Welcome to the 219th flight in Gunpilot’s new SHORTER series of Challenging flights, carrying on from the past nearly 5 years of events that have outlasted all other flight planners.
Flight Details:
They say the highlands of Papua New Guinea don’t just eat aircraft for breakfast—they wash them down with a side of terrified pilots. Last week’s mission was wild enough, but this time the crew’s mapped out a brand-new flight: longer, riskier, and (allegedly) easier… though “easy” is a word that rarely survives in PNG. The twist? For once, the weather gods have decided not to mess with them. No clouds, no crosswinds, no biblical downpour—just crisp blue skies and sunshine sharp enough to make the jungle look even more menacing. With nowhere to hide, it’s like flying through an open-air theatre where every mountain ridge is waiting to boo you off stage.
The route promises “gentler” strips (read: less vertical)—but don’t be fooled. These runways still look like they were drawn by a drunk cartographer with a vendetta against pilots. Some are so steep that if you land short you’re in the trees, and if you land long you’re in different trees, just with more speed and regret. One veteran swears he saw a dog waving him away at the last strip—tail wagging, paw raised, like, “Mate, not today.”
And at the heart of this escapade? The glorious, ridiculous return of the Cessna Grand Caravan. She’s back again to haul fuel, food, chickens, and a questionable amount of bravado deep into mountain country. Sleek? No. Graceful? Definitely not. But dependable? Like duct tape. With her wings slicing clean through the clear sky and her engine growling like a caffeinated chainsaw, she’s less an aircraft and more a flying dare.
Flying her on this new route is like bungee-jumping in slow motion—you’re terrified, exhilarated, and mildly concerned you might leave your stomach somewhere in the valley below. Every landing is equal parts comedy sketch and horror movie: one wheel’s on the strip, the other’s still looking for it, and the trees are leaning in like spectators at a boxing match.
Still, with perfect weather and blue skies overhead, this flight feels like a blessing wrapped in a dare. It’s longer than last week’s madness, but the view is spectacular and the Caravan is hungry for airtime. The only real question is: will the pilots be laughing in relief by the end of it—or just laughing because they’ve finally gone completely insane?
The Texas Turbine Super 900 Upgrade
The Texas Turbine Supervan 900 upgrade is a kit for the Cessna 208 Caravan that replaces the original engine with a more powerful Honeywell TPE331-12JR, a Hartzell 110-inch four-blade propeller, and other components to significantly boost performance. The upgrade offers improvements such as increased cruise speed, shorter take-off distances, a faster rate of climb, and increased static thrust. This conversion enhances overall efficiency, allowing for longer cruise distances for the same fuel consumption and lower per-hour operating costs over time.
This mod to the stock Cessna Grand Caravan in MSFS2024 will be available for those who don’t already have it when they join the flight…Come to the departure airstrip 10 mins before takeoff time to get the mod
As well……grab this tree remover mod if you have not already done so, will make flying in PNG that much easier on approaches and departures https://discord.com/channels/780018927731474462/833178846324457484
The Aircraft for this event is the iconic Cessna Grand Caravan WITH the SUPER 900 Upgrade
When: Friday 3rd October 2025 @ 2300UTC**
Where: PNG
Flight Duration: Approximately 2.5 hrs (depending on numbers attending)
Aircraft: Cessna Grand Caravan
Server: SOUTH EAST ASIA
Discord Server: GUNPILOT’s Server . Click on this link and you will be sent a very welcoming INVITE that will enable you to fully participate in the radio chatter with all the other pilots in the flight
Voice Chat accessed by clicking on Comms Radio
(Discord). If you are going to fly with us, ensure to join into the chatter on Comms Radio. If you don’t then you will miss out on a number of challenges that are given over the radio and you will have no idea what is going down.
PNG Ghost Strips Part 3 of 5.lnmpln (4.6 KB)
PNG Ghost Strips Part 3 of 5.pln (6.4 KB)2025-10-17T23:00:00Z→2025-10-18T01:30:00Z