Fly-In!

[Kumiankka]

Summer isn't quite over yet, even as August arrives, and on Sunday, August 6th we still have a chance to head for the warm Caribbean beaches of Kingston, Jamaica. The tropical city is served by Norman Manley International Airport (MKJP), a single-runway airport with quite a unique and picturesque location on an island overlooking the city's waterfront. The last time we were here in 2006, Air Jamaica was still the national airline, but they have since been acquired by Caribbean Airlines which now uses Norman Manley Int'l as one of its hubs. Once again prolific scenery author @ruifo has developed an excellent freeware package, compatible with X-Plane 11 and above.

Have fun, or as they say in Jamaica: kick up rumpus!

 

Link to discussion thread

 

 

[Kumiankka]

Special thanks to @Quintao for sending in the idea for our next fly-in destination, on Sunday, August 13th. Get ready for some Alpine adventures at Asiago Airport (LIDA), located in the mountainous north of the Veneto region of Italy. Don't expect any help from instrument approaches at this small general aviation field: the two runways (one grass and one asphalt) are visual only, and are surrounded on all sides by the foothills of the Alps. So I highly recommend leaving the jets home this time, and picking something a little slower and easier. In fact, even the Piaggio Avanti in this week's banner might be pushing it, at the very limit of its landing requirements! In addition to exploring the mountains, there are plenty of other sights to see nearby, from the historic cities of Trento, Verona, Vicenza and Padua… to of course the famous Venice: make sure to pay a visit, especially if you missed our last fly-in there in 2021!

Have a nice trip - buon viaggio!

 

Link to discussion thread

 

 

[Kumiankka]

@Quintao is really on a roll lately with these great suggestions: next Sunday, August 20th we have another one he just sent in, a great little mountain airport maybe a bit similar to our previous one but in a different part of the globe entirely. Kern Valley Airport, California (L05) is a small general aviation field located in the southern Sierra Nevada, near the famous Sequoia National Forest. Watch out for tree strikes because we'll be flying near some of the tallest trees you can find anywhere! @Geraldar98 has created some freeware custom scenery for the airfield, linked below, and as usual with these US fly-in I also recommend the amazing US orthophoto add-on by @Forkboy2.

Have fun!

 

Link to discussion thread

 

 

[Kumiankka]

Just in case we haven't had enough mountain VFR lately, @Quintao had yet another great suggestion for next Sunday, August 27th. Let's leave the Sierra Nevada behind in favor of the Rockies, and set course for Steamboat Springs, Colorado (KSBS). Also known as "Bob Adams Field", this high-altitude general aviation field currently has no commercial airline service, but was served in the past by regional operators such as Rocky Mountain Airways (one of their DHC-7s is featured in this week's banner) and Maverick Airways. With a single 4450 ft. runway, it's not exactly a suitable destination for jet airliners, so nowadays nearby Yampa Valley Regional (KHDN) serves as the main commercial hub instead. With its much longer runway and ILS equipment, Yampa Valley can be a good diversion airfield for those who prefer to fly heavier planes. And since we're sticking around in the same part of the world for once, as a bonus challenge there's the option of flying cross-country from Kern Valley, at least if the 600 nautical mile distance doesn't seem too daunting. Just keep an eye out for UFOs, since the direct route can get very close to the top secret "Area 51"!

See you on Sunday!

 

Link to discussion thread
 

 

[Kumiankka]

As great fun as the recent mountain VFR mini-tour that Quintao scouted out for us was, this Sunday, September 3rd let's head someplace a bit different for a change, where those heavy passenger jets can be a little bit more at home. Indira Gandhi International, Delhi, India (VIDP) is India's busiest airport and the entire world's seventh-busiest, with four long runways and plenty of instrument procedures to guide you safely there. Which you'll probably need too, since on top of the usual air quality issues that often limit visibility around India's megacities, the remnants of the summer monsoon may still be sticking around. Should we be lucky enough with the weather to see that far, we have some highly detailed freeware scenery courtesy of @Avinash C, depicting the airport in a much more accurate and modern state compared to our last visit almost ten years ago. As usual, if you're using the custom scenery, remember to check beforehand that you have all the required libraries for the scenery to load correctly!

Have a nice trip / शुभ यात्रा / ਸੁਖੀ ਜਾ / آپ کا سفر اچھا گزرے

 

Link to discussion thread

 

 

[Kumiankka]

This upcoming Sunday, September 10th, let's go with the excellent suggestion @surfintucson made recently, and head for San Francisco International Airport, California (KSFO). Since we've made something of a tradition out of various bridge-related stunts, the iconic Golden Gate Bridge gives us a chance for plenty of those, as does the less world-famous but also quite impressive Bay Bridge. If there are enough volunteers, maybe we can even arrange a formation fly-under together! Special thanks are also due to @MisterX6 for the incredibly detailed freeware San Francisco custom scenery linked below. Although the free package already includes scenery for KSFO, you can opt to purchase an even more detailed and up to date rendition of the airport here on the .org store: KSFO San Francisco Definitive. Also make sure to check out the recent Developer Spotlight interview with MisterX6!

Have fun!

 

Link to discussion thread

 

 

[Kumiankka]

I don't think we've been to the land down under this year yet, so next Sunday, September 17th why don't we rectify that with a revisit of Darwin International Airport (YPDN), the busiest airport of the Northern Territory of Australia. While many of you probably remember our visit to Brisbane last year, our last stop here in Darwin was as long ago as 2005, in fact it was only our 46th fly-in altogether, using the old blocky V7 scenery since the X-Plane 8 global scenery hadn't been released yet. Even if we did have some very low res custom photo scenery for the Darwin area even then, I think I can safely say the scenery situation has improved quite a bit! @WorldWideXP's V5 YPDN Darwin Int'l package is the recommended scenery this time, bringing the airport up to date with a terminal expansion that took place a few years back. Co-located with the facilities is RAAF Base Darwin, hosting the AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft of the Royal Australian Air Force. On the civilian side, the airport is served mainly by domestic traffic with a few international connections such as Bali, East Timor, Hong Kong and Singapore. Two runways are available, although watch out - 18/36 is much shorter than the main runway 11/29 and is not well suited to jet traffic.

Have fun!

 

Link to discussion thread

 

 

[Kumiankka]

Next Sunday, September 24th we can take a highway to the danger zone... or maybe an offramp to a more peaceful area, with two different nearby destinations to choose from. The more conventional one is Kuopio Airport, Finland (EFKU), also sometimes known as Kuopio Rissala Airport after the local neighborhood. Serving the small city of Kuopio and the surrounding Northern Savonia region, this joint use airport is shared by the Finnish Air Force with various civilian flights to holiday destinations, as well as regular service to the capital city of Helsinki offered by flag carrier Finnair, who are in fact celebrating their 100th anniversary this year. Surrounding Kuopio are the complex and fragmented lake formations typical of the Finnish Lakeland, so there are definitely plenty of chances for floatplane flying too! Special thanks to @PH20 for his excellent freeware package for Kuopio Airport.

And the optional, less typical secondary destination for this week is the nearby Tervo Highway Strip (XPTERVO), a widened section of highway currently converted to an improvised airbase for the ongoing Baana23 air force exercise. You will need to download my custom scenery package to see the highway base at all, since it is not an official airport with a real ICAO code, technically usable as an emergency landing site by civilian aircraft but in reality only operated by the air force for a few weeks this year. In the real world confirmed visitors will include of course the Air Force's F/A-18 (legacy) Hornets, and at least the Typhoons of the UK's Royal Air Force and the F-35s of the Royal Norwegian Air Force are expected to pay a visit too. We've certainly landed on highways before, but I believe this is the first time that's what we're supposed to do! Be warned, there are no navaids or instruments approaches, although you should be able to find your way close enough by flying heading 260° from Vehkaa Kuopio (VEH 113.00) VOR for 29 nautical miles.

Finally, if you're looking for a nearby place to fly in from, my home town of Oulu is not far away, just a little over 100 nautical miles northwest. As it happens, I have been working on a major update to the scenery I made for last year's visit during the Home Base Tour, and should be able to put together at least a preview version later this week... so stay tuned!

Have a nice trip - hyvää matkaa / hyvvee matkoo!

 

Discussion thread here

 

 

[Kumiankka]

Since next Sunday, October 1st happens to be National Day over in the People's Republic of China, let's head east once more and try to wrap our heads around those unique metric flight levels they use there. Our destination is an interesting bit of aviation history with a legacy stretching back over a century: Beijing Nanyuan Airport (ZBNY) was the first airport in China, and closed down only as recently as 2019, at the same time as the featured Star Atlas freeware custom scenery was released to celebrate the airport's long heritage. I've also linked scenery for Beijing's two other major airports Daxing (ZBAD) and Beijing Capital (ZBAA), and there even seems to be a private airfield called Bei'An River (ZBBA) nearby, although I can't find much information about it in English... and I'm not exactly fluent in Chinese!

Steady winds / 一路順風

 

Link to discussion thread

 

 

[Kumiankka]

This Sunday, October 8th let's get some bush flying done in Kitimat, British Columbia, Canada, with two different airports to visit. The larger of these, and the only one suitable for jets is Northwest Regional Airport Terrace-Kitimat (CYXT), with two runways and a third one decommissioned: watch out for those X markers so you don't land on the wrong one. And for the general aviation crowd we have the smaller Kitimat Air Park (CBW2), home of the Kitimat Flying Club. The harbor in Minette Bay also contains plenty of little scenery details to explore, especially in a floatplane or helicopter. Make sure you have all the libraries required, and check that the scenery looks OK on your setup before you fly in: there's a known bug in the CYXT scenery that causes an error message on loading anyway, but should not cause any further issues according to the scenery author.

Clear skies - ’iks naqʷela!

 

Discussion thread here

 

 

 

[Kumiankka]

Unlike the upcoming 19th anniversary fly-in the following week, next Sunday, October 15th we won't be celebrating any particular event or anniversary yet, just paying a visit to another interesting location that we've somehow managed to miss until now. Leipzig/Halle Airport (EDDP) in Saxony, Germany may not be especially busy as a passenger airport, but its role as a cargo hub is all the more significant, particularly as the main hub of DHL Aviation. The somewhat less famous cargo airline AeroLogic is also based there, and furthermore currently EDDP serves as home away from home for the remaining aircraft of Antonov Airlines, relocated from Hostomel due to the ongoing war in Ukraine. On the scenery side a freeware package for the airport is available courtesy of @holden_cf and linked below, while JustSim also offer a commercial EDDP Leipzig/Halle product at the .org store. Whichever one you're using, I also highly recommend installing @Günther Kremp's amazing Leipzig VFR add-on. Oh, and should you notice any random houses drawn inside the airport perimeter, this time you might not need to blame any X-Plane glitches: this might be the ghost town of Kursdorf, which really is located between the runways and terminal buildings of EDDP!

Have a nice trip - gute Reise!

 

Link to discussion thread

 

 

[Kumiankka]

As promised, next Sunday, October 22nd it's time to celebrate the 19th anniversary of the fly-ins with a visit to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (KDCA), in the US capital of Washington, D.C. Various iconic landmarks around the National Mall have been included by default in X-Plane since version 11.35 so you won't need to install any separate scenery, although Drzewiecki also offers a commercial scenery package which adds even more detail around the city. As has become traditional with these anniversary celebrations, a free-for-all formation flight is planned, and will depart from runway 19 at 1400 Zulu time, or 10 o'clock local time (EDT). Pick any aircraft capable of maintaining 200 knots (and preferably with an FMS installed), join our lineup on runway 19 (make sure to keep the runway number visible for photo ops), and follow the flight plan below (at 1000 feet and 200 KIAS):

 

1. DCA NDB
2. SAMMO
3. GAITE
4. NUMMY
5. BAAAM
6. THANE
7. EGUDE
8. BEGUE
9. ANCRR
10. XEFCU
11. HESLO
12. SHAKI
13. LINCN
14. CUKLI
15. TGTHR
16. PEEGE

Have fun!


Discussion thread here

[Kumiankka]

The 19th anniversary celebrations are over, and next Sunday, October 29th it's back to regular schedule with another new destination to visit, namely Antalya, Türkiye (LTAI). Or not quite new, since Antalya was in fact the site of our first visit to the country in 2007. Back then, we had no X-Plane native scenery for the region and had to resort to running MSFS sceneries through converter software, but nowadays the situation has improved considerably. First, there's @leroy29's excellent freeware scenery, linked below and also featured in the fly-in banner - but both Aerosoft and JustSim also offer commercial packages for this popular tourist destination, so plenty to choose from. The real life airport is quite busy with tourists year-round, but the timing is interesting for another reason: the date happens to be the 100th anniversary of the official establishment of the republic, with lots of celebrations taking place all over the country. Great opportunities for sightseeing are everywhere, from the nearby Taurus Mountains and Teke Peninsula to the Turkish Lake District in the north.

Have a good journey - iyi yolculuklar!

 

Discussion thread here

 

 

[Kumiankka]

Since it looks like my old 2015 iMac is finally on its last legs and I'll be missing the next few fly-ins, I figure this is a good time to enlist some help with picking the fly-in destinations for a while and what better way to do that than the good old fly-in lottery in its 8th iteration. The Antalya fly-in on October 29th will go ahead as planned, but after that for let's say the next five weeks, I'm going to need some help from you to scout out places to visit, and the way we're going to do that is as follows:

• There is a a separate sign-up thread where you can post your entries for the fly-in lottery. A valid entry is a post in that thread that consists of: a single airport or pair of nearby airports along with ICAO codes, an X-Plane screenshot of the location cropped to resolution 1280 x 480, and optionally links to related scenery packages.
• Each of the next five Sundays will serve as its own deadline for entries, after which a winner will be randomly selected from among the entrants who have not yet been selected. If the winner has submitted multiple entries, the airport will then be randomly selected from these entries (but see the special Diwali rule below).
• Valid airport choices are all airports on Earth (sorry, still no Mars fly-ins) that have freely available airport data (found in either X-Plane default data, the X-Plane scenery gateway, or any publicly available freeware scenery pack). Heliports or seaplane bases are also acceptable!
• As a special rule for the November 12th Diwali weekend, only airports in Fiji, Guyana, India, Malaysia, Mauritius, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago (the countries where the day of Lakshmi Puja or one of its equivalents is an official public holiday) are eligible for that fly-in. You can mark your entry with [Diwali] if you wish to submit one for only the November 12th fly-in specifically.
• If you have any schedule limitations for the weeks mentioned (i.e. you can't make it on one or more of these weeks), please mention them so we can try to make sure every winner can participate on the date of their own fly-in.
• By posting your entry and screenshot you agree to grant permission for me to put together and post a fly-in ad banner based on the screenshot, in the style of the usual weekly fly-in banner graphics. You will still retain all other usage rights to your screenshot.

The schedule of the lottery will be as follows:

• November 5th - lottery fly-in #1 (entry deadline Oct 29)
• November 12th - lottery fly-in #2, special Diwali edition (entry deadline Nov 5th, also see the special rule regarding entries)
• November 19th - lottery fly-in #3 (entry deadline Nov 12)
• November 26th - lottery fly-in #4 (entry deadline Nov 19)
• December 3rd - lottery fly-in #5 (entry deadline Nov 26)
   

Sign-ups for the lottery are now open here!

Edited October 27, 2023 by Kumiankka
link to sign-up thread

[Kumiankka]

The first winner of our 2023 fly-in lottery is @ghun1, with his entry of Bergen Airport, Flesland, Norway (ENBR), which we will visit next Sunday, November 5th! See Gary's original introduction below:

Quote

My suggested fly-in location is Bergen Flesland Airport, ENBR, Norway, and as far as I can tell we last visited in 2014.

It has one runway 17-35 of 9810 ft (2990 m)  ILS equipped both ways with approaches over the scenic coastline of Norway 
It is situated on the West coast quite a way outside of the city of Bergen itself (I know because I visited this summer), and is the second busiest airport in Norway, after Oslo, with over 6 million visitors in 2018. There are international flights (I flew from Munich going and to Amsterdam on my return) and many domestic flights to nearby airports, most usually by DHC-8, especially the -100 version flown by WIderoe plus flights by Norwegian Shuttle and SAS Commuter. There is also quite a lot of helicopter traffic serving the Norwegian (North) Sea oil rigs as well as local airports. All the local airports are small, challenging and fun to fly. Good examples for relatively short hops would be Sogndal (ENSG), Allesund (ENAL), Kristiansund (ENKB) and Trondheim (ENVA) to the North or Stavenger (ENZV) and Oslo (ENGM) to the South/East.
There is a decent Gateway scenery and the payware by Aerosoft (https://store.x-plane.org/Bergen-Airport-Norway--ENBR_p_644.html) is excellent and the one used for my screenshot. Another payware is also available from JustFlight (https://www.justflight.com/product/airport-bergen-xp).

Have a nice trip - god tur!

Discussion thread here

[Kumiankka]

With just one entry for the special Diwali week of the fly-in lottery, the obvious winner for Sunday, November 12th is @Vega66, whose choice was a revisit to Gilgit, Pakistan (OPGT) after more than 12 years. Judging from his screenshot up there, we have some vastly improved scenery since last time, and I'm hoping to get to enjoy it on a new Mac too, barring any last-minute shipping or setup delays. See Vega's intro below for more info:

 

Quote

The city of Gilgit is at the heart of Pakistan mountain adventures. This small domestic airport is surronded by mountains, and the shortage of NAVAIDS (only one NDB available on the airport) adds even more challenge, and also big fun for VFR lovers. It provides a 5.393 ft long Asphalt runway, not suited for big airliners.  I believe this airport has been visited on Fly-In around 2011.

The 2015 custom scenery available by @myb still provides great enhancement. XP12 users however should not install the custom Mesh, since it doesn't work right. Instead, the Ortho Tile for coordinates +35+074 will enhance the experience. Zoom Level BI 16 should be enough.

 

Have a nice trip / آپ کا سفر اچھا گزرے / safar dua kerna!

 

Discussion thread here

 

 

[Kumiankka]

It's the third week of our fly-in lottery, and looks like @Vega66 is in luck once again: next Sunday, November 19th we'll be heading for Porto Santo, Madeira, Portugal (LPPS)! Without further ado, here's Vega's original intro for the airport:
 

Quote

Porto Santo is a small Portuguese Island located in the Atlantic Ocean, just 30 nm North East of Madeira Island. It hosts one of the most beautiful beaches of Portugal, that can be enjoyed almost all year long, due to its mild climate. The airport operates domestic and international flights since July 1960 and its 9,843 ft long runway is suitable for most planes, including long haul airliners. It serves many times as an alternate to the notorious LPMA Madeira airport, during adverse weather conditions.

There is a very nice custom scenery by @pgspilot available, and if I am not mistaken it would be a debut on the Fly-In's looooong list.

Boa viagem!
 

Discussion thread here

 

[Kumiankka]

@172MC is the lucky fourth winner of our 2023 fly-in lottery, so on Sunday, November 26th we get to visit a destination that he seconded (and @CHASMAN2014 originally sent in): Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (CYTZ)! Toronto is always a great choice for fly-ins, I believe this one is our 7th visit to the city and our second fly-in at this interesting waterfront airport specifically. See Chasman's original introduction below:
 

Quote

The X-plane 12 default scenery is pretty nice.  It is used by civil aviation, air ambulances, and regional airlines using turboprop planes. In 2022, it was ranked Canada's ninth-busiest airport.  The airport is located on the Toronto Islands, south-west of Downtown Toronto. The airport has one main east–west runway, a shorter runway 20 degrees off, and a seaplane base, Billy Bishop Toronto City Water Aerodrome. The airport is used for regional airline service and for general aviation, including medical evacuation flights (due to its proximity to downtown hospitals), small charter flights, and private aviation. Under its operating agreement, jet aircraft are banned from the airport, with the exception of MEDEVAC flights. There is one passenger terminal at the airport.

The main plane flown in and out of Toronto Island is the DH8D-De Havilland Canada Dash 8.

Airlines:

Air Canada Express: Montréal–Trudeau, Ottawa

Porter Airlines: Boston, Chicago–Midway, Fredericton, Halifax, Moncton, Montréal–Trudeau, Newark, Ottawa, Québec City, Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Timmins, Washington–Dulles, Windsor

Happy flying!

CHASMAN2014

 

Discussion thread here


Custom scenery:

Payware option: Skyline CYTZ - XP12 version / XP11 version

 

[Kumiankka]

The final destination of our 2023 fly-in lottery is here: on Sunday, December 3rd we'll be visiting Northampton/Sywell Aerodrome, UK (EGBK) thanks to the work of our lucky winner @Fatherofsam and the HAFS team who have created an awesome custom scenery package to enhance this historic little airfield. I'll let Fatherofsam's intro for the contest do the rest of the talking:
 

Quote

It has a very unique set of buildings based on Art Deco architecture. It is the home of Sloan Helicopter Flying school and engineering and Skytech helicopter engineering. It was up until the last two years home to the LAA(Light Aircraft Association) rallys which hosted a flying of some 1500 light aircraft. It has a set of warbirds hangars housing spitfires and a mustang. There is an historic aircraft factory adjacent to it that produced at least 100 Avro Lancaster bombers and repaired Vickers Wellington Bombers. It was also, until two months ago home to The Blades Aerobatic team, sporting Extra 330's for which I have developed a livery. There is a Cirrus HQ there also. It has a concrete rinway(1258m) and 3 grass runways.

 

Discussion thread here

 

 

[Kumiankka]

The 2023 fly-in lottery is finally concluded, and we're back to regular schedule once again (with my new M3 iMac now steadily up and running too). Our destination next Sunday, December 10th is anything but ordinary though: as the holiday season approaches, Phoenix Field (NZFX) at McMurdo Station, Antarctica should provide quite a winter wonderland, in spite of the little detail that it's actually summer in the southern hemisphere right now. Last time we were here in 2018, we visited the nearby Ice Runway (NZIR), and it is still an interesting secondary destination. But newly constructed Phoenix Field is actually the more realistic option this time of the year, since the ice runway isn't usable during the Antarctic summer when the sea ice begins to break up. The scenery is still the same as last time, you'll need Part 2 of the Antarctica4XPlane add-on as well as the Ross Bay scenery pack linked below. The Antarctica4XPlane pack appears to have changed webhosts a number of time and is currently located here on the Aerosoft forums - you'll need to create an account but the download is completely free.

Have fun!

 

Discussion thread here

 

 

[Kumiankka]

Next Sunday, December 17th there's a quite famous aviation anniversary we mustn't miss: a full 120 years since the Wright Brothers' first powered flight. The location, which we've visited twice before, is First Flight Airport (KFFA) located in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, and this time around we have some very nice freeware photoscenery for the place thanks to @Verticalsim. As for the famous prototype airplane, @danhopgood1 has provided an X-Plane 12 compatible model that at least stayed airborne long enough to snap the banner screenshot… and actually a bit longer than the Flyer's real first flight, which lasted all of 12 seconds! Bring your choice of vintage aircraft, and have fun!

 

Link to discussion thread

 

 

[Kumiankka]

Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas, or at least Christmas Eve, since that's when it's time for our next fly-in: Sunday, December 24th. Those not already too caught up in the seasonal celebrations can join our second NORAD Tracks Santa special event at Colorado Springs Airport / Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado, USA (KCOS). Watch that flight server map carefully, because Santa just might be coming to pay a visit on one of those polar routes he's so famous for! 🎅
 

Discussion thread here

 

 

 

[Kumiankka]

This holiday season it turns out another one of our Sunday fly-ins falls on a special date that'll no doubt keep plenty of us busy, but if you have the time to pay a visit on New Year's Eve, Sunday December 31st, the destination is Boston Logan International (KBOS), covered by @MisterX6's incredible freeware scenery. When it comes to New Year's celebrations, Boston is quite famous for its First Night celebrations which have spread across much of the US. Another notable peculiarity here, not related to the new year, is the setup of the center taxiway between runways 04L/04R. Pay close attention to those runway numbers, because so many pilots have accidentally confused them that they've had to paint "TAXI" in giant yellow letters so you don't land on the taxiway by mistake! Also note that you may need to run an install script to get the MisterX6 scenery set up correctly, depending on your OS and sim version. The latest version of the package should contain a script suitable for your platform, whether you're on Linux, Mac or Windows, or XP11 or XP12.

Happy New Year!


Discussion thread here

 

 

[Kumiankka]

It's the first fly-in of the new year, but don't pull down those Christmas decorations just yet! On what is Sunday, January 7th in the more commonly used Gregorian calendar, it's still Christmas in the Julian calendar used in much of the Orthodox world, such as this week's destination of Skopje, North Macedonia (LWSK). Sometimes known as Petrovec Airport after the nearby village, Skopje International Airport also briefly carried the name "Alexander the Great" Airport as part of controversial "antiquisation" policies during the former naming dispute with neighboring Greece. It was during this time in 2008 that we last visited Skopje: since then, the both the airport and country have changed names, the runway and terminal buildings have been overhauled, and unfortunately the flag carrier airline as well as its short-lived successor have also gone bankrupt. On the X-Plane side significant scenery improvements have been made, and the 2021 scenery by @pspman92 gives us a representation of Skopje Airport in its current state. I also recommend paying a visit to @tdg's LWOH Ohrid, North Macedonia's second international airport and a major tourist destination due to the historic city and the scenic shores of Lake Ohrid.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year - среќен Божиќ и Среќна Нова Година!


Discussion thread here
 

 

[Kumiankka]

We may be close to hitting the one thousand fly-in mark soon, but there are still plenty of new places to discover and in unexpected ways too. The inspiration for our fly-in next Sunday, January 14th comes by way of Euro Truck Simulator, where I was driving across the Baltic countries when I spotted this interesting-looking airfield off the highway, littered with all kinds of Soviet era museum pieces. It took a little digging to find out what this little-known airport was, but it turns out not only is it a real place but we have some great X-Plane scenery for it too! Panevėžys/Įstra Aerodrome, Lithuania (EYPI) is where we'll be going next, and the linked custom scenery package by @ErvinasG comes complete with the little aircraft museum that is this place's main attraction. Make sure to take the limited runway length into account when picking your aircraft: the asphalt runway is only 600 meters long and the grass one 800 meters, so larger aircraft may need to divert elsewhere: options include nearby Siauliai (EYSA) or Kaunas (EYKA) or even the abandoned military airbase of Pajuostis (EYPP), where the trees growing on top of the taxiways might actually be realistic this time!

Have a nice trip - laimingos kelionės!


Discussion thread here