Just for kicks I decided to try flying in some weather. Today's weather in Alabama northeast to Virginia is probably too bad for VFR and would probably not be permitted in reallity, FS has no such restrictions. So, I set up on RWY 7 at KCEW with a destination of KBKW. I've been flying the B-25, this time with "Chowhound Junior" textures.

Downloaded "real" weather data and had a great time. The B-25 had no trouble with the moderate winds. Although the Flight plan was VFR (so as not to be restricted to an altitude), I used the radios for navigation.

Using VORs, my route was;

112.10
112.30
115.80
116.40
116.80, and finally;
117.70

At KBKW I landed on RWY 19 using ILS 111.70.

Initially climbed to 4500, then up to 7000 to get above the lower clouds, but still under the the higher cover. Climbed to 8000 later for the same reason. Toward the last third of the trip the weather was a bit better. Desended to 5500 toward the last third of the trip to get an occasional view of the terrain. At this point I set the Radio Altimeter to read the upper range to check out its functionallity. There are many interesting instruments that make this plane a joy to fly. Nearer the end of the trip the Radio Altimeter bsgan to show my altitude above GROUND level to vary. This is a wonderful guage. I entered the the upwind leg of the pattern for Rwy 19 about 20 miles southwest of KBKW. With the Radio tuned to ILS 111.70. Soon after I passed the threshold it didn't take long be lower than the glideslope. (KBKW is 2504' above sea level) I climbed to reach the glideslope quickly because visiblilty was poor and I knew the terrain varied quit a lot. On final I switched the RAdio Altimeter to low range. The approach was interesting for me as I had never been to KBKW and did not know what to expect. The glideslope seems a little steeper than I'm used too, and for good reason. I usually fly in Florida where everything is pretty flat and not much over 100 feet elevation. When below 400 feet the Radio Altimeter is really great to use to get a nice smooth touch down.

It is rare that my machine will hold out to make such a flight so enjoyable. Seem to have got the settings almost spot-on for my system. Nice reflections on the metal textures, nice clouds, and reasonably smooth framrates. (locked at 10) Read my specs and you'll see why.

Sorry if this bored you, but it was a nice experience for me.

Athlon SLOT A 500 Mhz (yep, it's rare to have a nice flight)
FIC SD-11 Motherboard
320mb PC133 RAM
Viper 770 video w/16mb
Maxtor 17gb HD@5400rpm
21" Futura display

Can't wait to upgrade to a XP2500 with Epox board and try overclocking.

For future fun......

What is the highest elevation EAST of the Mississippi?
Nearest airport?
What is the higheast elevation West of the same?
Nearest airport?

Have nice flights and relax. It's just "plane" fun to do!

Regards, Al :-wave