Around the globe in a Beechcraft baron.

bandit197

Ive started a round the world trip in FSX flying East to West from EIKN. It will take a while but Im doing the legs bit by bit. I flew to the Faroe Islands via Stornoway last night and am currently en-route to Iceland. Im doing all the flights with full realism and in real time with real world weather. Did anyone here ever try it? Its gonna take me a while but Im in no rush. Im logging all the flight times etc to have a record of how long it takes.

highlydebased

I've thought about doing it in an ATR

Did a tour of europe during the summer. Good fun.

FlutterinBantam

bandit197 wrote: »

Ive started a round the world trip in FSX flying East to West from EIKN. It will take a while but Im doing the legs bit by bit. I flew to the Faroe Islands via Stornoway last night and am currently en-route to Iceland. Im doing all the flights with full realism and in real time with real world weather. Did anyone here ever try it? Its gonna take me a while but Im in no rush. Im logging all the flight times etc to have a record of how long it takes.

Gonna take you a while in a Baron...West coast of the States to Russia would seem to be your only option or have you another routing?

bandit197

FlutterinBantam wrote: »

Gonna take you a while in a Baron...West coast of the States to Russia would seem to be your only option or have you another routing?

Yes I think that really my only option. Im going to fly down the east coast of the US then across to the west and up to Alaska.
I landed in Greenland last night from Iceland (BIRK-BGBW) with only 4% fuel.
I was on fumes. I had a heavy headwind all the way.
Its a great project. Would recommend it:D

andy_g

yeah i started on it last night from dublin to farnbourgh then to orly going to start south toward spain into africa going to be good fun see what happens lol all in real wx and realtime should be fun

bandit197

andy_g wrote: »

yeah i started on it last night from dublin to farnbourgh then to orly going to start south toward spain into africa going to be good fun see what happens lol all in real wx and realtime should be fun

Yeah that will be good. I think Ill go that direction too when I get this one done. What are you flying?

Edit: Arrived in JFK tonight.

Carsinian Thau

bandit197 wrote: »

Ive started a round the world trip in FSX flying East to West from EIKN. It will take a while but Im doing the legs bit by bit. I flew to the Faroe Islands via Stornoway last night and am currently en-route to Iceland. Im doing all the flights with full realism and in real time with real world weather. Did anyone here ever try it? Its gonna take me a while but Im in no rush. Im logging all the flight times etc to have a record of how long it takes.

This sounds really cool tbh.

I'm thinking of doing a quick tour of europe over the Christmas break in a Cessna Skyhawk G1000.

Do you fly online or are you only using the flight simulator itself?

bandit197

Carsinian Thau wrote: »

This sounds really cool tbh.

I'm thinking of doing a quick tour of europe over the Christmas break in a Cessna Skyhawk G1000.

Do you fly online or are you only using the flight simulator itself?

Its very addictive. I find myself looking forward to getting a few more hours further on my journey. I can only imagine what an experience it would be to do it for real. Im doing most of the flights in the sim itself although I do the odd one with VATSIM or Gamespy. Ill be timing the return to Knock for a Sunday evening so hopefully one of the lads here who do ATC with VATSIM can guide me home:D

ch252

bandit197 wrote: »

Ill be timing the return to Knock for a Sunday evening so hopefully one of the lads here who do ATC with VATSIM can guide me home:D

Ah we'll sort you out don't worry:) What time do you reckon you'll be in at? Sure you can let us know closer to the time and Ill endevour to be online on Knock.

andy_g

bandit197 wrote: »

What are you flying?

Edit: Arrived in JFK tonight.

im using the atr 72-500

Carsinian Thau

bandit197 wrote: »

Its very addictive. I find myself looking forward to getting a few more hours further on my journey. I can only imagine what an experience it would be to do it for real. Im doing most of the flights in the sim itself although I do the odd one with VATSIM or Gamespy. Ill be timing the return to Knock for a Sunday evening so hopefully one of the lads here who do ATC with VATSIM can guide me home:D

I can agree with that. I've only been flying since the start of the summer but it's actually been really hard to go without a flight for the past five weeks (I left my joystick at home so I couldn't get to it during exam season, however, exams are over in a week and a half or so and I'm already planning the flights I want to make).

I also intend to fly on VATSIM over the break (I think I'll practice the route a couple of times in the sim first and take a small route. Perhaps Galway to Knock or something along those lines).

Speaking of VATSIM, could anyone recommend a good time for a first experience? I've heard Sundays can get pretty busy and I'll be available for most of the day, any day of the week so I'd like to go at a time when I wouldn't be dealing with an over taxed ATC or risk getting in someone's way, especially considering that even with small planes I'm still very much a novice pilot.

Hope your flying continues to go well.

Carsinian Thau

bandit197 wrote: »

Arrived in JFK tonight.

Congrats.

Any more excitement after your 4% fuel experience?

bandit197

darragh-k wrote: »

Ah we'll sort you out don't worry:) What time do you reckon you'll be in at? Sure you can let us know closer to the time and Ill endevour to be online on Knock.

Cheers Darragh, It will probably be in a week or two or over xmas. Ive a long way to go yet. Ill keep ye posted.

bandit197

Carsinian Thau wrote: »

Speaking of VATSIM, could anyone recommend a good time for a first experience? I've heard Sundays can get pretty busy and I'll be available for most of the day, any day of the week so I'd like to go at a time when I wouldn't be dealing with an over taxed ATC or risk getting in someone's way, especially considering that even with small planes I'm still very much a novice pilot.

Hope your flying continues to go well.

Anytime there is someone on ATC is a good time. Download VATSPY to keep an eye on it. Its never really too busy on a Sunday especially in the west but there is normally a few aircraft in the region. Dublin can be quite busy from time to time tho. Im the same as you, just getting grips with procedures etc. I normally try to get on for a few VFR flights hopping to and from Sligo, Knock, Galway, Shannon etc.
There's some great advice given in the stickies in this forum and the lads in ATC are friendly and helpful.
Try a circuit or two around a controlled airport to get started. If there is traffic keep an eye on it in VATSPY and wait untill it is quieter.
Once you get confident with that you will be flying. (pun intended...sorry:D)

bandit197

Carsinian Thau wrote: »

Congrats.

Any more excitement after your 4% fuel experience?

All fairly normal after that but my last flight from KJFK to North Carolina(cant remember the airport) was rough to say the least. Very windy and low cloud.

Steyr

Pictures/screenies please.

bandit197

Somewhere over the North Atlantic en-route to Iceland.


Frosty day over Logan Intl. Boston


Ready for takeoff at KCHS


Climbing out of KCHS


Ill upload a few more when I catch some interesting sights

Edit: Flying over the state of Georgia at the moment, heading due west.

PeakOutput

your graphics look good man have you a nice machine?

bandit197

PeakOutput wrote: »

your graphics look good man have you a nice machine?

Yeah it runs it well. Its one I built myself. Its an intel q6700 quad @ 3.2Ghz,
4 GB Ram, Nvidia 8800gs, running Vista Ultimate 64bit.

PeakOutput

dont want to hijack your thread but do you mind me asking how long ago and how much it cost?

i love to get a good one together to see if i like this vflying lark but im a student

Carsinian Thau

PeakOutput wrote: »

dont want to hijack your thread but do you mind me asking how long ago and how much it cost?

i love to get a good one together to see if i like this vflying lark but im a student

You wouldn't need something that would break the bank. I use a Dell Precision M64 with 2GB of RAM and it works pretty well for me.

This is a photo of me flying over Paris (sorry about the cockpit view but I wanted to keep a close eye on what was going on). I think the quality is alright.




http://s398.photobucket.com/albums/pp64/icy-dead-people/?action=view&current=2008-12-10_19-34-2-453.jpg link because the file isn't showing up.

bandit197

PeakOutput wrote: »

dont want to hijack your thread but do you mind me asking how long ago and how much it cost?

i love to get a good one together to see if i like this vflying lark but im a student

It cost me about €700 at the beginning of the year. I bought some secondhand parts. The cpu and graphics card.
The main thing to look for is processing power and Ram. The more the better for flight sim. The graphics card, while important, is'nt used as heavily as in other games. I got mine for 50ish euro secondhand.
Ask the lads in the building and upgrading forum in this site as they would be more up to date than me with components available now.
Id be confident that 500-600 would build a pc capable of running FSX very well.
(not including monitor)

Carsinian Thau

Hey bandit197, just wondering if there was any chance of a couple more screenshots please?

Also, only about six days or so until I begin my trans europe thing. I'm now thinking of doing it in a Grumman Goose. Advisable?

bandit197

Here's a few more,
Tenessee River

Wright Patman lake Texas

Dallas Forth Worth (KDFW)

Taxiing at Dallas

New Mexico Desert

New Mexico

Phoenix Arizona (KPHX)

Approaching KPGA, Grand Canyon country

bandit197

Carsinian Thau wrote: »

Hey bandit197, just wondering if there was any chance of a couple more screenshots please?

Also, only about six days or so until I begin my trans europe thing. I'm now thinking of doing it in a Grumman Goose. Advisable?

If ya like flying them then why not. Where did you get the Grumman?
I wouldnt mind trying that out myself.

have you a route planned for Europe or are you just going to play it by ear?

bandit197

Some more pics.

The Grand Canyon.









Leaving the Canyon



Vegas



Leaving Vegas at dawn (as ya do!)



En-route to San Fran.


En-route to San Fran.


Leaving San Fran.


Has to be done.

Delphi91

Bandit,

Have you used just the standard scenery or have you got add-ons - love the details in the "en-route to San Fran" shot.

Gotta say, I'm tempted by this trans-global thingy. I've done the Trans-Atlantic run (kinda boring!), but hopping from country to country sounds better.

Mike

bandit197

Delphi91 wrote: »

Bandit,

Have you used just the standard scenery or have you got add-ons - love the details in the "en-route to San Fran" shot.

Gotta say, I'm tempted by this trans-global thingy. I've done the Trans-Atlantic run (kinda boring!), but hopping from country to country sounds better.

Mike

Its all standard scenery except for the Grand canyon shots. I have an add-on for that area. Available here http://www.aussiex.org/index/download.php?view.217

I have the scenery turned down to med-high in most screenies because I am using the pc for other tasks while flying.

I got as far as PAJN, Alaska over the weekend. http://www.airnav.com/airport/PAJN

Its going to get difficult again now with bad weather and sparse location of Airports.;)

I dunno what happened the screenshots earlier on in this thread. Ill try and sort them out.

Carsinian Thau

bandit197 wrote: »

If ya like flying them then why not. Where did you get the Grumman?
I wouldnt mind trying that out myself.

have you a route planned for Europe or are you just going to play it by ear?

Good point. I just hope its not too heavy on fuel to make it.
It came with game. I was fortunate to get it as a gift so I was given the deluxe version. I'm sure there's a download out there somewhere though.

I still have to work out exactly where I'm going to stop (for fuel purposes) but the general plan would be:

Ireland (probably Cork) to England (most likely Plymouth) before going to France (landing in Nantes). Then down the west coast of France until I reach Spain. Then I'll head along the Northern Coast of Spain until I can't go any further. From that corner of Spain, I'll head for Malaga (possibly landing once or twice either in Portugal or on the border with Spain). I'll go from Malaga to Barcelona.
Then I'd like to head for Marseille before going on to Genoa. Then it's down the western coast of Italy until I reach Rome or Naples. Then across to Sicily (going to Palermo) before turning around and heading up along the eastern coast of Italy.
From there, up into Northern Italy and east to Austria. Then the Czech Republic and Poland.
Then into Germany, going through Berlin and Hannover before the Netherlands. Then it's on to Belgium and back into France via Lille. Then to Paris and le Harve before I go back to England via Portsmouth and London. Then Cardiff, Birmingham, Manchester, Dublin and back to Cork.

How's that sound? Anything you'd change?

Btw, those screen shots are amazing.

bandit197

That looks like a good route. There's a good bit of flying in it. You will need to keep close to the coasts in northern Italy to stay over the foothills of the alps. Should be some good scenery there too. When are you starting?

bandit197

A few more screenshots from the PAJN (Juneau Alaska) to PAMC (Mcgrath Alaska) section of the trip.

FlutterinBantam

Position update:D??

bandit197

Hi, I havnt flown any legs for a few days with getting ready for Christmas and all. Im currently in Yemelyanovo Airport outside Krasnoyarsk. http://stable.toolserver.org/geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Yemelyanovo_Airport&params=56_10_18_N_092_29_36_E_type:airport

I have screenshots of the journey across the Bering Straight etc. Ill upload them when Im home later.
Id be hoping to finish on the 26th or 27th.

andy_g

hey guys sorry i havent been on been working like a madman on the run up to christmas still sitting on the ground in orly gunna head toward spain and africa on stephens day lol. oh and happy christmas to all of ya hope ya have a great one guys

bandit197

Just a quick update. I havnt got much done in the last week or so. Have got as far as the Ukraine. Im gonna try and get two four hour flights under the belt today so Im within sight of completing the circle.
From here its on through Poland, into Germany, The Netherlands and across to the UK.

Carsinian Thau

bandit197 wrote: »

Just a quick update. I havnt got much done in the last week or so. Have got as far as the Ukraine. Im gonna try and get two four hour flights under the belt today so Im within sight of completing the circle.
From here its on through Poland, into Germany, The Netherlands and across to the UK.

How'd it go?

I didn't get to do my Europe thingy. A combination of being a little unwell and having to help out with some building work left me unable to do it. I guess I'll wait til Summer. Although I did do some practice and I have a video of me going under the Golden Gate bridge in a Learjet 45* which I'm particularly proud of. I'll post up a link to youtube soon.

*=I wouldn't recommend going under the bridge in plane as big as this without planning it out first, I crashed when I tried it cold. Then I used a Piper J and got a rough idea of what altitude and heading would be best. I think 200 feet will clear it no bother at all and at about 270-280 would probably be acceptable as well if you don't want to go too close to the water.

bugsyboy

Hi
I am enjoying your pictures and reports. You have inspired me to have a go. Just did Dublin Plymouth today. Much more fun when it is part of something bigger. A few questions if I may?

Do you accelerate the simulator for the boring bits?

Do you use realtime weather and do you fly in realtime?

Do you use ATC for landing taking etc?

Do you land on spec or do you use the charts etc?

Just wondering.

Cheers
Paul

bandit197

Carsinian Thau wrote: »

How'd it go?

bugsyboy wrote: »

Hi
I am enjoying your pictures and reports. You have inspired me to have a go. Just did Dublin Plymouth today. Much more fun when it is part of something bigger. A few questions if I may?

Do you accelerate the simulator for the boring bits?

Do you use realtime weather and do you fly in realtime?

Do you use ATC for landing taking etc?

Do you land on spec or do you use the charts etc?

Just wondering.

Cheers
Paul

Hi, I got it finished yesterday evening. Now I have to plan something new .

@Paul,
Every flight was done in real time. I didn't use the accelerate time feature.

I always use the in game ATC for take-off and pattern entry instructions when landing and some of the flights were done in IFR.

Weather was always set to real world, updated every 15 mins.

I planned some flights in the less densely populated areas because the airports are few and far between but sometimes I just flew for a few hours and landed when I needed fuel.
Id set up a flight and reduce throttle to bring fuel consumption down and id leave it flying while I was doing other things. I've two monitors for the pc.

Im going to post a few more pics and a list of the flights with airport codes if anyone wants to use it.

bandit197

En-route from Amsterdam. A mate of mine joined me for the last flight in multiplayer.


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3453/3188057916_83685784ba_o.jpg

The East coast of Ireland



Back in Knock again.

bandit197

Started Ireland West Airport Knock.

Ireland West Airport Knock(EIKN) - Stornoway, United Kingdom(EGPO)........2hr 20min

Stornoway, United Kingdom(EGPO) - Soervaag / Vagar Faroe Islands (EKVG)...1hr 30min

Soervaag / Vagar Faroe Islands (EKVG) - Reykjavík, Iceland (BIRK).........2hr 33min

Reykjavík, Iceland (BIRK) - Narsarsuaq, Greenland (BGBW)..................4hr 30min

Narsarsuaq, Greenland (BGBW) - Saint Anthony Airport, Nf (CYAY)...........4hr 05min

Saint Anthony Airport, Nf (CYAY) - Bangor, Maine, USA (KBGR)..............4hr 00min

Bangor, Maine, USA (KBGR) - Kennedy Intl, New York (KJFK).................2hr 10min

Kennedy Intl, New York (KJFK) - Charleston, South Carolina (KCHS).........3hr 55min

Charleston, South Carolina (KCHS) - Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas (KDFW).......4hr 15min

Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas (KDFW) - Pheonix, Arizona (KPHX).................3hr 50min

Pheonix, Arizona (KPHX) - Page Municipal, Arizona (KPGA).................1hr 20min

Page Municipal, Arizona (KPGA) - Las Vegas, Nevada (KLAS).................2hr 00min

Las Vegas, Nevada (KLAS) - San Fransisco Intl (KSFO)......................3hr 25min

San Fransisco Intl (KSFO) - Port Hardy, Canada (CYZT).....................4hr 10min

Port Hardy, Canada (CYZT) - Juneau Intl, Alaska (PAJN)....................4hr 50min

Juneau Intl, Alaska (PAJN) - MCGrath, Alaska (PAMC).......................4hr 10min

MCGrath, Alaska (PAMC) - Nome, Alaska (PAOM)..............................1hr 35min

Nome, Alaska (PAOM) - Savoonga, Alaska (PASA).............................0hr 50min

Savoonga, Alaska (PASA) - Ugolny, Anadyr, Russia (UHMA)...................2hr 05min

Ugolny, Anadyr, Russia (UHMA) - Sokol, Magadan, Russia (UHMM).............5hr 05min

Sokol, Magadan, Russia (UHMM) - Yakutsk, Russia (UEEE)....................4hr 00min

Yakutsk, Russia (UEEE) - Mirny, Russia (UERR).............................2hr 20min

Mirny, Russia (UERR) - Yemelyanovo, Krasnoyarsk, Russia (UNKL)...........4hr 25min

Yemelyanovo, Krasnoyarsk, Russia (UNKL) - Astana, Kazakhstan (UACC).......4hr 30min

Astana, Kazakhstan (UACC) - Atyrau, Kazakhstan (UATG).....................4hr 20min

Atyrau, Kazakhstan (UATG) - Astrakhan, Russia (URWA)......................2hr 05min

Astrakhan, Russia (URWA) - Luhans'k, Ukraine (UKCW).......................2hr 35min

Luhans'k, Ukraine (UKCW) - Cherlyane, Ukraine (UK61)......................3hr 55min

Cherlyane, Ukraine (UK61) - Schipol, Amsterdam, Netherlands (EHDL)........5hr 05min

Schipol, Amsterdam, Netherlands (EHDL) - Ireland West Airport Knock(EIKN).2hr 40min

Total Flying time...98hr 55min

Board Walker

hmmm sounds like an interesting project!

i cant access my flight sim at the mo as my computer is riddled with virus's again.

flight sim just wont open!