Okay Altairians... It is time to start online flying. We planned for you the most exciting set of routes for next six months. We begin January, 30th 2010 and will meet every last Saturday of each month in VATSIM network. We warmly invite you to join us in all flights to continue our group flights tradition. We are expecting that all routes will be fully covered by ATC. Controllers, settled in behind their scopes help you safely find your destination airports and every take-off and landing will be the real pleasure. Mark the dates on your planners and get ready to cram the skies! Grab your jets or turbo-props and fly some sectors through busy airspace. Don't miss this! If you are not familiar with flying in European airspace download and read this MANUAL. If you have any queries, don't hesitate and ask. BREMEN - GDANSK TWIN TOWNS - SISTER CITIES JANUARY 30th, 2010 - 18.00 UTC BREMEN The City Municipality of is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A port city along the river Weser, about 60 km (37 mi) south from its mouth on the North Sea, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area (2.37 million people). Bremen and Bremerhaven are the two cities in the state of Bremen (official name: Free Hanseatic City of Bremen). Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany. Bremen is twinned with Gdansk, Poland since 1976. GDANSK Gdansk is Poland's principal seaport as well as the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is also historically the largest city of the Kashubian region. The city is close to the former boundary between West Slavic and Germanic lands and it has a complex political history with periods of Polish rule, periods of German rule, and two spells as a free city. It has been part of modern Poland since 1945. The city lies on the southern edge of Gdansk Bay (of the Baltic Sea), in a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdynia and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the Tricity, with a population of over 800,000. Gdansk itself has a population of 458,053 (2006), making it the largest city in the Pomerania region of Northern Poland. The city was the birthplace of the Solidarity movement which, under the leadership of Gdansk political activist Lech Walesa, played a major role in bringing an end to Communist rule across Central Europe. It is also the home and birthplace of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who is of Kashubian origin. ROUTE : DEPARTURE : EDDW DESTINATION : EPGD ALTERNATE AIRPORT : EPPO DISTANCE : 374 NM ROUTE STRING: EDDW GESTO RIDNI NEBUN BKD PITEN VIBIS PODUS GUDOP GOLBO RAKIT BODLA CHO TOMKO BURAN KRT EPGD FSINN/SquawkBox Flight plan RECOMMENDED AIRCRAFT : DE HAVILLAND DASH 8, FOKKER 70, B737 EDDW scenery - FS9 EGPD scenery - FS9 EDDW charts EPGD charts DUNEDIN - WELLINGTON ACROSS THE STRAIT - FROM SOUTH TO NORTH ISLAND FEBRUARY 27th, 2010 - 08.00 UTC DUNEDIN Dunedin is the old Gaelick name of Edinburgh, but - with the exception of street names and the original architecture - has little in common with the capital of Scotland. Locals say that it is more mountainous, is smaller and closer to the sea, and above all, has a better climate than Edinburgh. Situated between hills Dunedin is the capital of the southern province of Otago, known for pioneering a golden past, rocky scenery and fertile orchards and vineyards. Buildings of the city is a natural amphitheater, including arms of the Gulf which narrow strait extends from the tip of the peninsula of Otago (Otago Peninsula) outside Port Chalmers. WELLINGTON Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand. The urban area is situated on the southwestern tip of the country's North Island, and lies between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range. It is home to 386,000 residents, with an additional 3,700 residents living in the surrounding rural areas. The Wellington urban area is the major population centre of the southern North Island, and is the seat of the Wellington Region - which in addition to the urban area covers the Kapiti Coast and Wairarapa. The urban area lie across four cities. Wellington City, on the peninsula between Cook Strait and Wellington Harbour, contains the central business district and about half of Wellington's population. Porirua City on Porirua Harbour to the north is notable for its large Ma-ori and Pacific Island communities. Lower Hutt City and Upper Hutt City are suburban areas to the northeast, together known as the Hutt Valley. ROUTE : DEPARTURE : NZDN DESTINATION : NZWN ALTERNATE AIRPORT : NZPM DISTANCE : 345 NM ROUTE STRING: NZDN SW BIDEL SALOG MAMAN WARDS CC CABLE WN NZWN FSINN/SquawkBox Flight plan RECOMMENDED AIRCRAFT : B737 NZDN scenery - FS9 NZWN scenery - FS9 NZDN charts NZWN charts SALZBURG - PRAGUE FROM MOZART'S BIRTHPLACE TO GOLDEN CITY MARCH 27th, 2010 - 19.00 UTC SALZBURG Salzburg is the fourth-largest city in Austria and the capital of the federal state of Salzburg. Salzburg's "Old Town" (Altstadt) with its world famous baroque architecture is one of the best-preserved city centres north of the Alps, and was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The city is noted for its Alpine setting. It is the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the setting for parts of the musical and film The Sound of Music, which features famous landmarks in Austria, but focuses mainly on Salzburg. Salzburg is a student city, with three universities. PRAGUE Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Nicknames for Prague have included "The Mother Of Cities" (Praga mater urbium, "City Of a Hundred Spires" and "The Golden City". Situated on the River Vltava in central Bohemia, Prague has been the political, cultural, and economic centre of the Czech state for more than 1100 years. For many decades during the Gothic and Renaissance eras, Prague was the permanent seat of two Holy Roman Emperors and thus was also the capital of the Holy Roman Empire. Today, the city proper is home to more than 1.2 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 1.9 million. Since 1992, the extensive historic centre of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites, making the city one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe, receiving more than 4.1 million international visitors annually, as of 2009. ROUTE : DEPARTURE : LOWS DESTINATION : LKPR ALTERNATE AIRPORT : LKTB DISTANCE : 154 NM ROUTE STRING: LOWS SIMBA ABABI GONBA LALIN LUSAN DOMAL GOSEK LKPR FSINN/SquawkBox Flight plan RECOMMENDED AIRCRAFT : ATR-72, B1900D LOWS scenery - FS9 LKPR scenery - FS9, FSX LOWS charts LKPR charts LA PALMA - LANZAROTE FOR SUNBURN TO CANARY ISLANDS APRIL 24th, 2010 - 18.00 UTC LA PALMA La Palma is the most northwesterly of the Canary Islands. La Palma has an area of 706 km2 making it the fifth largest of the seven main Canary Islands. The total population is about 85,000, of which 18,000 (2003 data) live in the capital, Santa Cruz de la Palma and about 20,000 (2004 data) in Los Llanos de Aridane. La Palma is dominated by the colours blue, green and black. Blue represent the surrounding ocean, Green represents the abundant plant life (which is the most diverse in the Canary Islands) and Black comes from the volcanic rocks that forms the landscape and the numerous playas (beaches) of black sand. La Palma is nicknamed "Isla Bonita" ("Beautiful Island") and the "Island Of San Pedro" (after it's patron Saint: Peter). San Pedro is also a music venue on the island where international bands play, something which may be referred to in La Isla Bonita. LANZAROTE Lanzarote, a Spanish island, is the easternmost of the autonomous Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 125km off the coast of Africa and 1,000km from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering 845.9km2, it stands as the fourth largest of the islands. The first recorded name for the island, given by Angelino Dulcert, was Insula de Lanzarotus Marocelus, after the Genoese navigator Lancelotto Malocello, from which the modern name is derived. The island's name in the native language was Titerro(y)gatra, which may mean "The Red Mountains". ROUTE : DEPARTURE : GCLA DESTINATION : GCRR ALTERNATE AIRPORT : GCFV DISTANCE : 223 NM ROUTE STRING: GCLA LRO TFN LARYS TLZ GCRR FSINN/SquawkBox Flight plan RECOMMENDED AIRCRAFT : ATR-72, B1900D CANARY scenery part 1 - FS9 CANARY scenery part 2 - FS9 CANARY scenery part 3 - FS9 CANARY scenery - FSX GCLA charts GCRR charts BRISBANE - ADELAIDE LET'S PAY A VISIT MCLEOD'S DAUGHTERS MAY 29th, 2010 - 08.00 UTC BRISBANE Brisbane is the state capital of the Australian state of Queensland and is the largest city in that state. The statistical division of Brisbane has an estimated population of approximately 2 million, along with its LGA registering a bit over a million, it is also the third most populous city in Australia. The city is situated on the Brisbane River on a low-lying floodplain between Moreton Bay and the Great Dividing Range in southeastern Queensland. The local indigenous people knew the area as Mian-jin, meaning 'place shaped as a spike'. Brisbane is named after the river on which it sits which, in turn was named after Sir Thomas Brisbane, the Governor of New South Wales from 1821 to 1825. Brisbane's demonym is a Brisbanite. ADELAIDE Adelaide is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of South Australia, and is the fifth-largest city in Australia, with a population of more than 1.1 million. It is a coastal city situated on the eastern shores of Gulf St. Vincent, on the Adelaide Plains, north of the Fleurieu Peninsula, between the Gulf St. Vincent and the low-lying Mount Lofty Ranges. It is roughly 20 km (12 mi) from the coast to the foothills but sprawls 90 km (56 mi) from Gawler at its northern extent to Sellicks Beach in the south. Named in honour of Queen Adelaide who was born in Germany. ROUTE : DEPARTURE : YBBN DESTINATION : YPAD ALTERNATE AIRPORT : YMAV DISTANCE : 892 NM ROUTE STRING: YBBN H62 WIZZA UQ440 HARDD Q295 NBR UH408 NYN T77 BLACK V454 YPAD FSINN/SquawkBox Flight plan RECOMMENDED AIRCRAFT : A340, B747 YBBN scenery - FS9 YPAD scenery - FS9 YBBN charts YPAD charts HONG KONG - TAIPEI TASTE CHINESE FOOD JUNE 26th, 2010 - 12.00 UTC HONG KONG Hong Kong is a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China. Situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour. With land mass of 1,104 km2 (426 sq mi) and a population of seven million people, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. TAIPEI Taipei is the largest city in Taiwan and has served as the de facto capital (provisional capital) of the Republic of China (commonly known as "Taiwan") since the Chinese Civil War in 1949. It is situated on the Danshui River, almost at the northern tip of the island, about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean. Another coastal city, Danshui, is about 20 km northwest at the river's mouth on the Taiwan Strait. Taipei City, Taipei County, and Keelung City together form the Taipei metropolitan area but are administered under different local government bodies. "Taipei" sometimes refers to the whole metropolitan area, while "Taipei City" refers to the city proper. ROUTE : DEPARTURE : VHHH DESTINATION : RCTP ALTERNATE AIRPORT : ZSFZ DISTANCE : 492 NM ROUTE STRING: VHHH OCEAN2A OCEAN RASSE CONGA ENVAR M750 TONGA RCTP FSINN/SquawkBox Flight plan RECOMMENDED AIRCRAFT : B737 VHHH scenery - FS9 VHHH scenery - FSX RCTP scenery - FS9 VHHH charts RCTP charts