November 18, 2019 is the first of the Bush League Backcountry Fly-In Series! Here’s a few details to get things started…
- Everyone is welcomed to join in. Flying in the backcountry certainly has it’s challenges (navigation, slow flight, little to no runway approach room), and adding a few more airplanes to the mix will add to the fun!
- The plan… We’ll depart from Boise, ID, KBOI (links to scenery elements for X-Plane below) and head east, starting around 8:00PM EST or 0100z. KBOI has general aviation parking on the north and south side of the field.
Featured stops are Weatherby (52U), Atlanta (55H), Green Valley Retreat… and if time allows, South Fork (0ID0) and/or Graham (U45). Fly whatever you want, but some of the strips you’ll want something like the PropStrike C172 Mod (low and slow with a stall indicator gauge). - Navigation will be done via pilotage, i.e. “looking out the window” and comparing it to the sectional, so be sure to have either Skyvector on another monitor or be able to view the Salt Lake City sectional chart and be ready to look out EVERY window, you’ll need to see around you on several approaches. Did I mention it’s easy to get lost?
- We encourage you to join the VATSIM network and use the appropriate frequencies in the Boise Class C airspace if ATC is online, and once we clear the Class C airspace, we’ll switch to 122.8 to announce positions. This will be a VFR flight, adjust your sim weather accordingly.
- We’ll also use a Discord voice channel for non-aviation related chit-chat if need be (TBD).
That’s the basic plan! Brush up on your slow speed flight and high-altitude (thin air) aircraft performance. Most of these strips are in the 4500-6000 ft MSL range.
Scenery Notes:
If you’re using X-Plane (v11.40 is the current at the time of this writing), I’d recommend, if your system can handle it, using Ortho4XP scenery. On this first flight we’ll be flying in tiles +43-115, +43-116 and +43-117. I’d recommend these settings for Ortho4XP. Also, I’d recommend using these slightly modified openstreetmap data files for tile +43-116. Using Ortho4XP is NOT necessary, but might add to the fun as some of the airfields can be difficult to land and takeoff.
Most of these sceneries have library requirements, refer to the readme.txt in each folder for details. If you get stuck or have a question, look me up on Discord. I’m happy to help and share what I know!