BillD22

An "all-star" collection! Loving these classic props. :cool::cool::cool:

Hard to find a nicer-looking one than this one Rick! Great shot. :cool::cool::cool:

An ex-Navy P3 aerial fire tanker lands under cloudy skies at KLAX for the SOCAL wildfire season. The P3 is an ideal aircraft for this role because of its excellent low-altitude maneuvering ability. #1 and #4 are shut down to save fuel on the taxi to the ramp. FSX model converted to MSFS.

Here's an Eastern Airlines Lockheed L1049G Super Constellation "Golden Falcon" on a flight from Miami down to Jose Marti International Airport in Havana, Cuba back in the day. In this pre-Castro timeframe, our passenger mix could be interesting. Maybe mafia bosses going to check on their casino operations in Havana; maybe Ernest Hemingway returning to work on his latest novel. Who knows? We're just flying the airplane, not asking any questions! :D:D En route time is 1 hour at a cruise altitude of 19,000. Forecast weather along our route is scattered clouds with a haze layer reported at the airport. Takeoff, climb out, and turn on course from KMIA Runway 09. Over Key Largo heading out for the short overwater segment. Almost as soon as we reach cruise altitude the coast of Cuba comes into view and we start our descent On the approach, we get a great view of Havana. Gear down and turning final for Runway 06. The runway comes into sight thru the forecast haze. Roll out and shut down on the ramp. Welcome to Jose Marti International Airport! Shortly we'll be taking the crew bus to our hotel in Havana and enjoying a Cuba Libre in the hotel bar. Maybe we'll try our luck in the casino.

I'm guessing Santa is VFR. Looks like he should have requested flight following!!!!:D:D:D

John, Rick, & Blair - many thanks for looking & the thoughtful comments. John: Me too. Those were the days! Rick: I think all airline CEOs should be required to travel in their airline's cheapest seat when traveling on company business! :D

Yes, boys and girls, once upon a time air travel was comfortable and enjoyable - even fun! No packed cattle car cabin layouts; no seatbacks and tray tables reclined into your knees; no surly flight attendants, no upcharges for 3 inches of extra leg room or checked bags. Just 2x2 roomy seats, often a lounge area to socialize and enjoy an extra beverage, attractive and friendly stewardesses, and real cooked food meals! Here are some shots of a National Airlines Lockheed L1049G Super Constellation from that bygone era. National billed itself as the "Airline of the Stars" but the roomy seats and personal service weren't just for the rich and famous but for everyday, ordinary economy, coach class passengers. The passengers were the "Stars." What a concept!!!

Blue lights flashing in my rearview The sheriff said boy I should have known it was you You got 14 people in the back of this truck I warned you twice and now I'm writing you up I said officer what have I done He smiled and said boy you're having too much fun - Lyrics to the song "Too Much Fun" Pretty much seems to be what's going on here Adam ;) Awesome series! :cool::cool::cool:

It was! An adventure for a kid.

No more calls please - we have a winner!:D:D:D:D Thanks Ian - my dad was a career Navy pilot stationed at North Island back in the day before the bridge. As a child I remember riding the old car ferry from Coronado over to the city with my parents.

Hey JK - my sim PC is down for maintenance right now so I can't look at the pilot options but I think if you go into the graphics settings in MSFS under "Miscellaneous" you have a choice of pilot avatars. If you scroll thru them one of them is a military pilot. Select that as your pilot figure. It will appear in all your airplanes tho so when you're done with the military aircraft you'll need to switch back to an appropriate figure. Hope this helps

Thanks Mike - as you can see from this inside shot AJ is fully NATOPs compliant.

Thanks Larry - another good guess but the clue lies outside the airplane in the surrounding scenery. May take a San Diegan from back in the day to see it.

Good guess Blair but not the visual clue hiding in the shots. May take a San Diego resident to see. :D

Here are some shots of a Navy Grumman F9F-8 'Cougar" on a flight from North Island Naval Air Station (KNZY) on Coronado island, California out to the Naval Auxilary Landng Field on San Clemente Island (KNUC). PS: Extra credit for anyone who can say why we know from the takeoff shots that this flight was sometime after 1969. :D;) Lined up for takeoff. Takeoff and making a climbing turn towards KNUC for the short 20-minute 80-mile VFR flight out. On our climb, we're treated to a panoramic view of the greater San Diego area. Point Loma is on the nose with Mission Bay and La Jolla visible up the coast. Coronado and North Island are off the right wing with San Diego International (KSAN) and the tall buildings of downtown across the harbor. Level at our cruise altitude. At the controls today is Lieutenant "AJ Squared Away" USN. We know that because - unlike Tom Cruise and the "Top Gun: Maverick" guys - his oxygen mask is secured and his helmet visor is down. :pilot: We can't see in this shot but I'm guessing his flight suit sleeves are also rolled down and he's wearing his Nomex flight gloves. On final, touchdown, and rollout at KNUC. Taxi to the ramp. Welcome to San Clemente!

Thanks guys. Larry - this scenery was a port over from FSX. I hope we'll see more in the way of vintage airport scenery for MSFS.

A USAF C-47 taxis, takes off, and climbs out from Shimgbwyang Air Base in Burma on a 1945 era WWII mission flying supplies to China on the dangerous route over the eastern Himalayas nicknamed the "Hump". Another C-47 and a Curtiss C-46 "Commando" are also visible on the airfield.

Beauties! :cool::cool::cool::cool:

Here are some shots of the last Lockheed L188 "Electras" still flying today. Both are operated by Canadian companies. Once these are retired the Electra will be no more. :( Buffalo Airways, based at Yellowknife Airport (CYZF), in Northwest Territories, operates a cargo version shown in these shots. The other operator is Air Spray, based at Red Deer Regional Airport (CYQF), in Alberta, which flies several L188s converted to aerial firefighting tankers.

A Lockheed C-130 in the nighttime low visibility black paint scheme of aircraft attached to the USAF Special Operations Command makes a practice once around the pattern takeoff and landing at Eglin AFB (KVSP) in the Florida panhandle.

Had that done a couple of years ago. Welcome to the world of technicolor Rick!! Nice shot of the Eagle :cool:

Very nice paint JK. While it has a civilian registration I don't think this is a privately owned aircraft. In this paint scheme most likely a defense contractor prroviding aggressor aircraft traing for the U.S. Military.

These are great Larry. :cool::cool::cool: Thanks for the memories and the exotic (and peaceful) SEA locations - looks like your flights were all before things blew up there! :D Would sure like to see a lot more of the vintage "Golden Age" props, early jets, and vintage airport scenery and traffic start showing up in MSFS. Maybe the CalClassics guys could step in. Note to developers: We got more than enough glass cockpit Airbus's and Boeings!!

Thanks guys!

A Buffalo Airlines DC3 gets ready for an early morning flight on the cold ramp at Yellowknife Airport (CYZF), Northwest Territories. This morning's RW weather ramp temp -10C/14F. Brrrrrrrr.