Annuschka Adventures in the Orbx World

[cavaricooper]

I’ll admit being a bit late to the party. Lately, with the DC-6 beta, I’ve been flying a lot in Orbx Alaska instead of the higher FLs in Eurasia. I just installed Orbx KORS (Orcas Island) and when flying in last night, was stunned by what I saw. I couldn’t believe my eyes, so I went back to make sure I wasn’t seeing things. This morning was just as captivating. Here goes…

Here we are walking up to my beloved Annuschka SP-AMN (painted by our very own YoYo).


Next, the view out the side window whilst taxying down to the other end. Like Pilot Country Estates in my bit of the world, Orcas Island has homes on the property, with taxiways to the runway from the home garage/hangars.


Final- with Orcas! Watching them cavort in the water was distracting to say the least. It did not diminish my wonder at the scenery- just superb!



Short final- with the airport ahead in all it’s glory. We just passed some very nice cabin cruisers tied up on the left. This entire area is ablaze with detail. Incredible!


Mostly flying far above, and passing by so fast, I didn't realize what Orbx had wrought! This is as close to my low and slow days in my Aeronca Champ- and a nice change of pace.

Best- Carl

[cavaricooper]

So, whilst the rest are chortling at my wondrous discovery (being old hat for most here at SOH), here we are on the way to KFHR (Friday Harbor)...



Final at Friday Harbor.... so familiar (yet gloriously different from default) to those who flew/fly FSX...



Here's another instantly familiar (yet TOTALLY different) view...



and in the taxi to gas up.... something again so right and so familiar to those of us who learned to fly at small local fields. Someone washing the FBO windows, another sweeping up. A few owners tinkering with their aeroplanes in readiness for the day ahead.... beautiful...



Better late than never.... I am LOVING each moment of this Orbx discovery. The PNW waits to enchant... forgive my exuberance but I am CAPTIVATED!

Best- Carl

[Anthin]

Lovely shots plus Antonov.Perfect.

Anthin..

[Roger]

ORBX sceneries are addictive, Carl. I was hooked many years ago when I downloaded their Tasmania demo. It was so different and so much more realistic from FsX default that there was no going back.

[cavaricooper]

ORBX sceneries are addictive, Carl. I was hooked many years ago when I downloaded their Tasmania demo. It was so different and so much more realistic from FsX default that there was no going back.

Roger-

How nice of you to pop in.... I spent most of my teens and early twenties, blatting around Central Florida with an elbow out the window, below 1000agl, in a 1946 Aeronca Champ with an 85 Continental. The Annuschka and Orbx has resurrected the feel of low and slow for me. In between carting 20,000lbs of cargo in the DC-6 for PMDG, I shall hop through the PNW stuff from Orbx, and add a few lines to this post now and then. I hope it is enjoyable for some.

Ta- C

[Penzoil3]

Nice shots. PNW low and slow is very enjoyable. Welcome to OrbX addiction, resistance is futile...
Sue

[cavaricooper]

SP-AMN & I left Friday Harbor and flew down to the south tip of San Juan Island,





past Cattle Point and then south of Lopez Island, headed directly over Deception Pass Bridge. Have a look and tell me when the last time you had to look and avoid power-lines (with vis-balls) was.... It's not often scenery is this good!



Then a sweeping turn north had us headed past the refinery



and another sweep over the Anacortes Harbor



had us positioned nicely for a left downwind at Anacortes.

[cavaricooper]

We stopped only long enough to pick up a salesman and headed off once more.



This time it was straight overhead, past Skagit Regional....



to Israel's Farm. The beauty of this scenery is that it feels sparse! From swiveling constantly trying to find it, despite having it clearly marked in Google Earth; to the desolate, overgrown, unkempt look of the runway and the slowly rotting airplanes and control surfaces scattered about, everything about Israel's Farm was realistically contrasted with what I had spent hours earlier marveling at. The contrast was unsettling enough, where I was thinking about having a word with the family about tidying up a bit. The fertilizer salesman I dropped off here, set me straight!

[Portia911]

Very nice, Carl. Good to see you and your An-2 out and about in the PNW - I enjoyed a similar thread you started some time ago flying around southern Alaska.

You know, the best thing is you can fly from where you are now back to where you were then, and it's ORBX-quality scenery all the way (PNW, Pacific Fjords, Tongass Fjords (FSAddons) and SAK). Toss in a few Misty Moorings settings along the way, and it truly is a beautiful world - especially for low n slow aficionados.

Happy flights.

[cavaricooper]

Thanks! I was wondering if anyone would make the connection.... yes, I intend to spend lots of time in the An-2 (between the stuff PMDG keeps me busy with).

There is something relaxing about watching the world go by at 85kts and 800ft (or 155Kph and 300m). I remember waking up early to be the first one at the airport. Then I would lift through the 50' fog layer at Vandenburg and go meet the rising sun. Without time for convective currents, the air was so still it was as though I were suspended, and the earth was moving below my outstretched Ceconite arms. The only thing that resurrects that emotion in the FS world is my beloved An-2. I am hoping that the forthcoming Beaver will do likewise... but that remains a question....

Best- Carl

[cavaricooper]

We left Concrete and followed the Sauk River at 400m, dodging the mountain peaks and high tension wires (little did I know high tension would re-assert itself at Darrington).



I had to fly in a couple of tight circles to find the runway at Darrington peeking out at me between the trees. I could see the boughs swaying beneath me as I passed feet overhead to plunk down and stop in at the port-a-let. I needed a break after that approach!



The peaks really do surround this field... flat Florida it 'aint!

[Flyboy208]

What an enjoyable post. Cool sceneries and I love that Antonov , fly it quite often myself in the sim. Pilot Country , funny , I grew up in Hidden Lake Estates , New Port Richey and have been to Pilot Country several times Mike

[cavaricooper]

Thanks Mike!

The only time I was able to "fly to work" was when taking some continuing education classes at Gowers Corners, across the road from Pilot Country Estates. I'd fly there and a buddy picked me up at the airport. Took me back in the evening, and I'd fly back to Tampa. Great fun except for the one day I had to wait out a nasty summer storm until very late.... and the Champ didn't have an electrical system......

The Annuschka is the only airframe that lets me re-create that feel of flight, and I am optimistic for the Milviz Beaver.... fingers x'ed!

Best- Carl

PS- opening the screenies and clicking will show each in full 4K.

[YoYo]

Nice shots! I see You use PTA... so try this http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforum...and-my-profile .

[griphos]

The Colt is indeed a nice airplane, particularly for recreating the feel of classic flight, like in my Chief (also sans electrical). However, the A2A Cub also does a nice job.

[Bjoern]

Man, do I crave a flight in FSX right now. But on a laptop with an XBox pad and a bare bones FSX, it just ain't fun!


Keep posting!

[cavaricooper]

Lest you think I was kidding about the terrain at Darrington- here's a peek looking at each end of the runway...





Here we are just out of 28....



With the plan being.... keep the high tension wires on my left.... the Sectional mentions a valley cable obstruction around the corner and I shall be looking!

[Bjoern]

I'd go all Buck Buckerington on that mountain and try an elegant turn to the right after clearing the trees. The Anna should theoretically be able to do this without much complaints.

[cavaricooper]

Remembering the adage, "There are old pilots, and there are bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots" I chickened out and stayed in the wider valley, then angled south. A few minutes of flying over beautiful verdant countryside had us angling towards Monroe First Air (W16).



It's got a NARROW runway and turning base I swallowed hard. The one thing my old girl doesn't do well is crosswind landings...



You can see I slowed her way down to get a feel for the wind (slats are out).... and then we turned final early, for some more windage....



Anytime the runway is in the side window... things are going to be interesting! I won't lie, there was a LOT of rudder and even a bit of brake, but I kept her (relatively) straight....

Here we are on the back taxi... I wasn't kidding- NARROW!!



YoYo- I will investigate your presets for sure- I LOVE your screenies!

Bjoern- Thanks for the interest!

Best- C

[stearmandriver]

... The PNW waits to enchant... forgive my exuberance but I am CAPTIVATED!

Best- Carl

Haha I know the feeling, simming has made me feel this way several times as well. I was an avid user of very early MSFS (think wireframe panels and runways) when I was a kid, then fell away when I started flying for real. A few years ago, a neighborhood kid wanted to show me his sim. My jaw literally dropped as he flew me up the Gastineau channel to Juneau in the PMDG NGX. I felt like I was at work... I sat there mumbling a running litany.... "lnav / vnav path, dial the dirt... wow, there's Mt Roberts, and Sheep Mountain, and the JD bridge... couple cruise ships in Juneau now... there's Lemon Creek, and the Mendenhall glacier, and there's the Cut, west of the airport... J$#us Ch@*st, man!"

Well, re-creating work got old quickly lol... But I've rediscovered the magic feeling of low and slow flying as well. Grass strip hopping in the A2A J-3, flying the bush in Alaska with Return to Misty Moorings scenery locations (they have a bunch for the PNW area as well) in the Aerosoft Beaver (also looking forward to the MilViz)... the ORBX world is amazing.

The most challenging, and beautifully rendered, bush strips I've seen are the ORBX Tapini and Kokoda "experience" packages (they both contain several strips) in Papua New Guinea. Not a part of the world I'm familiar with, but I picked up those strips with the idea of trying a bush flying business in Air Hauler... and man, I've never had more fun in the sim. They will REALLY test you!

Anyway, enjoy your discovery!

[cavaricooper]

I well remember the wire frame grid, river and mountains; all on an Apple IIc.... and yes, flight sim has indeed come a long way!

Ketchikan and Juneau are both great, but then so are Yakutat, Homer, Kenai and others (which is how I came to intstall and fall in love with the Orbx World).

When time permits I will definitely check out Tapini and Kokoda- thanks!

Best- Carl

[patful]

Wow, those shots are beautiful! Just last week I said I wouldn't bother with Orbx since they don't cover the whole continent, but this thread has me second-guessing. Just afraid my new computer can't handle those detailed airports... Thanks for this thread.

Pat

[cavaricooper]

I am pleased to see that there are some enjoying these photos. I cannot tell you what a revelation spending time in the Orbx world has been for me. The vast majority of my flight simming occurs in the flight levels, and involves large Boeings. Orbx used to be FTX Global and Vector. These smaller, but beautifully detailed reports were hitherto to unknown.

It was this forum that piqued my curiosity enough to explore general aviation once more. Along the way I have discovered the joy in Manfred Jann's C-47 ecosystem, and the SibWings An-2. Those two airplanes, in combination with this forum, and lately the DC-6 have open my eyes to the incredible beauty that Orbx has managed to capture in the more picturesque parts of the world. It was the discovery that has changed a portion of my flight choices.

That ability to fly 397T of Boeing 747-436 to CAT3 minima one day, and then luxuriously explore the Pacific North West at 300m in bright sunshine the next, is the reason flight simulation has been and continues to be one of my main hobbies.

I hope to be able to give back to the members of Sim Outhouse in some small way through this thread.

Best- Carl

[Bjoern]

Your shots really got me interested in FTX Global. Was ready to click "purchase", but found no PayPal option. Asked the big G and found out that ORBX cancelled PayPal support last December. Bummer.

[Roger]

Your shots really got me interested in FTX Global. Was ready to click "purchase", but found no PayPal option. Asked the big G and found out that ORBX cancelled PayPal support last December. Bummer.

It is a problem Bjoern, but the issue was created by Paypal and left no option for ORBX but to go down different routes to market.