[IFA] Lord Of The Wings Over New Zealand (finished)

We’ve decided to expand the tour stuff for a bit of variety. We’re flying tours in turns - one day a leg from this tour, another day from a different tour.

The new tour Lord Of The Wings explores the locations on New Zealand which were used for various scenes of the “Lord Of The Rings” films. Hobbiton and Lothlorien, Minas Tirith and Mount Doom, Isengart and all the other fantastic sceneries can be explored in MSFS. And those who know the films inside out might even be able to recognize some of these spots, despite the fact that CGI did play a big role in the films.

I’ll also give a bit of information about each of the locations, as far as I can gather it from sources and my own memories.

Here’s your checklist with recommendations & requirements

  1. PLEASE DO READ about the tour: Lord Of The Wings over New Zealand (finished) – IceFireAir
  2. For various reasons we’re currently using FS2020 - you have to have this as well if you want to fly along
  3. Join the Discord server to get the latest information and notifications when a leg starts and to talk to us.
  4. If you’re unsure whether this tour is for you, watch a leg on Twitch while we stream.

Youtube playlists will be added later.

As usual: This is a hop-on hop-off tour, so you can join and leave at any time, even during flight. Easy as pie.

First leg’s done. Hobbiton, Mount Doom, Gates of Mordor, stuff like that - sometimes it’s actually possbile to sort of recognize the area. The Shire works best because of the awesome landscape.

Tonights Take Off will be from Wilmington Int. NZWN at 8 pm zulu in FS2020
Preferred Aircraft: Single Turboprop
I’ll be in my shiny new Kodiak 100, but I’ll fly slow if we have Piston lovers

Why are you flying in 2020?

because 2024 still isn’t mature enough that i would consider using it, and my favourite plane still is not supported properly and the performance is worse than 2020, at least on my machine despite the graphics not being better. but the day will inevitably come where i will switch. :slight_smile:

tonights leg will start at 8 pm zulu as usual, and the take off airport will be Takaka (NZTK).
sim still is FS2020, keep that in mind.
preferred plane is single engine piston or turboprop, i’ll use my kodiak as usual but will be able to fly slower if you prefer smaller planes.
please join on discord IceFireAir in the voice channel Tours or listen in on twitch Twitch once the leg starts.

Lately people have asked me quite often why I’m not doing these tours in FS2024. I’ve tried to compile an answer here so I don’t have to repeat myself again and again.

tonights leg Feb 13th 2025

time: 8 pm zulu as usual
takeoff: Franz Josef (NZFJ)
sim: FS 2020
aircraft: single engine piston or turboprop

please join on discord IceFireAir in the voice channel Tours or listen in on Twitch a couple of minutes before the leg starts.

Today, the Lord Of The Wings has ended. Thanks all who took interest and flew along. New Zealand is a beautiful place, even in the simulator, and this sure as heck wasn’t the last tour in this part of the world.

Here’s the playlist of all legs of this tour:

There’s a follow-up tour coming up very soon, I’ll open a different thread for it here on the forums.

So long - blue skies to all of you!