Welcome to the 78th flight event across the Gunpilot’s Challenging Flights series. This challenging Flights event will be conducted along the Appalachian Trail, stretching from Georgia in the south to Maine in the north , and is again guaranteed to give you more of the unique and challenging flight experience that you have come to expect from Gunpilot’s flight events.
This flight along the Appalachian Trail (AT) will be conducted over a number of weeks as the trail is over 2200 miles (3500kms) long, stretching right along most of the eastern side of America.
The AT is the longest “hiking-only” footpath in the world., and cuts thru one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world.
The AT was completed in 1937 and is today fully maintained by volunteers. Around 20,000 hikers have fully completed hiking the trail, with the average time to complete the AT from one end to the other being 6-7 months. The fastest person to complete the full length hike was an endurance runner in 2018, taking just 41 days to complete.
Most people hike from the south to the north and the most dangerous animal along the trail is ticks, especially those that carry the Lyme disease. Bears (especially in New Jersey) and snakes are the other animals to be avoided along the trail.
This flight will have us departing from the Georgia end and making our way north through the Appalachian Mountain range. Due to the distance that the trail covers, interesting segments of the AT will be selected over the coming weeks which will give us an overall impression of the complete trail without having to fly every inch of it.
The southern end of the trail in Georgia was the location of the 1972 hollywood film DELIVERANCE, starring Burt Reynolds, with the iconic “Dueling Banjos” scene being a standout scene remembered by most people who have seen the film.
If you go to #videos channel in Gunpilot’s Server you will be able to view this iconic scene from the movie…
When: Friday 18th March 2022 @ 2300 UTC
Where: Appalachian Trail - USA (Part 1)
Flight Duration: Approx 3hrs (depending on numbers attending)
Aircraft: Cessna Grand Caravan - if you have a different favorite aircraft then leave it in the hangar for this event (as always, as flight planned around Caravan performance)
Server: SOUTH EAST ASIA
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/rDSJaBy8V7 Click on this link and you will be sent a very welcoming INVITE that will enable you to fully participate in the radio chatter with all the other pilots in the flight
Voice Chat accessed by clicking on Comms Radio
###Sometimes there are music tracks played - to turn the volume either up or down for your individual liking just right click on MEE6 tag in the list of people on Comms Radio and adjust volume up or down as you desire###
RECOMMENDATIONS
Cessna Caravan as all landing and other challenges built into flight are
tailored for this aircraft specifically
Turn Damage mode off as you will most likely suffer at least hard
landings if not full on crashes
Bring plenty of Duc Tape for running repairs
Crash Helmets are optional, Prayers are advisable
Embrace “SLEW” as it will be your friend by the end of the flight
Practicing to make Caravan landing approaches at IAS of between 40-50knts max will see you nailing difficult landings with ease and precision.
Make it easy on yourself to navigate around the route and accurately pinpoint the exact landing areas by downloading and using the free “LittleNavMap” s/w you can get on the web - you will never open the standard sim VFR Map again once you have tried this fantastic app that integrates seamlessly with MSFS2020.
From time to time in Gunpilot’s flights there will be music tracks played. By right clicking on the MEE6 name tag in the COMMS RADIO channel you will be able to adjust the volume to suit yourself.
Appalachian Trail Part 1.pln (6.9 KB)