Back to the basics this month with some good old-fashioned pilotage and dead-reckoning navigation. We find ourselves just outside of Reno, Nevada at O02 Nervino-Beckworth named after James Beckwourth who discovered Beckwourth Pass (the lowest pass through the Sierras) in 1850. So grab your chart and get to planning and try not to get lost in the mountains. It’s a long walk out!
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.
- All of the scenery elements and recommended aircraft are based on X-Plane 12 or MSFS 2020.
- You can fly whatever aircraft you’d like, however, you might want to try something that can handle short airfields and high elevations.
- 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 Uncle Melvin Map.
- We encourage you to join the VATSIM network and use the CTAF frequency of 122.8 to announce positions. If an airport/airstrip has a CTAF frequency listed on the sectional, please use that.
- 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, August 5th at 8:00pm EDT or 0000z (Aug. 6). There will be no preflight briefing but I should be hanging around the airport as we get started to answer any questions. The plan is to depart Nervino and head to Blue Canyon, then down to Georgetown. (Just northwest of Georgetown are some sandbars tempting the more adventurous on the Middle Fork American River.) After Georgetown, make your way to Bear Valley and then Eagle Ridge Ranch. If you’d like, and have time, feel free to take your passengers back to civilization at an airport of your choosing.
X-Plane 12 Scenery Installation:
* Custom Bush League airport sceneries for X-Plane 12 are available at this link:
2024-08 BL58 Northern Sierras X-Plane 12 Scenery.zip
* Pre-cooked Ortho tiles are also needed for X-Plane 12: zOrtho4XP_+38-121.zip and zOrtho4XP_+39-121.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.
MSFS 2020 Scenery Installation:
* Customized MSFS sceneries from DWS are available here:
2024-08 BL58 Northern Sierras MSFS Scenery.zip
DIRECTIONS: Unzip all files and place them in your “Community” folder.
Uncle Melvin’s Map
There is a map, and Uncle Melvin was kind enough to post it here. Good luck!
If you get stuck or have a question, drop a message on the DownwindSim Discord bush-flying text channel. We look forward to seeing you on Monday.