NZFF

ow that the new season of "Survivor" is in full swing, staff reviewer Lydell Stelmack takes us on an aerial tour of the Cook Islands as presented by Red Baron Entertainment. "The Cook Islands, the heart of the South Pacific, consists of 15 islands scattered over some 2 million square kilometers of the Pacific Ocean."

"As compared to the default scenery of green patches of Islands in the great big ocean, Christian Stock's scenery adds real life terrain features and accurate airstrips, bringing life to these Islands. Developed using the Land and Information New Zealand (LINZ) digital data, the final 40m mesh scenery provides a high resolution, realistic and accurate scenery for flight sim."

When fying these islands, Lydell reminds us, "There are significant distances between these Islands, so a trip from one favorite to another may need a stop over on several others to top up the fuel. Now with the lack of references over the spans of water, flying with a GPS is the only way to go. Even though the coral strips of the Cook Islands can be a challenge on a fair weather day, most are suited to the smaller GA aircraft. Multi-engine prop flyers won't have any troubles here but trips in and out by heavy airliners are only suited at Rarotonga."

Lydel summs up his visit to the Cook Islands with, "the scenery reflects the remoteness and beauty of the Islands. Though you may expect more frills from the scenery, the realism is that the Islands are not over commercialized or over populated and the scenery is a reflection of that realism. This scenery package will definitely test your "over-the-water" flying skills."

Even though the coral strips of the Cook Islands can be a challenge on a fair weather day, most are suited to the smaller GA aircraft. Multi-engine prop flyers won't have any troubles here but trips in and out by heavy airliners are only suited at Rarotonga.