Flying Round The World in a C208 - Monty's Trip

Leg 4 - CYHZ Halifax, intermediate stop at Sable Island, and then on to LFVP Saint Pierre - 395nm - Air Time - 2.6

C-CBLB got a few firsts out of the way this leg. She stretched her legs out over the Atlantic for the first time. She landed off airport for the first time, and she landed in a (technically) different country for the first time, with Saint Pierre being a French overseas collectivity.

The leg started with a departure out of CYHZ Halifax. Today, as always, was a real life weather day, with high winds, and scattered cloud. It was also a real life time leg! I went due south, admittedly completely forgetting to pass over downtown Halifax I had a very strong crosswind from the west at about 50kts and I got C-CBLB out over the ocean for the first time. I think FS2020 really hit the mark with the churning waves and white caps on the ocean. Looked awesome from 3000’! I got to Sable Island, a thin, long island way off the southern coast of Nova Scotia, which is a migratory bird reserve, national park, and weather station among other interesting things. There is no air strip modeled, so I picked a spot, circled around and landed into the wind. First time C-CBLB was off pavement! Took a few photo’s and read up on the history of the island and then took off and headed east over the the rest of island. From there I was treated to a 49kt tailwind and a sunset (real-time, not cheating like leg 3) all the way to LFVP Saint Pierre. I ended up having to shoot the RNAV Rwy26 as it was night time and forecasting OVC at 900’, but the OVC layer ended up being better than that in sim, and I was visual after crossing the FAF. Highlight of Leg 4 had to be Sable Island and the sunset into LFVP Saint Pierre.

Departing CYHZ Halifax

Seeing the Atlantic for the first time in FS2020

Leaving the Nova Scotia shoreline

Windy, churned up Atlantic Ocean

Sable Island

East Sable Island

Sunset 50 miles SW of Saint Pierre

Sunset 50 miles SW of Saint Pierre

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@OldMonty3 Born in Northern Ontario myself, but also connected to Quebec and Montreal is where my heart lies.

I’ve learned a lot about icing from MSFS, actually, not as a substitute for real aviation education but as an inspiration for digging into it more. It’s fascinating stuff. And yeah, short answer, the 172 cannot fly in icing conditions, period. I did it anyway but I am at least educated now that I’m doing so only in the fantasy land of MSFS and I would never intentionally do it IRL.

The 208 is definitely a great choice for a global trip. It can even handle most of the Himalayas in Nepal, India and Tibet, though you might have a few precarious moments depending on weather. And as for the Pacific, I look forward to seeing what decisions you make once you get there. It’s thanks to MSFS that I have an appreciation for how vast that stretch of our globe known as the Pacific really is.

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@G280driver I am a huge fan of following sim pilots who have real life pilot experience. Looking forward to seeing your journey unfold!

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If you’re looking for tips on Africa check out my trip from Cape Town to Scotland. Would really recommend starting a discord, It’s so nice to have company on the longer legs. Good luck and look forward to hearing about your adventure :slight_smile:

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Quebec is a wonderful place :smile:

Absolutely! I mean it is great that it is actually modeled in FS2020, and that you have to respect it. I love that you can actually see it build up! But you would go through a little wish up at -40c and have full icing coverage haha. Not very realistic. It looks like update 3 they toned it down a bit, but I have been mostly VFR.

Pacific is a longggggg way away, but I don’t think there is anyway my Caravan is making that Easter Island gap :frowning:

Awesome @Joburgal I will take a look now at it now! Currently flying my 5th leg over Newfoundland, with a strange wispy broken layer at 1000’…

A few have us have started a discord channel! Please feel free to join! https://discord.gg/pGz7Qtsr

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Leg 5 - LFVP Saint Pierre to CYQX Gander - 262nm - Air Time - 1.7

I set the sim time to 7am local and departed out off a gusty rwy26 LFVP Saint Pierre. C-CBLB and I were quickly back into Canada, hitting the Newfoundland coast for the first time at Point au Gaul and Lord’s Cove. We enjoyed a thin BKN type layer like something out of the Misty Mountains in Lord of the Rings. It made for some interesting visuals, and luckily I still got to take in the scenery across the southern shoreline of Newfoundland.

One thing I got to see for the first time on this leg was the Henrik Nielsen’s Global AI Ship Traffic mod. It worked a treat, and got to see some small boats and yachts off the different shorelines of Newfoundland. I’m excited to see how this mod runs when I get to busy shipping lanes.

My pre-flight plan was to fly over St. John’s, the capital of Newfoundland, but CYYT was showing BKN003. I decided to head over anyway just in case, and by the time I got to Conception Bay, it had mostly broken up. I flew over downtown and decided to loop back to get a better perspective on the city and the hills over looking it. IRL I visited Signal Hill when I was younger, and didn’t remember how tall it stood over the city! I was also going to head over to Cape Spear, the eastern most point of Canada, but it was covered in fog.

After snapping some pics I turned back north towards CYQX Gander and enjoyed the Newfoundland landscape under grey OVC sky’s. CBLB had to deal with a 57kt direct left to right cross wind, but flew this portion of the leg beautifully!

Made it Gander with no issues, and was relieved that despite flying IFR this leg, it was mainly a grey VFR day.

Right now I haven’t looked at my next leg, or what highlights there are north of Gander (any tips?), but the overall plan is to continue north towards Iqaluit, where I will eventually make the crossing to Greenland.

Another great day of FS2020 flying…

Monty

Departing LFVP Saint Pierre

First sight of Newfoundland

Point au Gaul

Lord’s Cove

Southern Newfoundland

Global Ship AI

St. John’s

Signal Hill and St. John’s

Signal Hill and St. John’s

Signal Hill

Eastern Newfoundland

CYQX Gander

Leg 5

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Tried to get Leg 6 in from CYQX Gander to Gros Morne National Park CYBX but unfortunately the weather just wasn’t cooperating. Forecast was showing MXD icing between 4000-6000’ over Newfoundland, so I thought I would try staying under it.

No icing on the ground, but at 1000’AGL I went into some light cloud and got severe icing. I had to descend and head back to Gander right away.

With a hard rule of my trip being FS2020 real weather no matter what, this will happen, and it was a good exercise in pilot decision making. With that being said, In real life I would never come close to attempting this flight.

I do find the icing model in FS2020 very over the top. I ran developer mode just in case I was in a really bad position. At 200’AGL on approach, with no visible moisture, cloud, etc… i was gaining about 5% of ice per second. Anyone else have the same findings? Anyone know a way to modify it, or any mods out there?

Departing Gander Rwy 03 - Split second before hitting icing.

HEADING BACK IMMEDIATELY :rofl:

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Leg 6 - CYQX Gander to CYBX Lourdes de Blanc Sablon - 239nm - Air Time - 1.8

After a few days grounded, I finally got some VFR conditions. Fired up C-CBLB, lined up on Rwy 31 and departed out of CYQX Gander to a sunny day with FEW clouds.

Today’s goal was to head west to Gros Morne National Park, and more specifically the Western Brook Pond. It is one of the most beautiful places in Canada.

SKC, everything looking great, and then 10 miles out from Gros Morne… low OVC layer… F!@#

I skimmed the clouds looking for something, hoping for a hole, and got one.

Now… I would NEVER do this in real life, but I flew all the way here, so I went into that hole! Got underneath the layer… kind of lol… maybe “in” the layer is the right term. With a little help with synthetic vision I flew the Western Brook Pond, but unfortunately I didn’t get to see much Again, trying this in real life, no way! But the great thing about a sim, is that it’s a sim.

Climbed back out through the OVC layer at VX and then turned north to CYBX Lourdes. Unfortunately much of the northern west coast of Newfoundland was covered by the same OVC layer. It cleared up as I was over the water. A simple VFR circuit entry landing onto Rwy 05 was all I needed to finish Newfoundland and Leg 6.(edited)

A bit of a disappointing day. I was really hoping to see Gros Morne, but sticking to real weather is a priority, and the rest of the leg was VFR.

Back into Quebec now, but only for a night. Labrador and Nunavut coming up!

Leg 6

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Leg 7 - CYBX Lourdes de Blanc Sablon to CCD4 Postville - 229nm - Air Time - 1.7

After a few days of low IFR over Labrador, C-CBLB and I were back up and running for Leg 7. I filled her up with 1200lbs of Jet A and we departed out of CYBX Lourdes Rwy 23.

It was a bit of a dreary OVC day, but low winds. I filed IFR as the landscape is pretty barren, and a VATSIM controller was online, so I got to practice IFR procedures/radio. This was the first time C-CBLB and I got into Labrador, a very interesting part of Canada which I didn’t actually know much about. Labrador - Wikipedia.

Luckily, direct routing took us right over what I wanted to see most on this leg, the Akami−Uapishkᵁ−KakKasuak−Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve. Akami-Uapishkᵁ-KakKasuak-Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve

This park is relatively new in Canada, and I literally didn’t know about it until I started planning this virtual leg. As avid back-country canoers, hikers, and campers, I think my wife and I might have to get out to see this in real life one day! Akami-Uapishkᵁ-KakKasuak-Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve

The discoveries I’ve made about my own country from just researching each leg is making me fall in love with the trip more and more.

When I arrived over the park, there were low clouds…… F!@#… a repeat of the last leg and Gros Morne!:frowning: Luckily, I broke through in a matter of seconds and was treated to incredible views of the mountain range. Some community members have encouraged me to customize the weather so that I don’t miss out on what I want to see. Respectfully, I think sticking to real weather is what makes these types of moment’s truly special. I didn’t get Gros Morne, but I got to see this amazing national park. It all balances out.

After the park it was SKC, and I landed in CCD4 Postville with no drama.

As it was a very simple leg, it was great having Gander VATSIM online and having the chatter of the oceanic heavy’s going on overhead. The controller told me that in his 29 years of real and sim ATC of the area, he has never had a plane contact him for CCD4 Postville!

It looks like the next leg will be a bit longer, as I continue north to CYLU Kangiqsualujjuaq (Georges River) Airport.

Pushing off CYBX Lourdes

Right turn out, 6000’ northbound CYBX Rwy 23

Akami−Uapishkᵁ−KakKasuak−Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve

Akami-Uapishkᵁ-KakKasuak-Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve

Akami-Uapishkᵁ-KakKasuak-Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve

Lake Melville

CCD4 Postville

Leg 7 CYBX Lourdes to CCD4 Postville

Ah man, you’re bringing back memories now. Flown into Postville many times. The coast of Labrador is a beautiful place, and hostile and forgiving. Further north past Nain, CYDP the terrain rises up and you’ll get fjords.

Enjoy

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Canadian-born here myself (dual US citizen, live in US now), so you’re giving me nostalgic feelings too. I’ve been dreaming about a real life trip to the Canadian Arctic for years.

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So would my Gander controller be wrong in saying nobody has contacted him for that aerodrome? I was surprised as it has the RNAV approaches, so thought it would be busy enough…

I used to go there in real life. Air Borealis services Postville with a Twin Otter. I’m guessing you’re the first Vatsim guy to go in there.

Leg 8 - CCD4 Postville to CYFB Iqaluit - 598nm - Air Time - 4.8

A very nice day for a long haul! I wasn’t really planning on doing this long of a leg today, (I was going to go to CYLU Kangiqsualujjuaq (Georges River) Airport) but the weather was nice, and my real life job was slow, so I had the sim going in the background while I worked (COVID work life haha).

I had to be diligent with flight planning today. Due to a strong headwind from the NW, we were pretty close to not having the legal day VFR fuel requirements on board. After doing all the calculations we only had about 100lbs of extra, after the PIC contingency and extra 30 mins.

C-CBLB and I departed out of CCD4 Postville in real time at 11am, and climbed right up to 8000’ under a blue SKC day. The forecast showed some BKN layers, but we never really got anything more than SCT.

Today’s en route scenery was provided by the Kuururjuaq National Park https://www.nunavikparks.ca/en/parks/Kuururjuaq, and the Torngat Mountains National Park Torngat Mountains National Park. These parks are filled with huge mountains, valleys, rivers, and fjords, and are just incredible. Another area of this country that I didn’t know about until planning these legs! Luckily, my routing to Iqaluit took me right over them, and they were absolutely gorgeous!

With the fuel situation, and FS2020 not always being super accurate with winds, I had to actually focus on my fuel checks at each waypoint. I find when sim flying, I do my fuel planning, and then get lazy and just kind of gross check the ETE vs what I’m burning. Today was nice practice on making more accurate calculations and keeping detailed checks.

After the parks we crossed the Hudson Strait, and hit Nunavut for the first time. I am planning on CYFB Iqaluit being my only visit in Nunavut, and leaving Canada for Greenland for my Leg 9.

As I am flying on Vatsim, I will have to read up on procedures for ocean crossings. Should be fun!

A nice flying day.

Departing CDD4 Postville

(Real Life) Kuururjuaq National Park, photo cred - Explore Magazine

(Real Life) Torngat Mountains National Park, photo cred - Parks Canada

Kuururjuaq National Park

Kuururjuaq National Park

Torngat Mountains National Park

Torngat Mountains National Park

CYFB Iqaluit

Leg 8

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Wow, wow, wow. You will certainly win the screen shot competition for the next 3 years in this way. I am still amazed by everything that msfs has to offer. Your pictures reconfirm this. Are you running vanilla, or with certain weather add-ons?
Thanks for your effort to share this beautiful tour with us!

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I see your last picture of Lukla. That is so detailed and realistic. I once came down right over the ridge where the sun is in your picture. That was the last leg of an unforgettable Himalaya expedition. Brings back fond memories :blue_heart:

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Wow, I can only dream of going there in real life. This is mostly vanilla MSFS. I’ve been using the tree lod mod a little, but not really noticed much change with that. I also use the working title g3000 mod and sometimes the TBM 930 performance mod. Other than that it is stock.

Been flying the crj a bit this week so not done another leg of my trip for a while. Will get back in the cockpit at the weekend I think!

One can really see that you are a photographer. These shots are amazing for their composition and lighting. Does msfs create the depth of field automatically?

Thank you! There is a depth of field option - auto sets the focus at an object in the centre of the frame, and manual enables you to choose the focal point distance. It’s a bit fiddly but once you get the hang of it you can get some good shots

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