UK VOR Tour

[JD_LincsUK 0]

Hi all,

I've started my UK VOR tour this evening - reports will be up on my blog after each flight. So if ya wanna have a laugh at my expense. head on over:

http://jdlincsuk.wordpress.com/2010/09/ ... r-to-eghj/

First flight was a bit of a disaster as far as VOR navigation is concerned, but it's fun - and that is the main thing.

JD

[mutley 4,498]

Nice work JD

[GabethePilot 1]

I'd like to see you try it in Australia - NDBs yes... but it's spot the VOR except in the SE part. Guess it's all VFR bushy stuff !

[mutley 4,498]

I found that when planning a RFDS mini tour in the north and west where NDB is king, you just have to have a GPS as a backup!

Cheers

Joe

[JD_LincsUK 0]

Well I've already done two VFR tours of the UK using the Farmstrips scenery (74 farmstrips)for one and the UK2K VFR Airfields for the other. They were fun, and took a few weeks each to complete. I didn't use the NDBs at each strip, but, allowed myself only the proper aeronautical charts and JF's Real Scenery to navigate.

GPS makes flying a bit too easy (boring?) - but it definitely has its uses - such as in AH.

Anyway, leg 2 is up on the blog, and I've started learning the Ka50 again, which I'm also writing about:

http://jdlincsuk.wordpress.com/category/combat-sims/

btw - Hi Gabe, long time no see

JD

[GabethePilot 1]

Yes, AH beta days I believe.

I'm checking out your "ramblings" now.

Interesting points you raise there: do you find JFs VFR scenery superior to GenX's or is the way it just happened ?

Also, I too have recently started thinking aobut hand flying more often. Having recently started flying the ATR 72-500 and starting to look at the Super 80 and 737, I'm finding 99.9% of my flights are automated - I'm feeling a little superfluous to be honest!

Think I may start setting myself a challenge, by hand flying entire flights.

Just musing really... !

[allardjd 1,853]

I gave up on the FS GPS a long time ago. JD, I agree - it just seems too easy. I had been using the FS Navigator moving map until recently and decied that it is too GPS-like too, so no longer pop up that window in flight. As you say - just too easy.

 

I still use FSN for flight planning but do all navigation by visual pilotage or radio navaids, with one exception. I have the freeware SALS (Satellite Assisted Landing System) installed in all my AH panels and use that when required. It provides a localizer and 3-degree glide slope indication at any runway in FS (on it's own specialized gauge, not on the OBI), based presumably on GPS data. That aside, I've stopped using any form of GPS or moving map assistance.

 

Good flight planning is essential and I'm using the freeware PDFKneeboard utility (on a separate net-book) with all my flight documents, charts, approach plates, etc. on that for in-flight reference. It's a great utility and is much better than shuffling paper, but requires creating and collecting everything before the flight. It can handle multiple PDFs, switching between them, but I compile all my docs, charts, etc. for a flight into a single pdf file and just bring that up on the kneeboard, navigating between the pages for what I want. It works great, but I'm new enough with it that I'm still working out the wrinkles.

 

As for hand-flying, I don't do much of that, using the AP for what it's intended for. I use the HDG mode mostly, but will go to NAV mode at times to track a radial if I'm busy, or if the winds are fidgety. The NAV-GPS switch stays on NAV at all times. I hand-fly approaches from the OM and/or intersection with the GS, even in bad WX. I ALWAYS use RW WX. That's plenty of challenge for me.

 

John

[rob16584 42]

Great idea JD.

I tried something similar a long time ago - blog of a Virtual Pilot - but never really carried on with it as no-one read it!

[JD_LincsUK 0]

Well Rob, to be honest with you, the blog is as much for me as anyone else. If others like reading it - fine - if they don't - that's fine, too

I used a paper logbook in the past and now and then I enjoy reading through previous 'adventures' such as the stripping from a couple of years ago. This time I thought I'd use a blog for it and save ink and paper. I have difficulty writing sometimes, too (arthritis), but typing isn't a problem.

It's also useful for future reference as to how a particular aircraft performed. I have so many now - over 600 - that I can't always remember and sometimes make a bad mistake, taking an aircraft totally unsuited for something, when I wouldn't have if I'd have made a note of it's unworthiness.

I've sometimes been amazed at the stats on my blog - I think some people see the title in the 'newly published' list and click on it out of curiosity - sometimes quite a few of them. I also had a very interesting response, yesterday, in the form of a video of someone on a RL VFR approach to Bembridge (where I was landing in the FSX flight).

Gabe, I bought JF's real scenery because that was recommended to me when I was flying with the CiX VFR club - I hadn't had FSX for long, so I didn't know there was an alternative. I often wonder if I went the right way, but as I mentioned elsewhere, I don't use it now - I use UTX Europe with GEX Europe, REX 2, UK2K VFR Airfields and Scotflight.

All together, they make for terrific VFR flying. I also bought 3 of the German VFR Airfields and 3 of the German Airports (Aerosoft) volumes, too - so with UTX/GEX etc, a lot of that country is ripe for decent VFR, too. Having lived there for about 19 years, I know it well and have appropriate maps, too. I'd recommend it to anyone who fancies a change from the UK.

John - that sounds like a very useful tool - I have something similar for FSX, though I haven't used it yet (ever lengthening waiting list...) but I don't think it uses pdf's. Have to have a look.

Cheers guys :baton:

JD

[allardjd 1,853]

There's an FSX version of the PDFKneeboard too. Also, PDF Merge (freeware) is useful for extracting individual pages or blocks of pages out of larger PFs and combining a number of PDFs into a single file.

 

The neat thing about using the PDFKneeboard is that you can individually zoom, pan and rotate each page in a pdf and when you return to that page, it's just as you left it, no matter what you've done on other pages in the interim.

 

I think you can Google either of them but if anyone needs the actual links I think I can dredge them up.

 

John

[mutley 4,498]

Great idea JD.

I tried something similar a long time ago - blog of a Virtual Pilot - but never really carried on with it as no-one read it!

I'm still looking at the blog integration thing Rob, I'm just trying out some new software (Drupal CMS) now but setting it up is a nightmare as I want to integrate it seamlessly with the site.

Soon hopefully.

[JD_LincsUK 0]

Okay, John - found them via Google. If anyone wants:

http://code.google.com/p/fscode/wiki/PDFKneeboard

http://www.brothersoft.com/pdf-merge-do ... 25708.html

there are several different PDF Merge progs - some online and some as downloads.

The kneeboard prog I have is called ChartMap - and is just for using gifs - using html is, of course, quite simple without any gedgetry, but as you say, you need to have all the material collected and in the relevant directory before any flight.

VOR Flight 3 is up - as is my first AAR from Black Shark - with a few fiery (if small) pics -

http://jdlincsuk.wordpress.com/

JD

[JD_LincsUK 0]

A successful flight at last:

http://jdlincsuk.wordpress.com/2010/10/03/flight-4-eghd-to-egpm/

a 610nm trip from Plymouth to Scatsta in the Alpha Canberra B2.

There's also an update on the Toothy side of flying:

http://jdlincsuk.wordpress.com/2010/10/03/target-practice/

JD

[JD_LincsUK 0]

My blog has been closed now.

I got 'slammed' last week and now have no official land line and have been removed from the BT database.

Both I and my ISP are rather angry.

I had to fall back on my dial-up connection for a few days, but am now on mobile broadband.

Actually, on 3G I have a faster connection than I had before, and now all my phone calls are free. So their plan backfired, and now OFCOM have launched an investigation, as it was obviously not a takeover attempt by another company (despite Talk Talk having pestered us for nearly a week, many times a day, without us requesting it, and being TPS registered).

I have my suspicions, but I'll see what OFCOM tell me next week, before voicing them.

JD

[mutley 4,498]

That's awful JD

As you say 3G can be faster than a hard-wired connection so long as you don't have to pay a massive premium for it.

You are always free to use our blogging facility here, it's early days but we have a few now all gaining interest.

Best wishes

Joe

[JD_LincsUK 0]

Thanks, Joe

The 3G connection is £3 cheaper than my 'old' one.

JD