Just Completed My First Around The World

[Charlie01]

Well, I did it. It took me 30 seperate hops in the Learjet and 56.9 hours in the log book but I completed my first time around the globe. I would like to thank Nav for his just most excellant post on using ILS approach and visual flightpath. I finally got where I would trust the approaches after landing a few with the visual flightpath turned on, after that I never used it any more. I copied out his great post ( pictures and all) and practiced until I had it down pretty well, I would have never figured it out without the pictures.

[G-Fire25]

WTG man. I myself am doing a USA coast to coast trip in a Piper Cub on FSX. Im in the middle of texas.

[rootbeer]

You guys are my heroes, those of you who can do things like this. I can't figure out how to get from here to there, there being just a few miles away...

[Charlie01]

Rootbeer.
      Learn to use the gps and you can go anywhere in the world ( not sure if some of the small planes have it or not). It isn't hard to learn and then it is easy to just put the airports in with a flight plan, fly the headings and presto you are there. I wasn't very sure myself at first. I have gotten more fun out of the $20 I spent for this program than anything else I do with my computer. If nothing else, a trip around the world will show if you paid any attention in geography class. I was using an old globe I had to pick out my next destinations and heck, I didn't even know they had changed the name of Burma to something else.
                                        Charlie

[Jakemaster]

I've gone 'round twice.  First time was SFO-BOS-AMS-HKG-SFO, second was LHR-DXB-HKG-YYZ-LHR

[Falcon500]

I did mine in a B-29, I have done quite a few LONG trips, like Barksdale AFB, Louisiana to Bagdad (didnt land just an "overflight") then down to Diego Garcia, well south of India.

A few flights from England to middle and Southern Africa, but most of my flights are under 500 miles and most of those around 100miles

I fly well everywhere tonight it was Cuba, last night it was Ohio.

[Sir_Crashalot]

I'm making plans to do a trip around the world using nothing but the Bell Jetranger III. Still in the very early stages of planning the route and most important, learning how to land the darn thing.......

Crash

PS Congrats on finishing your flights around the world

[CAFedm]

Gawd, I admire you guys flying 200-300 kts around the world. I did most of a similar trip in a fighter averaging about Mach 2.2 and that was trying enough (mind you, stopping off at pretty near every major city around the globe). Looking forward to giving it another go in FSX this time around, curious to see the landclass quirks that have been reported, namely FSX's reports of lots of desert in many parts of the world...

It would have been fun to see least a couple of screenshots from your attempt. I had one flight where the fuel ran out enroute to EHAM from UUDD (a bit fast on the cruise), and there were probably a dozen impatient KLM's waiting to take off upon my somewhat stressful arrival.

[Nav]

Congratulations on your first RW, Charlie, glad the tutorial helped! Especially pleased that the visual flightpath helped at first, and you later found that you didn't have to bother with it - that's exactly what I intended. Next step is to save a practice flight and cut the autopilot out earlier and earlier, you'll soon find that you can land just as well manually. That's important for RW work, it's only a matter of time before you find yourself wanting to land somewhere that doesn't have ILS, or get yourself assigned to a non-ILS runway.

The thing you have to get used to handling is any crosswind, of course. There's a tutorial on that in FAQ too, No.11, if it helps.

Surprised that it took 30 hops in the Lear, though. Did you make a point of finishing each flight in one session? You can save the flight in mid-flight if you like, which makes it easier to manage your time. Also, I don't see why, particularly given the back trouble, you shouldn't use 'Accelerated Time' now and again on the long over-ocean stretches - although I might get flamed for that, many people consider it 'cheating.'  :)

rootbeer, about getting from A to B, try downloading my 'RTW In A Prop' thing (about halfway down this page in 'Adventures').

http://www.simviation.com/fsadventures_10.htm

It's pretty long (text only), because it covers a complete RW trip in a prop (one of the default ones if you like). But the first few pages provide a lot of detail about Flight Planning, using VORS, NDBs etc., and also flying courses to and from VORs. Should help you get the hang of things.

[JA 37 Viggen]

WTG man. I myself am doing a USA coast to coast trip in a Piper Cub on FSX. Im in the middle of texas.

I've done a coast to coast 4 times. All for times however.

Once in an XB-70 at high altitude (70000 to keep at Mach 3), once in the freeware Alpha MiG-25 at low altitude (Map of the Earth), once in the payware Alpha MiG-25 at high altitude (60000 for Mach 2.5), and once in a

[G-Fire25]

Well I'm going Morristown, NJ to San Diego. I think the longest I ever flew was 7 hours across Arkansas following a rail line. I dont use my GPS much.

[Charlie01]

I can't imagine around the world in a chopper, it is bad enough letting the autopilot fly. Also, going across the USA in a Cessna would seem like forever to me.
     Nav, I wanted the actual time to be the actual time, I know I could have speeded things up by moving myself ahead on the map, but I didn't . I flew each leg from takeoff at last airport to touchdown and parking at arrival airport. This greatly added to my time I know. I have been landing and taking off VFR using no navigation except the VASI lights for some time before I started using ILS. The ILS is cool in the fact that it keeps you from landing at the wrong airport or wrong runway( at least most of the time).  You get around large metro areas like Los Angeles and there are airports all over the place, so this really helps.
        My hat is off to pilots who make the long hauls nonstop overseas, they must have the proverbial buns of steel.
     Confession time, I did run out of fuel( at least by the guages, I had it set to where it wouldn't run out of fuel) on the Hawaii to LAX leg, but that was the only time. Thanks for all the comments guys.
                             Charlie
                                               

[beaky]

You guys are my heroes, those of you who can do things like this. I can't figure out how to get from here to there, there being just a few miles away...

I'm surprised to hear this... you've been flying the sim for a while now... tell us more about specifically what's going wrong, and maybe we can help.

Using the GPS is the simplest way, and it will teach you a bit about how to navigate, but flying by compass, chart and clock (as I did in the default DC3 around the world at the equator) is very satisfying once you get the hang of it. And as long as you're not looking for extreme precision, it's pretty easy.

[Fozzer]

    One small aside, I thought my wife was going to divorce me, I was hogging all the computer time, but we finally worked out a schedule.
                                                               Charlie
   

.....she has moved in with the Bloke next-door?... ...?


Paul....... ...!