For this flight journal I’m back in a preview version of the GA-8 Airvan coming up from SimWorks Studios. This journal has me out flying with one of the liveries included in the aircraft that was so unique that I spent some time looking into story behind it. Here’s how my flights went!

Stichting Hoogvliegers?

One of the included liveries with SWS’ GA-8 Airvan is a rendition of a real airplane PH-KMR that’s based in the Netherlands. It’s an Air Ambulance with a very special mission.

The group enables sick or disabled children anywhere from 7 to 17 years old go up in a specially configured aircraft giving them the experience of flight when they may not otherwise be able to do so. According to the group’s website, they’ve taken hundreds on this special flight fuelled entirely by donations.

This real world GA-8 Airvan has been configured in such a way that it can fit stretchers, wheelchairs and other implements to enable these kids to fly and the large windows and various screens are setup to let them see what the pilots are doing. Incredible background story.

With that in mind…

I setup a couple of flights of my own using this livery and visiting a pair of airports in the Netherlands. The first is Lelystad (EHLE) which the aircraft flies out of according to some of its flight history. The second is a MSFS hand crafted scenery airport of Rotterdam (EHRD).

It took me a couple of minutes go run through the start-up checklist for the GA-8 Airvan. It’s not an overly complicated airplane to start but you do need to get things done just right to get it going. GPS configured, transponder on and set to 7000 (VFR in Europe), lights on and then time to taxi.

Taking off into the evening skies from Lelystad on runway 23, I gradually eased the GA-8 into the air and into a shallow climb. It’s not a sporty airplane by any sense of the imagination so this is very much a gentle affair.

Climbing out, I hit a bit of turbulence and realized that I was riding the stall a little too closely. More power, reduced climb rate, and an even more gentle climb after that to get us going up to altitude. Cruise speed in this configuration? About 100 knots.

For the next 30 minutes or so we were treated to the last rays of sunshine, some beautiful clouds, ever deepening pinks and purples and the skylines of both Amsterdam and Rotterdam as well as numerous farms, greenhouses, canals and everything else that makes up the aerial scenery of the Netherlands.

We arrived at Rotterdam and made a smooth landing on Runway 24 just as the last rays of orange sunlight were filtering in over the runway. Beautiful!

We parked the aircraft and shut it all down. One heck of a sightseeing trip!

Do it again…

That was so fun, I decided the next day I’d do it again with another late afternoon/evening flight reversing our previous run back up to Lelystad.

Once again, it was time to setup the Airvan and this time having done it a few times I’ve been getting pretty quick at the whole setup. Before long we had the doors closed, the engine on, and everything configured for our upcoming flight.

We then taxiied past some large commercial aircraft before turning onto runway 06 and departing straight out.

The skyline of The Hague once again adorned the view as we departed for our return flight.

Along the way we were once again treated to the same kinds of idyllic farmers fields, towns, waterways, canals and more. The weather was equally idyllic with puffy clouds. To keep up with VFR rules, I did descend slightly during the cruise to stay under a cloud and in full visibility.

After cruising to a sightseeing point to the east of our destination, we turned in and headed for home.

This time around I was greeted by a crosswind landing which, unfortunately, wasn’t my best approach that I’ve flown with the GA-8. It’s also not my worst so I’ll chalk it up as good experience and called it a day with the GA-8.

Always fun

I always enjoy a good flight where I get to experience some fun flight simming while learning about the real world. In this case, I’ve learned about a very interesting charity and the work that they do. Kudos to them for sharing the joys of flight with kids who might not otherwise have the opportunity to do so.

As for SWS and the Airvan, I’ve talked to them recently and it sounds like its coming together nicely with lots of testing and fixing of those few remaining and niggling bugs. The Airvan, with both 2020 and 2024 variants, plus the additional failure system, is due to arrive all together once its all done. My recent article covers their plans in slightly more detail. Until then, stay tuned!