I had an absolute blast doing one of my last Flight Journal pieces where I flew the DHC-2 Beaver to several airstrips in Alaska. Most of those airstrips I visited were enhanced with scenery thanks to Emerald Scenery Design. Having seen the journal, they reached out and sent me over some more scenery to have a look at! And that means that a follow-up journal is very much called for. Here’s what you can expect when you visit these MSFS airstrips in Alaska!

Disclaimer

This Flight Journal is thanks in part to the folks at Emerald Scenery Designs who gave me access to the rest of their Alaskan payware scenery. There were no strings attached and no expectations but anytime someone sends me something, I note it!

Fort Crosby to Chunilna Cabin Strip, almost

This Journal started out in a very fun way and then with a lesson learned too.

After spending quite a bit of time in the beautifully modeled DHC-2 Beaver, this time around I wanted to get back into the cockpit of Got Friend’s excellently modeled PZL Wilga. One of the variants a 200 hp beast of a bushplane with Alaskan Bushwheels marked right on the tire. It had to be done! I reviewed the Wilga back several months ago and highly recommend it if this is the kind of flying you like to do.

Starting up the Wilga took a bit of doing as I had to remember all of the steps. But once it was up and running I appreciated all of the intricate details that Got Friends had put into their airplane and how good it all looked. I’ve also flown from Fort Crosby in my previous Alaskan journey and I wrote then that I planned to fly from here very soon again. Why? Because its a beautifully done airstrip and it works well as a kind of home base complete with its own mini hangar. It also has a bear that walks around the airstrip… fun!

Taking off from Fort Crosby was a piece of cake with the high horsepower engine and short field capable Wilga leaping into the air. Easily!

My cruise towards the Chunila Cabin Strip was scenic. Too scenic as I spent a lot of time looking around and admiring the scenery along the way and somewhat ignoring some warning signs inside the airplane. Engine temperatures climbed towards a dangerous level and the Wilga’s engine began to sputter. And then sputter some more. I opened the radiators but it was too late… the engine was windmilling and I was a glider.

I almost made it to the airstrip too! But not quite…and into the trees I went…

Hazards of inattention and complacency after flying aircraft that didn’t have an engine damage model. Got Friends Wilga mostly certainly does have that! Lesson learned!

I flew the route again and then landed at Chunila where I then got a chance to have a look around.

The whole area is just stunning and the extra details that Emerald Scenery Designs did include a cabin and surrounding scenery that includes additional nearby cabins, various out buildings and sheds, a snowmobile, and more. The view is spectacular and there’s a soundset at work here too with birds chirping and other environmental noises. Like there freeware scenery, there are also plenty of plants, trees and even piles of lumber. I can almost smell it!

Chunilna Cabin Strip to Twentyfive Mile

For my next hop, I traveled from my previous location at Chunila Cabin Strip over to Twentyfive Mile Strip. The airstrip here was easily handled by this high horsepower Wilga and I managed to perform quite a fun departure with a nose high climb out before settling down into something more reasonable. This is a fun airplane!

Then powering back for a more sensible cruise, I set the autopilot and headed over to my next destination.

Twentyfive Mile is another payware option and it includes a two in one solution with two airstrips right next to each other. You’ll see in some of the screenshots just how close they are as the distance between the two is quite short. A hop, skip and a jump, by airplane!

We’re once again treated to a semi prepared strip with logs, bushes, flowers and more spread out across the area. A much larger aircraft could come in here and the arrival either over the lake or through the trees is fairly simple. The Wilga had no problem at all! I once again parked and admired the scenery!

The short hop to Limber Lake

The flight from Twentyfive Mile strip to Limber Lake strip was very short. It’s only a kilometre or two between them and the flight time can be measured in minutes or even seconds.

The aesthetic of this second strip is quite similar. A somewhat larger open area combined with a beautiful cottage/house, a windsock and small windmill, plus all kinds of little details all over the place. It feels lived in and rustic.

Back down to Davidson Strip

For my final stretch of this trip I wanted to revisit another bit of scenery that I was at the last time. You might remember from my last Alaskan journal that one airstrip foiled my attempts to land at it. Davidson Strip, as it turned out, is particularly challenging to land at with a DHC-2. Lake water on either end of the strip, a building on the left, and a narrow and short space in which to land and bring a bush plane to a complete stop. Would the Wilga fare better than the Beaver? I was keen to find out!

So off I went, taking off into a cloudier sky than earlier. I once again had a bit of a high performance departure and had quite a bit of fun with it!

Then I set course and cruised my way south towards Davidson Strip.

Time to see if the Wilga could do it! I suspected it could but would it be a nail biter or would this be easy to do? After circling overhead and checking out the area, I headed in for my first landing attempt and, as it turns out, the only one I needed. I set the Wilga down in a three pointer with full flaps riding the edge of the stall and the aircraft coasted to a stop almost immediately. No problem! Lots of room!

Review coming up

A few of you have asked about some scenery reviews and while I have shied away from doing that sort of thing in the past, I think I’m going to package something unique up and write about it. In this case I can already tell you that I really like the work that Emerald Scenery Designs have done. I can get into detail in a review but there’s very little not to like here.

Their freeware and payware airstrips are all highly detailed and have tons of brilliant little details. The payware strips go above and beyond with their details and three paid scenery locations have been impressive! Check the complete list out here.