This may turn out to be the highlight of the tour! Although it will end in Los Angeles (not my favorite destination), I'll be passing through the fabulous Yosemite Valley (my favorite destination). And, to make it all the more spectacular, I'll be turning on my GeoRender Yosemite scenery!
Right at the crack of dawn (at least, that's what it feels like to me), I'm starting off by taking 3 Kenn Borek passengers to Westover-Amador in Jackson. I don't know what a Kenn Borek is, but that's okay!
After take-off, I couldn't help but take a few more shots of San Francisco. These were what I was expecting -- a bit hard to see the city (and impossible to see the Golden Gate Bridge) because of the fog.
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| Typical San Francisco weather |
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Now it's the trip I've been waiting for. I'll be flying 2 Private Shuttle passengers to Mariposa-Yosemite airport, and taking a slight detour right through the Yosemite Valley on the way. I know that screen captures of a virtual flight through a simulated landscape cannot compare with the awesome majesty of Yosemite National Park (which I've been lucky enough to visit twice), but it still should be awfully good!
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| Yosemite - El Capitan |
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| Yosemite - the Valley |
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| Yosemite - Half Dome (even with GeoRender, it's a disapointing imitation) |
P.S. I'm not sure if I have the GeoRender scenery working or not -- it sure doesn't look photorealistic to me. I have since learned that there is freeware Yosemite scenery (plus lots more) available from Blue Sky Scenery. Their screenshots looked better than what I got, so I downloaded it. Here are replacement images of Yosemite using the Blue Sky scenery:
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| Yosemite - El Capitan |
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| Yosemite - the Valley |
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| Yosemite - Half Dome (my take -- BlueSkyScenery is better, and FREE!) |
Just an intermediate stop, but a very convenient one. There are 2 Propulsion Technicians and 1 Airframe Engineer who want to go to Quail Lake Sky Park. That's in exactly the right direction for me, so I'll take them!
End: CL46, 1243; $13343.51 and 14gal
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A quick lunch, a little more planning, and today's last leg turned out to be better than I'd hoped. From Quail Park, I've found 3 Private Passengers who'd like to go to Fallbrook Community airport, and they don't mind a scenic overfly of LA. So, I get to see it without actually having to stop there! And, this flight will take me just a little bit further towards my next destination.
FSX may not model Yosemite quite as nicely as I'd like, but it has LA smog down just right! The Hollywood sign was completely obscurred, as was all but the tops of the skyscrapers in LA.
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| Los Angeles smog |
Total Distance Flown: 42,837 nautical miles
Total v$ Deposited: $180,000
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