FS2002 Multiplayer Flying

The first leg of our VFR tour of England and Wales commenced at Brough on the banks of the Humber. Soon after 20:00Z the server was nearly full with virtual pilots in the glorious summer weather - 20C and light southerly winds due to our simulation time of Sunday, 7 July, a welcome respite from the current real weather! The first leg took us to Eddsfield for a touch-and-

go before heading north to Scarborough, Robin Hood's Bay and Flyingdales (the US Military kindly switched off the radio!), taking in some beautiful views on the way thanks to Visual Flight's photographic scenery. With some close formation work on the long leg to Humberside we all landed safely for a quick stop before our final destination of Sturgate. A very successful first leg of the tour.

Thanks to David Greenhalgh for the additional screen shots, which are most appreciated. Anyone wishing to contribute pictures from fly-ins then zip them up and send them to screenshots@shetland-flyer.co.uk.

17 March 2002

A good crowd of virtual aviators assembled for leg eight of our UK tour. Starting at Humberside, our route was to take us right across the Pennines, via Gamston and Sheffield City to Woodford, then onwards to Liverpool. From here we followed the Welsh border to Hawarden and our final destination of Sleap, close to Shawbury Airforce Base. The Pennines were a very pleasant surprise, and the Visual Flight mesh really captured these rolling hills. Sheffield City was very well rendered, with plenty Autogen elements. The weather was kind for once (although I had to alter the real weather visibility and cloud base, which was three miles and 700 ft respectively). Regrouping at Woodford, it was a relatively short hop to Liverpool. I was lagging behind for a time

due to some technical problems, so didn't land there, but over flew the airfield at 3000' and headed for Hawarden, where I parked up for the night, but the rest continued on to Sleap. All together an enjoyable evening! It was a great chance to test out my new 172 panel, displayed on a 17" TFT screen (see screen shot above). The gauges are the actual size of the real aircraft, and an absolute joy to fly with.

After an initial bit of connection difficulty (caused by me tripping over the router cable!) we were all soon climbing to our designated altitude of 5000' for the first sector from Sumburgh to Wick. Leg 5 of the journey was to take us all the way to Glasgow, via Wick and Kinloss - a distance of 286nm, making it the longest leg so far.

The sky was very crowded as we headed south over the sea, passing to the right of the beautiful island of Fair Isle. For once the weather was kind to us, 8 kts. at 270° on the surface, and up to 20 kts at 340° at 5000 feet. We managed some close grouping during the 50 or so miles of sea crossing, and were treated to some stunning views of the Orkney Islands.

Very quickly the Duncansby Head (DY) NDB sprang into life, and we were soon over Kirkwall, turning left to route direct to DY and onwards to Wick. We were joined by an Antipodean early bird - Ron, or the Aussie EMU at this point. Landing at Wick was to be touch and go, so we organised some separation and followed each other in. A quick touchdown on Wick's short runway (26) and it was flaps up and power on.

Climbing again to 5000 feet, we turned left to route down the coast before crossing the Moray Firth near Dingwall. A shorter sea crossing this time, but still out of sight of land ahead, we covered the last 20 miles of this sector to Kinloss. Either Alan C or G-RICH (apologies, but I can't exactly remember!) arrived a Kinloss well ahead and kindly provided approach ATC into the airfield.

I had to leave the flight at Kinloss, missing the majestic Cairngorm Mountains on the final sector to Glasgow, routing via Perth for a STIRA arrival to Glasgow's runway 23. Another great evenings flying for all, with very few reported connection problems, and Roger Wilco once again proving invaluable.

17 February 2002

Leg four, and even worse wind than the previous week, 25 kts gusting to 28 kts at 230, although the cloud base was higher at 2400'. Not quite as many as the previous week joined the session. The route took us on a virtual tour of my homeland - Shetland - starting at Sumburgh to Tingwall, Whalsay, Scatsta, Unst and back to Sumburgh. Most runways were well placed to the wind, although Unst was experiencing a 25 kt crosswind

which led to some entertaining landings! The crosswind component was a bit much for a 172, although it was just possible to land. Taking off again was a different story, more across the runway than along it. The weather was very average for this time of year in Shetland, typical of what the Loganair Islander pilots have to contend with on a daily basis. All in all a great evening!

10 February 2002

A full house again for the third leg of the UK tour, this time between Kirkwall and Sumburgh landing at all the small Orkney grass strips and Fair Isle en route. The weather was far from ideal but I think the flight was enjoyed by all.

03 February 2002

The second leg of our UK tour took us from a windy Glenforsa to Kirkwall, Orkney, via Plockton and Wick. The server was full very quickly, and most flyers remained on for the entire flight, with a couple of pilots waiting to join the session. There was one mass drop out, although everyone managed to connect back right away.

There was an excellent Roger Wilco session running - very clear communication, and far superior to the dreaded chat box! Using voice comms certainly adds a new dimension to our virtual flying.

The flight appeared to be enjoyed by all, with a very enthusiastic first-time multiplayer joining us - callsign "Me", but I didn't catch his name. Unfortunately I (as usual) forgot to start FS Screen, so I have no screenshots of the event. If anyone has any screen grabs of the session then send them to me and I'll post them up. If you want the approach plates and charts for Kirkwall and Wick, they are available here.

27 January 2002

Back to the UK, we had a scenic trip through the Great Glen from Inverness to Oban, then Cambletown, Prestwick and Glasgow. Connection seemed much more stable - I have adjusted some of the settings on my ISDN connection.

I'll post up a report and screen shots later in the week.

20 January 2002

The last in the Mountain Challenge series, and it was obvious that everyone had been practicing! I took loads of screen shots but haven't had the time to organise them yet. Watch this space.

13 January 2002

Apart from the plague of connection problems we had a great flight, pushing our little 172's to 14,000' and just clearing the trees! After an initial hussle and bustle three aircraft took to the air - PhilR and myself in our 172's, and G-RIFT in what looked like a Baron with no wheels. Very soon we were joined by MikeB, who was there for most of the flight but I couldn't see him. Hope you enjoyed the flight Mike! We briefly saw Don, Gerry and Alan C, plus a couple of others whose names I didn't catch - see you next week folks.

The initial climb out wasn't too bad, aided by the 12kt wind, but several 360's were required to claw the poor 172 up to 11,000'. In the event I decided to take her all the way up to 14,000' to clear the ridge just before Telluride, and reached this altitude after 20 minutes.

The scenery in this part of Colorado is particularly spectacular, and it took a lot of concentration to stick to the task in hand! Once up in the cruise, however, it was time to sit back and enjoy the view! Managing a ground speed of nearly 120kts with the tail wind and high altitude it wasn't long before descent preparations into Telluride were under way. I could see PhilR and G-RIFT ahead as I crossed the last high ridge, and it was time to drop into the valley.

It's a steep descent into Telluride from this direction, but clear of obstacles so it was a case of throttling back and pointing my trusty 172 downwards. I used 1,100 fpm initially, trimming back to 500fpm as I approached circuit height. PhilR was already on the apron with the tea brewing, and I had a great view of G-RIFT turning finals to a perfect landing. I don't know whether it was my imagination, but the turbulence certainly seemed more severe in the lee of the high mountains!

Safely on the apron at beautiful Telluride PhilR treated us to a cup of stewed tea :) (see right). As time was getting on we downed the brew quickly to set off for Wilson Ranch, a bizarre grass strip airfield set on a plateaux about five miles from Telluride. As the east approach to Telluride was active, our routing took us back up to 13,000' to clear the ridge. Another 15 minutes of 360's was in order - I think we were all getting dizzy by this time!

I certainly had a narrow escape, getting stuck in a narrowing valley when I thought I had enough altitude - so much for the Mountain Flying tutorial! In the event I just manage to scrape a 180° turn and lived to tell the tale. I think this must have been the longest five mile flight ever attempted. Once over the ridge the grass strip was in view, and I could just see PhilR on finals, with G-RIFT not far behind. Wilson is a very narrow, bumpy grass strip, and there was a 12kt turbulent cross-

wind to contend with. PhilR announced clear of the strip just as G-RIFT announced finals and I was heading base, so we were perfectly spaced. I ran a 68kt descent at 450fpm, slipping the last few hundred feet to the threshold. I think we all noticed the turbulence and cross wind on short finals. G-RIFT left the session after landing at Wilson, so PhilR and myself set off for a quick hop back to Telluride via the valley - down hill all the way!

We decided to skip the haul back to Mineral Co and call it a night at Telluride, after about two and a half hours of flying. Altogether a great night, and thanks to all that joined in. Sorry for those that had connection problems, but try again next week for the final Mountain Challenge.

6 January 2002

Excellent evenings mountain flying proving quite a challenge for all! Unfortunately I can't find my screenshots (more than likely I forgot to start FS Screen!)

16 December

The location was Valdez, Alaska, once again, with a challenging route through the mountains to some of the smaller outposts - Jakes Bar, May Creek, Long Lake and Chitina. Just after 20:00 GMT Smithy, G-RIFT and myself took off for the first leg in minus 16°C with winds gusting to 24kts and ten mile visibility. The low morning sun and the misty mountains gave a mysterious but beautiful atmosphere, as our two Barons and Smithy's Caravan climbed to 5000'. Routing direct to Jakes Bar was only possible once we had reached our assigned altitude, and from there on we were treated to some of the most spectacular scenery FS2002 has to offer.

We headed through the Thompson Pass, with Smithy trying his best to keep up with the Barons - the cold air was doing wonders for the piston engines performance, and we were making 200kts ground speed into a 9kt to 24kt headwind at only 20"mp @ 2200rpm! G-RIFT and myself had to throttle back to let him catch up. We re-grouped and continued on for a further 15 minutes or so, and were joined by Alan C. Unfortunately there appeared to be an internet problem and one by one we all dropped off the server.

I managed to reconnect immediately but could not see the others. I was soon joined by Don who quickly loomed into my rear-view mirror, and we snaked our way through the mountain passes to our first stop at Jakes Bar. This oil treated strip sits beside a large river (complete with waterfall), and was well positioned for the prevailing wind conditions.

After a quick stop we did our power checks and decided to follow the river straight to Long Lake, missing May Creek out of the route. This is where the fun began - 200kts at 200' above the river in stream made for some really exciting flying! It's not often you have to climb for final approach, but we had to lift out of the river valley to spot the tiny dirt strip near the lake. With 30° of cross wind and a runway only 30' wide and 1150' long we were really putting our Barons to the test, and lining up for the approach had to be very accurate. To make matters worse, there's a little hump just before the threshold! I had landed at the strip before so knew what to expect, but poor Don had to initiate a go-around at the last minute.

Both safely down, we were eager to do some more low-level river flying. With 40nm to Chitina and a good tailwind we took off and dropped back into the river valley, which was now quite steep sided. An incredibly exhilarating experience, both of us leaving our wake in the water as we flew fast and low - I swear you could almost see the fish jumping, and we must have given a few anglers the fright of their lives! All too soon we were on finals for Chitina, the low sun making the approach very difficult. Safely on the small ramp, I decided to leave my aircraft there for the night - I'd been flying for over eight hours and fatigue was setting in!

Thanks to all who joined the session - it was a great flight indeed.

25 November

Alaska was the location once again. Departing Valdez with a 9kt Easterly wind, Ron, Don and myself headed west towards Whittier, PAWR. At roughly 4000' with slight turbulence we were treated to some spectacular island and mountain scenery. Dropping down towards Whittier, we had to make the decision whether to land with a tail wind, or make a very tight turn for an into the wind approach. I think Don may have made a bit of a splash! The parking ramp at Whittier was sheet ice - I thought my brakes had failed!

The next and final leg took us up over the hills towards Anchorage - flying through the valley between two particularly rounded hills prompted a comment about flying between a pair of breasts! We reached Anchorage at about 22:00 GMT, and I sat on the apron and watched a wonderful in-stream landing by Don and Ron. Only one screen shot - many thanks Don - my PC blue-screened with a nvidia driver error (first time ever) and I lost all the shots I had taken.

All in all a great evenings flying.



18 November

A great flight on Sunday 18 November - Don, The Fid and myself (moose) flew from Valdez to Thompson Pass, Chitina and back to Valdez, Alaska. Stunning scenery all the way, and no technical problems, although Mally had difficulty connecting, and one other pilot appeared for a couple of seconds!

Unfortunately I forgot to start FSScreen, so I only have two screenshots (click to enlarge):

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