Took off from La Florida, Colombia and proceeded south, crossing the Equador border. Then over St Lorenzo the ProATC controller decided I’m not worth speaking to and won’t let me through the restricted area. For the sake of realism had to divert north and then fly over the ocean, constantly squinting left and wondering if I manage to glide to the coast in case the gusting wind overcools the motor or something. But no, crab-landed at General Rivade with quite a thud, but safely.
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Took the A310 on my first flight from CFB Bagoteville (CYBG) to Ottawa (YOW). This was a fairly short flight at about 1:00hr. I used a CC-150 Polaris skin for the A310 to make this flight feel more like an official Royal Canadian Air Force flight.
The weather at Bagoteville was pretty good with calm winds and partly cloudy skies. The custom scenery by jpfil gave CFB Bagotville a bit of life, and made it feel like an actual air force base.
I departed from RWY 29 and climbed out like a rocket thanks to the farily empty weight of the plane (low pax/cargo and fuel load). I was genuinely impressed by the performance of the A310!
It wasn’t long until I reached the cruising altitude of 38,000ft and settled in for the short hop to Ottawa.
The decent and arrival into YOW was uneventful, althought on approach I did have to fight some strong winds coming in from the west. I arrived just a bit ahead of schedule which means some of the generals and lieutenants on board must have been quite happy.
Overall the A310 proved to be a seriously nice jet to fly, nailing that sweet spot between retro and modern. I’ll definetely be giving this jet some more attention, and perhaps embark on some longer flights to Cold Lake or Yellowknife, and even some long hauls to Ramstein AFB, Honolulu or Brussels!
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I flew the A310 from Prestwick airport on the west coast of Scotland up to Bodo in northern Norway. Let the plane autoland on ILS07. No issues whatsoever. It was also the first time I had attempted a flight with FSLTL Traffic and I have to say the encounters generated were so enjoyable. From the apron at EGPK being populated by Ryanair aircraft to a fabulous meeting at 36,000 ft with a plane crossing above my flight path with 1,000 ft separation it kept one alert. In addition the sun setting behind me as I flew up the coast of Norway was a beautiful experience before landing in darkness at my destination. The A310 is a hugely rewarding aircraft to fly just so long as you put the time in to learn how to pilot it correctly.
The image is of Norway from FL360/
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Best way to do that is to buddy-fly with someone who has more experience.
I buddy-fly out of Ostafiavo (UUMO) using IVAO because (supposedly) “they do Europe better”.
Also pick a place that won’t likely have active ATC and a lot of other traffic. You don’t want ATC jawboning your ear while you’re busy trying to crank the gear up w/o crashing at the same time.
A friend with patience who can walk you through the drill is a blessing!
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Just to clarify, I marked the OP’s reply as Solution so that their post was included on the first post of this topic. In retrospect, I could have copied their post to the first post.
I did this in recognition of the forums first topic to reach 10,000 posts. 
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Getting back into VATSIM after a break. Flew IFR Bristol EGGD to EGHI in the DA62. Reported to London Control 19 miles west of EGHH (Bournemouth), who then vectored me in for an ILS approach to RW20.
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Flew on with my American tour with the Albatros from Mountain Home AFB (KMUO) to Crater Lake-Klamath Rgnl (KLMT)
As it happens I recently finished playing Days Gone, so as I’m now where that game is, I might park the Albatros and check out Wizard Island, Chemult, Belknap Springs etc in a slower plane before going on with the tour.
I just love when I see my shadow while landing, though such a distraction ended up missing the center line 
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Great advice - thanks. I will look into IVAO.
Unfortunately I am a solo flyer, but maybe I can find someone on discord somewhere that might help me out.
I like your idea about starting off someplace with no active ATC, but that maybe crosses ATC airspace - at the moment I am flying to / from Nuremberg to Tunisia (Its a pilots life chapter 2) so that could be an option as I know that neither of those airports are particularly busy from ATC standpoint (I’ve been making a note to check when on Volanta).
I just want to start up easy and work my way up.
Thanks again!
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I tried to direct message you (via a private message) to see if we could set something up, but I was told that you do not accept private messages.
if you’re flying solo, you don’t need VATSIM or IVAO, you can fly wherever you want.
I usually avoid ATC and my longest flight so far is Moscow to Tula and back as I usually fly local sightseeing flights - the heck with ATC and everything else!
Oh, I thought he was talking about how on the right side of typing and adding images on this post, there is a message saying ‘this topic has been solved’ - etc, etc, etc.
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Ah, true! I’ll correct that by removing the solution so it’s less annoying. 
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I take it in stride, but I think he noticed. Thanks for your vigilance. Cheers!
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Thanks!!! As in “hugely” thanks!
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We flew from Bancasi Airport (RPME) in the Philippines to Mapawa Airstrip (RPAN).
The clouds waved to us and the town was like a jewel.
Tomorrow we finally fly over seas!
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So I took off General Rivadeneira and proceeded as planned unitl I realised:
- I haven’t asked for clearance, and
- They wouldn’t have given it, because this:
Although the weather seemed marginal, but doable, I opted to return. You just don’t challenge the 701 against gusts (and icing).
Easier said than done! With throttle on idle I barely managed to descend to pattern altitude. The bird wanted to fly! Luckily the wind there was stable, and I succeeded in bleeding the speed off by the end of the runway. Next try tomorrow, and today it’s Google Earth and virtual trip arount the town of Esmeraldas.
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Today two flights in Oz. First taking off in the PT-17 Stearman from Katoomba (YKAT) overflying the Three Sisters …
and heading towards Sydney:
Nice views of Sydney harbour …
and the skyline, …
making a landing in Bankstown (YSBK).
Second flight: Starting in the PC-21 from Bendigo (YBDG) …
heading towards Adelaide …
and making my final stop at Parafield (YPPF).
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Since the sim depicts much of Canada as a frozen-over wasteland at this time of year, I thought I’d take the Beaver across a few Scottish Lochs. Fits rather well here
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I am currently flying from Peterborough to Parry Sound with a short layover in Toronto. Would love to share pictures of the view but Toronto looks like a post-apocalyptic wasteland (maybe only since SU11?). Quite shocking to be honest.
Anyway, here is a ground shot instead. 
Making some progress on my Canada crossing.
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