NZFF

This sort of flight is exactly why I got into flight sim all those years ago. I've just never managed it before. But now, with this beasty space heater of a pc ... Orbx South Island, ActiveSky real weather, Chaseplane, TrackIR, and a mad idea to take the Golden Age Stearman low and slow across the hill from NZQN to NZMF. METARs ? We don't need no steenkin METARs. Knowing what you're flying into is for the weak ... We just have to fly West then let down over the ocean and fly back up the fjord like we did last time, right ? Across the Southern Alps. In an open biplane. With no GPS. And no autopilot. What could possibly go wrong ?

Well the weather for one ... I was hoping for something a little more photogenic.


But as I flew down the lake it looked a bit clearer up ahead.


So I climbed.


And I climbed.


And then I found a valley, so I flew along that while I climbed a bit more, because it was more satisfying than not outclimbing the terrain


Then there was a slight problem.


But it sort of came right and I found a river going more or less the right way to follow. Copies River I think (chur Plan-G)


Then the weather said Nah bro, you're having way too much fun.


Crossing over the Milford-Te Anau Road. If I'd thought of tilting the camera down a bit you'd have seen Lake Gunn.


Oooh, I can see the ocean ! And oh lordy that must mean NZMF is under that lot somewhere.


There ! There it is !! Right there !!!!


How the hell am I going to get down there through that ??


Oh, wait, this is a Boeing Stearman not a Boeing 747.


Second floor - Carpets, travel goods, and bedding, materials, soft furnishings, restaurants, and ties. Going down...


First floor: Telephones, gents ready made suits, shirts, suits, ties, hats, underwear, and shoes. Going down ...


Ground floor: Perfumery, stationary, and leather goods, wigs and haberdashery, kitchenware and food. Going down ...


Goddam big nose taildraggers ... There's a runway there somewhere, I swear there is.


Backtracking along a slightly damp runway. Still not sure how I got away with that landing.


You don't realise how big these things are until you try to park one.


Fantastic evening, so much more fun than watching a tubeliner fly itself from A to B ! And once again thanks everyone who suggested the orbx scenery packs

Looking good. ... would of been a bit cold in an open cockpit aircraft.

Could have been worse, most of the flight was in sunshine and I had my big leather coat and the flying helmet and some wet celery The rain wasn't pleasant but I just hunkered down behind the windscreen and stopped looking over the side for roads and rivers until the sun came out again. The worst part was getting soaked from the spray backtracking to the parking at NZMF

Have to say it was a billion times easier with TrackIR. Being able to quickly lean over and look over both edges of the cockpit and look under wings and around pillars was indescribably good after so many weeks of hat switch panning from a fixed eye point. TrackIR is like heated mirrors in a car. You've either never experienced it working properly, or you can't work out how you ever lived without it. I'm going to try VR at some point, I kind of expect that to be more or less the same epiphany

An entertaining set of shots - it's always unfortunate not being able to outclimb terrain sometimes terminal.

Great post , and great to see you back