‘Voyager’ Discovery Flights released: 7 trips across some of the world’s most iconic locations
One month after announcing its new series of flights for Flight Simulator, FS Academy has finally released 7 ‘Voyager’ Discovery Flight for MSFS.
These 7 flights will take you across some of the world’s most iconic locations. Discover the breathtaking mountains of the Alps, look deep into the Grand Canyon after visiting Las Vegas, or cruise past the photorealistic New York skyscrapers in your way to Toronto. These 7 routes were built by a real pilot, and include realistic procedures and detailed notes about both navigation and points of interest along the way.
Starting one of these adventures is as easy as loading each corresponding flight plan and choosing whatever way you want to fly them. Unlike the built-in bush trips, you can choose any aircraft, time of day and weather conditions as you like. Once started, you can get your bearings with the help of the inbuilt navlog, where each leg is clearly listed.
FS Academy created some great documentation that gives clear instructions on how to set things up. It’s all very easy, but it’s good to see when a developer takes special care to appease its customers. The manual includes some guidance and descriptions about each leg of each trip, which clearly shows the commitment in providing a good experience for pilots. There’s even a complete Ground School manual included, covering reading aviation weather forecasts, VFR cruising levels, airport facilities and hazardous weather.
It would have been perfect to have these notes inside MSFS’s navlog but, according to the dev, the SDK currently doesn’t support this.
We’ve talked with David Chapman from FS Academy about future plans, and he told us that he will be looking to convert these routes as Bush Trips for no extra cost, once that is possible. But there’s a clear advantage of the current system of loading the flight plan: the user can choose whatever aircraft, weather, payload, etc.
Also planned is the inclusion of Navigraph maps and charts.
We tried the Alps trip and found it to work very well. After loading the flight plan, we found ourselves waiting for takeoff in Innsbruck, one the Alps most famous locations. From there, we followed the route across the valley and into the mountains, guided by the included instructions and taking note of the interesting bits of the scenery along the way. This is a long journey, so it’s good to be able to save your current progress and get back to it at a later stage. Just hit ESC in your keyboard and choose “Save” from the available options. This will save a new flight plan based on your current location, which you should load on you next session in order to continue your trip. The devs even included an handy folder simply called “Saved Flights” next to the original flight plans, for easy organization.
It’s this attention to detail and the quality of the experience that left us with a very good impression, making ‘Voyager’ an easy recommendation to anyone looking to explore these parts of the world with a carefully created flight plan.
Voyager – Discovery Flights for MSFS is now available, and is expected to hit the MSFS Marketplace in early 2021.
Below is a rundown of the 7 flights:
The Alps
Embark upon a journey through the Austrian, Swiss and French Alps. Starting at scenic Innsbruck, keep an eye out for glaciers as you cruise through deep valleys between the magnificent mountain peaks. Tour Zurich and Geneva before heading into France towards Paul Richard race circuit. 560NM
Canary Islands
The volcanic Canary Islands are a hugely popular winter sun destination. Take a tour around Lanzarote with its Martian landscape before making several crossings between these stunning islands. Circle the impressive Mt Teide of Tenerife and discover these islands like never before. 500NM
Florida Keys
Pass alongside the impressive Cape Canaveral and track the Florida coast over Fort Lauderdale, downtown Miami, the Ocean Reef Club and then follow the Florida Keys to Key West. 335NM
The Gold Coast
The Australian Gold Coast is a major destination for people the world over. Famed for its expansive beaches. Circle around Sydney and take in the iconic skyline. 450NM
NYC to Toronto
Leave the bustling New York City up the Hudson to embark on a cross country adventure taking you through glorious green countryside dotted with towns and cities. View the spectacular Niagara Falls from a new vantage point before making the border crossing to Canada. 510NM
New Zealand
Tour the beautiful North Island of New Zealand. With relatively quiet skies and plenty of open space, head North to South over this marvellously varied countryside. Complete with coastline, mountain ranges and major cities. Kia Ora! 490NM
LA to Bryce Canyon
Cross the stunning landscapes spanning Nevada, Arizona and Utah on this memorable journey out of LA. Pass the scorching heat of Death Valley, the vibrant sprawl of Las Vegas, look deep into the iconic Grand Canyon and complete your journey at Bryce Canyon. 690NM
