Australia

Explore the enormous open cut coal mine, Mount Thorley Warkworth Mine, near Singleton in the Newcastle & Hunter region of N.S.W..

Armidale is the Northern Tablelands administrative centre, about halfway between Sydney and Brisbane and also home to the University of New England.

Sydney is the de facto capital of Australia, containing as it does, the most iconic architecture, beaches, harbours and people.

Microsoft official trailer for their free scenery upgrade to Australia.

Click on the title to see an example of the type of content that is in MiGMan’s World Tour.

Botany Bay is where Captain James Cook first stepped ashore from HMS Endeavour on April 29th 1770. Initially thinking this to be a suitable site for the 1st settlement, he changed his mind upon sailing 10 miles north to the mouth of what became Sydney Harbour.

Back o' Bourke: is an expression allegedly minted by poet Henry Lawson, and refers to Bourke's place at the edge of civilisation. Bourke is at the western edge of the agricultural regions of New South Wales and is a gateway to the vast and arid Australian outback.

Brewarrina is an aboriginal term for the native gooseberry. In the 1860s Brewarrina was a busy port for shipping wool to Adelaide (captial of South Australia). It's quite the feat of imagination these days to picture river boats making the long journey along the meandering path of the Darling River!

Camden Airport is bordered on three sides by the Nepean River and is the Boy Scouts air activity base. I have seen everything there from gliders to L-39 Fighter Jets!

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Satellite communication station and part of the NASA's Deep Space Network.

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Located in the far NW of N.S.W. at the intersection of Kidman Way and the Barrier Highway, Cobar's main activity is mining. One of the oldest, Peak Gold Mine was opened in 1896, and the CSA Mine is one of Australia's highest grade copper mines.

Explore the vast irrigation bores, reservoirs and ditches around Collarenebri, and fly over Moomin Gin.

Eden is the most southern town in NSW and a popular whale-watching spot.

Flights from "Australia 1" in MiGMan’s World Tour.

Forster and Tuncurry guard the entrance to a complex series of lakes. The three main lakes to the south are Wallis Lake. Smith's Lake and Myall Lake.

Gabo Island Lighthouse and Gabo Island Airport YGBO are just south of Cape Howe on the border with N.S.W. and Victoria.

Visit one of Australia's oldest 'timber towns', Glenreagh in the Clarence Valley, population 900.

Flights from "'Australia 2" in MiGMan’s World Tour.

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And site of Australia's first opera house.

Between Wiseman's Ferry and Portland Head

Sitting astride the Macintyre River, Inverell has been a source of diamonds and sapphires from the mid 19v onwards. Nowadays the main activities are tourism and a variety of crop cultivation.

Until 65 million years ago Australia was 1/4 covered by a vast inland sea. At Louth we get our first sightings of the rolling and worn mountain ranges which permeate the largely flat former seabed.

Mallacoota is just over the NSW / Victoria border.

Visit the most southern town in NSW and stray a few miles over the Victoran border to Mallacoota. You should have no problems as Victoria is mostly a friendly state.

Rare images of MiGMan’s base of operations.

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Flights from "'Australia 1" in MiGMan’s World Tour.

With the skyline dominated by Dromedary Mountain to the south, Narooma and surrounds are an idyllic combination of sandy beaches, lakes and mild weather.

Australia has been said to ride on the sheep's back, and when you see the Big Merino at Goulburn you will understand why! The locals call it 'Rambo', after an award winning ram from the Bullamallita stud. There is a multi-level gift shop inside Rambo and at night it's eyes cast an eerie green gaze over Goulburn. Nobody knows why.

Visit the Siding Spring Observatory complex set in the rugged Warrumbungle Mountains near Coonabarabran.

Flights from "Australia 1" in MiGMan’s World Tour.

These images use the ORBX Sydney scenery plus other addons. The first and most obvious difference is the presence of the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Tamworth YSTW is one of the few airports in the New England region with a control tower amd two parallel runways.

This is why the Australian outback is called "The Red Centre".

One of Australia's most iconic locations, in the Blue Mountains on the western border of Sydney.

One of Australia's most iconic locations, in the Blue Mountains on the western border of Sydney.

Located at the base of the Blue Mountains on Sydney's western border, the Warragamba Dam is one of Sydney's main water suppiles as well as being a popular recreational area.

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Sydney's second largest airport, Bankstown YSBK, Custom scenery by Impulse Simulations.

The Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) has an extensive collection of military and civil aircraft which includes John Travolta's Boeing 707 and a MiG-21.

Just over the border into Victoria, from New South Wales. | Su-57 by Deimos Inc.

Just over the border into Victoria, from New South Wales. | Su-57 by Deimos Inc.

Just over the border into Victoria, from New South Wales. | Su-57 by Deimos Inc.

MiGMan gave a Flight Sim Masterclass on the November 14, 2006 episode of Good Game which is presented by ABC - Australia's National Broadcaster.

Exploring regional N.S.W. in the MiG-29 by Deimos.

Bowral, Berrima and Mittagong are at the junction of greater Sydney and the Southern Tablelands. The area is a favourite weekend destination for Sydney-siders with it's charming manors, wineries, antique shops and tulip gardens.

Bowral, Berrima and Mittagong are at the junction of greater Sydney and the Southern Tablelands. The area is a favourite weekend destination for Sydney-siders with it's charming manors, wineries, antique shops and tulip gardens.

Demonstrating just two of the many thousands of free 3rd party add-ons available for the Microsoft flight sims.

Breaking every rule in the book I fly under the Sydney Harbour Bridge, through a football stadium, and frighten the diners 60 floors up in Centrepoint Tower's revolving restaurant! Oh, and it's at night in a Vought Corsair, which Microsoft thoughtfully provided for us in every copy of Flight Sim 2004.
And then I land at Sydney International Airport... probably in the wrong direction...

Like most (all?) folks, my first flight in MSFS 2020 just had to be to my childhood home.

In my first caching experiment I cached the Williamtown RAAF base near Newcastle. That only used 45mb of space, so this time I set my sights higher. Or broader.

Located in the far NW of N.S.W. at the intersection of Kidman Way and the Barrier Highway, Cobar's main activity is mining. One of the oldest, Peak Gold Mine was opened in 1896, and the CSA Mine is one of Australia's highest grade copper mines.

Explore the vast irrigation bores, reservoirs and ditches around Collarenebri, and fly over Moomin Gin. In 1962 a small group of pioneering cotton growers formed a cooperative at Wee Waa and processed 98 bales of cotton in the first year. Today Namoi Cotton processes up to 84,000 bales per week at it's 11 facilities. In 1794 the first cotton gin patent was granted in the USA to Eli Whitney. Today at Moomin Cotton Gin the process of separating cotton lint from it's seeds with the descendants of Whitney's invention.

Thredbo, Perisher and Mt Kosciusko mission. Thredbo and Perisher are two of Australia's most popular ski destinations. While not the most dramatic peak, at 7,310 feet Mt Kosciusko is nonetheless Australia's tallest. RAAF 20 years livery by Impulse Simulations

Thredbo, Perisher and Mt Kosciusko mission. Thredbo and Perisher are two of Australia's most popular ski destinations. While not the most dramatic peak, at 7,310 feet Mt Kosciusko is nonetheless Australia's tallest. RAAF 20 years livery by Impulse Simulations

The Jacaranda capital of Australia, Grafton lays astride the Clarence river and features Edwardian and Victorian architecture. Fly east of Grafton to the coast and then north to the coastal towns of Wooli, Minnie Water, Sandon, Brooms Head, Angourie Point and Yamba. Then return to Grafton via the Clarence River.

Unbelievable atmospherics and lightinng from Asobo's engine make this Canberra sunrise jaw-dropping!

Acquired this in December 2022 and I am really enjoying it. The virtual cockpit scales nicely with my physical cockpit and it gives a really most immersive "you are there" feeling to the whole experience.

Tathra Beach is near Merimbula on the south coast of N.S.W.

Tathra Beach is near Merimbula on the south coast of N.S.W.

Tathra Beach is near Merimbula on the south coast of N.S.W.

I ran a quick photo-recce over Sydney harbour twice. Once with the stock Prepar3D scenery and then again with ORBX Australia v.2 scenery.

Prepar3D v.5 running &ORBX Cityscape Canberra for FSX and Prepar3D& - Oct 5th, 2020

Photos I took of an F-111 cockpit on display at Darling Harbour in the early 1990’s.

In 1995 MiGMan and PC paid a visit to Amberley, a RAAF base in sunny Queensland, Australia. as guests of No.1 Squadron. Australia is the only country in the world operating the F-111, the Americans called it the "Aardvark", or "Vark"... the Aussies call it the "Pig". Aardvaark is Afrikaans for "Earth Pig"

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Computer Pilot magazine Cover Art 2009

On an unusually grey Sydney afternoon in October 2006 MiGMan was a guest of Microsoft at the launch of their new flagship product - Microsoft Flight Simulator X.
The creme-de-la-creme of Australia's gaming journalists gathered at Kingsford Smith Airport, Sydney, and embarked on a champagne flight over Sydney Harbour in a C-47, the military transport version of the Douglas DC-3.

After getting special permission from a nervous civil aviation authority an RAAF F-111 was granted permission to fly at under 500 feet altitude - practically IN the stadium during the closing ceremony. As it passed over the flame the pilot engaged afterburner and then dumped fuel, resulting in the trademark 100 foot plus trail of fire - as if a chariot of the gods had picked up the flame on the way to Greece.
As it flew 14 kilometres towards the Sydney Harbour Bridge it was accompanied by a sea of flame as the Parramatta River seemed to explode, with fireworks every 500 metres.

Table based comparison of the F-111 Aardvark, and it’s proposed replacement, the F-35 JSF.

Images from the ’Thredbo, Perisher and Mt Kosciusko’ mission in Australia 4.

MiGMan was keynote speaker at Australia's first ever Flight Sim Expo, held in the old Ansett terminal at Kingsford Smith International Airport, Sydney.

Due to help from staff at the ORBX forums, the Canberra scenery revealed it's full glory!

Peter Inglis’ submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Inquiry into Australian Defence Force Regional Air Superiority, 2006

In 1994 I was lucky enough to witness the first flight of a MiG-21 in Australia!