I’ve already written recently about X-Plane 12’s recent Caribbean focused scenery update and I’ve been taking advantage of the new update to get in some X-Plane flying in a way that I haven’t for quite some time. Going with the theme, this also gave me the opportunity to get out the TorqueSim BN-2 Islander. An airplane I bought and reviewed years ago. The Islander is a common sight in this part of the world so it made sense. What would follow was quite a bit of fun and some missed approaches at one of the world’s hardest places to land. Here’s how it went!

Flying back and forth

For this flight I flew the following three locations all in one session. Starting up and shutting down the airplane at each location and flying the whole thing as a commuter style route. I started at TNCS Saba Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport airport with a modestly full airplane and passengers in every seat.

TorqueSim have done a good job with the airplane’s start-up process including the ability to flood engines if you screw up the start-up. Which I did on the port side engine requiring a restart (or wait for the fuel to drain out). Fortunately after that I was quicker and better with my procedures and had no problems starting up the airplane.

We taxied out onto runway 12 and then powered up for a takeoff. Holding centerline was a challenge with strong crosswinds and the moment the BN-2 hit the air we were sideswept by the same winds. That and the full passenger load made for a bit of a spicy takeoff. Things improved after that and a careful departure and climb away helped to stabilize everything.

The transit from Saba to Saint-Martin was a fairly straightforward one. Along the way I spotted several of the new generated ship traffic which definitely helps make the world feel a little more lived in.

Landing at TNCM Princess Juliana International Airport is easy for an airplane like the BN-2B. Setting down on runway 10 was easy. Taxi off to parking, shut down, and offload the passengers. Time to pick up some new ones to take them to our next destination.

Second hop

Our second hop took us over to TFFJ Gustaf III airport. Many of you know this one. It’s the airport with the sweeping hill on the one side and a tropical bay on the other. A challenging approach to perform though one that BN-2s perform on a daily basis.

Takeoff was easy and the transit between Saint-Martin and Saint Barthélemy was just a few minutes. Low clouds made for some nice visuals here and there and there were some drops of rain on the transit too. Fortunately, the sky was clear for the approach into the airport.

Closing in on the destination I swung wide of the approach initially, getting a sense of the winds on the windsock before then setting up my approach.

Getting on speed with the BN-2. The type has a 46 knot stall speed with flaps down, however, with the full load and the gusting winds I built in some extra speed. That ended up working mostly in my favour and my recent landings at this airport in both X-Plane and MSFS prepared me for the procedure coming in slightly high to accommodate the hill and then diving down before flaring again to get onto the runway.

Surprisingly, this worked out well and down we were!

Back to Saba!

Well that was fun! I dropped off the passengers, picked up a smaller number of passengers for the next leg and then set out for our original departure point – Saba!

After a reasonably decent takeoff and a very slow climb out over Saint-Jean Bay, we were up and turning towards Saba. The sun was getting low, light was beginning to wane and the weather was a bit more iffy than when I started out.

We cruised over to the island with thankfully clearing weather. Then began a several minute long affair involving waved off approaches and failed attempts at lining up with the tiny island airport. Saba is a real challenge!

With strong winds, a 1,312 ft runway, and cliffs on all sides it’s one of the hardest landings to perform in real life and, I would safely say, in a flight simulation too. It is apparently acknowledged as the shortest commercial runway in the world and only about 200 feet longer than the deck on Nimitz-class carriers. It feels like you’re landing on an aircraft carrier… without the arrestor gear.

It took me five approaches to get the landing right. Sometimes I was pushed off center by the changing winds, sometimes I was too high, other times too low. Eventually I got a good on approach angle and kept the BN-2 just above its stall speed right down onto the runway.

Fortunately, I was down and the flight was over. Phew!

X-Plane 12 certainly has some ongoing challenges but this latest update has reinvigorated my flying with it. The new AI generated boat traffic and hand crafted scenery in this area give the sim a bit of style again. I still find the ocean rendering problematic visually and the terrain engine remains extremely dated but of course the flight model and a deeply simulated plane like the work that TorqueSim did with the BN-2 makes for an engaging experience.

More again soon!