Nice! I’ll get to Eastern Russia in a few months, Russia covers 11 time zones! I’m roughly taking on the world one or two time zones at a time.
Leg 131, Syktyvkar, Russia via a bit of Kazakhstan to Orsk, Russia
DAY12_31.PLN (6.2 KB)
This will be the last flight at night for a long time, it’s time to switch my local flight schedule. I did see some of the sun today but it was long gone before the sun came up locally. I’m flying about 10 time zones away from where I live. Sunsetfor my destination today is 5:09 pm, GMT+5. I’m at GMT-5, thus in my time frame the sun sets at 7:09 am. The good news is, that the sun will be up at 11:10 PM my time, which will only get earlier since I’m still 51 degrees North. The days will get longer until June 21st and I’ll be heading further South as well.
12-31 Syktyvkar Southwest USYY 3:04 AM
12-31 Pobedilovo USKK 4:15 AM
12-31 Christopol UWKI 5:30 AM
12-31 Nurlat UNUU 5:51 AM
12-31 Novosyolki UNOM 6:10 AM
12-31 Podstepki UPOT 6:23 AM
12-31 Kurumoch UWWW 6:38 AM
12-31 Rozhdestveno Airfield UROZ 6:45 AM Runway?
12-31 Samara Kryazh Air Base USAB 6:50 AM
12-31 Uralsk UARR 7:35 AM
12-31 Orenburg AB UORE 8:26 AM Virtual vision landing
12-31 Orenburg UWOO 8:34 AM Runway lights
12-31 Airport URUA 9:12 AM Drone cam landing
12-31 Orsk UORS 9:28 AM
12-31 Gudron Airfield UORR 9:32 AM
12-31 Orsk UWOR 9:37 AM
Flight time 6:33 15 stops
Another cold start, with low hanging clouds. Only now and then offering a glimpse of the terrain below. Here while crossing Reka (River) Bystitsa
Much further along already between Pobedilovo and Christopol, Reka Vyatka
Christopol on the Kama river
I don’t know if it’s intentional that the river banks have no snow (water mask) but is realistic with the water level receding when it starts to freeze. A common site in my backyard, living on the Grand River (Southwestern Ontario) myself. (Although maybe not the scale as seen above)
Christopol is home to the Boris Pasternak museum
Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (1890-1960) was a Russian Empire and Soviet poet, novelist, and literary translator. He was awarded the Nobel prize for literature in 1958 and is the author of the well known Dr. Zhivago among other great literary works.
Dr.Zhivago 1965 movie by David Lean, starring Omar Sharif
One of the epic movies I need to watch again sometime, just like Lawrence of Arabia
The landscape below around Nurlat
I was quite into winter photography after I moved to Canada. Sunlight plus snow and ice creates magical scenes. I’ve damaged a couple expensive Canon lenses by taking them out in -20c weather.
How fast the climate changes. The river hardly freezes over anymore and no more local ice rink for the past couple years. It still gets cold, but only for a couple days until the weather swings around again, creating more of a mess instead of beautiful winter scenes. No more charcoal sounding snow chunks when kicked across the street. No more diamond like sparkling snow in the morning sun. Also no more crazy neighbor walking on the river (You never know where the weak spots are with flowing water underneath, do not ever walk on a frozen river)
Sorry, I’m rambling. Just looking at the boring brown mess outside, thinking back to 10 years ago
Filmed from my attic in Januari 2010. The eagles still come around at least
Nurlat on the Kondurcha River, a bit less snow here
Icing seems to be getting less as well on the way to Novosyolki
Novosyolki is still covered under deep snow, the runway included
Nearby, Polygon Avtovaz Sosnovka just North-East of Tashelka
Several race tracks inside a huge banked loop for summer and winter fun
Sokskoye Kar’yeroupravleniye on the river Volga (Sokskoe Quarry)
Samara nearby, on the river Volga and river Samara
Stalin’s WWII bunker can be found here, now a subterranean museum
View of Samara with Ploshchad’ Slavy (Glory square) on the right
Also here, Iversky Womens monastery
On to Uralsk while the sun goes down (7 AM my time)
Crossing the Kazakhstan border
Approaching Uralsk. Sunsets last deliciously long up North
Uralsk, formerly known as Yaitsk, at the confluence of the Ural and Chagan rivers
As it is located on the western bank of the Ural river, it is considered geographically in Europe
On the way to Orenburg the sun disappears (Still dark locally)
Approaching Orenburg, waiting for the full moon to rise
Orenburg Airbase, max exposure
Moon rise over Orenburg
From 1938 to 1957, it bore the name Chkalov Oblast in honor of Valery Chkalov
Chkalov monument
Valery Pavlovich Chkalov (1904-1938) was a test pilot awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.
In 1936 and 1937, he participated in several ultra long flights, including a 63-hour flight from Moscow, Soviet Union to Vancouver, Washington, United States via the North Pole in a Tupolev ANT-25 airplane (18–20 June 1937), a non-stop distance of 4,758 nautical miles. The flight pioneered the polar air route from Europe to the American Pacific Coast.
He was planning the world’s first non-stop flight around the planet before he died on 15 December 1938 while piloting a prototype of the Polikarpov I-180 fighter.
Flying on to Airport (ARUA), landing strip without a name
It’s between Burebay, Arkaim and Makan
Final stop today at Orsk on the Ural river
Which features a statue of Taras Shevchenko (1814-1861) A Ukrainian poet, writer, artist, public and political figure, as well as folklorist and ethnographer whose literary heritage is regarded to be the foundation of modern Ukrainian literature
A popular and successful last name. When I googled the name, Valentina Shevchenko (Kyrgyzstani-Peruvian professional mixed martial artist) and Andriy Shevchenko (Ukrainian former professional football player, former politician, and current football manager) popped up. It took a few tries to get a match to the statue.
Next time I’ll be flying in full sun again with the sunrise instead of sunsets.
It took me a while to realise but aren’t you also Sven from GT Planet? The dude who rather loves the Nurburgring?
Beautiful topic Sven, are you gonna do Western Hemisphere tour as well ? US+South América ?
Yep. I’m pretty taxed out gaming this week lol. I’m currently racing on the N24 in my Ghibli themed Lexus, while updating my route from last night in between races.
I also enjoyed Elite Dangerous at the time and did a tour of the Galaxy there
This tour is much longer though. It ‘only’ took 64 days to explore the Galaxy. Earth is a lot more varied!
Yes, eventually. After completing Asia and Oceania including the pacific islands and Hawaii. From South America I’ll see if I have any options to visit Antarctica as well. I might have to land on an airport that’s not (yet) listed in the game like at Svalbard. Anyway that’s all still months away.
I switched to flying in the evening and night, already feeling some jet lag lol. Shifting my routine 6 hours ahead, instead of getting up at 3 AM, going to bed at 5 AM.
Leg 132, Orsk, Russia, via Kazakhstan to Kantubek, Vozrozhdeniya Island, Uzbekistan
DAY01_01.PLN (4.9 KB)
New year, new routine. Sunrises instead of sunsets for the next few months.
12-31 Orsk UWOR 10:30 PM
12-31 Martuk UAMT 10:56 PM
12-31 Aktyubinsk UATT 11:08 PM
12-31 Temir UATQ 11:31 PM
01-01 Gurvey Northeast UAAU 12:53 AM
01-01 Atyrau UATG 1:01 AM
01-01 Qaraton UAQT 1:32 AM
01-01 Buzachi UATU 2:10 AM
01-01 Aktau UATE 2:43 AM
01-01 Beyneu UABY 3:51 AM
01-01 Ostrov Vozrozhdeniya Southwest UTMY 4:54 AM
01-01 Ostrov Vozrozhdeniya UTMO 4:59 AM
Flight time 6:29 11 stops
Kazakhstan is lacking detail in many area in the sim. The country is also mostly flat, low population density, not all that much to see. Long distances between locations as well which came out rather well with the new years programs on. The Caspian sea continues to show cracks. Perhaps the different height levels are because the Sea is shrinking and coastal area have more recent height data than the middle.
Osk Departure half an hour before dawn
Cold, frigid morning with plenty ice fog in the air
Aktyubinsk (aka Aktobe) on the Ilek River
Saint Nicholas Orthodox Church with Nurgasyr Regional Central Mosque behind on the left
Abul Khair Khan monument on the right. Abul Khair Khan (1693–1748) was leader of the Kazakh Little jüz and helped the country against Dzungar forces.
The moon is still out as well
I can see the moon here locally as well, same moon, different position
Bayganin, I’m leaving the now behind
Near Makat, some kind mining, oil or gas I guess
Atyrau, known until 1991 as Guryev on the Ural river at the edge of the Caspian Sea
Atyrau is a transcontinental city in Eurasia, straddling both sides of the Ural river
Flying over the Caspian Sea
It is only about 16 ft deep here and is estimated to fall dry in 75 years
Aktau on the Eastern shore of the Caspian Sea, formerly known as Shevchenko (until 1991)
The current name means White mountain, likely referring to the exposed cliffs
Finally some color in the landscape on the way to Beyneu
Arm of the Caspian Sea that has fallen dry already
Beyneu, oil town in Western Kazakhstan
Which is quickly disappearing after the Amu Darya river in the south and the Syr Darya river in the east were diverted from feeding the Aral Sea to irrigate the desert
Vozrozhdeniya Island, one of the deadliest places on Earth
Kantubek, ghost town since 1991 when it was quickly abandoned after the USSR collapsed
Until 1991 biological weapons tests were conducted here
Leg 133, Vozrozhdeniya Island, Uzbekistan, via Kazakhstan to Omsk, Russia
DAY01_02.PLN (4.5 KB)
Kazakhstan is big and mostly flat and empty. Not a whole lot to see from the air, not many places to visit either with 6 people per sq km. I still found one interesting place before heading back into Russia for a bit and the capital of Kazakhstan is awesome.
01-01 Ostrov Vozrozhdeniya UTMO 10:00 PM
01-01 Krainiy UATJ 10:56 PM
01-01 Zhosaly UAZO 11:10 PM Faded runway
01-02 Zhezkazgan UAKD 12:18 AM
01-02 50°01’19.23"N 66°59’28.88"E 1:01 AM CTD
CTD over snowy terrain, too long in drone camera? Cockpit was not rendering anymore, restart
01-02 Last known position 1:08 AM
01-02 Arkaylyk South UAAL 1:13 AM Unclear runway, not sure what I landed on
01-02 Arkalyk North UAUR 1:17 AM
01-02 Shortandy UASJ 2:06 AM Unclear runway, might be a road
01-02 Astana UACC 2:28 AM Nur-Sultan Capital
01-02 Maryanovka Airfield ULYY 3:49 AM
01-02 Tsentralny UNOO 4:02 AM
01-02 Omsk East Z25X 4:07 AM
Flight time 6:07 10 stops
This was about the most interesting sight for the first 2 hours
And some mining / drilling sites. Flat and brown is the running theme
Heading North-East the snow is starting to come back
A canyon below with an unnamed river, no info to be found
Arkalyk, was the center of Torgay Region, which was abolished in 1997
Describes as a city of miners, however the bauxite mines are almost depleted
Historically Arkalyk was a center for the Soviet space program
Cosmonauts would land on the huge central Kazakh steppe and come back to Arkalyk before heading to the Baikonur
Nur-Sultan, the capital of Kazakhstan on the Ishim river
Lots of amazing sights here, including the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation, pyramid
Nur Astana Mosque on the right
The Sphere, museum of the future
Expo 2017 Astana
Khan Satyr Entertainment center, largest tent in the world
Baiterek tower on the right
Departing from Astana aiport, icy runways
Ice does have an effect, full throttle will make the plane slide with the parking brake on. It doesn’t do that on clear runways.
Low hanging clouds appear on the way to Maryanovka
Approaching Omsk, the cloud cover thickens with more snow on the ground
It’s still a bit odd that all the roads get snow first / longest
Railway monument on the Trans Siberian railway
9,289 kilometers long, from Moscow to Vladivostok, the longest railway-line in the world.
Leg 134, Omsk, Russia, via Kazakhstan to Barnaul, Russia
DAY01_03.PLN (6.1 KB)
Last night’s flight was a magical winter wonderland tour. Lovely mountains with multiple layers of clouds in the low Northern sun. It was cold, -36F ground temperature!
01-02 Omsk East Z25X 9:25 PM
01-02 Tatarsk ZEG5 9:56 PM
01-02 Chany XNOR 10:12 PM
01-02 Kupino UKUP 10:26 PM
01-02 Slavgorod Severniy Air Base USLL 11:01 PM
01-02 Pavlodar UASP 11:27 PM
01-03 Kurchatov Airfield UAKC 12:07 AM Semipaltinsk, nuclear test site
01-03 Semipalatinsk UASS 12:46 AM
01-03 Ust-Kamenogorsk UASK 1:23 AM
01-03 Zubovsk UAMA 1:55 AM
01-03 Ust-Koksa UNBU 2:24 AM
01-03 Elekmona UNCX 3:07 AM Runway?
01-03 Gorno-Altaisk UNBG 3:15 AM
01-03 Biysk UNBI 3:30 AM
01-03 Lesnoy Airfield USAN 3:56 AM
01-03 Barnaul UNBB 4:05 AM
Flight time 6:40 15 stops
Cold early morning at Tatarsk, a little East from Omsk
On the way to Slavgorod, clouds appear on the horizon. They will be trouble later
Slavgorod Severniy Air Base in Altai Krai, Russia
Altai is a Russian republic in southern Siberia around the Altai Mountains
Reaching the clouds on the way to Pavlodar
The moon is getting smaller, still very visible
Pavlodar, Kazakhstan, along the Irtysh river. Note the ground temperature
At 3,000 ft it warms up to -18F
To Kurchatov, still some icing despite it being far below zero. Just on the windows though
Kurchatov, named after Soviet nuclear physicist Igor Kurchatov
The town was once the center of operations for the adjoining Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site
Lake Chagan, created by nuclear tests. Hard to find, eerie place in the fog.
Landing in Semey, until 2007 known as Semipalatinsk and in 1917–1920 as Alash-kala
I decide to get above the cloud cover on the way to Ust-Kamenogorsk
Only a few small glimpses of the ground below
Until it cleared up close to Ust-Kamenogorsk
Ust-Kamenogorsk, warming up, a balmy -25F / -32c
Cold weather makes beautiful scenes
Zubovsk, ‘warmer’ up higher, still in the clouds, more icing as a result
Ust’-Koksa where the Kosa river joins the Katun river
Elekmona in a nice little valley further down the Katun river. Ice on the river!
Tough climbing out of the valley with all this ice on my plane
Gorno-Altaisk, a break in the clouds over the airpot
Leaving the mountains behind on the way North to Biysk
Biysk on the Biya river, not far from the confluence with the Katun river to then become the Ob river
Final stop today, Barnaul, Russia, along a partly frozen Ob river
Leg 135, Barnaul, Alta Krai to Kyzyl, Tuva Republic, Russia
DAY01_04.PLN (8.1 KB)
Awesome sunrise today, more winter wonderland before ending up in clouds from ground level to 12K ft or higher. There were still a few breaks in the clouds yet the mountains remained mostly invisible.
01-03 Barnaul UNBB 8:27 PM
01-03 Berdsk Airfield UBED 8:56 PM
01-03 ObGES Airfield UKRN 9:02 PM Runway?
01-03 Tolmachevo UNNT 9:10 PM
01-03 Novosibirsk North UNCC 9:16 PM
01-03 Mochische Airfield UMOC 9:22 PM
01-03 Kedrovka ZCT5 9:58 PM
01-03 Kemerovo Severny UKEM 10:07 PM
01-03 Kemerovo UNEE 10:12 PM
01-03 Prokopyevsk Southeast UNWW 10:42 PM
01-03 Sharypovo UNKO 11:26 PM
01-03 Nazarovo UNAZ 11:45 PM
01-04 Yemelyanovo UNKL 12:09 AM
01-04 Cheremshanka UNKM 12:12 AM
01-04 Solnechniy Airfield USOO 12:19 AM
01-04 Kuznetsovo Airfield UBER 12:29 AM Runway?
01-04 Novoselovo UBOA 1:09 AM
01-04 Anash UBOD 1:20 AM Runway??
01-04 Krasnoturansk UKRK 1:36 AM
01-04 Abakan UNAA 1:53 AM
01-04 Shushenskoye UNAU 2:07 AM
01-04 Kyzyl UNKY 3:12 AM
Flight time 6:45 21 stops
Starting early, already at Berdsk before dawn, where the Berd river flows into the Ob river
Novosibirsk, just North on the Ob river.
Sunrise on the way to Kedrovka
Kedrovka in between pink fluffy clouds
Kedrovka Airport, chilly foggy morning
Kamerovo on the frozen river Tom
Kamerovo Severny ‘Airport’ or rather frozen field
A proper airport on the South side of the city
On the way to Prokopyevsk, only an occasional glimpse of the terrain below
The snow covered ground seems to glow in the low Northern sun
Prokopyevsk, about as clear as it got today
Ust’-Naryk, a glimpse of the forest below
Belogorsk on the eastern spurs of the Kuznetsk Alatau mountain range
The large open pit mine at Belogorsk remains hidden
Nazarovo airport, it’s getting darker
Krasnoyarsk on the Yenisei river in Siberia
Without the snow it would be really dark here, so cloudy
Winter and summer at Krasnoyarsk
Krasnoyarsk seems to be a very laid back city
Home to the Vasily Surikov Estate
Vasily Ivanovich Surikov (1848-1916) was a Russian Realist history painter. He is well known nowadays through the use of many of his works as illustrations.
A world traveler, illustrating what he sees along the way, I like him
I’ve actually seen his work before on this trip. In 1877 he was commissioned to paint murals for the Catherdral of Christ the Savior in Moscow.
A glimpse of the Yenisei river, so wide I can’t even see both sides at the same time in this fog
Abakan, at the confluence of the Yenisei and Abakan Rivers
Two wide sprawling rivers, catching a glimpse of one of them
Gora Lyubvi, meaning Mountain of love
Memorial complex dedicated to the wars of different eras with great views of the city
ГАУК РХ Khakass National Museum of Local Lore named after LR Kyzlasov
Abakan also features a monument to Ivan Yarygan (1948-1997), the famous heavyweight freestyle wrestler
Golden Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin 2020, a United World Wrestling rankings freestyle wrestling international tournament, which was held in Krasnoyarsk between the 23rd and 26th of January 2020. A month before the pandemic shut everything down.
Mostly cloudy the rest of the way, couple breaks near Khrebet Baldyrgannyg mountain peak
The peak remains hidden, yet some snowy mountain tops were visible
Looking back to the mountains over the Turan river
Kyzyl, the capital of the Tuva Republic, Russia on the Yenisei river
The name means red or crimson in Tuvan
Kyzyl was previously known as Belotsarsk (until 1918), Khem-Beldyr (until 1926)
Some amazing art works on the river bank
Part of Obelisk Tsentr Azii
Marking the (once thought) geographical center of Asia
Hopefully the weather will be a bit better tomorrow (or rather today) to see a bit more of the mountains while heading into Mongolia on the way to Kyrgyzstan
Leg 136, Kyzyl, Tuva Republic, Russia via Mongolia and Kazakhstan to Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China
DAY01_05.PLN (5.4 KB)
I made an unscheduled stop today. Frozen lake Kanas looked to inviting to pass up landing on it. It was broken up in the middle yet completely flat and solid more to the ends. Easy fun landing.
01-04 Kyzyl UNKY 8:10 PM
01-04 Ulaangom ZMUG 8:57 PM
01-04 Ulgii ZMUL 9:38 PM video
01-04 Khovd ZMKD 10:13 PM
01-04 Bulgan Sum ZMBS 11:02 PM
01-04 Altay Air Base ZAWW 11:59 PM
01-05 Kanas ZWKN 12:18 AM
CTD not long after departure, restart
01-05 Kanas ZWKN 12:30 AM
01-05 48°52’48.11"N 87°7’45.96"E 12:59 AM Landed on frozen lake Kanas
01-05 Zaysan UASE 1:47 AM
01-05 Karamay ZWKM 2:36 AM Water from Hinge reservoir 204 miles away
01-05 Shihezi Airfield ZSHI 3:05 AM
01-05 Wulumuqi Air Base ZYUS 3:23 AM
01-05 Diwopu ZWWW 3:30 AM
01-05 Urumqi South Air Base ZYAG 3:41 AM
Flight time 7:39 13 stops
Flying out at dawn over Tandy-Uula Ridge
The sunrise was blocked by distant clouds, over lake Uvs
Ulaangom, the capital of Uvs Province in Mongolia, located on the slopes of the Kharkhiraa mountain
They have some very cute cattle here
Harhiraa Uul mountain peak, 9,715 ft high
Quite the view in the early morning
Ulgii, the capital of the Bayan-Ölgii Aimag of Mongolia
This area is home to the eagle hunters
Wide open terrain near Dund-Us, perfect for eagle hunting
Tradidtional Mongolian yurts in the background, aka Ger, portable, circular dwellings
Wide screen angle to get both sun and moon in the same shot
Near Bulgan Gol National Park, back over the plains
Qinghezhen, Qinggil County, Altay Prefecture, Xinjiang, China
Taiga Corridor feeding lake Kanas
Laka Kanas and Taiga Corridor in summer
Currently it looks more like this
Just make sure to lift off before the edge
Via Xinjiang Kanas National Geopark
A good look at how the game handles snow transitions
Karamay, a prefecture-level city in the north of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
Jiulongton (九龙潭) water arriving in the city from the Hinge reservoir over 200 miles away
Jiulongton on the left, the end of a 200+ mile long aquaduct through the mountains
This city seems to be a tourist destination, featuring Word Devil City (世界魔鬼城) amusement park
Heiyoushan Park (黑油山公园) monument to the oil found here, right on the surface
Radical change in scenery over Dengjiaqucun, Shawan County
I imagine it’s not really that green there right now
Shihezi Airport, landing in icy fog
Ürümqi, or Urumchi, abbreviated Wushi, formerly known as Tihwa, the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport
View of the city and Xinjiang Ancient Ecological Park on the right
Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Museum, featuring the local history and culture
There is so much more to see of China, but I’m just nicking the North-West corner for now. Back West tomorrow to Kyrgyzstan.
Leg 137, Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China, via Kazakhstan to Kazarman, Kyrgyzstan
DAY01_06.PLN (5.9 KB)
Some steep mountain flying in this leg. I’m very glad the Bonanza got the power boost last update, this leg would have been two legs without it. Awesome mountains in this region.
01-05 Urumqi South Air Base ZYAG 8:00 PM
01-05 Xinyuan Nalati ZWNL 9:04 PM
01-05 Yining ZWYN 9:37 PM Building at end of runway
01-05 Sarkand UASR 10:16 PM
01-05 Balkhash UAAH 11:26 PM
01-05 Cambala UASI 11:52 PM
01-06 Jeppesen Avia Club UABN 12:49 AM
01-06 Iliysk North UAKP 1:07 AM
01-06 Zhetygen UAKS 1:16 AM
01-06 Almaty UAAA 1:35 AM
01-06 Tyup UATY 2:15 AM
01-06 Karakol UCFP 2:24 AM
01-06 Tamga UAKA 2:48 AM
01-06 Naryn UANA 3:29 AM
01-06 Kazarman UAFZ 4:03 AM
Flight time 8:03 14 stops
Starting before dawn again, with a steep climb to 16,000 ft over Taipuqi Kewuzeng river
Topping out at 16,500 ft to get over the mountain range
The sun is starting to light up the mountain tops at Ke Erdala
Ka’er A’erhan Bulakesi river below
Kax river flowing out the mountains crossing the Duku Highway nearby
Near A Susayi over the Duku Highway (G217) crossing the Tianshan Mountains
Considered China’s most beautiful highway following the route of the Wusu Ancient Road
Near Dunmazhazhen, Ghulja, Ili, Xinjiang
Yining county, also transliterated from Uyghur as Gulja County, along the Ili river
Lake Sayram, high up in the mountains
Wenquan county, also transliterated from Mongolian as Arixang County, on the border with Kazakhstan
Flying into Sarkand district, Kazakhstan
Priozersk, closed city on lake Balkhash
It serves as the administrative center of Sary Shagan anti-ballistic missile testing site
Lake Balkhash, huge lake in South Western Kazakhstan.
Time flies, half the moon gone again already
The South East shore of lake Balkhash has forests
The Ile river delta provides plenty fertile ground
Jappesen Avia Club along the Ile river
Iliysk, Ile river canyon near Kapchagay
Chertov palets along the canyon and a view of the Kazakh steppe in bloom
Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest metropolis, set in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains
It served as the country’s capital until 1997 and remains Kazakhstan’s trading and cultural hub
Zenkov’s cathedral, wooden Ukrainian-baroque Russian Orthodox cathedral
Central State Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan
You can walk through the museum in Google street view
Almaty Airport, ready to take on the next mountain range
Straight up the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains
Flying towards Pik Talgar, 16,335 ft, highest peak of the Trans-Ili Alatau
Shymbulak ski resort, with over 7 miles of trails, in the other direction
Spectacular crossing into Kyrgyzstan
Tuyup, Kyrgyzstan, on the East end of lake Issyk Kul, North side
The lake and Karakol’s Holy Trinity Cathedral, a little South of Tuyup
Tamga, about halfway along lake Issyk Kul
Across the next mountain range to Naryn
Khrebet Kuylyutau mountain peak in the distance, 17,326 ft
Looking back on approach to Kazarman
Kazarman, village and capital of Toguz-Toro District, Jalal-Abad Region
One source says that “this poor dust-blown settlement in northern Jalal-Abad Region has something of the sinister reputation of a tough mining town down on its luck”
The Makmal open-pit gold mine just to the south no longer provides employment opportunities. The town is largely cut off in winter when the roads are closed by snow.
They have an airport at least! Further West tomorrow via the capital of Kyrgyzstan
Leg 138, Kazarman, Kyrgyzstan, via Tajikistan to Shakristabz, Uzbekistan
DAY01_07.PLN (11.6 KB)
I’ll probably have to make 2 posts for this leg considering I have 65 screenshots from last night, oops. The mountain ranges of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, under last nights weather conditions were simply incredible. I had laid out a very difficult route as well, icing was a given, but I could have toned down a bit on all the stops at small airstrips. It was great fun, each landing with the continuous beeping of the stall warning due to icing requiring a rather higher landing speed than the short air strips demanded. Some were also shrouded in heavy fog or low hanging clouds.
Luckily the wind was nice to me and I only needed to circle for one crossing to gain enough altitude. The Bonanza still flies pretty well iced up but has its limits. I’m hoping the weather cooperates when I get to Mount Everest as my desired crossing requires 20K ft altitude, backup crossing 18K ft. Anyway that’s still a month away after India.
01-06 Kazarman UAFZ 8:18 PM
01-06 Sosnovka UASV 8:40 PM
01-06 Verkhnyaya Alaarcha UABH 9:02 PM Virtual vision landing, short runway, 2 attempts
01-06 Frunze Northwest UABS 9:13 PM short runway, 2 attempts, my sleeve pushes the throttle open again doh
01-06 Manas UCFM (Bishkek) 9:17 PM
01-06 Lugovoy UA36 9:49 PM
01-06 Talas UATL 10:15 PM Hard to climb mountains with icing…
01-06 Toktogul UATO 10:39 PM
01-06 Kerben UAKR 11:04 PM Heavy fog, icing
01-06 Namangan UTFN 11:17 PM
01-06 Pap East UTPB 11:26 PM Unclear runway
01-06 Pap UTPP 11:29 PM
01-07 Tashkent Vostochny UT63 12:12 AM
01-07 Yuzhny UTTT 12:15 AM Tashkent capital
01-07 Tashkent Sergeli UTTS 12:19 AM
01-07 Kalinovka / Angren UTTY 12:25 AM Runway? Nearly ran into the building
01-07 Chartak UTAI 12:29 AM
01-07 Ak Kurgan UTZA 12:32 AM
01-07 Soldatskiy Southeast UTZF 12:35 AM
01-07 Ina Chkalova UTGS 12:42 AM
01-07 Gulistan North UTGI 12:46 AM
01-07 Dustlik East UTDI 12:59 AM
01-07 Pakhtakor UT1Q 1:06 AM
01-07 Ayni UTAY 1:40 AM Virtual vision landing, too foggy
01-07 Garm UTRA 2:20 AM Virtual vision landing, heavy fog
01-07 Khovaling UTKV 2:46 AM Virtual vision landing, heavy fog
01-07 Dushanbe UTDD 3:11 AM
01-07 Gissar UT45 3:15 AM
01-07 Galyabita East UTTU 3:27 AM
01-07 Sariasiya UT72 3:32 AM
01-07 Zar Chob UTDN 3:41 AM short ‘runway’ on a hill
01-07 Shakristabz Southwest UTSZ 4:09 AM
Flight time 7:51 31 stops
Early morning climb over Gory Dzhamantau / Jamauntau mountain range, highest peak 13,520 ft
Karamoinok Chokusu Nature Preserve
Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan against Central Asia’s Tian Shan range
Ala too square with a statue of Manas
The epic of Manas is an important part of Kyrgizstan history
History and cultural values transferred from one generation to the next in the form of an epic poem
There are also exotic bazaars to be found in Bishkek, Dordoy bazaar and Osh bazaar below
Departure from Manas airport, still before sunrise
I could use some sunshine to ‘clean’ the windows
Near Oytal, popping into a corner of Kazakhstan for a little bit
And further on to Talas, back into Kyrgyzstan
Mountain ranges are perfect as borders
The sun is up, yet no sighting yet
Entering the Talas River Valley
Mountain range on the North side of the valley
Maybe a local knows the name of the mountain range, not on digital maps
The view at Talas and another Manas monument
Chychkan river and Route M41 below, more commonly known as the Pamir Highway
The M41 connects Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan through the Pamir mountains
Naryn River, flowing out of the reservoir to Toktogul’skaya Ges, hydro electric power plant
As seen from the other direction. The dam remains hidden in the coulds.
Gora Boboiob Mountain Peak, 12,369 ft
Akhangaran Reservoir below, mostly frozen over
Tashkent, the capital city of Uzbekistan
Known for its many museums and its mix of modern and Soviet-era architecture
Tashkent Vestochny airport in the distance
Amir Timur (also spelled as Taimer and Temur) museum and statue
Amir Timur (1336-1405) was a Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timurid dynasty.
State museum of history of Uzbekistan
There are many many museums in Tashkent, big and small.
Memorial and Museum of victims of repressions on the left.
Muzey Tykvy, small family museum on the right.
My poor ‘drivers’ don’t get to see much at all on this trip, so much ice
Window defrost is still in/op as well, I wonder if they have heat at least…
Coming up on Zaamin National Park
I had to circle for a bit to finally skim over the top of a ridge into Tajikistan
Ayni, one of the places where I had to use the virtual display to land
Named after the Tajik national poet Sadriddin Ayni
The windows cleared up, my lucky pilots get to see something as well
Sky and mountains competing who can look the best
It’s clearing up a bit closer to Garm
Rasht Valley where Garm is located
What are the odds Garm is inside that cloud…
https://i.imgur.com/izEQkmI.png
Looking away from Garm, which is behind me, inside the cloud
https://i.imgur.com/lAaFYqE.png
Leaving Garm after another virtual vision landing
https://i.imgur.com/7SeyU4m.png
Seri Khosor National Park
https://i.imgur.com/092aT59.png
https://i.imgur.com/meE3x94.png
Asobo, you are amazing
https://i.imgur.com/f1u4OHa.png
Kyzulsu or Vakhsh River in that little blue spot in the clouds
https://i.imgur.com/x32RV4H.png
Most rivers have no names, this one has two on the map
Getting ready to land in Dushanbe, approaching over the Varzob River
https://i.imgur.com/IpHsdUU.png
Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan
https://i.imgur.com/wHvgNrJ.png
Navruz palace / Palace of nations / The White house, the official residence of the president of Tajikistan
https://i.imgur.com/YwF9eSH.png
Flag pole park and Rudaki park and monument
https://i.imgur.com/w0ggmyX.png
Abū 'Abd Allāh Ja’far ibn Muḥammad al-Rūdhakī (858-951) better known as Rudaki and as “Adam of Poets”, was a Persian poet regarded as the first great literary genius of the Modern Persian language.
National museum of Tajikistan with instruments from Gurminj’s Musical Instruments Museum on the left
https://i.imgur.com/DahDtnJ.png
Tupolangdar’ya River and Tupalang Ges power station
https://i.imgur.com/FlBCvtH.png
Shirkent National Park
https://i.imgur.com/QZh9a2d.png
Tupolangdar’ya River near Chash
https://i.imgur.com/IDK035H.png
Crossing the border into Uzbekistan
https://i.imgur.com/jmNIHBB.png
My final stop was at Shakristabz where you can visit the remains of Ak Sary Palace
https://i.imgur.com/ym58ojD.png
Amir Temur ruled here as well, this was his 14th century summer palace
What an amazing and demanding flight. Now I’m kinda looking forward to a more ‘boring’ trek over the plains of Kazakhstan (in an hour or so from now). First more of Uzbekistan before making my way back to the Caspian Sea and Turkmenistan.
Leg 139, Shakristabz, Uzbekistan, via Kazakhstan to Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan
DAY01_08.PLN (7.2 KB)
Big contrast to yesterday’s flight, long flights over the Kazakh steppe. Just what I needed, some time to catch up on other things and then relax with an inflight movie. The scale of Kazakhstan keeps surprising me. The country is over half the width of Europe.
01-07 Shakhristabz Southwest UTSZ 8:40 PM
01-07 Samarkand UTSS 8:57 PM
01-07 Kumushkent UTDA 9:05 PM Drone cam landing, unclear runway, 2 attempts
01-07 Kattaming UTPS 9:18 PM Drone cam landing
01-07 Navoi UTSA 9:35 PM
01-07 Muruntau Souteast UTTM 10:05 PM
01-07 Tandy Bulak UTSM 10:13 PM
01-07 Zhangaqorghan UAZN 11:08 PM
01-07 Kzyl-Orda UABK 11:47 PM
01-07 Kyzylorda UAOO 11:53 PM
01-08 Nukus UTNN 1:28 AM
01-08 Oqmang’it UTOQ 1:38 AM Faded runway
01-08 Kungrad UT77 1:54 AM
01-08 Tomar Ozek UTMN 2:08 AM Short landing strip
01-08 Muynak UT1R 2:20 AM
01-08 Muynoq UTMQ 2:34 AM
01-08 Beleuli North UT1O 2:46 AM
01-08 Bekdash TM0I 4:16 AM
01-08 Turkmenbashi UTAK 4:49 AM
Flight time 8:29 18 stops
Departure from Shakhristabz to fly to Samarkand. Still dark out
Since I’ve been flying West again it’s taking longer and longer for the sun to come up
The moon is also providing less and less light each day
Samarkand, the city provides plenty light to light up the sky
Samarkand is on the Silk Road, the ancient trade route linking China to the Mediterranean
There any many mosques and mausoleums to be found here.
Gur-e Amir Complex on the left, 15th-century mausoleum of Turko-Mongol conqueror Timur
Observatory of Ulugbek Samarkand, middle, 15th century Islamic observatory, featuring a celestial measuring stone and nowadays a museum.
Tillya-Kori Madrasah, right, completed in 1660. One of the three madrasahs part of the Registan, public square and the heart of the ancient city of Samarkand
Navoi, he turned onto the runway as I was landing, good time to ask for directions
The sun is finally making an appearance just before Tandy Bulak
There is a whole lot of terrain just like this, near Ugiz
It goes on and on, just entered Kazakhstan on the way to Kyzylorda
A break in the terrain, it’s one of the irrigation canals diverting water away from the Aral Sea
Nukus where the canal goes back in Uzbekistan, desert is turned into farm land for the cotton industry
Muynak in northern Karakalpakstan, an autonomous republic in Uzbekistan
Muynak used to be a port on the Aral Sea, now 150 km from the water
Nowadays it’s a disaster tourism destination
And also the location for the biggest electronic music festival in Central Asia
After a couple more quick stops along the former South shore of the Aral Sea I settled in for a long flight straight to the Caspian Sea. To Bekdash over the seemingly endless Kazakh steppe.
I had my in flight movie, showing the terrain below, enhanced by the sense of scale of flying over it
Bekdash approach, located between the Garabogazköl Basin and the Caspian Sea
Bekdash, aka Garabogaz since 2002. For good measure, it’s in a cloud.
Last stop today, Turkmenbashi, formerly known as Krasnovodsk and Kyzyl-Su
A port city in the Balkan Region in Turkmenistan, on the Krasnovodsk Gulf of the Caspian Sea
Tomorrow I’ll be heading South. Sun rise in Turkmenbashi is 9:50 PM my time, I guess I’ll be flying the first bit in the dark again. Enjoying the stars over the desert.
Leg 140, Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan to Khash, Iran
DAY01_09.PLN (7.7 KB)
South towards the Gulf of Oman through Eastern Iran
01-08 Turkmenbashi UTAK 8:41 PM
01-08 Cheleken East UT1J 8:56 PM Virtual vision landing
01-08 Nebit Dag UT1H 9:15 PM Virtual vision landing
01-08 Kizyl Arvat UT55 9:49 PM Virtual vision landing
01-08 Arcabil UTAJ 10:22 PM
01-08 Ashkhabad Bezmein UT1G 10:28 PM
01-08 Ashgabat UTAA 10:34 PM
01-08 Gyaurs Airfield UTAN 10:48 PM
01-08 Mary North UT52 11:42 PM
01-08 Mary UTAM 11:45 PM
01-09 Serakhs Southeast UT50 12:11 AM
01-09 Sarakhs OIMC 12:16 AM
01-09 Sarakhs South Z14H 12:18 AM
01-09 Shahid Hashemi Nejad Intl OIMM 12:44 AM
01-09 Nishabur OIMY 1:07 AM
01-09 Sabzevar OIMS 1:31 AM
01-09 Ferdows OIFR 2:17 AM
01-09 Birjand OIMB 2:54 AM
01-09 Zabol OIZB 3:44 AM
01-09 Zahedan Intl OIZH 3:45 AM
01-09 Vasht OI0G 4:47 AM
Flight time 8:06 20 stops
Some night flying to start out with, Kizyl Arvat glowing below
Not that much to see until approaching Ashgabat
Ashgabat International Airport at sunrise
Ashgabat, capital of Turkmenistan
Known for its white marble buildings and grandiose national monuments
The National Museum of Turkmenistan is at the end of that 4 lane road
Bitaraplyk binasy, Monument of Neutrality, the tower sticking out in the desert
Monument of Neutrality left, Monument of independence in the middle
On the right a statue of the memorial complex “People’s memory”
Alem center, amusement center with an indoor ferris wheel
This complex is not on Bing yet, Google has it but as it seems the city is growing fast, who knows what else is there now.
The terrain between Ashgabat and Mary, a lot of desert
Highlight of this part, crossing an unnamed road, which also goes missing on Bing
I wonder if they have sand ploughs?
This a a highway into Dubai since the pandemic hit
No traffic, sand builds up, now what…
Climbing over a wall to get into Iran to Mashad
A big ripple effect, tectonic plate action
Mashad, another important place of pilgrimage in Iran
Centered on the vast Holy Shrine of Imam Reza
That horizontal stripe standing out is Bazaar Reza
Goharshad courtyard, one of the courtyards part of the Imam Reza Holy Shrine complex
There are also several tombs to be found, for example the tomb of Nadar Shah
One of the most powerful Iranian rulers in Iranian history ruling as Shah of Iran from 1736 to 1747
Farakhk, village next to Nishabur Airport
Those are indeed tree lines, interesting design
Ferdows Airport, looks very lost
Birjand, capital of the Iranian province of South Khorasan
Home of Birjand castle, well restored
Kolah Farangi Citadel on the left and Pahlavani heritage museum on the right
Pahlavani wrestling, one of the world’s longest running forms of sport
Near Murufan, more rugged terrain
Zehedan, capital of Sistan and Baluchestan Province
Flying on to Khash (Vasht according to the game) near Kuri
Climbing past Taftan mountain peak 12,930 ft
Taftan is an active stratovolcano, most recent eruption in 1993
As it is the highest mountain in south-eastern Iran, a popular place to hike
Tomorrow, further on to the Arabian sea and Pakistan
Leg 141, Khash, Iran to Bahawalpur, Pakistan
DAY01_10.PLN (9.3 KB)
Good flight, although terrain quality in Pakistan is below average. There is also the general problem of over and under exposure of the aerial images. Farm land always looks very dark against the very bright desert terrain. I assume most of the aerial data is pretty old and not captured in HDR.
01-09 Vasht OI0G 8:37 PM
01-09 Iran Shahr OIZI 8:59 PM
01-09 Konarak OIZC 9:38 PM
01-09 Konarak OIKO 9:43 PM
01-09 Jiwani OPJI 10:11 PM
01-09 Gwadar Intl OPGD 10:24 PM
01-09 Pasni OPPI 10:47 PM
01-09 Ormara OPOR 11:18 PM
01-09 Masroor AB OPMR 11:56 PM
01-10 Sharea Faisal OPSF 12:05 AM
01-10 Jinnah Intl OPKC 12:07 AM
01-10 Wateji OP1F 12:14 AM
01-10 Gharo OPKF 12:22 AM
01-10 Hyderabad OPKD 12:39 AM
01-10 Talhar OPTH 12:57 AM
01-10 Mirpur Khas OPMK 1:19 AM
01-10 Kadanwari OPKW 1:54 AM
01-10 Sukkur OPSK 2:12 AM
01-10 Jacobabad Mil OPJA 2:30 AM
Continuous very bad stuttering, restart
01-10 Jacobabad Mil OPJA 2:37 AM
01-10 Sui OPSU 2:52 AM
01-10 Kashmor OP31 3:03 AM
01-10 Sheikh Zayed OPRK 3:17 AM
01-10 Kot Samaba OPKS 3:25 AM
01-10 Mad Juma OP13 3:29 AM
01-10 Khanpur OPKP 3:43 AM
01-10 Bahawalpur OPBW 4:08 AM
Flight time 7:38 25 stops
Chasing the moon before dawn, the moon pointing to where the sun will be coming up
Coming up on Gwadar, located on the shores of the Arabian Sea opposite Oman
Gwadar was an overseas possession of Oman from 1783 to 1958
Currently a fast growing port city
Odd terrain, duplicated at Ormara a bit further on
Gwadar in 10 minutes
Ormara ahead, another hammer head sticking out the landscape
Ormara turtle beach is along the coast here
Green sea turtles come here to lay their eggs along the Balochistan coast
The pandemic has been very beneficial for the green sea turtles and other marine life
(However plastic pollution is up from the pandemic, benefits might be short lived)
Odd terrain, a giant wave breaker
Hingol National Park along the coast
Hingol river making its way to the Arabia Sea
Stunning cliffs in Hingol National Park
Karachi, capital of the Pakistani province of Sindh and the largest city in Pakistan
Good place to check out some of the culture in the National Museum of Pakistan
Mazar E Quaid, Jinnah Mausoleum, honoring the founder of Pakistan
Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1876-1948) became Pakistan’s first Governer-General when Pakistan gained independence on August 14th 1947, following the end of the British Raj.
Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan not to be confused with Hyderabad, Telangana, India
Norai Sharif, transition from desert to farmland
Following one of the many irrigation canals
Makhi Forest, named after the small bees which make their honeycombs in the trees inside the forest
Sukkur along the western bank of the Indus River
Lansdowne Bridge from the screenshot above, designed by Sir Alexander Meadows Rendel
When completed in 1889, the bridge was the largest cantilever bridge in the world. It’s purpose was to replace the steam ferry crossing to complete the railway link between Lahore and the major port of Karachi on the Arabian Sea. The large arch of the 1962 Ayub Bridge can be seen behind the Lansdowne Bridge.
I flew on to Bahawalpur, mostly over flat terrain, farm land with irrigation canals. Terrain quality degraded with the underexposure effect turning all farm land into dark brown patches while the sand parts looked bleached out. Tomorrow back into the mountains, Afghanistan next.
Leg 142, Bhawalpur, Pakistan to Kabul, Afghanistan
DAY01_11.PLN (7.0 KB)
Some really great views of the mountains in Afghanistan mixed with some really bad views. The South is generally fine, North of Kabul is very bad. However plenty good places to make a great trip.
01-10 Bahawalpur OPBW 8:21 PM
01-10 Multan Intl OPMT 8:44 PM
01-10 Kot Addu OP18 8:56 PM
01-10 Belab OP14 9:06 PM
01-10 Ouzkani OP15 9:16 PM
01-10 Loralai OPLL 9:48 PM
01-10 Samungli OPQT 10:22 PM
01-10 Kandahar OAKN 10:55 PM
01-10 Qalat OAQA 11:22 PM
01-10 Tereen OATN 11:47 PM
01-11 Farah OAFR 12:49 AM
01-11 Shindand OASD 1:17 AM
01-11 Herat OAHR 1:37 AM
01-11 Qala-I-Naw OAQN 2:05 AM
01-11 Maimana OAMN 2:42 AM
01-11 Dehdadi OADE 3:25 AM
01-11 Mazar OAMS 3:33 AM
01-11 Bagram OAIX 4:31 AM
01-11 Kabul Intl OAKB 4:45 AM
Flight time 8:24 18 stops
Multan, Pakistan, located on the bank of the Chenab River
Multan’s history stretches deep into antiquity, the old center below
Chowk Ganta Ghar, the roundabout above, meaning “Clock Tower Town Square” in Urdu
Referred to as the heart of Multan
Bustling old inner city, Bohar gate on the left, Delhi gate on the right
Several tombs can be found around Multan including the Tomb of Shah Rukn e Alam (Bahauddin Zakaria)
The mausoleum of the Sufi saint Sheikh Rukn-ud-Din Abul Fateh (1251-1335) The shrine is considered to be the earliest example of Tughluq architecture.
Getting into the mountain ridges between Balad and Ouzkani
Quetta, largest city of the Province of Balochistan in Pakistan
It was largely destroyed in the 1935 Quetta earthquake, rebuild.
Kandahar International Airport, Afghanistan
Shaheedan Chowk (square), center of Kandahar province
Karqa Sharif (The Shrine of Cloak) on the right. Aka Kirka Sharif. The shrine is believed to house the mantle or cloak of Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam.
August 2020, military aid efforts still ongoing
Farah, main city is a bit further ahead (bad texture area)
The citadel below is visible on the map, however on a 3-way split between different detailed textures
Citadel of Farah (Shar-e-Farahdun) aka Citadel of Alexander
When Alexander the Great invaded the area 330 BC it was known as Prophthasia in Drangiana
Herat, situated in the fertile valley of the Hari River in the western part of the country
Herat has a fully restored citadel, also dating to Alexander the Great era
Goharshad (Gawhar Shad) Mausoleum, ak Tomb of Baysunghur on the right. Built in the 15th century, the structure served as a royal tomb for members of the Timurid dynasty.
Qala-I-Naw, capital of Badghis Province, North-West Afghanistan
Getting into the desert at Khowtar Khan
Dehdadi, Balkh Province in northern Afghanistan
Mazari Sharif, also called Mazār-e Sharīf, or just Mazar
The terrain quality got really bad from here to Kabul, cleared up at Jabal-os-Sarāj
Valley just North of Bagram, 40km North of Kabul
Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan
Afghanistan has a long history of invasions. Some of the invaders in the history of Afghanistan include the Maurya Empire, the Greek Empire of Alexander the Great 330 BC, Rashidun Caliphate 7th to 9th century, the Mongol Empire led by Genghis Khan 1219-1221, the Timurid Empire of Timur 1383-1385, the Mughal Empire, various Persian Empires, the Sikh Empire 1837-1838, the British Empire 19th and early 20th century, the Soviet Union 1929-1930, 1979, and most recently a coalition force of NATO troops in 2001.
Qale’H-Ye-Balahissar, 5th century fortress located in the south of the old city of Kabul
View from Maranjan Hill on the right
The Afghanistan National Museum
The museum still seems to be in a state of disrepair, but it is currently getting restored and a major expansion added. The Taliban destroyed a lot of artifacts and many more were looted during past and recent invasions.
Tomorrow, back to Pakistan then on to India. India will take a while to explore, with a break to the Maldives and Sri Lanka planned in between.
Leg 143, Kabul, Afghanistan, via Pakistan and India to Ngari Gunsa, Tibet
DAY01_12.PLN (7.5 KB)
This leg I took on the Western part of the Himalayas, pushing the Bonanza to its limits. I had to get up to 21K ft get through in between the mountain peaks, with a landing at an airstrip at 16,700ft. It shows in the average speed for this leg, 117 knots, down from 151 knots avg over the previous leg. Following valleys to climb high enough takes time and cruising speed is also lower at 20K ft. Fun challenging flight!
01-11 Kabul Intl OAKB 8:00 PM
01-11 Muhammad Aghah Wuluswali OAMU 8:10 PM Virtual vision landing
01-11 Parachinar OPPC 8:31 PM Virtual vision landing
01-11 Jalalabad OAJL 8:52 PM Virtual vision landing
Terrible morse code like stuttering is back, clears up as soon as the wheels touch the ground, restart
01-11 Jalalabad OAJL 9:01 PM Taking longer than usual to load
01-11 Peshawar Intl OPPS 9:24 PM
More weird stuttering, no clue why, smooth again on the ground, restart, reboot, windows update pending
01-11 Peshawar Intl OPPS 9:36 PM
01-11 Shabqadar OPSH 9:40 PM Building at end of ‘runway’
01-11 Risalpur OPRS 9:48 PM Weird stuttering again, area is cursed
Fine on the ground, clears up as soon as the wheels are on the ground
Stuttering came back after take off, then cleared up a minute later, smooth again instead of half sec pauses
01-11 Minhas OP20 9:57 PM
01-11 Tarbela Dam OPTA 10:07 PM Back to stuttering on the ground, smooth in the air
01-11 Sanjwal OPSA 10:16 PM
01-11 Islamabad Intl OPIS 10:20 PM Faisal Mosque next
01-11 Muzaffarabad OPMF 10:49 PM
01-11 Chilas OPCL 11:12 PM
01-11 Gilgit OPGT 11:38 PM
01-12 Skardu OPSD 12:08 AM
01-12 Daulat Beg Oldi Advanced Landing Ground VATH 1:12 AM 16,700ft
01-12 Thoise VITE 1:44 AM
01-12 Leh VILH 2:08 AM
01-12 Fukche VI66 3:06 AM
01-12 Ngari Gunsa ZUAL 3:52 AM 14,022ft
Flight time 7:31 19 stops
As you see from the notes, some weird issues at the start. It seems to be localized to that area / latitude. Odd half sec pauses, stop, go, stop, go behavior. GPU and CPU were far below 100%, no clue what’s causing the terrible hick-ups. Memory, network and disk usage didn’t look out of the ordinary either. Strange, I’ll try that area again when I have time.
Update: The problem is reproduce-able, happened again while approaching Peshawar OPPS. FS2020 has 28 GB committed according to the resource monitor (8GB working set) The fps counters shows 500ms to 700ms spikes in CoherentGTDraw while moving. It resolves when paused and rolling on the ground, while moving in the air the spikes resulting in half second stutters occur.
Setting out before dawn again, on the way to Parachinar
Nights are very dark now without the moon
Getting close to Peshawar at sunrise
Peshawar, in between the Bara river and Budhni Pull
While the aerial data is correct, the roads are inside the water polygons, weird effect
Passing over Shabqadar, correct use of sunglasses
Terbala Dam Airport next to Ghazi Brotha Canal
Dam feeding the Indus river and Haripur on the right
Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan
Pakistan monument and museum with wax statues telling the history of Pakistan
Feisal mosque against the mountains in Islamabad
Build in 1987, designed to resemble a Bedouin tent
Into the mountains, crossing over the Haro river
Muzaffarabad at the confluence of the Jhelum and Neelum rivers
Chilās, long runway on the lower left along the Indus river
Following the Indus river a bit to Gilgit
Gilgit at the confluence of the Gilgit (pictured) and Hunza rivers, which join the Indus river not far down
Skardu Airport in sight on the partly frozen Indus river
Skardu, in Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan
Skardu valley with Kharpocho fort on the hills on the lower left
Katpana desert now hidden under the snow and Kharpocho fort
Shigar river joining the Indus river in Skardu Valley
Saltoro Gangri Mountain peak in the distance, 25,400ft
Dansam mountain peak ahead, 21,870ft
Crusing at FL210 to get through the Himalayas
K12 second highest peak in the Saltoro mountains 24,370ft
In between Rimo Kangri I and III, 24,229ft and 23,730ft
Daulat Beg Oldi, maybe, it’s the name of a road around here
The other road in the area is called “Road between DBO & TACHQ”
16,700ft, the engine shut off immediately after coming to a halt, need more throttle to ‘idle’ up here
After climbing back up, Shahi Kangri Mountain peak ahead, 22,749 ft
Saser Kangri I the highest peak in the Saser Muztagh, 25,171 ft
As good as it looks in the sim, it pales in comparison to real life shots
Heading down the Nubra river, here near Panamik
Thoise airbase along the Shyok river, occupying the only large piece of flat land in the area
Lakzung where the Nubra river joins the Shyok river
Leh, the historical capital of the Himalayan Kingdom of Ladakh
Many monasteries can be found in this valley
Thiksay monastery (15th century) on the left, Shey palace (17th century) on the right
Hemis coming up, also spelled Hamis
Yaye Tso volcanic lake at 16,365 ft
Fukche airport, next to the Indus river and Senge Zanbu
At the edge of a disputed area between India and China
Shiquanhe, Tibet autonomous region, China, on the confluence of Sênggê Zangbo and Gar River
Traditionally known as Sênggêkanbab or Sênggêzangbo, administrative seat of Ngari Prefecture
Ngari Kunsha Airport, 14,022ft
The ruins of the ancient Guge Kingdom can be found in Zanda county near Zhaburang
I’ll explore the rest of the Himalayas and Mount Everest after a deep dive into India. Heading South next.
Leg 144, Ngari Gunsa, Tibet, via Pakistan to Ahmedabad, India
DAY01_13.PLN (7.4 KB)
Sunrise over the Himalayas then on to New Delhi and the Taj Mahal in Agra
01-12 Ngari Gunsa ZUAL 8:02 PM Climb to 18.5Kft FLC 90 to 21Kft to avoid peaks
01-12 Kullu Manali VIBR 9:07 PM Sunrise 8:58 PM
01-12 Jallowal VI88 9:39 PM Golden temple next 31°37’12"N 74°52’37"
01-12 Amritsar VIAR 9:54 PM
01-12 Allama Iqbal Intl OPLA 10:07 PM Entered the bad stutter zone again CoherentGTDraw spikes to 600ms
01-12 Faisalabad Intl OPFA 10:39 PM Bad stuttering again until touch down
01-12 Okara OPOK 10:55 PM
01-12 Lallgarh VI1P 11:17 PM
01-12 Sirsa VISX 11:36 PM
01-12 Hissar VIHR 11:53 PM
01-13 Bhiwani VIBW 12:04 AM
01-13 Indira Gandi Intl VIDP 12:23 AM
01-13 Safdarjung VIDD 12:30 AM Lotus temple
01-13 Dhanipur Airstrip VIAH 12:54 AM
01-13 Agra AB VIAG Taj Mahal 1:09 AM
01-13 Jaipur VIJP 1:51 AM
01-13 Vanasthali VANI 2:05 AM
01-13 Ondwa VA1H 2:40 AM
01-13 Udaipur VAUD 3:01 AM
01-13 Ahmedabad VAAH 3:49 AM
Flight time 7:47 19 stops
Departing from Nagru Gunsa, climbing to 18,500ft to cross the ridge
Qusum town before dawn, climbing on to 21,000ft
The sun is starts to hit the mountain peaks at Giu Thach
That’s enough lens flare for today
Mikan and Mikkan on the Pin river
Kullu Manali Airport on the Baes river
Following the Baes river out of the mountains
Sutley river below, Baes river reservoir in the distance, created by Pong dam
Amritsar, Punjab, home of the gilded Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib)
Harmandir Sahib is the holiest gurdwara (religious complex) of the Sikh religion
Partition museum on the right, chronicling the 1947 partition of India & Pakistan
Faisalabad, formerly known as Lyallpur, historically one of the first planned cities within British India
The Clock Tower, center of the city, on the lower left in the screenshot above
Aka “Ghanta Ghar” گھنٹہ گھر in Urdu which translates into “Hour House”
Durjanpur, indicative of 90% of the landscape in Northern India
Indira Gandi International Airport
New Delhi, the capital of India, central park down in the circle below
Rashtrapati Bhavan, official residence plus Mughal and herbal gardens of the President of India
Baha’i Lotus Temple, opened in 1986 and open to those of all religions
So much to see in New Delhi. Qutab Minar on the left, 73m tapering tower built in 1193 by Qutab-ud-din Aibak after defeat of Delhi’s last Hindu kingdom
Humayun’s tomb of Mughal Emperor Humayun, built in 1572 in the middle
Shri Laxmi Narayan Temple (Birla Mandir) on the right. 7.5 acre Hindu temple complex, up to a large extent dedicated to Laxminarayan. The side temples are dedicated to Shiva, Krishna and Buddha. I could be completely wrong, the picture looks like to be a side temple dedicated to Krishna, the god of compassion. The swastika at the top of the temple symbolizes surya (“sun”), prosperity and good luck. The mirror (left facing) variant 卍 is called sauvastika, symbolizing night or tantric aspects of Kali.
Some images from India’s rich culture, found at the National museum
Agrasan Ki Baoli, step-well from the 10th century
Isa Khan’s tomb, built in 1547–1548 during the reign of Sher Shah Suri
Part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Humayun’s tomb complex
Sri Bangla Sahib Gurudwara, one of the most prominent Sikh gurdwara, or Sikh house of worship
Features a holy river inside its complex with healing properties, known as the “Sarovar.”
There is much more to see in New Delhi, meanwhile my plane is already at Agra Air Base
Agra is where the Taj Mahal is located
17th-century, Mughal-style, marble mausoleum, one of the great wonders of the modern world
Heading South, more cultivated land, mostly flat with some hills appearing at Sankarwada
Udaipur, Rajasthan, formerly the capital of the Mewar Kingdom
Founded by Maharana Udai Singh II in 1559, also know as the city of lakes
Home to plenty lavish royal residences, and below Nethru Garden, island garden in Fateh Sagar Lake
Memorial of the Rajput hero Maharana Pratap (1540-1597) on the left, the 13th king of Mewar
Jagmandir in the middle and Jagdish Hindu temple on the right
City Palace on lake Pichola, monumental 16th century complex of 11 palaces, courtyards and gardens
Ahar museum, containing sculptures & artifacts dating to the 10th century, plus cenotaphs of royal rulers
Over the years I’ve been conditioned to immediately associate this with a water level puzzle. The Longshot must be in a chamber underneath.
Last stop for today, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on the Sabarmati River
Hutheesing Jain Temple, 19th-century marble Jain temple
And the Calico Museum of Textiles, devoted to 5 centuries of Indian fabrics & weaving techniques
No lack of visual splendor in India, so much to see. I’ll be heading further South tomorrow.
Leg 145, Ahmedabad, Gujarat to Sholapur, Maharashtra, India
DAY01_14.PLN (8.4 KB)
A lot more India, mostly the cities. Most of the area I flew over is all cultivated with lots of cities. 1.4 billion people, 382 per sq km, it shows. And so much to see in cities, I might have more external screenshots this leg than views from the game.
01-13 Ahmedabad VAAH 7:19 PM
01-13 Rajkot VARK 8:00 PM
01-13 Amereli Airstrip VAAM 8:17 PM Virtual vision landing
01-13 Bhavnagar VABV 8:37 PM
01-13 Surat VASU 8:55 PM
01-13 Vadodara VABO 9:22 PM
01-13 Khargo Govt. Airstrip VAKH 10:08 PM
01-13 Devi Ahilyabai Holkar VAID Indore 10:29 PM
01-13 Bentaya VE85 10:43 PM
01-13 Bhopal VABP 11:16 PM massive input lag, fine after touch down
Bad stutter is back, CoherentGTDraw spiking again, flat terrain, nothing out of the ordinary, fine after landing
01-13 Amla VA1L 11:54 PM
01-14 Nagpur VANP 12:20 AM
01-14 Chanda VA1B 12:44 AM
01-14 Adilabad VAAD 1:02 AM Massive stuttering on the ground, fine in the air
01-14 Basanth Nagar VORG 1:35 AM
01-14 Warangal VOWA 1:52 AM
01-14 Hakimpet VOHK 2:21 AM
01-14 Hyderabad VOHY 2:28 AM
01-14 Nadirgul VALA 2:36 AM
01-14 Rajiv Gandhi Intl VOHS 2:47 AM
01-14 Bidar VOBR 3:15 AM
01-14 Gulbarga VAGU 3:33 AM
01-14 Sholapur VASL 3:59 AM
Flight time 8:40 22 stops
Rajkot in the western Indian state of Gujarat
Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) spent part of his childhood here in Kaba Gandhi No Delo
Who hasn’t heard of Gandhi, considered the father of India, best known for his nonviolent resistance, leading the successful campaign for India’s independence from British rule. (He used nukes just as readily as everyone else in Sid Meier’s 1991 Civilization though :p)
And of course known for many inspiring quotes like
“An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.”
“I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.”
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
Sadly Gandhi was assassinated for his efforts to calm religious tensions in a recently split-up India. He inspired many others around the world to continue non violent resistance, for example Martin Luther King jr adapted Gandhi’s idea of civil disobedience. Martin Luther King was assassinated as well…
Surat, on the Tapi river close to the Arabian Sea, once known for silk weaving
Dutch and Armenian cemetery on the left with colonial era tombs
On the right a view of the restored Surat Castle, build in the 16th century by Sultan Mahmood III to defend the city against Portuguese colonists.
Flying over the confluence of the Namada and Hathni rivers
One of the few rugged places on this leg
Indore in west-central India on the Saraswati river
Home of the 18th century 7-story Rajwada Palace from the Holkar dynasty
In total contrast, the 19th century Lal Bagh Palace, also from the Holkar dynasty
Bhopal in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh
At the edge of the city, Van Vihar National Park Bhopal
Between the city and the park, Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya
Anthropology museum depicting the history of mankind with outdoor reproductions of villages
The State Museum here has fossils, paintings and rare Jain sculptures
The Tawa reservoir, dam and hydro plant on the Tawa river
Nagpur in the central Indian state of Maharashtra
Sitabuldi Fort, hilltop fort & site of the Battle of Sitabuldi, next to the train station
Currently housing the 118th infantry battalion
The Zero Mile Stone, geographical center of India under British Raj
All distances in India were measured from here during colonial rule
Deekshabhoomi, sacred monument of Navayana Buddhism and pilgrimage site
Maha Bodhi Tree on the right, grown from three branches of the Bodhi Tree at Anuradhapura (Sri Lanka). The saplings were taken from the same Bodhi Tree planted by Sanghamitra, daughter of the Great Emperor Asoka, during her monkhood (253 BC). The Bodhi Tree in Sri Lanka was originally a sapling from the bodhivriksha under which the Buddha became enlightened.
The typical landscape around Dodanda
Cement factory at Basanth Nagar Airport, Ramagundam Airport on the map
Warangal in the south Indian state of Telangana, here looking at Fort Warangal in the center
Warangal was the capital of the Kakatiya dynasty from the 12th to 14th century
Many intricately carved monuments from this period still stand among the 13th century ruins of Warangal Fort
As well as the Thousand pillar temple build in 1163
Hyderabad Begumpet Airport
Hyderabad is the capital of southern India’s Telangana state and a major center for the technology industry
Situated around Hussain Sagar lake, housing a giant Budha Statue on a small island
Sanjeevaiah Park with Flag monument, the target above the maze garden
Chilkur Balaji Temple, known as ‘Visa’ Balaji, drawing devotees who wish for visas abroad
“popularly know as Visa God among IT people. If you are facing any difficulties in getting Visa, just go to temple, have a wish for it and then make 11 round of temple. Once the wish fulfilled, again have darshan and make 108 round of main temple.”
Birla Mandir, large Hindu temple built on a 280 feet high hillock called Naubath Pahad
The Budha statue on its own island in lake Hussain Sagar on the left
And one of the Qutb Shabi tombs built by the various kings of the Qutb Shahi dynasty
Sholapur Airport, in the south-western region of Maharashtra
Solapur Bhuikot Fort, strong Dark souls vibes
Further South tomorrow to the tip of India.