A Harrier? 
And… AND… I still can’t believe you fired Scarlett. It’s almost enough to make me buy P3D v4 and AH2 just so I can offer her a job. ;).
Seriously though, if they had this for XP11 along with VR support, I would probably consider giving up my day job. LOL.
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So earlier today I repositioned up to 1ID9 just east of Pocatello to pick up a lucrative contract that would take me back home to my base at Mud Lake. Unfortunately, I didn’t look closely at the runway parameters for Skyline strip…
Departing Salt Lake City for the 120 mile or so flight north…
Halfway up to Skyline, I hit some thunderstorms that bounced me around pretty good…if I had cargo onboard, I wonder if it would have damaged it…
Approaching the Pocatello area it’s time to start trying to find the tiny dirt strip nestled on the steep slopes east of the city. There is a landmark since it is near the bottom of a ski area…but I have to resort to using the GPS and the view from the airport to finally find it…
Coming back around to line up now that I know where it is…
The strip is just in the shadow of the mountains…a 14 degree slope…!
I try to land with minimum airspeed…but I’m worried about coming in short and not having enough power to match the climb of the slope. So I am 5 or 6 knots fast…resulting in me just barely skittering off the end of the 400’ long strip…
I take some damage…knocking my hull further down to 86%… Bummer. I load up the contract cargo and get ready to head home for 1U2…
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Today I spent an hour trying to figure out how to get my Maule off this hill… Despite changing configurations, splitting the cargo load, trying minimum fuel and different flap settings - it was impossible to get OUT of the field. The contract calls for 400+ pound of cargo (those darn DVDs again!)…but even with NO cargo the strip is impossible…
So I had to go with an alternative plan. I went ahead and just loaded up a few gallons of fuel (8 gal.)…enough to get over the ridge to Pocatello where I can pick up more fuel. Then, I just released the brakes and rolled down the hill about a mile until I found a long enough run that didn’t have any jaggie terrain features where I could start the engine and get off the ground…!
This looks like a good spot…! Fingers crossed…because if you hit a terrain “ridge”…it’s lights out…
Full power, two notches of flaps…full back stick…and try to get a minimum speed takeoff…
Success…!
A short flight over the ridge to drop into Pocatello…
Burned four gallons of fuel…leaving me with about four gallons left. Went ahead and bought some additional fuel to get me to Mud Lake…
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This is my favourite kind of flying. Shame I don’t get to do anywhere near enough of it now.
Suitably envious. 
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After stopping off at Pocatello for some fuel it is time to finish up the contract and move the cargo up to Mud Lake…
Pushing back off the fuel farm - you have to keep your head on a swivel because AI aircraft are taxiing around and they will crash into you!
As I taxi out for takeoff - I’m getting this odd artifact and I have no idea what the problem is. Maybe one of the previous flights damaged my aircraft…
Off we go…
Lush plains below…
And farms…lots of farms…
Just north of Midway are two bumps of terrain that provide for some good geographic awareness…
On final to Mud Lake…
Oh dear…gonna have to get that looked at…!
Checking out the unloading screen - it finally appears to me…the red -92 - when I had fueled in Pocatello, I had taken on too much fuel and overloaded the aircraft when combined with the cargo! Ooops…! Fortunately, there is no damage done…
Our company is really taking off since the move to Idaho - of course, I’ve had a lot of free time to fly contracts…so that certainly isn’t hurting!
The next contract is 420 lbs. of beef to Soda Springs - only 83nm for a healthy $4,200 - and this time I make sure to unload some fuel to keep under MTOW. Unfortunately, since I don’t have a depot at Mud Lake, when I offload fuel, it becomes wasted fuel. Apparently if you build a storage facility, you can put it into the storage tanks.
In the air again…heading southeast toward Idaho Falls where I’ll pick up the VOR and track outbound on the 143° radial for around 58nm…
Over Idaho Falls…very dense scenery…but since the surrounding area is plains…my system doesn’t blink at all…
Coming up on Blackfoot Reservoir halfway between Idaho Falls and Soda Springs…
Starting to look for the airport - ORBX makes is really easy to compare the sectional chart to the terrain, antennas, roads, and urban areas…
Turning toward the runway…landing on the smaller one for the shortest taxi to the ramp…
Another contract fulfilled…that Boeing 747F can’t be far off now!
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Does anyone know how much the Carenado/Alabeo Cessna 207 Skywagon would cost if I bought it in Air Hauler 2? I can’t seem to pin down a database for user added aircraft…(?)
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I’ve been collecting this info since beta testing Air Hauler (1) - I’ll get back to you in moment…
in £ it’s 289,300
So you could use it as a starter aircraft. Sell the C172SP for 100k, then use part of your permitted 100,000 ‘overdraft’ (in career mode).
Oh hang, on - not sure if you get those in AH2?
d’oh - not a twin! Sorry - blabbing ahead of myself again! It’s my age… 
Yup - same price in AH2 - for both versions (regular & bush:
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Hey thanks for the info. I picked the “hardest” career mode for AH2 - so I think I sold the Cessna 172 right off the bat, bought the Maule. I can’t take any loans or lease planes until my overall rep is over 40 I think (it is going to take awhile). But I think I could sell my Maule for $80,000 + roughly $200,000 in cash and I might soon be able to afford either a Cessna 207 or a Cessna 185F. Either would nearly double my cargo carrying capacity I think…so it’d be worth it over the long run.
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Unfortunately, I can’t remember the C207 at all, so I have no idea what it’s like to fly.
I’m sure you get more money in career mode in AH2 than you used to in the original. I always seem to have a lot more cash after selling the default career mode Bonanza than I ever did in AH career mode - around 320,000, I think (after renting a base).
That’s plenty for buying most decent starter planes. I used to go for the Cessna 185, just for carrying capacity (or the C182 RG), but these days I can afford a used Beaver if I’m prepared to wait for one to become available.
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Yeah…this is the starting setup for the various levels of difficult - I did what you did…took the hardest level, and sold the Bonanza straight away…
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Big day for MAC today…! Onward and upward we go…! Our beloved little default Maule M7 has served us well in the skies over Norway and Idaho…and I love the little beastie, but it is time to move up to something that can carry a bit more cargo and better handle the density altitude of these high mountain strips. I called up a broker in Idaho Falls…and sure enough…they had a Cessna 185F on the books over at West Fork Lodge (4U7)…
Hopped a ride with a friend and went over to West Fork Lodge strip to kick the tires so to speak…nice looking bird that could do with a few improvements…
A pretty austere panel - but I’m not a fancy pants pilot, so I can still do NDB and dual VOR navigation…and it does have a handheld GPS I can use in a pinch. Only a heading hold autopilot though…so I’ll have to monitor the trim and power at all times to maintain altitudes…
The owner lets me fire her up and take her for a spin. I consult the checklist to make sure I’m at the proper power setting for the mag check - and more importantly, to find the proper lean setting for this high altitude airport (it is nearly 50% out by the time I find the sweet spot)…
The plane in question is the Carenado Cessna 185F for FSX - which seems to work just fine in P3D v4. I also applied the 185F realism FDE by Bernt Stolle who tweaked the air file to give more realistic performance. Of particular improvement that I noticed was the ability to forward slip with much greater drag than the original flight model. Really, really nice… As well, the C185F is much more enjoyable to taxi than the Maule…which was reluctant to whip around with differential braking and rudder wheras the 185F is very agile…
Tight little strip for a “demo” flight…but what the heck…
Two notches of flaps and we are off in a flash with no cargo and only 25% fuel…
I bring it back around and we land going the opposite way due to the terrain. Full flaps is a dream in this plane with the ability to really point the nose down without a radical airspeed rise. At idle power, the Carenado sounds are awesome with a very satisfying and throaty exhaust sound. The engine doesn’t react quickly to power inputs though…so you have to be careful to plan ahead when you want to bring in the power at high altitudes…
Done and done - I’m sold on the plane, so I arrange for the sale of our trust Maule (I shed a tear or two) and take the cash and pour it into the 185F purchase. I do not have enough reputation to lease it (I need 40), so I have to outright buy it…gulp…there goes my entire cash reserve except for about $10,000…which a purchase cost of $255,652. I better not damage this thing or I won’t be able to pay for the repairs!
I hop in - plug 1U2 (Mud Lake) into the GPS and bring her home across the high Idaho mountains…
It is a beautiful VFR day again…
Tracking the Dubois VOR toward Mud Lake…
Just enjoying the views - this is no speed demon, particularly at altitude…but the crisp textures and lines are a nice change from the rather rough looking Maule…
Soon we drop out of the high mountains into the plains around Idaho Falls and maneuver to line up at Mud Lake…
My landing is a bit touchy as I’m still learning the characteristics. I get a little bounce, but she settles in fine…
I get her pushed back in the hangar - and set the local crew on the job of stripping her down. Through the magic of virtual flying - the job is done in just a few hours and out of the hangar she emerges with a temporary paint job and we’ve also bolted on a nice cargo pod… Original bare metal paint scheme was by Kevin Jesse…
Of course, I forgot that when you buy a new aircraft - before you can use is, you have to pass a simple “Type” rating test. It is a straightforward series of climbs, descents, and headings…although my landing was at the barely passing OK category by the end of the test…
So there we have it - a new bird on the line and the possibility of carrying much larger loads… Time to get cracking!
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I would be slightly worried if you failed the landing gear portion of the type rating 
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Nice shots. The C185F is excellent for bush flying - especially the mountainside, one-way in/out stuff. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.
Well done with the C185, and the new paint (none) is wonderful. Looking forward to following her exploits.
Nice. Especially the Cessna C185. 
Just signed up to say that I really like these Air cargo storys. Was reading here before but without signing up.
@BeachAV8R
Got a few questions especially about your X-Plane setup. Can I contact you in some way?
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Hey, glad you enjoy them. They are fun to write…
You can send me a private message by clicking my little icon there and MESSAGE I think…
MAC had an incredible day today - $25,000 in contracts moved…! The cargo hauling capacity of this 185F is just awesome…up to 1,400 lbs. per load…so I’m able to double up some contracts and carry multiple contracts on the same leg.
These were my legs - only 283 nm of flying…but I found some very close by contracts to the places I was going. I had to split one contract load because it was too big for a single flight, so I just booked another load with it, split it in half, and grabbed a return contract for the dead leg back.
