Exploring the world in the Beechcraft Bonanza

Leg 321, Augusta, Maine via Vermont to Seneca Falls, New York, USA

DAY07_08.PLN (16.1 KB)

A long leg today, exploring Maine and Vermont, then to the Finger Lakes in New York. A little bit of Canada in there as well (New Brunswick and Quebec), following the border.

07-08 Augusta State KAUG 5:38 AM
07-08 Knox Co Regl KRKD 5:57 AM
07-08 Matinicus Island 35ME 6:06 AM Trees at end of runway
07-08 Mary Talbot Meml Airfield ME55 6:15 AM
07-08 Witherspoons ME41 6:20 AM Short runway
07-08 Stonington Mun 93B 6:26 AM
07-08 Banks ME5 6:35 AM
07-08 Hancock County-Bar Harbor KBHB 6:42 AM
07-08 Cherryfield KDHE 6:53 AM
07-08 Drisko 05ME 7:07 AM Short runway, sloped
07-08 Cutler Regl ME2 7:15 AM
07-08 Grand Manan CCN2 7:24 AM
07-08 Lubec Mun 65B 7:30 AM
07-08 Eastport Mun KEPM 7:34 AM
07-08 St Stephen CCS3 7:42 AM
07-08 Princeton Mun KPNN 7:47 AM
07-08 Lincoln Regl KLRG 8:08 AM
07-08 Webber Jones ME03 8:23 AM
07-08 Two Falls ME79 8:29 AM
07-08 Sugarloaf Rgnl B21 8:45 AM
07-08 Bean Mun 8B0 8:57 AM
07-08 Stanhope CSN5 9:16 AM
07-08 Weller CTQ2 9:25 AM Haskell Free library 45°00’20.7"N 72°05’51.7"W
07-08 Mansonville CSK4 9:34 AM
07-08 Franklin Co State KFSO 9:47 AM
07-08 Northern Lights VT46 9:54 AM
07-08 Savage Island VT15 10:00 AM
07-08 Shaw Meadow VT52 10:04 AM Gordon Landing 44°41’16.2"N 73°20’57.9"W
07-08 Plattsburgh Intl KPBG 10:14 AM
07-08 Secret Spot 3NK5 10:18 AM
07-08 Richter Aero NY84 10:27 AM
07-08 Basin Harbor B06 10:31 AM
07-08 Mad River Fly-in VT29 10:44 AM Montpelier 44°15’43.5"N 72°34’50.5"W
07-08 Edward F Knapp State KMPV 10:51 AM TeleAtlas Hanover 43°40’44"N 72°15’43"W
07-08 Lebanon Muni KLEB 11:12 AM
07-08 Rutland - Southern Vermont Rgn KRUT 11:24 AM
07-08 Granville 01NK 11:32 AM
07-08 Floyd Bennett Memorial KGFL 11:38 AM
07-08 Plateau Sky Ranch 1F2 11:49 AM Low quality terrain area
07-08 Oneida Co KUCA 12:11 PM
07-08 Curtis NY62 12:16 PM
07-08 Kamp 1B4 12:19 PM
07-08 Syracuse Hancock Intl KSYR 12:30 PM Syracuse PG Area 43°2’20"N 76°8’5"W
07-08 Marcellus NK71 12:49 PM
07-08 Skaneateles 6B9 12:54 PM
07-08 Finger Lakes Rgnl 0G7 1:07 PM

Flight Time 7:29 45 stops

Augusta State Airport, the sun is up, time to go

Leaving Augusta behind to head further into Maine

Damariscotta Lake

Preparing to land at Knox Co Regional airport in Thomaston

Approach over Dragon Products Company

Matinicus Island

Vinalhaven, located on the larger of the two Fox Islands

North Haven

Witherspoons Airport

Stonington Municipal Airport

Landing at Banks Airport in Atlantic on Swan Island

West Tremont

Round Pond near Unionville

Addison in Washington County

Drisko Airport in Jonesboro on the Chandler River

Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick, Canada at start of the Bay of Fundy, Gulf of Maine behind

Grand Manan Airport with traces of snow… (16c/61F there)

Grand Manan Island

Eastport on Moose Island, Maine, USA

West Grand Lake in Grand Lake Stream district

Upper and Lower Oxbrook Lake

Junior Bay, North Washington

The Frog (peninsula) at Horseshoe Lake

Number Three Pond

Thinking up names for thousands of lakes isn’t easy! There are over 6,000 lakes in Maine

Upper Long Pond, Lincoln

South Branch Lake, Seboeis Plantation

Piscataquis County

Kennebec River feeding Wyman Lake

Sugarloaf Regional Airport in Carrabassett Valley

Sugarloaf Mountain (4,237ft)

Steven A Bean Municipal Airport at Rangeley Lake

Lac Aziscohos, North Oxford

Heading into the rain. It’s been raining (at home) since I woke up with the clouds drifting east to where I am in the game. Live weather is working

Stanstead/Weller Airport

Haskell Free Library at Derby Line and Stanstead

The US-Canada border, looking at Derby Line in Maine, Stanstead, Quebec behind

That’s at Church st / Rue Church in Canada

Haskell Free Library and Opera House, border marked with black tape inside the building

The Opera House opened on June 7, 1904, having deliberately been built on the international border. The building was the gift of Martha Stewart Haskell (1831-1906) and her son, dedicated to her late husband. The family’s aim was to provide the border communities with a center for learning and cultural enrichment,

From he visitor page:

The Haskell Free Library & Opera House is not a border crossing. We have one entrance, which is in the United States. Visitors from Canada are able to access the building. They must park on the Canadian side, and follow the sidewalk from Church St to the entrance. After leaving the building, they must return to Canada by the same route.

While you can not exchange goods, you can meet people at the library

On to Mansonville Airport in Highwater, Quebec

Northern Lights Airport-VT46, Vermont

Virtual travel, no passport necessary, no hassle at the border!

One time I drove from Montreal, QC to Lebanon, NH, border crossing at Blackpool. I still had a Dutch passport at the time and was on the way to Lebanon for work. I had flown in to Montreal to drive the rest, instead of flying to Boston and drive the other way.

Thinking ahead I had filled out one those green visa waiver forms at the airport, which the US border control promptly rejected. I had to fill out one of their forms (same one) and pay $8 in exact change. Only cash allowed. Well of course I didn’t have exact US change on me. They kept my passport and car and I had to walk back across the border to Canada to a border shop to get change.

Sometimes I think the US border agency is just there to harass people. On our honeymoon we flew to Vancouver, rented a car there and drove to Seattle to meet friends. (Plan was to visit there, then vacation in BC, fly back from Vancouver). They took my passport, had us sit in the waiting room while searching the entire car.

When I crossed the border at Buffalo (to drive to Washington, DC for work) they took my passport, had me sit in a concrete bunker (waiting room) packed with other people for over an hour to get interrogated before being allowed to go on.

At airports I always got the pink slash on my ticket ‘randomly’ selected for further investigation. The only time I didn’t have trouble was right after 9/11 happened and I crossed the border back to Detroit from Canada, to fly back to The Netherlands. (after visiting my later to be wife)

Savage Island Airport

Gordon Landing, VT, where I took the ferry over Lake Champlain

The hassle was worth it, the trip through Vermont was amazing

Cumberland Head, NY, other end of the ferry crossing

Bridges are great to look at, ferries are always a joy to take, such a nice break

Plattsburg International Airport
https://i.imgur.com/w8Jnyct.png
I got lucky with a break from the rain at the ferry crossing, back to down pour

Secret Spot Airport-3NK5
https://i.imgur.com/1CLZzYz.png

Basin Harbor Airport
https://i.imgur.com/y3O2A6S.png

Montpellier, the capital of Vermont with Vermont State House right ahead of me
https://i.imgur.com/VZsMZnv.png

Edward F Knapp State Airport at Montpellier
https://i.imgur.com/gq1NQoa.png

Flying over (former) TeleAtlas, Lebanon office
https://i.imgur.com/C3RwqmX.png
That was the destination of my visit. The navigation company I worked for got their map data from TeleAtlas (founded 1984), which had bough Geographic Data Technology (founded 1980) based here in Lebanon.

TomTom later bought TeleAtlas in 2008, hence the TomTom sign
https://i.imgur.com/g8X9exa.png
The mapping vans are equipped with six cameras, two side-sweeping lasers and a GPS navigation device. The vans capture about three photos per second while traveling at normal speeds, resulting in more than 100 million images per year from each van. 3-D scanning lasers record the width, height and contours of the first reflective surface they encounter, producing data that when combined with the images create a three-dimension representation.

Unfortunately the Lebanon office got downsized in 2017, happened all after my time, but I still feel bad for the people that lost their job in Lebanon
https://www.vnews.com/Tomtom-lays-off-about-35-employees-at-Lebanon-office-9543956

TomTom currently provides its road data to Bing maps, and the roads you see in game are originally coming from TeleAtlas and Geographic Data Technology
https://www.tomtom.com
Great company to work for, nothing but fond memories. However after turning hobby into work, I now rely on paper maps or simple memorization when I go anywhere. I haven’t used a navigation device in well over a decade.

Lebanon Municipal Airport, Vermont
https://i.imgur.com/LaUS2nA.png

I decided to climb above the clouds with a longer distance to the next stop
https://i.imgur.com/tINIhGz.png

Over Salisbury, NY, sunshine
https://i.imgur.com/AVmxtLc.png

Over Norway, NY
https://i.imgur.com/6qHdokc.png

And back down, Oneida County Airport
https://i.imgur.com/bvgJVs0.png

Lakeport on Oneida Lake
https://i.imgur.com/PbFQuqz.png

Syracuse Hancock International Airport
https://i.imgur.com/0feBHaO.png

Syracuse on Onodaga Lake
https://i.imgur.com/qrAZLTA.png

NBT Bank Stadium, home to the Syracuse Chiefs
https://i.imgur.com/AG3rCj8.png

Onondaga Lake
https://i.imgur.com/gpqvkNX.png

The mall next to Metropolitan Syracuse Wastewater Treatment Plant
https://i.imgur.com/Eq7oq5e.png

Downtown, Clinton Square below
https://i.imgur.com/lwKT1Md.png

Syracuse City Hall and the Erie Canal Museum further back
https://i.imgur.com/Jvkdpzs.png
tracing the waterway’s history in the 1850 Weighlock Building

Carrier Dome at Syracuse University
https://i.imgur.com/Cy2324v.png

Another pass over downtown with a break in the rain
https://i.imgur.com/9Y8fm8L.png

Syracuse Family Court ahead, as well as more rain
https://i.imgur.com/9e7vOoG.png

E Jefferson St at Columbus Circle
https://i.imgur.com/5PnWfmC.png

And the Museum of Science & Technology
https://i.imgur.com/cIMynuI.png

Skaneateles Aerodrome, next to Skaneateles Lake, part of the Finger Lakes
https://i.imgur.com/UVNAdTg.png

Owasco Lake
https://i.imgur.com/GqKL3tr.png

Melrose Park at the north end of the lake
https://i.imgur.com/qRuddRv.png

Last stop today, Finger Lakes Regional Airport at Seneca Falls
https://i.imgur.com/jq5HlMw.png

Located on the northern end, west side of Cayuga Lake, east of Seneca Lake
https://i.imgur.com/WT2A6DT.png

Tomorrow maybe better weather to see the rest of the finger lakes, then making my way to Niagara Falls via Rochester on Lake Ontario.

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Leg 322, Seneca Falls, New York via Pennsylvania to Kelleys Island, Ohio, USA

DAY07_09.PLN (13.8 KB)

Almost back home, but still a couple more PG areas to visit, hence a loop around lake Erie before the final push home. This leg, visiting Niagara Falls, Pittsburg and Clevelend.

07-09 Finger Lakes Rgnl 0G7 5:36 AM
07-09 Seneca AAF KSSN 5:41 AM
07-09 Penn Yan KPEO 5:47 AM
07-09 Midlakes 92G 5:52 AM
07-09 Canandaigua D38 5:58 AM
07-09 Greater Rochester Intl KROC 6:10 AM
07-09 Manitou Field 91NY 6:14 AM
07-09 Hendershot 34NY 6:19 AM
07-09 Maynard’s 56NY 6:26 AM
07-09 Tiger Paw Aerodrome 35NK 6:35 AM
07-09 Olcott-Newfane D80 6:41 AM
07-09 Shear 63NY 6:46 AM Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours 43°15’21.2"N 79°03’50.0"W
07-09 St Catharines/Niagara District CYSN 6:53 AM Niagara Falls PG Area 43°4’58"N 79°4’23"W
07-09 Rainbow Bridge Niagara Falls 43°5’25.65"N 79°4’4.69"W 7:19 AM
07-09 Niagara South CNF9 7:38 AM
07-09 Mesmer NY49 7:41 AM
07-09 Ft Erie CNJ3 7:45 AM Peace Bridge 42°54’25.1"N 78°54’21.2"W
07-09 Buffalo Niagara Intl KBUF 7:53 AM
07-09 Buffalo 9G0 7:58 AM
07-09 Hamburg Inc 4G2 8:05 AM
07-09 Evans Airways 4NK3 8:08 AM
07-09 Chautauqua Co/Dunkirk KDKK 8:17 AM
07-09 Chautauqua County/Jamestown KJHW 8:26 AM
07-09 Sanders Personal Use 70PN 8:33 AM
07-09 Brokenstraw P15 8:38 AM Bad stuttering, forests plus fog, 26 GB ram in use
07-09 Mountain Crest 17PS 8:49 AM Marker off by 0.81nm
07-09 Mc Cauley’s 8PN3 8:57 AM
07-09 Pittsburg Northeast 9G1 9:15 AM McCandles PG Area 40°36’25"N 80°2’33"W
Pittburgh PG Area 40°26’59" 80°0’46"W
07-09 Pittburgh Intl KPIT 10:19 AM
07-09 Beaver County KBVI 10:30 AM
07-09 New Castle Mun KUCP 10:38 AM
07-09 Youngstown-Warren Rgnl KYNG 10:46 AM
07-09 Thompson rag Raceway 73OH 11:00 AM
07-09 Willoughby Lost Nation Municipal KLNN 11:08 AM
07-09 Burke Lakefront KBKL 11:17 AM
07-09 Cuyahoga County KCGF 11:27 AM
07-09 Cleveland-Hopkins Intl KCLE 11:48 AM PG Area
07-09 R & M Aviation 4OI7 11:54 AM
07-09 Kelleys I 89D 12:20 PM

Flight time 6:44 38 stops

Finger Lakes Regional Airport

I’m leaving at about the same time as yesterday, yet further west and it’s cloudy

Seneca Falls in the rear view mirror

A watery sunrise promising a mostly gloomy day

First stop at Seneca AAF on Seneca lake

The sun is trying to get through

Canandaigua on Canandaigua Lake

It’s always sunny above the clouds

Back down to Rochester

Located on Lake Ontario and the Genesee River

Greater Rochester International Airport

Landing at Manitou Field

Same weather here, looking out the window, light rain all day

Hendershot

Tiger Paw Aerodrome

Olcott-Newfane

Heading for Canada, across the Niagara River, Old Fort Niagara below

Originally built (1726) to protect the interests of New France in North America

Whirpool Jet Tours at Niagara-on-the-lake

I’ve been on that boat a couple times, awesome

Sir Adam Beck No 2 Generating Station on the right (Canadian side), No 1 just behind me

Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant on the left (US side)

Water gets diverted before the waterfalls (by canals and tunnels) to giant reservoirs that get topped up at night. Extra water gets diverted at night so only 25% of the available water goes over the falls, during the day 50% gets to fall down. This reduces the movement of the falls to 1ft per year instead of moving 3ft per year towards lake Erie. And generates close to 4.9 million kilowatts, enough to power 3.8 million homes.

The Whirlpool, as far as the jet boats go

90 degree turn in the river created a bowl, rotating counter-clockwise

Whirlpool Aero Car and view from Whirlpool Beach

And in winter time

There is a great Butterfly conservatory a bit before the Whirlpool, one of our favorite places to visit

Behind it are the hydro canals, not acessibile, probably quite fast flowing water

On to the falls, first Whirlpool Rapids Bridge and White Water Walk

Train bridge and closed traffic bridge (walls build on the bridge)

Rainbow International Bridge with border inspection areas on either side

Visiting the American falls first

American Maid of the Mist tours depart at the bottom of Niagara Falls Observation Tower

Nikola Tesla Monument sits there overlooking the falls

Cave of the winds is there as well with a boardwalk along the bottom of the falls

Back on the Canadian side, past Fallsview Indoor Waterpark to line up for

a landing on Rainbow Bridge, buzzing the Canada Border Services Agency tower

It works, only because there is no collision detection with the lamp posts

Looking towards the falls, raining again

The Horseshoe Falls

Looks kinda weird without the huge plume of spray, the gloomy weather actually helps here

Now imagine twice as much water going over and taking a barrel down the falls…

First time I saw the falls was on national geographic, which made it seem like they were pristine in the forest. Color me surprised to find a huge amusement park the first time I visited. My wife ahd already warned me, but the scale of the tourist trap was as imposing as the falls themselves

That’s Skylon tower and at the water’s edge is Hornblower landing, Canadian Maid of the Mist dock

Fallsview Tourist Area with casinos and well everything

Flying by Goat Island while going further up the Niagara River to Buffalo, NY

Peace Bridge connecting the US and Canada

It has been very quiet since March 2020, the border is still closed

Landing at Buffalo Niagara International Airport

Hamburg Airport-4G2 along a busy road (Heltz rd)

Irving, where Cataraugus Creek flows into Lake Erie

Silver Creek

Busti in Chautauqua County

Youngsville in Warren County, Pennsylvania

Deerfield Township, Pennsylvania

Tidioute on the Allegheny River

The Allegheny River at Grove Run

Finally, some sunshine while taking off from Mc Cauley’s
https://i.imgur.com/YE2VK4r.png

Still so cloudy
https://i.imgur.com/NOwmytX.png

Pittsburgh NorthEast Airport
https://i.imgur.com/ZwZmouV.png

Allegheny County
https://i.imgur.com/4NoX1aT.png

Following the I 76 Pennsylvania Turnpike
https://i.imgur.com/WvJE6xZ.png

https://i.imgur.com/SoIK5rv.png

https://i.imgur.com/HR9zPiV.png

Turned off to Wexford when I realized the i 76 isn’t going to Pittsburg!
https://i.imgur.com/k9Lea5c.png

Perry Hwy 19 is going to Pittsburg
https://i.imgur.com/YJtSqcK.png

McCandles, the fountain of youth is here in Allison Park
https://i.imgur.com/KPQOZZE.png

Looks scary, bring a flashlight. After you
https://i.imgur.com/ip9PvMB.png

Ross Park Mall
https://i.imgur.com/SFkTpyf.png

Pittsburgh in western Pennsylvania at the junction of 3 rivers
https://i.imgur.com/LoDYcDW.png

David L. Lawrence Convention Center and The Andy Warhol Museum on the right
https://i.imgur.com/goy9AQ7.png
Andy Warhol (1928-1987) was born and raised in Pittsburgh

PNC Park on the Allegheny River, home of the Pirates
https://i.imgur.com/9dvWnxB.png

Heading downtown
https://i.imgur.com/DqrLqpH.png

Melon Square below, dubbed the emerald oasis
https://i.imgur.com/4KhKbrh.png

Allegheny County Courthouse
https://i.imgur.com/mtV1PuH.png

At Grant Street
https://i.imgur.com/69DlOcb.png

At Gateway subway station with the Roberto Clemente Bridge ahead
https://i.imgur.com/KSjqHOp.png

Heinz Field, home of the Steelers & University of Pittsburgh Panthers
https://i.imgur.com/r4nJ9bK.png
Located at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, forming the Ohio river

PPG Paints Arena, home of the Pittsburgh Penguins
https://i.imgur.com/BJvCeFu.png

The University of Pittsburgh
https://i.imgur.com/KD6S7Hv.png

University Honors College (tower) and Carnegie Museum of Art (behind the tower)
https://i.imgur.com/g2ld8pw.png

McKees Rocks Bottoms along the Ohio River
https://i.imgur.com/2jus6Fi.png

Neville Island
https://i.imgur.com/4zNBtG6.png

https://i.imgur.com/GXeiUDe.png

Pittsburgh International Airport
https://i.imgur.com/N6eddsj.png

https://i.imgur.com/hFwx0fP.png

Cortland on Mosquito Creek Lake
https://i.imgur.com/roHmvuk.png

Thompson Drag Raceway / Thompson Raceway Park, opened 1958, doubles as a landing strip
https://i.imgur.com/FtM1uhw.png

At least in MSFS it’s an airstrip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AiUJETPWos

Willoughby Lost Nation Municipal Airport (Lakeland NDB LQL 263)
https://i.imgur.com/eVRJuWJ.png

Chagrin Lagoons Yacht Club
https://i.imgur.com/PY4OMg1.png

Timberlake, Eastlake on Lake Erie
https://i.imgur.com/uPTrGHB.png

Whitcraft Cleveland (formerly TECT Power)
https://i.imgur.com/T92mA8h.png

CSX Intermodal Terminals, Cleveland
https://i.imgur.com/VXO2prX.png

Following the Cleveland Memorial Shoreway to Cleveland
https://i.imgur.com/BoiMgtz.png

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and FirstEnergy Stadium
https://i.imgur.com/6l7R7Pg.png

FirstEnergy Stadium is the home of the Cleveland Browns
https://i.imgur.com/Yfw4mon.png

The Terminal Tower Residences at Cleveland Public Square
https://i.imgur.com/hiVC0cI.png

Progressive Field, hom e of the Cleveland Indians and Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
https://i.imgur.com/o4fy090.png

The Cleveland Museum of Art
https://i.imgur.com/DNmDtFw.png

University Hospital Main Campus at Case Western Reserve University
https://i.imgur.com/JGLO268.png

Health Sciences Research Campus
https://i.imgur.com/ROMyEHI.png

Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport
https://i.imgur.com/Ly4m7bL.png

R & M Aviation
https://i.imgur.com/i7lzyEw.png

NRG Energy, Inc on Lake Erie
https://i.imgur.com/Lo4jqfd.png

US Steel corporation in Lorain
https://i.imgur.com/BBXlCtN.png

Lorain, where the Black River flows into Lake Erie
https://i.imgur.com/xgr5bGP.png

Lorain Yaght Basin
https://i.imgur.com/JLQXfif.png

Kelleys Island in Lake Erie
https://i.imgur.com/l3BfvxZ.png

Final stop today at Kelleys Island Airport
https://i.imgur.com/AVy7s69.png

Next to Scheele Preserve
https://i.imgur.com/yY0Arad.png

https://i.imgur.com/oeXV0XE.png

Next leg on to Toledo and Detroit before the final part of the way home via London, Ontario.

1 Like

Leg 323, Kelleys Island, Ohio, USA to Brantford, Ontario, Canada

DAY07_10.PLN (10.1 KB)

This is it, the final leg. Back to Brantford via Detroit, Windsor and London, Ontario.

Final count for data streamed since entering Florida, 275.2 GiB worth of PG Areas on the eastern side of the USA. I think I was up to 240 GiB on the western half, a lot of data!

07-10 Kelleys I 89D 6:24 AM
07-10 Pelee Island CYPT 6:30 AM
07-10 North Bass Island 3X5 6:36 AM
07-10 Middle Bass-East Point 3W9 6:39 AM
07-10 Middle Bass Island 3T7 6:41 AM
07-10 Rattlesnake Island 58OH 6:44 AM
07-10 Put-In-Bay 3W2 6:47 AM
07-10 Keller KPCW 6:51 AM
07-10 Gibbs Field 03OH 6:55 AM
07-10 Fremont 14G 6:59 AM
07-10 Toledo Executive KTDZ 7:07 AM Toledo PG Area 41°39’5"N 83°32’27"W
07-10 Toledo Suburban KDUH 7:25 AM
07-10 Tecumseh Mills 22T 7:36 AM
07-10 Ann Arbor Mun KARB 7:43 AM Ann Arbor PG Area 42°16’2"N 83°44’53"W
07-10 Oakland County Intl KPTK 7:59 AM Chrysler Headquarters & Technology Center 42°39’16" 83°13’48" W
07-10 Coleman A Young Muni KDET 8:18 AM Detroit PG Area 42°19’56"N 83°2’57"W
07-10 Detroit Convention Center 42°19’36.11"N 83°2’59.32"W 8:38 AM Ambassador Bridge 42°18’44.1"N 83°04’27.3"W
07-10 Windsor International Airport CYQG 9:01 AM
07-10 Stoney Point (Trepanier) CRJ2 9:13 AM
07-10 Harsens I Z92 9:28 AM
07-10 Sarnia (Hadfield) CYZR 9:46 AM
07-10 Grand Bend CPL4 9:59 AM
07-10 Huron CYCE 10:04 AM
07-10 London CYXU 10:14 AM London PG Area 42°59’9"N 81°14’50"W
07-10 St Thomas Mun CYQS 10:30 AM Grand River mouth 42°39’22.0"N 81°00’27.4"W Bad texture area
07-10 Straffordville CNS6 10:39 AM Long Point National Wildlife Area 42°33’23.6"N 80°09’18.3"W
07-10 Simcoe (Dennison Field) CPA4 11:11 AM Port Dover 42°46’58.4"N 80°12’06.8"W (before the airport)
07-10 Brantford CYFD 11:46 AM Touchdown

Flight time 5:22 27 stops

Kelleys Island early morning

Heading to Pelee Island, on the Canadian side of the lake

Pelee Island in Lake Erie

North Bass Island, back on the US side

Put-In-Bay on South Bass Island

Approaching Toledo, Ohio

ADM Grain Toledo on the Maumee River

Fifth Third Field in Downtown Toledo, home of the Dayton Dragons

Huntington Center, 8,000 seat multi purpose arena. Kiss performed here in 2016 for example

Vistula Historic District

National Museum of the Great Lakes with a docked Lake Freighter

They are impressive to watch come into Hamilton under the Burlington Canal Lift Bridge. One time a small pleasure boat didn’t want to wait and went through the canal in the opposite direction. I doubt they’ll do that again, the wake those lake freighters make in the Burlington Bay Canal is scary, turning the little boat in a bucking bronco.

Mahoney Environmental along the Maumee River

Chrysler - Toledo Assembly Complex

Sections of the Toledo complex have operated as an automobile assembly plant since 1910

originally for Willys-Overland vehicles and Jeeps since the 1940s

This however is the Toledo North Assembly Plant (built 1997-2001)

producing the unibody Jeep Liberty, employing nearly 7,000 workers

Toledo Suburban Airport

Michigan Stadium, known as the big house and Crisler Center at the University of Michigan

University of Michigan, Shapiro Undergraduate Library below

University of Michigan Hospital

Domino Farms, nearly 3,000ft long office structure in Ann Arbor

Chrysler Headquarters & Technology Center

Located in the Metro Detroit city of Auburn Hills, Michigan

GM Factory ZERO, Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Center

As of May 2020, the plant is being retooled to produce electric vehicles, including the all-new GMC Hummer EV, which will set you back between $80,000 and $106,000 (sold out in 10 minutes)

Arriving in Detroit at Ford Field, home field of the Detroit Lions and Comerica Park

Downtown Detroit, nicknamed the motor city

TCF Center. convention center with free parking

If you can skip the booths, luckily not very busy when the PG data was taken

Guardian building (1929) and Penobscot Building (1928)

Windsor, Ontario, Canada, facing Detroit across the Detroit river

Caesars Windsor at Riverfront Festival Plaza

Ambassador Bridge, connecting the US and Canada

The one where I didn’t have trouble getting across the border

US Customs and Border Protection – Ambassador Bridge Port of Entry

Still very intimidating with all the cameras, sensors and what not

Canada Border Services Agency - Windsor Port of Entry

A bit friendlier welcome but still so different when coming from Europe’s open borders

Alumni Field at the University of Windsor

University of Windsor next to the Ambassador Bridge

Canadian Pacific Railway Company - Windsor Yard

FCA Windsor, Chrysler Centre, opened 1928

producing minivans since 1983 with over 4,000 employees

Windsor International Airport

Stoney Point (Trepanier) airstrip at Pointe aux Roches, Lakeshore, Ontario

Walpole Island Indian Reserve No 46

There are more than 600 First Nations/Indian bands in Canada, 3,100 Indian reserves across Canada, and over one million registered Indians in Canada as of December 2019

Saint Clair Flats State Wildlife Area on Harsens Island. Michigan, USA

Babys Point on the St Clair River, which is the US-Canada border

Looks like it was early spring when the images were taken, ice floating in the water

Sarnia on Lake Huron in Southwestern Ontario

Flying over Blackwell Trails Park on the way to Sarnia Chris Hadfield Airport

Grand Bend, located on the shores of lake Huron

My wife and I stayed there for a couple days and got attacked by a swarm of ladybugs on the beach. They are vicious! They’re not poisonous but their bites still hurt and they were hungry

Very nice place without swarming ladybugs

Centralia-James T Field Memorial Aerodrome

Arriving in London, Ontario over Argyle

At Quebec st, heading downtown

My wife bought our first car here for me, a hybrid which I was looking for. Turns out they’re not all that practical for Canadian winters. It takes so long to warm up you can’t feel your hands while driving. No trunk space either, but very good at retaining trade in value!

Victoria Park in Central London

London Citi Plaza
https://i.imgur.com/reTAQFt.png

Western Fair District
https://i.imgur.com/2mBbzn0.png

Parkwood Hospital and Walkers Pond
https://i.imgur.com/hADzxrr.png

Staffordville
https://i.imgur.com/2IhuDCF.png

Long Point, a sand spit and medium-sized hamlet on the north shore of Lake Erie
https://i.imgur.com/OCrePl2.png

Home to Long Point National Wildlife Area, Ryerson’s Island on the left
https://i.imgur.com/d7YZEfC.png

Long Point Lighthouse at the tip
https://i.imgur.com/b4wxlm1.png

On my list of places to visit
https://i.imgur.com/4QXyfIg.png

https://i.imgur.com/aWdhy9f.png

Port Dover, from where you can just about see Long Point
https://i.imgur.com/iuTUzSu.png
Great place to take the kids, and a couple times a year I cycle there for a dip in the lake

Beware if you visit on Friday the 13th
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q50eYv1C5JA
Known for the PD13 Motorcycle Rally, started 1981, now exceeding 100,000 bikers in summer

Landing at Simcoe (Dennison Field)
https://i.imgur.com/lKOtF1s.png

Back to the bicycle trail to follow it home, passing Waterford on the way
https://i.imgur.com/Wi3iPuw.png

Black Bridge, century-old 166-metre long rail bridge part of the Waterford Heritage Trail
https://i.imgur.com/gPqgbAb.png
As you can see in the pictures it was a great day outside. After finishing the leg I took my bike out and cycled here, awesome trail

It’s the LE & N Trail, here at Oakland, old railroad bed following Brock’s route
https://i.imgur.com/aeKnSAJ.png
part of the route that Sir Isaac Brock (1769-1812) himself took during the War of 1812. While he did not survive the war, he did manage to capture Detroit after the Americans invaded Canada at Windsor. Canada remained loyal to Britain and gained its independence in 1867, separating from Britain as recently as 1982.

Brantford Airport at Colborne St W, flying on to Paris before landing
https://i.imgur.com/fR7VFK9.png

Paris, Ontario, establish 1850 on the confluence of the Nith and Grand River
https://i.imgur.com/5K4qxp8.png
My home town, yoo hoo family. (Odd, I didn’t hear my plane flying over)

Back along the river to Brantford to make a turn and approach the airport over the pedestrian bridge over the Grand River, officially Oakhill Trail Bridge
https://i.imgur.com/lTOUADN.png

Hmm my shadow is going the other way, almost there, cossing Robinson Rd and Greens Rd
https://i.imgur.com/QloedFz.png

Touchdown, back home
https://i.imgur.com/v9sadFv.png
It actually made me a bit emotional, ridiculous. I’ve been sitting at home all this time…

Taxiing to a parking spot, Airport enhancements thanks to @ARH64CDN
https://i.imgur.com/mc7RX0b.png
(Everything else is vanilla MSFS, only world updates enhancements)

@ARH64CDN left me the perfect spot to park, the airport looks great!
https://i.imgur.com/zJDMEkn.png

Ok, you can get out now, show’s over
https://i.imgur.com/1PqXDoV.png

There you have it. Review complete.

Traveled 321,741nm / 375,253 miles / 595,864 km, over 1.5 times the distance to the moon
Over 7,100 airports visited (7,146 stops total but not all at airports)
Just a few minutes shy of 2590 hours traveled at an overall average speed 124.2 knots GS

243 countries, sovereign territories and island nations visited
Could be more or less, I’m not qualified to say what is independent enough and what not. I didn’t count the autonomous regions in Russia and China, might have counted too many island nations.

37.7 GB of screenshots collected along the way, 13,682 total files
Almost 32% of that were in North America where the most detailed data is by far

Best part of the trip, going to places I had never even heard of and find out about them :smiley:

Many thanks to Asobo and Microsoft for making it all possible. As well thanks to my wife and kids for being patient with me through this long trip. And of course thanks to this great community keeping my interest going with all the great post of things to see and places to visit.

I already have ideas for my next trip (Mars!) but not so soon. After a Canada world update I do want to take a closer look at this great country.

Keep up the great work Asobo!

Ending with this great inspirational video, from an average height of 2,500 ft to 248 miles high
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIkqs9_FK28

4 Likes

Thank you for such a narrative! I enjoyed reading and following all these months, especially the real photos you added to the story.
I am also very honoured that you used the CYFD Brantford Scenery - sounds like the only non default scenery you used. I have plans to update it even more, with the name Brantford on the apron as I think I figured out how to do that, and maybe photogrammetry hangars as an option. Unfortunately I have had no time to do it but it is on my list!
Again, great narrative and I wish I could do a similar flight some day!
Bravo!

1 Like

Some stats from the journey, screenshots taken:

North America 4,318
Asia 2,704
Africa 2,082
South America 1,869
Europe 1,393
Oceania 1,339
Caribbean 657
Middle East 532
Antarctica 127

By far the most in North America since most of the content is there, I counted

USA 259 PG Areas
Europe 54 PG Areas
Canada 11 PG Areas
Japan 6 PG Areas
Australia 6 PG Areas

I could be off a few for the USA and Europe but you get the idea

Most legs were in the USA (45) followed by Russia (24), Canada and China (15), Indonesia (14), Brazil, Australia and Argentina (12) and India (10).

I couldn’t resist flying yesterday so went through all 32 landing challenges, fun to see all the special airports again while landing in different planes. Apart from the Dreamliner, what a horrible thing to fly! It has a mind of its own constantly fighting my inputs.

Bush flights are next, those should be easy to navigate after this tour. And I still want to visit the French Southern and Antarctic Lands. FS2020 has no airports there (there are 4) and its far away from everything (3,300 km from Madagascar, 4,000 km from Australia) However it looks quite good on Bing maps with some nice glaciers. The unknown is calling.

3 Likes

Bonus leg, Grand Terre, French Southern and Antarctic Lands to Heard Island and McDonald Islands

DAY07_21.PLN (3.3 KB)

Visiting Grand Terre of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands. Part of Archipel Kerguelen also known as the Desolation Islands. Grande Terre is the main island, 6,675 km2 (2,577 sq mi) in area, about three quarters of the size of Corsica.

There are no airports here, no routes pass over here. It is truly one of the most isolated places on Earth and no indigenous inhabitants. However Bing has pretty good coverage of this territory. Likely thanks to France maintaining a permanent presence on the island, consisting of 45 to 100 soldiers, scientists, engineers, and researchers.

I set out a route for the ICON A5, brought in by ship from Madagascar :wink: (Unfortunately I can’t figure out how to let you start in the water, flight plan starts airborne)

07-21 Port-aux-Français 49°21’07.7"S 70°13’10.8"E
07-21 Mont Ross 49°34’39.99"S 69°30’45.68"E
07-21 Baie de la Table 49°30’9.70"S 69°13’14.17"E
07-21 Glacier Ampere 49°21’58.61"S 69°10’11.88"E
07-21 Baie Laissez-Porter 49°2’52.79"S 69°1’32.78"E
07-21 île du Roland 48°35’29.34"S 68°47’13.92"E
07-21 Île Foch 49°0’42.31"S 69°15’53.45"E
07-21 Port-aux-Français 49°21’7.68"S 70°13’35.24"E
07-21 Heard Island and McDonald Islands 53°7’52.58"S 73°40’27.35"E

I didn’t use live weather for this trip as it covers the entire island in snow at this time of year. So it’s a rare snow free late July with few clouds preset. I left a bit before 9 AM local time.

Île Haute

Pyramide de Branca (2,450ft)

Mont Ross (6,070ft) highest point in the Kerguelen Islands

(Bit of a mess in game)

Bay of The Table (Baie de la Table)

Glacier Ampere

Glacier Aggasiz

Baie Laissez-Porter

Mont du Theodolite (2,474ft)

Lac Valerie

Mont Lacroix (2,418ft)

île du Roland, one of the smaller islands just north of Grand Terre

île du Roland with Île de Croy behind

Mont Muraille (1,493ft)

Île Foch

Détroit de Tucker below, Mont Sinai (2.274ft) and Baie de la Marne ahead

Baie de la Marne with Mont de l’Hemicycle (1,378ft)

Baie du Hillsborough

Mont Pierre Lejay (2,943ft)

Back at the start, Port-aux-Français, the capital settlement of the Kerguelen Islands

No idea why the game places windmills there. That shack at the bottom of the windmill on the right is labeled B9 on Bing maps, no trace of any windmills.

Quick stop in the bay to top up the fuel before heading to Heard Island

Leaving Grand Terre behind at Pointe des Calcedoines

The Icon A5 doesn’t have autopilot. I used time acceleration to span the distance (over 2 hour flight) instead of continually correcting course. Once the A5 drifts off a little it doesn’t take long until it starts doing circles.

At first I thought I flew all the way here in vain, McDonald Island and the north-west part of Heard Island (Mount Dixon) don’t have any good data. Luckily the center and south-west do have aerial data to enjoy.

Mawson Peak (9,006ft) on Heard Island

Active volcanic summit of the Big Ben massif on Heard Island

1964 expedition to Mawson Peak, Australia’s highest mountain

Big Ben erupting on Heard Island in 2016

Circling around Big Ben, Allison Glacier

Gotley Glacier

Fiftyone Glacier

Winston Glacier

Stephenson Glacier, descending to land near Stephenson Lagoon

Landed in the lake next to Stephenson Lagoon, the edge of the aerial data

Heard Island

Some joker put a McDonald’s at Mawson Peak. McDonald Island is 60km to the west though… Interesting island, one huge icy volcano with glaciers coming off all around. Over 2,100 nautical miles from mainland Australia.

Fun flight, what other gems are hidden around the world :smiley:

4 Likes

So weird that Fort Worth has photogrammetry but not Dallas! But Fort Worth is still pretty cool, I remember numerous school field trips to the Museum of Science and History (including the Noble Planetarium and Omni Theater) as well as one each to Casa Mañana, the Amon Carter art museum, and the zoo.

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I guess it’s just whatever they could get their hands on. There are PG areas of rural towns while the capital of for example NY does not have PG data. I’m guessing Washington DC is omitted due to flying restrictions, yet Richmond has no PG data either.

I hope we get PG data for all the capitals in the world and major cities over time. Especially older cities in India, Iran, Myanmar, Tibet, most of ancient Asia would look spectacular. It’s good to still have tons to look forward to!

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Thank you for sharing this beautiful and educational journey with us!

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Amazing! What a trip. And peaceful written. Really great! Congrats!

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This is a gem! Thank you for posting it. It really should be stickied at the top.

Thanks! I often use the Search this topic function to check if I’ve already been somewhere. It’s getting harder to find new places to fly to :slight_smile:

This tour has done an outstanding job of hitting the high points, But you could go around again, take different routes between those high points, and you wouldn’t repeat yourself as often as you think. It’s a big world, you’ve covered more of it than I’m ever likely to, and you’ve only scratched the surface. Just think of all the spots you missed due to bad weather or darkness.

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I’m not quite ready for this to fall off the page.

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Sort on nr of views and it’s on top of the page :wink:

Thanks all so much for reading!

I’m looking out for NASA to discover another planet to explore :grinning:

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You got your wish today. :slightly_smiling_face:

2 Likes

This is incredible. Thank you so much for all your hard work putting this together. Just started this trip, looking forward to many many months of sheer joy of discovering all these places.

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Take your time and have fun!

I took the trip early in the lifespan of FS2020, many places have been updated since then and many other things have improved. At the start there was no snow yet, no lightning, no rain on the windows and landing / taking off in cross winds was a lot more difficult.

The first USA update and Japan update are part of the trip. I added some comparison shots after the UK and first Europe update. The rest of the updates are left up to spot the differences yourself :slight_smile:

Keep the internet handy for when you spot something interesting. Discovering new places and traditions you’ve never heard off is the best about using this game to explore the world!

3 Likes

Really nice. what an effort you put in!
How did your PG of Amsterdam look so nice?

Thanks :slight_smile:

I usually crank up the detail for these shots with the game running at 10 fps and pause to wait until everything is fully resolved/downloaded. Then it’s carefully pointing the camera to remove most of the ‘errors’ out of view.

And a bit of luck with the weather helps! Olympiakade a year ago

Always keep a distance and avoid places with glaring errors (Zuid WTC)

The amount of detail is already amazing in PG data, Can you tell what city this is part of: