Touring in the 9s legs SIX to EIGHT

hhCape Town has been a favorite (and scenic) stopover location ever since my Real World visit in 1973.

After safely arriving into Cape Town in the CV990, (and after a short city/harbor tour), I hopped over into the E-190 and headed up the Central Heart of Africa.

https://youtu.be/Dwh-_CH2bjY

Another favorite (and different kind of scenic) FS destination is Livingstone, Zambia. Along the mighty Zambezi River and with easy access to Victoria Falls!

https://youtu.be/oNg6seJ3-IA

(video includes a little fly-over of FSX's rendition as well as a couple real world photos) Our next stop-over is in Bujumbura, Burundi (mis-labelled in the video)

And finally on this report, the flight(s) out of Bujumbura. https://youtu.be/f_c3eJco0Ws

One to Addis and One to Mombasa.

https://youtu.be/Ondl_kn6eNI

Touring in the 9s legs FOUR and FIVE

Basically, these two legs are ONE FLIGHT.

https://youtu.be/ztpMCYlORTo

We left Rio in the CV990 and flew across open ocean for hours until our dusk landing at the new-and-improved St. Helena island airport. (arguably the most remote airport in the world)

The next morning we "hoisted sails" and set off for another few hours across open ocean to Cape Town, South Africa.

https://youtu.be/lg7bwQuRc0E

Touring in the 9s legs ONE to THREE

The CV990 is an early 1960s design put up against the B707 and DC-8. Although the Convair was slightly faster, it lacked the capacity and efficiency of the other two and never saw real success.

The E190 is an early 2000s design put up as a more efficient version of the smallest Boeing and Airbus options and as a direct competitor to the Canadair CRJs.

I've thought that it could be entertaining to do a TOUR in these ... NINES.

It so happens that I'll be starting this little .... tour from Santiago, Chile. This first leg is in the E190 into one of my favorite FS locations, Puerto Montt.

https://youtu.be/hia_v_WFkfM

Always scenic near majestic and towering mountains and surrounded by fresh water lakes.

Maybe a little BIG for Puerto Montt, I loaded up a CV990 and headed off on leg two to the beautiful city of Buenos Aires!. The area around Puerto Montt is spectacular even in my old FSX!

https://youtu.be/R8Cg5OzlB2I

However, once you are clear of the mountains and over "Patagonia" it's a pretty flat, unremarkable flight until you approach Rio de la Plata and are setting up for finals into Buenos Aires.

From Buenos Aires we are into a SPECIAL Embraer jet commemorating the famous Brazilian F-1 racer, Ayrton Senna! We enjoy a beautiful departure over the city and then fly a northeasterly heading into .... RIO!!! (watch for the crossing 747 on finals!)

https://youtu.be/-9FL9pxY1vU

Military Advances in Commercial Aviation

There have been many instances of "crossovers" where aircraft have been used for both Military and Civilian Aviation. The DC-3 / C-47 for example. The DC-4 / C-54 is another. The B707 / KC-135 comes to mind and I'm sure that there are others. I was studying info about the B-36 Peacemaker recently (still America's largest-ever bomber)

and this is an AMAZING piece of 1940s technology! Consider if the Battle of Britain had resulted in a Nazi / German victory.... 😱 American Engineers were tasked with designing a bomber that could fly from the US to Central Europe to deliver a bomb payload and then return to the US without ever refueling! YIKES! 🤯 The B-36 could do this and although it was not utilized in World War 2, it became a stalwart of the Early Cold War; able to deliver atomic weapons deep into the Soviet Block. With this INCREDIBLE range (and a fuselage just centimetres narrower than a 737) I wondered WHAT IF...? 🤔 What if Engineers had designed a Commercial, Passenger version? Maybe call it the STRATO-DINER? (I mean, that scenic glass nose would be great for enjoying cocktails at 40,000 feet!!!) So, I downloaded a B-36 for my FSX. I tweaked the sound package for the giant props AND the whiny jets, and I added some windows and doors. Here it is, from 1948, the Intercontinental Strato-Diner!!! 😂

https://youtu.be/TBmoa9YK97E

https://youtu.be/LNVx4EauTU0

A new virtual airline

 With the dissolving of TOOMUCHFS.COM I joined with Platinum Airways  (PLATINUMAIRWAYS.ORG) featuring an "Open Skies Format" of any aircraft,  any time to any airport.   Here are a couple of examples:

https://youtu.be/WVDyXviONe4

https://youtu.be/IUCIxVC9WN8

https://youtu.be/YAJj6qyODrg

https://youtu.be/YkWi_5YdPNo

There's also more on Instagram  @platinumairwaysva