Around the World From NZ to NZ.

[Ian Warren]

Now that one part of the country that could do with a KIWIBARGUY .. plenty of little bars around , it was Brunei that ya had to be sneaky and cheeky

[kiwibarguy]

Padang>Singapore

475 kilometres of travel today as we leave Indonesia for Singapore.

Supermarine Spitfire

The Supermarine Seafire was a naval version of the Supermarine Spitfire, adapted for operation from aircraft carriers.

Again the weather forcasts 0 mph winds, high humidity, with thunderstorms over Singapore. I flew into Indonesia on this trip on the 25th of November 2007! We have seen Irian Jaya, Sulawesi, Borneo, Java and Sumatra.

Mount Merapi is one of a host of volcanoes in this area.

30 minutes into the flight and we are passing Mount Merapi. It is quite a constrast to where we end up. Here there are small villages that lay everywhere with ricefields as the primary source of farming. In the distance of the photo we see Mt Merapi and the low humidity that surrounds this area.

Modifications for the Seafire included an arrestor hook, folding wings and other specialised equipment. Some problems faced with the Seafire being an aircraft operated fighter was poor visibility over the nose and a narrow undercarriage track.I spotted a river and decided to fly the length of it for a while.

The rainy season finishes in March, yet still the humidity today would tell us otherwise.

The Seafire II was able to outperform the A6M5 Zero at low altitudes but the F6F Hellcat and F4U Corsair were considered more robust and practical for carrier operations. This was fun, just wished i could have shot a couple of rounds down it.
You can find this model MkIII here at this link>http://www.simviation.com/simviation/index.php?ID=66&page=1000

Cockpit report time! I enjoyed the 3-D Cockpit, great detail and a good reminder of the traditional style of flying, with no digital readouts to guide you. I love flying Spitfires and Seafires in 1946 (IL2), so it was great to see another perspective from the cockpit of fsx. Some may know me as R2-D2.

We leave Indonesia, cross the waters to enter Singapore. All of a sudden it's planesville and i'm quickly sorted into a circuit. I had that typical overwhelming feeling we get after being out in the sticks, to return to the human machine, being assured quickly that i am a small cog in the machine that will comply to all others!

Singapore is South East Asia's melting pot. 77% Chinese, 14% Malays, 8% Indians and 1% English have all left their cultural mark to make it a vibrant and diverse place to live. The population is similar to New Zealand at 4.13 million people yet its size is 692.7sq km compared to our 268,680 sq km is small in comparison.

Finals, i was squished between 2 international flights then told to go around. My framerates were starting to shudder a little but nothing major.

Here we are! I was then given the longest ever taxiing procedure, so i brought out the old yellow arrows to help me find my parking space.

10 minutes later and i'm still taxiing my way around the airport. if you would like this airport scenery it is freeware! > http://walhalla.mine.nu/fsx.php#vincent

No great welcome here! They just shove me back out behind some hangers! That was a fun flight! A great model to fly. I hope you can join me again as we head into Malaysia. Check out this website that shows Changi Airport in all its wonder. It has won best Airport many times in the last few years.

http://www.gakei.com/sg1/sga.htm

Thanks for reading!

[Ian Warren]

Bit of a zig-zag , you'd be in Borneo shortly My Father was posted here for only 3 months during the Korean war , posted to a hospital bed for starters , id wished he was able to photo what Sinapore was like in 1952 .

Edit : my fav ride into any Malaysian airport was Kuching , there was a brilliant model done of it for FS9 but dont think it works in FSX

[kiwibarguy]

Hi there Ian, i had a look into travelling to Kuching but at 700km away i think i would fall asleep at the 'wheel'! Do you have anymore recommendations for places to travel in Malaysia?

[kiwibarguy]

Singapore>Kuala Lumpur

Handley Page Hampden

Hi there again! Thanks for joining me on another leg of this world trip. The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden was a British twin-engine medium bomber of the Royal Air Force serving in the Second World War.

I thought we would start of early today to catch some morning sunshine over the city. Unfortunately it is not looking so hot on Google Earth as thunderstorms are forcast over Malaysia up to Kuala Lumpur.

The 980 hp (730 kW) Bristol Pegasus XVIII nine-cylinder radial engines roar into life as we head off for a quick view over Singapore then on up the coast.

The Mk I had a crew of four: pilot, navigator/bomb aimer, radio operator and rear gunner.

I can sense the rain coming already.

Bye Singapore, thanks for putting me up, i will put you on my travel list when i retire.

No. 489 Squadron RNZAF formed a dedicated anti-submarine torpedo bomber unit in March 1942, carrying out its first torpedo attacks in July 1942 during sorties in the Trondheim fjord.

A total of 226 Hampdens were in service with eight squadrons by the start of the Second World War. Despite its speed and agility, in operational use the Hampden was no match for Luftwaffe fighters.

Almost half of the Hampdens built – 714, were lost on operations, taking with them 1,077 crew killed and another 739 missing. German flak accounted for 108; one became the victim of a German barrage balloon; 263 Hampdens crashed due to "a variety of causes," and 214 others were classed as "missing." Luftwaffe pilots claimed 128 Hampdens, shooting down 92 at night.

After war service in Europe, about 200 "war-weary" Hampdens were flown to Canada where they were used for bombing and gunnery training.

Suddenly it's gumboot time as i head into this wall of grey.

Now i know she isn't a dive bomber and knowing that the clouds were high enough, i decided to sneak down below them.

This is real tomato soup weather, should of stayed in Singapore and gone drinking.

Kuala Lumpur

It is the capital and largest city of Malaysia with a population of 1.6 million.

Tower One of the Petrona towers is occupied by the company Petrona, but the second tower has a wide range of companies situated there, most notably Microsoft and Boeing.It has 88 floors, the sky bridge is 170 metres above ground, but most astonishing of all is the 120 metre foundations built in bedrock beneath it!/

TM Tower is the headquarters of Malaysia's principal telecommunication service provider.

I get to WMKF only to be told that they are accepting IFR flights only so i had to fly on to Kuala Lumpur International 45km back from where i came from. This was a lucky screenshot, the lightning hit at the right time.

Quite a simple cockpit design for the Hampden, doesn't take long to find what you are looking for.

Watch out you young bucks, the old guys coming through!

That again has been an enjoyable flight. I'm looking forward to my next flight already.

What a busy place, i'm ready for the malaysian islands.

Thankyou for reading, see you again soon.

[Naki]

Excellent pics KBG - is that all default scenery? ..and where did the Hampden come from ....and dont say Avsim!

[kiwibarguy]

I bought FScene Asia just to spice up the World tour a bit as it was becoming a bit time consuming to find scenery everywhere. The Hampden is Alphasim. I hope you are enjoying the trip! I do still troll around the websites looking for freeware scenery such as airports like the one in Padang. I am not sure about what scenery to buy when i hit Europe as there are many! I often think the same about your tour, where do you get all that lovely scenery and Airports from?
Thanks!

[Ian Warren]

Hells .. to see this type in Malay , they may have survived a little better than the European theater .

[Njbb1995]

Looks awesome KBG!!

[kiwibarguy]

Kuala Lumpur>Penang

Today we continue north following the NDB's up to Ipoh for lunch then onto Penang.

Beechcraft 1900D

ZK-EAP was the last Beechcraft 1900 series aircraft to be produced by Raytheon, closing the production line in October 2002.

It took longer to take off than it was to buy a hotdog at the Whenuapai Airshow!

I am not sure on how to remove the default planes so any help would be welcome, nevertheless i enjoyed watching them coming in for landing!

Here is the interior for ZK-EAP.Lovely isn't she!

The Beechcraft 1900 is a 19-passenger, pressurized twin-engine turboprop aeroplane manufactured by the Beechcraft Division of the Raytheon Company (now Hawker Beechcraft).

The first 3000ft were a bit of a bumpy ride with crosswinds buffeting the side but soon it became still all the way up to 10,000ft.

The 1900D cruises at about 285 knots (528 km/h) true airspeed (328 mph or 528 km/h). Ordinary trip lengths range from 100 to 600 miles (20 minutes to two hours), but with full fuel tanks, the aircraft is capable of flying well in excess of 1,000 nautical miles (1,900 km).

Following the NDB's we slowly descended for Ipoh.

Currently New Zealand has 18 1900D's operating.

We pop into Ipoh. Originally i had intended to finish this leg here, but decided to continue on to Padang as i was enjoying the flight and wanted to cover a few more miles while the weather was good!

Taking off we fly over nearby Ipoh City.

Ipoh

Ipoh in the 50's was a bustling city with cinemas, dance clubs, amusement parks and cabarets. Unfortunately in the 70's the tin prices collapsed as did the surrounding tin mines leaving the city to become a ghost town. The young ones moved out and now it is considered a place for retirement by the locals.

Ipoh is also famous for Malay and Indian cuisine, such as satay (meat on a skewer which resembles kebabs, served with peanut sauce), tempoyak (preserved durian extract commonly eaten with chilies) , banana leaf rice (Indian cuisine serve on a banana leaf), and a variety of northern Indian food.

Penang

This area is known as Penang. Penang island and province Wellersly (the mainland island) is connected by the Penang bridge. The population is currently 1,508,000 and evenly populated on both sides of around 650,000 living on Pedang Island and the remaining on the mainland.

The total length of the bridge is 13.5 km (8.4 miles), making it among the longest bridges in the world, the longest bridge in the country as well as a national landmark. It was opened in September 1985.

The island is the fourth largest in the country with an area of 295 km2.

Finals and happy to have flown on this day as it was such a cruisy leg up the coast of Malaysia.

Does anyone know how to get rid of the red writing above the planes? Please let me know if you do!

Now this looks like a place to party! Thank you for reading, see you again soon!

[Ian Warren]

One thing i really enjoy about Malaysia , its always been friendly and its always warm ... you eat out .. brecky ,lunch , dinner .. a great place to holiday

[Emanuelchristos]

Going great so far... Youve got some really nice shots.

The red writing... In the settings go to traffic, then uncheck the box which says show labels, I think... should be something pretty similar.

[kiwibarguy]

Penang>Ko Samui

At just under 400km, we head from the Eastern Coast of Malaysia to the Western Coast of Thailand.

Lockheed Constellation

The Lockheed Constellation (Connie) was a four-engine propeller-driven airliner built by Lockheed between 1943 and 1958 at its Burbank, California, USA, facility.

The weather from Google Earth shows an increase of cloud the more North we head. While the regular big jets are here, i feel quite the show-off in this beauty.

A total of 856 aircraft were produced in four models, all distinguished by a triple-tail design and dolphin-shaped fuselage.

See ya later Penang, we are following the VOR's up north today as the NDB's are few and too far between.

Sleek and powerful, Constellations set a number of records. On April 17, 1944, the second production L049, piloted by Howard Hughes and TWA president Jack Frye, flew from Burbank, California to Washington, D.C. in 6 hours and 57 minutes (c. 2,300 mi/3,701 km at an average 330.9 mph/532.5 km/h). On the return trip, the aircraft stopped at Wright Field to give Orville Wright his last plane flight, more than 40 years after his historic first flight. He commented that the Constellation's wingspan was longer than the distance of his first flight.

The Constellation airliner had three accidents in the first ten months of service, temporarily curtailing its career as a passenger airliner. On June 18, 1946, the engine of a Pan American aircraft caught fire and fell off. The flight crew made an emergency landing with no loss of life.

On 25 September 1946, Qantas Empire Airways (QEA) signed the contract to purchase four Lockheed Constellation aircraft for the Kangaroo Route between Britain and Australia flown in conjunction with BOAC.

Some posters from its Heyday

There are several skins to choose from in this free package. All have been superbly done and it was hard to choose which to fly.

Google Earth right on the button again, as i head into a thick layer of cloud. It was a great chance to highlight the beauty of this model.

We are now into Thailand and slowly the weather begind to change. I am hoping that it wont be low cloud cover as Ko Samui's airport is surrounded by hills.

With only 30nm to go, we slowly descend into the grey sea.

A little bit to low, i headed for finals.

A throughly enjoyable model to fly. There was no vc but the 2d cockpit was fine. I apologise for not showing a shot of it. Well, we are in Ko Samui now so it must be time for me to take over a local bar and see just how talented the local bartenders are!

Ko Samui Airport

http://www.samuicam.com/
Let's play 'Where's Kiwibarguy?' with this handy little webcam with 6 views! Copy and paste sorry.

See you next week! Thanks for reading!

[Ian Warren]

Well Paul , you chose the aircraft , none off this push button and go .. you really had to fly it ... pilot , copilot and one busy engineer .. and a radio/nav ... ... with a recent release off many of the later variants , VC 'd you may want to carry on in a later type .

[Michael]

Great stories, I like reading these, generally go out and get what you fly too

Keep them rolling!

[kiwibarguy]

Thanks Michael!

[kiwibarguy]

Ko Samui > Mergui

Put on your ol' leathery hat gents, we are off in a beauty today!

Messerschmitt Bf 109

The Bf 109 was produced in greater quantities than any other fighter aircraft in history, with a total of 33,984 units produced up to April 1945.

Great weather today as we head North West across Thailand into Myanmar. Woop Woop no rain!

The highest scoring ace of all time was the great German Luftwaffe experte Erich Hartmann with 352 aerial kills.

The Bf 109 was the most successful fighter of World War II, shooting down more aircraft than any of its contemporaries.

Clouds appear out on the horizon. Flying just shy of 390mph, the maximum speed at 22,000ft, the clouds were soon among us.

A very nice model with a superb 3d cockpit, you can find this at Simnation, well worth the download. The in cockpit sounds are awesome!

The Emil 4 which was flown mostly at the Battle of Britain, had newly modified cannon shells that were thinner in the casing , allowing more room for the explosive charge.

At this point we cross into Myanmar. We are making wonderful time in these excellent conditions.

The canopy was also revised to an easier-to-produce, "squared-off" design, which also helped improve the pilot's field of view.

As you all well know, there is nothing more fun than following rivers or valleys down to the coast, and this was no exception.

After a good 20 minutes of river cruising, we arrive at the Mergui Achipelago on the West coast of Myanmar.The population is engaged in fishing, production of rubber and coconuts, manufacture of fermented shrimp paste, the collection of edible bird's nests and pearl farming.

The Mergui Archipelago is an archipelago in far southern Myanmar. It consists of more than 800 islands, varying in size from very small to hundreds of square kilometres, all lying in the Andaman Sea off the western shore of the Malay Peninsula.

The area was only opened up to foreign tourism in 1997 after negotiations between Myanmar and dive operators from Phuket in Thailand.

The archipelago's isolation is such that much of it has not even yet been thoroughly explored.

350km or so later and here we are! VYME to the local aviators or otherwise known as Myeik Airport to tourists.

Air Bagan and Myanmar Airways are the two most seen airlines here.

Thanks for joining me again. Soon enough we will be saying goodbye to the sea and heading our way up into Asia. Auf Wiedersehen!

Lets enjoy the laid back lifestyles of Mergui, because next week we head for busy Bangkok!.

[Ian Warren]

Its a relaxing style alright ... just something about this area .. ok the tropics and you really party in such a different way the sky .. atmosphere is calm , the food , one part of the world i really love !

[kiwibarguy]

I have been thinking lately about adding more craft to the trip. Would you like to see helicopters and/or jets included or should i stay with the props only? I could also incluse others such as cars, boats etc.

Please let me know your thoughts.

Kiwibarguy
Cheers

[Njbb1995]

I'm all for Jets, Copters etc, but boats and cars?