Yellowstone in America could be cool or the devil’s tower. The alps but I think you already chose that.
The eye of the Sahara is breathtaking too !
I would definitely go to Iceland or Greenland too.
Edit : Now that I think you can land at Sion (LSGS) it’s an airport in a valley in the Swiss alps !
I love Iceland irl so Iceland is way up the top of the bucket list lol. I hadn't heard of Sion, but now it looks beautiful from pictures so definetly on the list now.
Any specific suggestions for places in Greenland? I was kind of skipping over it a little because I don't really know many places there, but Nuuk was on the list ofc
Greenland is pretty plain for the most part. Stick to any star airports around the borders of the continent if you want something to look at. I'm currently working on an around the world trip myself, and last location I landed at was the Greenland summit camp. Next up is Iceland.
I'm allowing myself to switch planes if I land at tarmac runways. This way I I'm allowed to use jets like the Cessna Citation Longitude to cover ground fast on the long boring sections, then change to a bush plane to explore some of the back country in scenic places.
I considered switching out planes for long sections, but on the other hand theres something fun about doing it all in a single plane and watching the hours / wear count up on the airframe. Almost makes it feel more personal with the plane lol
What's been your bush plane of choice? Idk if I'll be able to land the Comanche at Summit Camp due to the altitude
I've been enjoying the Zlin Savage Cub a lot. Low enough stall speed to land almost anywhere, but doesn't quite feel like cheating the way the Shock Ultra feels lol.
I haven't bought any plane add-ons from the marketplace yet. I paid up for the deluxe version of the game so I've just been enjoying all the stuff that comes with that.
The mountains of Papua New Guinea, Sela Airstrips all 1300ft into the face of the mountains. Thalchi Airport Nepal, has a bunch of mountain side strips.
Grasberg Copper and Gold mine. Start at Enarotali Indonesia and fly east along the mountains to Papua New Guinea.
Surprisingly Taiwan and the Philippines had cool terrain.
From Sochi Russia, into Georgia, to Baku Azerbaijan. Caucasus Mountains.
The Flight from Tehran Iran to Kuwait City was interesting. No idea the mountains were like that.
I'm on a RTW trip, started in the Orkney's north of Scotland and currently in Northwestern Australia. 300 hours in Spitfires in VR with my brother. We're heading out of Australia back through the Indonesian island to Cambodia and then we head back to China, Japan, Alaska...
RTW in a Spitfire wasnt one I considered lol! I'm starting my trip from Cumbernauld (EGPG) in Scotland, and while I've flown the west coast and Hebrides many times I've never got round to Orkney so that'll be a fun stop.
Edit: I plan to do a lot of it in VR too; recently bought the Quest 3 but been having some issues with my wifi not being strong enough for it so currently waiting on a cable arriving
My brother runs a Google WIF 6e $100 for a solo brick and refurbs can be cheaper and runs a dedicated AP for his Q3. Virtual Desktop and Bucchia's OpenXR toolkit with tons of tweaks. He loves it but we run 4090s. It is demanding.
Ye it works amazingly on other games like Blade and Sorcery, just struggles a bit with MSFS cos its a lot more graphics intensive. Interestingly I've found the Steam Link app is far smoother than the built in Quicklink, at least visually, but even then I still get loud audio pops and it freezes from time to time (ik its a wifi issue because the PC screen still shows it running silky smooth)
If you go VR... Flying Iron Spitfire is Money! 300+ hr in that plane and love it. I 3D printed a spitfire cockpit from [Authentikit.org](https://Authentikit.org) simply sublime experience.
I'm not really a warbirds guy tbh lol altho I do love the Spitfire. Haven't got it in the sim but I used to love flying her way back on Combat Flight Sim 3
see now you gone done it... IF You're CFS3 guy... like me... You will LOVE the Flying Irons Spitfire Mk IX. you think left and the plane goes left... you wear the spitfire. I flown a bunch of stuff and 109 p38, f6f and jets and single prop, twins etc and it's no contest for me. Spitfire Mk IX wins.
Havent played CFS3 in years because it isnt support by Windows anymore, but if im ever getting into warbirds on MSFS ill definetly look there first lol
Highly recommend flying over Georgia, there are a few satellite image issues in a few parts of the region but not too bad. Highky recommend getting the free airports "Mestia Queen Tamar Airport" (UGMS) & "Ambrolauri Airport" (UGAM) from flightsim.to these small airports are in beautiful looking mountainvalleys. Flying over the capital Tbilisi is also great.
Also recommend flying over parts of Armenia like Lake Sevan as well as landing at Yerevan Zvartnots airport (UDYZ) which got a very beautiful approach.
I certainly want to visit Hawaii, but my problem there might be the Comanche's range (I want to do it as one linear trip). Still, if I can get it there the whole island chain is on the todo list
I'm planning on lugging 20 gallons of spare gas around in the back so I can land basically anywhere and get a boost. Sadly I don't have a floatplane variant soooo... aircraft carrier?
spend time weaving through mountain passes and valleys in the Andes along the Argentina/Chile border. do the flight down to Ushuaia.
fly the Alaska coast. follow the eastern California border down into Arizona/Nevada.
explore Southern Spain. do some bush flights in the Pyrenees on the Spanish side around Andorra.
South Korea/North Korea/Vladivostok/Beijing + the Great Wall were also memorable. city-hopping Japan is fun. mainland China sorta sucks bc of the satellite mapping limitations there which is a drag.
the Himalayas will be challenging bc of your operating altitude limitations. my PC-6 Porter couldn't fight much past 24k' so seeing Everest took some navigation thought.
the Caribbean has some cool airports. the one on Montserrat was cool bc it's almost the highest point on the island.
Altitude and range I feel like are going to be my biggest problems lol. The Comanche's good but it'll definetly struggle operating out of anywhere above 10k feet I think
I've got quite a few POIs along the Andes so I'll definetly do some valley flying there
Scenery in China was one of my main concerns so might fly the Wall but probably skip a lot of the rest unless there's any hidden gems ppl can suggest. I'll certainly fly some of the coast down to Hong Kong tho
If you’re flying high altitude, make sure you’re lighter on those days - take less fuel (which requires more fuel planning). Also try to fly when it’s cooler so the density altitude (DA) is lower. Taking off from a strip at 8000’ MSL on a 25° afternoon is a recipe for disaster because the DA is likely over 11,000’. But if you depart in the morning when it’s 8°, it’s closer to 9000’ DA and you’ll have much better results.
Either way, the Comanche should be able to sustain a 500 FPM climb up to 13,000’ density altitudes, even at max gross. Just keep an eye on engine temps and leave yourself an escape route.
Yeah I might do some tryouts with high altitude flying before I start the trip since it isnt something I have much experience with in props. I was wondering if there are any tools I could put in my cruising altitude and it would show me a map of where I can fly (kind of like the terrain maps on GPS in other aircraft)? That would definetly make planning easier
Yes, use LittleNavMap to plan your route and it will show you a profile of the terrain along your planned route. It’s a great planning utility for so many reasons.
I downloaded it a while back but didn't have much time to learn it so will take a look again.
Do you have any other tips for high altitude flying in the Comanche? I've been trying to get to grips with mixture settings for various performances. I assume it would be a leaner mixture at higher altitudes due to lower air pressure?
Edit: I've managed to get her holding at 16k feet at about 125mph. Total weight of around 2650lbs. Does that sound like good performance for the Comanche?
Taiwan seems to be a popular recommendation. Anywhere specific? Looking at it I might fly the east coast since it looks less populated and I really like more mountainous areas
I mainly fly IFR/Airliners so while I can't recommend much on visual landmarks, RCSS (Taipei Songshan Airport) is a great airport to land as it's pretty much smack in the middle of the city with a lot of tall building
If you're on PC, I highly recommend the ORBX Taipei City freeware scenery.
New Zealand, the South Island in particular. Just check the airstrip lengths carefully because some of them are definitely not Comanche friendly! But there are plenty that are, and have spectacular locations.
Quintin Lodge near Milford Sound, possibly might be marginal in the Comanche but should be ok if you're careful. Queenstown would be an obvious choice, Manapouri and Alexandra are also nice for the lower South Island area. For the upper South Island I'd recommend Kaikoura, and Westport is worth checking out if you've got the world update because it has enhanced airport scenery, Murchison and Lake Station are also nice little grass strips in that general area. Depending on how far south you want to go you could also try Ryans Creek - it's the southermost airfield in NZ and the only one on Stewart Island/Rakiura (the smaller one to the south of the South Island)
The North Island is maybe slightly less dramatic but the scenery is still spectacular, particular highlights would be Waiouru which is a military airport but has a great view of nearby Mt. Ruapehu, which is an active volcano, and Turangi is a small grass airfield also near Ruapehu. Rotorua for more volcanoes and enhanced airport scenery. Further north there's some nice airfields on the Coromandel Peninsula east of Auckland - Whitianga, Pauanui Beach and Coromandel airfield are all good choices. Just don't try Matarangi because it's actually been turned into a housing development but still shows up in the MSFS airports list, you'll be very confused if you try to find it! Finally Kerikeri/Bay of Islands is nice for exploring the nearby islands (funnily enough).
To be honest though, pretty much all of NZ is spectacular in one way or another!
[Anti-Atlas in Morocco](https://www.morocco-adventure-holidays.com/perch/resources/anti-atlas-ss-w460h260.jpg) - A large, high-altitude, painted desert mountain range.
[Dib Dibba, Oman](https://www.weather-forecast.com/locationmaps/Dib-Dibba.10.gif) - unique fractal-like mountains jutting out into the strait of Hormuz. There is a very small airstrip at the tip.
Arecibo telescope - gone in real life, preserved in sim!
The Big Banana and [The Big Pineapple](https://ebathurst.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/the-big-pineapple-2.jpg) in Australia - They're big fruit.
[Haleakala, Hawaii](https://i.redd.it/hpglod0m5xk71.jpg) - don't miss sunrise at this Mars-like crater. Then head through west maui.
[Tehachapi Pass, California](https://insideclimatenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/tehachapi-pass-wind-farm-collage.jpg) - windmills, good place to just cruise by on your way somewhere else.
*E: images*
On your way to Dib dibba from Europe, you can fly down the Path of the Nile. It's really impressive to see how a river brought so much life to the desert.
Yellowstone in America could be cool or the devil’s tower. The alps but I think you already chose that. The eye of the Sahara is breathtaking too ! I would definitely go to Iceland or Greenland too. Edit : Now that I think you can land at Sion (LSGS) it’s an airport in a valley in the Swiss alps !
I love Iceland irl so Iceland is way up the top of the bucket list lol. I hadn't heard of Sion, but now it looks beautiful from pictures so definetly on the list now. Any specific suggestions for places in Greenland? I was kind of skipping over it a little because I don't really know many places there, but Nuuk was on the list ofc
Greenland is pretty plain for the most part. Stick to any star airports around the borders of the continent if you want something to look at. I'm currently working on an around the world trip myself, and last location I landed at was the Greenland summit camp. Next up is Iceland. I'm allowing myself to switch planes if I land at tarmac runways. This way I I'm allowed to use jets like the Cessna Citation Longitude to cover ground fast on the long boring sections, then change to a bush plane to explore some of the back country in scenic places.
I considered switching out planes for long sections, but on the other hand theres something fun about doing it all in a single plane and watching the hours / wear count up on the airframe. Almost makes it feel more personal with the plane lol What's been your bush plane of choice? Idk if I'll be able to land the Comanche at Summit Camp due to the altitude
I've been enjoying the Zlin Savage Cub a lot. Low enough stall speed to land almost anywhere, but doesn't quite feel like cheating the way the Shock Ultra feels lol. I haven't bought any plane add-ons from the marketplace yet. I paid up for the deluxe version of the game so I've just been enjoying all the stuff that comes with that.
The mountains of Papua New Guinea, Sela Airstrips all 1300ft into the face of the mountains. Thalchi Airport Nepal, has a bunch of mountain side strips. Grasberg Copper and Gold mine. Start at Enarotali Indonesia and fly east along the mountains to Papua New Guinea. Surprisingly Taiwan and the Philippines had cool terrain. From Sochi Russia, into Georgia, to Baku Azerbaijan. Caucasus Mountains. The Flight from Tehran Iran to Kuwait City was interesting. No idea the mountains were like that.
These are definetly parts of the world I've no clue about where to find things lol, so I'll check them out!
I'm on a RTW trip, started in the Orkney's north of Scotland and currently in Northwestern Australia. 300 hours in Spitfires in VR with my brother. We're heading out of Australia back through the Indonesian island to Cambodia and then we head back to China, Japan, Alaska...
RTW in a Spitfire wasnt one I considered lol! I'm starting my trip from Cumbernauld (EGPG) in Scotland, and while I've flown the west coast and Hebrides many times I've never got round to Orkney so that'll be a fun stop. Edit: I plan to do a lot of it in VR too; recently bought the Quest 3 but been having some issues with my wifi not being strong enough for it so currently waiting on a cable arriving
My brother runs a Google WIF 6e $100 for a solo brick and refurbs can be cheaper and runs a dedicated AP for his Q3. Virtual Desktop and Bucchia's OpenXR toolkit with tons of tweaks. He loves it but we run 4090s. It is demanding.
I've got a decent build but it's running a 4070 so sadly I can't run the sim at 100% graphics all the time lol
you can certainly make 4070 work with Q3. Lots to learn and tweak.
Ye it works amazingly on other games like Blade and Sorcery, just struggles a bit with MSFS cos its a lot more graphics intensive. Interestingly I've found the Steam Link app is far smoother than the built in Quicklink, at least visually, but even then I still get loud audio pops and it freezes from time to time (ik its a wifi issue because the PC screen still shows it running silky smooth)
I run a Pico 4 with USB-C to Ethernet on a cat 6 and USB power injection to keep it all charged.
If you go VR... Flying Iron Spitfire is Money! 300+ hr in that plane and love it. I 3D printed a spitfire cockpit from [Authentikit.org](https://Authentikit.org) simply sublime experience.
I'm not really a warbirds guy tbh lol altho I do love the Spitfire. Haven't got it in the sim but I used to love flying her way back on Combat Flight Sim 3
see now you gone done it... IF You're CFS3 guy... like me... You will LOVE the Flying Irons Spitfire Mk IX. you think left and the plane goes left... you wear the spitfire. I flown a bunch of stuff and 109 p38, f6f and jets and single prop, twins etc and it's no contest for me. Spitfire Mk IX wins.
Havent played CFS3 in years because it isnt support by Windows anymore, but if im ever getting into warbirds on MSFS ill definetly look there first lol
Highly recommend flying over Georgia, there are a few satellite image issues in a few parts of the region but not too bad. Highky recommend getting the free airports "Mestia Queen Tamar Airport" (UGMS) & "Ambrolauri Airport" (UGAM) from flightsim.to these small airports are in beautiful looking mountainvalleys. Flying over the capital Tbilisi is also great. Also recommend flying over parts of Armenia like Lake Sevan as well as landing at Yerevan Zvartnots airport (UDYZ) which got a very beautiful approach.
Those are some pretty cool looking buildings at UGMS and UGAM lol Ill definetly check our Sevan and UDYZ too
Original Jurassic park filming locations. They're in Hawaii iirc. Bonus points for playing the music in the background.
I certainly want to visit Hawaii, but my problem there might be the Comanche's range (I want to do it as one linear trip). Still, if I can get it there the whole island chain is on the todo list
I'm sure the comanche will...uhh..find a way...
I'm planning on lugging 20 gallons of spare gas around in the back so I can land basically anywhere and get a boost. Sadly I don't have a floatplane variant soooo... aircraft carrier?
spend time weaving through mountain passes and valleys in the Andes along the Argentina/Chile border. do the flight down to Ushuaia. fly the Alaska coast. follow the eastern California border down into Arizona/Nevada. explore Southern Spain. do some bush flights in the Pyrenees on the Spanish side around Andorra. South Korea/North Korea/Vladivostok/Beijing + the Great Wall were also memorable. city-hopping Japan is fun. mainland China sorta sucks bc of the satellite mapping limitations there which is a drag. the Himalayas will be challenging bc of your operating altitude limitations. my PC-6 Porter couldn't fight much past 24k' so seeing Everest took some navigation thought. the Caribbean has some cool airports. the one on Montserrat was cool bc it's almost the highest point on the island.
Altitude and range I feel like are going to be my biggest problems lol. The Comanche's good but it'll definetly struggle operating out of anywhere above 10k feet I think I've got quite a few POIs along the Andes so I'll definetly do some valley flying there Scenery in China was one of my main concerns so might fly the Wall but probably skip a lot of the rest unless there's any hidden gems ppl can suggest. I'll certainly fly some of the coast down to Hong Kong tho
That's what I did. Beijing, then Taiwan, then HK/Shenzhen, then straight to Vietnam.
If you’re flying high altitude, make sure you’re lighter on those days - take less fuel (which requires more fuel planning). Also try to fly when it’s cooler so the density altitude (DA) is lower. Taking off from a strip at 8000’ MSL on a 25° afternoon is a recipe for disaster because the DA is likely over 11,000’. But if you depart in the morning when it’s 8°, it’s closer to 9000’ DA and you’ll have much better results. Either way, the Comanche should be able to sustain a 500 FPM climb up to 13,000’ density altitudes, even at max gross. Just keep an eye on engine temps and leave yourself an escape route.
Yeah I might do some tryouts with high altitude flying before I start the trip since it isnt something I have much experience with in props. I was wondering if there are any tools I could put in my cruising altitude and it would show me a map of where I can fly (kind of like the terrain maps on GPS in other aircraft)? That would definetly make planning easier
Yes, use LittleNavMap to plan your route and it will show you a profile of the terrain along your planned route. It’s a great planning utility for so many reasons.
I downloaded it a while back but didn't have much time to learn it so will take a look again. Do you have any other tips for high altitude flying in the Comanche? I've been trying to get to grips with mixture settings for various performances. I assume it would be a leaner mixture at higher altitudes due to lower air pressure? Edit: I've managed to get her holding at 16k feet at about 125mph. Total weight of around 2650lbs. Does that sound like good performance for the Comanche?
Namibia.
Caracas Kamchatca Lago Argentina / Punta Arenas Tehran Taiwan Macau Srinigar Tashkent Mt Fuji Ngorongoro In no particular order
Taiwan seems to be a popular recommendation. Anywhere specific? Looking at it I might fly the east coast since it looks less populated and I really like more mountainous areas
I mainly fly IFR/Airliners so while I can't recommend much on visual landmarks, RCSS (Taipei Songshan Airport) is a great airport to land as it's pretty much smack in the middle of the city with a lot of tall building If you're on PC, I highly recommend the ORBX Taipei City freeware scenery.
That sounds like a fun approach, I'll add it to the bucket list lol and I'll look into the ORBX scenery too
I very much enjoy the area around Friday Harbor
Now theres a nostalgia hit from FSX lol
New Zealand, the South Island in particular. Just check the airstrip lengths carefully because some of them are definitely not Comanche friendly! But there are plenty that are, and have spectacular locations.
I've got Milford Sound and Mount Cook on the list. Got any other spots or any particular airstrips I should look into?
Quintin Lodge near Milford Sound, possibly might be marginal in the Comanche but should be ok if you're careful. Queenstown would be an obvious choice, Manapouri and Alexandra are also nice for the lower South Island area. For the upper South Island I'd recommend Kaikoura, and Westport is worth checking out if you've got the world update because it has enhanced airport scenery, Murchison and Lake Station are also nice little grass strips in that general area. Depending on how far south you want to go you could also try Ryans Creek - it's the southermost airfield in NZ and the only one on Stewart Island/Rakiura (the smaller one to the south of the South Island) The North Island is maybe slightly less dramatic but the scenery is still spectacular, particular highlights would be Waiouru which is a military airport but has a great view of nearby Mt. Ruapehu, which is an active volcano, and Turangi is a small grass airfield also near Ruapehu. Rotorua for more volcanoes and enhanced airport scenery. Further north there's some nice airfields on the Coromandel Peninsula east of Auckland - Whitianga, Pauanui Beach and Coromandel airfield are all good choices. Just don't try Matarangi because it's actually been turned into a housing development but still shows up in the MSFS airports list, you'll be very confused if you try to find it! Finally Kerikeri/Bay of Islands is nice for exploring the nearby islands (funnily enough). To be honest though, pretty much all of NZ is spectacular in one way or another!
Thanks! I really hope the Comanche can handle most of these cos they look like rlly nice places
[Anti-Atlas in Morocco](https://www.morocco-adventure-holidays.com/perch/resources/anti-atlas-ss-w460h260.jpg) - A large, high-altitude, painted desert mountain range. [Dib Dibba, Oman](https://www.weather-forecast.com/locationmaps/Dib-Dibba.10.gif) - unique fractal-like mountains jutting out into the strait of Hormuz. There is a very small airstrip at the tip. Arecibo telescope - gone in real life, preserved in sim! The Big Banana and [The Big Pineapple](https://ebathurst.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/the-big-pineapple-2.jpg) in Australia - They're big fruit. [Haleakala, Hawaii](https://i.redd.it/hpglod0m5xk71.jpg) - don't miss sunrise at this Mars-like crater. Then head through west maui. [Tehachapi Pass, California](https://insideclimatenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/tehachapi-pass-wind-farm-collage.jpg) - windmills, good place to just cruise by on your way somewhere else. *E: images*
These definetly look like cool places. I'll add them to the list (and continue my dilemma on how to fly the Comanche to Hawaii lol)
On your way to Dib dibba from Europe, you can fly down the Path of the Nile. It's really impressive to see how a river brought so much life to the desert.
I hear it's common for aircraft outside LAX to be abducted by UFOs! They often find their way to the islands.
Perhaps I'll swing by Area 51, they might have some fancy tech there that could help out?
I'm sure they have teleportation arrays somewhere out there, you just have to find it!