I couldn’t resist checking out the first Microsoft sold Local Legend in helicopter form. The Bell 47J is maybe not the nicest looking helicopter in my subjective opinion but in my first couple of flights with the craft I’ve found it to be pretty fun to fly and a good way to check out some of the scenery from the new World Update 16: Caribbean update.
A trip around Nassau
The capital of Bahamas, Nassau located on the island of New Providence is one of those places that I hope to sometime visit. It’s home to a few points of interest that have been added as part of the World Update and so I did a tour of the island.
Starting from Lynden Pindling International Airport (MYNN) I did some hover tests before flying away in the Bell 47J. The Ranger helicopter is a very simple craft compared to some of the more complex helicopters that I’ve tried recently and following the checklist was a piece of cake. A single podium, offset to the left from the pilots seat, contains the few toggle switches and instruments that you need to fly the helicopter.
Up and off we went skimming the trees and Lake Killarney located in the western half of the island near the airport. My first destination was almost immediately in sight with the towers of the Atlantis Paradise Island Bahamas resort showing up in the distance.
Before I got there I also flew low over Nassau and checked out the Nassau Harbour Lighthouse. Then I checked out the resort itself.
After doing some hovering around the resort and checking out some of the details it was off to the east and the eastern most point of the island before heading south and hugging the coast.
Jorg, in the latest Q&A, reports that the water masking here is improved but not as good as in the southern parts of the Caribbean (which I haven’t checked out yet). Still, this looks pretty good and much better than it used to.
Finally I brought the 47J in for a landing back at my starting point. A nice little tour around the island and a great first introduction to the Bell 47!
A quick tour around Puerto Plata
My next flight out with the Bell 47J was a slightly different adventure. This time I departed from Gregorio Luperón International Airport (MDPP) which is located on the northern shores of the Dominican Republic. It’s a tourist destination for the nearby resorts in Puerto Plata. I know someone who just came back from there so it was fun to fly around the same area. This airport has been given a custom treatment and it also has dedicated helipads so I decided to start my second flight from there.
Originally I had ambitious goals to fly south to Santiago, but once up in the air I learned that the Bell 47J was maybe not the platform to do that sort of flight. The small size of Nassau made it easy to fly around the island but here the 47J was just going to take too long so I changed course from my original plan and flew down the coast to Puerto Plata itself. Once there I decided to do something a little different – land in the water.
The Bell 47J comes in two configurations with a conventional as well as water landing pontoon configuration and it was the second configuration that I was out in this time. So I brought the helicopter for a nice gentle landing on the water. Then I flew it off again and back to base – all the time I had for unfortunately.
More time spent exploring this region and more time with the Bell 47J will be required but it was a fun first outing to be sure!
Stormbirds 
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