[ MSFS2020 | VATSIM ] The A2A Comanche for Chicago ARTCC's "Field of Dreams"!

Tonight, Chicago ARTCC decided to test the axiom that "If you staff it, they will come" by hosting "Field of Dreams" featuring almost every towered facility within the state of Iowa! Our itinerary -- originally planned for the Lear 35 but moved to the A2A Comanche based on the distances between each stop -- formed a giant letter "M" starting at Des Moines (KDSM), then to Waterloo (KALO), Cedar Rapids (KCID), Dubuque (KDBQ), then Moline (KMLI). The latter two, we had visited on a prior "River Run" stream, given that both lie right along the Mississippi -- but it had been since October, so we figured it was high time to head back!
The weather across the region was mostly clear but quite windy as we prepped the plane for our first leg. Our plan out of Des Moines was to follow a northeast-bound highway to Marshalltown, then basically ded-reckon the last 35 miles, with the Waterloo VOR as a cross-reference. We were briefly surprised when our Ground controller at Des Moines asked about our navigation equipment, and we noted a couple other minor curiosities that aren't unheard of instructions for VFR flights but aren't common. However, we also know that VATSIM controllers often don't get much practice handling VFR traffic -- and, overall, the service we received was wonderful. (And, who knows -- those things I considered unusual might be standard for VFR traffic in that area; who am I to say?)
Not long after we got airborne we were allowed to proceed on course; however, our controller then asked us to turn 30 degrees left for traffic (which they can certainly ask a VFR flight to do, even in Class E airspace, if we're on the frequency and receiving Flight Following services). By the time we were cleared to resume our own navigation, I wasn't sure which road I was wanting to follow -- so we elected to lean on the VOR for guidance after all. As we approached Waterloo, the winds were strong out of the west -- and while we were offered Runway 36, we asked for and were granted Runway 30 instead. With one other aircraft in the pattern and two others on approach, and a long way down the runway to our turnoff, we intentionally kept the speed up and landed a little long. But aside from a slight skip, the arrival was nice and smooth.
Next was Cedar Rapids, and the Cedar River offered us an easy-to-spot path with another VOR available as a fallback. But the river worked out well enough, and a north/south road just east of the airport offered a guideline for our base leg to Runway 27. We slightly overshot the base-to-final turn and pitch control was a bit wavy -- chalk it up to nerves due to the pilot at the hold-short line being held up for our arrival. But after all was said and done, we were down safely for the second time.
Stop three was Dubuque, 54 miles northeast along a zig-zaggy US Highway 151, and also with a VOR co-located for easy cross-reference. Dubuque had almost the identical layout to Waterloo, with a 31 and a 36 available and Runway 31 being preferred with the wind conditions. There was some other traffic in the area and it seemed like the controller briefly wondered whether he needed to mitigate spacing -- but we promised to pull a very short base leg in, and executed it fairly competently to expedite our arrival before our new friend behind us. We still had a bit of sideways action and a bit of an overflare -- but, generally speaking, we got down on the blocks and off at the first taxiway, so it was a success based on the main goals we had!
Our final destination for the evening was Quad Cities AKA Moline, which serves that municipality plus Rock Island, Davenport, and Bettendorf. This was another airport where we had a set of divided highways to navigate visually with to help us find, but our first which did not have a VOR basically right at the field. We were confident that the road, the Mississippi River, and the bridges over the waterway would be enough landmarks for us -- yet, when we got into the area, we really weren't completely sure we were in the right spot. We made our best guess based on our position from the island, and fortunately happened to be correct. We eventually saw that there was a second river -- the Rock River, as it turns out -- which served as a lead-in for the westbound runway. We were a bit late getting speed and altitude off, and were managing drag deployment all the way to about a half-mile final. Yet somehow we got it all worked out for a nice smooth arrival to end the evening on! -- Watch live at / slantalphaadventures

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The Comanche is one of those top-tier aircraft addons for MSFS worthy of the contents of your wallet.