Author Topic: Moonlighting for Misty Moorings:  (Read 4907 times)

Beardgoblin

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Moonlighting for Misty Moorings:
« on: February 08, 2019, 07:54:16 PM »
Thanks for the warm welcome here at RTMM folks!

As I've mentioned I like to fly FSX(SE) with FSPassangers running, to give the whole experience a bit more substance than 'So, where do I feel like flying today?' (though sometimes, thats just the ticket!).

So in this thread I shall chronicle my flights for the Misty Moorings Taxi Service.

Todays flight picks up where the last on (here: http://forum.mistymoorings.com/index.php?topic=4291.msg37188#msg37188) left off, Ketchikan Harbour, picking up 4 members of travel company staff and about 400lbs of perishables/consumables to re-stock the cabins at Miller and Luelia lakes for the coming tourist season.

Return leg is transporting about 500lbs of trash, laundry and expired supplies left in the cabins.  Another flight in a few days will drop off more supplies and pick up the travel company folks.

FSPassangers doesn't like it if the trip is 'too short', so I took a slightly scenic route, looking for/at features on the way.

Take off Ketchikan Harbour:


Buzzing the Guard Island Light:


Miller Lake should be just over that saddle:


Here I forgot to hide the FSPassangers mini-panel.  You'd think the locals would be used to a little turbulence, but I guess not!

Comin' right at ya:


Ok, I think I see Miller Lake Cabin:


Yup, there it is:


Drop off, Miller Lake Cabin:


At the dock:


Taxi-ing up the lake for take-off, admiring the scenery:


Leaving Miller Lake:


Such a nice day for flying:


Scoping out Luelia Lake for a landing:


Coming in for the landing:


There's more room for maneuver over/on the lake than it first appears.

Taxi-ing up to the cabin:


Drop off Luelia Lake Cabin:


Leaving Luelia Lake:


Phocena Bay Cabin:


Passing Metlakatla, en route to Tamgas Harbour:


Touch down Tamgas Harbour:


Tamgas Dock:


Tamgas Harbour:


Not much here at the moment, I think this dock comes as part of the ORBX freeware Global Airport Pack (needs Global Base), but once I figure out how, I think I'll add an office and a few more structures here, make it home.

Cheers for looking!
« Last Edit: February 08, 2019, 07:57:24 PM by Beardgoblin »
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jeff3163

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Re: Moonlighting for Misty Moorings:
« Reply #1 on: February 08, 2019, 08:34:56 PM »
 8)

Beautiful.  Thanks for the ride.   8)

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corbu1

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Re: Moonlighting for Misty Moorings:
« Reply #2 on: February 09, 2019, 02:48:54 AM »
Nice pics, thank you for sharing!


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Beardgoblin

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Re: Moonlighting for Misty Moorings:
« Reply #3 on: February 09, 2019, 07:44:45 AM »
Thanks folks!

Although now I look back over these, I see I totally forgot to run 'Season Switcher' before firing up FSX ::)

Fixed that now though  8)
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Bradallen43

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Re: Moonlighting for Misty Moorings:
« Reply #4 on: February 09, 2019, 07:49:42 PM »
Super stuff

Beardgoblin

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Re: Moonlighting for Misty Moorings:
« Reply #5 on: February 10, 2019, 02:13:30 PM »
Thanks Bradallen43!

Ok, this one goes long.  Like way loooooong!  43 screenies all in - I got a bit carried away, so if this is a bit (or a lot!) much, let me know and I'll tone it down/cut it back/break it into multiple posts in future.  I hadn't intended to make a huuuuuge post, just sort of got into the weekend groove and it ended up that way!

Time for another busy day running folks around PFJ for Misty Moorings Taxi's!

On board today we have four passangers - two maintainance crew destined for the old Gwent Bay Cannery, to do some fixing up ready for the coming tourism season.

The hold contains a couple hundred pounds of tool boxes and hardware supplies.

The other two passangers are a little more interesting -

A junior USCG Officer on an inspection flight - we'll be circling/close passing a number of lighthouses and unmanned lights en-route, checking for damage or other issues that my not be so obvious up close. (I wanted to fly by some lighthouses to add to my 'installed addons' folder on my copy of the RTMM Google Earth KMZ file).

Finally, we have a US Fish and Wildlife Service Agent/Officer heading out to Hugh Smith Lake Hatchery, for a routine inspection.

Leaving Tamgas Harbour:


From here its just a quick circle around and cut through the hills of Annette Island to get to Mary Island so we can 'buzz' our first lighthouse.

Mary Island Light:


Second Pass:


Third time around:



Don't worry, I won't detail every single orbit - this post is going to be long enough as is ;D

One of the unmanned light towers:


Its only a short hop from the previous tower to Tree Point Lighthouse, where it seems they have company.

Tree Point:


Orbiting:


We circle around several times and get on the horn, but it seems all is well and no one is in distress, so we continue our flight.

Another unmanned light:


Straight on to the Green Island Lighthouse, just east of Dundas Island.

Green Island Lighthouse, blinking at us:


From the Cabin:


Peeling off:


Into the Fjords:


Passing over Ryan's Cabins:


Across the sound:


In the distance, you may be able to just about make out the Gwent Bay Cannery.

Overhead, a 'tube' heads NW, to who knows where, missing out on all these views.

Gwent Bay Flyby:


Local Traffic:


Arrival, Gwent Bay Cannery:


Dropping off half our passangers and most of our cargo, we're a little lighter when it comes time to carry on the trip.

Leaving Gwent Bay:


The Hidden Inlet:


Somewhere in the distance is Hidden Inlet Retreat.  Here I realise my 'Season Switcher' still isn't kicking in (I definately ran it before firing up FSX this time! Figured it out now - when I found the 'Windows Bug' video that shows why FSX wont set up scenery folders proberly I reinstalled everything in a more organised manner, but put the switcher exe in the RTMM folder, instead of leaving it in the main FSX Add-on Scenery folder - should be fixed now ;)).

Spot the cabin:


Humpback Lake Cabin is in this shot!  Just off the starboard wing-tip, in the mud there somewhere.

Looking back along Humpback Lake:


Looking ahead:


Hugh Smith Lake should be in the valley to the right, along a ways and just off to the right a bit...

Hatchery Flyby:


And there it is!

Hugh Smith Lake approach:


Moored at the Hatchery:


Once the Fish & Wildlife inspector was out of the way, a couple of ice-boxes of salmon fillets are loaded up - produce, I am assured, of the Hatchery staff fishing in their off-hours and bound for the restaurants and hotels of Ketchikan...

Rolling out:


Low over Badger Lake Cabins:


The last leg is out to New Eddystone Rock, the USCG Officer wants to do a surprise check on the new sightseeing boat service that runs to there, they should be training some new staff ahead of the tourist throngs next month.

Meaning - I just installed the RTMM AI boat that heads there, and I want to see if its working.

I didn't see the boat this trip, so I'm not sure yet.

Catching some rays:


More Fjord flying:


Winstanley Lake Cabin:


Looping around 'the Rock':


Wait, is that someone climbing the rock itself?

A closer look:


I think it is, you know:


We get on the horn and let the USCG know to send a launch out here, and give details on the boat pulled up there, too.  We don't have fuel to hang around - FSPassangers tracks 'pilot points' and gives pilot qualification ranks - running into your 45 min fuel reserve without an emergency gets you a penalty, and I want to qualify for turbo-props (rank 4) so I can fly my Kodiak!

Heading south:


I should have enough fuel to get back to Ketchikan without incuring a penalty score...

Channel Markers running in to Ketchikan:


I make it to Ketchikan with 5-10 mins to spare, only to stall into a rough landing because I was show-boating to try and get a touchdown sequence with the Cruise Liner as a backdrop, so I got my penalty score anyway!

Taxi-ing through ketchikan Harbour:


Moored up in Ketchikan:


So I was going to tie up and call it a day having mad it back to ketchikan, but a quartet of locals spotted me doing final shutdown and tieng off prep, and pretended they didn't know the difference between closing up and pre-flight, asking if I was headed out to Metlakatla.

The sky was turning to gold, but holding clear, and there was _just_ enough light to get back to Tamgas, and a fare _is_ a fare, and Tamgas harbour was close enough to home for them, so time for a quick dash before dark.

I was just supposed to get this post up to a nice round 40 (!!!!) images, but I got a little (more!) carried away, so we get 43...

Dusk take-off:


Ketchikan a-twinkle:


On final, Tamgas Harbour:


Tamgas sunset:


Moored up by dark:


In the last shot you can see my rudimentry efforts at scenery placement - some light-poles on the dock, a hut and RV by the parking lot to represent the Taxi service office and pilots bunking arrangements.

Not much, but its a start.

Night falls:


The lights even come on after dark.  Can't claim credit, other than finding scenery objects that already work.

You can also see the boat I added at the dock, on the left.

Its all rudimentary and needs a lot of work and refinement, but I'm please to have the first of my own scenery elements in place!

Thanks for reading this far, I hope it wasn't a total waste of your time!
« Last Edit: February 10, 2019, 02:35:36 PM by Beardgoblin »
The New Rig:

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jeff3163

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Re: Moonlighting for Misty Moorings:
« Reply #6 on: February 10, 2019, 05:04:04 PM »
 8)

Thanks for another great trip.  Your post is exactly what we always hope for.  A great story and pictures to prove it.  It's always a pleasure to see people interacting with the RTMM stuff.  It brings the community to life.  Thanks again, and keep 'em coming.  I look forward to your next adventure.   ;)
« Last Edit: February 10, 2019, 05:05:41 PM by jeff3163 »

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Beardgoblin

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Re: Moonlighting for Misty Moorings:
« Reply #7 on: February 11, 2019, 02:12:37 PM »
Thanks Jeff, glad you are enjoying them!

There shall be more soon (tm)!
The New Rig:

AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 4.6GHz, 32 Gig RAM, RTX 2060 D6 6GB V2 GPU, T16000M FCS Hotas, Logitech 3 stick Throttle Quad.

jsapair

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Re: Moonlighting for Misty Moorings:
« Reply #8 on: February 11, 2019, 11:09:47 PM »
Nice shots. Now that you've got your feet wet you'll have to venture a little farther from home...into the vast hinterlands, where men are men and sheep are nervous. Looking forward to you sharing your future sojourns with us. And welcome aboard.

         jsapair
Jsapair

Bradallen43

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Re: Moonlighting for Misty Moorings:
« Reply #9 on: February 12, 2019, 10:10:10 AM »
Hey Bearded one, if you'd like to create some of your own custom scenery enhancements for us here at RTMM and be able to share your work with the masses, please see our rules and reg's for developers at RTMM. We'd love to have some of your work, repaints, scenery, etc. available to our friends here at RTMM so, since you've got the skills and obvious interest level in all things bush, let's see what you've got!!

http://return.mistymoorings.com/about/#r

Beardgoblin

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Re: Moonlighting for Misty Moorings:
« Reply #10 on: February 12, 2019, 11:55:07 AM »
Thanks jsapair - the eventual aim to roam further afield across the breadth of the whole SAK, Tongas, PFJ and PNW areas, but I'm still getting my hand and eye back in at present - my landings are still prone to be on the heavy side (as documented above), so I'm doing strings of short hops so I can get plenty of practice on those!

Cheers brad, I'll have a gander through that info later, when I get home from work - I'm certainly interested!  I've caught myself scoping out likely spots for some tucked away cabin or jetty many times as I weave through the fjords...

I spent last evening getting the Instant Scenery 3 demo to talk to FSX:SE, and placing stuff with that seems a lot less painful than with the default SDK object placer.  It is not, however, reading all the custom objects - the default and some ORBX are there, but nothing else - so next step is to figure out if thats a limitation of the demo I'm using, or if I've put my RTMM libraries somewhere silly, or if I have to manually add them.

If I can get it to see other object libraries, or find evidence that it is a limitation of the demo, I'll likely drop the $30 for the full version and get stuck in.

I'll float an emai lto the relevant RTMM support address later when I've had a time to furtle round some more, see whats what and ask some of the many more questions I suddenly have  ;D

Hopefully a short 'slide-show' to add later, too.  Available flight time permitting!

UPDATE: Sadly, no pocs tonight (its almost 1am here now!), I've spent my evening trying to get the Instant Scenery 3 demo to see non-default objects.  Last attempt is compiling now, and then I'm done for the night.

FURTHER UPDATE: Well, that didn't work!  Try again, maybe tomorrow, but if so _after_ I get some flying done ;)

Message sent to RTMM contact email fao Scenery Director expressing interest and tentative plans for discussion/approval.

Now I gotta crawl off to bed!
« Last Edit: February 12, 2019, 08:44:28 PM by Beardgoblin »
The New Rig:

AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 4.6GHz, 32 Gig RAM, RTX 2060 D6 6GB V2 GPU, T16000M FCS Hotas, Logitech 3 stick Throttle Quad.

Bradallen43

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Re: Moonlighting for Misty Moorings:
« Reply #11 on: February 12, 2019, 11:38:42 PM »
I use IS v1. Still. Never liked the changes from the original version and it’s been quite the productive scenery placement tool for me. All of my work at RTMM is done with ISv1 inside FSX. I then test my work out for compatibility in P3D v4.3. I’m seeing all of our object libraries, Tongass Fjords, ORBX and default FSX Objects.

Brad

Beardgoblin

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Re: Moonlighting for Misty Moorings:
« Reply #12 on: February 13, 2019, 05:45:54 AM »
It looks like ISv1 and v2 are out of circulation, only ISv3 is available for purchase these days.

I'm 90% convinced its a limitation of the demo version, I should probably stop being so tight fisted and drop the $$ ;)

Maybe one or two things left to try first, though.  If it turns out i need tech-help to get it working I'll start a new thread for that in the relevant part of the forum.

I'll get this thread back on topic this evening with some more pictures of flying over stuff  ;D
The New Rig:

AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 4.6GHz, 32 Gig RAM, RTX 2060 D6 6GB V2 GPU, T16000M FCS Hotas, Logitech 3 stick Throttle Quad.

Beardgoblin

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Re: Moonlighting for Misty Moorings:
« Reply #13 on: February 13, 2019, 06:36:16 PM »
As promised, back on topic with some screenshots!

Sadly not many, life has conspired to divert my attention again!

Over in Fleet Bay, a fishing boat is in need of repair, so a mechanic and his mate, plus 400lbs of tools and replacement parts are our payload for the first leg of the flight:

Aloft once more - take off from Tamgas Harbour:


Passing low over Dall Bay:


Taking a long circle around the headland at Fleet Bay, so I can come in to land from an angle that doesn't have me making an approach directly into a confined space!

Putting the fleet in Fleet Bay:


Landed nice and smooth, taxied up without bumping any dolphins and dropped off passangers and cargo.

For the next leg we'll be running four fishermen with unexpeted shore-leave up to Klawock for some R&R.

More soon!
The New Rig:

AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 4.6GHz, 32 Gig RAM, RTX 2060 D6 6GB V2 GPU, T16000M FCS Hotas, Logitech 3 stick Throttle Quad.

Beardgoblin

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Re: Moonlighting for Misty Moorings:
« Reply #14 on: February 14, 2019, 08:36:03 PM »
Okay, more time this evening, and I don't much feel like grappling with software and libraries (well, beyond installing the new RTMM library and a few new locations for this flight!).  No, whats called for tonight is a nice relaxing flight.

Not nearly so long as the previous one!

So, picking up where I left off, four Fleet Bay fishermen and their overnight bags are bundled into the air-taxi and we're off to Klawock Sea-plane base to drop them off for some R&R whilst their boat is being repaired.

Take off Fleet Bay, with dolphin escort:


Banking away:


Fly me to the moon...


I decided today, whilst I was updating the RTMM libs and adding a few locations, to dial my FSX cfg file back to default - I've tweaked it a bit (some almost two years ago, some more in the last couple of weeks), and whilst I've learned a lot the past couple of weeks, some of the early tweaks I made I've learned are either brute force overkill (and lead to some of the tearing/glitching I've seen) or are redundant, sometimes both.  I've been weeding them out, but thought I'd try fresh, see if I've actually improved anything.  Turns out I have - anything in the mid to far distance has been slow to draw clearly (auto-gen trees and ground testures, at least) leading to bland, fuzzy backgrounds like in this shot.  I'll be switching back to my previous config before I fly again!

I see ships!:


A veritable fishing flotilla:


Must be the Hunter Bay fleet, which means the cannery must be close by...

Waterfall, but no cannery:


Really low, and really slow:


Good job those big boats are there, I would've missed it otherwise!

Hunter Bay Cannery:


Fleet, Ferry, Falls and all.  Oh, and a lighthouse, too!

Close pass over the cannery:


Thats a mighty big ferry for such a small destination.

Still a cool spot though, lots to see.

Klinkwan Fish Camp:


Just a little west of the cannery, I almost missed both these locations, and would have if the fleet had not clued me in that I was getting warm!

Clouds gather:


Could the weather be about to turn on me?

Suddenly, Hydaburg!


In fact, Hydaburg, Craig and Klawock all crept up on me, they are much closer together than the impression I took from the map.

Suddenly, Craig!


Buzzing the Coast Guard:


The USCG think its cool when you buzz them, right?

Hey down there!


Right?

Still bugging them:


Right?  Hmm, dude in front looks serious, we best be on our way.

Climbing out:


Suddenly, Klawock!


Hello again!


I swear I'm not following them, officer! They just happened to catch up as I circled around to land at the harbour.  Honest.

Busy here, isn't it?


Coast Guards, looks like a Turbo Otter taking off, and just out of shot to the left, a Cessna coming in on final to the runway at Klawock.  Must be rush hour!

Another successful flight:


Tied up at the Klawock marina after a smooth landing and peaceful flight.  Well, maybe not for the Coast Guard so much.

Time to grab lunch and fresh coffee before the next Misty Moorings customer arrives.

Thanks for looking!
« Last Edit: February 14, 2019, 08:38:37 PM by Beardgoblin »
The New Rig:

AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 4.6GHz, 32 Gig RAM, RTX 2060 D6 6GB V2 GPU, T16000M FCS Hotas, Logitech 3 stick Throttle Quad.