andy1252 Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 When I was an actual 14 year old (rather than the rogue inner 14 year old that now inhabits a somewhat more elderly carcass), I was like a lot of Brit kids - fixated on American, and particularly Californian, culture. One of the first records I bought in my early teen phase (I'd already gone through the Cliff and the Shadows phase in junior school) was Jan and Dean's "Little Old Lady From Pasadena", along with the Beach Boys' "I Get Around".Those sounds, and similar, stayed with me through the '60s and I still get a buzz out of them. Much later, I had the good fortune to work for an American computer manufacturer (Amdahl) as a software instructor, and got to visit California (Sunnyvale and the valley mainly) a lot in the '80s and '90s. On about my third trip there I was told it was cheaper for me to stay over, travel down to LA, spend the weekend there and fly back on the Monday rather than fly straight back on the Friday evening. So, thanks to the absurdities of international air ticket pricing I found myself in a rental car, driving down CA1 from SF to LA and with two days to kill in LA. My inner 14 year old was in heaven (and the outer 35 year old was pretty damn pleased as well). When I got to LA, I found there was computer fair on in Pasadena that weekend! Whoo-hoo! Got myself a map, drove out to the Santa Anita Racetrack, Jan and Dean playing full volume in my head if not on the radio, spent a bundle on software and gizmos for my PC and had a really great time. And also discovered the Huntington Library and Gardens just along from there. A place I subsequently visited on a couple of further trips to LA as well. So why am I waffling on about this? Blame Orbx! I already had a pretty good SoCal setup in XPlane, courtesy of Forkboy's Orthos and various other freeware addons for LA and its surrounds, but the Santa Anita track was very poor, with fuzzy photo backround, generic autogen and covered with random trees. But when Orbx released TE SoCal I was hopefull, and sure enough - it's there and it's a wonder! I've been spending a LOT of time flying around LA lately. Wouldn't want to live there for real (although I have to say I've spotted a few areas from the air that look like they might be reasonably laid back and calm), but it is such a buzz to be able to explore it so realistically from my desk. And it's always so bright and sunny there! So here's a few shots of the area I'm talking about. I've tended to fly out of KSNA (John Wayne, Orange County) and head north to approach Pasadena from the southeast. This scenery is just fantastic - fair takes my breath away. This was my first sighting of the Santa Anita Racetrack in Orbx's SoCal. And I was well impressed! This one was from another trip, and is just a bit out from KSNA (not shown as non-Orbx) From yet another flight. Going from KSNA you pass pretty much directly over Disneyland. As you approach Arcadia, where the racetrack is, you pass over the San Gabriel River and a bunch of quarry sites, all beautifully done in the sim Approaching the racetrack Just a few blocks further on is the Huntington estate. If you've not been there, it's well worth a visit. Great museum - art, library etc, and wonderful gardens. Carry straight on towards LA central and you'll pass Pasadena city centre, And then on this flight I headed right over Glendale and on towards downtown Burbank, as Bob Hope used to call it. Be even better here if KBUR gets ported across from P3D (pretty please?) Anyway, hope you enjoyed the trip, and please excuse the ramblings of another (getting) old brit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BradB Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 Outstanding shots Andy !! . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musterpilot Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 Perfect shots John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Sawyer Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 Great story and absolutely beautiful shots Andy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Emms Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 Grand set of shots. cheers Iain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dario Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 Spectacular shots! With TE regions, we don’t need to wait for Fs2020... It’s all there already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wain71 Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 perfect shots, lovely detail and great flight, I really enjoyed the view.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adambar Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 Grand set of shots Andy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eberhard Haberkorn Posted July 20, 2020 Share Posted July 20, 2020 Stunning set Andy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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