Glider hop from Bodmin Airfield to Dadivstow Moor

Burning Blue Design Bodmin Airfield EGLA, is a great airfield to fly the new Discus-2C glider from Got Friends. I used winch launch from runway 31 and flew on a hot, sunny day over to Davidstow Moor where the old airfield is, by the creamery. I used to drive my car on this airfield some years ago. The Bodmin Airfield is right next to the busy A30 dual carriageway.

Just before landing, we fly over Rough Tor on the west side and the open moor, with Crowdy reservoir to the left, before turning in to land at roughly 280 degrees onto the disused airfield. Lovely views over North Cornwall to the windfarm to the North. Davidstow marks the northernmost extent of the moor.

This is the most fun flying on the simulator. The glider is fantastic, even though gliders are not fully supported yet. Got Friends promises to update the model as glider support is added in the future by Microsoft.

Davidstow used to be the location of RAF Davidstow Moor in WW2 from late 1942 until 1945. Roughtor (Row Tor) summit rocks, Little Roughtor and Logan Rock is protected by the National Trust

Launched from EGLA Bodmin Airfield

Soaring over the A30

Roughtor

On final approach to Davidstow Airfield

I dropped my pasty somewhere...

I know I parked my VW Transporter by that building

Stuttgart Airport EDDS

So the World Update VI came with a custom hand-crafted version of Stuttgart airport, convenient for flights to the Black Forest or Munich and Bavaria. How does it compare with the real-life?

Maybe we need to wait until Aerosoft can release a better version, but for now I think it's pretty good free version from Microsoft. There is also a version (available on Orbx) from FeelThere and a version by JustSim (available on SimMarket). I have Sim-Wings version of Munich, which is my favourite airport of the region.

Main terminal with the Bosch sign on the parking.

Microsoft free version, Bosch Parkhaus mysteriously missing

South Side of Airport runway 26

The free version from Microsoft

MSFS Safe Mode Error

Since installing World Update VI, I have regular been getting the following warning message on launching Flight Simulator. It is annoying, because it pauses the load waiting for a selection and only once "Safe mode" or "normal mode" selected, does it continue to load.

The official support documentation tries to level the blame at 3rd party addons, but in fact this error is common, even with no addons. The trigger that causes this, is a lock file that is created on launch and is meant to be deleted on exit, but often is not.

The file path is:

C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_<key>\LocalState

running.lock

Once you exit the simulator, safely check for and delete this file and you will start next time without any annoying error dialog.

Flight Simulator Catalog

 Microsoft Flight Simulator has  been out now just over a year. Released on August 18th 2020, I pre-ordered and have since been trying to keep up with all the add-on scenery released. Initally, in a spreadsheet, I keep track of the new scenery products that I buy, but have since created a website to track both my purchases and my explorations in the game.

A new feature of the game is Points of Interest (POI) and I am slowly creating a database of all the default POIs and those added with some 3rd party developers.

For all payware scenery addons and a growing list of POIs,  please visit Flight Simulator Catalog.

CRJ-700 Taking off from Princess Juliana International Airport

Blank rewards screen on FSX Steam edition after installing DLC

Very frustrating to find my rewards screen is blank. After searching some forums and trying without success to run the Log recover program, I found the answer in a Steam forum:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/314160/discussions/1/627456486410539855/

Just browse to the DLC sub-folder of the FSX folder, e.g. mine is:

D:\Steam\steamapps\common\FSX\DLC

and add an empty sub-folder named "rewards", restart FSX and now the rewards page should be populated thus:

Bucknall, Lincolnshire

A short flight around the small farm, grass strip airfield of Bucknall in Lincolnshire, England. Disused now and dificult to find on Google satellite view. Very challenging takeoff and landing for a Cessna. Scenery provided by UK2000, VFR Airfields volume 3

The road and farm building match those on Google streetview

The scenery is pretty accurate model of the farm buidlings and surrounding fields and tree lines.

Paring with static aircraft

Checking out runway 25

It's a tricky landing avoiding trees, electric lines and touching down early enough to have enough time to stop before the end of the runway. I landed on 16.

Just stopped before end of runway 16/34

Full HD video of my flight here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFCxKkdjEHw

RAF Leconfield

The former RAF airbase (ICAO: EGXV) was used by Spitfires in WW2 and now is used by MoD Defence School of Transport. The runways are disused, but there is parking for helicopters. The custom scenery is provided by UK2000 as part of VFR Airfields volume 3.

There are some helicopters parked at the helipads near where the flight starts, careful to avoid the wire fence and then I took off from the disused runway and did a quick crcle of the airfield. Some quite good detail on the runway textures and the buidlings of the MoD facility.

The short flight is available in full in HD video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inHoowKNSGY

An aeriel photo of the actual airfield: