Bush League Backcountry Fly-In Series 43

Welcome back to wild and wonderful Wyoming. Cowboy country has a lot to offer bush hooligans, with over 100 unique mountain ranges and sub ranges. What the state lacks in population, it makes up for in off airport adventure. This month we will explore the Laramie Range located in the East central portion of the state. Despite spending a significant portion of my life in this part of the state, it continues to reveal surprises. I’m excited to share some of the little secrets I’ve found.

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. Due to the extreme nature of the final destination, your most STOL aircraft is highly recommended.
3. We encourage you to join the VATSIM network and use the CTAF frequency of 122.8 to announce positions. We may be in communication with ATC be sure to check ATC’s online status before you fly into or out of 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 flown VFR in daytime conditions. Configure the time of day and weather as you see fit.

Flight Information:

The event takes place on Monday, May 1st. We will gather at Douglas Municipal Airport KDGW for a short flight briefing at 8:00pm EST (0000z on May 2nd) with departures shortly after. The basic route is flexible, with stops at Underwood (44WY), Wagonhound (WY27), Thomas Memorial (76V) and Robbins (WY16) before returning to the town of Douglas for a final stop at the Backcountry Super Cub private airstrip.

NOTE: The old Douglas Municipal Airport, located on the East side of town, is now used as a drag strip and is closed to air traffic.

X-Plane Scenery Installation Instructions:

The scenery has been developed for XP12, Ortho Tile +42-106. Here is a link to the updated airfields as well as a necessary osm.bz2 file: Bush League 43 Scenery.

~Unzip the file and move the scenery into your X-Plane 12 custom scenery folder.
~You need to cook Orthotile +42-106 if you haven’t already.
~Place the +42-106_airports.osm.bz2 file in the corresponding OSM_data folder. Recook the orthotile.
~Keep a copy of Uncle Melvin’s map handy.

We are big supporters of the X-World scenery addon (free) and Global Forests v2 ($15) addon. They are excellent additions for the XP12 world. Again, as a reminder, scenery addons have included the use of the Global Forests v2 payware package addon. If you haven’t purchased that, your mileage may vary.

NOTE: The airfields render quite nicely by default in MSFS.

Questions and Help:

If you get stuck or have a question, drop a message on the DownwindSim Discord bush-flying text channel. There’s a bunch of friendly folks that’d be happy to help. Leave your GPS turned off, and see if you can follow Uncle Melvin’s version of the sectional. Here’s to the Bush League Backcountry Fly-In Series!

~ Melvin