Let's See Antarctica in FSX

[flyboy208]

Wonder how this barren and cold land is rendered in FSX - any takers? Mike :)

[peer01]

Mike, I did some flights over Antarctica, I'm not too enthousiastc, FSX need some add ons there I'm afraid..... :(

[Kofi]

I'll see if I can remember this post next time I fly...

[FlyingKiwi]

Unfortunately in FSX it is no real improvement on FS9. Still fairly glitchy.

First two shots at the Argentinian Marambio Base.
http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/5720/basemarambio1er3.jpg

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/6061/basemarambio2iz0.jpg

This one shot at the main McMurdo base - notice the clouds look strange.
http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/1968/mcmurdostationfe9.jpg

There are a few other bases, including one called South Pole Station which is at the pole, and is extremely glitched - there's no runway and the ground appears to be moving underneath you.

[wolf2]

gee, what a surprise : a bug in fsx, lol. well, look at the bright side, guys: at least the desert here (as opposed to the desert that fsx dumps all over the rest of the planet) is a lighter color!

[Kofi]

The polar cloud anomaly is also present in FS2004 :)

[Tim_A]

These were from a tour I did last year in FSX:

Leg 3: McMurdo Station (NZIR) to South Pole Station (NZSP)

739nm, 4.5 hours (total: 3294nm, 12.7 hours)

One of many things I don't recommend you 'try at home' is reassembling an aeroplane in the middle of the Antarctic! The workshop we've been assigned is actually an old shipping container that's been left on the ice. It's a toasty (for Antarctica, anyway!) minus 16 Celcius outside, and not a lot warmer inside as work gets underway. On day two, a storm blows through and deposits a thick layer of snow over the container. This actually improves the temperature, and we find we can remove some of our protective outer clothing for short periods. The down side is that the container is much harder to spot when we arrive from the camp each morning, and we resort to planting flags on the top just so that we can find it!

Eventually the plane is finished, and the proving flights made. While we're not flying, heated blankets are draped over it to keep it from freezng up! Even the AVGAS we're using is a special formulation with antifreeze, just to cope with the cold conditions. We've had barrels of fuel flown to all our planned stops, in the regular C130 transport flights that go from station to station - you can't actually buy fuel here; everything you use, you must bring yourself!

Finally we're ready to go, and we line up on the ice runway. The makeshift 'ramp', along with the "tower" and our workshop is clearly visible in the distance, with several C130s parked waiting for their cargo.

http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/9251/sh207aj7.jpg

All the buildings here are on skis, and during the Summer, when the ice breaks up, they're actually towed back onto the rocky mainland to await the next season!

http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/7007/sh218gz4.jpg

Saying goodbye to Mcmurdo Radio on the radio, we take one last look behind us at the base that as been home for the last few days. Even Mt Erebus is strangely quiet, its normal plume of white smoke missing, as if mourning our departure.

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/23/sh230qx7.jpg

We climb out over the Ross Ice Shelf. This is the biggest coastal ice shelf anywhere in the world (roughly the size of Spain), with ice that ranges from 600 to 3,000 feet thick. Except Microsoft appears to have introduded global warming, and replaced it with open ocean. Maybe this explains all the desert textures elsewhere in the world...

At least they've left us the odd iceberg!

http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/4949/sh233qd3.jpg

Eventually we come to the coast, and the end of the sea ice(!) The Prince Albert Mountains rise spectacularly in our path. Even though we're at 9500ft, we're going to have to climb significantly to get over them. Time to break out the oxygen!

(btw, we're heading South, but notice the DI and compass!)

http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/6041/sh243bo7.jpg

After the rich palette of greens and browns that we're used to in other parts of the world, these mountains of ice, in their muted shades of grey, look like a surrealist 'painting by numbers' kit!

http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/7797/sh250aw7.jpg

11,500 feet, and the mountains are still higher! I think we'll go round this one!

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/3933/sh259ym3.jpg

Past the mountains now, and the central ice plateau stretches into infinity before us. We're past the point of no return, so we have to hope that fuel - and oxygen - won't fail us. It starts to feel even colder as the sun begins to sink.

http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/4342/sh272vj6.jpg

Mid day at the South pole. The sun barely gets above the horizon, and we need the VDF facilities of the radio operator to talk us in the last few miles until we can see the lights of the station (the only navaid here is TACAN, which is not available for civil use). A quick glance at the airport chart reminds us of the dangers here, and sens a quick shiver through the spine: Use at own risk. Dimensions may change without warning! Still, at least they use Kiwi standard time here, so we don't have to change our watches!

http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/7574/sh280fo4.jpg

The route. Head South, although our initial magnetic heading is 030, ie North East, because the magnetic pole is not in the same place. Notice the distortion on the FS map view (inset), this shows up on the GPS too, making it useless for navigation near the pole. I had my RW Garmin 296 attached via the serial port, and that fared better, although it too gave up with about 10 miles to run!

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/4734/routexd4.jpg