Great info. I’m amazed that an airport like LAX had no parts. LOL… I’m doing the same thing…checking back in to Air Hauler throughout the day to give “Destiny” new tasking. She’s a trooper. She only has one more part to find and then I’m bringing her home.
My list of airports with inventory recently:
CYLW
CYVR
CYXX
CYCC
KAMA
KBEC
KBFI
KBLI
KCLT
KCMH
KDAL
KDCA
KDEN
KDFW
KDSM
KFXE
KGJT
KIAD
KIAH
KIND
KJAX
KLAS
KLAX (there were parts here in the past…but none tonight!)
KLGB
KLNK
KMCO
KMDW
KMIA
KMSY
KOAK
KOGD
KOMA
KPAE
KPDX
KPIT
KPSP
KPVU
KRDD
KRDU
KRIC
KSFO
KSMF
KTLH
Here is Andrea’s trip so far:
That list of airports you have. Son of a… there are a bunch there that I have visited that had no parts. Granted, I don’t have your inventory of shoes, but still! KDEN, KOAK and so may other airports that failed me! 
Largest stretch without seeing a part: 40 airports!
Current stretch without seeing a part: 23 airports.
And both of those, a stretch (so far) of 63 airports and i have seen 2 parts. Doh!
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Do you have a production facility built fridge? I’m wondering if that impacts whether you see parts? Or how influences inventory quantity.
And…I know this is a dumb suggestion…but…you have imported whatever airplane into Air Hauler that you are on the parts quest for right? Air Hauler will only generate parts that are in its database (default planes plus whatever you import manually).
Yeah. No Factory yet … was collecting parts first. And yeah, aircraft are imported … I have 6/7 parts for 4 aircraft but I just can’t find those last pieces.
Ya, so I wonder if the lack of facility is reducing the availability of parts? I’m not seeing a ton of parts as I fly around either, and I don’t have a production facility yet.
Back from a bit of vacation and doing some background Air Hauler flying…
First update…looks like Destiny finally hit the jackpot up at Boeing Field. She has been searching far and wide for the final Embraer 135 part, and she finally stumbled upon it at KBFI…
Instead of shipping it, which will take several days…I’ve finally got an airplane big enough to haul it…! The Fokker 50 (technically owned by MAD VA) can carry over 10,000 lbs., so I’m going to check it out from the VA and go get the part from Boeing Field.
First though, I have to pass the type rating for the Fokker 50…
Heading out for my type rating ride…no idea why there isn’t a second crew member on board…
Off we go. Pretty sketchy operation if you ask me though…no idea of what the flap, gear, or power settings are, so I just wagged it all. Got through the type ride with no problems though…
After completion of the type ride, taxied back in to Pullman and took our rightful spot down on the “big boy” ramp next to the Frontier Airbus…
So here is where it gets fun. I need to get over to Boeing Field, so I went ahead and picked up some contracts to fly over to KEAT on the way. The F50 with full fuel will hold a bit over 10,000 lbs…which means you can actually haul many smaller contracts. What does this mean for you oh REP seeking VA pilots? It means you can make one trip and get 8 or 12 contracts that each count toward REP! So check out the F50 (when I’m done with it you sky pirates!) and rack up the REP!
So off we go with a eight contracts. Starting to learn the Fokker 50 a bit more on the job. It has a nice takeoff configuration button that you can hit prior to putting the power to it to verify you are actually configured for takeoff…
The F50 is fantastically easy to get started and ready to go from cold & dark. And it is a nice blend of automation and old school instruments. I was really on the fence about buying it, but now I’m thrilled to death that I did. There is a really nice 2D autopilot/FD panel…and for once an airplane has an altitude preselector that moves quickly AND in 100’ increments quickly. I’m so tired of scrolling for 30 seconds to set altitudes. This plane gets it right.
I also discovered the panel lighting options that look fantastic…
Pop-Up Sperry and Honeywell avionics…again…great for 2D flying…
The GTN750 is panel mounted on the pedestal…and integrates perfectly with the flight director including VNAV GPS approaches. Perfect!
Arrived at KEAT. Nice to have a GPU available too!
And there ya’ go…eight contracts completed for a total REP gain of .75…! (Cargo REP gain of 2.10)…
…and a bit more than $59,000 in the bank…
So yeah, the Fokker is really nice. Will continue over to BFI to pick up the E135 part and bring it back over to the MAX factory in Pullman…
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Kgeg has a decent number of parts for me right now.
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The MAX Factory has pushed its latest creation out the door. The X-Crafts ERJ-135…our first passenger configured aircraft!
Took her up for my Air Hauler type rating ride…no problems…kept it slow (180 knots) and all the maneuvers went fine…
Next on the build list will probably be the stock MD-82…but we will need to make some money for that build since parts are so expensive.
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Interesting to see the correlation between MAC company finance and the build “scavenger hunts”. Each build drains the coffers a bit…but the quest for the next plane’s parts leads to a rebound as Destiny and I range around moving commodities while we search…
The other two dips before the Do228 are the purchase of the MAX Factory and the purchase of the Cessna 172 Bush…
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Big day at Mudspike Air Cargo…! Took the type rating in the ERJ and attempted our first passenger flight ever. I’ve never had a passenger configured aircraft, so this was a learning experience on many levels.
I have the ERJ set as a single class (economy) passenger configuration with 32 seats. Oddly enough, it says it only requires one pilot. I wonder if a bigger MTOW aircraft would require an AI guy going along…
Since I don’t have any “routes”, this will be an “ad-hoc” flight from Pullman (KPUW) over to Portland (KPDX)…
This part was all new to me - the most important part was setting a Zulu departure time and setting the FS Start Time to allow for me to properly wrap my head around the process of getting the ERJ ready to go on an actual flight that seemed to have consequences. This was way more nerve wracking than a cargo flight. I allowed myself about 15 or 20 minutes prior to departure to get into the cockpit, get the APU fired up, get the flight plan in, and board the passengers.
Once you fire up X-Plane, AH2 starts sending you messages about when boarding will start, and during the boarding process how many passengers are left. I have to admit…it is sort of stressful 
watching the minutes count down, hoping you’ve given yourself enough time to get the FMC programmed. And the ERJ is somewhat complex, but not very, but does require some steps to get moving.
In the meantime, I’m going in to VR and getting the ERJ-135 ready to go for our short flight over to Portland. The X-Crafts ERJ has a nice pop-up FMC function that works perfectly in VR, allowing you to use the hand controller to finely select keys.
The plane is simply gorgeous in VR and it is so immersive getting it fired up and ready to go…
I get the APU running, program the FMC, and the boarding process with so few passengers only takes about 4 or 5 minutes…the pressure is building…!
Thankfully, Pullman is a short taxi and hassle free departure…
Whew - I won’t have to submit a flight delay report to Dispatch…
We only climb up to 16,000 for the flight over to PDX and we cruise over at just 300 knots or so…
Performing the arrival but the FMC I think realistically depicts the VNAV path, but doesn’t have an ability to couple to it (some cheaper regional jets just didn’t want to spend the money to add the capability…I believe the CRJ200 is similarly outfitted with a “snowflake” advisory VNAV).
Mount St. Helens peeking out of the clouds east of Portland…very cool to see the caldera filled in with cloud…
I’m an unapologetic VR enthusiast because it is just…so awesome. Yes, it has its drawbacks…but I never get such a feeling of danger and presence as I do when I’m under the VR hood. Probably because it so closely represents the now ingrained feelings that are in my real pilot brain…
Branching off the arrival for a self-vector to the ILS…the TAWS display keeping me somewhat safe…
On final into PDX. Not sure how to get the Vref speed to show on the tape instead of the V1/R/2 speeds…
Hey…my first PAX leg and I arrived 12 minutes early!!
One of the nice things about a busier airport like PDX is that you do have to keep an eye out for landing, departing, taxing, and aircraft that are pushing back…
Not sure where to park…but I seem to remember the regionals use the Alpha gates, but that might have been Horizon’s Q400s…
I love the FlightBeam PDX…as you approach the gate a marshaller appears and wands you in with correct directions…
On the gate with the APU on and the engines off…disembarking passengers…
So…well…these flights aren’t very profitable compared to what I’ve been pulling in on cargo flights. $3,288 and there are landing fees and fuel…so it really isn’t worth it from a revenue standpoint. I don’t know if scheduled operations run at a higher seat cost, but Ad-Hoc was pretty thin on the margins…
Flight Performance seemed OK. I guess during PAX operations it looks at G-loading. I think 10:17PM (UTC) was around the point of top-of-climb, so maybe my FLC hold was giving a rate that commanded a bit too much push over (resulting in a bit of lightness in the seat). Overall pretty good though I think… Cargo ops are nice though - you can drive it like you stole it!
It isn’t a coincidence that both Destiny and I are in PDX at the same time…!
That’s right…! We are opening a base at PDX! That was the goal all along…months ago when I started my Air Hauler career I knew PDX was an airport that I wanted a base at. Signing over a 710K check…
Our new base should be open in a few days!
What a great adventure on this flight. It was pure VR greatness with a new bit of pressure added with the passenger aspect. I’m not sure if I’ll keep the ERJ in passenger configuration or not…time will tell…
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The 135/145 has such a nice cockpit. I only flew them for 9 months but enjoyed every hour. I do hope you’ve hired a fleet of mechanics thought!
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So sitting on around $2.3 million right now. I decided to do some commodity runs in the ERJ-135 - which can hold around 10,000 - 15,000 lbs. of goods. I have Destiny running around the PNW marking down locations for MD-82 parts - the plan is to build a stock MD-82 (Laminar Research) and add that to the VA fleet. That should just about do it for buildings planes for a while. Yeah, I have my eyes on a DC-8 and eventually a 747, but that will take a long time given the parts costs.
Once we get the MD-82 constructed, I’ll put Destiny back to work doing normal cargo runs - she needs the additional experience points to allow her to add more type ratings. I do not plan on adding more AI pilots.
Heading out of Portland (KPDX) - the base is still under construction, with another 36 hours to go.
I’ll probably convert the ERJ-135 over to a pure cargo configuration. I don’t really see much excitement in the passenger carrying side of the house…
Pulling off the runway at Seattle…saw this beauty coming out of the cargo ramp. He was yelling at me to turn off my landing lights…
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Jetting around the PNW moving commodities and putting money in the bank. Still waiting for my PDX base to open so I can reconfigure the ERJ… Really love the speed and user-friendliness of this plane…
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I’m using Traffic Global. I really like it for airliner and regional traffic…it is not very good for general aviation stuff (yet). But it is really nice at populating airports with realistic flight schedules and aircraft types and liveries…
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