I feel flattered! And funny that you say that, I’ve been wanting to write about the CIVA for as long as I have it now(which is a year 
), no better motivation then to write on request I suppose!
Thanks! If someone knows a proper guide from… Something else then it’s you! 
Roflmao you’re way too modest.
I was wondering for the classic airliner lovers among you… did you ever try the Coolsky DC9 for FSX? I think that one only has VOR-to-VOR navigation available and I heard that it has pretty darn deep systems simulation.
Leg 03: Memphis to Wichita (KMEM-KICT)
Alas, our beloved Beech 1900D began acting up again in route to Memphis. So we decided to reluctantly leave her with a recommended shop for further inspection. Arrangements were made to pick up our company bird on the return trip.
Plan B was to locate a twin with enough cargo capacity to carry 1445 lbs of beer kegs, 500 lbs of middle-aged pilot brewers, make 200 kts true, and get us as far as Wichita. Once in Wichita, we might find something with a bit more legs. We decided on a rough looking, but very solid C404 Titan. The paint was curious. Not quite “our customers are wearing black camo stick” gray, but a fairly ambiguous off white that was just one buff brighter than primer. We said goodbye to Memphis, my brother’s wallet quite a bit lighter and black guitar case added to our manifest.
Back on the road again.
True, the C404 Titan has not had a update for XP11. But with a small edit of the .acf file, her 430 will track a flight plan. Unfortunately, I’ve had to drop back and punt with regards to a weather engine. X-Enviro has suddenly become dissatisfied at my latest update to 11.10b7. SkyMax Pro doesn’t seem to mind though. And while it doesn’t have the overall dramatic impact as X-Enviro, as we will see shortly, it can represent some situations better.
WX observations reported 1200 over, and sure enough we got in the soup quickly. But 8 thousand feet later we eased out of the fluffy stuff on the way to our cruising altitude of FL200. To the west, things were looking decidedly better.
Our route today. Our airspeed turned out to be a bit optimistic.
Once at our planned cruising altitude, I was somewhat concerned that the airspeed didn’t quite accelerate like the scolded dog the Titan had portrayed on the ground. Deferring to the POH, we decided on a setting of 31" at 1900 RPM, which should have given 201 KTAS.
With the needle straining to get past 140 KIAS, I pulled out my 30 year old ASA CX-1. She is well worn and the interface could be better. Heck, there’s probably an iPhone app that dances around this antique. Just die will you! I enter the data and am pleasantly surprised that at 204 KTAS, we are within a few knots of what was expected.
One of the things planned for this leg is to checkout the differences at altitude between the stock XP11 scenery and that overlaid with US Orthophotos. The planned route so far…
As we approached southeastern Kansas, the change in scenery was obvious.
Notice in this screen where the Neosho crosses from Kansas into Oklahoma how the winding river appears far less convincing on the default scenery.
Along the way we tracked our progress with an external moving map, and confirmed that we could use pilotage far more effectively with the Orthophotos.
As we reached west, the sky began to take on beautiful shades as the sun slowly moved towards its eventual hiding place.
One couldn’t help but pause and be thankful that we had chosen to earn our wings.
The vistas being what they were, I completely missed our TOD and pushing over, made like a Peregrine after a field mouse. Brother Bill began squirming a bit as the VSI approached -3000 fps and the Titan soon reached a bit too near overspeed. Exceeding personal minimums was I. Tempering my enthusiasm, I took us 15 miles north of Wichita, then back to the East for a visual approach on 32.
Poor bastages just released from the salt mines 
Flatter than a pancake out here.
While we taxied toward our hole in the wall, we spied some very interesting aircraft on the ramp.
As we neared the hanger, I was surprised to see on the KICT AD that Lear occupies the buildings just beyond. We’ll have to give them a shout tomorrow to see if they would be open to a visit. Maybe swap beer for sim time.
Let’s tuck her in and call this a wrap.
I guess girls could be called Titan. I know one named Titus.
Great looking bird that 404. I used to work on the ramp at an FBO that had a fleet of 402s they hauled freight in (Ramp 66 - KCRE). That clamshell top half of the back was always popping open during takeoffs. Funny story:
One day, one of the pilots (who now works with me at my current job) was running some freight from Myrtle Beach to Charlotte. Well, he took off from MYR and was enroute to CLT and got a call from ATC.
“Hey Nine One Golf, you uh…apparently left some boxes on the runway back at Myrtle…”
So he looks back over the piled up freight and cargo net, and sure enough, that back top clamshell had popped open and some boxes (which were usually packed to the ceiling) had fallen out. Well, you can’t scramble over the net to close it with no autopilot, so it stayed open all the way to CLT.
When he landed, the Airborne Express manager was furious, going on about how he’d be responsible for the value of the packages, blah, blah blah. So as they are unloading the freight, they start weighing it. At the end they come up with some number on a slip and hand it to the pilot. “He’s like…uh…well, according to the weight slip your guys gave me back in MYR, I gained packages on the way here.” (They never actually weighed anything I don’t think…it was all a WAG). With that, the Airborne manager decided to just shut up.
I haven’t, but it reminds me that I need to get the Rotate MD-8!
Leg 3 of Chuck’s Return to Montreal
YNWN (Newman) - YPDN (Darwin), Australia
This time, I take the TFDi Boeing 717 in Prepar3d V4! The name says “Boeing” but the interior of the cockpit screams McDonnell Douglas.
I spawn at 3:00 AM local time. The flight should be approximately 900 nm to Darwin. Below, we can see the very nice TFDi RealLight technology implemented in the cockpit.
The Electronic Flight Bag is also a pretty nice feature since it includes a number of checklists. The resolution of the jpg could be improved since at the moment it’s a giant page that can be zoomed in or out.
I fire up the engines and taxi to Newman’s runway. I plug in the flight plan in the FMC, nothing too difficult so far.
Once again, the lighting effects are stunning.
I throttle up and off I go!
So far so good. I climb to 2000 ft and start my climb to 32,000 ft.
I still can’t get over how nice that cockpit looks.
As I reach 20,000 ft it’s still pitch black outside.
The sun rises
The sky looks like it’s in a strange limbo between night and day
6:15 AM, rise and shine!
I need to use sun shade panel in order not to get blinded. Quite a useful feature.
As I cross the Karlamilyi National Park, more clouds clutter the airspace
Arriving next to KU waypoint. The town of Kununurra is located among the scenic hills and ranges of the far north-east Kimberley Region, having an abundance of fresh water, conserved by the Ord River Diversion dam and the main Ord River Dam.
Lake Argyle, Western Australia’s largest and Australia’s second largest freshwater man-made reservoir by volume.
I approach Darwin as I cross the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf, named by French explorer and naturalist Nicholas Baudin in 1803.
The Keep River and Victoria River drain into the gulf in the Northern Territory, the former close to the Western Australia - Northern Territory border. The Ord River, Pentecost River, Durack River, King River and the Forrest River drain into the Cambridge Gulf, another gulf within the southern part of the Bonaparte Gulf.
Thick cloud cover will make this morning’s approach more interesting.
ActiveSky at work
Going in the soup
Rain droplets shown here are the result of the TrueGlass technology developed by TFDi. It’s pretty neat!
Wipers doing their thing
Now that’s a lotta wind and a lotta rain
Approaching the Cox Peninsula, starting my descent at 250 kts
Bleeding off some speed with the airbrakes
The STAR makes me swing around Darwin towards the ocean, then circle around the town and land northwards on runway 29.
Landing on runway 29. Time to try out that Autoland system. I perform my approach at 140 kts (I took a VREF of 135 + 5 kts according to my FMC performance calculator for an approach at flaps 40). Once the localizer and glide slope are captured, the rain stops and the wind suddenly drops, which makes it much easier for me.
On final approach to Darwin
Short final
Touchdown is quite gentle
The thrust reversers slow me down quite effectively
Aaand… we’re there!
TFDi did a nice job with that 717. That was some unexpected fun!
The Rotate MD80 is pretty good but it’s missing some features like Autoland, which is being worked on but at a snail’s pace. If you have the choice I’d wait for the Leonardo MD82 for P3D/FSX that is about to release at the end of this year, it seems like a more solid product.
Nice report - that TFDi 717 is very, very nice. I wrote the review for it for the magazine last issue and I was very impressed.
Ah, well I might jump the gun anyway, I don’t care much for autoland when landing is my favourite part of flying! Besides I’ve moved to X-plane 10 a year and a half ago and I don’t plan on running two simulators.
Leg 4 of Chuck’s Return to Montreal
YPDN (Darwin International Airport) - YBBN (Brisbane) - YSSY (Kingsford Smith Airport, Sydney), Australia
Now for a longer trip of 1900-ish nm with the PMDG Boeing 777.
Needless to say, this plane is HUGE.
I load up about 135000 lbs of fuel and taxi to runway 11 of the Darwin International Airport.
Once I get clearance from the tower, I throttle up and start accelerating.
Up we go!
The aircraft feels a bit heavy so I need to pick up a decent amount of speed before I start my climb.
Bye bye Darwin!
I start my climb to 34000 ft. This might take a while.
Lotsa clouds on the way up
Cruising
I see Groote Eylandt in the distance as I begin to cross the Gulf of Carpentaria. Groote Eylandt is part of the Arnhem Land Aboriginal Reserve. GEMCO, a South32 / Anglo American plc joint venture, operates a large manganese mine near the community of Angurugu. The first recorded sighting of Groote Eylandt was in 1623, by the Dutch ship Arnhem, under Willem van Coolsteerdt. However, the relative prevalence of the hereditary Machado-Joseph Disease in the Groote Eylandt community (a condition otherwise mainly to be found in the Azores) was previously suggested as evidence of early contact with Portuguese sailors. Recent genetic studies showed that the Groote Eylandt families with MJD shared a haplogroup with some families from Taiwanese, Indian, and Japanese families. The island was given its current name in 1644, when Tasman arrived.
Pellew Islands The group includes Vanderlin Island, North Island, West Island, Centre Island and South West Island.
Once I’m done crossing the Gulf of Carpentaria, I take a turn south towards the Karumba River, near the Mutton Hole Wetlands Conservation Park.
I fly South-East in Queensland, briefly seeing Lake Maraboon and Fairbairn State Forest, partially hidden by clouds.
A better view of Fairbairn Dam and Lake Maraboon
Queensland is much greener than the desertic landscapes in the West of Australia.
Wuruma Reservoir and the Coominglah State Forest
Funny thing in the 777, you get a message if you’re doing nothing (aka flying on the autopilot) for too long. Apparently, it’s a safety feature for pilot fatigue.
So far the 777 is a real breeze to fly. It’s got tremendous power. Each time I see one taking off near Montreal, I am always astounded to see the sheer size of this thing.
Approaching Brisbane (YBBN). Lake Wivenhoe lies under the clouds in the distance
I descend to 20000-ish feet to see Brisbane a bit better. It’s quite a sight to behold. Moreton Island lies in the middle of Moreton Bay.
Flying over Brisbane Airport
I climb back up to FL340, we have still about 400 nm to go until Sydney.
I start my descent a bit early, about 100 nm from Sydney Airpot (YSSY)
Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park
Beautiful!
Apparently, the television series “Skippy the Bush Kangaroo” was shot in northern Sydney at Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park and the adjacent Waratah Park.
On Approach to Sydney
Strangely, my STAR brings me way off runway 16R. I hesitantly disconnect the autopilot just to make sure and attempt a manual landing.
That runway looks waaay too short. Surely this isn’t the right one. I decide to abort at the last second and ram the throttle forward to go around.
I circuit around to come back for a second pass. With FlyTampa’s Sydney airport, Orbx Australia and the PMDG 777, my computer’s framerate takes a real nose dive. The approach gets more difficult since I’m more stressed about FSX crashing on me than my actual plane crashing on the runway.
I finally pick the correct runway this time.
Touchdown at 145 kts with flaps 30. I’m really not used to land a plane of this size.
Phew, wheels down.
Vacating the runway
Oops, wrong way… gotta turn around.
Taxiway contamination with rain. Pretty cool effect!
Time to step off the plane.
Ugh… gotta stretch my legs.
Overall I like my trip but the FlyTampa Sydney Airport in addition to the framerate-hungry 777 and Orbx made the airport very difficult to land to.
Nice write up Chuck! I like the fact that you disconnected the autopilot at the first sign something didn’t look right. You are thinking like a Pro. 
So I’ve finally decided to have a go at the Mudspike Christmas Flight. I could not decide between a jet and a prop as first so decided to go Turboprop. I’ll be using (at least initially) the Aerobask Epic e1000 v2 in xp11, flying from Nottingham East Midlands ariport EGNX.
My first leg, which will help me get used to flying this once more, will be to the Polish airport of Zielona Góra.
Migrate to P3DV4 and say goodbye to instability. Great screen shots BTW.
Well I’m stuck in a situation where migrating the PMDG modules I have would cost me 3 x 135 USD… For modules I already have.
PMDG is the EA of flightsimulator 
One of my best friends from high school was crew on her back in the early 2000’s- he actually met his wife there when they were both aboard at the same time.
Did you know that Claudine Christian, the crew member who lost her life in the sinking along with Captain Walbridge was actually a descendant of Fletcher Christian?
Great history and a fascinating read. Indeed, the loss of the replica ship during Sandy was quite a scandal apparently. I love stories of these incredibly brave crews that explored the world. I can’t imagine the feeling of apprehension that the crews must have felt when sailing into parts unknown of the world.
A most interesting tangent CP, and please keep them coming. I am about 1/2 way through book two of the Aubrey-Maturin series, and am finding the subject matter fascinating. That is Royal Navy circa is 1800. Excellent point concerning the lack of Marines on board, especially in light of how much of the crew might have been procured. Having said that, what might seem horribly cruel today (flogging, gagging) may have been necessary and thoroughly expected at the time.
IE, the beatings will continue until there is a marked improvement in morale
Oh, I had a long list of folks on my ship who I would’ve gladly flogged. Or keel-hauled. Or both.
And in the modern service, they just find different ways to beat the crew.
Have either of you read any of the Horatio Hornblower books? I loved the old A&E TV movies they made, but haven’t picked up the books yet.
