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bernd1151

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Posts posted by bernd1151

    Some fun stuff with the Starfighter

    in Community Screenshots

    Posted

    When I served in the Luftwaffe, I was fortunate to have been invited twice to fly in one of our 30 training F104G (which had a twin cockpit) from Decimomannu, Sardinia to Fürstenfeldbruck, Bavaria. Prior to that I had undergone a rigit training, which gave me the Jet Passenger Card. Without that card, such endeavour would not have been allowed. The F 104 was powered by a single General Electric J79-GE-11A engine capable of generating in excess of 17,000 lbs of thrust and exceeding Mach 2. In non-pilot terms, that's roughly equivalent to 36,000 hp. A typical training flight will expose you to a force or 5Gs or greater, a pull toward earth equal to five or more times your bodyweight. The Starfighter, introduced in 1958, can out-perform many current frontline fighters, including the F/A-18.

     

    This plane here is the fantastic SSW trainer F 104, which is available here at the Orbx store.

    We take off from Miramar Fightertown and fly to Edwards AFB, famous test center of the USAF. With the afterburners just slightly engaged, even with full brakes applied, you cannot stop the plane from going forward

    F-104-G-2.jpg

     

    But of course we are here to apply full afterburners. The brutal force that pushes you into your Martin Baker seat needs to be experienced, you just cannot describe it. And when you switch off the afterburner at level flight, you will be pushed forward so hard as if somebody had applied full brakes

    F-104-G-3.jpg

     

    Having a look around near Carlsbad, north of San Diego at 7000 ft

    F-104-G-8.jpg

     

     

    Let’s bring her up to 40,000 ft. Do this kind of flying for more than 14 minutes and you’d run out of fuel. Btw, with afterburners engaged it usually takes you around 1 minute and 30 seconds to reach 30,000 ft

    F-104-G-13.jpg

     

    F-104-G-14.jpg

     

     

    At 61.000 ft, which is the plane’s service ceiling. That contrail below the plane’s nose is a commercial airliner, probably flying at half our height

    F-104-G-16.jpg

     

     

    I cheat now a little bit and, by using keys “Y” and “F4”, bring her first up to 77,000 ft

    F-104-G-18.jpg

     

    F-104-G-19.jpg

     

    The same location, this time with the clouds removed

    F-104-G-20.jpg

     

    And now at almost 80,000 ft

    F-104-G-22.jpg

     

    Looks like outer space

    F-104-G-23.jpg

     

    F-104-G-24.jpg

     

    Ok, back to reality, we are close to Edwards

    F-104-G-27.jpg

     

    F-104-G-26.jpg

     

     Now the fun part starts: landing. You enjoy flying in the Starfighter tremendously, at least at altitude. But when it comes to landing, the problems come and they concentrate on the compromise of getting this bird as slowly as possible, but above 170 knots, onto the runway

    F-104-G-35.jpg

     

    F-104-G-36.jpg

     

    F-104-G-38.jpg

     

    If you go below 170 knots, this glorious aircraft will become vicious. The widowmaker does not forgive you the mistake of crossing boundaries

    F-104-G-37.jpg

      

    Luckily today all went well, I was even a bit too fast :)

    F-104-G-39.jpg

     

    And what is your business here?

    F-104-G-40.jpg

     

     

    • Like 6
    • Upvote 1

    Skardu to Shimla, or maybe not

    in Community Screenshots

    Posted

    12 hours ago, jean marc said:

    GREAT GREAT GREAT tour and narrative !! And superbe pictures of this beautiful world  :)  Many thanks Bernd !

     

    PS : I too spent time this afternoon in the north of Lhassa...with a fictional "chinese" Zero repainted to fly in this area (old chinese painting on the livery) ... ??? 8) 

    Here is a link if your are interested to a fictional vintage and atypic oldie : https://flightsim.to/file/24419/a6m5-zero-chinese-repaint-for-jf-s-a6m5-zero-and-a6m-n-rufe

     

     

    Thank you very much Jean Marc. Yes, I have that Zero and I will download your livery. I like all your liveries!

     

    12 hours ago, carlosqr said:

    I haven't flown in that area yet

    Fantastic place!

    Beautiful mountains

    Great shots indeed

    Many thanks, Carlos

     

    9 hours ago, Orbxtreme said:

    Superb scenery, and I love the livery of your aircraft!

    Much appreciated François

     

    2 hours ago, wain71 said:

    superb set, very nice scenery, great looking paint job to...

    Thanks a lot, Wayne

    Skardu to Shimla, or maybe not

    in Community Screenshots

    Posted

    15 hours ago, Sniper31 said:

    Wow Bernd, some beautiful and stunning exploration shots of that region. Looks very rugged yet wondrous at the same time.

     

    Landon

    Thank you, Landon. It's a beautiful area around there, only (and maybe luckily) a bit time consuming to reach.

     

    14 hours ago, JohnnyJohnJohn said:

    Great set Berndt!  Very well done.  Love the mesh.  Interesting flight plan!

    Many thanks for your comment!

     

    13 hours ago, BradB said:

    You struck real mesh in those hill's my boy . :D:)

    Hahaha, thanks so much!!

     

    3 hours ago, John Mac said:

    That’s a super set of shots and storyline!

    Thanks Bernd.

    Thank you John, I'm glad you like it.

    • Like 1

    Approaching an island, a country and a continent

    in Community Screenshots

    Posted

    Very nice trip, Gerold. Oh, what is OLC Asia? Ok, ok, just kidding. :D:D

     

    Btw, early next year another sim that you might have heard about, will get another upgrade. This time the developers will concentrate on Australia. Should be a blast and it's free! And you are able to fly the default A320 with its modifications by the community pretty realistically. Also the 747 and the business jets aren't too bad with their modifications. And as an added bonus you have an Asia that is much better than any OLC will ever be. This applies to the whole world. Ok, I'd better stop now. :)

    • Haha 1

    Skardu to Shimla, or maybe not

    in Community Screenshots

    Posted

    I plan to cross dangerous borders again, but my trusted Indian co will keep me out of harms way. Skardu (which I have unfortunately failed to visit during my 12 months stay in Lahore, Pakistan) is a city located in Gilgit−Baltistan, Pakistan. Wikipedia says, it is situated at an elevation of nearly 2,500 metres (8,202 feet) in the Skardu Valley, at the confluence of the Indus and Shigar Rivers. The city is an important gateway to the eight-thousanders of the nearby Karakoram mountain range. The Indus River running through the region separates the Karakoram from the Himalayas.

     

    Skardu is a fairly peaceful city with wonderful surroundings; yet, when you look at the map, it is just two flight hours away from Kabul, one of the most dangerous places on earth these days.

     

    TBM-930-0.jpg


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    TBM-930-4.jpg


    TBM-930-6.jpg

     

    Why did I write in the title “or maybe not”? Because after I took off and had a look around, I realized, how magnificent the area here is, so I decided to cancel my flight plan and have a closer look at what this wonderful place has to offer. Also the map with that big lake and Indus river promised some interesting vistas

     

    TBM-930-6a.jpg


    TBM-930-7.jpg


    TBM-930-8.jpg

     

    Over Skardu

    TBM-930-10.jpg


    TBM-930-11.jpg


    TBM-930-12.jpg


    TBM-930-9.jpg

     

    Isn’t this just fabulous, and thank you Orbx for providing us with this superb Himalaya mesh!! Move this area to the Alps or Rocky Mountains, and real estate prices would go through the roof. And here? Hardly anyone lives here

    TBM-930-15.jpg


    TBM-930-16.jpg


    TBM-930-17.jpg


    TBM-930-18.jpg


    TBM-930-20.jpg


    TBM-930-21.jpg

     

     

     

     

     

    • Like 6
    • Upvote 2

    Harvard over the Sussex Coast

    in Community Screenshots

    Posted

    7 minutes ago, zkdos said:

    but flight model is somewhat lacking. It feels very overpowered for the size/power of the aircraft class, and can also be flown with relative stability at 60mph which is below the published stall speed in landing configuration!

    Thanks Andy. So we can expect some mods soon over on flightsim.to I hope, in case the plane is not encrypted.

    • Like 1

    Antarctica is out of tea

    in Community Screenshots

    Posted

    Many thanks for your kind comment, Gerold!

    2 hours ago, Stillwater said:

    Is it an old freeware?

    Yes, it is an old FS9 freeware that some kind person had converted a few years back to native FSX standard. That made it possible for me to port it over to MSFS. An FS9 product would not have worked.

    • Upvote 1
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