HAZARDOUS AIRSTRIPS OF THE SANTA LUCIA MOUNTAINS
Welcome to my latest challenge for virtual bush pilots! This is a package of four airstrips located in the coastal region of central California; one of them is genuine and operationally not too difficult, however the remaining three have been constructed in a variety of inaccessible places: tucked away in ravines and narrow canyons, or perched high on a mesa. They are at least as difficult as many of the backwoods airfields in the Idaho Rockies, such as Dewey Moore, Vines, Cabin Creek, Lower Loon, and Simonds. All the airstrips here have some kind of slope, and are one-way only in terms of take-off and landing; also, once on short final, the prospect of a successful go-around is usually very unlikely. In terms of kit, bring something that can fly slowly and that has lots of power in reserve: something like Steven Grant's Aviat Husky, Brian Gladden's Zenith CH.801, or a Piper Super Cub...and keep fuel and baggage loads to a bare minimum. I've also given each airstrip a 'Relative Hazard Index' based on the scheme used by Galen L. Hanselman in his guidebooks to the airfields of Idaho & Montana.
1. Get yourself a copy of the Monterey Mesh by Orlando Sotomayor (sns30m10.zip: 4.7Mb) and install it as per the author's instructions (but into FS2004). The scenery is usable without it, but there's not much point!
2. Unzip & place the 'hazstrips' folder in c:\program files\microsoft games\flight simulator 9\addon scenery (or wherever you keep your extra sceneries: in my case, simply c:\addon scenery). Note: don't combine this scenery in the same directory with any of my previous sceneries, as certain texture files have been changed (but still have the same name).
3. Open up the 'Scenery Library' from the 'Settings' option in the FS2004 Welcome Menu and add the new area, navigating to the hazstrips folder (or edit the scenery.cfg file manually if desired).
4. Close, and then restart FS2004.
5. In the main 'Go To Airport' menu, select either Ponciano Ridge (CA0A), Mesa Strip (CA0B), Cienega Camp (CA0C), or Doolans Hole (CA0D).
Optimising the appearance of this scenery: In (Options>)Settings>Display>Hardware, set a MIP Mapping Quality of about 6. This will avoid the runway textures becoming blurred at any other than the closest viewing distances. May affect frame rates. If you have altered your fs9.cfg file, ensure that the parameter TERRAIN_MAX_VERTEX_LEVEL is set to its default value of 19. Results with any other value are unknown. I also recommend increasing the density of the Autogen as much as frame rates permit.
Aerodrome Reference Point: N36° 24.59' W121° 43.74'
Elevation: 2289ft
Runway 17/35: 1750ft x 40ft (530m x 12m) sand/dirt
Slope: 2.1% (uphill on Rwy 17)
This is the only real-life airstrip in the package, although I have no idea whether it is still open; it's also a re-worked version of one of my earlier sceneries. Ponciano Ridge is located 5 miles or so South of the now-closed Carmel Valley Vintage (O62) - but still open for business in FS2004! The runway sits on a spur jutting out to the North below the main Ponciano ridge line itself; the USGS 1:25,000 map shows plenty of contour lines crossing the airstrip although I have given it here only a modest slope of around 2%.
RELATIVE HAZARD INDEX = 15/30:
AIRPORT ENVIRONMENT: 4/10. Relatively open terrain to the north, with a perpendicular ridge up to 2350ft on a 1.5 mile final. High terrain of the Ponciano Ridge immediately to the South.
APPROACH/DEPARTURE: 5/10. Due to terrain and runway gradient, recommend landing Rwy 17 and take-off Rwy 35 unless very strong winds dictate the opposite combination. Approach is easiest from the East, with a left turn onto final around 1 mile out. Go-around by turning left onto an Easterly track, but not advised once on short final. No special procedures required for departure.
RUNWAY SURFACE: 6/10. Moderate slope and length, but runway is quite narrow - caution in crosswinds.
Aerodrome Reference Point: N36° 16.22' W121° 34.66'
Elevation: 2821ft
Runway 03/21: 1475ft x 80ft (450m x 25m) dirt
Slope: 3.4% (uphill on Rwy 03)
RELATIVE HAZARD INDEX = 20/30:
AIRPORT ENVIRONMENT: 6/10. The runway is situated almost straight across the moderately narrow valley of Church Creek which rises steadily towards the Northwest.
APPROACH/DEPARTURE: 7/10. Due to terrain and runway gradient, land Rwy 03 and take-off Rwy 21 ONLY. Approach from the Southeast, tracking 310° and hugging the valley wall to your left. Runway remains in sight throughout the approach. Aim for the yellow arrow painted on the cliff, and at the last minute, make a descending right 80° turn onto final. Sort of a Kai Tak in miniature! Go-around very difficult from short final, but should be accomplished with a minimum radius right turn onto a track of Southeast; go-around from base leg: caution due rising terrain to the Northwest which may exceed climb performance. On departure, make an immediate left turn to track South once safely airborne; do not accelerate/retract flaps until the initial turn is complete.
RUNWAY SURFACE: 7/10. Steep uphill gradient and moderately short. Wide runway makes lining up from the short final leg slightly less of a difficulty.
Note: the terrain modification didn't go quite as well as I hoped at Mesa Strip - the aircraft will appear to sink into the ground slightly near the top of the runway, and even crash occasionally. Slow speed landings and tailwheel designs seem to be less crash-prone.
Aerodrome Reference Point: N36° 14.89' W121° 39.29'
Elevation: 1792ft
Runway 17/35: 2210ft x 100ft (675m x 30m) dirt
Slope: 2.3% (uphill on Rwy 35)
RELATIVE HAZARD INDEX = 25/30:
AIRPORT ENVIRONMENT: 9/10. The runway is built in an extremely narrow ravine off the very narrow valley of the North Fork of the Big Sur River.
APPROACH/DEPARTURE: 10/10. Due to terrain and runway gradient, land Rwy 35 and take-off Rwy 17 ONLY. Approach from the West, following the course of the river, aiming for the yellow arrow. The runway is out of sight virtually until the flare! At the yellow arrow [just visible in the image above], at minimum safe approach speed in the landing configuration, make a descending left 90° turn onto final. Go-around impossible once on final. Departure is a reversal of this procedure: once clear of the wall of the ravine to the right, make a right turn to track West. Delay acceleration and flap retraction until turn is complete, and established in the climb. Alternative straight-in approach: look for a second yellow arrow on the ridge about half a mile to the South. Cross this ridge tracking North at minimum safe approach speed in the landing configuration, then make a very steep descent towards the runway (a descent gradient of 26%!).
RUNWAY SURFACE: 6/10. Moderate slope, but comparatively generous in length and width.
Aerodrome Reference Point: N36° 15.83' W121° 44.68'
Elevation: 735ft
Runway 17/35: 1360ft x 70ft (415m x 22m) gravel
Slope: 1.3% (uphill on Rwy 35)
RELATIVE HAZARD INDEX = 22/30:
AIRPORT ENVIRONMENT: 8/10. The runway is built in a short ravine off the narrow valley of the North Fork of the Big Sur River, a few miles downstream from Cienega Camp.
APPROACH/DEPARTURE: 7/10. Due to terrain and runway gradient, land Rwy 35 and take-off Rwy 17 ONLY. Approach low down from the West, following the course of the river (joining the valley from its start at the coast road), aiming eventually for the yellow arrow. The runway is out of sight until turning onto final. On reaching the yellow arrow, at minimum safe approach speed in the landing configuration, make a descending left 30° turn onto final. Go-around impossible once on short final. Departure is a reversal of the approach procedure, with the option of making a sharp left turn towards Cienega Camp.
RUNWAY SURFACE: 7/10. Moderate uphill slope, followed by a shallow downhill gradient - caution required while braking. Relatively short and narrow.
Tom Fica, as always, for getting me started!
Scenery developed using Airport for Windows v3, Ground2k4, CellGrid2004a, MDLtoBGL v4a3, DXTBmp, BGLComp SDK, AFCAD v2.21, Adobe Photoshop Elements, and Easy Object Designer v2.2.79.
I used macros developed by the following authors:
Tom Fica: wooden seat, cabin
Bror Inge Skipperstoen: garden furniture
Jim Jackson: construction cone
Einar Aarvik: Land Rover
Bob Wening: Piper Super Cubs
Paul Clawson & Frank Betts: 1946 Cessna 140
Original texture Bitmaps used in some of my own macros by Tom Fica, Don Moser, & Doc George; all used with kind permission. If, however, I have violated anybody else's copyrights please let me know and I will take immediate steps to resolve the problem.
This scenery is distributed as freeware, and this readme file must be included with it if used elsewhere. Use these files at your own risk: no responsibility is accepted for any damage they might cause to your computer.
James Belk/January 2004