Vintage Romanian African Air Tours

[tsmpaul]

If anyone wants to try something a bit different, I like to fly real-life air tours virtually in the flight simulator, and I stumbled upon this wikipedia page. Back in the 1930's, to promote Romanian aircraft and air tourism, a number of tours were conducted through Africa. The wikipedia page lists the aircraft involved, and has maps and names of places they flew to on their journeys. I might try flying in their footsteps in some of my vintage aircraft using the new Africa OpenLC  There's five flight paths on the wikipedia page, including a long flight from Europe all the way to Cape Town: romanian air tours over africa

[John Heaton]

3 hours ago, tsmpaul said:

If anyone wants to try something a bit different, I like to fly real-life air tours virtually in the flight simulator, and I stumbled upon this wikipedia page. Back in the 1930's, to promote Romanian aircraft and air tourism, a number of tours were conducted through Africa. The wikipedia page lists the aircraft involved, and has maps and names of places they flew to on their journeys. I might try flying in their footsteps in some of my vintage aircraft using the new Africa OpenLC  There's five flight paths on the wikipedia page, including a long flight from Europe all the way to Cape Town: romanian air tours over africa

Thanks for that - and the good idea that goes with it

There are many places on this forum asking for ideas of where to go.

 

I love the aircraft used from  the 40s through to the 60s - and have been toying with the idea 

of some African trips to go with my Europe trips - just done UK to Cyprus via - Cosica - Sardinia -  Malta - and Crete

in my Chieftain - testing the route for my Vickers Viscount and  DC6.

 

I am not a simmer who wants to do these old journeys at 35 000 Feet

[tsmpaul]

I'm currently trying the route that Bănciulescu and Bibescu took in 1934, starting at Paris, then south to Marseille, over Corsica to Italy, down to Sicily, southwest to northern Africa, across east to Cairo, then south all the way down to circle the heartlands of central Africa, and back home again. They flew in a Potez 561, which I can't find a model of anywhere on the internet, so I'm flying in a 1935 "Potez 62" which is basically the 'next model up' of that range of aircraft.

 

Potez 62 photo on Wikipedia 

 

I'll post some screenshots later in the week. The 3D cockpit is a bit of a basic model, but I quite like the exterior model, and inside the cockpit I'm mostly looking out the windows not at the controls, one of the things I love about saitek/logitech gauges, radios, etc. Having a great time!