My flights every day of the week mostly involve me and my little baby Cessna 150 Aerobat, hopping from one local Airstrip to another around the State of California, keeping a careful eye on the weather, admiring all the scenery at low level, and popping into the various FBO's en-route for a cup of tea and a snack, and meeting Folks for a chat l....
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..that's my idea of an enjoyable "Flight Sim Experience"...
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I leave all the mind-numbing, soul destroying; "Round the World" flights at extremely high altitudes, in heavy Passenger Jets full of screaming/fighting Passengers, to you Blokes!...
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Share your preference for 'small and interesting,' Fozzer - in terms of both aeroplanes and airfields! But I'm also an 'RW addict'!
Over the years I've 'developed' a compromise that gives me the best of both worlds - I generally stick to aircraft with a still-air range of 1,500nms. or less. This means that you have to plan your route very carefully, because you can't just sail straight across the Pacific or the Atlantic. For the former, for example (starting from Oz), you have to head north via Midway Island or Japan to Adak in the Aleutians; for the latter you have to use the 'old' route via St. John's, Newfoundland, and the Azores.
I almost never use the same route twice, because of the differing characteristics of the various aircraft. And RW in aircraft with limited range and only the 'basic' instruments can lead to lots of 'thrills and spills.' Time and again 'real weather' springs a nasty headwind or zero visibility - I've often found myself 'scraping in' on the last couple of teaspoonsful of fuel, or having to file IFR in the air and then hand-fly those awful roundabout approaches that the FS 'controllers' love to inflict on you!
I also log the flights, and make myself taxi in and out and spend at least an hour parked on the ground between flights. The record so far in a prop (in clock time, not elapsed time, and including stops) is four days 20 hours in the DH88 Comet; which CAN handle Honolulu-San Francisco (my all-time favourite trip, great scenery at both ends!) and St. John's/Heathrow.
Currently having a change though, belting round in Dave Garwood's very nice Hawker Hunter (which has a max. range of only about 1,400nms.). On impulse I'm currently re-enacting the MacRobertson Race route from England to Australia -on the last leg to Melbourne right now, looks like I'll make it in 46 hours 'clock time,' including nine one-hour stops. After that I plan to take the Hunter on round, via Midway, Alaska, and Canada, hoping to crack four days for the whole RW trip.
by Stewy44 » Sat Nov 21, 2009 4:43 am 
