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 / 1600 UTC
- Requirements: Your simulator and aircraft of choice
Sunday, May 24 Flight
Hi everyone,
We continue our tour around the Black Sea and depart from Pashkovsky (URKK), Krasnodar’s main airport.
We head back to the Black Sea and cross the Caucasus. The Greater Caucasus forms a nearly impassable wall, a natural barrier separating two very different air masses — and historically, two different worlds. On the north side: Russia’s flat steppe. On the south side: the lush, subtropical Black Sea coast. Once clear of the ridge and beginning to descend toward the sea, the landscape transforms completely — dense green forest, rivers tumbling down to the shore, and the blue of the Black Sea stretching out to the west. We land at Agoy (UAGG), a small village with a beach stretching over 400 metres, and trees growing right up to the water’s edge. The village is over 100 years old, founded in 1915. There’s no big resort infrastructure here — it’s the kind of place Russian families come for a quieter alternative to the crowds further south. Next up is Sochi (URSS). Sochi was established in 1896 on the site of a former military fort and began developing as a resort area in 1902. The presence of mineral springs, beautiful coastal and mountain scenery, and a warm, humid subtropical climate quickly made it a large and popular holiday destination. Sochi is the only city in Russia with a humid subtropical climate — palms, magnolias, and citrus trees grow alongside traditional Russian birches and pines. In the early 1930s, the Soviet government allocated 1.4 billion rubles to develop Sochi, inviting the best architects and engineers. The resort was meant to show the whole world how a person would live under communism — a Utopian fairy tale by the sea. By the 1960s, Sochi was home to a network of sanatoriums and rest homes serving the Soviet elite, with retreats for artists and intellectuals. Sports celebrities and cosmonauts trained and recovered there. It became a kind of Shangri-La, a “dream place.” Then came the 2014 Winter Olympics, which transformed the infrastructure again. Greater Sochi stretches about 145 kilometres along the coast, making it technically the longest city in Europe. The nearby Rosa Khutor ski resort, built for the Olympics, is now one of Russia’s premier winter sports destinations. After Sochi, the coastline continues southeast, and we pass the border from Russia into Abkhazia. This is one of the most geopolitically loaded stretches of coastline in the world. Abkhazia is a small disputed territory on the eastern shore of the Black Sea that declared independence from Georgia in 1999 following a civil war in 1992–1993. Despite recognition by a handful of nations, including Russia, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, Abkhazia’s sovereignty is not recognized by most of the international community. Georgia regards it as occupied territory. After the 2008 Russo-Georgian War, Abkhazia allowed Russia to take control of its border, railways, and airport, and to build military bases in the region. The territory is effectively a Russian protectorate — it uses the Russian ruble, Russian passports are widespread, and Russian soldiers are stationed there. Our next stop is Gudauta (UG23), the capital of Abkhazia. It’s the administrative center of its district and has a population of around 9,000 people. The area has its own microclimate — the bay is small, and the town is more exposed to sea winds, making it a bit cooler than nearby villages. The town is a traditional, calm Black Sea resort — but like most small resort villages in Abkhazia, it’s somewhat neglected: roads are in disrepair, the city park is abandoned, and buildings are dilapidated. Gudauta is also notable for hosting a Russian military base, which tells something about the current reality on the ground. Our next landing is at the Vladislav Ardzinba Sukhum International Airport (UGSS) — formerly known as Sukhumi Babushara — the main airport of Abkhazia. On 1 May 2025, it resumed operations and direct flights with Moscow for the first time since the 1990s and the war in Abkhazia. The airport was built in the mid-1960s during the Soviet era, when it was used purely for domestic flights — primarily to bring Soviet citizens to the beaches of Abkhazia. Close to 5,000 people a day used to pass through in the summer months. Then the civil war hit in the early 1990s, and everything stopped. The airport was heavily damaged, and land mines were subsequently cleared from its grounds by the HALO Trust, the only mine clearance agency active in Abkhazia. It then sat largely dormant for over 30 years before recently reopening. The entire story of this airport is essentially a condensed version of Abkhazia’s own turbulent history. Now we cross into Georgia proper. Georgia (Sakartvelo in Georgian) is a country of extraordinary geographic variety — from the subtropical Black Sea coast to alpine glaciers to semi-arid wine valleys. The Georgian script is one of only a handful of unique alphabets in the world. The country has had a turbulent recent history. It gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, went through a chaotic and violent 1990s, experienced the Rose Revolution in 2003, which brought a pro-Western government to power, and then fought a brief but consequential war with Russia in 2008 over South Ossetia, which, like Abkhazia, remains a frozen conflict and Russian-backed breakaway region. Georgia has been on a path toward EU integration, though that process has had its tensions. What visitors almost universally remark on is the warmth of Georgian hospitality — there’s even a saying that a guest is a gift from God — the remarkable cuisine, and the wine culture (Georgia is considered one of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world, going back some 8,000 years). We land at Kopitnari (UGKO), the airport serving Kutaisi, Georgia’s third-largest city. Officially named David the Builder Kutaisi International Airport, it is the second busiest airport in Georgia, handling 1.7 million passengers in 2024. Originally a military airfield built after World War II, the site was used during the Soviet years for domestic flights connecting Kutaisi with other cities across the USSR. It was closed for renovation in 2011 and reopened in 2012 with Wizz Air as a key partner, which quickly made it Georgia’s main hub for low-cost airlines connecting the country with European destinations.Kutaisi itself is an ancient city — one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world — and was historically the capital of the Kingdom of Colchis (the land of the Golden Fleece) and later the capital of the united Kingdom of Georgia.
We finish at Batumi (UGSB), the second-largest city in Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara. The city has been a place of importance for a very long time — the earliest known written reference to Batumi is attributed to Aristotle in the 4th century BC. The ancient Greeks called it Bathys Limen — “the deep harbor” — which is still accurate; it remains a major working port today. Its economy historically relied on maritime trade and oil transit, particularly after the construction of the Baku–Batumi pipeline in the early 20th century, and it remains a key transit point for Caspian energy exports. Today, Batumi is often referred to as the “Las Vegas of the Black Sea” for its gambling industry, modern hotels, and nightlife.
The flight is 300 miles long with 5 landings. The flight plans are here. We want to cruise at about 220 knots and have one stop with a 2000-foot runway. I will be in the SWS PC-12, please fly what you like.
Additional scenery: all links refer to flightsim. to.
We try real weather. Please set your simulator for a 12 noon local departure.
The flight plan is here.
Cheers
Gunter
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