Gunter’s Sunday World Flights
Join us every Sunday for about 2 hours when we fly somewhere in the world. We are using different airplanes for these flights, from small GA planes to jets. No experience is necessary. If you have ever wanted to give multiplayer flying a try and have not known where to start, and enjoy a calm and relaxed environment with like-minded others, this is the place for you.
- Where: DigitalThemePark Discord
- When: Every Sunday at 10:00a PT / 13:00p ET / 1700 UTC
- Requirements: Your simulator and aircraft of choice
Sunday, Mar 15 Flight
Hi everyone,
This virtual flight traces a path across occupied and contested Ukrainian territory — Crimea, Kherson Oblast, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, and Donetsk Oblast. All of these regions are internationally recognised as Ukrainian territory but have been fully or partially under Russian military occupation since 2022.
We’re departing from Khersones Air Base (UKSV), perched on a small cape at the southwestern tip of the Crimean Peninsula, right on the Black Sea. The airfield sits just a couple of kilometres from the ancient ruins of Chersonesus, one of the most significant archaeological sites in the former Soviet world. The ancient city was located on the shore of the Black Sea on the outskirts of present-day Sevastopol, where the site is referred to as Khersones — and the name Chersonesos in Greek literally means “peninsula,” which aptly describes the location. The ruins date back to 422 BC, and this is famously the place where Volodymyr the Great was baptised into Christianity in AD 988, launching what would become the Russian Orthodox Church. As for Sevastopol itself, the city has had one of the more dramatic histories in the region. The Russians began constructing a naval base there in 1783, named Sevastopol the following year, and after the base was completed in 1804, it became the home of the Black Sea Fleet. Today, Crimea has been under Russian military occupation since 2014, internationally recognised as Ukrainian territory. We’re heading northeast across the Crimean Peninsula. The terrain shifts as we move inland — the dramatic Crimean Mountains running along the southern coast give way to the flat, dry steppe of central Crimea. Our first stop is Gora Klementyeva (UKKB), a small strip that has been used as a gliding and skydiving site. The “Gora” in the name means “mountain” in Ukrainian and Russian — it refers to the hill that made this spot famous for soaring in the Soviet era. This was one of the earliest sites for aviation in the USSR and hosted international glider competitions. We follow the coast north. Our next stop is Henichesk (UKHE), actually destroyed, but usable in the sim. Henichesk arose in 1784 as a crossing and border fortification on the site of a Turkish fortress called Enichi, which dated to 1703. It was a port and trade centre on the salt route running from Crimea north through Ukraine and Russia, and by the turn of the 20th century, it had one of the largest flour mills in southern Ukraine. Salt was the engine of this town for generations — the hypersaline lakes nearby and the Syvash lagoon system made it a natural hub for the trade. The town became one of the main export points for bread, salt, and wool in the Azov region. The real star of the area, visible right from the airfield, is the Arabat Spit. It’s the largest sand spit in Ukraine, separating the Syvash Bay from the Sea of Azov — about 115 kilometres long and between 270 metres and 8 kilometres wide, formed by sand washing roughly 850 years ago. Before the war, it was a hugely popular Ukrainian holiday destination — warm shallow sea, therapeutic mud, and thermal springs. Heading northeast, we stay over the flat steppe of southern Ukraine. The landscape here is classic Eastern European agricultural plain — broad open fields of wheat, sunflowers, and grain. The next stop is Melitopol (UKME), a large industrial center. Melitopol has been under Russian occupation since late February 2022. For our final leg, we head east along the northern coast of the Sea of Azov, crossing into Donetsk Oblast. The Azov coast is flat and wide, with long sandy spits and shallow lagoons — the sea is famously shallow, rarely more than 15 metres deep, which gives it warm summer temperatures but also makes it more susceptible to storms. Our destination is Mariupol (UKCM). The city was founded in 1778 as Pavlovsk, on the site of a former Cossack encampment, and renamed Mariupol in 1779 to honour Maria Fyodorovna, the second wife of Crown Prince Paul. In 1780, its population grew rapidly after a large number of Greeks from the Crimean Peninsula were resettled there. Known as “the ocean gateway of the Donbas,” Mariupol was used by Ukraine to export metals, grain, salt, and machinery while receiving iron ore, manganese ore, and cement.
The flight is 290 miles long with 3 landings. We want to cruise at about 250 knots, and we have some grass runways. Amoung others, the King Air, TBM, or PC-12 are suitable aircraft. I will be in the BlackSquare Starship. As always, please fly what you like.
Additional scenery: all links refer to flightsim.to.
We try real weather. Please set your simulator for a 3 pm local departure.
The flightplan is here..
Cheers
Gunter
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