What will the next Event be?

[EHM-1821 Javier]

Well? Post all your ideas here;D


I was thinking maybe an event in Asia or Africa...

[EHM-0948 Bruno]

Normally we prefer historical / adventure events that simulate real time situations.

Have fun. We will hear you.

Regards,

[EHM-E4S]

How about recreating some of those Island Express routes in South America done by the Ford Tri-motor?

[EHM-0502 Desmond]

If you don't mind a long trip, how about the first flight from UK to South Africa?
It was flown in a Vikers Vimy, and the flight is featured in FS9.

[EHM-0654 Murray]

More DC-3 please, whatever the next PP event ends up being...

Did my FAC no end of good flying the DC-3 across America. Plus, I really like Roberts repaint for the museum.

[EHM-E4S]

well, We could do the the Island one in the DC-3?

[EHM-1199 Philip]

The island one sounds like it has potential but it would be even better in a plane kitted out with floats ... yeah I think sea-plane fun would be cool.

[EHM-1199 Philip]

More serious thoughts - how about Amy Johnson's flight from Croydon, UK to Darwin, AUS? The original bird was Gypsy Moth but maybe we could allow one of the other Class 1 or VFA planes.

[EHM-1703 Philip]

Yeah I like the DC3 too, but wouldn't mind a go in something else also.....

This may be disregarded as it may have political undertones, but how about something like the "Berlin Air Lift". For those that haven't heard of it, this was the process of supplying food, coal and  fuel to West Berlin during the Russian blockade. (The planes were nicknamed by the locals "Rosinenbomber" or "Raisen Bombers" in English ) Between June 26 1948 and September 30th 1949, 278,228 flights were made and 2,326,406 tons of food and supplies were delivered to West Berliners. I don't know how this could be made in to an event but as it was the largest single air operation ever performed it may poinient. Just an idea

[EHM-E4S]

I don't thik it matters when It comes to politics. This is just for fun. We're not going to get into trouble, so we could do something like that, but I'd prefer something a bit more foreign than Europe.

[EHM-1199 Philip]

Just a reference for those following this discussion

http://www.century-of-flight.net/index.htm

I feel sure there is inspiration on this site somewhere.

[EHM-1671 Ben]

I think I'm ready for something other than the DC-3. I've had my share of it after this event.

Phil, I think your idea for the England to Australia race is a very good one. I'm (ever so slightly) concerned about the length of time it will take, as this last event took almost two months to complete. And that was with a two engined aircraft. This is like flying the Airmail event TWICE with a single engined plane! That's just my estimate though so I don't want to get in any trouble for it :s

[EHM-1703 Philip]

Matt,

when I say political, I mean the fact that this was based on a conflict. Although it was not a war, there were two sides and even though it was a resounding success for people in the West, other people may view it differently. (after all it was part of the situation that divided Germany for so long!) We have to be carefull that any event we run does not offend any of our members!

I would also disagree that we should not run something European. We have ran two events so far, one in Africa and one in the USA. As we are a predominently European VA, I personally think a Euro event would be in order.

Just my 10 pence though.

[EHM-1199 Philip]

If we run a Euro event Phil it should open people's eyes to places they don't usually fly. The US event worked just great for that ... we got a chance to explore some places we know and some we don't in an event that clearly had a 'story' behind it. Any European event needs to be similar. How  about a West to East route following the mountains. That would be quite a cool flight... Plan would be this:

Start over at Cape Finisterre/Santiago de Compostela in Spain. We would then be on the western most edge of Europe's mountain ranges. Follow the line of the Cantabrian Mountains as far as Pamplona. Now we go up into the Pyrenees. At Vernet-les-bains, turn North to follow the Cevannes as far as Valence in France. Now, the Alps rise in front of us as we continue flying in a broadly speaking East North East direction following the highest Alps as far as Vienna.  (Just for reference, Vienna is about the half-way point.) Continue on from Vienna into the Carpathian Mountains which follow a broad sweeping curve to bring us back heading South. At Turnu Severin we fly towards the Danube and the Balkan Mountains which provide our final mountain range before landing at Istanbul, Turkey. The overall distance for reference is quite huge if you strictly follow the range of mountains. (About 8000km). This would be similar to the ever popular Alps tour but on acid. Check the maps ... it really is possible to travel from Cape Finisterre to Istanbul and always be in the mountains. I think this could offer a really fascinating way to explore different countries as well as offering a view of some of the best scenery in Flight Simulator - the mountains really do look great compared to the flat expanse of continent crossing in the US.

[EHM-1671 Ben]

What if we flew one large, round trip beginning and ending in Portugal? Like a tour of Europe, but not necessarily visiting just capitals (as in the tour). We could fly all the way north into the coldest parts of Scandinavia and down to a warmer climate in Malta and Sicily.

To explain in a little more detail, I think we could depart from Lisbon, head north through Spain, France, the UK, into the Netherlands, Belgium, north into Scandinavia, and east to Moscow (half way point). Then we could venture south through the Balkans, into Greece and Turkey, across the Mediterranean to Crete, Malta, Sicily, and then north through Italy, Switzerland and Austria and back to Lisbon through southern France and Spain again.

I think a tour like this would really encompass the diversity that makes up Europe. It could be flown in a Class 4/5 aircraft and, like the last tour, with a three day period for each leg to be flown. I realize it's quite a long tour but I think (in all modesty) it's a really good idea. Opinions?

[EHM-1199 Philip]

Originally posted by Roger_Wilco
I realize it's quite a long tour but I think (in all modesty) it's a really good idea. Opinions?

Not bad Ben ... but I think my mountain range idea whops it

Maybe there's a way of combining the two and cutting out the dreary wastelands of the flat northern and eastern edges. (No offence to folks living in scandanavia and eastern europe but Flight Simulator seems to think you live in a huge flat field.)

[EHM-1671 Ben]

You're right Phil, I think your idea might be better than a huge round-continent tour. It would be a lot more exciting (compared to the Airmail tour) too since there are mountains as opposed to the flat expanse of the American west. But what do you other guys prefer?

I personally don't mind either way, I just want to fly another event... I would really like to fly it in a Class 4 (Fokker 70 in particular) aircraft since they're a lot faster than the old Gooneybird and I personally can stop the F70 on a dime. A class 3 aircraft would be fine as well, as long as I don't have to hover along at 120KIAS. So, don't make me beg .

[EHM-1821 Javier]

just 12hours later, i am back and i see already 16 posts;D;D;D

Really Fast!  I myself would prefer simulating historic events, something like the US Airmail Event .

Currently, I am up for the Island Express, the aircraft can be of either the Tri-motor or the DC-3 but that is just my opinion;D

[EHM-1199 Philip]

Ben, if we went for some sort of trans-europe mountain route we could look to focus on planes that are able to access smaller airports while still delivering the power and speed. I can't remember what class the BaE whisperjet was in but that would be an ideal choice. If the Fokker 70 stops as well as you suggest that also would be a great choice for such an event.

As regards historical, I think we were quite lucky to have such a great piece of aviation history in the US Airmail event and actually the suitability of many historical flights for an event is questionable. Take the whole Australia idea ... it just sounds either too much for a tour or something that really doesn't take you to the most interesting parts of the world enroute.

[EHM-1671 Ben]

I think I'm going to support Phil's idea for the mountain event. Sounds like fun!!

[EHM-1358 Tim]

I'm thinking a hop list of 3 or 4 routes in a certain country, using the VFA, all flights VFR and we have some A/G towers set up!

[EHM-0654 Murray]

Originally posted by Plymyphil
The island one sounds like it has potential but it would be even better in a plane kitted out with floats ... yeah I think sea-plane fun would be cool.

Digging up an "old" topic (there have been a lot of additions since this morning), but the MAAM DC-3 has a float model

(They apparently flew like utter dogs because they were under-powered for the size of float required... Needed a really big length of utterly flat water for take-off...)

[EHM-1343 Jonathan]

Red Bull Air Race!
hehe that would be good fun, but hard to monitor....

As I love flying through and above the mountains, the mountain range idea would be brilliant, and I am putting my vote to it!

AS for Aircraft, havent had a chance to fly to DC3 yet, but it looks rather special, however I prefer the modern birds, and maybe the Do328 would be more suited to the longer tours...even though we took a DC3 over America lol!

[EHM-1199 Philip]

Thanks for the vote of support guys ... if folks are interested I'd cheerfully put a bit more flesh on the bone (I do have a source of inspiration for this and consequently have a fairly clear idea of the route ...I would just need to test fly and identify the very best of mountain airports.)

Razza, I think for a mountainous flight the DC3 would be just too much hard work especially when you consider the distances involved. If I was flying this I would want a balance between a plane that let me see the sights and a plane that actually got me there in a reasonable time. I would also be looking at a plane capable of some shortfield approaches and departures to ensure we could get in and out of some interesting airports ... (I guess Courcheval would be a must ) I think therefore we would be looking probably at Class 1 or 2 or their equivalents in order to make this an accessible and fun event. (VFA would be just too slow for these distances despite being ideally suited and once you go above Class 2, indeed I think even at Class 2, the planes would just be zipping through the high altitudes at great speed and missing the beauty and majesty of our mountainous continent.)

But clearly, all this talk is seriously jumping the gun ... MT need to do some talking and come to some decisions about where, when and how. All I would say is that if folks do land down on the side of a European Mountain Event then I would be happy to put some time to adding detail or being involved in the team who do so

[EHM-E4S]

How about a route over the mountains, Start in China, go down to Nepal, then over Tibet to Bhutan, then to Vietnam, and then to Thailand, and optional, Singapore, Indonesia or Phillipines, or we could just end in Thailand.

The reason I say this is because China has amazing Scenery, Nepal's Tribbhuvan has amazing scenery around it, Tibet and Bhutan and Vietnam have the highest mountain ranges in the world, and then to get some sea air and some Islands, one of the three selections. I've drawn a route on the picture below.