Missouri Simulator Tour-Cape Girardeau to Marble Hill
Previous leg: Finishing up the Bootheel
The fifth leg of the Missouri Flight Simulator Tour was a short flight from Cape Girardeau Regional Airport (KCGI), the namesake of Cape Girardeau County to Marble Hill, the largest city and seat of Bollinger County. The difference between these two nearby towns is pretty remarkable. The twin cities of Cape Girardeau and Jackson have a combined total population of just over 50,000 people. Cape Girardeau is also a college town, the site of Southeast Missouri State University. Lying 21 NM to the west, Marble Hill has only 1,477 people according to the 2010 census. The hills of Bollinger County were also quite a change from the extremely flat terrain of the Bootheel. For this trip, however, the most critical difference was Marble Hill (0T3) airport’s grass strip. This was the first unpaved runway encountered so far.
The territory we have covered so far on this trip.
The last couple of legs were made using the default FSX scenery and David Grindele’s Cape Girardeau scenery package. Because I was leaving the Cape area I went back to the Megascenery Missouri photo-realistic scenery. Having flown out of Cape Girardeau in the past, it was great to see how well that scenery captured the real world experience. All of the landmarks used for navigation around Cape Girardeau were clearly visible.
The real world Bill Emerson Bridge.
Real-time weather is always interesting in FSX. Because the Cape Girardeau AWOS was reporting a scattered layer at 2,000, clouds dutifully appeared directly over the airport. However, the METAR was not reporting that same weather. Therefore the rest of the sky was a perfect blue. Just for fun, I flew all the way around the airport to see if the clouds spread beyond the fence. They did not.
Crossing into Bollinger County I encountered the first real hills of the trip. However, the real obstacles to pay attention to were the assortment of 1,000 foot towers surrounding Marble Hill. I had to stay extra high until crossing the valley in which the town sits. My pattern was extra tight to make sure that the Cessna did not end up dangling a few hundred feet in the air.
The terrain of Bollinger County helped establish one of the first local industries. Bollinger Mill was built in 1800. Rebuilt several times over the years, it ground grain to produce flour. It operated until 1953 and is now preserved as a state park.
As good as the Missouri Megascenery is, sometimes there is a slight disconnect between the real world location and where FSX places things. As I turned final I discovered that I was lined up for the runway as it appeared on the satellite photo. The simulator runway was a couple hundred yards to the left. A quick slip brought me in safely on the FSX dirt strip.
Flight Simulator made another interesting scenery choice when it placed the aircraft ground handling equipment right in the middle of the runway. With surprises like that, I am very happy that I did not have to land short.
Because Marble Hill is a town that I have never visited in real life I visited the city website to learn more about my virtual destination. Marble Hill was founded in in 1842 as New California. It was the site of several Civil War raids and was renamed Marble Hill in 1868. My six-year-old-self was very excited to learn that in 1942 a dinosaur was found in nearby Glen Allen. That discovery is commemorated in the Bollinger County Museum of Natural History.
Flight details: 21 NM and .4 hours
Route: KCGI-0T3
Next leg: Marble Hill to Fredericktown
