Bush League Backcountry Fly-In Series 16

We had so much fun in the San Juan Islands that we knew we needed to return soon. Now that our friend Wookie, the author of the original X-Plane scenery pack, has created a version for Microsoft Flight Simulator, we thought now is the perfect time.

In case you missed out last June, the San Juan Islands are located between Vancouver and Seattle, offering several small airstrips tucked away in a variety of terrain. A portion of the original post said it best, “from shorelines to mountain peaks 2500 feet in elevation, this month’s back country fly-in will offer it all!”

Bush League Basics:

1. Everyone is welcomed! Whether you’re an expert or beginner with flight simulators, radio communications, or navigation, etc., you’re invited! We’re a friendly bunch and enjoy learning from each other.
2. The best aircraft for these events are those that can handle short, narrow airstrips. STOL mods are not mandatory, but helpful. Fat tires help make the bouncy strips that much more enjoyable. Several CSL files are available to correctly render other aircraft.
3. We encourage you to join the VATSIM network and use the CTAF frequency of 122.8 to announce positions. We will not be in communication with ATC unless you plan to extend your flight into a controlled airspace.
4. We’ll also use the Downwindsim Discord voice channel during the flight for non-ATC related chit-chat.
5. As always, the main goal of these flights is to have fun and practice good airmanship. 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 1st. All pilots should plan to meet at Friday Harbor (KFHR) for the flight briefing at 8:05pm EDT (0005z) with departures immediately after. The idea is to explore as many of the 20 airstrips in the local area as possible. There’s no time limit, so stay as long as you’d like. Have your camera ready if you fly in X-Plane as you may see lighthouses, orcas, and possibly even a traveling circus. 

X-Plane Scenery Installation Instructions:

Start by downloading and extracting the San Juan Island Adventure Airports Pack. The 20 folders in the archive should be copied to your X-Plane Custom Scenery folder. Required libraries include RA Library, The Handy Objects Library, JB Library, OpenSceneryX and the Sea Life Library. Links to these can be found at X-Plane.org.

Step two involves Ortho4XP scenery tiles. As always, these are recommended, but not required. This adventure will be in tiles +48-123 and +48-124. If you have created your own orthotiles, Wookie has provided a download containing only the .osm.bz2 and .cfg data: San Juan Island Adventure Ortho4XP Users.

If you’re not an Ortho4XP user, Wookie has provided the completed tiles at this link: San Juan Island Ortho Tiles (11GB).

DOCUMENTATION AND CHARTS can be found here.

MSFS Scenery Installation Instructions:

The scenery package is available via this flightsim.to link. Extract the airstrip files (23 of them) to your community folder.

Questions:

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 have you join us on the Bush League Backcounty Fly-In Series!