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879th fly-in: Santiago de Cuba (MUCU)


Kumiankka

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Next Sunday, November 14th will be our second visit to Cuba‚ and our first one specifically to Antonio Maceo Airport, Santiago de Cuba (MUCU). Excellent freeware scenery (complete with orthos) has been recently released by @Zed Romsson, and comes complete with details such as an interesting sloped runway, a custom-modeled terminal building featuring the likeness of Che Guevara, and the impressive Spanish colonial fortress Castillo del Morro prominently visible on the approach to runway 10. As always, there are some complications: not only is the main runway 10/28 a bit bumpy, it's also an example of a tabletop runway with steep drops near both ends, and displaced thresholds at these ends also limit the usable runway length slightly. If you're a stickler for realism when it comes to airspace restrictions, there's a refinery north of the airport that should be avoided for overflights, but more importantly the presence of the famous and controversial Guantanamo Bay to the east imposes some additional restrictions.

Remember to keep posting those PIREPs to qualify for the upcoming Home Base Tour next year, consider donating to X-Flightserver.net and/or the scenery author if you wish to support them - and have a nice trip - ¡buen viaje!

 

 

New pilots are always welcome, read the guide below by @bootsie to get started:
How to connect to X-Flightserver

Or to connect using the new Swift client, see this tutorial by @ostkamp:
Swift client quick reference guide (pdf)

Be considerate towards your fellow pilots, and above all, have fun!

 

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Great location, and this one is within striking distance of my last-known location in the X-Plane world. According to Skyvector, MUCU is just 642nm north-east of TISX. I might not be able to join at the same time as everyone else, but I'll definitely try to fly there, and by the book. It looks like payware scenery with a freeware label, nice. Good flights everybody!

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Flew from Havana in an Il-96 that I had originally purchased as payware way back in the history of x-plane.org and Ramzess aircraft. Like many of his old planes its only been updated by third parties. At least it now works in XP11 but it does indeed have some quirky behaviour. Having said that I think the plane flies quite well (but decidedly overpowered), and its mostly a matter of finding the right switches etc, not all of which seem to be listed in the manual or checklists. 

Here is the take off having watched Kumi take a Il-76 down to the runway ahead of me.

IL96 - 2021-11-14 12.46.22.jpegIL96 - 2021-11-14 12.51.59.jpegIL96 - 2021-11-14 12.52.32.jpegIL96 - 2021-11-14 12.58.16.jpegIL96 - 2021-11-14 12.58.30.jpeg

I ran into pressuriswation problems and searched the overhead for something I may have missed.

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turns out there is anothe bleed switch up off the top left of the above image. More than one bleed switch to deal with ;-(

Had more trouble finding the place and nearly got disorientated over the sea on the approach.

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Touchdown is slower than you might expect for this size of plane (around 120-130 kts) and it can be quite difficult to land nose up with the main gear on the runway first. If you land too hard, the wings fall off along with the engines!!!

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Took off again for some circuits and bumps and finally settled down with a number of other pilots already landed while I was airborne.

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See you next time

Gary

 

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Interesting afternoon once again, full of system failures, glitches and other assorted craziness!

 

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Started out from Havana in an old Cubana Il-76, just before @ghun1 as he mentioned. Here's the same takeoff from my point of view.

 

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The flight to Santiago de Cuba went routinely, with the approach to runway 10 pretty busy as I arrived but still enough separation to avoid any holding patterns. The sky was a bit hazy so it took me a while to spot the runway, but the landmark Castillo del Morro was more easily visible.

 

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@ghun1 arrived shortly afterwards in his Il-96, while @gordoxproenca was just departing in an F-15 (rendered here as an F-16)

 

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I could see @surfintucson on the map coming in from Guantanamo in a C-130, so I quickly (well, as quickly as possible considering the traffic) took off in a MiG-15 for a friendly welcome.

 

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Surf's attempt to hide in the clouds was a nice trick, but there just weren't enough clouds to hide in at the point where I caught up with him.

 

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After escorting Surf to MUCU, I made a quick flyby and then landed as well, unsure how much fuel I had left due to the difficult-to-read fuel gauges on the MiG.

 

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I was going to fly an old Mil Mi-8 next, but didn't get far off the helipad due to tail rotor issues.

 

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My second choice, Riviere's ATR-42, wasn't a much luckier one! I had just finished the Santiago 4 departure and was climbing out on course to Punta Cana, when the #1 engine readings started to drop, then jump around wildly. I shut down and feathered the malfunctioning engine, declared emergency and started a slow turn back towards Santiago.

 

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Since I wasn't able to put the flaps down, runway 01 didn't look long enough. Overflying the airport, I was able to verify that I had the gear down at least, but had lost all avionics since those seemed to be running off engine #1 only. Flew a visual pattern to 28 with right-hand turns only, fighting the controls all the way down with engine #2 at full throttle and generating asymmetrical thrust.

 

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As I throttled back the #2 engine to slow down, everything seemed to be all right. Except as I was getting ready to add some power to clear the runway fully, engine #2 wasn't responding anymore either! Stuck on the taxiway, I shut down the other engine too and ordered an evacuation while the fire trucks were rolling in.

 

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I had managed to solve the earlier tail rotor issue with the Mi-8 though, nothing to do with the model but just that my USB pedals had gotten disconnected! But loading the helo and starting up again, I quickly ran into even more trouble, this time with the main rotor! I don't think they're supposed to look like that… Moments from losing control, I put the helo back down on the ground a second time while I still had the chance.

 

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At this point I saw @surfintucson back on the server map returning from Haiti in his C-130, and thought it might be fun to intercept him a second time, this time in Jacques Brault's Hawker Sea Fury.

 

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This time there were no major technical issues to contend with, just unexpected reinforcements in the form of @gordoxproenca who swooped out of the sky in his F-15 to hunt me down. The old Sea Fury didn't stand a chance trying to keep up with the F-15 (this time rendered as an F/A-18), and hiding in the clouds wasn't of much help either as we already noticed earlier! My only hope was to dive near treetop level and hope to keep Gordo off my tail with some quick turns behind hilltops and treetops.

 

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My plan quickly backfired - in a futile attempt to try to turn with Gordo to line up a shot, I lost too much airspeed, stalled and spun out, and without any altitude left to recover, hit the ground quickly leaving Gordo the winner by default.

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Greeting Pilots, I started my flight in Havana (MUHA) I picked the Cubana Airlines livery and ATR75 aircraft, both of which I believe is authentic to the area. I taxied to RWY 6 following @ostkamp and @dino5. After RWY 060was clear I departed via SID:AVU4A.APRIK 06.

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Once I climbed about FL100 there was a nice view of the city in the background.

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Approaching Santiago from the northwest there was a fair amount of inbound traffic. @ostkampwas on final for runway 01 as I made my ILS approach to RWY 10. @Vega66 was behind me number 3 to land.  To maintain spacing I slowed to 110 knots and made visual contact with @ostkampall worked out fine.

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Once on the gound I parked and shut down.  Seen in the background @Quintao parked, and @Vega66landing.

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@surfis behind me in his C130.

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Parked at the gate Mr Mac and CUB1413.

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@Kumiankkawas firing up his helicopter from the helipad.

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Have a nice week everyone see you next Sunday.

All the best,

Chas

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Greetings, Pilots!
@Kumiankka @Vega66 @gordoxproenca @cyl8


I started off the day with a quick boat ride from the Officers Quarters to the airfield at MUGM Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
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My C-130 Hercules was waiting.
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Taxied out past some muscle then took off to the east. Made a quick 180 offshore to get pointed in the direction of MUCU Santiago de Cuba:
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A short hop of just 35nm or so. My plan was to fly along the coast, staying VFR below the clouds.
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The plan was disrupted, however, when KUMI in a MiG-15 came up to intercept. Cuba, MiG, US-flagged C-130 out of Gitmo. Hmmmm.

Now, as was seen, a lumbering C-130 is no match for even an old MiG. I full throttled it and climbed into the cloud bank, turning, trying to get lost. That worked for a very short while but there was not enough of a cloud bank to keep that up for long and pretty soon I was escorted the rest of the way to landing at MUCU. Here on final, and finally losing my MiG escort with a notch of flaps and down to 125 knots:
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Parked up with the arrived crew at the very nice scenery (hard to see in this shot but nice gentle slopes on the runway in addition to the nicely modeled buildings)
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While filling out my incident report I noticed a U.S. aircraft carrier steaming offshore. Where were these guys a few minutes ago when I was trying to evade that MiG?
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After a bit of a break and waiting to see if there were any plans coming together, i decided to do a quick run to MTPP Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Easy dash over the water and a silky smooth landing. Some action was a foot back at MUCU so I hightailed it back to Guantanamo Bay. En route I was hearing multiple calls of Mayday on the radio due to engine failures. Something odd happening over there. Something odd with the server map too--I could only see everyone on Map 2.
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I had hoped to have some photos of my silky smooth landing and my tactical departure in Haiti, but I forgot to "save replay" until after I had switched aircraft; and also forgot that switching aircraft is "start new flight" and that was the end of the Haiti replay opportunity. Grrrr.

There were some fast movers chasing each other around the skies so I fired up the T7 Red Hawk. Alas, I don't fly this enough. I frequently get crashes due to icing (even in tropical locations). After two of those it took me some time to figure out how to alter the cockpit view so I could see/reach the anti-ice toggle. After a bit of time I was airborne again. Mostly chasing VEGA, GORDO, and (new pilot?) HAMMER around. Or in the case of GORDO, being chased a fair bit. Some high-speed, high-G low-elevation flying--sort of a Cuban Mach Loop or Star Wars Canyon. Was a bit of a handful flying the T7 watching the G-load, the pitch and elevation, and the airspeed, while also trying to track or evade other aircraft, so most of the pics were from the cockpit. Here's a slow pass over MUCU:
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Then in firing position behind another aircraft (my CSLs were showing the jets as Airbuses) going pretty quick and pulling some Gs.
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The server lag was killing me; I would just about have lock and the other aircraft would just disappear or jerk to the left or right.

After breaking off I lined up for a high-speed low pass over MUCU from the west, with VEGA doing the same from the east. Closing speed must have been Mach 2 or so and we crossed over the flightline. Sign us up for the aerial display team--an opposing knife-edge pass a la USAF Thunderbirds.
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USAF opposing pass:

Next came the hardest part: landing the Red Hawk. Lined up well in advance, got slow enough to get the gear down, got a little AOA and kept the airspeed and profile good--that's the part that's difficult for me--and actually touched down pretty well at MUCU. Taxied in to the terminal and parked next to XPCYL8's helo and called it a day.
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Edited by surfintucson
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Greeting Pilots, I started my flight in Havana (MUHA) I picked the Cubana Airlines livery and ATR75 aircraft, both of which I believe are authentic to the area. I taxied to RWY 6 following @ostkamp and @dino5. After RWY 06 was clear I departed via SID:AVU4A.APRIK 06.

1330077242_ATR72-2021-11-147_38_27AM.thumb.jpg.e28f6c6136772c3ea7d4e42416adbc20.jpg

 

Once I climbed about FL100 there was a nice view of the city in the background.

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Approaching Santiago from the northwest there was a fair amount of inbound traffic. @ostkamp was on final for runway 01 as I made my ILS approach to RWY 10. @Vega66 was behind me number 3 to land.  To maintain spacing by slowing  to 110 knots and made visual contact with @ostkamp, all worked out fine.

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Once on the ground I parked and shut down.  Seen in the background @Quintao parked, and @Vega66 landing.

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@surf is parked behind me in his C130.

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Also parked at the gate Mr Mac and CUB1413.

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Shown below @Kumiankka was firing up his helicopter from the helipad.

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Have a nice week everyone see you next Sunday.

All the best,

Chas

 

 

 

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Hi all, it is great to be back after being two weekends away due to other commitments.

I started this morning at the capital of the Conch Republic, Key West aboard the Aerobask Phenom 300.

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Pre-flight complete, announced my intentions and taxied to RWY 09 for immediate departure.

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Departed and in no-time was above the clouds.

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Cruised at FL340 on mach .77 airspeed on my way to MUCU.

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About an hour later, was approaching MUCU to land at RWY 28.

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Very comfortable landing on the Phenom 300, taxied enjoying the great scenery and parked somewhat close to the main terminal, enjoyed noticed the details on the MUCU scenery.

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Took the time to see others landing, here @CHASMAN2014 on the ATR 72 and @Vega66 on the Tupolev-154 that I mistakenly thought it was a Boeing 727 due to the triple engines.

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Group photo below with Chas, Vega, Mr Mac, @surfintucson on the C-130, @Kumiankka on the fighter jet and @rajo  which was also modeled on a ATR. 

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Wrapping up with my route for today, just shy of 500nm.

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Looking forward to the fly-in 880 next weekend!

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Greetings, great Pilots

Planned to start the fly-in from Princess Juliana, an old Cubana Tu-154 was already in place for the occasion. But then... life is what happens while we make plans, and that led me to attend other duties during the expected time frame for that flight, so I needed to get closer to our site considering a later than expected rendez-vous.

For the purpose, obtained clearance for a sort of pre-flight heading to MUNG - Rafael Cabrera, which would place me close enough to perform the main fly-in flight on an acceptable time frame.

It was before dawn when I fired the engines of the Tu-154 at Saint Maarten.

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After about 20 minutes prep, got clearance to pushback and taxi for immediate departure.

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Rotating 10 minutes later and turning almost directly to Rafael Cabrera.

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Despite the early departure, time was really tight, so had to cheat a time-lapse to perform the 1200 nm flight in about 90 minutes. The arrival and landing at Rafael Cabrera was uneventful, and the old Cubana Tupolev just did a great job.

 

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So, after a few hours, managed to return for the final leg towards Santiago, 

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Righ in time to join the main group that were turning the Cuban skies into a very busy airspace. 

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Lined up for land right after @CHASMAN2014

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Not easy to find a parking slot at Santiago de Cuba today, with so many incoming pilots. Here chas, @Quintao, @surfintucson and another nice Cubana livery flown by @Kumiankka, altough by then I believe it was an undercover Mig-15 returning from an enforcement mission. 

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After a short brake, returned to the theater of operations, this time on a long missed Epic Victory, for a tour aorund a couple of airports.

 

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By that time @gordoxproenca was shadowing me on an F-15, and between Guantanamo and Santiago much action was still in place. So decided to change for a more suitable frame to join the party.1639386521_DesktopScreenshot2021_11.14-16_45_45_60.thumb.jpg.e4dea89956aba9b610c2e493675d0dbf.jpg

It turned out to be a very intense 30 minutes with Gordo, Surf, @cyl8 and Hammer, among chasing, improvised formations, touch-downs and Fly-bies.

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Truly the top-notch was an almost perfect opposing knife-edge pass performed over Santiago airport, together with Surf (sadly, no photo for that one), a few moments before touching down for the last time at Santiago de Cuba, to call it a day. 

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Thanks to everybody for another memorable Fly-In. Wish you a great week.

  

 

Edited by Vega66
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Wow I didn't realize it was such a large turn out earlier in the day! I thought I got swift working because I could see me on the map and listed on x-flightserver.net, but it appeared that I could not see anyone and I was certain when Hammer showed up next to me according to the map but I didn't see anyone for the entire duration of the fly in... Is there anyway to debug before next fly in?

While getting DA62 engine started on the apron of Santiago de Cuba, I was already hearing all the technical issues happened about Kumi's tail rotor pedals linkage was broken, and then again a bit later on an engine failure and declared emergency. My flight to Guantanamo Bay was otherwise uneventful and landed w/o drama. 

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Things weren't quite the same for the next leg, as I heard Kumi was able to bring the plane back with the remaining engine, and then a lot actions were happening back near Santiago de Cuba among Vega66, Surf, and Kumi, I figured I should head toward the action. Things appeared to be peachy as da62 flies wonderfully and smooth. I reached out to Santiago de Cuba about intent for ILS landing runway 10 and started  setting up Nav1 for it. Kumi was talking about how an eventful day it was and shortly after that I notice something was blinking on my screen, and then there were some odd mechanical noise, then the left propeller stopped spinning right in front of my eyes!

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I've only radioed about failure and tried to figure out the situation when the remaining engine also stopped. I completely forgot to dial squawk code and focused on finding a place to put it down. There was a patch of flat valley not too far ahead If I could reach it.

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I made it I think?!

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It was a long walk back to Santiago de Cuba. Given an eventful day, I thought needed some help running rescue team, so I signed up their SAR team and started patrolling in a Bell 412. That craft is loud! so loud I could barely hear the radio, and that I forgot to put on headset might have contributed to that...

Screen-Shot-2021-11-14-at-8-33-00-AM.jpg

Toured around the San Pedro De La Roca Castle just west of airport

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Followed coast line toward east. There supposed to be a craft taking off but I saw nothing...

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There's a small town just below the runway surface toward the water

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Unfortunately, knowing that swift wasn't working fully, I wasn't able to offer any help where rescue's needed, but I had great fun even that it was an eventful one. I think I can make it next week!

 

Edited by cyl8
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10 hours ago, cyl8 said:

so loud I could barely hear the radio

I've had that same problem. I was about to mention using the Windows built-in audio mixer functionality. Then I noticed you are on Mac so I went to my Mac to figure out the equivalent there. As a longtime Mac user (System 6) (who only built a Windows PC to get a decent GPU for X-Plane) it pains me to say this but there appears to be no default equivalent on Mac. I can't believe something so simple and useful is default on Windows and missing on Mac.

There do seem to be two relatively inexpensive alternatives for Mac:
Rogue Amoeba's (I use some of their apps; good functionality if occasionally odd UI) Soundsource:
https://rogueamoeba.com/soundsource/

and this one (I don't have any experience with Static Z apps) Sound Control:
https://staticz.com/soundcontrol/

Might be worth getting one or the other--one of the first things I do on Fly-in day is alter the mix of Teamspeak and X-Plane audio so the "radio" is still loud over the engines.

 

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All flights for pilot rajo
Date From To Aircraft Type Duration Distance Earnings Action
2021/11/15 01:25:01 MUCU MNBL N-855EJ Socata TBM 850 02:53 659 $6,821.24 View
                 
2021/11/10 01:17:24 MUOC MUCU N-855EJ Socata TBM 850 00:59 214 $3,789.15 View
2021/11/09 23:13:39 MUCC MUOC N-855EJ Socata TBM 850 00:10 11 -$123.29 View
2021/11/09 19:54:30 KTPA MUCU N-67713 Hawker 850XP 01:53 605 $6,920.70 View
2021/11/09 04:09:48 MUHA MUCU N-97254 Airbus A320 (MSFS) 01:39 410 $3,696.30 View

The fly-in flight (with Laminar King Air C90B) is not included because the FSEconomy server was offline during the fly-in, no idea why.

9660369_a319-2021-11-0904_58.27Large.thumb.jpeg.3cca5a64efc1e9546d197e8180d9834c.jpeg107199288_C90B-2021-11-1415_26.13Large.thumb.jpeg.4bdcbc7b2f285bc41b26ce7e921c4414.jpeg1372209610_C90B-2021-11-1415_37.23Large.thumb.jpeg.1e5be466edbb708b9e76727895e9292a.jpeg

Edited by rajo
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2 hours ago, ghun1 said:

Nice shots everyone. Quintao, where did this map come from? Just curious....

 

Thanks Gary , this map if from an X-mapper Pro App on AppleStore, it is running on an old ipad that was collecting dust here so I repurposed from my son (he disposed of it since it was an older generation and didn't work for what he wanted) but it still works just fine for this basic app connected to the network. But it doesn't display traffic, it is just my position over time.

 

Edited by Quintao
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16 hours ago, cyl8 said:

Wow I didn't realize it was such a large turn out earlier in the day! I thought I got swift working because I could see me on the map and listed on x-flightserver.net, but it appeared that I could not see anyone and I was certain when Hammer showed up next to me according to the map but I didn't see anyone for the entire duration of the fly in... Is there anyway to debug before next fly in?

Hi Cyl8, if by any chance we coincide Online anytime before the next Fly-In please comm me for test runs (most probable time window between 1900 and 2100 Zulu).

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Thanks @surfintucson re the sound control apps. The x-plane itself also has volume control and there are sliders for different part of sounds. The odd thing was that I tried to reduce master volume of x-plane and it had zero effect so I was a bit puzzled. I had no issue with DA62 or AS350, but the B412 was just really loud that I had to reduce the volume from the computer. That said, I did forget about the headset so I'll try put on the headset in the helo ( I am assuming there is one, as in AS350 the headset much reduced external sounds )  

@Vega66 appreciate the offer. 1900z to 2100z would be 11 - 13 hours PST. Let me look at my calendar and might just ping you once I figure something out first. Thanks!

@ghun1 @Quintao The current version is called X-Mapper TNG released to work with xp11 I believe.

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On 11/15/2021 at 5:51 PM, surfintucson said:

I've had that same problem. I was about to mention using the Windows built-in audio mixer functionality. Then I noticed you are on Mac so I went to my Mac to figure out the equivalent there. As a longtime Mac user (System 6) (who only built a Windows PC to get a decent GPU for X-Plane) it pains me to say this but there appears to be no default equivalent on Mac. I can't believe something so simple and useful is default on Windows and missing on Mac.

There do seem to be two relatively inexpensive alternatives for Mac:
Rogue Amoeba's (I use some of their apps; good functionality if occasionally odd UI) Soundsource:
https://rogueamoeba.com/soundsource/

and this one (I don't have any experience with Static Z apps) Sound Control:
https://staticz.com/soundcontrol/

Might be worth getting one or the other--one of the first things I do on Fly-in day is alter the mix of Teamspeak and X-Plane audio so the "radio" is still loud over the engines.

 

there is also an open source alternative: blackhole (installable i.e. via macports )

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On 11/15/2021 at 7:27 PM, Quintao said:

Thanks Gary , this map if from an X-mapper Pro App on AppleStore, it is running on an old ipad that was collecting dust here so I repurposed from my son (he disposed of it since it was an older generation and didn't work for what he wanted) but it still works just fine for this basic app connected to the network. But it doesn't display traffic, it is just my position over time.

 

there is also XAirports, i like it very much and use it on every flight. https://apps.apple.com/de/app/xairports/id555829723?mt=12 Die iOS Variante https://apps.apple.com/de/app/xairports/id551146727 

Edited by rajo
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Hi,

I am most likely the latest with a PIREP after a busy week.

Just for the record: Dino5´s account is @Big-IN, if you are using what appears to be natural, you are just creating a notification bell for the wrong person. 😉

We have been starting up at La Havane Jose Marti Intl. (MUHA) and then visited a couple of airports on our way from North West to South East.

image001.jpg

I was flying the Aerobask Eclipse 550 NG.
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@CHASMAN2014 was also starting up at a different hanger on the same airport.
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Our first leg went to Vila Acuna Intl. (MUCL).
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Getting ready for the next one.
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The next stop was at Abel Santamaria (MUSC).
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Dino5 had issues with his front gear as you can see on the image.
image008.jpg


image009.jpg

Passing the North Coast we spotted this US flagged carrier. Uh oh ...😬
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Next we landed at Jardines del Rey (MUCC).
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The last leg then went to Santiago de Cuba (MUCU). Dino5 was on final to runway 10 here while I was flying a pattern to get into position for runway 01.
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This was Dino5´s aircraft.
image020.jpg

Hope to see you next Sunday.

@cyl8 I can also put my aircraft somewhere, if that helps to check your Swift installation. I should be available via Discord. PM here is also possible.

 

Edited by ostkamp
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That's a neat fun fact about this airport @cyl8!

My flight began in Nassau with the ZIBO 737. Flying SmartCopilot again with 49TE. The flight was relatively simple; the plane pretty much flies itself.

348159490_b738-2021-11-1408_06_37.thumb.jpg.434d06248f868bfc818eeec48a015a20.jpg110859330_b738-2021-11-1408_33_18.thumb.jpg.86dcebe452f645f5e64db88184ca399f.jpg

However, on descent we had a malfunction resulting in a flap extension around 280 kts! We caught it quickly but the starboard flap had already seized. Things got busy as we prepared for a low-flap or no-flap landing. On final we were able to put a little flap out although I don't think I could handle much more than flaps 5 as the plane really wanted to roll right, requiring a lot of left aileron to keep us level. Somehow I think this helped us with separation, as @CHASMAN2014 and @Quintao were also coming in?

1206907616_b738-2021-11-1408_49_35.thumb.jpg.3e23173416a6a1f8c322e1a67c17ab8f.jpg103367907_b738-2021-11-1408_50_26.thumb.jpg.28daebab3de9a9b80f3171afe468cc83.jpg

The picture doesn't really convey the swift feeling of the approach; which was noticeably shorter than my previous approaches. I didn't know about the 007 connection with this airport, but this approach sure felt like a 007 stunt! We ended up touching down around 170 kts and maximum braking to get it stopped by the second turn off. I'm honestly surprised we didn't use more of the runway.

669882383_b738-2021-11-1408_57_22.thumb.jpg.314da97cdb703f3459fd9357acce80f0.jpg

After parking, we handed our jet to the local maintenance crews to work on. She should be ready to go for tomorrow in Japan!

See you all in the blue!

Edited by F5Chaser
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Great PIREPs everybody, thanks!

Alas, I never did get to fly this route as I was too busy working.

It is a shame to see that X-Plane 11 is still plagued by those thick, dark, ugly contrails - very unrealistic and unaesthetic in my opinion. But it looks like you guys had a very eventful fly-in. I missed another good one!

Cool videos @surfintucson, such skill and precision.

@Quintao Your screenshots look as crisp and beautiful as ever. Your shots of the focal airport are particularly good - I can almost feel the warmth (or perhaps the weather's just very bleak where I live right now).

@ostkamp Jardin Del Reyes (MUCC) is beautiful, even more so with orthos in my opinion. My second-to-last flight (way back in October 2018) was actually to MUCC, also in an Eclipse-550 (my personal 'redux' version of the freeware version). Here's a screenshot for posterity:

HZMZf79.jpg

Aah, the nostalgia...

...anyway, thanks again everybody. Good onward flights!

Edited by Skylark2992
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