microsoft Flight Simulator. There is no margin for error, as the two runway thresholds are bordered by a cliff and a stretch of water.

Help for parking is offered at the Sandane (ENSD) virtual airport in Norway.

Service at the airport is excellent. Two employees are waiting to help us park our aircraft.

Sandane is known for its magnificent panoramas, waterfalls, Briksdalsbreen glacier and horseback riding. The village is nestled inland from the Gloppe Fjord. If you’re traveling there in summer, you’ll need to be prepared for a fair amount of precipitation.

The next flight is from Sandane to Stockholm-Bromma in Sweden with a Beechcraft King Air 350I which has not flown for a long time. We’ll have to fly over the high mountains of the Jostedalsbreen Nasjonalpark before reaching our destination.

Click on the link for more flight simulator flights around the world on my blog.

Flight Simulation

Around the world in flight simulation (5).

Post author By Stanley
Post date 17 May 2024

Airborne from the Ivalo virtual airport (EFIV) in northern Finland.

The fifth leg of this world tour in flight simulation continues with a journey from Ivalo airport (EFIV) in Finland to Molde airport (ENML) in southern Norway. It’s hard to see daylight through the cloud cover as we take off.

In anticipation of this and subsequent flights, I subscribed to Navigraph to make the experience even more immersive. The map below shows the choices for arrival procedures at Molde airport. In green are the reporting points for the arrival and in orange those for the approach. The aircraft follows these points automatically, thanks to the on-board computer.

Navigraph informations for the arrival in Molde (ENML)

I’m only just getting to grips with Navigraph and am still going through a trial-and-error process when it comes to using the data. But I’m making progress…

Heading towards the Molde (ENML) airport in Norway with MFS2020.

Once through the cloud layer, the aircraft finally reaches flight level FL380 (38,000 feet).

The runway at Molde airport is 2221 metres (7287 feet) long, and lies on the shore of Moldefjorden. It’s perfect for the Cessna Citation Longitude, but there are mountains on the approach.

Navigraph map superposed on the geography on approach for the Molde airport (ENML)

The data provided by Navigraph helps the pilot to use the correct altitude limits to maintain a safe height above the terrain at all times. You can also track the aircraft’s progress along the chosen route. Several types of maps are also available to help prepare take-offs and landings. When required, maps can be overlaid with the Navigraph system, while maintaining the aircraft’s planned route over the local geography.

Cessna Citation Longitude descending towards the Molde airport (ENML) airport in Norway in flight simulation.

We start the descent to Molde airport. The cloud cover is relatively thin and visibility is not a problem.

Descending for Molde airport (ENML) in Norway with Microsoft Flight Simulator.

The setting sun makes for beautiful scenes on the descent to Molde.

Approaching the virtual Molde airport (ENML) with the Cessna Citation Longitude

Once out of the clouds and in ideal weather, the autopilot is disconnected and the approach is made visually.

On final for runway 25 at the Molde virtual airport (ENML) in flight simulation.

Winds oriented almost in line with runway 25 facilitate the approach.

Exiting runway 25 at the Molde airport (ENML) in Norway.

The Cessna Citation leaves runway 25 and parks for a few days in Molde, a Norwegian town renowned for its beautiful mountains and numerous parks and rose gardens. This town was saved from famine in 1740 by the presence of herrings. The town’s coat of arms features a whale hunting herrings in a barrel as a reminder of this period. Thanks to its position along the fjords and the foehn effect, winters in Molde are relatively mild (and very mild compared to Canada).

Soon the sixth leg of the flight will take place, from Molde to Sandane (ENSD), a Norwegian airport surrounded by beautiful mountains.

Click on the link for more flight simulator flights around the world https://francoisouellet.ca/en/category/flight-simulation/ on my blog.

Flight Simulation Screen captures

A few Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 screenshots.

Post author By Stanley
Post date 22 April 2021

Below are a few Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 (MFS 2020) screen captures taken during virtual flights.

Le Mont St-Michel en France, sous MFS 2020.

Mont St-Michel is a very nice addition to the France virtual scenery provided by MFS 2020. Such great sites can be found in many places in the Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 program, but many more are also available for free through the flight simulation community : they can then be downloaded and installed in MFS 2020, thus ever improving the overall experience.

Heading to KLAX from KBUR with a TBM 930 on the flight simulator MFS 2020.

The haze is quite present in the Los Angeles area and adds to the realism in the screenshot above. The FedEx livery comes from « Liveries Mega Pack Manager ».

Puerto Vallarta with MFS 2020 and improved scenery by John Lovell

The Icon A5 Kingfisher is seen flying along the Puerto Vallarta coast in Mexico. The scenery was hugely improved by John Lovell and is available through Flightsim.to. But it will require 5 GiG on your hard disk!

The Burbank Bob Hope (KBUR) modelized by Orbx on the flight simulator MFS 2020.

The picture above shows a small part of the Burbank Bob Hope airport (KBUR) modelized by Orbx. The screen capture was taken with the X-Box drone. This drone is a fantastic addition to what is now available to flight simulation enthousiasts when comes the time to bring back souvenirs from a flight.

Heading to Iqaluit with the flight simulator MFS 2020.

Enroute to Iqaluit (CYFB), the jet just got out of the cloud deck and some rime icing is still visible on the nose and the wing’s leading edge. That evening, there was a sigmet reporting high level turbulence and it is exactly what I experienced during the flight, using REX Weather Force 2020 as a weather engine.

I’ll be back with more flight simulation screen captures soon. Meanwhile, have a good virtual flight!

Click on the following link for virtual flight simulation pictures on my blog.

Tags FedEx, flight simulation, flight simulator, France, MFS 2020, Microsoft flight simulator 2020, MSFS2020, ORBX, screen captures, virtual airport, virtual flight, virtual scenery

Flight Simulation

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020

Post author By Stanley
Post date 15 March 2021

The Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 is an extremely interesting product. Microsoft is taking advantage of the satellite imagery offered by Bing, which allows the flight simulation enthusiast to fly over the world almost like in the real life. With the addition of live weather and air traffic in real time, the immersion is incredible.

Flying over New York in the evening with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020.

To download the game’s 128 gigabytes using my current internet plan, it took fourteen hours. I still remember when I bought a hard drive that could hold 30 megabytes of data: it was a computer revolution!

Of course, the game requires an adaptation. We are far from the old FSX platform. It goes without saying that you need a high-performance computer. But a new and very positive aspect of this simulator is that you can now use an X-Box controller as an in-flight camera, with the addition of a rudder and a steering wheel for more reality. This camera offers incredible possibilities and the additional X-Box controller becomes essential.

The Zlin Savage Cub flying over the United States using Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020.

As with anything new, there are some glitches. Personally, I have been using the CH company products for flight simulation for many years and the new MSFS 2020 has had problems recognizing the functions of CH products. Many virtual flight enthousiasts have had the same problems. So here are the links below that allowed a neophyte like me to solve the problems.

A first video of interest is also available. Its author uses a slightly different method, but it is super easy to understand and allows you to acquire additional knowledge if you want to map your CH rudder and control column correctly.

A second video gives you access to the CH company products. There you will find the links that allow you to print a representation of your CH flight controls. This will allow you to find which number is associated with a specific command control. You can then remap the controls to your taste and keep a record of all the modifications you made.

Here are two other practical links for answers to various questions about X-Box and other subjects and CH products.

Aerial view of Quebec City using Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020.

In the screenshot above, you might recognize Quebec City, with the restaurant Le Concorde in the distance on the left, followed by the Edifice Marie-Guyart, a part of the Plains of Abraham, the Château Frontenac, the Price building and the lower town.

Have a good flight!

Click on the link for other flight simulation articles on my blog.

Tags air traffic, CH flight controls, Château Frontenac, flight simulation, flight simulator, Japan, mapping CH products, Microsoft flight simulator 2020, MSFS, MSFS2020, New York, Quebec City, screen captures, United States, virtual flight, virtual pilot, X-Box

Flight Simulation

List of the Orbx freeware and payware airports. Halloween 2020 edition.

Post author By Stanley
Post date 30 October 2020

I have reviewed and edited my list of the Orbx freeware and payware airports, with runway description and airport elevation. It includes most airports that were created up to Halloween 2020.

The addition of airports are based on what Orbx releases on its “Orbx Release Announcements” section. There are airports for Microsoft 2020 (MSFS), X-Plane, P3DV4+, AFS2 and FSX.

Payware airports often come with secondary, smaller virtual airports included in their package. The data is included in the list.

There are several airports included in the older Orbx regions on the west coast of USA that are not shown here. So the list is not perfect, but it does help the flight simmer. For the rest of the planet, the list is pretty accurate.

You have access to a free download PDF file on my website.

Have fun!

Tags AFS2, flight simulation, free download, FSX, Microsoft flight simulator 2020, Microsoft flight simulator X, MSFS, P3D, X-Plane