preview Introducing PNG Highlands Bush Strips Pack 1 for Microsoft Flight Simulator

[Sante Sottile]

 

From seasoned Indie developer, Ken Hall, welcome to PNG bush flying. A place where many airline pilots earned enough hours to advance their careers in aviation, a scenic and challenging world where one bad decision can end in tragedy. Among the lush tropical landscape, these small airstrips are the lifeline for these small villages, often the locals carve these strips out by hand. Not only are the strips often short and sloped but subject to some of the fastest changing weather conditions in the world. Flying hours earned here are done so in the toughest place in the world to be a Bush Pilot.

 

This is the first of many bush packs to come. 

 

Aircraft such as the Kodiak, Pilatus Porter, Beaver, Caravan, and Twin Otter deliver essential supplies to these remote places where there are few if any roads. Pilots in PNG offer a lifeline to the villagers and are usually welcomed with much excitement and gratitude for the service they provide. Welcome to PNG Bush Flying an experience unmatched in Aviation!

 

At a Glance:

• 3 airstrips included (AYYE, AYYW, AYDN)
• Custom Effects
• PBR textures
• Custom 3D vegetation with modeled Bananas!
• 100 custom-built and hand-placed models
• Handcrafted mesh for each airstrip
• Custom hand-placed objects and people
• Tropical and guaranteed to be challenging
• Perfect for all bush flyers!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Stillwater]

Ah, Ken has done it again. And chicken & mower are back!

It looks as if the details are as perfect as in p3d, plus better vegetation. However, just three airports are less than in the p3d packs, let us see how the work goes on (and the pricing...).

[Ken Hall]

6 minutes ago, Stillwater said:

just three airports are less than in the p3d packs,

This is the base pack, future packs will have between 6 and 10. Many hours of making the required models for this pack can be utilised in the future bundles, the models here are far more advanced than the P3d stuff, all the vegetation is full 3D, completely new and far more complex. Future packs will also include additional unique models but by using the base pack to save modelling time which can go into including more strips. If these packs prove to be popular the plan is to keep going till as much of PNG is enhanced as possible.

Hopefully this is just the start of enhancing our bush flying.

cheers

Ken

[BrianV]

When I saw this in "coming soon" I was already sold. I knew this was the work of Ken as the wonderful captures also show.  Looking very forward to this one. Beautiful work!

[Ken Hall]

49 minutes ago, BrianV said:

When I saw this in "coming soon" I was already sold. I knew this was the work of Ken as the wonderful captures also show.  Looking very forward to this one. Beautiful work!

Thank you for the kind words, I love PNG flying and making these strips is a real pleasure

cheers

Ken

[Condor]

Great stuff...This all looks pretty good.

[Stillwater]

9 hours ago, Ken Hall said:

This is the base pack, future packs will have between 6 and 10. Many hours of making the required models for this pack can be utilised in the future bundles, the models here are far more advanced than the P3d stuff, all the vegetation is full 3D, completely new and far more complex. Future packs will also include additional unique models but by using the base pack to save modelling time which can go into including more strips. If these packs prove to be popular the plan is to keep going till as much of PNG is enhanced as possible.

Hopefully this is just the start of enhancing our bush flying.

cheers

Ken

Good news, and thanks for the quick feedback, Ken. I have the oil ready, if a mower needs it...!

[jean marc]

for sure I will buy it 🙂

Typically what I am looking for !!! small airfields lost in remote areas with plenty of living details 🙂

 

[MasonDominique]

Waiting already for Packs 2, 3, 4 and 5 😋

 

Thanks Mr Ken

Dom

 

[TigerTigerM]

I have not purchased airfields for ages, but a Ken Hall special extracts me from my cave with Credit Card flapping!

Delighted to see his trade mark bendy banana & lawn mower are included.

I am reliably informed that somewhere in the series will be a Pink Pony, & hanging demurely on one of the washing lines a corset that Marlene Dietrich wore in "The Scarlett Empress". 

TTM

 

 

[Ken Hall]

12 hours ago, TigerTigerM said:

I am reliably informed that somewhere in the series will be a Pink Pony, & hanging demurely on one of the washing lines a corset that Marlene Dietrich wore in "The Scarlett Empress". 

thats a lot of information youve uncovered there not sure if Marlene Dietrich would give permission but you never know

 

[TigerTigerM]

9 hours ago, Ken Hall said:

thats a lot of information youve uncovered there not sure if Marlene Dietrich would give permission but you never know

 

Unless her Estate is monitoring Orbx, I imagine a corset flapping in the breeze somewhere in the Highlands would be allowable. I'll take a bay or black pony if pink isn't available.☺️

TTM

[TigerTigerM]

In more serious vein, I thought I would have a look at a couple of the strips, as they are, pre-KH.

I flew out of AYYE to AYYW in a Blackbird Simulations Beaver with the fat tires.

It was a bit of a revelatory struggle the whole way & I spent a lot of time circling just to gain height to get over the mountains, then found AYYW perched on the side of a hill & had 3 shots at getting in there.

So it occurred to me there must be some other aircraft they use to service the smaller strips, such as AYYW, possibly turbo powered as you need a fair bit of grunt to climb up & over the hills.

The Beaver is a bit of a draught horse & more suited to long  flat Alaskan flights, I suspect.

Thus, my query is, what do they use in the PNG Highlands?

TTM

[Milo Taylor]

Hey Tiger, Primarily 208's, Kodiaks, PC6's off the top of my head. I can see how the Beaver might struggle.

Milo 

[Ken Hall]

Think the beaver is maybe not the 1st choice, I prefer the Porter and the Kodiak, but the beaver is such a fun aircraft and with practice can get into these strips, half the fun is the challenge 

[TigerTigerM]

14 hours ago, Milo Taylor said:

Hey Tiger, Primarily 208's, Kodiaks, PC6's off the top of my head. I can see how the Beaver might struggle.

Milo 

 

If we take AYYW, the strip is about 1,535' long.

In the real world the C208 ostensibly needs 3,660' to depart & 1,853' to land, so you may need a hopped up version to get in there.

The Kodiak 100 needs 934' to get out & 765' to land, so it is definitely a starter.

For the PC-6, you are looking at 640' to go & 427' to land, so it looks good.

Now, I need to find the Kodiak & PC-6 somewhere in the hangar.☺️

How far off release are we Ken??

TTM

 

[Ken Hall]

7 hours ago, TigerTigerM said:

How far off release are we Ken??

 

I have been informed by the team that 26th of this month, all testing is completed and it’s just a marketing thing.

thanks for asking 

cheers

Ken

[TreeTops]

How are you Ken? Just saw this and had to do a little fist pump. Yes!!!

We have been flying the Caribou around the PNG Mountains in the past weeks having a blast finding all the little strips hanging off the mountain sides. We landed at AYDN and AYYW on Friday night. 

Really looking forward to what you have coming.

Edited October 22, 2023 by TreeTops

[Ken Hall]

1 hour ago, TreeTops said:

How are you Ken? Just saw this and had to do a little fist pump. Yes!!!

We have been flying the Caribou around the PNG Mountains in the past weeks having a blast finding all the little strips hanging off the mountain sides. We landed at AYDN and AYYW on Friday night. 

Really looking forward to what you have coming

having a blast working on these strips, thanks for asking. We have a bush flight club that flies Tuesday evenings, be great to have you join us, check out Massive Simulations 32 inc on discord. look forward to seeing you there 

cheers mate

Ken

[wolfko]

18 hours ago, TigerTigerM said:

 

If we take AYYW, the strip is about 1,535' long.

In the real world the C208 ostensibly needs 3,660' to depart & 1,853' to land, so you may need a hopped up version to get in there.

The Kodiak 100 needs 934' to get out & 765' to land, so it is definitely a starter.

For the PC-6, you are looking at 640' to go & 427' to land, so it looks good.

Now, I need to find the Kodiak & PC-6 somewhere in the hangar.☺️

How far off release are we Ken??

TTM

 

 

Hi Tiger, most if these strips have quite a steep incline which might have an impact on landing and take off distances.

 

Edited October 22, 2023 by wolfko

[TigerTigerM]

9 hours ago, Ken Hall said:

having a blast working on these strips, thanks for asking. We have a bush flight club that flies Tuesday evenings, be great to have you join us, check out Massive Simulations 32 inc on discord. look forward to seeing you there 

cheers mate

Ken

Ken

Tried to get into that Discord site, [I am registered with Discord], but got an "Invite Invalid" message at the link off an MSFS Forum thread re MS32 Discord.

Any other way to get on to their Discord?

Also I saw via Facebook a Bush Club 32 Flight at 09.30UTC. I'm a bit rough on time zone conversions. What is that in EST?

Thanks

TTM

[TigerTigerM]

Update to the above - I was able to find my way on to the BC32 Discord, but not sure if 0930UTC is 9.30am or pm.

If the former then I think the flights kick away at 5.30am EST??

TTM

[Ken Hall]

2 hours ago, TigerTigerM said:

Update to the above - I was able to find my way on to the BC32 Discord, but not sure if 0930UTC is 9.30am or pm.

If the former then I think the flights kick away at 5.30am EST??

TTM

The massive simulations 32 bush flights. are 8.30 pm Australia eastern daylight savings time, that’s Sydney, Melbourne.

my discord tag is Tazz1015 if you send a friend request I can send an invite, we have a few guys from your Timezone flying with us, really well organised but also very relaxed and friendly.

cheers

Ken

[TigerTigerM]

1 hour ago, Ken Hall said:

The massive simulations 32 bush flights. are 8.30 pm Australia eastern daylight savings time, that’s Sydney, Melbourne.

my discord tag is Tazz1015 if you send a friend request I can send an invite, we have a few guys from your Timezone flying with us, really well organised but also very relaxed and friendly.

cheers

Ken

That looks like 5.30am USA EST☺️

& I have been known to roll out of bed by then.

I have got on to the 32 Bush Discord & read the Notams for Tuesday etc, or do I also need an invitation to join the bush flights?

Any particular aircraft flown??

TTM

[Ken Hall]

3 hours ago, TigerTigerM said:

Any particular aircraft flown??

Andrew usually recomends the suitable types, this week is a lot of short field stuff so the porter works well, you don't need an invite , after you read the rules and agree to the conditions , aqll you need do is go to the notams ,download the flt pln and any freeware that Andrew has recomended, then about 20 min before departure load in and load the flight pln usually west USA server then join the voice channel, any questions we can answer then and help if needed, all very friendly no pressure, there will be aussies Yanks canadians new zealanders and europeans from all over the place, all good blokes and will make you welcome

[TigerTigerM]

11 hours ago, Ken Hall said:

Andrew usually recomends the suitable types, this week is a lot of short field stuff so the porter works well, you don't need an invite , after you read the rules and agree to the conditions , aqll you need do is go to the notams ,download the flt pln and any freeware that Andrew has recomended, then about 20 min before departure load in and load the flight pln usually west USA server then join the voice channel, any questions we can answer then and help if needed, all very friendly no pressure, there will be aussies Yanks canadians new zealanders and europeans from all over the place, all good blokes and will make you welcome

Ok, I'll see what I can do.

The PC-6 had installation issues when I did an upgrade so sorting that with Blackbird.

Presume I load up Multiplayer & then for WAJO - WAJG I turn on my tail # & start at WAJO at the appropriate time?

Will the participant aircraft show up on Little Nav Map?

Also, Voice Comms - is that via Discord?

5.30am is pushing it a bit so I may turn up chasing a bit later😃

I D/loaded WAJO to WAJG.pln  - quite a route!!

Is there a T&G at each strip on the route?

TTM

[Ken Hall]

5 hours ago, TigerTigerM said:

Is there a T&G at each strip on the route?

TTM

Mixture, depends on the strip, many are one way only, so full stop. This allows the group to stay close, we try to use live weather, gets interesting.

many use lnm with a transmitter turned on so you can see where most of us are, I use the VFR map in VR and can see all the aircraft in that. Andrew offers tips on approaches during the flight, this is helpful especially with sloped runways so you don’t try landing downhill.

Looking forward to flying with you.

cheers

Ken

[TigerTigerM]

1 hour ago, Ken Hall said:

Mixture, depends on the strip, many are one way only, so full stop. This allows the group to stay close, we try to use live weather, gets interesting.

many use lnm with a transmitter turned on so you can see where most of us are, I use the VFR map in VR and can see all the aircraft in that. Andrew offers tips on approaches during the flight, this is helpful especially with sloped runways so you don’t try landing downhill.

Looking forward to flying with you.

cheers

Ken

I am assuming there is a flight OZ Tuesday/tomorrow at 8.30pm your time, which is 5.30am my time USA Tuesday morning.

Anyway, I will try & get there, depends when the prostate drags me out of bed or the cat -p-sses the dogs off & they light up.

My Discord, I think, is MTT, or some variation of that.

Hope to catch up with you tomorrow. Maybe keep an eye on your Discord chat for my "where are you'? message🤨

I did get the PC-6 going.

Cheers

TTM

[Ken Hall]

6 hours ago, TigerTigerM said:

Hope to catch up with you tomorrow. Maybe keep an eye on your Discord chat for my "where are you'? message🤨

I'll keep an eye out for you

[bvdboomen]

Great to see these Ken and they look very nice.

My only gripe is the poor satellite images that MSFS sometimes shows in the PNG area. Not your fault of course.

See the slopes on the left in this picture:

 

I hope to see this covered in MSFS2024 with the new digital twin earth feature.

 

 

Edited October 25, 2023 by bvdboomen

[Ken Hall]

3 hours ago, bvdboomen said:

I hope to see this covered in MSFS2024 with the new digital twin earth feature.

 

Lets hope so

[mikee]

Wonderful news ken 

Looking forward to it and also many more Packs 

Pls consider developing AYPY as well !

[craigeaglefire]

Thanks for PNG Pack #1 Ken,

 

just flew the 3 of them in the H145 chopper, to get initial bearings,

 

these locations make for extreme flying & lots of planning,

 

& thanks Orbx for the Bundle with Idaho Deadly 3,

 

Ken, your continued development is greatly appreciated - it all enhances MSFS in a wonderful way...

 

Cheers

[wolfko]

Thank you Ken and Orbx.👍

That's really a bagain. 

[Ken Hall]

7 hours ago, craigeaglefire said:

Thanks for PNG Pack #1 Ken,

 

just flew the 3 of them in the H145 chopper, to get initial bearings,

 

these locations make for extreme flying & lots of planning,

 

& thanks Orbx for the Bundle with Idaho Deadly 3,

 

Ken, your continued development is greatly appreciated - it all enhances MSFS in a wonderful way...

 

Thank you , really glad your enjoying the strips, Milos deadly three makes a great companion to the PNG strips.

cheers

Ken

[TigerTigerM]

3 hours ago, Ken Hall said:

Thank you , really glad your enjoying the strips, Milos deadly three makes a great companion to the PNG strips.

cheers

Ken

Did purchase the combo, so PNG & Idaho will get some air time. There are a few shots from PNG in Screenshots.

Is this the correct installation of PNG in MSFS Content section? It appears to work, I can see washing on the lines at AYYW.

TTM

 

[Ken Hall]

That looks correct, I l’ll go check the screenshots.

thanks Tiger

cheers

[Lepres]

Hello, I am keen to purchase this add-on, but already have a whole bunch of PNG freeware from Flightsim.to. Would this add-on clash with those freeware? Is there a way to let both co-exist together? Those PNG freeware were done really well, but your creation is even better, and I really hope to have both.

 

Please advise so that I may decide on the purchase. Thank you.

 

[Ken Hall]

Thanks for the enquire, I have most off the freeware strips also, they will clash. To prevent this just remove the freeware duplicates, the freeware bundles usually have each strip listed separately, just delete the ones that clash, for the strips that can’t be separated you will need to remove the pack. However the next and future packages will be an extension of the existing area and more than likely will replace the ones you deleted.

 I will be increasing the size of the packs to about 7 strips for the same price and hopefully include a large percentage of PNG strips, including West Papua.

cheers

Ken

[TomL]

Nicely done, and challenging!

I noticed there's pretty high trees on final into AYYE which make it difficult to grease the landing (in fact you have to let the airplane fall out of the sky once you're past the treeline), and in AYYW there's two large trees left and right from final that the inhabitants should have chopped for a safe operation.