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Plane versus car !!! I love to fly there !! Thanks ORBX!

As I said in a post a couple of days ago to @TigerTigerM I am very susceptible to certain flights after seeing them on the forum and this one is no exception, I had to go back to PNG for a "fix" of an hour or two and here are the results! 175 nm 350* N from Moresby Airport AYPY to Nadzab Airport AYNZ in Lae, PNG, nice mountainous flight. FL110 was a bit high for the DC3 but we made it fine (slight headaches for crew). 1. Just finished loading the cargo at the gate, ready for taxi to 32L 2.Lined up and waiting for clearance! 3. Tailwheel up, rolling nicely! 4. V1 - Rotate, Positive rate! 5. Gear up, on our way out of the area! 6. Our first mountain view (looks lush and dense)! 7. Nice and hazy shot in the distance. 8. First view of the valley leading to AYNZ City of Lae in the distance ahead. 9. Airport is to our left, we want Rwy 27. 10. I guess you'll just have to take my word, we are lined up with 27, approach speed 80 kts 11. Getting close now, everything good! 12. Here we are! 13. Told ya we were lined up good! Hope you enjoyed the flight & Thanks for looking

An Air Saguenay DHC-3 Otter has made it from Québec to Kokoda. It is expected to work around the remote mountain airfields for a while. Today, the Otter heads for Launumu, a mountain airfield that is at an elevation of 5082 ft asl and 1200 feet long. We have to watch for those birds in order to reach the destination… Following that trail is a good way to reach Launumu. If the mixture is not adjusted, the Otter will lose a lot of steam trying to climb up to 7,500 feet to cross the first line of mountains. The runway is in sight. Anybody landing and departing from Launumu deals with high density altitude. This is not only due to the elevation of the airfield but also to the very warm and moist air present in the region. Consequently, some additional airspeed is required on the approach. When a pilot lands southwestward in Launumu coming from Kokoda, he must dive in a valley to lose altitude, which will increase the aircraft’s airspeed. If the airspeed is not promptly corrected, the approach to the Launumu runway will be too fast. Any airspeed above 60 knots forces the pilot to overshoot (unless you are ready to virtually die a few times while trying). Once the higher mountains are crossed, a good way of loosing altitude without gaining airspeed is to use flaps (at the corresponding airspeed) and do a tight 360 degree coordinated turn while descending. That way, you will end up in line with the runway and at the speed you want, which is around 50 knots. The Otter floats endlessly, with its huge wings and flaps. On final for Launumu, you might end up having to deal with the bushes that are close to the runway. It is not unusual for the Otter or the Beaver to complete an approach with bushes wrapped around the landing gear. Launumu has a surprise for the newcomers. If you land southwestward, like it was just done, and are not stopped within approximately 600 feet, you start accelerating since there is a pronounced slope downward in the second half of the runway. This slope leads to a cliff. In case of a missed approach, you can use the slope downwards and dive in the valley at the end of the runway to built up airspeed and start a new approach. Now that the hard work is done, lets wait for the passengers and cargo, and plan the next leg… Cheers!

The local authorities have decided to study the possibility of using a Dash 7 in the challenging airfields along the Kokoda trail. The local Airlines PNG Twin Otter pilots based at the Kokoda airport have been invited on board of the newly arrived aircraft as they might have to do a cross-training later on. Today, the group is heading to Timkenumo, a very short mountain airfield with an impressive slope. The weather forecast indicates the presence of rain for the whole period of the flight. But the visibility is good. It is worth trying out the airfield. The Dash 7 gets closer to Timkenumo : gears and flaps are out. The short sloped runway is in sight. Timkenumo is touchy for a Dash 7. The flare is critical. Since the aircraft has to be parallel to the steep sloped runway on arrival, it has to adopt a climbing configuration in the last moment of the approach. This means having enough speed to avoid a stall, but not too much to be unable to stop before the end of the runway. Now is breaking time! Airbrakes, brakes, reversers, pulling on the stick to put the weight on the center wheels, everything is included except totally retracting the flaps which would be useless on such a short runway. The aircraft slows down rapidly, but it is necessary to keep it slowly moving to help finish the ride up the hill. Once positioned correctly, the crew stops the aircraft. The engines remain running since it is only a quick turnaround. A pilot gets out and take a picture of the Dash 7 with the Timkenumo post sign. It is now time to turn around. The slope is too important, even for the Dash7. Applying full power to turn will not work here. The best way is to release the brakes, let the Dash 7 build a little momentum, then apply the right brakes at the same time as the left reversers come into action. The aircraft pivots on itself on the runway. Then the pilot apply left rudder and brakes and adds power to the two engines on the right side to align the aircraft with the runway. Using the steep slope and the power of the four engines of the Dash 7, the aircraft is airborne rapidly. It is time to build up speed to avoid the mountain straight ahead. A few minutes later, the Dash 7 is out of the valley. The Kokoda airport is in sight. The airbrakes will help to rapidly diminish the airspeed. The runway is straight ahead. Lots of visitors today in Kokoda! Some food is already being cooked outside. I guess the pilots will try to invite themselves. Hopefully the tents will be dismantled tomorrow morning, otherwise there is a risk that the Dash7 pilots accelerate the process with the thrust reversers before the next flight! Cheers!

Well, that is it! The first glider just arrived at the Fane Parish airport in Papua New Guinea… Before it is officially offered as a tourist attraction for the region, some attempts at taking-off and landing must be done. The first trial attracts a few people! The descent along the twelve degree sloped runway is a bit rough for the glider’s low wings, as there are some bushes that will have to be trimmed! The weather is nice and very warm. The only potential problem is the mountain ahead. Finally, the pilot cuts the link. He is free to go! The glider flies silently over the lush area of Papua New Guinea. Using the rising warm air currents, the glider gains altitude. Why not a pass over Fane? Here is another isolated village alongside a mountain. A last steep turn in order to realign for the approach at Fane Parish. The airbrakes are out and the speed reasonable. The sloped runway is just ahead, on top of the mountain to the right. Keeping just enough altitude on the approach to be safe. Now that the landing is a sure thing, it is time to use the airbrakes again to slow down as much as possible. Keeping in mind that this mountain airfield as a good slope, it is better to have a bit of extra speed. Nobody likes to stall a few feet over a runway! What an experience it was! But I’ll need some help to pull the glider up the slope! The flight was great, the view was worth every penny, and I think that this could become a new touristic attraction for the region and the more wealthy visitors… Cheers!

Closing yesterday's report I said we'd be searching on the morrow for more mountain strips along the Kodoka Track. Not so fast Abernathy*. The weather had other ideas. First time I stuck my head out of the tent we had what I would have called indefinite ceiling, visibility less than 1/4 mile. Actually, it was closer to zero-zero. By 0700 it wasn't much better But by 0900 it was clearing up, although there were thunderstorms in the area. We didn't need a weather forecast to know that; we could see and hear them. By 1000 we were preflighting. And at 1030 we were rolling (and bouncing) down the runway. Airborne I decided quickly that this could be a very short flight. Mountain obscuration was the forecast, and I wasn't at all sure we could get over them. What worried me most, though, was that Kokoda would close in behind us and we'd be in trouble. And it did, but only after we'd found a route south at 12,500'. We weren't sure where the guy going the other way was headed, but whoever it was, they undoubtedly knew a lot more about the area than we did. (Which isn't saying much.) So a 45 nm flight took us almost two hours thanks to the long slow climb over the Owen Stanley Range. But we made it back to Port Moresby without further ado. Next trip, perhaps this afternoon if the weather cooperates, will be in a borrowed Cessna 185, one that used to belong to Talair. They went out of business back in about 1993, but one of their Skywagons, P2-SEM, was picked up by an acquaintance and she offered to let me fly it if I'd put gas and oil in it. (She flies a Gulfstream these days, and doesn't have time to give it the love it deserves.) * Almost forgot. Who's Abernathy and why should he wait? There was a sea captain named Stern. He received a wireless message that the mother of one of his sailors, a youngster named Abernathy, had passed on. Being a proper sea captain, and of course a gentleman, he couldn't merely saunter up to Abernathy and whisper the distressing news into Abernathy's ear as he swabbed the decks. Nor could he call Abernathy into his private quarters and tell him the sad news; such things just weren't done. After all, what if Abernathy was to break down before him, sobbing, violating all rules of decorum? Captain Stern racked his brain for hours, until in the middle of the night the solution came to him. The following morning, he assembled the whole crew topside. He stood above them on the poop deck and called out with his blustery tone: "All of you men whose mothers are alive, please step forward." As a majority of the men began to follow his command, the captain's voice rung out: "Not so fast, Abernathy!"

. As I mentioned in my last report, a friend loaned me her 185 for to go bush flying. The weather improved after lunch, so mid-afternoon I headed back into the hills to see if I could find some of those bush strips on the Kodoka Track in Papua New Guinea. Thought you might enjoy the few pictures I took. I was too busy aviating and navigating to take more. Used more adrenalin this afternoon than I have on any flight in a very long time. Many of the strips are one way in and one way out. And the two I've landed on so far are so steep that it takes gobs of power to keep her going up the hill on the way in. Short isn't the issue, steep is. Occurred to me that the guys landing on early carriers with straight decks must have known the feeling. Wave off early or you're committed/ Back at Port Moresby it also occurred to me that many young men, young enough you wouldn't trust them with the keys to your car, were flying around this area in the mid-'40s. Challenged by the same hills and the same weather but with no assurance that a girl they adored would walk in and say, as mine just did, "here's a glass of wine sweetheart. How does salmon sound for dinner?"

We discussed flying up "The Slot", over "Iron Bottom Sound", to Rabaul because of all the WW2 history. But the consensus was to press on to Papua New Guinea (PNG). And so we did. After takeoff from famous Henderson Field, home of the Cactus Air Force (P-400 Aircobras and P-38 Lightnings), we were treated to a vision of what the area might have looked like during the war with a hospital ship and troop ships offshore. And there was evidence of the battles fought and lives lost on the island. 255º would take us to the south tip of PNG, where we could fly up the south side of the Owen Stanley mountain range. Mt Victoria goes up to over 13,000 and we didn't want to bump into it in the dark or in bad weather. We took off at 1400, and some haze was the only weather factor. We droned along for over five hours before someone yelled, "Land Ho," and sure 'nuff there it was. DR really is amazingly reliable even over more than 500 miles (assuming you have accurate wind forecasts). We made landfall about 40 minutes later With evidence that the widely scatter thunderstorm forecast was indeed accurate, too. But all we encountered was some benign mid-level cumulus and stratus. We held our course until we were sure we were offshore before starting down. It was getting dark and didn't want to letdown into some cumulo granitus We picked up the Port Moresby NDB, followed it in to a visual to 31L, and rolled out past a cargo C-130 Packed up quickly last night, so I came back out this morning to make sure we hadn't overlooked anything. Found we were blocking a cargo ramp and moved over near the old control tower. I know I'm really going to like PNG if AYPY is any indication.

Hi Guys, Been loving flying around PNG with the ORBX stuff installed but I was looking to expand on it. I wish there was more here to get and was wondering if the Raw Grit: PNG Bushpilot series would fit in OK with out disrupting the ORBX scenery I have installed. Thanks, LouP

Just a request to Tim Harris and Ken Hall, because of their fabulous talents to do mountainstrips in PNG. This strip seems another great challenge to me - as well to devellop as to fly on - after seing this (landing) and this (take-off) video on YouTube, it appears to be possible to land and take off there with even a Twin Otter. It is currently not present in FSX, not even in a very basic way. Thanks for your very beautifull add-ons ! Kind regards. Bram

Yet another PNG tour! This time from TAP to AYGR (approx. 35 nm east of Kododa). Using P3DV3, PTA & Lionheart's Super Piper Pacer Bush, FL120, late afternoon flight. Left Tapini, followed valley north until I could climb out to cross the mountains, then due east toward the bay. Dialed in GUA NDB, 224 KHz, southeast of my position, but I flew on toward the bay for the ocean views. (I guess just for me because I didn't snap any pics) Once the NDB showed to be due south I turned toward it and continued, crossing the Kamusi River (below) Town of Popondetta below me Airport visible in the upper right corner, getting ready to turn final Landing rwy 03 Clean up! Taxi to parking, get something to drink & eat Thanks for flying along, hope you enjoyed your flight! I know I did!

Late landing at Kosipe PNG with much needed supplies! Short and sweet

I think my newly acquired P3D civilian is not a very nice dude! First he's breaking and entering a PNG Fane Parrish hut But the locals Busted him at the airport trying to escape

From Port Moresby to Kokoda Enjoy and thanks for looking! FSX - DX10 - Shade - ASN Weather Cheers Karsten

Qantas B747-200 from Cairns to Port Moresby Enjoy and thanks for looking! FSX - DX10 - Shade - ASN Weather Cheers Karsten

http://www.simreviews.com/2016/07/25/orbx-tapini/ A huge thanks to www.simreviews.com for the fantastic write up!

Thank you Wojciech Przybylski! http://c-aviation.net/review/tap-tapini-airport-orbx-review-5-png4/

Posting these up just incase anyone has not yet seen them, a sort of rolling video-review with plenty of interesting landings, tips, info and laughs A huge thanks to Frooglesim from myself and Ken for creating these!!

Enjoy Taph

Today myself and Ken Hall would like to introduce you to our Papua New Guinea experience! Dreamed up in the middle of last year, we set out to provide not just an airport, but rather an Experience, to allow the user to totally immerse in the feeling of Papua New Guinea, after 3 months of pain-staking research and another 6 months of late nights, modeling, texturing and designing, countless coffees, and many bent Twinotters........we bring you the first of our Pacific Islands conquests (PI): Jacksons International Airport (POM, AYPY), also known as Port Moresby Airport and and during WWII: 7 Mile Aerodrome, is located 5 miles outside of the capital city of Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea, it is the largest and busiest airport in the country, and is the main hub for Air Niugini the national airline of PNG, as well as the main hub for Airlines-PNG 10 x terrifying bushstrips and a helipad, following the Kokoda track up and over the foreboding Owen Stanley mountains. Airports included in this experience are: 1. Jacksons International Airport 2. Kokoda Airport 3. Manari 4. Efogi 5. Myola abandoned airstrip 6. Launumu 7. Kagi 8. Bodinumo 9. Timkenumo 10. Boridi 11. Miliei 12. Isurava helipad Other features: - Pristine Papua New Guinea Holgermesh - Hand crafted PRs for bush strips by our very own resident artist Ken Hall - Hand placed Landclass around Jacksons INTL, and the Kokoda track - Many hand drawn landclass polygons covering the Myola plains - Many small unnamed villages following the Kokoda track. - Meticulously drawn Kokoda track - Custom Papua New Guinea AI - via an update to the FTX AU AI package (FSX) - Custom painted Static Aircraft library (FSX/P3DV2) - Custom Papuan GSE library - Large library of custom Papua New Guinea vegetation providing a lush tropical feeling - This product requires the FTXGlobal base pack http://www.fullterrain.com/product_ftxglobal.html - It is also 100% compatible with FTX VECTOR and FSGlobal2010mesh (although not required) OK now for the previews: And last but not least a map showing the location in the world and layout Have a nice day! Cheers Tim Harris and Ken Hall

Enjoy Taph

An early start at Kokoda before setting off for Tapini. 17.

Leaving Asimba for the next trip to Yongai, after a short visit, soaked by the rain I moved on to Kokoda, Hope you enjoy them, will be back for 8K

Next PNG trip, leaving Ononge in the pooring rain heading Asimba,

Welcome to the Goilala bushpack! For our long awaited return to Papua New Guinea we bring you seven thrilling bushstrips all situated high up in the misty, humid and unpredictable Owen Stanley Range, consisting of Tapini, Fane, Ononge, Woitape, Koispe, Asimba and Yongai airports, a trilling white-knuckle mix of ridge-top, hill-side and river-flat runways. Coverage map This picture shows the seven Goilala bushpack airports and their proximity to our first PNG experience package: AYPY Jacksons International + the Kokoda track bushstrips, there is a KML attached at the bottom of this thread 1: TAP Tapini. Tapini is the main airport in the Goilala area and also bears the name of the project, nestled into a large mountain and within a tight valley, the one-way runway is sloped with a steep cliff off the end which all conspires to make this bushstrip a tricky one to operate in and around, for precision landings it features the infamous "Tapini ILS", to use this one must line up the right-hand wing with the goat track following the opposite hillside to the bushstrip, it will place you in roughly the correct position and attitude to turn 90 degrees onto a quick final, but miss this point and you'll have to follow the valley for a while to reach an open spot to turn around, Tapini, being in a notorious location.. has over the years seen a number of crashes, most notably a QANTAS owned DHC3 in 1958 and also a RAAF Caribou in 1968. 2: WTP Woitape. Woitape is nestled in an open valley on some flat ground next to a river and services the nearby Fatima Mission, it features a soft rolling one-way runway sloping downwards gently, but dont be fooled by all this.... its also a notorious place to take off from due to the altitude and because it lacks a handy cliff at the end with which to drop off and gain speed, many an aircraft has struggled to get out of here, so pay attention to your cargo loads and fuel mix...and the weather. 3: FNE Fane. Fane is an infamous one-way ridge-top bushstrip servicing a mission station, with an upwards sloping 12 degree runway, and lots of unpredictable crosswinds and updrafts all combining to make it a terrifying place to land and take off, and with a very tight flat parking area take extra care to watch your wingtips when turning around, and because once you commit to taking off you cannot abort so make sure to runup the engine and make all necessary checks before even thinking about releasing the brakes and heading out and over the crest. 4: ONB Ononge. Ononge is another one-way ridge-top bushstrip servicing a mission station, with a low approach over a little village, this ones a bit more bumpy and unkempt and has a dogleg forcing the pilot to make a ten degree turn halfway along the strip, very tight turning at the end with plenty of vegetation, Ononge village was strafed by the Japanese Airforce in world war two as it was rumored that some allied aircraft spotters were stationed there. 5: KSP Koispe. Koispe bushstrip services a mission station and it situated in a wide open valley next to a river with ample airspace to operate an aircraft, it was originally a lot longer but has since fallen into disrepair, the remaining part of the runway is maintained but it is quite a bit shorter making it yet another tricky strip to operate on, watch out for soft ground and due to the high altitude/length of the strip be very careful with weights, weather and fuel mix. 6: ASB Asimba. Asimba is a small village situated in Oro province next to the Chirma river, and features a very short runway cut into the dense forest, pilots should watch wingtips carefully when turning, and all take offs and landings are out over the river 7: KGH Yongai. Yongai bushstrip is cut into the hillside and services a mission station, with a short sloping bumpy one-way runway pilots should approach as slowly as possible and with great care, and dont forget to pay attention to the crosswinds. Cheers, Tim and Ken Goilala_bushpack.kml