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Minx's Tours #1 (On the hunt for real ale and eats in Edinburgh)


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Inspired by Sabre's (not so) recent Real Ale tour of Scotland, and recently having managed to picked up Orbx's salutation to its rugged beauty, I thought it would be fun to re-trace Graeme's steps to see how Orbx compares to the photoreal scenery depicted in his tour..

Bear with me... this is the first time I've more than one picture in one post ;)

 

 

Starting off in the Cessna Skylane R182.. bit slow, but I thought it would give me the opportunity to savour the landscape as it passed beneath me..

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Lined up on Runway 07

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Climbing out of Newcastle.. lovely sunny day but still a nasty cross wind throwing me off to the east

 

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Overflying Amberly

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Passing Bamburgh Castle (I think... its there somewhere )

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The impressive bridges at Tweedmouth..

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 On the approach to Edinburgh I came across a multitude of wind generators..

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Starting to enter the right hand circuit.. there are a couple of other aircraft on approach but I think I might beat them to it

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Touchdown (crowd goes wild) .. ok, a little past the numbers but that means I have less runway to go before the parking spot..

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Yes, I know I didn't need a welcoming party, but it seemed rude not to accept the services of the local marshalling crew.

 

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... until he told me that I had managed to park about 10 cm from the line!  Not my best parking, admittedly, but I thought he might have cut me a bit of slack.. seeing as I was wearing a skirt too!

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No time to waste at the airport, its time to sample the local brew and nightlife..

After a quick shower, we headed out to the Potting Shed..

 

 .. reckon its King Prawn, Ginger and copious amounts of chilli for me. The local brews are tempting, but as the Potting Shed has its own cocktails, I think maybe the Flamingo UmBongo might be worth a shot before heading back to the hotel for some peaceful kip..

 

[unfortunately UmBongo left me totally unable to get any shut eye.. damned jungle drums!] 

 

....'till next time :D

 

 

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Some things change in a few years but some things thankfully stay the same. Enjoy your stay and grub, it is always tastes better after a flight. :D Thanks for the flight, I look forward to the rest of it. :thum:

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Brilliant Steph, really enjoyed it. I'm pleased you got around to trying out the tour and the Scotland scenery is looking good.

 

Excellent shots, love the ground crew but disappointed as I didn't get the star treatment - must have been the skirt - and I'm not wearing one even in Scotland  :D

 

Watch out drinking cocktails up North mind the natives will be after you  :whis:

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Steph,

 

Great shots and the 3 monitor + 1 set-up looks a real treat for such a scenic trip.  There is nothing like a good dish of chilli King Prawns.  During the summer down here, I will regularly do up a batch on the BBQ.  Sometimes they even find their way to the Christmas Dinner table (seafood on Christmas Day is a bit of tradition in Australia).

 

What do you think of the Orbx scenery?

 

Cheers

Andrew

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Thanks for all the replies guys. I never realised just how time consuming it is to put one of these little trips together! ! Love the Orbx scenery., particularly with my 3+1 monitor setup. It's highly immersive, and looks good at any altitude.

Still having problems with trying to use Plan G. Seems like a brilliant piece of software but won't work with my setup unless I get another Graphics card or network my laptop or one of our old pcs to it.. it was tjankfully s doddle to set up the route and then load it into the FSX GPS.

Will try and get around to the next leg soon..

@Sabre - the skirt wasn't such a good idea for flying, and damned drafty too..I'd skip it if I were you ;)

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Still having problems with trying to use Plan G. Seems like a brilliant piece of software but won't work with my setup unless I get another Graphics card or network my laptop or one of our old pcs to it.. it was tjankfully s doddle to set up the route and then load it into the FSX GPS.

 

Steph,

 

A number of the Mutley Crew (Joe, Needles, Jess-b) have Plan-G networked on other computers.  It works extremely well.  If you have any problems, these guys are a good start for any help.

 

@Sabre - the skirt wasn't such a good idea for flying, and damned drafty too..I'd skip it if I were you  ;)

 

And on this one.....I'll take it as coming from experience.  :P

 

Cheers

Andrew

 

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Still having problems with trying to use Plan G. Seems like a brilliant piece of software but won't work with my setup unless I get another Graphics card or network my laptop or one of our old pcs to it.. it was tjankfully s doddle to set up the route and then load it into the FSX GPS.

 

Steph,

 

A number of the Mutley Crew (Joe, Needles, Jess-b) have Plan-G networked on other computers.  It works extremely well.  If you have any problems, these guys are a good start for any help.

  

 

 

Thanks for the tip Andrew

I remember talking to Needles not so long ago about it, but it didn't want to work without using windowed mode, and that's no good for the TH2G as it wont work stretching the screen.

I think its going to be a networked job after all...

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So.. after a highly enjoyable week of riding on trams, washing my face in the dew of Arthur's Seat, and spending rather too much time at Staggs, it was time to head back out on the next leg of my journey..

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Something strange was definitely going on though... the airport was deserted! Had I missed a huge event in Edinburgh like a Simple Minds or Texas gig? Was the entire City nursing a hangover? or were the Langoliers about to pay a visit ??!!!

 

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With no response from the tower, and with tension beginning to rise,I started the engine and quickly taxied to the runway for a swift take off to the West

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Heading over the Firth of Forth, I followed the Forth Road Bridge so I could get a better view of the iconic suspension railway bridge before turning North east to pick up my track towards St Andrews. [i'm gonna walk on up to the waterfront..]  :whis: 

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My route would take me over St Andrews, up to Stonehaven and then west across the Fetteresso Forest to my rest stop but as there was little traffic about, and the way ahead looked interesting, I thought I'd drop down to a few thousand feet to get a better look at the scenery. The rocky cliffs look very realistic even from up here. Not a bad Orbx!

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Flying over Doonies Hill and Aberdeen Port, I began to see more and more signs of life. Aircraft were entering a holding pattern preparing to land at the airport just off in the distance.  Maybe the Langoliers were a figment of my imagination [obviously brought on by one too many UmBongo coctails!]

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Heading inland, I followed the River Dee. With some clouds starting to come into view, I hoped that the weather would stay fine enough for me to make Inverness that night..  

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Finally, my lunch stop came into view. The field at Aboyne (SCO1) is best known for its gliding club, but I thought it looked picturesque, plus my stomach was rumbling, and my hasty exit from Edinburgh meant that I had failed to bring along any provisions for my trip.

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Yikes.. this is a tad narrow ! Almost ended up off the edge..

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Some avid plane spotters taking photos. I'd better not mess up my taxiing, or it will be all over Twitter!

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Nice spot outside the Club House. Excellent.. they still have plenty of smoked salmon and cream cheese sandwiches, and diet coke. [..promised you a miracle..]  :whis: 

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Having had a great lunch, and shared some banter with the locals at the flying club, it was time to check the bird and get moving again. I wasn't planning any more stops and i had some old college mates meeting me in Inverness that evening, so I said my goodbyes and positioned for a short-field take off before heading west towards Aviemore.

 

Flying over Aviemore, this is the first time I'd really noticed that the scenery was looking less than expected.. up until now it had been pretty good.

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No trouble with the ATC up here.. they were definitely alive and kicking. Flying onto base at Inverness. This is a beautiful place to rest up for the evening. 

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.. jeez... where did you come from?!  Helooooo ??! This was my runway, knucklehead ..

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No marshaller to keep me on the line (or give me verbal) like last time, but time to put on some lippy, brush the locks and put on my best smile.  Maybe they will help me carry my luggage back to the main building after topping off the tanks..

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Thankfully tonight I have some locals to show me all the best spots to eat and sample the best brews.. 

 

.... until next time

 

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Nice couple of flights there.

 

Also liked the Langoliers references...LOL'd at that. :D

 

I am so jealous of your monitors, those panoramic views must be amazing at full size (the pic hosting squashes the size down so not as sharp here as there no doubt) ...I need a wider boat. :(

 

Looking forward to more.

 

Have fun at the new stopover.

 

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Nice one Steph!  A great read, I cant wait for more.

 

This forum has been a backwater for too long, and it is great to see you putting in the effort to entertain us all - Thanks.

 

JG.

 

PS I too am cooking something up. ;)

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Nicely done Steph, you're right about the trips taking ages to put together and "shotting" all the way but the results are worth it, re the stuffy marshall, maybe you should have worn a low cut top to make him lose concentration! :D

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