#36 Salzburg #37 Vienna #38 Budapest

Start: EDDM, 0746; $1312.33 and 45gal

Well, yesterday was really lousy, but I did get to end by putting another v$10,000 in the bank!

Today doesn't seem to be starting out much better. I'm at Munich International Aiport, but the only jobs small enough for my Cessna go in the completely wrong direction. But, I did find a job only 14 miles away going exactly where I want to go. So, I'll hop over to Landshut.

End: EDML, 0800; $1312.33 and 43gal

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After that quick little jaunt, I'm here to pick up 2 Private Shuttle passengers who are going to Salzburg, Austria. Since I'm going to Salzburg, too, this works out just great!

The curse is lifted -- Salzburg is quite nice. The city itself is largely generic, but there were a few custom buildings clustered together, the grouping of several churches and the castle were quite nice. But the scenery is the really winner. To my eye, this is better than the Swiss Alps.

Beautiful Austrian terrain

Beautiful Salzburg

End: LOWS, 0843; $1657.93 and 39gal

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My next desired destination is Budapest. This isn't a "detailed" city in FSX, but I want to go there anyway! And if I can manage to swing by Vienna on the way, so much the better.

FSE to the rescue! I found a job going to Linz, which then has three jobs going to Vienna, which then has 3 jobs going to Budapest. So, call this "the day of short hops"! This first one should definitely be a low-stress flight; my job is a Priority envelope, sitting on the seat next to me!

End: LOWL, 0937; $1767.73 and 34gal

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I've loaded my 3 Amadeus Air passengers, and I'm heading to Vienna. Austria continues to impress me, so we'll see what this leg holds in store, and what a default version of Vienna looks like. I'm really looking forward to appreciating the culture and history of this well-known city.

But, as is so often the case, the first structure I identify is the football stadium! With its folded roof and elongated light towers, it looks rather insectoid.

The rest of the city, though, looks very good. Surprisingly modern, but I guess that because it's not "high detail". But it still has an interesting amount of detail. Several nice churches, and the occasional large government building and the enormous UN complex. Overall, nicer than expected (but surely not as nice as in real life).

Viennese churches

UN Complex -- looks like a big hotel!

End: LOWW, 1149; $4030.33 and 27gal

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FSE was kind enough to provide another 3 Amadeus Air passengers, going straight to Budapest. My wife and I have talked about visiting Budapest (Wikipedia says it's cited as one of Europe's most beautiful cities), but FSX is quicker and easier! However, it turns out that FSX Budapest is exactly what I was expecting -- a perfectly reasonable looking city, but completely bland and unidentifiable. Obviously, there's the Danube, dividing Buda from Pest. But the city itself looks very much like many of the other European cities I've seen. Ah well, they can't all be London and Paris, can they?

So, I guess the wife and I will have to go for real!

The Danube River, splitting Buda and Pest

End: LHBP, 1323; $6365.83 and 18gal

Total Distance Flown:  9,339 nautical miles

#31 Lyon #32 Lake Geneva #33 Matterhorn #34 Neuschwanstein #35 Munich

Start: LFMN, 0637; $5289.34 and 25gal

I'm up bright and early this morning, looking forward to a fabulous day of Alpine scenery! I'm starting off by taking 3 GFC passengers to Geneva by way of Lyon. Don't actually know what "GFC" stands for. KFC I know, but not GFC.

We'll see how good my fuel usage estimate is -- after take-off, I've got to climb (with my 3 passengers) to 8,500 feet, so I'd like to be as light as possible. To Lyon and then on to Geneva is 222 nautical miles, or just over 255 statute miles. At 90 mph, I'll be flying for almost 3 hours. At an average of 8 gph, that would be 24 gallons. So, I'll top up to 25 gallons. Hope I guessed right (I've built in some "wiggle room" by adding a little time, and estimating my fuel burn rate on the high side)!

Lyon was kind of a bust. As almost always happens, the building I find first turns out to the the sports stadium! The city was fine, but nothing to go out of your way for (which I did!). It was interesting, though, to find what appears to be a replica of the White Tower of London!

Lyon, France

So, it's on to Geneva! Sixty miles, and 12 gallons still in the tank, so I should be fine. But I won't do any sightseeing just yet.

End: LSGG, 0927; $7658.86 and 27gal

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Eight gallons left upon landing, so I had a generous safety margin. I've filled up about halfway for this next let.

I now have 3 Redditors bound for Kempten, Germany (I don't know what a "redditor" is, though!). This is a straight shot, so I'm tempted to fly IFR. But, I'm hoping for some spectacular views of the Swiss Alps, so I think I'll stick with VFR so I can wander around as needed. Plus, I'll be passing quite close to both Bern and Zurich, so I'll think I'll swing by just to see what they look like....

The famous "plume" fountain in Lake Geneva

Bern isn't really much to look at from 3,600 feet in FSX. Unbelievably, it isn't until just now that I realize that I'll be missing the Matterhorn. While the autopilot keeps me aloft, I start poring over my charts, trying to find it and figure out if I've got enough fuel to get there. I'm 110 miles from Kempten, and have roughly 215 miles of range left. So, I'm going for it. Now, I just have to navigate my way there! Of course, the other question is elevation. I think the Matterhorn is something like 15,000 feet, and I don't think my Skyhawk will get over 12,000 (and if it did, I'd pass out!). So, we'll see how close I can get.

Well, I'm rather disappointed. I'm pleased that I was able to "cheat" and climb to 13,000 feet. But although I flew around Zermatt several times (the scenery is striking), I could not find a peak that I recognized as the Matterhorn.

Is this the Matterhorn? It's lost weight!

Time to get back to where the oxygen is!

End: EDMK, 1316; $10275.16 and 10gal

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After a very quick lunch, I'm heading out on my own. I'll fly to Oberpfaffenhoffen (gotta love those German names!) because: it's where my next job is, and; I'll pass Neuschwanstein castle on the way!

Now I'm crushed. It was bad enough that the Matterhorn was missing. But Neuschwanstein isn't there, either! What should have been perhaps my best sightseeing day yet has turned out to be an exercise in futility. Bah humbug!

End: EDMO, 1357; $10255.86 and 12gal

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I have no idea why anyone would pay $512 to fly 26 miles. But several people are apparently willing to; maybe rush hour traffic is REALLY bad! The ones I'm transporting from one side of Munich to the other are: 1 Helli Airline CEO; 1 Helli Airline Crew; and 1 Baby. An interesting mix, to say the least!

Maybe I'm just in a bad mood, but Munich is a big snooze from the air. I found the stadium, and one or two other interesting buildings, but that's it. Barely worth the effort.

Munich. Ho hum.

End: EDDM, 1423; $11638.26 and 9gal

Total Distance Flown:  9,000 nautical miles

#27 Florence #28 Pisa #29 Milan #30 Monte Carlo

Start: LIRG, 0723; $2228.03 and 40gal

Should be a nice, scenic day today. I'm off to Parma with 2 WAC LIRG passengers. But, just because it's not too far out of the way, I'll fly over to Florence (my wife's favorite European city) and then Pisa and see if that tower is still leaning.

Sometimes it's good to have low expectations. Florence was much nicer in appearance than I expected. To me, it looked like a definitely Italian city, with notable Medieval touches. And the Leaning Tower of Pisa was right there were it was supposed to be, still leaning!

Florence (Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore and Piazzia del Duomo)

Pisa's Leaning Tower

End: LIMP, 1011; $3573.53 and 23gal

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I'm now scheduled to take 2 Private passengers to Milan -- perhaps they'll be super-models?! Well, it turns out they were photographers. Just as well; those super-models are just too skinny for my taste. And, they didn't mind a slight detour to see some of the sights of Milan (including a nice train station, and odd-looking stadium [not shown -- go fly there yourself!]).

Milan (wish I knew what sights I'm seeing!)

End: LIMB, 1103; $3931.46 and 27gal

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Just a brief stop to get fuel from the wonderfully named "Outdonna Limb" FSO (I'm at LIMB, in Italy. Get it?), and then I'll continue my flight, bidding a fond arrivederci to Italy and heading back to France.

For my final leg today, I'm going to don my tuxedo and take one Kerry Air shuttle passenger and one Raving Lunatic (that's what FSE says!) to Nice/Cote d'Azur. Near that posh destination, I'll visit Monte Carlo from a safe distance of 1000 feet (up!). Turns out, the buildings are fine, but the ground textures seem sparse and "stretched" by the terrain.

Fabulous Monte Carlo (doesn't look so fabulous)

End: LFMN, 1301; $5529.86 and 14gal

Total Distance Flown: 8,412 nautical miles

#23 The Amalfi Coast #24 Naples #25 Rome #26 Vatican City

Start: LICP, 1003; $1533.97 and 19gal

Today started out with financial transactions; I deposited another v$10,000 to the bank, and then paid for my second 100-hour inspection. Everything looks good, so today I will tour Naples and Rome. Amazingly, neither are listed as "high detail" cities, so we'll just see what FSX provides....

My first flight leaves Sicily and takes 120kg of priority mail to Solerno. I don't expect any spectacular sights, since this is mostly just crossing the water to get to mainland Italy. But as I approach land, it will be the famed Amalfi coast that I see. I'll make a sweeping right turn approach to the airport, and see just how scenic it is.

The Amalfi Coast -- better looking in real life

End: LIRI, 1207; $2066.40 and 30gal

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I've now got a single passenger, and we're heading for Guidonia Military Base. On the way, though, we'll pass Pompeii, Naples, Rome and the Vatican! Although I did find Mt. Vesuvius, there's no real indication of Pompeii itself. And Naples is thoroughly generic (and surprisingly low-rise).

Rome, however, should be added to the list of "customized" FSX cities. I'm not sure that it's truly "highly detailed", but there are several custom buildings, enough to make the list.

The Colosseum

Vatican City

End: LIRG, 1356; $2503.80 and 19gal

Total Distance Flown: 7,977 nautical miles

Out of Africa

Start:  LXGB, 0709; $5775.28 and 24gal

This is going to be a very long day. I want to hop across the Mediterranean into Africa, just to say I did (and because I've currently got the idea that this tour may visit 6 of the 7 continents). But I don't particularly want to stay in Africa. So, I'm going to hop east across very northern Africa, and keep hopping until I end up in Italy! But (as Arnold would say), I'll be back. At some point, I'll travel through the Middle East and across to Egypt. Despite the unrest, I've got to see the Pyramids!

I'm scheduled to start off with 3 Private passengers headed for Melilla. It's a little confusing -- FSE calls it Melilla, Spain, but shows the location on the map as northern Morocco. It turns out that this is much like Gibraltar; Melilla is an "autonomous city" located in northern Morocco but "owned" by Spain. But this means it doesn't count as Morocco, so if I want to add that flag to the Globetrotter, I need to find another destination. There's a job going to Ouezzane, but with 3 passengers already loaded, I can't carry the additional weight. But, I think I've got a solution that will work.

So, I'm off to Melilla, flying IFR because the sky is quite overcast. I have no idea if there will be any sights to see on this leg or not, but I'm about to find out!

No sights at all -- mostly flying over the Mediterranean Sea, and very dense fog below. It was neat, though, to be handed off at one point to Casablanca Center. And boy, were they on the ball. Ninety miles from the airport, they started giving me vectors. I've never had so much advance notice.

End: GEML, 0847; $6961.25 and 45gal

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So, after a quick trip to the fuel depot, I've now got 223kg of canned goods stacked in the plane. They are heading 217 miles east. I'm going to take a short 18 mile detour to El Aroui just to "legally" land in Morocco. I asked the canned goods, and they didn't object. It'll just be a quick touch-and-go, but that still counts!

End: GMMW, 0907

I touched the runway at idle, then gunned it and headed back into the sky. I'm now off to the cans' destination of Ech-Cheliff, Algeria, filing my IFR flight plan en route. Three cheers for GEX -- Africa looks different from Europe. A little farmland, but already I see mostly tan desert landscape.

Algerian countryside (we're not in Europe anymore!)

End: DAOI, 1141; $7896.05 and 26gal

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Now I have 2 passengers, still heading east within Algeria. Scenery out the windows is looking good; a mix of vegetation and arid areas, with identifiable Baobob trees.

So far, today's plan is working out just fine. But I neglected to plan ahead for fuel stops. This hasn't been a problem throughout Europe. But I'm in Africa now. I see that several of my destinations do not have fuel available. But I will run out of fuel long before reaching Italy. Hmmm....

End: DAAB, 1235; $8368.05 and 21gal

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My next leg will take me 175 miles further east. Great -- that's the way I'm going. But, with 21 gallons in the tank, that leaves me an estimated 6 gallons left. The next destination on my list is another 180 miles, which I can't do on 6 gallons, no matter how frugal I am! But, I see that Constantine is only 16 miles away from my next stop, and it's got fuel! So, I'll add this little detour, and I should be fine!

So, after a quick lunch (luckily I found a local fruit vendor near the airport -- can't decide if I should wash the fruit in the local water or not!), I'll load my 3 passengers and press on to Telerghma.

End: DAAM, 1533; $9442.05 and 9gal

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Things are working out pretty well. I ended up with a little more fuel that I thought, so I've got way more than enough for my next little hop. I'll have 3 more passengers along, but I don't think they'll mind stopping for fuel, considering the alternative!

End: DABC, 1549; $9295.22 and 45 gallons

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Aahhh, I feel better now! I've still got almost 350 miles to go, but I've now got enough fuel to do it! I'll get these good people on their way again, and then my last leg will see me to Sicily.

Africa (what I've seen of it so far) has turned out to be much nicer than I expected. The very northern portion that I'm crossing is much "hillier" than I thought it would be, and has quite a lot of forested area (and the ever-present FSX farmland!). There are some beige, arid regions, but they're fairly small and scattered.

End: Z28S, 1744; $10570.22 and 32gal

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Africa has been quite pleasant, but I'm going to go ahead and complete my plan. This would have been one of my longest "empty" legs, but I'm committed to my goal of reaching Italy today (even if it's really Sicily rather than the mainland). But, now that I'm on the ground in Saminjah, there's a job going to Palermo! So, while there's still some daylight left, I welcome aboard my final 2 passengers and I'm off!

After I cross the Mediterranean and am over Sicily, the sun has set and I'm flying in the dark! I've not done much night flying, so I'm sure glad I upgraded the Globetrotter to IFR, because I'm gonna need it. Unfortunately, the clouds are rolling in, so the views aren't quite what I'd hoped for. But the moon is sure impressive.

Moon over Sicily

Night landing at Palermo; sure wish they'd turn on the runway lights!

[NOTE: On my laptop, the above 2 photos, while dark, look just fine. But on my desktop, they are so dark that they are little more than black rectangles.]

End: LICP, 1956; $11733.97 and 19gal

Wow, what a day! 961 miles and 13 hours (with a 1 hour lunch break). Both the Globetrotter and I are going to need a maintenance overhaul real soon!


Total Distance Flown: 7,660 nautical miles (plus 6,333 miles to get to Europe, and 1,771 touring the UK)
Grand Total: 15,764 nautical miles so far!

#22 Gibraltar

Start:  LPPT, 0652; $4706.28 and 45gal

I'm not quite sure if today's goal is Gibraltar the rock, or Gibraltar the airport. Let's just call it a two-fer.

I found 3 Military Charter passengers going to Rota navy base, which is 35 miles from Gibraltar, so that's our first stop. I'll fly this leg IFR, just to show the Navy boys that the Globetrotter is not a toy!

End: LERT, 0922; $5975.28 and 30gal

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The Navy guys were polite, but I think they looked down on my little Cessna and her leisurely climb rate. But after the smoothest landing I've ever had (it was landing number 501 for me), I think I saw a little respect! I'm now off for Gibraltar empty and VFR. I'll do a loop or two around "the Rock", and then land at the tricky Gibraltar airport.

A comparison of FSX with the real world -- not too bad, thanks to UTX mesh and GEX textures.

Gibraltar airstrip -- not too tricky in something as small as a Cessna Skyhawk.

End: LXGB, 1022; $5975.28 and 24gal

Total Distance Flown: 6,675 nautical miles (plus 6,333 miles to get to Europe, and 1,771 touring the UK)
Grand Total: 14,779 nautical miles so far!

#20 Madrid #21 Lisbon

Start: LEBL, 0811; $4995.79 and 54gal

Well, yesterday's experiment was a real eye-opener. I learned that if I really want to, I can fly and navigate just like real-life. I also learned that I don't really want to. It turns a fun and leisurely flight simulator into something very much like work.

Today, I'm going to try something different yet again. I'm in Barcelona. I want to see Madrid and then Lisbon. They are in a straight line, and Lisbon is 538 miles away. That should be within the range of the Skyhawk, if I'm full of fuel and keep my payload down. So, I'm not going to accept any FSE jobs, and just fly myself for fun today, from one Iberian coast to the other! And I'll fly VFR, so I can go where I want, how I want.

A trip to Spain may be in my future; there is quite a bit of beautiful terrain between Barcelona and Madrid. Madrid itself looks fine -- a few very distinctive buildings, the ever-present sports stadium, and a set of leaning towers. Perhaps my navigation isn't as good as I thought!

Leaning Towers of Madrid!

A small mountain range, rolling hills and quite a few rivers in canyons between here and Lisbon. With only an hour to go, fuel doesn't seem to be a problem; I've got 21 gallons left.

Arriving at Lisbon from the southeast, there is one VERY long bridge across the Tagus river. This is the Vasco de Gama bridge, at over 10 miles the longest bridge in Europe! Overall, I am disappointed with Lisbon. Based on a few photos I've seen on-line, it's much more charming in real life than in FSX. I'm also disappointed that I didn't do more research so I'd know what to look for. I found a neat old fort/castle, but only by looking on Wikipedia afterwards did I learn that it is the Castle of São Jorge.

Castle of São Jorge, and cruise ships in background

End: LPPT, 1421; $4995.79 and 17gal

Total Distance Flown: 6,435 nautical miles (plus 6,333 miles to get to Europe, and 1,771 touring the UK)
Grand Total: 14,539 nautical miles so far!