**The OFFICIAL All Sims Air Tour Thread**

[bosspecops]

View attachment 177938

You were in a Flight Sim historical area there!

That's Meigs Field over to your right, almost an island standing off from the city. Nowadays it's been reduced to a mere shadow of its former self as some sort of 'city park' apparently.

 

[ViperPilot2]

You were in a Flight Sim historical area there!

That's Meigs Field over to your right, almost an island standing off from the city. Nowadays it's been reduced to a mere shadow of its former self as some sort of 'city park' apparently.

I initially was going to include Meigs (KCGX) as a Stop on the Tour, bypassing Lansing Municipal (KIGQ). However, since Meigs no longer shows up on currently issued Sectional Maps, I left Lansing Municipal in place.

Since Meigs played such a pivotal and iconic role in the Annals of FlightSim history, I will leave the option of stopping at Meigs up to the Individual Participant to decide. You may include Meigs at your leisure if you so desire.

 

[Tako_Kichi]

In P3D the runway at Meigs is gone so it would be a grass landing while dodging fence lines and other ground clutter!

 

[tao]

KANE>KMCW>KDSM>KMKC>KAAO>KTUL

As the Twin Cities come to life we say goodbye to the good folks at Anoka ... set a compass heading of 179 degrees and start looking for the snow line. At Iowa Falls the snow began to fad and by Ames it had disappeared. As the turf turns brown again the OAT began to rise (however slightly) and by the time Wheeler (KMKC) came into view it was time to stop for lunch (KC BBQ! ... when in Rome).

Leaving Wheeler 42 Victor turns to the southwest and the ‘Sunflower State’ is soon below. At this point the ground (with a hint of green) slowly starts to rise and an additional1,000 feet or so on the altimeter seems the prudent thing. Past Wichita the course turns to the southeast and soon the Stearman is tied down in Tulsa for the night. Another good day in the air.

 

[Tako_Kichi]

We got a couple of legs in again last night and we had an aircraft change to help out on the slightly longer legs. Out went the Ryan SC-W and in came the Lockheed C-40. The runway was narrow so a staggered take-off was required to stop us butting wingtips.



It was a beautiful day for a change and I could see all the way to the horizon!



No problem finding the runway at Wausau (KAUW), it was huge in length but surprisingly narrow as it turned out!



A staggered start to the next leg again, I did say the runway was narrow right?!



Even though it was a stunningly beautiful day in early December I opted for 'IFR' rules (as in 'I follow roads')!



It was a superb flying day if just a little chilly!



It was shortly after the above 'Kodak moment' that I got an onscreen message from ASP3D warning of a WX update.



-17°C outside...BRRR! Rob had passed traffic on TeamSpeak saying he was heading to the back for a 'comfort break' and a fresh coffee from the 'trolley dolly' (a.k.a. his wife ) so I duly watched his bird while babysitting mine just so that I knew where the crash site was for when he returned! While watching his icon in Little NavMap I noticed that he was falling further and further behind and his indicated ground speed was plummeting! When he got back in the Pilot's seat he noticed his MP had dropped from 25" to less than 15" and his ASI gauge had followed it down too! As this was a new aircraft to both of us a frantic search of both cockpits ensued and we finally found the carb heat levers tucked away at the bottom of the central pedestal! Once activated both power and speed returned to normal levels.........Phew!

We were good for the rest of the trip and Minneapolis airport (KANE) appeared right on the nose as expected.



Real time was running out so as usual we found a quiet corner close to the tower to hang out until we fly the next leg(s).

 

[bosspecops]

You're flying G-AGTL?

Wowee, maybe THE most famous Lockheed 14 ever. Hazel and I went to see her at Duxford last year, just after they'd restored her. She was the aircraft that Sidney Cotton used to take clandestine pics of Nazi Germany prior to WWII starting, and was really the RAF's first proper photo reconnaissance aircraft during that conflict.

 

[bosspecops]

It seems I should have posted my PIREP for my flight from Flying Clouds to Meigs in this thread, but I posted it in another one, sorry. It's too much faff to move it across so here's a link to it.

https://sim-outhouse.org/sohforums/threads/the-all-sims-air-tour.166437/page-2

I'll carry on with my flight to Willow Run using this thread of course.

 

[Tako_Kichi]

You're flying G-AGTL?

Wowee, maybe THE most famous Lockheed 14 ever. Hazel and I went to see her at Duxford last year, just after they'd restored her. She was the aircraft that Sidney Cotton used to take clandestine pics of Nazi Germany prior to WWII starting, and was really the RAF's first proper photo reconnaissance aircraft during that conflict.

Thanks for the info. To be honest I didn't know of her amazing history before picking her for these flights. I'm an ex-pat Brit so picking the only stock UK registration was a bit of a 'no bainer' for me!

 

[Melo965]

My first thought for this Air Tour was to start at my home airport of Bremerton National (KPWT) in Washington state.


After checking on the distance of 1,683 NM, switching to plan B.


My first flight in the Percival Mew Gull of Alex Henshaw fame will be from Oshkosh Wisconsin (KOSH) to Willow Run (KYIP) tomorrow morning. Had to have at least one short trial flight, in case there are any issues that crop up, before starting on the actual route for the Air Tour.

 

[lucb]

@Tako_Kichi that's must be really fun to fly with someone

 

[Tako_Kichi]

I have been flying in multiplayer sessions since at least FS2004 days and also in combat sims too. I was also a regular participant in the annual 'Round the World Race' between a number of the popular flight sim forums (up to four at one point) where we would compete to be the first team across the finish line while flying around the world in real time, with real weather and with full realism on the aircraft (including damage). The event would last for several days non-stop and usually included some challenges to solve in route planning, required aircraft or pilot skills etc. It was a lot of fun and I miss it deeply every February (it used to begin on the first weekend after Valentines Day every year).

SOH has had it's own multiplayer server for years (20+) and also maintains a TeamSpeak3 voice server for communication between pilots. Both are available for free to all SOH members who want to make use of them. I won't tie up this thread with details but more info on the SOH multiplayer servers can be found here: https://sim-outhouse.org/sohforums/threads/ts3-back-online-and-joinfs.124361/

JoinFS allows people using FS2004 (FS9), FSX and FSX:SE, all variants of P3D and the new sims (MSFS2022 and MSFS2024) to all fly together online seamlessly.

There used to be a lengthy 'how to' section for multiplayer but I don't see it at the moment so I will have to try and find it again.

 

[K5083]

I don't know how much of this tour I will complete, as I have quite a bit of travel planned next month, but this is too good of an opportunity to explore the recently posted legacy GAS aircraft. So here is leg 1 from last night, the GAS Ryan Brougham en route to Battle Creek in P3D4. I probably will switch aircraft for most every leg and sims as well, between P3D4, P3D5, FS20, and I may even dip back into FSX-SE and FS9.

August

 

[bosspecops]

Thanks for the info. To be honest I didn't know of her amazing history before picking her for these flights. I'm an ex-pat Brit so picking the only stock UK registration was a bit of a 'no bainer' for me!

Oops, sorry, I got that reg slightly wrong.

G-AFTL was the Lockheed 14 that Sid Cotton used for his clandestine flights over Germany, but he did own G-AGTL as well, and that one was used for PR flights over France early in WWII so it's still a significant aeroplane.

Regards
Kit

 

[K5083]

For stages 2 and 3 I went to open cockpits, though it was a bit chilly. Stage 2 was the classic Golden Age Sims Waco for FSX. Unfortunately, I couldn't do it in VR any more since I switched to Windows 11, and am now using the Oasis driver to keep my Reverb G2 running after the demise of Windows Mixed Reality, and it doesn't seem to play well with FlyInside. Hard to say why; it's still Steam VR, which should be all FlyInside needs. I don't suppose any of the rest of you have solved this? Anyway, Track IR running in VR virtual desktop was almost as immersive.



Then it was off to Chicagoland and for this I used the Golden Age Sims Travel Air Mystery Ship from the air racer package. I tried installing this in P3D4, and was worried about it because the release date seems to be 2013 and the installer only certifies it for P3D1-2, but actually it is magnificent in v4 and made for my most enjoyable stage yet. If you still run P3D and haven't installed this gem, you are missing out.

 

[PhrogPhlyer]

Decided to at least get one leg done before this front totally clobbers the area. So in a moderate snow and two hour 'til sundown I departed Willow Run. Was happy to see Ann Arbor as a solid check on my navigation progress.


The snow just keeps falling as does the sun, and the winds from the SW aren't helping.




I got cleared to land on the snow covered grass next to Rwy 23 at Kellogg. Fighting strong gusts and blinding snow.



Touching down. With these gusts I can't stop "flying" until stopped on the ramp.


Finally, shut down and safe. Got here just in time as the falling snow relentlessly thickens. I'm going to rethinking what I'll Fly for the next leg. Brrrr.

 

[bosspecops]

That looked a HORRENDOUS flight Mr. Phrog!

I liked the bit about 'not stopping flying till you got to the ramp'!

 

[PhrogPhlyer]

'not stopping flying till you got to the ramp'

Something that is so often forgotten in sims and RW flying.

 

[lucb]

After enjoying delicious hamburgers and a Guinness, we returned to the hotel. I went straight to bed, while Amy wanted to do some more research on this pitot problem.

In the (very) early hours of the morning, I was woken up by a beaming Amy: "I've found a solution to our problem. There's a stock of spare parts recovered from wrecks in Hangar 13, and apparently they have a Pitot heating system recovered from a Mooney."

Breakfast was quickly eaten and we were at the hangar for opening time. The part was quickly acquired and Amy attempted to install it on the Mohawk.
After two hours of work, she cursed, "I don't understand this damn switch. As soon as we attach it to something, it refuses to flip."
"Maybe the bracket warps when it's attached? It's from a wreck, after all. Let's not waste any more time. We'll manage with the speed indicated by the GPS if the problem occurs again. I'm comfortable with the plane and the conditions are improving, so it should be fine."
Amy didn't seem too happy. She doesn't like it when she can't solve a problem.
So we put away our tools and took two thermos flasks of hot tea with us. And off we went to...

Leg 3 and 4
Upon takeoff from South Bend, the weather seemed perfect, but we quickly encountered fog and turbulence. Then the clouds returned, but we remained in VFR conditions.

Upon arriving at Lansing Municipal (KIGQ), after a brief radio exchange with the control tower indicating that due to the cold weather no one would be coming outside to see the planes, we decided to make a low pass before heading back to Lawrence J. Timmerman Airport.



This airport is well know in our community.


As we flew over Chicago, I mentioned that my wife had visited the city a few years ago.
"You see the stadium over there? It's Wrigley Field. My wife went to see a baseball game there. Half of the stadium was in the shade with spectators wrapped up warm, and the other half was in the sun with spectators wearing just jumpers. Of course, she was in the shaded area. She still says it was her coldest trip, even though she has since been to Norway when it was -18°C, but at least she was dressed for it."


Amy laughed. "It sounds like your wife travels a lot on her own. Why don't you go with her?"
"Well, for one thing, my wife likes to travel alone. She says it helps her meet local people. And for another, we have a dog, and she can't go everywhere, so I stay at home to look after her. And then I often have to do all the aeroplane ferries on my own too." I replied.
"And you get to meet lovely young women that way." said Amy, laughing.
"Lovely young women? I haven't seen a single one yet on this adventure."
"Thank you!" she replied in a sharp voice.
"Come on, Amy. I'm joking,"
The rest of the flight was uneventful, with chit-chat about this and that.
As we began our descent towards Timmermans KMWC, the pitot tube took another cold snap. Visibility was perfect, there was no turbulence or wind, and the landing went smoothly. We really liked the car park. Flying time: 1H40'


We could have continued on to Leg 5, but 1 hour and 40 minutes in a cold aeroplane (outside temperature -18 degrees Celsius, inside no more than 4 or 5), even with thermos flasks of hot tea and heavy jacket, is still a tiring experience, and given the reception at the airport, we decided to stay there and enjoy until the next day .

To be continued...

 

[Tako_Kichi]

We managed to get three legs in during our last session and the weather had quite a contrast between the start and finish! We left Anoka Co-Blaine (KANE) in the early morning and headed almost due South. We opted to stay low as we didn't know how thick the overcast was at that point. Here we are approaching Minneapolis-St.Paul (KMSP) which was on our direct path.



The temptation was too great and I simply had to buzz the tower on the way past!



At this point we decided to try and climb above the overcast and I finally broke out at about 4,000 ft ASL.



It wasn't long before we had to head back into the crud again but we did make it safely to Mason City Municipal (KMCW).



A quick taxi to the start of the runway, a bathroom break in the back and another coffee and we were ready for the next leg.



The weather was still really socked in with low overcast and fog making things hard to spot.



I am really glad I spotted these in time though as they were some of the tallest radio masts I've seen in P3D so far, they were HUGE!



The top of the middle tower was way above me and I was flying at 2,500 ft at that point! I'm really glad we found them during daylight and not at night in IFR conditions!



We made it safely to Des Moines International (KDSM) and we had what looked like a glimmer of blue sky on the horizon. Could it be that the weather was about to improve and we could get out of the dreary, grey, gloom!

 

[Tako_Kichi]

As we climbed out of Des Moines I couldn't help wondering if Rob would ask if his a$$ looked big in that paint scheme!



Just after the last Kodak the WX suddenly changed and the sun came out and we could see for miles in all directions. I must do something about all the dirty marks on the windshield though as they get very annoying in direct sunlight.



I popped outside for a better look and to soak up some of that sun!



The WX stayed good all the way to the destination and downtown Kansas City was easy to find.



As usual we found a quiet place to park up and this time we even had some company on the apron even if it was a little newer than the theme of the event!