That is a bit strange that those are all from the same production run. Makes you wonder a bit.
You’re welcome. Always enjoy your flight stories and the details that go into them.
No problem. Thank you for watching. I like it cause it is a C-46 but there’s definitely some issues there. Hoping they get sorted out at some point.
So, here’s what happened…
Last weekend, I noticed the waypoint “ZZYZX” on my flightplan. It’s on airway Q88 between LAKRR and HAKMAN, an entry fix on the ANJLL 4 RNAV arrival to Los Angeles (KLAX). My curiosity was piqued: many waypoint names have local import, and this combination of letters looked intentional. So, I shot a quick text to Pee-Wee, figuring that she’d pick up the scent and run.
Pee-Wee says: He knows me pretty well…but I’m not sure about the bloodhound reference. 
And that’s how it happened that we toured the Nevada-California border southwest of Las Vegas. (Yes, this is the second tour we’ve done around Las Vegas, but we love the American West, and there’s plenty of fascinating places left to discover!)
We started at Nellis Air Force Base (KLSV) in Las Vegas’s northeast suburbs and flew a 250-nautical-mile (460-kilometer) serpentine route across the Mojave Desert to the Southern California Logistics Airport (KVCV)–formerly George Air Force Base–in Victorville, California.
The Luftwaffe’s first F-4F Phantom IIs were delivered in September 1973. Essentially simplified F-4Es with some German equipment, structural components, and license-built J79 engines, the German Phantoms weighed approximately 3,300 pounds (1,500 kilograms) less than their progenitors and lacked Sparrow missile capability.
Pee-Wee says: Eight of the Luftwaffe’s Phantoms were sent to the 35th Tactical Fighter Wing at George AFB, then the joint U.S. Air Force and Luftwaffe Phantom school. Those aircraft were eventually needed back home in Germany, so the Luftwaffe acquired ten new-build F-4Es as replacement trainers. 75-636 was the penultimate delivery and spent her entire operational life with the 20th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron at George and, from the early 1990s, Holloman AFB in New Mexico. She eventually became a maintenance trainer at Faßberg Air Base, Germany and was scrapped there sometime after 2007.
The German F-4Es were first painted in the Air Force’s Southeast Asia camouflage but later received standard low visibility grey with the West German tricolors atop their fins. The livery included in the DC Designs package represents 636 as she looked while stationed at Holloman.
Pee-Wee says: By the way, thanks to nickb007 for the wonderful rendition of Nellis, available at flightsim.to.
Anyway…let’s go flying! 
There’s A Fire: Wildfire
MSFS: 35.531 -114.891
Skyvector: 353152N1145329W
In the excellent screen adaptation of Michael Crichton’s novel The Andromeda Strain, the secret “Wildfire” biological research/weapons lab is located beneath a U.S. Department of Agriculture research station near “Flatrock,” a fictional township in the desert southeast of Las Vegas.
Pee-Wee says: Ever since Nag introduced me to the book and movie, I’d wondered about the lab’s real location. Thankfully, in the movie we briefly see Wildfire’s location overlaid onto a WAC or Sectional Chart, with a general aviation airport labelled “Searchlight” clearly visible. Somebody smash the “That Was Easy” button!
Searchlight was founded shortly after gold was discovered here in 1897 by George Colton, whose Duplex Mine became the second most productive in the area. In the good years between 1902 and 1913, Searchlight’s mines quarried approximately 247,000 ounces (7,000,000 grams) of gold ore worth $225 million (€208 million) today.
Pee-Wee says: The Quartet Mine operated a narrow-gauge railroad running east to the Colorado River, but for many years most of the town’s gold output travelled in wagons to the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway’s depot across the California border at Manvel (later renamed Barnwell). To aid commerce (and keep a budding competitor out), the AT&SF competed its 23-mile (37-kilometer) Barnwell & Searchlight Railway in 1907…just in time for the bottom to fall out of the local mining industry. The town and railroad limped along a few more years, but in 1923 a flood washed out the B&S’s tracks and service ended for good.
Searchlight was home to several famous Americans: former Speaker of the House Harry Reid was born here, while famed test pilot and three-time Mackay Trophy recipient John Macready and fighter pilot Lieutenant William Nellis, for whom Nellis AFB is named, both lived here until joining the USAAF during World War 2.
There Goes the Neighborhood: Jean and the Southern Nevada Supplemental Airport
MSFS: 35.688 -115.359
Skyvector: 354120N1152135W
Las Vegas’s Harry Reid International Airport (KLAS) needs serious help. I’ve personally spent many hours waiting at nearby airports during a “Vegas ground stop” because the winds were blowing from the east or there was a cloud over the airport. The problem comes down to the airport’s terribly inefficient runway arrangement, but with high terrain nearby and the city encroaching from every direction, there’s no fixing it.
Pee-Wee says: Sounds like it’s time for a new airport. 
The Clark County Department of Aviation reached the same conclusion, and development of the Southern Nevada Supplemental Airport (formerly the Ivanpah Valley Airport) is already underway. Designed with two widely spaced parallel runways and 150 gates, the airport is scheduled to open in 2037, seven years after Reid is expected to reach its maximum passenger capacity.
The Jean Airport Sport Aviation Center is currently owned and operated by Clark County and maintained by staff from nearby Henderson Executive Airport. As the name suggests, most of the airport’s operations involve skydiving or aerobatics (the field hosted the 15th FAI World Advanced Aerobatic Championship in November 2023). Military contractor Blue Sky Training apparently uses the field, too, and its former BAe Strikemaster N2146J sits seemingly abandoned on the north ramp.
Pee-Wee says: In the screenshot, I marked the proposed Runway 18L’s extended centerline with a black dashed line. Aircraft landing at SNSA would pass about 500 feet above Jean’s traffic pattern. The Clark County Department of Aviation’s FAQ asks how Jean Airport will be impacted by its new neighbor. The official answer is: “The impacts SNSA would have on Jean Airport have not currently been determined.” That sounds bad, if you ask me. If you’re planning to visit Jean Airport, either in MSFS or real life, you probably should sooner rather than later! 
Greenbird and Green Energy: Ivanpah Lake
MSFS: 35.554 -115.399
Skyvector: 353318N1152358W
Ivanpah Lake is a 12-mile (19-kilometer) long closed basin famed for its nearly perfect land sailing conditions. The Bureau of Land Management maintains the Ivanpah Windsailing Special Recreation Management Area here.
Pee-Wee says: On 26 March 2009, Greenbird established a new world record for wind-powered land vehicles here, reaching 126.1 mph (202.9 kph) on a closed course (marked in red). British-born engineer Richard Jenkins designed Greenbird with a solid sail more reminiscent of an airplane’s wing than a traditional fabric sail.
The Ivanpah Solar Power Facility consists of three towered boilers and their associated reflector fields. Mirrors in the reflector fields rotate and tilt automatically to direct the Sun’s light onto the boilers, where the intense heat converts water to steam for driving specially-designed turbines. In 2020, Ivanpah produced approximately 860,000 MWh of electricity, more than 91% of its design capacity.
Pee-Wee says: There are some drawbacks to Ivanpah’s design. Temperatures inside the beams of solar energy can reach 1,000° Fahrenheit (538° Celsius), more than enough to kill or seriously burn passing birds. The most recent Federal study puts the number killed daily at about sixteen.
All that concentrated light also makes the boilers glow with sufficient intensity to cause permanent blindness to observers. Pilots and passengers should heed the warning printed on the Las Vegas Sectional Chart! 
Scarecrow’s School of Driving: Dumont Dunes
MSFS: 35.676580 -116.237243
Skyvector: 354036N1161414W
In May 2012, while Curiosity was still enroute to Mars, the men and women that would pilot the rover were still determining its capabilities and, more importantly, its limitations. To assist their learning they travelled to the Bureau of Land Management’s Dumont Dunes Off-Highway Vehicle driving area north of Baker, California with a full-scale, stripped-down replica of Curiosity. Since it lacked a “brain,” the team named the replica Scarecrow.
Pee-Wee says: If you don’t get the reference or haven’t seen The Wizard of Oz, there’s nothing we can do for you. 
Scarecrow survives today at the JPL’s laboratory near Pasadena, ready at a moment’s notice to help solve any problems that may arise with its much smarter brother.
Next time we’re bringing the Zenith out here. I saw a few spots screaming out for a STOL plane! 
The Last Word in Scams: Zzyzx
MSFS: 35.1432 -116.1041
Skyvector: 350835N1160615W
Pee-Wee says: I learned two new words while researching this next location. The first, “nostrum,” is defined by Merrian-Webster as “a medicine of secret composition recommended by its preparer but usually without scientific proof of its effectiveness.” The second, “huckster,” is “one who sells or advertises something in an aggressive, dishonest, or annoying way.” That takes us to the fascinating story of “Doctor” Springer and his Resort!
Curtiss Springer, a medical doctor and Methodist minister, was neither a doctor nor a minister, an inconvenience that didn’t prevent him from travelling the United States espousing the health benefits of “clean living” and his “miracle cures.”
Pee-Wee says: “A Quack and His Nostrums” is how the American Medical Association referred to him. 
Having been outed by the AMA, Springer faded into retirement in Los Angeles. Not content to sit around, he discovered the abandoned Army post and Tonopah & Tidewater Railroad station on the western shore of Soda Lake south of Baker in 1944 and immediately recognized the site’s potential. Springer got to work and, with help from vagrants recruited from the streets of Los Angeles, the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Resort soon rose from the desert sands. It included a two-story castle, dining hall, library, dormitories, and a bath house. Springer requested donations from his guests, but never turned anyone away.
Pee-Wee says: Springer created the name so that his resort would be “the last word in health.” It’s pronounced “ZEYE-zix.” (The last word in the Oxford English Dictionary is “Zyzzyva,” a type of weevil, while Meriam-Webster ends with tiny Australian rodents called “Zyzomys.” Were “zzyzx” included in those dictionaries, it actually would be their last words!)
Springer’s resort survived thirty years before the powers that be intervened. To occupy the land back in 1944, Springer and his wife filed mining claims covering more than 12,000 acres (4,850 hectares) around Soda Lake. In 1974 the Bureau of Land Management determined that Springer was not actually mining the land and was therefore illegally squatting there. After some legal wrangling and several months in prison, Springer forfeited the land and all its structures. Two years later the BLM entered into an agreement with California State University, Fullerton to occupy and maintain the land. The school’s Desert Studies Center remains active today.
Only the parking lot and trail around Lake Tuendae are open to the public. Visitors are asked to remain away from the Desert Studies Center’s facilities south of the lake.
Pee-Wee says: Remember the waypoint ZZYZX that started this whole tour? Oddly enough, it’s located about 70 nautical miles (130 kilometers) northeast of Zzyzx. If you’re flying the ANJLL 4 RNAV arrival, the old resort lies north of the track, between SHTNR and SMASH.
From Gold Mines to Waveguides: Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex
MSFS: 35.359 -116.849
Skyvector: 352134N1165059W
(We’re not certain, but to see this site in MSFS, you’ll probably need PuffinFlight’s We Love VFR - Region 2 available at www.flightsim.to.)
NASA’s Deep Space Communications Network consists of three separate complexes: the Complejo de Comunicaciones de Espacio Profundo near Madrid, the Tidbinbilla Deep Space Tracking Station near Canberra, and the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex north of Barstow. The first station at Goldstone–Deep Space Station 11 “Pioneer”–was built by the Army’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1958, just in time to support Pioneer 3’s failed mission to the Moon. Goldstone and the JPL were both transferred to the newly created NASA the same month.
The Army and NACA chose the remote desert near the Goldstone abandoned gold mining settlement because of its suitable terrain and distance from other terrestrial microwave radiation sources. (Pee-Wee says: Locating the facility inside the boundaries of the Fort Irwin National Training Center helps keep unwelcome visitors out, too 
). The site consists of seven separate stations, including the decommissioned “Pioneer” station and the huge “Mars” station that received Neil Armstrong’s famous message about small steps and giant leaps.
Pee-Wee says: And DSS-12, “Echo,” constructed in 1959 to support Project Echo, NASA’s experiments with “passive telecommunications satellites,” an idea first proposed by science fiction author Sir Arthur Clarke. NASA lofted two massive mylar balloons (Echo 1A and 2) into geocentric orbits over the United States, then bounced radio signals transmitted by DSS-12 off the balloons to a receiver at Bell Labs in Holmdel, New Jersey. The system worked wonderfully and paved the way for modern telecommunications satellites. Echo 1A and 2 fell back to Earth in 1968 and 1969, and DSS-12’s antenna was transferred to the “Venus” site where it is currently used for research and development. The original “Echo” site serves as Goldstone’s administrative center.
(“Blimps in space?” Yay! 
)
Pee-Wee says: Here’s something else I learned today. Because of its trajectory, Voyager 2 isn’t “visible” from Earth’s northern hemisphere, which means all communications with that probe are accomplished through the Tidbinbilla station in Australia.
Toxic Town: Hinkley, California
MSFS: 34.903 -117.158
Skyvector: 345412N1170932W
Pee-Wee says: Pay attention to this next paragraph. There will be a quiz. (Not really, but pay attention anyway. )
Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) maintains thousands of miles of natural gas pipeline serving approximately 4.2 million customers within California. Eight compressor stations maintain system pressure, from Topock on California’s southeastern border to Tionesta in the shadow of Mt. Shasta. The natural gas warms during compression and is subsequently directed into air/water heat exchangers to cool before being reintroduced into the pipeline. For many years, PG&E stored the cooling water in unlined ponds near the stations, and some seeped into the aquifer beneath. Unfortunately, PG&E added potentially toxic anti-rusting agents to the water, a fact never disclosed to local officials.
One of the pumping stations lies in Hinkley, California. Chemical dumping occurred there between 1952 and 1966.
Pee-Wee says: The award-winning movie Erin Brockovich tells the story of the eponymous clerk who helps represent the residents of Hinkley in a legal battle against PG&E, and the record-setting $333 million settlement ($634 million today) awarded in 1996. In researching this site, I delved further into the story and found that, like many “feel good stories,” there’s more to be told, including stories of corporate and scientific malficience and outright corruption. You can read about it here.
Pee-Wee says: Hinkley is dying. The town is not directly surveyed by the Census Bureau, but the estimated population today is 600, down from 1,700 in 2010. Almost no houses have been built here since the contamination became public, and the only public school was shuttered in 2013. The compressor station remains in operation.
That’s ten screenshots, and there’s still two sites left. I guess it’s time for Part Two!
Pee-Wee says: Please standby… 
Pee-Wee says: Welcome back, Friends! The desert between Victorville and Edwards Air Force Base is sprinkled with current and former government installations that border on the mysterious, and we’ll finish today’s tour by peeking at two of them. Enjoy!
When the Message Absolutely Must Get Through: Hawes Auxiliary Army Air Field #1
MSFS: 34.923030 -117.375491
Skyvector: 345523N1172232W
Approximately 12.5 miles (20 kilometers) west of Hinkley on the south side of State Route 58 we found the abandoned Hawes Auxiliary Army Air Field #1, one of four airfields built in 1941 to support pilot training at nearby Victorville Army Flying School (later Army Air Field). Hawes had four runways: three arranged as an equilateral triangle with a fourth running medially from east to west.
After the war, Hawes lay abandoned until the Air Force returned in 1967 to construct one of two low-frequency transmitter stations for its Survivable Low Frequency Communications System (SLFCS). A 1,226-foot (373-meter) guyed tower, control bunker, and support facilities were constructed just south of the runway complex, and the Hawes Radio Relay Station went on the air on 1 June 1968. The SLFCS was designed to transmit Emergency Action Messages and other critical command and control messages to SAC bomber bases, ICBM launch control centers, and airborne bombers. The ability to relay messages to submerged ballistic missile submarines was added later.
Pee-Wee says: Hawes RRS was decommissioned in 1985, and the following year the tower was demolished (recorded news coverage of the event is available online). After a series of unfortunate events afterwards, the Air Force razed most of the remaining structures, including the subterranean bunker that housed the control center.
Pee-Wee says: I know you’re wondering how a common guyed transmission tower made of steel could be considered “survivable.” The simple answer is…it wasn’t. The “survivable” aspect of the SLFCS was twofold. Low Frequency (LF) and Very Low Frequency (VLF) signals below 60 kHz experience less degradation from nuclear detonations than those in the VHF and UHF ranges and were considered “survivalble.” Further, the SLFCS was only one channel between the National Command Authority and America’s nuclear forces, and worked in parallel with other hardened radio systems and airborne command posts. It was hoped that, when the shooting started, at least one of the channels would survive.
Nothing to See Here (Not Even With Radar): Lockheed-Martin’s Helendale RCS Range
MSFS: 34.822 -117.296
Skyvector: 344921N1171747W
Our next stop was Helendale Auxiliary Army Air Field #2 south of Hawes. Also built in 1941, Helendale reverted to civil use after the war, although it appears no facilities were ever constructed. Through a series of shadowy leases, Lockheed’s Skunk Works took control of the land around the airfield and constructed a radar cross section (RCS) range here in 1982, which was expanded to its current length in 1985. Known officially as the Helendale Avionics Facility, the RCS range is one of the most complex in the world and includes substantial underground portions and a hangar/bunker allowing for the concealment of test articles.
Pee-Wee says: An RCS range allows engineers to explore the “stealth” characteristics of new aircraft designs. The idea is pretty simple: mount the test article on a pole at one end of the range and point radars at it from the other end, then check the results, make any changes, rinse, and repeat.
The radar transmitters, testing and storage facilities, and dormitories are located (6) on the south end of the range. (7) This facility may look related, but it’s actually the Dutch Dairy, purveyors of fresh cow milk.
Love Him and Pet Him and Call Him George: Southern California Logistics Airport
MSFS: 34.596 -117.381
Skyvector: 343549N1172254W
On the eve of World War 2, civic leaders in the Victor Valley northeast of Los Angeles successfully lobbied the construction of a military airfield on 2,200 acres (890 hectares) of land near Victorville, and in 1941 construction of the Victorville Army Flying School began with the pouring of four 6,500-foot (1,980-meter) runways. Pilot and bombardier training began in February 1942 and continued throughout the war.
Reactivated and renamed in 1950, George Air Force Base remained a major training center for American and NATO flight crews throughout the Cold War but is remembered primarily as the Phantom and Wild Weasel “schoolhouse.” George fell victim to the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) cuts in 1992, but with Federal government assistance, transformed into today’s Southern California Logistics Airport.
) In this southeast-facing screenshot, you can see (1) an open field where scores of mothballed widebodies and other airliners should be parked, (2) the current Runway 3 and its closed parallel partner, now a taxiway used for storing aircraft, (3) the main ramp where hundreds of fighter jets once roosted between training flights, (4) the western portion of the former Runways 7 Left and Right, with a mix of stored 737s and 787s, (5) the remnants of two parallel southeast-northwest runways (likely 12 Left and Right), and (6) a Dr. Pepper/Snapple distribution center and warehouse. The open field west of (5) is now an Amazon distribution center.
After World War 2, Victorville was used by the Army’s Air Material Command to store mothballed combat aircraft, including more than 700 B-29 Superfortresses. Today, Commerical Aviation Services (ComAV) provides the same service to commercial airlines and other private companies.
Pee-Wee says: A careful review of satellite imagery here reveals some interesting aircraft, including a 707-320, DC-8-62, DC-8-63, and a few 727-200s and L-1011s. Many of Southwest Airlines’ retired 737-300s and Alaska’s MD-80s appear to be stored here, too, and through the nineteen-month grounding, SWA’s entire 737 Max 8 fleet was parked on the main ramp.
The Phantom’s long legs and maneuverability worked perfect for this tour, and her speed allowed us to visit all of our planned sites within the limited time we had available. She’s a keeper!
Pee-Wee says: Next time we’ll take another new (and much slower) member of our fleet for a spin. But to where?
You’ll just have to wait and see! Thanks for tuning in, everyone. We’ll be back later this month with the next installment.
Pee-Wee says: Bye for now! 
Hey, remember way back in July when you said we’d have our next post up by the end of the month?
Pee-Wee says: I was in the moment. 
Welcome back, fellow explorers! Today we’re heading into the North American interior to explore Lake Michigan and Central Wisconsin. We’ll see fourteen sites along a circuitous 320 nautical mile (592 kilometer) route, one of our densest Skytours yet. But don’t get comfortable: we’ll be back on the ground in less than an hour!
Pee-Wee says: That’s right! Our mount for this flight is iniBuild’s fantastic Lockheed T-33A jet trainer, probably (in my humble opinion) the nicest flying “tactical jet” currently available for MSFS. She’s stable but maneuverable, docile but fast, and with a full load of 807 gallons (3,054 liters) of Jet-A, she’s good for about 1 hour and 40 minutes at Sea Level with a 30-minute reserve. Not bad for a centrifugal turbojet from the 1950s!
One of the most recent updates to this software package adds an alternate flight model simulating the original T-33A with Allison J33 turbojet. We chose to use basic flight model, which simulates with decent accuracy the Canadian-built CT-133 Silver Star’s Rolls-Royce Nene turbojet. Users can switch between the two models using the iniManager tool.
Hold up. Warren Speed Shop?
Pee-Wee says: Beats me. Maybe it’s like REO Speedwagon.
Huh. Anyway, our route starts at Ludington on Lake Michigan’s eastern shore. We’ll first fly across the lake to Manitowoc then head inland to Lake Winnebago. From there, we’ll weave across the Eastern Ridges and Lowlands country to the Dells and overfly a few sites west of Madison before circling back east to Lake Geneva and Milwaukee. Total flight time should be about one hour with a total fuel burn of approximately 400 gallons. This is our first flight using the Silver Star, so we’ll top the tanks off in case our estimates are off.
Pee-Wee says: And it’ll be a steeplechase: 400 knots and 500 feet (152 meters) most of the way.
Red Bird weighs 14,226 pounds at the ramp. New pilots, be careful! The Silver Star’s maximum structural takeoff and landing weights are 16,800 and 12,200 pounds respectively (7,620 and 5,533 kilograms). We can never plan to land over that maximum landing weight, and once airborne the only way to reduce the aircraft’s weight is by burning fuel. To determine the actual maximum takeoff weight, add the enroute fuel burn to the maximum landing weight. So…
Max Landing + Fuel Burn = Max Takeoff
12,200 lbs + 2,680 lbs = 14,880 lbs
(5,533 kg + 1,215 kg = 6,748 kg)
Here’s another way to look at the problem. At our planned takeoff weight (13,900 lbs [6,304 kgs] after taxiing to the runway) we’ll be 1,700 pounds (771 kgs) above our maximum landing weight. Assuming our average fuel burn of 2,400 pounds (1,100 kgs) per hour, we must fly at least 42 minutes before landing.
By the way, this simple math applies to any airplane. Any questions?
Pee-Wee says: So…max landing weight plus half the distance to the goal line equals potato?
Something like that.
Pee-Wee says: I was told there would be no math.
Trust me, Babe. Anyway, let’s go! It’s almost 0900 and we have a date with a ferry!
Where Rails Meet Water: Ludington, Michigan
Skyvector: 435720N0862652W
MSFS: 43.955 -86.447
Ludington (population 7,655) lies on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan and is the seat of Mason County. The town was originally named Pere Marquette for Father Jacques Marquette, a French missionary and explorer who died here in 1675. Industrialist James Ludington took pride of place when the town was incorporated in 1873. For many years lumber dominated the town’s industry, but today the largest employers are metal and materials manufacturers. A unique pumped storage hydroelectric plant south of town provides power.
Pee-Wee says: Ludington also serves as the eastern terminus of the Interlake Steamship Company’s cross-lake car ferry service. First operated by the Pere Marquette Railroad, the service connected Ludington with Manitowoc in approximately four hours, and provided a faster alternative than heading around the south shore and through Chicago. At one time the PM ran upwards of ten ferries across the lake, but today only the iconic SS Badger remains.
Our primary goal for this tour was to catch Badger sailing between her home port at Ludington and Manitowoc. We installed the amazing Great Lakes Ship Traffic Version 2.1, available at flightsim.com, and assumed that the most iconic ship sailing the Great Lakes was included!
Pee-Wee says: Badger was scheduled to depart Ludington about 15 minutes ago, so if she left on-time, we should’ve seen her steaming away. Uh oh.
Let’s press on and hope!
Large Water: Lake Michigan
(Pee-Wee says: No latitude and longitude here. We figured you could find it! )
Pee-Wee says: Uh, about that…
If you’re ever passing through the Food Court of Chicago’s Midway Airport, look up at the strange blue sculpture near the security checkpoint. Artist Todd Slaughter created The Body of Lake Michigan in 2002 using fiberglass and steel. It’s a topographic sculpture of the bottom of Lake Michigan, viewed from below.
Pee-Wee says: Now think about Denver’s Blucifer, and ask yourself what’s up with airports and strange blue sculptures!
Strawberry 5, Eat You Heart Out: SS Badger
Pee-Wee says: The Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad contracted with the Christy Corporation of Sturgeon Bay in 1950 for the construction of two 4,200-ton ships for its cross-lake passenger and railcar ferry service. Until these ships entered service, C&O’s ferry fleet carried numbers or names of prominent Great Lakes cities. To avoid conflict, the new ships were christened Badger and Spartan after the University of Wisconsin and Michigan State University mascots.
Cross-lake rail traffic dwindled steadily over the next three decades and by September 1979 only Badger remained in service. Eleven years later she too was laid up at Ludington, ending ninety-eight years of Lake Michigan rail ferry service.
Pee-Wee says: But all was not lost for the historic ships! Spartan remains mothballed, but after a substantial overhaul that removed her railcar facilities, Badger resumed service under the ownership of the new Lake Michigan Carferry Service. Today she sails twice daily in each direction under the Interlake Steamship Company’s flag. Interested in riding aboard the only coal-burning steamship in the United States, and the only ship registered as a historic site by two states? Tickets can be purchased at ssbadger.com for travel between May and October of 2025. If you’re aboard in June, you might even run into us!
Place of Spirits and Sputnik: Manitowoc, Wisconsin
Skyvector: 440556N0873928W
MSFS: 44.098976 -87.657725
We made landfall on the western shore at Manitowoc, population 34,626. The town’s name may derive from either the Ojibwe or Menominee words for “dwelling of the great spirit” or “place of the spirits.” The University of Wisconsin–Green Bay maintains a two-year campus here with an annual enrollment of approximately 300 full-time students. The private Holy Family College opened here in 1935 but closed in 2020, a victim of the COVID pandemic. Lakeside Foods began packing canned peas here in 1887 and remains the area’s largest employer.
Badger moors at the former Soo Line dock (3) adjacent to the city’s water treatment plant.
Pee-Wee says: We never said ferrying across the lake was glamorous.
On the Manitowoc River’s north bank is the Wisconsin Maritime Museum (4). Moored directly outside and faintly visible in the MSFS scenery is the SS-245 Cobia, a Gato-class fleet submarine originally commissioned by the United States Navy in November 1943. Cobia completed six patrols in the Pacific during World War 2 and is credited with sinking nearly 17,000 tons of enemy shipping. She’s been beautifully restored by a dedicated team of volunteers and is open daily for tours. (Plan accordingly: she’s scheduled for drydocking and further restoration next year!)
Between 1942 and the end of World War 2, the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company (5) built 28 Gato and Balao-class submarines, including SS-269 Rasher, the third highest scoring American submarine by tonnage. Completed boats were temporarily stripped of anything protruding above their conning towers then sailed south to Chicago and Lockport via the Sanitary and Ship Canal. A floating drydock carried them for the remainder of their journey down the Mississippi River to New Orleans, where periscopes, masts, and other equipment were reinstalled. You can find photos of the process at navsource’s SS-265 Peto page. Check out the Wikipedia entry for Manitowoc Shipbuilding for a complete list of the subs and other ships built there.
Pee-Wee says: Hey, fellow space nerds! In the early hours of 5 September 1962, and much to the surprise of two policeman working nearby, a portion of the Soviet Union’s errant Korabl-Sputnik 1 spacecraft smashed onto North 8th Street outside the Rahr-West Art Museum in Manitowoc. It measured only 8 x 3 inches (20 x 8 cm), but weighed 20 pounds (9 kilograms) and buried itself several inches into the pavement. The fragment was handed over to NASA and eventually returned to the Soviets. A historical marker outside the art museum describes the incident, and the exact point of impact is marked by a metal ring embedded into the road. Recreations of the chunk are displayed inside the Rahr-West Museum and the Manitowoc Visitor Center.
I must apologize for my screenshot. The approximate location where the chunk landed is marked (6), but the actual location is just beyond the picture’s right edge. I missed. Sorry. But never fear, I’m here to help: the Skyvector and MSFS latitude and longitude for Manitowoc above mark the exact spot. You’re welcome.
Autumn Fire: CN Manitowoc Sub and Killsnake Wildlife Area
Pee-Wee says: Here’s a few scenery shots, just because. Wisconsin really is a beautiful place this time of year, at least in MSFS. Enjoy!
To EAAch Their Own: Wittman Regional Airport (KOSH) and AirVenture Oshkosh
Skyvector: 435908N0883323W
MSFS: 43.985722 -88.556422
If you’re even remotely interested in general aviation, our next spot should require no introduction. “Oshkosh,” the Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture Oshkosh (formerly the EAA Annual Convention and Fly-in), is the largest annual gathering of aviation enthusiasts in the world. The Association estimates that more than 300,000 people attend the week-long event.
Pee-Wee says: Oshkosh is a fly-in event, the largest of its kind. More than 10,000 privately-owned airplanes–from Cubs to BBJs–descend on Wittman in what can only be called controlled chaos. Wittman Tower literally becomes the busiest control tower in the world! 
Pee-Wee says: Ultralights are welcome at Oshkosh, too, and are accommodated at this field south of the main event (2). Flightsim.to user 0235 created scenery for this “microfield,” although we’re not certain it’s compatible with the larger AirVenture scenery. Give it a try and let us know!
Boeing displays its wares at Boeing Plaza (3). If you want to see the world-famous B-29s Fifi or Doc and daydream of a time when Boeing could build decent airplanes, this is the place to go.
Pee-Wee says: Ooh. Burn. 
Here’s the control tower (4). Lots of adrenaline, coffee, and tears flow through this building! The original 1963 control tower was replaced by the current 140-foot (43-meter) tower in 2007.
Pee-Wee says: EAA’s Pioneer Field (5) is located on the west periphery of Wittman. The field is a living history museum, taking visitors back to the heady days of open cockpits and silk scarves. More than fifty aircraft are displayed here, and rides are available. Pioneer is also home to EAA’s restored Ford 4-AT-E Trimotor NC8407. Want the full experience? We highly recommend Turkanflight’s new Trimotor for MSFS. There’s still some bugs that need squashing, but overall the package is outstanding, and far better than the Famous Flyers piece of…equipment. 
AirVenture isn’t the only thing Wittman has going for it. Basler builds its BT-67s here and three flight schools, including Fox Valley Technical College, operate fleets of light general aviation aircraft ranging from Cessnas to Beech Musketeers and Piper Apaches. EAA Chapter 252 and a Civil Air Patrol squadron call Wittman home, too. Air service was once provided by a host of local service carriers including Wisconsin Central, but today residents must drive to nearby Appleton where Allegiant and American, Delta, and United regional partners provide service.
Well, that’s ten screenshots. Time for Part Two!
Pee-Wee says: Thanks for coming back, everyone! Part Two should be up tomorrow, or perhaps the next day. Maybe April. Anyway, happy flying, and remember to always keep the blue side up and your balls centered!
Welcome back! Let’s continue our tour of Central Wisconsin. We ended Part One overhead Oshkosh (B’Gosh!) on the west shore of Lake Winnebago. Let’s turn south toward our next stops!
Have You Been Here?: Fond du Lac and Baraboo
Fond du Lac
Skyvector: 434653N882645W
MSFS: 43.781 -88.445
Baraboo
Skyvector: 432800N0894407W
MSFS: 43.467 -89.735
These towns are lovely places, but there’s honestly not much to say about either. They’re both quiet Midwest towns doing quiet Midwest things. Fond du Lac (population 44,678) hosted 300 German POWs during World War 2 and is currently the home of Mercury Marine, the world’s largest manufacturer of marine outboard motors. Baraboo (population 12,556) is where the Ringling Brothers started their world-famous circus, which you can learn all about at the Circus World Museum. The town also served as the headquarters of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad’s Madison Subdivision. Oh, and my parents lived in Baraboo for a few years, so there’s that.
Pee-Wee says: Why did we come to these two cities, you ask? Those of you with a musical bent have probably already guessed! Of the ninety-one locales mentioned in country music legend Hank Snow’s “Americanized” version of Geoff Mack’s I’ve Been Everywhere, two are located in Wisconsin: Fond du Lac and Baraboo! You’ll hear Fond du Lac in the third verse, between Cadillac (Michigan) and Davenport (Iowa), and Baraboo in the fourth verse, between Opelika (Alabama) and Waterloo (Iowa). And if you thought Johnny Cash wrote that song, shame on you.
Bringing the Boom: Badger Army Ammunition Plant
Skyvector: 432212N0894557W
MSFS: 43.370 -89.766
On the eve of America’s entry into World War 2, someone high up the chain said, “we need more boom,” so the U.S. Army acquired 10,500 acres (4,250 hectares) of farmland south of Baraboo for the construction of a massive ammunition factory dubbed the Badger Ordnance Works (BOW).
Construction of the $132.8 million (that’s about $2.8 billion / €2.6 billion today) factory began in February 1942 and only stopped when hostilities ended in August 1945. Built and operated by the Hercules Powder Company, Badger employed some 23,000 full-time and temporary workers producing smokeless powder (for bullets), propellant (for rockets), E.C. powder (for hand grenades), and associated acids and chemicals. The first trainload of smokeless powder left the plant in May 1943. Except for a few test rounds, no finished ammunition was ever produced at Badger.
Badger went through active and idle periods throughout the Cold War, producing rocket propellants, powder, and explosives during the Korean War and all-important Ball Powder during the Vietnam War. Renamed the Badger Army Ammunition Plant (BAAP) in 1963, it was mothballed for the final time in 1975. The Base Realignment and Closures (BRAC) Committee dropped the axe in 1997.
Today, Badger is steadily vanishing as the land is returned to nature. The Sauk Prairie State Recreation Area occupies much of the site, and most of the buildings are gone, although a small structure near the main entrance serves as the Badger History Group’s Museum of Badger Army Ammunition. Unfortunately, despite the Army’s best efforts, portions of the former plant bear significant amounts of ground water contamination that require extensive remediation.
This Place Doesn’t Sauk: Prairie du Sac and Sauk City
Skyvector: 431614N0894347W
MSFS: 43.270702 -89.729875
Back here is the Prairie du Sac Dam (2), the widest on the Wisconsin River. Built from concrete, steel, and wood pilings, it’s been generating hydroelectric power for 110 years. Unfortunately, it’s represented in MSFS only by an odd “bump” in the water. The dam created Lake Wisconsin (3), the center of water sports in Sauk and Columbia Counties.
Want a fun activity? Wisconsin Highway 113 crosses the lake on a free cable ferry between Merrimac on the north shore and Okee on the south. Named Colsac III, the ferry operates every day between mid-May to the end of November. The trip takes about 14 minutes. While waiting for a ride, you can enjoy ice cream at the concession stand!
We’re not exactly sure where Prairie du Sac (4) starts and Sauk City (5) ends, but here’s our best guess! The 13-mile (21-kilometer) Great Sauk State Trail (6) follows the former Union Pacific line through Sauk City and Prairie du Sac and continues north toward Devil’s Lake. It passes through the center of BAAP and may be a good way to explore the former ordnance works.
Okay, I’ve been waiting for this part since we found the Badger back in Part One. Right under our Silver Star’s nose in the photo is the world’s very first Culver’s restaurant! (7). George and Ruth Culver, and their son Craig, began selling their famous “Butterburgers” here in 1986. Today there are 930 Culver’s in 26 states, with more franchises being added every year. The company’s headquarters are located nearby in Prairie du Sac. By the way, not only is this the first Culver’s, but it’s the first one at which I ate!
Culver’s is Pee-Wee’s favorite fast-food place, if you couldn’t tell. Thankfully, she’s one of those people that can eat whatever she wants and lose weight doing it.
Pee-Wee says: Honestly, I never cared much for the Butterburger, but the cod dinner with onion rings and a sweet tea? Ohhh…
Nice Try, Asobo: American Players Theatre and House on the Rock
American Players Theatre
Skyvector: 430840N0900214W
MSFS: 43.144354 -90.037171
House on the Rock
Skyvector: 430600N0900808W
MSFS: 43.100059, -90.135594
Frank Lloyd Wright’s beautiful Taliesin is located across Highway 23 from the Theatre, but is completely inaccurate in MSFS, so we skipped it.
Now that we’ve seen those two places, there’s no reason for you to go looking. Moving on!
Dulcinea, Bring Your Sanitizer: The Don Q Inn
Skyvector: 425932N0900826W
MSFS: 42.992228 -90.140425
Pee-Wee says: Now for something completely scary. 
The Don Q Inn sits along Highway 23 in Dodgeville (population 4,984). Former World War 2 USAAF pilot Don Quinn purchased the land here in 1964, converted the old dairy barn into a restaurant, and built himself a small airstrip. In 1974 he added a mid-sized motel, one “where you’d want to stay forever.” Well, not even Don Q stayed forever. Today the Don Q Inn features twenty-one aptly named “theme” and “fantasy” suites (Blue Room, Caesar’s Court, Geisha Garden, Jungle Safari, Shotgun, The Cave, Tranquility Base, and others) complete with mirrored ceilings and complimentary robes.
Pee-Wee says: Yikes. If you’re interested in seeing the rooms, Google Maps has a full series of “walk-through” images you can navigate through. It’s worth a laugh…I mean, a good look.
For aviation enthusiasts, the real attraction is the Boeing C-97 parked on the front lawn. Quinn wanted something to catch the attention of passing drivers, and the massive transport plane fit the bill. She was flown into the adjacent airstrip on 16 October 1977 and remains today, although Quinn’s grand plans to convert her to a restaurant mounted on stilts above the motel never came to fruition.
Some words of advice: if you intend to land here with anything larger than a light single, please be aware that the runway slopes steeply downhill to the northwest (the top of our photo). The strip is only 2,800 feet (853 meters) long, so if you’re flying something larger (like…I don’t know…a KC-97) I’d recommend landing the other direction, wind permitting. Oh, and watch out for the beacon. (Seriously, Asobo? What is it with your ridiculously large beacon towers?)
Pee-Wee says: Unfortunately, MSFS interprets the Don Q as part of the adjacent airport and covers the C-97s image with a dark green square. The real aircraft, 52-2764 / N227AR, was built in 1952 as a KC-97G tanker and operated by the 26th Air Refueling Squadron at three locations: Lockbourne AFB (supporting RB-47B Stratojets), Westover AFB, and finally Plattsburgh AFB (supporting B-47E Stratojets). In 1958 she was stripped of her refueling gear and assigned to the California Air National Guard, where she remained until being stored at Davis Monthan AFB in 1970. The Foundation for Airborne Relief used her for global relief flights until the mid-1970s when the old girl finally landed in Wisconsin. Thanks to Joe Baugher for the information. Rest in peace, friend. 
From here we turned back east toward our final two stops. It’s hard to believe we left Ludington only a little over thirty minutes ago!
We’re almost to the ten screenshot limit again, so we’ll break here. Thanks for hanging with us, everyone! We’ll have the final part of this tour posted soon.
Pee-Wee says: Can we go to Culver’s tomorrow? 
Sure thing.
Pee-Wee says: Yay! Good night, everyone!
Part 2! And it’s not even April Great coverage of the area. I caught the Hank Snow reference over in the other thread and both versions of the song are a little before my time. The KC-97 was a discovery I made several months ago, I heard that the main gear was too wide for the runway and they landed with both sides in the dirt beside it. Remarkable that it made it in there.
This sim can be quite amazing at times. I remember FS98 and FS2004 and the improvement in graphics is astonishing. Keep doing these tours cause they are quite enjoyable to read. Happy flying!
Alright, friends, we’re into the final stretch with only four more stops remaining. We’ll first look to the stars, then back to the Cold War, and finally…Cleveland?
His Keys, Her Keys, My Keys, Your Keys: The Yerkes Observatory
Skyvector: 423413N0883323W
MSFS: 42.570319 -88.556271
The story of how the magnificent Yerkes Observatory came to be is as fascinating as it is long. Back in 1892…
Pee-Wee says: The President of the University of Chicago and one of his professors convinced a Chicago businessman to pay for their telescope, then gushed to the Media that he’d agreed to pay for the not just the telescope, but the building and grounds, too. The presses rolled before the businessman realized what he’d unknowingly agreed to, and he was committed. Pro-gamer move.
Well…yeah, that’s about it. But don’t anyone feel bad for said businessman. Charles Yerkes was a robber baron and unscrupulous crook of the highest order who, while serving time for grand larceny, said “I have made up my mind to keep my mental strength unimpaired, and think my chances for regaining my former position, financially, are as good as they ever were.” He financed the observatory merely in an effort to improve his social standing but was effectively run out of town anyway. There’s a good article about Yerkes and the observatory here.
Yerkes Observatory opened in 1897 on 50-acres (20.23 hectares) of manicured land adjacent to the Secretarial Institute and Training School (later George Williams College) on the north shore of Geneva Lake, some 73 miles (118 kilometers) northwest of the University of Chicago’s main campus. Its primary instrument was a 40-inch (102-centimeter) refracting telescope which was, at the time, the largest in the world and remains the second largest ever successfully used for astronomy.
Pee-Wee says: Refracting telescopes are prone to visual errors called chromatic aberrations, so most modern observatories use reflecting telescopes. What’s the difference? Refractors use lenses to focus an image. Reflectors use mirrors. That’s about all we need to know.
Over more than a century, the world’s foremost astronomers and scientists conducted research at Yerkes: Gerard Kuiper, the father of modern planetary science and for whom our solar system’s outer frozen belt is named; Otto Struve, who studied stellar atmospheres, stellar rotation, and binary stars and later served as the observatory’s director; Edwin Hubble, who produced the first evidence of a constantly expanding universe and whose namesake orbital telescope still expands our horizons today; and, of course, George Hale, the observatory’s first director, who was equally adept at scientific research, designing observatories, and fleecing robber barons.
Yerkes Observatory’s usefulness eventually waned and in 2006 the University announced its intentions to sell the land to developers, but the resulting outcry could be heard from orbit and the plan was quietly dropped. Today, Yerkes is owned by the community-based Yerkes Future Foundation and since 2022 has been open to the public.
The Warner & Swansey telescope is actually a 40-inch unit like its cousin under the large dome but is referred to as the “41-inch” telescope to prevent confusion. You can see both installations on your tour!
The building is highly regarded for its Beaux Arts styling and unique sculptures adorning the exterior. The scenic grounds were designed by F. L. Olmstead, the same design firm responsible for Central Park in New York City.
There Goes the Neighborhood: Richard I. Bong Air Force Base
Skyvector: 423741N0880937W
MSFS: 42.628, -88.160
Pee-Wee says: This next place is frustrating. $250 million (€233 million) spent, hundreds of people displaced from their homes, major disruptions to the lives of thousands of others, irreversible damage to the land and ecosystem, and all that for an airbase that was never finished. The worst part? Many people saw the inevitable conclusion coming years in advance. This place is the very definition of “boondoggle.”
In 1955, the air defense of the Great Lakes was entrusted partly to the 56th Fighter Wing at Chicago’s up-and-coming O’Hare Airport, but Air Defense Command correctly forecast steadily increasing congestion in the surrounding airspace and sought a new home for the Wing’s F-86s. It looked no further than southeast Wisconsin between Chicago and Milwaukee…a location with the same exact traffic problem.
There were objections from many parties, including from within the Federal Government and the Air Force itself, but the project barreled ahead anyway. Fifty-nine families were displaced from their homes, some accepting grossly undervalued offers while others persisted through condemnation proceedings. Construction began in June 1958 on what would be Richard I. Bong Air Force Base.
Pee-Wee says: Major “Dick” Bong was a Northern Wisconsin-native, America’s highest scoring ace of World War 2, and recipient of the Medal of Honor. Sadly, he was killed in the crash of a P-80 jet fighter at Burbank on 6 August 1945, the same day America dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Major Bong is buried in his childhood hometown, Poplar, Wisconsin.
Even before major construction began, the plan changed. Bong’s was transferred to the Strategic Air Command as a forward strategic bomber base, but a change in SAC deployment strategies and fleet planning soon made the incomplete airbase redundant, and construction was terminated on 2 October 1959, three days before runway paving was scheduled to begin. Cost, obsolescence, and airspace congestion were all cited as factors in the decision.
Pee-Wee says: Many people, including the residents of nearby Kenosha and Racine, thought that dropping a bloody big target right next to Chicago was a bad idea, too.
The 12,900-foot (3,900-meter) runway’s subbase was already completed, as were the parallel taxiway and ramp, and initial grading for the “Christmas tree” bomber dispersal pads was well underway. Several roadways had been severed by the construction, and the Air Force adamantly refused to rebuild them after abandoning the project. Thousands of acres of land were stripped of topsoil, rendering them useless for farming, and the families who’d been forced from their property were never allowed to return. The site was used occasionally for Special Forces and Airborne training, but sat vacant for decades, attracting the types of activities one would expect in such a remote location close to Chicago.
Today, 4,515 acres (1,827 hectares) of the site form the Richard Bong State Recreation Area, and include lakes, walking trails, and even a remote-control airplane flying field and model rocket launch site. The runway and taxiways are still clearly visible from the air.
Next time we fly through here, we’ll bring the Zenith. I see lots of places to land down there, especially that RC field!
An excellent repaint for Flying Iron’s P-38L of Major Bong’ Lightning 42-103993 “Marge” is available at flightsim.to, thanks to renowned painter Jankees.
Artist, Sailor, Misfit, Troll: Mark Gubin’s Art Studio
Skyvector: 425929N0875300W
MSFS: 42.991391, -87.883566
From Bong we turned north and joined the right-hand pattern for Runway 19R at Milwaukee (KMKE) to land. But first we looked for Mark Gubin’s art studio.
Gubin is a well-known local eccentric. A Milwaukee native, the octogenarian purchased this two-story Neoclassical building at the corner of South Delaware and East Rusk Avenues in the late 1970s. It’s more museum and thrift shop than art studio and has appeared on numerous news broadcasts and even History Channel’s American Pickers. It was built as the Lake Theater in 1925 and operated as the Bay Theater from the end of World War 2 until 1956 when its doors closed for good. We couldn’t find any ownership information between then and Gubin’s purchase, but did discover that it’s worth a pretty penny today!* 
Pee-Wee says: Gubin is also the owner of a fantastically restored 1903 tugboat named Soloman Juneau. Built from spare parts after the local shipyard’s final Liberty Ship sailed away, the tugboat passed through several owners until Gubin began restoring her in 1980. She’s named for the first mayor of Milwaukee’s cargo ship that sank on Lake Michigan. When asked why he chose that name, Gubin referenced the first ship, saying “I’ll resurrect that. There’s no other reason really for naming it that, no deeper meaning. It was just something to do.”
He says the same thing about the sign atop his art studio. Gubin painted “Welcome to Cleveland” on the old theater’s roof on a whim back in 1978, and the sign is still there today, a mischievous welcome to aircraft landing to the south at MKE. You’ll find it on a three-mile left base for Runway 19R.
Pee-Wee says: The sign looks very clean for photogrammetry and may be part of iniBuild’s free Milwaukee scenery. Your mileage may vary
Is Everything in This State Called “Badger?”: The WANG’s 126th Air Refueling Squadron
Skyvector: 425633N0875317W
MSFS: 42.942436, -87.888151
Pee-Wee made a beautiful landing on Runway 19R and we taxied to the 126th Air Refueling Squadron’s ramp. Established on 12 November 1940 as an Observation Support Squadron, the 126th began the war patrolling America’s east coast for U-boats before being reconstituted as a photo reconnaissance unit bound for Europe. The unit operated F-5s (P-38s) and a few F-3s (A-20s) and F-10s (B-25s) from England, France, and Germany before returning home in late 1945.
In 1946 the unit rejoined the Wisconsin ANG as the 126th Fighter Squadron operating P-51Ds. The Mustangs gave way to a series of jet interceptors before the squadron’s mission changed to aerial refueling. The first KC-97Fs arrived in 1962 and one year later the 126th became America’s first combat ready ANG tanker squadron. Jet powered KC-135As showed up in 1977, then reengined KC-135Es in 1983, and finally KC-135Rs in 1991 shortly after the 126th returned from the '91 Gulf War.
After shutdown, we were still transferring fuel from the wingtip tanks, with 400 total gallons (1,514 liters) remaining onboard, which means our actual fuel burn was almost exactly what we planned. Wow! That’ll never happen again, I’m sure!
Thanks for tuning in, everyone! Be sure to check back later for another exciting (or at least interesting) Skytour. Happy flying!
Pee-Wee says: Good night, Moon!
I’m overjoyed to hear that you’re still enjoying our writeups! Nag left for work this afternoon, but I’ll have some “additional content” posted tomorrow that answers a common question from our readers. Stay tuned!
Happy flying to you!
– PW
Sometimes I get the itch to write, but not a full tour. Nag’s at work this weekend, so welcome to Storytime with Pee-Wee!
Like most people on this forum, we’ve chosen to use pseudonyms instead of our real names. (Internet security and all that, you understand.) Some of you have asked what the names mean. Well, here’s your answers!
Pee-Wee
For those who’ve read our Skytours, you’ve heard that I’m a tall woman (6 feet 3 inches to be exact). I’ve been on the tall side my whole life, and been tagged with nicknames like Stalks and Too-Tall, the obvious ones, or Runt and Peanut, the sarcastic ones. The older couple who gave me a home as a teenager called me Pee-Wee, and that’s what I use here. Pretty straightforward, I’m afraid!
Mini-Wee
My adult daughter (she’s actually my neice…long story) drew the short end of the DNA stick, because she’s barely 5 feet 2 inches tall. As a play on the Austin Powers character, we refer to her here as “Mini-Wee.”
Nag
Nag is 6 feet 5 inches tall and fairly built. Unfortunately, his parents saddled him with a family name that, when combined with their surname, sounds more like a female stripper than a burly man. In portions of Europe his name would be fine, but in the United States, it’s like “A Boy Named Sue.” So…
He attended a small college down south and completed most of his ratings at the attached Part 141 flight school (no, not Embry Riddle ). The instructors there, whenever they first met him, all had the same reaction: they walked into the briefing room, saw him, did a double-take at their paperwork, then carried on normally, although a little flustered. It was understandable, he thought, because if you saw his name, you’d probably make an assumption about his appearance, too. One day the Chief Flight Instructor fell into the trap and made a complete a** of himself in front of the school’s President.
Soon after, he noticed the letters “NAG” scribbled next to his name on the roster. He asked the girl behind the counter what it meant, but she wouldn’t say, and his instructor remained silent, too. In fact, nobody would tell him what it meant, until one day he finally forced the answer from another instructor.
“Not A Girl.”
And it stuck.
Now you know the rest of the story! I’m going flying now, so stay tuned for more tours, stories, and maybe a review or two in the future. Thanks for tuning in!
I thought you might be interested in this connection between RAF Grimsby on your Lincolnshire tour and where I live in Somerset.
And this is a great idea for a thread, thanks @Jimrh1993 for pointing me to you from Idea for "Flight Adventures" - #14 by Jimrh1993
Here at Time Machine Designs we have a roadmap full of sites that you might be interested in (and we are always up for suggesrions!).
Thanks for tuning in! It’s always nice to receive feedback, especially the positive kind!
And here’s an enormous “thank you” for highlighting PO Harrill’s story! It’s important to remember that nearly half of all RAF Bomber Command crewmen perished during World War 2. Today, we’ve become accustomed to “minor” losses in global “skirmishes.” Imagine losing 65% of the USAF’s current Air Combat Command or nearly the entirety of the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy combined. That loss is equal to the entire population of Corvalis, Oregon or Canterbury, Kent. It’s staggering.
Were you aware of your home’s connection to the Harrill family when you moved in? How wonderful, too, that you’ve met some of his family!
I’m excited to try the Hadrian’s Wall scenery! I’ll admit that I only know the Wall by name, so I think a tour is in order sometime soon. We’re currently writing our tour of the Isle of Man. It’s taking longer than expected, as we uncovered some additional information and sites that require a second overflight. The holidays aren’t helping our timeliness, either!
Happy Holidays to you! 
– Pee-Wee
Back in the room!
Happy to share the info - as you say, it is hard to comprehend the scale of the losses experienced by Bomber Command and the proportion of the entire force.
We only discovered Edward Harrill’s story after we moved into the house and I became interested in the history of the house and the village. I have also connected with a descendant of another of the crew, who is also a flight simmer, via the forum thread.
And on Hadrian’s Wall, it is only 73 miles long so a short tour but the forts form regular POIs. I would be happy to share our research if you did want to do something in the future.
In the meantime happy new year and hope the Isle of Man goes well - that is somewhere I know very little about.
Pips
Ahhh! That brings back memories!
I’ve never been in, nor even seen a KC135 in real life, but I spent awhile in the 80s building the refueling station’s fuel transfer panel.
This was a (relatively) small instrument panel that was a complicated mess of flex-circuits and pluggable modules that should have been the size of someone’s kitchen table; folded origami-style to fit a space about the size of a small carry-on, (or a large lady’s purse).
The flex-circuits themselves cost like a fancy sports car and were prone to breaking internal circuit traces if mishandled - rough treatment like sneezing or staring at them too aggressively was a common reason for failure - until we discovered that gentle heating in a 150° (F) oven allowed the flex to bend without breaking.
At that point the only problem remaining was where to find MIL-SPEC 883 certified anti-static oven mitts so we could work on them without burning ourselves!
Thanks for the personal memory! They always make the places we visit more interesting.
“…staring at them too aggressively…” 
I once played an old, poorly-rebuilt piano that would wander out of toon in the presence of excessively bright lights or someone with halitosis, although which way it went–sharp or flat–apparently depended on the phase of the Moon!
Do you suppose your old fuel panel has been updated since then? Those are some pretty harsh conditions up there!
–Pee-Wee
Well. . . .
In order to ship and be accepted by the government inspectors, it had to survive in the thermal chamber running between -75 and +150° C thermal soak for 1 hour+ per temperature, and getting 3 or 4 cycles at both temperature (depending on the test), with a temperature ramp time of no longer than 15 minutes.
And!
It had to do all this while on a 20g shaker table at a whole swept range of frequencies. The entire building knew when a KC135 refuling panel was in environmental test! 
Of course that was something like 40+ years ago and I am sure they have something with tiny Chinese-built circuits in it now.
P.S.
I remember when we were asked to build a fuel probe for the space shuttle. One of the requirements was a heat-soak for 30 minutes at +150, (C) and then withstand a plunge directly into liquid oxygen while at temperature.
The big problem with that, (for everyone bidding, not just us), was getting the fire-department on board with it - they had absolute seizures when we described the test spec - dropping something at +150 directly into liquid oxygen scared them silly! Not to mention having open vats of LOX laying around. They were NOT impressed.
Ultimately NASA had to revise the spec to a bath in liquid nitrogen which was ultimately approved - but only after all the test engineers and technicians had a couple-of-weeks long class in the safe handling of cryogenic fluids. And donned safety gear that looked Iike they were going to the moon, not testing fuel probes.
Result:
The ceramic supports and spacers NASA spec’d couldn’t handle the steep temperature drop and always shattered. Ultimately NASA had to spec a different ceramic.
Welcome back, fellow explorers! We hope you all enjoyed a wonderful holiday season. Pee-Wee and I sure did!
Pee-Wee says: Right up until we both caught the stomach flu. Ugh. For three days my stomach was like the stock market in 2007: extremely unsettled and everybody wanted out. 
You had a worse case than me, which didn’t seem fair since I’m the one that brought it home from work. Sorry about that.
Pee-Wee says: Well, you were very sweet and took great care of me after you’d recovered, so thank you. When a guy volunteers to hold your hair back while you’re barfing in the toilet, it must be love.
Sounds like the beginning of a country song. Anyway…let’s get started!
The first two movies Pee-Wee and I ever watched together are the wonderful period drama 12 O’Clock High and the closely related documentary The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress. They’re both freely available on YouTube if you haven’t seen them. Make sure to find one of the “AI 4K upscaled” versions of The Memphis Belle.
Pee-Wee says: Those two films alone sparked my interest in aviation archaeology. When Stovall steps onto the dark, abandoned runway at “Archbury” and crosses the threshold between war and peace, a solid line running out to the horizon…oh, I get goosebumps every time! 
It’s funny: I know virtually nothing of the Belle’s real story outside of the documentary. My guess is that you’ve researched her and the base from where she flew during the war.
Pee-Wee says: Indeed I have! She flew with the 91st Bombardment Group at RAF Bassingbourn in the southwest of Cambridgeshire, near the border with Hertfordshire. You know what’s really cool about that?
Do tell.
Pee-Wee says: Bassingbourn is only seven miles west of Duxford.
Really.
Pee-Wee says: Yup. Six minutes by air.
Hmm…
Pee-Wee says: …and away we go! 
We’ll break this tour into two parts. First we’ll tour the area around the Bassingbourn Barracks (formerly RAF Bassingbourn) and discuss the station’s history. The second part will include more personal details, crew information, and details about the aircraft and sites from The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress (which from here on we’ll refer to as the Documentary).
Special thanks to the 91st Bomb Group Memorial Association for maintaining some of the most complete online records we’ve ever seen, and for bringing their members’ stories to light. Also, a huge thanks to Mr. Nick Jones, Administrator of the Parish Church of St. Peter & St. Paul, Bassingbourn for his invaluable assistance.
DISCLAIMER (Insert scary “bum bum bum” music here):
Pee-Wee says: Nag and I waited eighteen months for FS2020’s kinks to be worked out before upgrading from the previous version, and we’re doing the same with FS2024. So if you’re using FS2024, what you see in the sim may differ from what we see. It should be close, but we make no guarantees. Thanks!
Getting There: Duxford to Bassingbourne
The former RAF Bassingbourn lies exactly seven nautical miles from Duxford on a magnetic track of 273 degrees. It’s pretty easy to find: one of Microsobo’s out-of-place windmills stands in the village just southwest of the air base and is visible from Duxford.
Pee-Wee says: Our flying time enroute really was only six minutes. Why didn’t we do this sooner?
Got sidetracked, I guess. Care to tell the readers what they’ll find along the way?
Flying activities at Fowlmere began in World War I when a substantial pilot and bombardier training field was constructed here. However, that airfield lay on the opposite side of the road from today’s so, technically speaking, they’re not the same.
Pee-Wee says: Oh, I almost forgot! The airfield is also home to the Fowlmere Airfield Museum. This little gem is open to the public only one sunday a month, and while upcoming days are listed on the “Join Us” page of the website, it’s probably best to call or email ahead.
Here (2) is Fowlmere itself, population about 1,200. There’s not much to say about this quaint village: it boasts a 16th Century pub that is mentioned in Samuel Pepys diary, and was struck by one of 104 tornados that touched down in southern England on 23 January 1981, the largest tornado outbreak in European history.
Before any of our readers from Kansas chime in with “104 tornadoes? We call that Tuesday!” let’s put that outbreak into perspective. Imagine tornados striking northern Maine…in the dead of winter. And let’s not forget that slate and thatched roofs and four-hundred-year-old buildings aren’t exactly “tornado proof.” Thankfully, there were no fatalities.
Pee-Wee says: This is the (3) 40-hectare Fowlmere Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) Nature Reserve. Established in 1977 on the site of former watercress farms, the reserve now harbors a significant assortment of birds, including a large number of kingfishers. Waterfowl of all sorts once thrived in this area, hence the name “Fowlmere” (Old English: fowl + mere, “bird lake.”).
(4) This area appears to be agricultural fields or perhaps a tree farm. Be careful not to confuse it for the more southerly solar power farm immediately west of Fowlmere Airfield.
Pee-Wee says: That’ll lead you astray! Good news: you should be able to easily find the village of Melbourn just beyond. This village of 4,700 boasts its own primary and secondary schools, a small college, and a science park hosting companies as varied as a cellular phone technology provider and a medical diagnostic laboratory. You should pass just north of the village but be careful: Melbourn is on the south side of the A10 highway, while smaller Meldreth is on the north. Getting lost in only seven miles would be embarrassing (and rightfully so).
If all else fails, you should see (6) Royston, a large town in Hertfordshire at the intersection of the ancient Icknield Way and Ermine Street (the A1198). We won’t fly over Royston, but it’s a great landmark, as Bassingbourn lies north of town on the A1198.
We’ve only flown a few miles, but we’re in a different hemisphere now. Yes, you’ll cross the Prime Meridian just west of Melbourn. Surprise!
Pee-Wee says: That’s some serious globetrotting! Anyway, by now you should definitely see (7) the misplaced windmill south of (8) Bassingbourn. We’ll leave it to you to navigate from here!
The Target for Today: RAF Bassingbourn / Bassingbourn Barracks
Skyvector: 520550N0000330W
MSFS: 52.0972 -0.0583
The history of RAF Bassingbourn may be divided into five phases.
Construction (1937-38)
Construction began in April 1937. Drainage was a constant concern: new foundations would often settle into the soggy ground before construction of the buildings themselves began. The original airfield consisted of a single turf landing ground with perimeter track and four Type C hangars, plus an administration and quarters area to the south. With its modern buildings, curbed roadways, and neatly arranged plum trees, Bassingbourn became something of a “show-piece” station.
Royal Air Force: RAF Bassingbourn (1938-42)
104 and 108 Squadrons arrived in May 1938 and began training pilots in the new Bristol Blenheim light bomber, but after war erupted the following year, a reshuffling of forces brought 215 Squadron (later 11 Operational Training Unit) and the Vickers Wellington medium bomber to Bassingbourn. Training continued unabated until October 1943, with only a brief pause between December 1942 and February 1942 when flying temporarily transferred to nearby RAF Tempsford while Bassingbourn’s new concrete runways were built. With its combat fleet and crew ranks wearing thin, the RAF often impressed OTU aircraft and crews for combat missions over Europe, including the “1,000 Plane Raid” to Cologne in May 1942. Bassingbourn itself was bombed several times, and five OTU Wellingtons were shot down by Luftwaffe raiders.
U.S. Army Air Corps: Air Force Station 121 (1942-45)
Bassingbourn was handed over to the USAAC’s 8th Air Force in October 1942, and the 91st Bombardment Group (Heavy) arrived later that month. The Group’s four squadrons–the 322nd, 323rd, 324th, and 401st Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy)–attacked targets throughout Western Europe until V-E Day and then assisted in repatriating POWs until returning to the United States in July. Between April and May 1943, the fledgling 94th Bombardment Group (Heavy) joined the 91st at Bassingbourn until moving to its permanent home at RAF Earls Colne.
Pee-Wee says: Memphis Belle was one of the 324th Bombardment Squadron’s original B-17Fs delivered at Bangor, Maine on the last day of August 1942. Within a year she would return heroically to the United States and secure her place in history. We’ll talk more about her and some of her sisters in Part Two.
Royal Air Force: RAF Bassingbourn…Again (1945-1969)
RAF Transport Command was Bassingbourn’s major tenant post-war until the arrival of 231 Operational Conversion Unit in 1952, and for the next seventeen years the air base was the English Electric Canberra “schoolhouse.” The OCU relocated to RAF Cottesmore in Summer 1969, ending Bassingbourn’s days as a flying station.
Royal Army: Bassingbourn Barracks (1970-Present)
The Queen’s Division, Royal Army took control of Bassingbourn in December 1969, and the next forty-three years saw thousands of fresh recruits complete their basic training at Bassingbourn Barracks. The final classes graduated in 2012, but the Barracks reopened again briefly in 2014 to train Libyan soldiers, an affair that ended badly for everyone involved. We won’t delve into that here. 
Today the Bassingbourn Barracks houses the Mission Ready Training Centre (MRTC), a school for soldiers and sailors preparing for overseas deployments and remains a vital cog in the Ministry of Defense’s training machine.
Google / AirbusBefore we go any further, let’s clarify something: the air base and village name is pronounced “BASS-ing-born,” like the fish.
Pee-Wee says: Each of the 91st Bomb Group’s squadrons was assigned one of four lettered dispersal areas: (A) was the 324th Bomb Squadron’s. Only one “pan” dispersal remains here, and several online sites state with certainty that it was permanently assigned to the Memphis Belle. I’ve been unable to find any documentation supporting that statement, and it may be a case of sites all using each other for reference. Judge for yourself! (B) The 401st Bomb Squadron occupied Area B, (C) the 322nd Area C, and (D) the 323rd Area D located across the A1198 in the southernmost portion of the Wimpole Estate’s 2-mile (3.2-kilometer) long grand avenue.
Food for thought: During World War 2, Bassingbourn’s 6,100-foot (1,860-meter) Runway 7/25 was considered long, but was barely half the length of Wimpole’s grand avenue. Today, if Denver International Airport’s Runway 16R/34L was placed atop the grand avenue, it would extend another mile beyond the estate house itself. How times–and aviation–have changed!
The (1) ammunition dump (“somewhere in Europe,” according to the Documentary) occupied much of the northwest quadrant of the airfield. Portions of (2) Runway 17/35 and the longer (3) Runway 7/25 are smooth and available for landings in MSFS. The clear portion of 17/35 is 1,600 feet (488 meters) long while 7/25 is 2,400 feet (732 meters) long with trees at both ends. Be careful!
In the distance is (3) Royston, with (4) Bassingbourn just beyond the airfield. Watch out for the silly windmill over there: its blades reach to 1,600 feet (488 meters) MSL. The (5) Vine Farm Solar Farm was completed in March 2016 and is another great landmark for finding the old airfield from the north.
I wonder if the people driving by this spot know its significance?
Pee-Wee says: I’m sure some do, but for everyone else there’s a sign! In 1997 the 91st Bomb Group Memorial Association erected a marker nearby. Finding it takes a little effort: park in the (1) layby across from the security fence and follow the path through the trees and across the grand avenue. The (2) memorial will be on your right.
Pee-Wee says: The (1) taxiway leading to the perimeter track ran just north of this treeline. Today this field appears to be used for remote control airplane flying, possibly the last flying activity that will ever happen here! Four dispersals are visible, including the one on which B-17F 42-5178 “LG-L” is parked in the documentary’s opening scene, as is (3) the neighboring farm. This is the only location where you can stand on the exact spot seen in the Documentary. I think that’s pretty awesome!
Over here is (4) the grand avenue again. The northernmost pad was located just this side of the public bridleway that winds its way southeastward from here to the village of Whaddon. The Delta Rebel No. 2, one of the first 8th Air Force bombers to complete twenty-five combat missions, parked here, as did The Careful Virgin, an airplane we’ll hear more about in Part Two.
Pee-Wee says: The airfield’s original control tower was in use throughout the air base’s flying years and still stands just outside the perimeter track (2) here. From 1974 it housed the Tower Museum Bassingbourn, one of very few private museums in England located on a military installation. Alas, in January 2020 the MoD decided that the museum was “…no longer compatible with operational training output or indeed, the security of the barracks…” and terminated the lease. The museum’s artifacts and documents were either returned to their owners or stored somewhere within the Barracks. A membership letters said that volunteers were searching for another home, but there’s been no word in four years. I’m afraid that, as more and more war veterans pass away, the impetus for rebuilding the museum has been lost. By the way, the building was apparently under consideration for transfer to the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, but the RAF Goxhill watch office was chosen instead.
Today Bassingbourn Barracks also hosts the (3) Air Cadets of 2484 Squadron Air Training Corps. The Air Cadets is like the Civil Air Patrol cadet program on steroids, teaching skills from land navigation and marksmanship to drill and music. While the Air Cadets may log time in the RAF’s fleet of Grob trainers, there is no flying at Bassingbourn.
This large (4) infield ramp was constructed post-war and was once filled with 231 OCU Canberras. If you’re flying something with a healthier appetite for runway, this taxiway is smooth and 2,400 feet (732 meters) long. For you rotorheads, there’s a helipad on the concrete apron just above and left of our Stearman’s vertical stabilizer.
Pee-Wee says: Canberra PR.7 WJ821, damaged in an accident at RAF Wyton in 1981, was once on display (5) here but has since been removed. Look carefully and you’ll see the small concrete pads that supported her. Surprisingly, the Internet has no further information about the old girl: she seems to have vanished! Do you know her whereabouts? Please leave a note.
(For our American friends, here’s a quick primer: in England, a civil parish is the lowest level of local government, and may include one or more hamlets, villages, towns, or cities. They’re different from ecclesiastical parishes, which are administrative areas established by the Roman Catholic Church. A hamlet is a small settlement while a village is a larger settlement with a parish church. A town is an even larger settlement with a market, while a city may be a large town that’s been granted city status by the Crown. However, there are market towns that are larger than small cities, and villages without churches. It’s all rather unofficial and confusing or, said another way, British.
I’ve flown British airplanes, so I completely understand overly complicated designs! In Bassingbourn you’ll find (1) The Belle freehouse, a “contemporary country pub restaurant” with decor paying homage to everyone’s favorite B-17. It seems nice, if too modern for my taste. For $16 (€14.95) the fish and chips better be good.
Pee-Wee says: Pop quiz! What makes Bassingbourn a village? (You’d better not say “I don’t know,” because that paragraph up there took some time to get right. ) If you said “a parish church,” you’re correct! Here is the Grade II listed (2) Parish Church of St. Peter & St. Paul, Bassingbourn. Construction of the present flint and stone rubble building began in the 13th Century, and it’s been rebuilt once or twice since then. It’s currently undergoing a major interior restoration and should welcome visitors again early next year. If you’re in the area, I’m sure the Rev. Orr or Nick, the Administrator, would be happy to show you around. (Thanks again, Nick. You’re a doll! )
The Parish Council refers to (3) this area as the “causeway.” It’s hard to see from this angle, but it really is a thinly populated area–almost a land bridge–that connects Bassingbourn with (4)
Kneesworth. A Saxon hamlet, Kneesworth was added to the Bassingbourn civil parish in the 1960s.
Whew! I think that’s about it for Part One. Anything to add?
Pee-Wee says: I don’t think so. I’m already working on Part Two, but it’ll take me a few days to finish. There’s a lot left to show everyone!
Hopefully I’ll be back in three days to help. I’m supposed to overnight near Los Angeles, but the fires may force some schedule changes.
Pee-Wee says: If you’re one of the people affected, remember this: property can be replaced, but lives can’t. Please keep your heads up, observe any evacuation orders, and remember that wildfires always move much faster than you think.
Well said. That’s it for this installment! Come back soon for Part Two, and remember that we love to hear from you, especially with positive feedback.
Pee-Wee says: Yes I do!
She really does. Personally, I think she was a golden retriever in a previous life.
Pee-Wee says: Probably.
No snide retort about being compared to a dog?
Pee-Wee says: Nope. Golden retrievers are beautiful, intelligent, and loving companions, just like me.
Good night, everyone.
Pee-Wee says:
Great write up as always guys! I’m going to have to dig up those films and take a look at them.
Sad news on Canberra WJ821, seems she was scrapped in 2013. At least according to this website:
