My Experience As An A2A C182 Pilot Over Alaska's Mountains

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caleb1
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Joined: 15 Dec 2016, 18:44

My Experience As An A2A C182 Pilot Over Alaska's Mountains

Post by caleb1 »

I was so amazed at this flight, I thought I would need to share it. I felt like I was flying a real plane, while in my office chair. I was using P3D v4.2 during this flight.

The trip begins at Seward (PAWD) airport in Seward, Alaska on the Kenai Peninsula. The A2A Cessna 182 was finished with its 20 minute rest after the short flight to Seward from Lawing (9Z9) which is about 20 miles north of Seward. Fully loaded, with 140 pounds of cargo, about 85% fuel, 2 adults, and 2 children on board, the Skylane is ready to fly on its 20+ minute trip west to Homer (PAHO) while only being about 60 pounds less than the Max. Gross Weight. I did not do a preflight inspection, as I did one before leaving Lawing and all was good. I climbed into the cockpit, closed the doors, turned on the master and alternator switch, the Beacon, Nav, Strobe, and Taxi lights. The engine started on the first crank. I listened to the AWOS then began my taxi to runway 13 at Seward. I held short of the runway while I did the run ups. All was good. I taxied out to the runway, I was about 100 to 200 feet away from the beginning of runway 13. That runway is about 2200 feet, so I was able to use about 2000 for the takeoff (as I did not start my takeoff at the very end of the runway). No big deal for the 182. I taxied out onto runway 13 and shoved the throttle to the wall. I did a "rolling start" takeoff instead of the "hold the breaks and advance the throttle" thing. I lifted off about 200 to 300 feet away from the end of the runway and began my climb. I would need to fly alongside the mountains until I gained altitude, as I needed to cross directly over the mountains to get to Homer directly from Steward. I left the 1 notch of flaps that I had added before takeoff in until I was at a higher altitude, as I needed to climb quickly. During the climb, the stall horn chirped a few times as the airspeed hit about 60 knots, a little fast for a stall in this plane, but I was fully loaded, so it is not surprising. After reaching 2,500 feet I was able to turn west towards the mountains. I continued my climb as I flew up a small valley that was soon to end. As I passed 3,500 feet I leaned out the mixture to give the engine more power. I was climbing at about 1000 feet per minute with the throttle the whole way in. The office, which usually is hotter than the rest of the house, was feeling a bit chilly, similar to what it must have been in the sim. The "shift+2" window showed "Cabin is COOL" and the heater lever was already at about 60%. I pulled the heater lever out further. I need to keep the passengers happy. :) I leveled off at 6,500 feet with glaciers and a thin (see through-able) layer of stratus clouds below me and some dense but not yet overcast cumulus clouds above. I turned on the autopilot and relaxed a bit from the controls, but was still watching to be sure the autopilot was doing well. Sometimes the autopilot was unable to keep the vertical speed indicator on the zero or the artificial horizon gauge level, so I needed to disable the autopilot a few times to correct it, before turning it back on again. I continued flying over the mountains until the bay near Homer came into view. I was nearing the destination. I began a slow descent towards the bay. I approached Homer flying the opposite direction of the runway I wished to land on (runway 4) so I entered a left downwind. I landed smoothly and uneventfully, then taxied to the ramp, parked and shut down. It might not sound as interesting when reading this as it did to me when I was actually flying, but this was an extraordinary experience. Out of all the flights I have taken in any A2A plane, this one was the one that was my favorite and the one that seemed the most realistic. Thank you A2A for making such a great aircraft for P3D.

Below are some of the many screenshots I took during this flight.

Addons used:
Orbx Southern Alaska
Orbx PAHO Homer Airport
REX Texture Direct
REX Skyforce 3D
And last but not least - the incredible A2A Simulations Cessna 182T Skylane.

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Caleb Byers

A2A Hanger: C182, C172, PA-28, PA-24, J3

PC: Intel Core i7 6700 @ 3.4 GHz to 4.0 GHz, 24GB RAM, GTX 745 with 4GB VRAM, 2TB SSHD, Win 10 Home x64.

Simulators: P3D v3.4, P3D v4.5, FSX:SE

Real Hanger at FD08: 1956 C172, 1964 PA-24 400

speedy70
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Re: My Experience As An A2A C182 Pilot Over Alaska's Mountai

Post by speedy70 »

Caleb.
You have discovered the joy of A2A aircraft now I urge you to get the accusimmed cub and fly it with Heidi you will love it.
Cheers Chris

Buffy Foster

Re: My Experience As An A2A C182 Pilot Over Alaska's Mountai

Post by Buffy Foster »

Really nice pix and flight! Orbx did such a nice job with the scenery, and A2A with the plane! :)

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caleb1
Senior Airman
Posts: 215
Joined: 15 Dec 2016, 18:44

Re: My Experience As An A2A C182 Pilot Over Alaska's Mountai

Post by caleb1 »

speedy70 wrote:Caleb.
You have discovered the joy of A2A aircraft now I urge you to get the accusimmed cub and fly it with Heidi you will love it.
Cheers Chris
Ok, you've convinced me. [SMILING FACE WITH OPEN MOUTH] Maybe later today. I don't need to know how much a flying hours point will be, I will just wait and see and hey maybe I'll get 50% off when I want to upgrade to P3D! You never know. [SMILING FACE WITH OPEN MOUTH]
Caleb Byers

A2A Hanger: C182, C172, PA-28, PA-24, J3

PC: Intel Core i7 6700 @ 3.4 GHz to 4.0 GHz, 24GB RAM, GTX 745 with 4GB VRAM, 2TB SSHD, Win 10 Home x64.

Simulators: P3D v3.4, P3D v4.5, FSX:SE

Real Hanger at FD08: 1956 C172, 1964 PA-24 400

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caleb1
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Posts: 215
Joined: 15 Dec 2016, 18:44

Re: My Experience As An A2A C182 Pilot Over Alaska's Mountai

Post by caleb1 »

Buffy Foster wrote:Really nice pix and flight! Orbx did such a nice job with the scenery, and A2A with the plane! :)
Thanks, I could not agree with you more.
Caleb Byers

A2A Hanger: C182, C172, PA-28, PA-24, J3

PC: Intel Core i7 6700 @ 3.4 GHz to 4.0 GHz, 24GB RAM, GTX 745 with 4GB VRAM, 2TB SSHD, Win 10 Home x64.

Simulators: P3D v3.4, P3D v4.5, FSX:SE

Real Hanger at FD08: 1956 C172, 1964 PA-24 400

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