Turning final 2021

All the best for next year 2021 to all the blog readers. As for the holidays greetings, the above screen shot is taken from Microsoft Flight Simulator. Here at Santa Monica landing runway 21. 

FarWest 2019 Microsoft Flight Simulator Bush Trip mission

This MSFS Bush Trip offers you all the legs of real VFR flights we flew in May 2019 onboard a Cessna 172. It's a loop in California, Nevada and Arizona: from San Diego to Los Angeles, Monterey, Mojave, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Marble Canyon, Sedona, Big Bear, Oceano and some others. Try to fly it as much as we did in VFR by following VFR charts but most of all enjoy the sightseeing.

The file is available for free at FlightSim.to: https://flightsim.to/file/5502/farwest-2019-bush-trip

Change log : version 1.0 public

What is a Microsoft Flight Simulator Bush Trip?

MSFS Bush Trips are long VFR flights focused on sightseeing. It's ready-to-use: you are lined-up and just have to follow the nav log. MSFS Bush(1) Trips are simple multiple legs trips proposed to fly in sequence. Each leg start with a description of your route + destination airport and landmarks to overfly. In this FW19 Bush Trip, waypoints are a mix of Point of Interest (Hollywood Sign, Grand Canyon, LAX...) and radio navigation aids (VOR).

What is Farwest'19?

"Farwest" is a generic name of real flight trips organized by friends. Started in 2008, we usually depart from San Diego and fly VFR during 1 or 2 weeks, everywhere up to Canada and more. They were something like 15 Farwest so far. Most of the time, we enjoy flying in California, Nevada and Arizona. The "Farwest'19" (a.k.a FW19) took place in April-May 2019 with one Cessna 172 and a Piper PA28: four french friends private pilots just wanted to have fun in unbelievable landscapes.

Where this FW19 Bush Trip will fly me ?

1. San Diego Montgomery field to Bakersfield via LAX
2. Bakersfield to Monterey
3. Monterey to Mojave
4. Mojave to Las Vegas, NV via Edwards AFB
5. Las Vegas to Page, AZ via the Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon (VFR corridor)
6. Page to Monument Valley
7. Monument Valley to Marble Canyon
8. Marble Canyon to Sedona
9. Sedona to Twentynine Palms
10. Twentynine Palms to Big Bear
11. Big Bear to San Luis Obispo
12. San Luis Obispo to Oceano
13. Oceano to Kern Valley
14. Kern Valley to Zamperini/Torrance via Hollywood Sign and Los Angeles international
15. Torrance to Catalina Avalon
16. Catalina to San Diego via Miramar MCAS

How long will it be?

• Flight length: 2000 nm
• Flight Duration: +17 hours (estimated)
• Number of legs: 16
• Shortest / Longest leg: 20 min / 1h45min

How to install ?

Unzip the file into your Community folder. If you don't know where is your community folder, please follow these instructions: https://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/content.php?21235-Finding-The-MSFS-2020-Community-Folder Once installed go to Activities, Bush Trips and select Farwest'19 in the list.

Is it 100% what you flew real in 2019?

Yes! Only 2 airports weren't in our FW19 but they were in several previous Farwest: Catalina KAVX and  McCarran KLAS (during FW19, we landed at Henderson (KHND). I though it brings more fun to add these regular FarWest destinations. Some routes like the overhead of Edwards AFB weren't possible in 2019 but we succeed to get this clearance in previous Farwest. The real plane is a steam gauges Cessna 172 registered N4975F. Beside these, it's 100% what we were lucky to fly. Enjoy as much as we enjoyed.

Tip&Tricks: Auto-pilot and refuel

You can use the C172 autopilot and let electronic follow the route for you. It's a good way to enjoy the landscape and look outside instead of watching the PFD/MFD ;)

I suggest you bind a key to "Repair and Refuel" to avoid running out of Avgas ;)

Limitations

1. No altitude are set in the nav log due to Little Nav Map Flight Plan capabilities. There's no way to set altitude for each legs but some indications are available in each legs.
2. There is no ATC available. It's a limitation of the Bush Trip MSFS concept.
3.  As soon as you stop your plane, the legs stop and... congratulations! In MSFS you can stop on the runway or just after vacated. It's up to you. But then you have finished the leg. In real world, another journey starts: find a parking slot for the plane and most of the time find the way to the FBO and fuel
4. This bush trip package use the Cessna 172 G1000 to be compatible with all MSFS version from standard to Premium Deluxe. See the below FAQ to change your plane.
5. The magenta line is not display on the G1000 MFD even if the full route is loaded. Because it would be too much helpful 

Do you recommend any extra MSFS scenery?

The mission can be played with a stock MSFS, but you can improve your experience with these add-ons:

• FSPM VFR Map by scelt to have a more detailed map in flight : click here.
• Catalina KAVX freeware by JosueMejia: click here.
• Big Bear (L35) freeware by JosueMejia: click here.
• Downtown Los Angeles freeware enhanced with an improved Hollywood sign by Senecadriver: click here.
• Monterey (KMRY) freeware by Captainvtol: click here.
• FlyTampa Las Vegas (payware): click here.
• My own San Diego Gibbs Exec Montgomery Field (KMYF) fix : click here.

FAQ

• Where is my Community folder?
• Microsoft Store: C:\Users\[Your Name]\AppData\Local\Packages\ Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\Packages\
• Steam: C:\Users\[Your User Name]\AppData\Local\Packages\
• Custom: where you select to install MSFS during the installation process. For example, mine is on H:\FS2020

• How can I restart a leg? Delete your saved flight located here : C:\Users\<your Name>\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\MISSIONS
• How can I change the weather/time when starting a new leg ? The only way is to modify manually saved files during your progress:
1. Shut down MSFS
2. Open the 2 files FARWEST2019-MISSION_SAVE.FLT and FARWEST2019-MISSION_SAVE_0001.FLT from your Activities folder. + If you have the AUTOSAVE folder, also open the file FARWEST2019-MISSION_AUTOSAVE.FLT
3. In all your open .flt files, change the Weather section to only include these two items

        [Weather]

        UseLiveWeather=True

        WeatherCanBeLive=True

• Can I use another plane? Follow (at your own risks) instruction in the MSFS official forum. Keep in mind that it requires edition a .FTL file and after changing it you have to start the bush trip from the beginning. Maybe in a futur version I'll propose the classic C172 available in MSFS with the N4975F Replica texture from Marc "Flying V" Hardouin.

• Do you have a Skyvector Flight Plan available? A simplified version (without all the POI's) is available here.

• Grand Canyon VFR chart: in leg#5 (Vegas to Page) and leg#8 (Marble to Sedona) where can I find the Grand Canyon VFR chart with the SFRA and corridor's routes (for e.g. Fossil corridor) ? Go to Skyvector and select the Grand Canyon VFR.

Tools used to create this MSFS bush trip:

• Little Nav Map (LNM) available here.
• Bush Trip Injector by BuffyGC available at flightsim.to.
• Skyvector, Foreflight and Airnav.com

A big thanks to all creators who share their hard work for free.

(1) In the real world, "bush flying" is about remote locations where there aren’t proper runways to land on.

From Vegas to Page, AZ via the Grand Canyon with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020

The plan today is to reproduce a flight I make whenever I have to join Las Vegas to Page (AZ), then mostly to fly to Monument Valley but this is another story. I took the C172 analog with the N4975F texture replica of a Plus One Flyer club plane based at San Diego. Las Vegas scenery is from Flytampa. All the rest is stock from MSFS. As usual I connected my Foreflight tablet app to my sim. Looking at the sunset time at Page, my destination, I choose accordingly my departure time. My plan is to reach the lake Powell with hot colors.

The route is simple KLAS BLD Hoover Dam then the Fossil Corridor to go through the free flights zone of Grand Canyon SFRA

As a backup I enter the “route” in the GNS530 (mod "pms50-gns530")

Today, runways 8 are in use. I started from Signature FBO but I turned on the other/wrong right and headed to the 19’s by mistake MSFS is a great training tool!

The awesome rendition of Las Vegas strip by Flytampa

Finally, I make a 180 and headed to the correct direction… Let's go the other way

Holding short 8L

Foreflight receives XmapSy 3.1 trafic data and displays it on the ground chart

Is that enough for my tiny C172?

Initial climb, looking at tubeliner's terminal

Awesome rendition of McCarran

Leaving Las Vegas

11'500 ft is the minimum altitude for the VFR corridor into the Grand Canyon SFRA and Foreflight advises me to climb as much as possible to benefit from tailwinds. But for now, I'm vector into the Bravo 

Overflying Hooverdam then

... continuing eastbound...

... and passing by Grand Canyon west airport

SFRA over Grand Canyon force me to fly at 11'500 ft (or 13'500 ft) northbound into the Fossil Corridor

The timing seems to be perfect for cool shots

Before reaching the Marble Canyon then Page, I reached this green plateau

Entering the Marble Canyon, I've started my descend

.

Descending to Pag and letting Marble canyon airport at my left wing. Not enough fuel for a stop & go. Next time soon

Horseshoe with a decreasing light. Better come sooner there next time

High left base 33 at Page (KPGA)

Turning final 33

Short final 33

Few seconds, before touch down

As usual parked at Classic Aviation FBO

Joyeux Noël à tous les lecteurs du blog

La photo qui illustre ce message de Joyeux Noël est forcément extraite de Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 en final 1L à Las Vegas!

Grand local autour de Vegas avec la nouvelle scène de Flytampa sur Microsoft Flight Simulator

Flytampa vient de sortir sa nouvelle scène de Las Vegas pour Microsoft Flight Simulator. Pour tester les derniers patchs adressant les problèmes de performances, pourquoi ne pas s'y promener en VFR ? Alors on ouvre la carte FLY de Vegas et on se faufile dans les corridors et autres routes en faisant des touch&go'es sur les terrains environnants.

Et je ne me gare pas au fond tout derrière avec les petits, mais ostensiblement devant l'accès du FBO.

La carte FLY de Vegas qui indique les corridors VFR (grosses flèches bleues) où le contact avec les ATC n'est pas nécessaire... et pourtant si proche de la classe Bravo. Il y a aussi les routes VFR mais avec clairance comme celle pour rejoindre North Las Vegas.

Départ en 1L: coup d'oeil à droite sur le terminal des gros n'avions...

... et le coup d'oeil à gauche vers le FBO Atlantic d'où je viens de partir et où je retournerais après ma petite boucle.

Urbanisation Las Vegas'ienne

Après Henderson et dans le corridor VFR me voilà au dessus de Boulder City Airport (KBVU)

Le barrage Hoover n'est vraiment pas loin en Cessnouille

Lava Butte (VPVLB) au nord de ma boucle pour rejoindre, cette fois-ci sous clairance ATC, l'ancien Strip (El Cortez hotel - VPVEC) pour un Touch&Go à North Las Vegas (KVGT)

Surprenante formation géologique (Frenchman Mtn ?)

L'ancien Strip de Vegas, downtown et l'hôtel El Cortez (VPVEC)

Pour entrainement (à quoi ?), je fais un touch&go à North Las Vegas (KVGT) piste 30R...

... puis me fait un p'tit plaisir en passant à côté de la Stratosphere (VPVST) ("Abeam Stratosphere tower" résonne dans ma tête) pour les pistes 19 et le retour sur McCarran (KLAS).

Finale 19R pas vraiment avec le vent qui va bien pour cette piste (030 pour 10 kt) . Mais il y a de la place et puis c'est au simu après tout.

Courte finale 19R et le FBO Atlantic sera ma base de nouveau.

Les Farwest'iens connaissent bien la sortie Sierra qui donne sur Foxtrot et Hotel que je confonds tout le temps 😉 Les Janet sont là et le strip est juste derrière.