The Bush League Backcountry Fly-In Series heads to Branson, MO for event #52. In addition to being a popular destination for vacationers, the area also offers some of the best bush flying you will find anywhere. You may recognize places such as Byrd’s Backcountry Strip and Trigger Gap. This month we will introduce you to a few others you may enjoy as well. Hope you are able to join us on Monday!
Bush League Basics:
- Everyone is welcomed! Whether you’re an expert or beginner with flying simulators, radio communications, or navigation, etc., you’re invited! We’re a friendly bunch and enjoy learning from each other.
- The the scenery elements and recommended aircraft are based on X-Plane 12 and Microsoft Flight Simulator.
- You will need an aircraft that can handle moderate elevation, combined with short, uneven airstrips. Helicopters are welcome too!
- Most of the pilots enjoy navigating via pilotage, i.e. “looking out the window” and comparing it to the sectional chart, so please refer to the Kansas City and Memphis VFR sectional charts.
- We encourage you to join the VATSIM network and use the CTAF frequency of 122.8 to announce positions.
- We’ll also use the Downwindsim Discord voice channel for the pre-event briefing and during the flight for non-ATC related chit-chat.
- As always, the main goal of these flights is to have fun. The event is intended to be VFR, so you are free to configure your weather and time of day as you see fit.
Flight Information:
The event takes place on Monday, February 5th. All pilots should plan to meet at Branson West (KFWB) for a short flight briefing at 8:00pm EST (0100z) with departures immediately following. You will be free to fly to the remaining airfields in whichever order you prefer.
X-Plane 12 Scenery Installation:
* Custom Bush League airstrips for X-Plane 12 are available here: Richland Creek, 17A Trigger Gap (based on N8033Fox’s original work), 37AR Ponca International, KRWB Branson West
* You’ll also want Byrd’s (51AR) by N8033Fox from x-plane.org (DWS tested the 2023 1.1 release, competition course scenery package from Byrd’s.)
*** A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU to N8033Fox for creating and sharing Trigger Gap and Byrd’s!
* Pre-cooked Ortho Tiles are also needed for X-Plane 12: +35-093.zip, +35-094.zip, +36-093.zip, +36-094.zip
* X-World scenery (free) and Global Forests v2 ($15) are highly recommended additions for the XP12 world. The custom scenery files above have been designed with these addons in mind.
DIRECTIONS: Unzip all files and place them in your “Custom Scenery” folder.
*NEW* MSFS 2020 Scenery Installation:
* Hand crafted MSFS airstrips from DWS are available here: Branson West (KFWB), Ponca Intl. (37AR) and Richland (4AR9).
* You’ll also want these from flightsim.to: Trigger Gap (17A), Byrds (51AR)
DIRECTIONS: Unzip all files and place them in your “Community” folder.
Uncle Melvin’s Map
The coveted map is found here for BL52!
If you get stuck or have a question, drop a message on the DownwindSim Discord bush-flying text channel. We’ll be happy to help and we look forward to what 2024 will bring to the Bush League Backcounty Fly-In Series!