The concept for this journal came at me all at once. With the release of Microsoft Flight Simulator World Update X and the updates done to the US scenery it seemed like a good time to check out some of those updates and just generally appreciate the whole experience at the same time. That together with the release of the Beechcraft 18 made me feel like I wanted to do something special. This is the start of that journey.
The rules
When I do a series like this is usually set some rules. First, this will be a point to point experience across the United States. Each time I land I will endeavour to takeoff again in the same spot. I’ve done this on previous cross country experiences and it’s been fun!
Next, this is going to be all about one aircraft. The new Asobo/Carenado Beechcraft Model 18. It’s an ideal candidate for this journey with the range, speed, and avionics necessary to make this enjoyable and fun while flying low enough to enjoy some of the scenery.
Third, I’m not going to worry too much about seeing everything that’s been added. But I do want to get to some landmarks both from the first US World Update and from the second.
Finally. This is going to be flown with real time and real weather. Whatever comes my way across this journey will be from the live weather service. It’s summer in North America and we’ve already seen our share of intense summer weather both with high heat and intense storms. We’ll see if I run into those or not.
Those are my goals above. The full story will come when I’ve completed the journey but I have already set out and done a couple of legs of this experience and it’s been fun. I’ve journeyed the length of Long Island into New York’s JFK airport and then flown from there down to Washington DC where a bunch of new landmarks are on display. After that, I don’t know where I will go exactly but I know where I want to end up. The newly upgraded Catalina airport on Catalina island off the coast of Los Angeles with its custom scenery. Can’t wait!
First impressions of the Beech 18
The journey has already seen me put in a few hours into the new Beechcraft 18 and I have to say that I’m really loving it so far. There are some quirks and bugs such as a starter switch that’s in the wrong position and that doesn’t work until you move it back and forth. Or the fuel pump making more noise than the starting engines. But the experience on the whole has been fun and I’ve loved connecting with this classic airplane.
I’ll be doing a full review of the airplane and completing the journey in future articles so stay tuned for that!
Stormbirds 
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