Tim_A 996 Posted December 16, 2011 Report Share Posted December 16, 2011 When they tell you to head South for the Winter, make sure you also get a reminder of when to stop! Round these latitudes, this is what passes for Summer! This is Rothera. Its the main base for the British Antarctic Survey. In a lot of ways you can think of it as 'Gibraltar on Ice'. Rothera is on the West side of the Antarctic Peninsula (the 'spike' that point up towards South America), and today we're on a bit of a rescue mission to take fuel to a stranded aircraft at Fossil Bluff, a couple of hundred miles South... Link to post Share on other sites
UKJim 502 Posted December 17, 2011 Report Share Posted December 17, 2011 Is this worth getting buddy? I am just thinking it would just be ice and snow and more ice and snow? I have looked on the website etc but still cannot make my mind up if it is worthy of parting with my cash Link to post Share on other sites
hurricanemk1c 195 Posted December 17, 2011 Report Share Posted December 17, 2011 Well Jim it's a 7gb download! Great shots Tim! Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,487 Posted December 17, 2011 Report Share Posted December 17, 2011 Very nice shots Tim. Is that a mission? Link to post Share on other sites
UKJim 502 Posted December 17, 2011 Report Share Posted December 17, 2011 Well Jim it's a 7gb download! Great shots Tim! WOW! I never thought you could put so much detail in ice and snow - I'm going to read further Link to post Share on other sites
aeromax 10 Posted December 17, 2011 Report Share Posted December 17, 2011 Cool ! Is a mission going on ? Link to post Share on other sites
aeromax 10 Posted December 17, 2011 Report Share Posted December 17, 2011 ...system error Link to post Share on other sites
Tim_A 996 Posted December 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2011 Not a mission as such, this is just one of the pre-installed flights that comes with the package. Link to post Share on other sites
rob16584 42 Posted December 17, 2011 Report Share Posted December 17, 2011 That looks fantastic Tim Link to post Share on other sites
dodgy-alan 1,587 Posted December 17, 2011 Report Share Posted December 17, 2011 Excellent !, superb scenery and the BAS twotters look good. I remember some years ago seeing the real ones at Fairoaks Airport in Surrey where they were in for maintainence. Among the the normal Cessnas & Pipers etc they looked huge! and being bright red were the focus of everyones attention! Link to post Share on other sites
ShrewsburyFC 215 Posted December 18, 2011 Report Share Posted December 18, 2011 Nice shots Tim! Link to post Share on other sites
Tim_A 996 Posted December 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2011 It's time to go visit the neighbours for mince pies, cards & prezzies. Unfortunately the neighours are some distance away, and it'll be an eight hour round trip, even in the Twotter… From Rothera, we'll head up to Base Marimbio, cross to the O'Higgins Skiway with supplies for a team out on the snow, cross to the Chilean base at King George Island and then back to Rothera. Round trip 880 nm. Our plane is loaded and fuelled on the apron, and ready to go There really should be a sign, "Penguins Crossing"… Off we go By that ridge, in the snow, is the emergency runway, for use if the main runway is closed. remember that. Approaching Seymour Island, our first stop. Hard to see from the still shot, but the runway is demarked by braziers. This was the first airfield in Antarctica, and is still popular thanks to its suitability for wheeled landings. You're not on the map unless you have a sign! "just park up on the side!" We're off to the next place... The skyway is not clearly marked. It's here somewhere… Ah, here we are! Just time to drop off the supplies, and a cheery wave. We must press on, because there's a storm coming... …and quicker than we thought! A blizzard rapidly blows in as we approach King George Island (Isla Rey Jorge) in the South Shetlands Despite there being an ILS, it takes several attempts before we spot the runway. This is it! It has a reputation for the most polluted place in Antarctica, but also has the worlds southernmost lighthouse, a Russian Orthodox church, and holds an annual marathon! But the weather is lousy, and we're not staying! On top, and the edge of the storm is in sight. Heading back down the Antarctic peninsula. You can see the flow marks in the ice. There's more to snow than blank grey and white textures! We've been informed that there's a Dash-7 inbound for Rothera and as such, the runway is closed until after it arrives (in case we have an accident and block it, since there is nowhere for the Dash-7 to divert to). So we must park and wait up on the snow runway. a quick inspection circuit And final. Can you see the runway yet? We're down. Link to post Share on other sites
rob16584 42 Posted December 28, 2011 Report Share Posted December 28, 2011 That looks a fun place to fly Tim Link to post Share on other sites
aeromax 10 Posted December 28, 2011 Report Share Posted December 28, 2011 Very cool Tim ! Nice Job. Looks very cold out there, brrr ..even if that is exactly no direct mission, ...it´s a wonderful ambiente super ! Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,487 Posted December 28, 2011 Report Share Posted December 28, 2011 Wow, that scenery is certainly living up to expectations, superb post there Tim Link to post Share on other sites
ddavid 149 Posted December 29, 2011 Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 Can't wait for the review - good work, Tim. Cheers - Dai. Link to post Share on other sites
TedG 0 Posted December 29, 2011 Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 That scenery (and the DH-6 paint) are really quite dramatic. What altitudes are you cruising at there? GPS navigation or have Aerosoft included local NAVAIDS-aside from smudge pots of course. Do the icebergs and such "move"? And what are the winds like for flying there? I do loads of DH-6 flights around the BC/Alaska area and always get my butt kicked trying to avoid weather and hit the routine headwinds of 70mph+ flying west/NW. I'm just trying to think of why I might want this particular scenery package other than the visuals and novelty of flying in that region. Great screen shots though. Cannot wait to see you land on the south pole! Link to post Share on other sites
Tim_A 996 Posted December 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 South pole is not included in the scenery, because FSX doesn't work properly at that latitude (just try going there & you'll see...) Typical flight profile is 10K-12K. Navigation is by dead reckoning until in range of a VOR or NDB. All flights are IFR, but generally IMC conditions signal a no-go unless you are going to one of the main bases with an instrument approach (very few of those). Link to post Share on other sites
Tim_A 996 Posted January 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2012 Today we're starting to head into the heart of the great white continent. Starting from Fossil Bluff, we're heading to the forward logistics base at Sky Blu... Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,487 Posted January 10, 2012 Report Share Posted January 10, 2012 Wow that is looking really desolate now, what a superb aircraft the Twotter is! Link to post Share on other sites
UKJim 502 Posted January 10, 2012 Report Share Posted January 10, 2012 The scenery looks great - nice how they hav put so much detail in all the snow, airstrips etc! Link to post Share on other sites
Tim_A 996 Posted January 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 Our next flight took us further south, to Patriot Hills in the Heritage Range of the Ellsworth Mountains. Until recently, Patriot Hills was the only private seasonally-operated camp in Antarctica. The camp has moved now to Union Glacier (which we'll see next time), although Patriot Hills still acts as a backup and emergency runway.. Postcard: Supplies are stored in tunnels dug into the ice. Link to post Share on other sites
Tim_A 996 Posted February 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2012 Impressions of Rothera: Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,487 Posted February 5, 2012 Report Share Posted February 5, 2012 Mmm feeling a bit peckish after these pictures, better P..P..P...Pick up a Penguin! These shots made a good impression on me! Link to post Share on other sites
Tim_A 996 Posted February 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2012 An interesting story about the first picture (this comes from the Antarctica X manual). Both the man and the bird (a skua) are based on a real person/bird. The bird migrates every year to Rothera from Majorca, and has befriended the man, who is also responsible for setting lights on the oil drums in the event of a night landing.. Link to post Share on other sites
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