LEG 2: SEDONA TO FLAGSTAFF, ARIZONA

Good morning! It's time to begin Leg 2 of our adventure, and we're going to fly up to Flagstaff today. It's not very far, so it'll be a short flight. I have a lot of fun activities planned for today, so it's good that the flight will be short. We've already taxied to the departing runway and holding short for traffic that is landing.

After the traffic landed and cleared the runway, we are given clearance to lift off. What a view!

Thirty minutes have passed, and we can see Flagstaff in the distance. I've already been in touch with ATC, and they are vectoring us in for landing.

We are on Final for Runway 21.

Coming in for a nice, soft touch down!

Here we are! Safe at Flagstaff Pulliam Airport (KFLG).

I rented a vehicle for today's activities. So let's hop in and get rolling!

We're pulling out of the parking lot now and taking the access road out of the airport.

We're coming up to Airport Road, and we are going to hang a right at the intersection.

Up here, we are going to turn left and go west to the I-17 Interstate Highway where we will turn right and go north into Flagstaff. Yes, you heard right. Even though we flew over Flagstaff, we aren't exactly in it yet.

KFLG is a little south of Flagstaff. We aren't very far, though, so it won't take us long to get into the city.

You see?! I told you it wouldn't take long. In fact, if I don't get in that left land soon we'll wind up going to Albuquerque instead. Don't get me wrong, because Albuquerque is a fine place. My best friend lives there. I would just rather fly there than drive. Perhaps we'll fly there soon? I've been needing to catch up with my buddy.

We are entering Flagstaff now, and the I-17 ends and turns into Milton Road. We've got a Sizzler Restaurant to the left and a Dennys to the right. Each has good food, but I was thinking of something different today.

But first, we are going to stop at the Bookmans bookstore. I'm going to trade in some books I've finished and get some new ones. Plus, I'm going to trade some CDs that I have. This is by far one of the best bookstores I've ever been to! Books, music, games, comics... all kinds of stuff. And it's just a fun place to hang out, and they have free wi-fi! You can't see it in this picture, but the bookstore is just past the shrubbery.

Bookmans is conveniently located near Northern Arizona University, so it has a lot of student visitors. Speaking of which, I'm going to see my friend Daniel. He's up here to further his skills in the medical field. He lives in the right dormatory which is called McKay Village. The name reminds me of a funny character on the show "Stargate Atlantis". The dorm on the left is Reilly Hall, and interesting enough I believe there was a Reilly on the same TV show.

Hopefully, Daniel is home. He said he would be.

"Hey Daniel! It's good to see you! Been a long time, so how are things going with you and school?"

Daniel was excited to tell about his studies. He's had some tough subjects, but overall things are going quite well for him. He even lucked out having a great roommate who is easy to get along with.

After a little bit of talking and cold drinks, we sat down and played some fun video games together. Fun times!

And the fun wasn't over, because we're going to hang out today! I know things are financially tough on students, so it was my treat to take him out to lunch. We went to a great restaurant called The Crown Railroad Cafe. There are two here in Flagstaff, but we went to the original Route 66 location which was built in the mid 1960's.

There's a neat model train that travels around above us on some tracks. We had a grumpy server who I think may have smoked a little too much based on the type of voice she had, but we weren't going to let that spoil our day!

Crown Railroad is famous for it's 66 different omelettes (because of Route 66). There's honestly not that much difference between them, so don't get too excited. You've got one with ham, then another with ham & cheese, then another with ham & onions, and yet another with ham & cheese & onions... I think you get the idea. Sedona has a place like this too that has 101 different omelettes. Maybe we'll go there next time I travel to Sedona!
The menu has your basic sandwiches and burgers, but there is a lot to choose from. It all looks good too! I had something a little different which was a Southwestern French Dip which had green chili and cheese on it.

Afterwards, Daniel and I went to the Lowell Observatory. This is home to the Discovery Channel Telescope. Astronomers are planning to use this telescope to answer some basic questions like how our solar system was formed and how dwarf galaxies evolve. They are able to make spectroscopic and imaging observations at the same time with this telescope, which is pretty cool. This place has a long history. It was build in 1894 and became a National Historic Landmark in 1965.

After we spent some fun time learning and checking things out at Lowell, I took Daniel back home so he could get back to his studies. I love historic places, so I got a room at the old 66 Motel on Route 66. This place is rather unique, because each room has a carport for your vehicle. Too bad my vehicle has wings and won't fit! At least I can dress up for the picture, though.

That's all for today. I'm going to get some rest and start planning our next flight. See you on the next adventure!

LEG 1: MESA TO SEDONA, ARIZONA

Welcome friends to Leg 1 of my Super Flying Adventure Across The World. My name is Starrfoxx Whitestar, and I'll be your pilot in this Grand Adventure. In my life, I have come to learn that life is an adventure and you never know where it will take you. So let's have the wind carry us to new and exciting locations and see where we go and what kind of people we'll meet.

We'll be flying in my trusty Cessna 172. These are wonderful birds and are great for learning in for new pilots. I've had a special place in my heart for Cessnas for many years as a pilot.

We are here at KFFZ, Falcon Field Airport in my home of Mesa, Arizona. It's early morning with a nice 75 degrees and a slight cool breeze. Let's get the plane started up, call ATC (Air Traffic Control), and get ready to roll out to our first destination -- Sedona!

Sedona has been a favorite get-a-way spot of mine for many, many years. The red rocks are simply beautiful, and the weather is gorgeous. It's true that it gets quite hot during the summer, but unlike Phoenix it actually cools off very nicely at night.

ATC has given us permission to pushback and start, so let's get busy!

We've been instructed to taxi to Runway 22R. What that really means is that it is the Right Runway that is facing at a heading of approximately 220 degrees. There is another runway facing the same direction to the Left. ATC wants us to use the Right runway, since we are a small propeller aircraft. We're not the only ones heading to Runway 22R either.

Throttles up! Time to lift off from Mesa to see what adventure awaits. The sunrise is beautiful here in Arizona

Our flight plan has us going to the Phoenix VOR (VHF Omnidirectional Radio) Tower, which is abbreviated PXR. So, we can see Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (KPHX) below us. We'll be turning northbound on Victor Airway 327, since we filed an IFR (Instrument Flight Route) flight plan. V327 is on the Low IFR chart.

It was a nice comfortable flight all the way up. We went into a right turn holding pattern at Sedona Airport (KSEZ), and I took the above picture. You can see the beauty from up here! We are heading downwind, and we'll soon turn on base to get ready for a final on Runway 3.

We're on Final now for Runway 3. You can see the beautiful red rocks in the distance.

Coming in for a soft touchdown at Sedona Airport.

Okay, we are down safely and parked. Let's go ahead and rent a car and visit this beautiful town in Arizona.

The airport, from what you saw, is up on a mesa so we are driving on Airport Rd which will take us down into Sedona.

As we were driving down, the view is breathtaking! I had to get a picture of it.

I love food (who doesn't?), so we are going to get ourselves some lunch at the Red Planet Diner which is on 89a. They've got some of the best burgers in town! Have you ever had a deep fried pickle? Well, Red Planet has got some and that's what I had to start off with along with a bowl of Flash Gordon Chili. I was in the mood for something spicy, so I had a Roswell Burger which has green chili and jalapenos with jack cheese. To drink, I had water and a Captain Kirk's Enterprise smoothie.

Here is a picture of the inside of the diner. I love Science Fiction, and there are some wonderful references to heroes such as James Kirk, Mr. Spock, Flash Gordon, and others.

There's even a statue of the alien who owns the establishment on the way to the restroom!

We've got a full belly, so let's go see some more of this wonderful town. We are going to drive into Uptown Sedona and turn south on Highway 179 which will take us just past the town of Tlaquepaque (pronounced Tah-lock-a-pock-ee) where the Catholic "Chapel of the Holy Cross" church is located.

The first conception of this church was from Marguerite Bruswig Staude in 1932. She was observing the newly constructed Empire State Building in New York. She was so marveled by its construction, that she wanted to build a structure that would glorify the Creator. She traveled in Europe to find a location, but didn't find the right spot until she came to Sedona. It was built and completed in 1956, and the physical construction itself is a miracle in itself!

Before leaving, I had to get a picture of the red rocks for my photo album.

I went and visited some friends afterwards, and then for an early dinner I went to the Barking Frog Grille. I wasn't overly hungry, but I did get myself some Prickly Pear Chicken Flautas and some Aztec Chicken Soup.


One of my buddies is going to let me stay the night, and get some nice rest. It'll give me a chance to plan our next flight!

Welcome to the Super Virtual Flight Across The World!

Hello friends and family,

Welcome to my new blog of adventure! I love to travel and I love flying. My favorite animal is the Bald Eagle, because it is a proud and graceful bird. If I could come back to this life as an animal of choice, it would be a Bald Eagle. Why?

Freedom. Freedom to travel and fly wherever I could go. I love traveling and I love flying, although I have a thing about "falling" and "heights".

Anyway, this blog is going to be my Virtual Adventure across the world. Finances and real life situations prevent me from being able to do what I really want. Fortunately, modern technology allows me to travel virtually using programs such as Microsoft Flight Simulator X and Google Maps Street View.

I have flown on Flight Simulator since it was called SubLogic Flight Simulator II back in the days of the Commodore 64. I then went to a Commodore Amiga, and finally went to Microsoft Flight Simulator 5.1, 98, 2000, 2004, and then the latest FSX on the PC. I love flying. I've always wanted to be a pilot, but my eyes would not allow it. I didn't go into the Air Force, because of it. Although I wish I would have, if I had a better idea of where I was going to go in life. I could have gone into flight mechanics or something.

Halfway through my life, I'm now planning on going back to school to do just that. Flight mechanics. Get a good job with decent pay that I can put back into school and become a pilot. I can even get my eyes laser corrected, if necessary. I'm too old to try to be an airline pilot, but thankfully there are Virtual Airlines that I can be a part of. The first airline I joined was Delta Virtual Airlines, located at deltava.org. It's a great airline to start off, very informative, and is very flexible and undemanding of your schedule. Join them, have fun, and learn as you go!

My all-time favorite plane is the Cessna 172, mainly because it's the one I've flown on Flight Simulator since the Commodore 64 days. If I could own a plane, it would probably be this one.

In my virtual travels, I will be traveling across ground using Google Street View and flying a variety of aircraft on FSX - namely the Cessna and some of the aircraft that I am certified to fly at Delta Virtual Airlines. It'll be a fun adventure and blog of what I am doing, where I'm flying, and how my career is progressing in Delta. I'll work it together as a story and bring together fun events that I'll get involved with other virtual pilots on Vatsim.

Enjoy the adventure, and let's go flying.. virtually!