Love flying into a good storm, in a simulator of course, and that’s exactly what happened with some recent flights that I’ve been doing with the ATR airliner. Loading up and doing a real world route from Dublin to Donegal and then back again I ended up with a reasonably clear flight on the way there but some pretty epic skies on the way back.

Setting out from Dublin (EIDW)

With the announcement that the ATR 72-600F (freighter) and 42-600S (STOL) variants are coming to Microsoft Flight Simulator in September (something that seems to have gone under the radar for many), I’ve been brushing up on my ATR flying recently. It was the first airliner that really worked for me and its become a favourite that I come back to time and again. It’s not perfect but hopefully some of the updates together with the new variants will give it even more staying power than it already has.

I’ve been doing a lot of Dublin airport flying recently in the A320, A320neo and now for some sort of “real world ATR ops” with Aer Lingus Regional’s ATR fleet. This all because of the excellent airport scenery that MK Studios did for the airport.

Powering up the ATR, configuring the airplane, and loading in a route from SimBrief (something that the early release didn’t have the ability to do), I took the airliner out for a departure on Runway 28. This flight featured its fair share of darkened skies but it was no issue to punch through a medium density cloud layer and up into the clearer skies above.

The cruise was uneventful but I was thankful for some of the recent world updates that appear to have sharpened up some of the aerial imagery in the area. Ireland is looking better than ever thanks to that last World Update!

The flight took us over the southern parts of Glenveagh National Park which looks absolutely stunning from the air and is surely even more stunning in the real world. It reminds me of northern Ontario or Newfoundland.

Then we were starting down for a landing at Donegal. A sweeping turn put us onto course for Runway 21.

A few bumps on the way down with some turbulence and wind shear but nothing the ATR can’t handle. Then we were down and taxiing into the airport area. If you haven’t visited the airport, its one of the MSFS original custom scenery locations and featured in some of the promotional materials. It’s definitely a scenic little airport!

The stormy skies on the way back from Donegal (EIDL)

It would be a few days before I could schedule in the return flight but it was definitely on the more dramatic side. Starting in at Donegal, the weather was clearly bad with wind gusts to 21 knots, heavy rain and limited visibility. Ireland was being affected by the remnants of hurricane Ernesto. No matter… we had a flight to fly!

Taxiing out, the winds had us departing from Runway 21 again so a bit of a back taxi down the runway was needed. That gave a clear indication as to how limited visibility was as the terminal building and hangars disappeared into the murk.

Takeoff was a bit hairy as we caught a bit of the crosswind on takeoff and some extra rudder was needed to keep things straight. Soon enough we were gaining speed and altitude and setting course for Dublin.

It wasn’t until we hit 12,000 feet that our ATR climbed out of the dark skies and rain. Soaring up out of the storm and into the clearer skies was fantastic. It’s always a fun feeling when you catch a glimpse of the clearer skies and then suddenly emerge into it.

Most of the rest of the flight was spent cruising over the changing cloudscapes which varied significantly with height and even opened up into some clearer skies. Another thing that MSFS does so well is the multiple layers of clouds and then when you look down into the breaks you can see all of the layers moving past at different speeds.

The approach into Dublin was a bit of a sweeping one into Runway 10L. Unfortunately, the ATR had a bit of an issue with the multiple turns on the approach and the AP sent me off on a few different directions. Hopefully we’ll see that sorted out in the update.

Diving into the cloud layer with the de-icing and anti-icing gear on (or set to auto), we emerged beneath the cloud layer and into some very moody skies. Fortunately, the visibility was clear for a landing back at the Dublin airport despite some nearby rainshowers. Some strong crosswinds and turbulence on the landing made for a difficult landing but I managed to get the ATR down with just a bit of a skid staying close to the centerline. Not too bad!

A fun couple of journey’s with the ATR which remains one of my favourite airliners. MSFS needs more turboprop airliners but in the interim getting a couple of new ATR models should be a good amount of fun. Looking forward to the update!