Cargo Run in the MilVis DHC-2 Beaver Amphibian

Well, it has been a long time since I posted last. I see a lot has changed with P3D, FSW, and FS2 (64 bit - Wow!). I see ORBX has changed a lot too. Not ready to jump to Central 3 as if I have problems I am not sure when I would have time to sort out the issues. RL is way too demanding. Anyway, I booted the boys off the computer and reset FSX (they screwed up the settings) so I could make a decent looking flight with the MilViz Beaver. Nice plane that looks good and handles very well. Simulator is FSX with ORBX and Misty Mooring's Big Creek Lodge scenery. The N8134G livery is available over at the MilViz forum.

 

Of course I have to have a story to go along with the screen captures.

 

Story foreword - I live in the US but get to the Squamish area quite frequently to visit relatives and friends. Canada is such a beautiful place and has so many places to hunt and fish. I was meeting a friend (Eric) for a week's worth of fishing and was asked if I would haul a new backup power generator to the Big Creek Lodge since we would be in the area. Eric is a close friend of the lodge owner. Since the lodge owner was willing to cover our lodging bill for the fishing trip (that meant we didn't need to haul our camping stuff and could sleep in soft beds) how could I say no.

 

 

Here's the de Havilland DHC-2 Amphibian Beaver (it's a big plane). I flew in yesterday and had the plane refueled and the power generator and supporting equipment loaded. I spent the night with Eric and his family.

 

 

 

Eric's canoe will be brought along to support our fishing trip to remote lakes. He has a much larger fishing boat tied up over at the harbor but it won't fit on the plane. Time to remove the nose cover and do a pre-flight.

 

 

 

Before engine start the flight plan was entered into my portable Garmin GPS. I also temporarily powered up the electronics to listen to any traffic in the area. Unfortunately, I need to fly the plane's heading manually as the portable GPS does not interface with the plane's AP. This flight should take about an hour and will follow canyons as much as possible.

 

 

 

Cargo checked and verified secured. The plane is near maximum weight with that generator, equipment, and canoe onboard. All that fishing gear Eric brought doesn't help either. Glad we didn't need all the camping stuff.

 

 

 

Watching gauges as the engine warms up. That engine runs great and sounds healthy despite all the hours on it.

 

 

 

Ready to advance the throttle and get this "beaver" airborne.

 

 

 

Liftoff. Used most of that runway getting this heavy plane in the air. This is a great day for flying. The weather is cool, little wind, and there's no air traffic in the area.

 

 

 

Well, as the lodge is in the other direction I need to do a 180. Nice view of Squamish down there.

 

 

 

Leaving Squamish and intercepting the first leg of my flight plan. I am ready for my first cup of coffee.

 

 

 

Canyon flying provides for interesting scenery but it can be a dangerous maze at low altitude without good knowledge of the area and a GPS to help the memory cells.

 

 

 

Love mountain flying. Magnificent Canadian scenery. I am getting an ear full from Eric about his last fishing trip and the one that got away. He has an endless supply of fishing stories.

 

 

 

These mountains are wonderful. You can see a glacier off to the left and the hint of another one ahead of the plane in the distance. Eric had to keep turning up the cabin heat as we climbed higher and higher to clear the approaching mountains. My ears are popping.

 

 

 

 

Rest of flight in reply.

Here's the remainder of the flight.

 

 

Wow, that's a lot of ice flowing downhill over to the left. Makes me wonder how global warming is impacting this area.

 

 

 

Having cleared all the mountains tops I gave the flight controls to Eric in hopes of stopping the fishing stories for awhile. I poured myself another cup of hot coffee and had the last jelly filled donut Eric had his eyes on.

 

 

 

I took the controls and checked the portable GPS. Big Creek Lodge is about 11 nm away. We have been in the air about 45 minutes.

 

 

 

The Big Creek Lodge airport is on the left. I am going to land in the lake and use their amphibian ramp to get on dry ground.

 

 

 

Touch down. The water is quite smooth this morning.

 

 

 

Entering the Big Creek Lodge cove area. That's a pretty large campfire burning over there at the lodge. I see a lot of activity going on so they must have a lot of guests.

 

 

 

The amphibian ramp is a nice touch for their fly in guests.

 

 

 

I guess they get so much traffic on the ramp that crossing guards are needed. I feel so special.

 

 

 

They have a nice airport here and by the number of aircraft, quite a few flying individuals.

 

 

 

It's not every day you get someone to guide you to parking. I suppose they really want that generator and equipment I am hauling for them.

 

 

 

Generator delivered. They can remove it from the plane. Eric and I will head over to the lodge to check in and then sit by that large campfire while planning the fishing locations we will fly to.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you enjoyed the flight.

 

Jim

YES!!!!! I enjoyed them Jim, I enjoyed them VERY much !! :cool::cool::cool: Beautiful!! But you ruined my generator!! :mad:

Jan said: YES!!!!! I enjoyed them Jim, I enjoyed them VERY much !! :cool::cool::cool: Beautiful!! But you ruined my generator!! :mad:

 

 

Jan - So, you think I damaged your generator huh? As my pictures show, the flight was smooth and uneventful (unlike many of yours). Good thing you didn't fly it in yourself or it would have had a high probability of being at the bottom of the lake. All that aside, the generator must have a product quality issue. Didn't you purchase that generator from Adam's Electrical Supply?

 

Thanks for the nice comments. I had a devil of a time uploading those pictures one at a time. Jim

Great story and screenshots Jim, I enjoyed it a lot! :) So many FS choices today it''s mind boggling. I removed FSX and decided to go with the P3Dv4 64bit, the difference is truly amazing. I have all sliders to the right with Orbx, REX, Active sky plus payware aircraft with the F1 GTN750 in heavy weather and i'm getting 50 to 70 fps around Seattle. :D Yesterday I installed FSX again only because of some of the addons that will probably never be updated to 64bit. So at the moment i'm running FSX, Aerofly2, FSW and P3Dv4.:rolleyes::D

 

By the way, Jan did purchase the generator from me, LOL! ;)

I think H.R.M. enjoyed the water landing most, a;though he's probably somewhat perplexed that the plane floated! Very nice screenies, great story, a lot of fun, thanks!

Thanks for the comments Adam. I hope Jan doesn't decide to put some bed bugs in my bed while I am at his lodge despite your poor quality equipment. I hate being the middle man.

 

I have my eye on P3D but will hold off doing anything yet as my available simming time is low. Your results with P3D are a good selling point.

 

 

 

Thanks for the comments KCD. He made a wise choice in having someone else deliver his generator. I am surprised he would have ordered the generator from one of Adam's companies knowing there could be a problem.

 

 

Thanks guys, Jim

Great work with the pics. of your amphib Beaver Jim. A very nice narrative to go with it too. :cool: :cool: :D

So nice, thanks for the viewing pleasure!

 

Mark

Larry and Mark, thanks for the comments. Glad you like the story/narrative. Jim

Beautiful set of screenshots , thanks for sharing them .

Thanks for the comments Bluebaron. Jim

***wonder how global warming is impacting this area***

 

Global warming is a scam.

 

Look into that.

***wonder how global warming is impacting this area***

 

Global warming is a scam.

 

Look into that.

 

Better get yer house up on stilts! Here come de flood!;)

Allen Craig and mrzippy thanks for the comments. I will leave any discussions on Global Warming/Climate Change to politicians and scientists. Jim

Allen Craig and mrzippy thanks for the comments. I will leave any discussions on Global Warming/Climate Change to politicians and scientists. Jim

 

+1 I just thought it needed a retort!