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On May 15, 1918, the first scheduled U.S. Air Mail service began using Curtiss Jenny biplanes. The route was between Washington DC and New York, with an intermediate stop at Philadelphia. The Jenny was quickly found to be slow and somewhat frail, and was eventually replaced by modified Airco DH-4s.
Two years later, on September 8, 1920, the Transcontinental Air Mail service between New York and San Francisco began, although it would be a further four years before this was flown in its entirety by night as well as by day. A wide variety of different aircraft types would end up being used.
Many famous pilots were at one time employed in the U.S. Air Mail service, including Elrey B. Jeppesen and Charles Lindbergh.
These Monday Mail Runs celebrate this history. We will use the kinds of aircraft flown at the time - quite a big choice - and we will fly only visually, without any radio navigation or GPS. And whatever the weather, "The mail must get through!"
Weeks 1 and 2. Washington DC to New York, stopping at Philadelphia.
We will fly Curtiss Jennies only.
Then we leave the Jenny behind!
Weeks 3 through 16. New York to San Francisco.
We will fly all sorts of pre-1932 civilian aircraft that can maintain around 100 knots.
Note: There are no default FSX aircraft that will do the job!
Examples of freeware airplanes that do meet the above will be listed in advance of our flights.
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Week 1: Washington DC to Philadelphia, PA, via Elkton, MD.
(Note the original flights did not stop at Elkton; that is just for our convenience.)
Depart: KDCA (Ronald Reagan). Closest airport to original depature from Washington Polo Grounds.
Intermediate stop: 58M (Cecil County, Elkton).
Arrive: KPNE (Northeast Philadelphia). Closest airport to original arrival at Bustleton Field.
VFR route: Full VFR flight plan is here, together with maps.
Aircraft: Curtiss Jenny only.
The Jenny will fly, straight and level at sea-level, at only 67 knots max. It has:
No flaps. No brakes. No tailwheel. No lights. No ASI. No VSI. No Turn and slip.
No radio navigation. No GPS.
Available from the Vintage Hangar of Storm's Skydrive (click banner below) with 12 liveries.No radio navigation. No GPS.
Scenery: default is good. See here: http://imgur.com/a/CKihx (taken in multiplayer, 2014-03-18)
Scenery Complexity (Options > Settings > Display > Scenery): Do not set to "Very Sparse", or you will not see some waypoints. "Dense" or higher is recommended, to see waypoints at greater distances. Set as high as possible while maintaining reasonable frame rates. If your frame rate is a problem, reduce Autogen Density first, rather than Scenery Complexity, to boost frame rates.
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