My Airplane

As the trip progresses, I will use a variety of different aircraft.  Yes, there is the view that for an around the world trip, one should stay with the same aircraft.  But for me, this is an adventure of exploration.  Exploration is not limited to the places I see, but how I get there as well.  I have many aircraft in my hanger, many of them are seldom used.  Sometimes there is a reason for this.  But sometimes it is a case of becoming too fixated on one aircraft or type of aircraft, to the exclusion of others.  So, let's mix it up!

The Realair Turbo Duke

The Realair Turbo Duke.  This is a much acclaimed model which took me through the first part of the journey.  This aircraft was used for the first 40 flights, through the eastern United States and the maritime provinces of Canada.

My model had a number of flaws, which I need to look into.  All of the lights in the cockpit did not light up.  I need to look into that!

It also showed some limitations during a hop to the Herron's Nest.  I just could not get it to stop before it overran the runway.



The Pilatus PC-6

As the journey progressed into more rugged arctic regions, it was appropriate to switch to an airplane built for short gravel airstrips and rugged terrain.  The Pilatus PC-6 appared to be the perfect choice.

I used the model from FSD.  This is an old model that has been around for over six years.  But it was on sale for half price.  Honestly, I don't know if it is worth any price.  In the air, it was OK.  But after using the GTN750 in the Duke for the first part of the trip, it's avionics were something of a letdown.

It's real problem was on the ground.  It simply did not want to taxi correctly.  Maneuvering it was a real pain in the butt.

But the real problem was on landing and takeoff.  Particularly in landing, it would randomly hop up into the air, even at slow speeds, then slowly settle down.  Hippity hop!  Hippity hop!  Just like a little bunny rabbit.  Not good.

So after a couple of flights with the bunny rabbit, it was onto a different plane.



The Cirrus VLJ

After the Bunny Rabbit, I went with another plane by FSD:  the Cirrus VLJ (Very Light Jet).  I got this model in the same half price sale as the Bunny Rabbit, and it looked cool.  In real life, this plane is not yet available.  It will compete with other very light jets, like the Citation Mustang.

Again, this is another old model which leaves a lot to be desired.  Fortunately, it did not hop up and down the runway.  But it comes with a G1000.  But I swear that Microsoft's default G1000 worked better.  Perhaps it was the default Microsoft G1000, but I have had better luck with the default Microsoft G1000 in default aircraft.  Navigation was difficult because I was constantly shifting views to the G1000 to locate the airstrip.

Needless to say, I ended up crashing.  I attribute a lot of that crash to a less

New rule:  if I crash in a plane, it gets hangered.