Well, once everyone had arrived in Southern Cal the actual FOTM around Catalina and the Channel Islands didn't take long - then we had the rest of the month free to .... ? In the May/June Issued of "Flying Adventures Magazine" they suggested flying around Santa Barbara County, listing some great Wine & Dine locations. But for me, I had other flying to do!
From Long Beach I caught a cab back to LAX and then took an overnight flight into Tromso, Norway. That's right folks, I flew a 747SP into Tromso and you can watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJhUMzxwf6Q
Then from Tromso I flew a Do328 Turbotwin down the 20* east longitude line to Cape Town. You can read about that here: http://www.flightsim.com/main/feature/20east.htm
About this time Brad said that we should head to Europe but I had one more job to do starting in Japan. So I climbed aboard a 747-400 and made my way from Cape Town to Tokyo where I then flew a Lockheed Electra along the 35* north latitude line (That story to be published early 2010) all the way to Funchal where I was hanging out on November 1st when this FOTM adventure finally popped up. So, we start the story there, on Madeira Island.
I'm sure much of the world would describe the early morning breeze, which tussled the ivory linen curtains, as "cool" but it seemed oddly warm to me - warm for November 1st anyway. Back home they had been having blustery and windy conditions but here in Madeira it was clear, almost Spring-like. The smell of dryness, sage, mingled gently with the slightly salty sea. I scuffed in my slippers and flanel pajamas over to the single round table upon which Esmerelda (the innkeeper) had left a bowl of fruit and dates. I poured a steaming mug of English Breakfast Tea, bit into my first fresh fig of the morning and then picked up the now familiar envelope with the TOOMUCHFS@ Logo Emblasened on the front.
The note from Brad read, "Looking at several websites on Poland, I realized I really didn't know anything about this rich nation in northeastern Europe. Now, we will!" I wondered how, with getting ready to move and all, he had the time to be looking at websites but ... oh well. As I read the brief instructions it occurred to me that I have, in fact, flown in Poland in the past - and really the default FS2004 didn't seem to have a whole lot to offer. At that point I figured I'd better do an odd thing and find some scenery enhancements from http://www.flightsim.com/ (the Gold Standard of FS-support websites). I found this great-sounding "enhancement" which uses only default buildings and runways and objects but adds to all the airports in Poland - even adding some airports I believe, 106 of them in all. Just add (or overwrite) the BGL files to the default Scenery folders for Europe and you're done. GREAT! (Someone should do that for the whole world!!)
By Monday the second of November I was ready for a nearly 2,000-mile flight in a LOT-Polska 737-400 from Funchal to G'dansk. (I'll try and include fewer photos this time) I fired up the sim and noted several other 737-400s there ready to head out across Europe and North Africa for the day. My route took me over Lisbon, Bilao, Bordeoux, Luxemborg and Berlin (I e-mailed that photo over Berlin to the group) enroute to the north-Poland coast along the grey and chilly Baltic Sea. Arrival to G'dansk was from the northeast and the landing was smooth.
I had decided that my first wings for the month would be a Socata TB-21 "Trinidad", so I loaded up that GA bird and set up for the tour down to Warsaw. Although I had filed an IFR flightplan, I basically flew VFR over the city and harbor of G'dansk and then up the Vistula River. 
The Vistula is the longest and one of the most important rivers in Poland at 1,047 km (651 miles) in length. The Vistula has its source at Barania Góra in the south of Poland, 1220 meters above sea level in the Silesian Beskids (western part of Carpathian Mountains) where it begins with two smaller streams. It then continues to flow over the vast Polish plains, passing several large Polish cities along its way, including Kraków, Sandomierz, Warszawa, P³ock, W³oc³awek, Toruñ, Bydgoszcz, Œwiecie, Grudzi¹dz, Tczew and Gdañsk. It empties into the Vistula Lagoon or directly into the Gdañsk Bay of the Baltic Sea via a delta and several branches. Other than the river winding through the countryside, there isn't much Poland to see in the sim-world. After about 90 minutes I came in over Warsaw, flew through the middle of the city and then turned back toward the airport. ATC took me back to the north end for a southbound landing. Later that afternoon I returned to my little four-seater and continued along the river to Mielec where I landed to the west. 
That evening as we all sat around the table enjoying our dinners, Tony asked what airplane was featured in the movie "The Avengers" and after a bit of discussion, we decided that it had been a Handley-Page-Dart Herald. So, I downloaded one and loaded that up for the next leg over to Poznari - about 289 miles.
Not sure why but I liked this much better than the Fokker-27 although they look almost identical. Hmmmm, maybe I'll have to do some repaints of this critter!
That evening as we all sat around the table enjoying our dinners, Tony asked what airplane was featured in the movie "The Avengers" and after a bit of discussion, we decided that it had been a Handley-Page-Dart Herald. So, I downloaded one and loaded that up for the next leg over to Poznari - about 289 miles.
Not sure why but I liked this much better than the Fokker-27 although they look almost identical. Hmmmm, maybe I'll have to do some repaints of this critter! Finally was the last SPRINT back to G'dansk - 9,000 feet, MACH 1.2, F-15 Eagle - 'Nuff said!
