![]() ![]() Going west, the geological age of the island chain increases, and thus terrain features become more gentle as the volcanic rock erodes and changes into fertile soil. Yet another flyby view from the F-14b RIO position on the West Maui Mountains: The West Maui Mountains themselves contain quite some impressive sights – it is especially worthwhile to explore the various canyons and cliffs with a helicopter. On a clear day, the surrounding islands (here Molokai in the background) can clearly be seen: When approaching from the west, the cliffs and gorges of the West Maui Mountains are the first feature to become apparent. Haleakala crater however remains a rather impressive sight. Maui is substantially older than Hawaii island, and so the volcano has started to erode quite significantly when compared to Mauna Loa – as a result, the fertile land extends much higher up. Since the prevailing winds come from the northern side, air rises on the flanks of Haleakala, leading to fertile and overgrown northern slopes, whereas the southern slopes of Haleakala look completely different and show rather different weather.įlightgear’s Advanced Weather is actually capable of simulating the resulting distribution of clouds from this effect – in fact, Haleakala has been an inportant test case in the development of the weather system.Ĭlosely grouped in the vicinity of Maui are also the islands Lanai, Molokai and Kaho’olawe, easy to see in clear weather, thus Maui is an ideal starting point for island-hopping adventures.Īpproaching from east, the scenery is dominated by Haleakala, here the more arid southern slopes are seen. The middle part is a fertile valley, whereas the western part features the rugged West Maui Mountains, which are considerably lower than Haleakala, but certainly make up for that with steep cliffs and deeply cut valleys. Its eastern part is dominated by the mighty cone of Haleakala, reaching just above 10,000 ft. Maui is perhaps the island with the most diverse terrain. Towards the coast, forests and fertile ground dominate the scene again. Seen from the pass, Hilo seems close, but the slope of the terrain is so gentle that it is very easy to underestimate the true distance. Here is yet another view on Mauna Kea from the pass – often the volcanoes reach above the cloud layer. The climb to the pass is mainly above arid grasslands.Īt higher altitudes, the spectacular lava fields of Mauna Loa dominate the scene. The first destination reached however when arriving from the Honolulu region is Upolu Point, a region of eroded volcanic rock and spectacular gorges.Ī flight to Hilo, the main city of the island, can pass between the two major shield volcanoes and requires a climb from sea level to more than 7,000 ft, which requires some adjustment of the mixture in a single-engine propeller plane. The central part of the island is occupied by the twin cones of Mauna Kea (foreground) and Mauna Loa (background) which both reach above 13,000 ft and consists of extended lava fields, while the coastal region is somewhat more fertile. It is also the youngest of all islands, dominated by the gentle rising cones of the five massive shield volcanoes Kohala, Mauna Kea, Hualalai, Mauna Loa and Kilauea, with the last two still being active. With a total area of 4,028 square miles, Hawaii is by far the biggest island of the archipelago, exceeding the size of all other islands taken together. ![]() While the release preparations for Flightgear 2.10 are underway, this article provides a first glimpse into some stunning new features which are currently being developed for the 3.0 release in summer 2013 – high resolution terrain texturing for closeup scenes.Īeronautical charts for the whole of Hawaii are available online at, see for instance here for all charts relevant for Honolulu International Airport. It offers a compelling variety of terrain from dry and barren lava plains to lush tropical rainforest, from the gentle fertile plains to rugged mountains and steep cliffs towering over the sea and from the densely populated island of Oahu to uninhabited Kaho’olawe.įlying Hawaii can be easy or challenging – there are busy international airports and lone airstrips in remote locations, the altitude of the terrain ranges from sea level all the way up to Mauna Kea towering at 13,796 ft and steep gorges cut into the lava cliffs allow for tricky helicopter excursions.Ĭurrently the scenery is only available via TerraSync and not by direct download from the website, presumably this will change with the next release of world scenery. One of the first places available as hires scenery in Flightgear, and also among the first places to receive a dedicated regional texture scheme, the island chain of Hawaii is a very spectacular destination in the Flightgear world. ![]()
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