akdennis 0 Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 I just recently found CumulusX! a couple of days ago. And Dr. Peter, you rock! Great program. As a U.S. licensed glider pilot and also a big fan of FSX, I was always quite disappointed that, except for a couple of missions, the vanilla version did not allow for ridge lift soaring. I trained at Dillingham Airfield at Mokuleia on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. Dillingham is widely regarded as one of the premier ridge soaring location in the world due to the consistent moderate onshore winds that blow against the sea cliffs behind the airfield. Wicked cross winds for takeoffs and landings but that just makes you a better pilot! There is also decent thermals on calm days to the west and southwest of the field and when winds are from the south an awesome wave can set up just offshore. The duration and altitude records have been set in the past at Dillingham but not sure if they still hold. I have literally hundreds of (mostly ridge) flights out of Dillingham, mostly in Schweiser 232's and 233's but some Grob 103 and Lark time too. So anyway, I installed CumulusX! and have been having a blast with the ridge soaring. It's completely refreshed the FSX experience for me. On another note, anyone looking for a wicked good ridge soaring area, go on google earth and check out the mountains around Afton in the western part of the state of Wyoming, U.S. Particularly the ridge lines to the west. The FSX topography is quite similar to the real world. Just set FSX prevailing winds from the west(ish) and volocity to heavy. I've been having a ball and have been able to make to several other airfield cross country going from ridge to ridge. Whew! Did not mean to write so much...so, cheers everyone...and thanks again for your most excellent program Peter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Lürkens 30 Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 Hi Dennis, thank you for your kind comments, best regards, Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sf4JC 1 Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 Hello akdennis, I used to love soaring out of Dillingham, HI (FSX default scenery) in FSX. I had made a few videos years ago and I had to go see them again, it really brought back some great memories. I almost always fly real-world weather, unless I am trying to set up a FunFly for both FS2004 and FSX users to participate in together. One of the last videos I made at Dillingham was in the thread found at http://forum.aerosoft.com/index.php?/topic/29442-dillingham-tow-flight/ . In particular, notice the second video in the thread if you have time, it's of the 7 minute controlled glider tow from that flight. I noticed I had done another set of videos about a year later in the same FSX Soaring Videos section. I love the scenery there, I may just have to set up another flight there when I get back after the holiday. Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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