A Flight Sim Enthusiast's Notebook
-
The Scenery After Takeoff from Haneda Runway 34R
A few years ago, in the post ANA Tokyo Haneda-Beijing NH961 Flight Report (Part 1), I introduced the scenery after takeoff from Runway 34R. At that time, I was seated on the left side; this time, I will supplement it with the view from the right window. Of course, in terms of scenery, the left side offers views of downtown Tokyo and Disney, making it much better than the right side.
-
Upgrade Gqrx to 2.11.5
Previously, I introduced using a digital TV stick and Gqrx on Mac to listen to Software Defined Radio (SDR) – listening to the aviation band for just a few dozen yuan. Recently, I had some free time and saw the latest version of Gqrx 2.11.5, so I installed it on a MacBook Pro to test it out.
I mentioned back then that the digital TV stick is best plugged directly into the computer’s USB port. At first, I plugged it into a USB Hub, and the device wasn’t recognized. However, since the MacBook Pro only has USB-C ports, I tried connecting via a Hub, and this time there were no issues.
-
ZBAD Daxing International Airport Charts
AIP China has publicly released the charts for ZBAD Daxing International Airport. I immediately found them and took a look, and have placed them in the China Charts - Daxing Airport page on this site for your reference.
From the chart, you can see that Daxing Airport has a total of 4 Runways: 17R/35L and 17L/35R in the north-south direction, as well as 19R/01L, and 11L/29R in the east-west direction. Except for Runway 19R/01L, which is 3400 meters long, the other three Runways are all 3800 meters long. Regarding Runway width, except for 17R/35L which is 45 meters wide, the others are all 60 meters wide. You can see on the left side of the chart that there is another Runway under construction; I don’t know what its designation will be.
-
Super Typhoon Faxai Hits Tokyo Area
Typhoon Faxai hit with incredible force in the middle of the night; it was likely the strongest storm I’ve ever experienced. I spent the whole night worrying that the window glass might shatter. The power went out for about a minute at one point, but fortunately, it came back on quickly. With the JR lines suspended entirely, I worked from home this morning. Before starting work, here is a quick summary of the airport weather conditions.
-
X-Plane 11.35
I saw the X-Plane 11.35 Release Notes, so I took the weekend to do a quick upgrade and test. I haven’t found any major issues so far.
X-Plane 11. 35 Release Notes.
X-Plane 11.35b1 is an update that includes updated Gateway airports, FMOD sound for the Boeing B737-800 and KingAir C90B, improved aircraft systems, and landmark scenery packs for New York and Washington D.C.
New features and improvements
Updated fuel system Updated bleed air and pressurization systems Updated ILS data FMOD sound for B737 & C90B Updated art assets: New York landmarks Washington D.C. Landmarks new boats updated aircraft & sim objects New datarefs fuel_intro_time_prop fuel_intro_time_jet New autopilot type Collins65 Updated Portuguese translation
-
Before and After Landing at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Runway 36R
A business trip to the US, landing at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. As always, sitting by the window, taking some photos for the record.
Checked the flight route on the Real Flight Plan Database website mentioned before. The route is:
ADK DCT 5100N/17000W DCT 5200N/16000W DCT 5300N/15000W DCT 5200N/14000W DCT NUDGE DCT PETPA DCT ITGAV DCT TOU DCT JAWBN DCT SEA DCT MLD DCT DBL DCT TBE DCT BGD UKW9/1312
So I plotted it on SkyVector.
The actual route matches the flight plan almost perfectly.
-
Scenery Before and After Landing at Runway 22 at Haneda Airport
Back from a business trip, landing at Runway 22 at Haneda Airport, sitting on the right side window, I took a few commemorative photos with my RX100 to share with you.
Actually, this flight should have been an LDA X RWY22 Approach, but for ease of terrain reference, I am using the LDA Y RWY22 approach chart for reference.
Near the outside of the Intermediate Fix IF BALAN
This waterfront area is the Kaihin Makuhari district.
The Chiba Red Bull Air Race World Championship introduced a few years ago was held here.
The circular building on the left of the photo is Chiba Marine Stadium. -
China Civil Aviation General Aviation Information Service Platform Launch
Upon seeing the news “First Visual Flight Chart Released in China: CAAC General Aviation Information Service Platform Online”, I immediately went online to test it and found it quite practical.
The website for the General Aviation Information Service Platform is here. You can log in using the test account “xinanceshi”.
As seen in the screenshot above,
detailed data such as Airports, Airway segments, Waypoints, Navigation aids, Control areas, Control area sectors, Approach areas, Approach sectors,
Restricted areas, General aviation airports, Operation areas, Obstacles, and Landmarks can all be displayed.
It is truly very professional. -
Garmin D2 Delta PX Titanium Aviation Watch Navigation Functions
Garmin D2 Delta PX Titanium Aviator Watch Unboxing Garmin D2 Delta PX Titanium Aviator Watch Setup Guide
After completing the basic settings, let’s test the aviation features of the D2 Delta PX. To update to the latest navigation data, you need to register the watch on the flyGarmin website first.
So, use a browser to visit the Add Device URL,
Find the D2 Delta PX,
Click the blue button “LAUNCH FLYGARMIN” at the bottom of the screen, To launch the FlyGarmin software on your computer. If FlyGarmin is not installed on your computer, You can download and install it from the same website.
-
Garmin D2 Delta PX Titanium Aviation Watch Setup: Getting Started
Following up on the previous post Unboxing the Garmin D2 Delta PX Titanium Aviation Watch
The setup method for the Garmin D2 Delta PX Titanium Aviation Watch is basically the same as the D2 Charlie. Here is a brief overview of the usage of each button: Top Left “LIGHT”: Press to turn on the backlight; Long press to display the shortcut menu. Middle Left “UP-MENU”: Press to display the Widget app directory or move up; Long press to display the settings screen. Bottom Left “DOWN”: Press to display the Widget app directory or move down; Long press to return to the watch face. Top Right “Direct-to”: Press to display the APP activity application directory or confirm; Long press for Direct-to destination. Bottom Right “Nearest/Back-LAP”: Press to return to the previous screen, record a lap during an activity; Long press to display nearby locations.
-
Unboxing the Garmin D2 Delta PX Titanium Aviation Watch
Several months ago, this site introduced the news about the latest products in the Garmin D2 series, the D2 Charlie D2 Delta. Since then, we have been eagerly awaiting the release of this product in Asia. Today, January 14th, we finally welcomed the release of the D2 Delta PX in Taiwan, and this site is honored to provide an unboxing review in the first instance to report to you all.
Front and side of the Garmin D2 Delta PX Titanium Aviation Watch’s gray outer box sleeve, with the previous generation Garmin D2 Charlie placed alongside for size comparison.
-
X-Plane 11.30r1 Simple Test and CH Fighterstick USB Setup
X-Plane 11.30 Release Candidate 1 and Toe Brakes Seeing that X-Plane 11.30 has left the beta phase and entered the official Release Candidate 1 version, I took 5 minutes to perform the upgrade,
Then I spent a simple 20 minutes flying the C172 at Huangshan Tunxi Airport (ZSTX),
It felt very stable, and I haven’t found any issues so far.It’s been a long time since I used the CH Fighterstick USB, So I configured each button in the settings, That process also took about ten minutes.
-
China NavData Updated to 201901
I’ve updated the China Air Charts. The main contents are as follows:
- Updated to version 201901
- Merged over 20 files from “PART 1 GENERAL (GEN)” into 5 files for easier searching and downloading
- Updated the airport information section below to the latest version. The previous one was from 2015; I kept forgetting to update, sorry about that.
AD 0.6 TABLE OF CONTENTS TO PART 3 AD 1. AERODROMES－INTRODUCTION AD 1.1 AERODROME AVAILABILITY AD 1.2 RESCUE AND FIRE FIGHTING SERVICES AND SNOW PLAN AD 1.3 INDEX TO AERODROMES
-
Visiting the Hartman Aviation A320 Simulator
When I went to Zhuhai Airshow this year, I took the opportunity to visit friends in Shenzhen. Since I still had some time before leaving, I went to Hartman Aviation Culture Education (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. to play around in their A320 simulator. That was a month ago, and I can’t remember many details, but here is a brief record.
I booked via WeChat, 1299 yuan for an hour.
Compared to the 850 yuan for the JFlight A320 simulator I visited before, it is indeed more expensive.
But opportunities are rare, so I didn't care about the price difference.
Came in to check the equipment first,
-
Mr. Tonkatsu298's 2018 World Aerobatic Team Rankings
The renowned Japanese aviation photographer Tonkatsu298 has traveled the world, capturing countless airshow videos. At the 2018 Zhuhai Airshow, his footage of the J-20 was widely shared by Chinese netizens after being featured by Sina. [Official Photographer! Japanese Aviation Photographer Captures Chinese J-20 Opening Weapon Bay]
November 11, 2018, marked the 69th birthday of the Chinese Air Force and the final display of the 12th Zhuhai Airshow. A four-aircraft formation of Chinese Air Force J-20s opened their weapon bays to display beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles and close-combat air-to-air missiles, demonstrating powerful combat capabilities. The complex aerobatic maneuvers further ignited the atmosphere. The Japanese aviation photographer Tonkatsu298, who was present, captured this performance and uploaded it to an overseas video website, sparking heated discussion among netizens globally.
I met him during the July Tattoo meeting and saw him again in Zhuhai two weeks ago.Recently, based on his impressions from the airshow, Mr. Tonkatsu298 has created a ranking of aerobatic display teams from around the world. With his permission, I am introducing it here.
-
Watching the J-20 at the 2018 Zhuhai Airshow
Ever since making a connection with the Zhuhai Airshow two years ago (please see Unexpected Gains from Zhuhai Airshow 2016), my colleagues Mr. K and Mr. T and I made a pact to return together this year.
As an aviation enthusiast, I wouldn’t call myself a military fanatic, and I don’t have a special passion for fighter jets. However, seeing many friends on Weibo/Moments/Twitter heading to the south side shooting spot “Gun Tower” or the Back Mountain of Zhuhai Airport since late October, such as Taihu Shage and Aviation New Vision - Chibi, whom I met at the Royal International Air Tattoo, and seeing the massive amount of high-definition photos of the stealth fighter J-20 they took, I was truly envious.
-
A Simple Note on Max Motoring
Max Motoring
“Cold motoring” refers to the state where the aircraft engine operates without ignition or starting, powered solely by the electric motor. “Max motoring speed” refers to the maximum speed allowed for the engine in this state.
For specific applications, please refer to the description of the Boeing 737 engine start procedure on b737.org.uk.
Min 25% N2 (or 20% N2 at max motoring) to introduce fuel; any sooner could result in a hot start. Max motoring is when N2 does not increase by more than 1% in 5 seconds.
-
X-Plane 11.30 Beta Hands-On
I only found out that the beta for version 11.30 was public after seeing Autopilot Changes in X-Plane 11.30, so I downloaded it over the weekend to take a look.
I previously introduced the features of 11.30 in X-Plane 11.25 Chicago Scenery and Future Product Roadmap, such as: 11.30 will include a new AutoGen scenery engine; Improvements to aerodynamic models for prop wash, downwash, and ground effect; Research mode for flight models; Crew and passenger oxygen systems; Anti-icing; Prop feathering system; New Autopilot settings; The particle effects system can be used to simulate failures like smoke, etc.
-
Air France Flight AF293 Flying Non-Standard Departure Procedure
I saw a news report stating that on the 8th of this month, Air France flight AF293 (Tokyo to Paris, Boeing 777) deviated from the standard instrument departure procedure after takeoff.
After departing from Runway 34R, the aircraft did not bank immediately as required. Instead, it flew in a straight line at an ultra-low altitude (1,380 meters) directly over the Tokyo Imperial Palace in the city center, only initiating a right turn when commanded by Air Traffic Control.
-
Okinawa under Super Typhoon Trami
Last time, the attack of Super Typhoon Jebi caused the closure of Kansai Airport and significant damage. Therefore, let’s also pay attention to today’s Super Typhoon Trami, and take a look at the dry NOTAMs and meteorological data.
First, let’s look at the NOTAMs for Naha Airport in Okinawa. The airport is closed, ATC is only providing remote services, and Tower personnel have been evacuated for safety.
4050⁄18 FROM 18/09/28 22:50 TO 18/09/29 21:00 E)ABN-U/S DUE TO TYPH
4049⁄18 FROM 18/09/28 22:33 TO 18/09/29 14:00 E)TWR-CLSD DUE TO TYPH EVACUATION RMK/(1)ATC SERVICE IS AVBL (2)AVBL TWR FREQ 118.1MHZ 308.6MHZ 121.5MHZ 243.0MHZ