Sure is purty aint it…
That aside. I don’t know how I would go flying a Hawk, Harrier or any other jet that used det cord as a canopy breaker. I know it must be OK, but I have played with that stuff for real and to have that much just inches from my noggin 
its thrilling without the Darkbird (I even renamed the Sled) and Darkstar in the mix, isnt it ? 
28-Dec
after following Ural river to the E, I hadnt better plan then to push further to the E, Астана / Astana in Қазақстан / Kazakhstan
climbed through the murk in the search for sunshine
for this leg I thought I was really decided to stay at FL200 and enjoy the cloud surfing
it worked… and the cloudscapes were nice
but it didnt take long and the ‘need for height’ creeped up on me 
I wish you could see the sense of motion on the below pic. I hit thin layer of clouds and at only M1.3 and 90fps it felt incredible to pass beneath the cloudlets
sometime it seems to me that time passes faster at these alts
and again I hit interesting layer which turned completely red for a small moment. or maybe my supply of oxygen was choked a little 
as the sun set behind the upper layers I felt the need again… Sunchaser
and again, out of excitement, or lack of oxygen, or whatever it was, I didnt do my homework. in my defence I checked the airport elev before descent but I didnt set my altimeter correctly.
so with airport elev at 1.1k ft, and with the rain clouds sitting on the ground, I hit the ground at 1.6k ft in controlled flight into the terrain 
at this point, it didnt add to my mood, but I rised up again… Ghostchaser 
so did set the weather a notch better and tried the approach again. even then it was hard approach but made it in one piece eventually
thx, doing my best not to bore you this late into this year 
still on the same day, 28-Dec, moved also a little S
Astana to Қарағанды / Karaganda
scenery wasnt really dramatic, weather was, so flew this leg in manually preset weather and down on deck to have little fun
but after landing did taste a little of the real weather. again low clouds and precipitations, cold, brrrr
Okay, so a route through the Aleutians in December might have been a bad idea. 40-45 knot winds are more than the TMB (and this pilot) can handle. I found one window with a short hop from PASD to PADU with winds in the 20s. Of course, when I reached Unalaska (PADU) I found this:
After another unscheduled lesson in IFR flying, and about a dozen circles to get lined up with the runway, I put her down with not much to spare:
I will continue to look for opportunities but I may be stuck here until Spring.
Absolutely amazing pictures! It reminds me of my very first Cross Country from South Texas to San Diego in the TA-4J. We broke out between layers as the Sun was going down and the entire scene looked like something out of Dante’s Inferno.
I don’t know if you were using ATC, but I find that it’s pretty easy to forget to update the altimeter in the sim when you aren’t talking to anybody! 
@BierRunner nice job with teaching yourself IFR flying on the quick. That’s a Helluva’ feat, especially with strong winds!
Quick update. Made a hop to PADK so I’d have enough fuel to reach Russia (it was the only airport I could find with winds less than 20 knots). From there, a quick jump to Petropavlosk and I may escape the Winter Wonderland trap I’ve been in.
Indeed, Mother Russia turned out to be much more accommodating than I expected:
Down safe and sound:
For the record, UHPP runway 34L seems to suggest a 34R but there’s just one strip. Maybe they ran out of Rubles?
Pointing out missing runways in Russia can be…problematic. 
Yes, like Napalm will give you a mild sunburn.
my next flight happened on the 29-Dec
this one was kind of first research flight ( yep, not planned for, but there will be second one )
I planned for extended leg as I had lot of fuel, but distracted in the middle of it I dropped at the other lake
I wanted to test the profile with full fuel load similarly to @Aginor 's attempts in MSFS.
after take of, in full burner, set the climbing turn with 45deg bank and 10deg pitch. accelerated easily to M1.0 before reaching FL200
at FL200 accelerated in full burner further to M1.3 I guess and went all the way up to FL500 at 30deg pitch this time. not loosing a knot
she is definitely hot, but in full burner at FL500 had to cut the flame early as I didnt want to get burned
saw the lake, thought already there. it turned out I dropped one lake sooner
shields out, cause I really dropped out of the clouds
this is kind of bad luck with the terrible weather at my destinations. here it doesnt look that bad yet
but final approach was against the 22kt wind into the setting sun
after three attempts I decided the 22kt tailwind is less of a trouble and shoot three approaches in the other direction before landed long. the chute had to earn its money with all that fuel still in the tanks
thx, btw no ATC. yep, that could have saved the day maybe …
or maybe not, as it turned out later
on the same day, 29-Dec, wanted to get where I originally planned. happy it didnt work out the first time as this flight was really visually dramatic
Ысык-Көл / Issyk-Kul lake in Кыргызстан / Kyrgyzstan
you dont have to wait any longer.
one of the reasons I decided to cross Kazakhstan on my way SE is the interesting terrain of this country. same goes for Kyrgyzstan.
I for one, @Aginor , like the virtual deserts as simulated terrains in sims.
departing from the shores of Балқаш көлі / lake Balkhash
its really interesting how fast the scenery changes, here over some dry river beds
in fast pace over green river shores
and then the desert
then out of nowhere reservoirs and fields. but those were like huuuuge fields, at least that was my impression in real contrast I would say to the fields you saw in China @Deacon211
and then ( really? again? ) mountains … but hiding somewhere in the clouds in front
those sceneries near Алматы / Almaty were just spectacular
finally on the other side of the ridge at the shores of Issyk-Kul
out of excitement nearly scratched the surface
I also enjoy the deserts, but only really if they have interesting features.
Southern Algeria is a great example.
LOL
A couple of months ago I was flying an An-2 around there. Out of Karakol I believe.
I have stolen every spare minute today and eventualy made it to our destination Daocheng Yading Airport (ZUDC) in Sichuan, China.
but no time left to complete the reporting this year
happy I went all the way.
I wish to you and to yours ALL THE BEST, more UNDERSTANDING and LOVE for each other, and WILL TO COMMUNICATE!
see you on the other side … of the calendar 
As I expected I won’t make it this year, as I was busy today.
But I will finish the flight in the next few days.
@NEVO Congratulations! Your amazing shots make me regret staring at the ocean for about 30 hours! 
Ain’t no thing. I love reading these reports. Same goes for you @BierRunner.
You keep flying ‘em and I’ll damn sure read ‘em! 
As will I.
The annual Christmas flight has become one of my Mudspike highlights. I’m now 2 for 2.
So it is already a habit for me. Next one makes it Tradition 
