Today, I wished to wrap-up my initial exposure to this nice (YS-11) Turboprop of the yesteryears, with a 2nd flight, mimicking a route of the classic U.S. airline, Piedmont Airlines. Interestingly (and coincidentally), I'd flown a Douglas DC-3 here, previous to flying this YS-11, which was in fact intended as a DC-3 replacement by some operators (a remarkable contrast of airplanes, indeed). Anyway, as I am eagerly waiting for add-on liveries of the YS-11 in the Marketplace/Xbox, I fly, for this post, a stock livery of the a/c that came with the iniBuilds package.

It's significant to note that:
"There are two entities associated with the name Piedmont Airlines: the original Piedmont Airlines (1948–1989), a major carrier that later merged with USAir, and the current Piedmont Airlines (operating since 1993), a regional airline owned by American Airlines that was rebranded from Henson Airlines. The modern Piedmont Airlines' name and logo were revived to preserve the legacy of the historical airline and also to protect the trademark."

The original (and historic) Piedmont Airlines flew routes between Wilmington, North Carolina, and Cincinnati, Ohio. The "new" Piedmont Airlines has its main hubs at (KCLT) Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina and (KPHL) Philadelphia International Airport in Pennsylvania. So, I fly, here, symbolically, from Charlotte to Philadelphia (see my MSFS EFB Map in shot #9). However, to make the flight a bit more interesting visually, instead of tracking the suggested SimBrief Route, I have initially headed straight north, after lifting off Runway 36R of KCLT, into the airspace right over the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains. These mountains are part of the larger Appalachians, a mountain range, I've visited several times in RW, including particularly the portions of the Blue Ridge Mountains, located in the state of North Carolina (shot #s 10-13). 

I've performed a Cold & Dark start-up of this YS-11 (see the comparative Engine Parameters Gauges in shot #s 2 and 3 below); quite a pleasing and unique experience, if you ask me, e.g., listening to the unmistakable spooling-up sounds of those legendary Rolls-Royce Dart Mk.542 powerplants. A distinctive, high-pitched whine or shrill whistle is a well-known characteristic of the Rolls-Royce Dart turboprop engines, especially at low speeds on the ground. This unique sound is a consequence of the engine's design, which features a high-speed centrifugal compressor. With engines running normally on the ground, I noticed that as I gradually increased my "TV" volume... (I'm on the Xbox...🙂...); and went just past 50% mark; the high-pitched whine became rather pronounced...which is "noise" to some but "music" to others such as us aviation enthusiasts...🙂...I invite you to listen to the sounds of the engines on this SIM a/c, if you've not had a chance yet; of course, with due (safety) consideration for yourself, your family, friends, and pets...and plants...🙂...that may be in the vicinity of your (imaginary) cockpit and airplane (I needed to protect my 5-month-old (sensitive) Kitten from the noise of those Dart engines...🙂...) ...

I've also explored the airplane's interiors a bit, see e.g., shots of the inbuilt Airstairs operation simulated by the "STAIRS LOCK/UNLOCK" control (Tooltip shown in one image below). And I know, the "functioning" Toilet... (whether it should exist or not in the SIM rendition) is a matter of great controversy within our community...🙂...I've shown one image of it (shot #6) below (I did notice, toilet paper is stocked properly in the holder), though I didn't (care to) listen to the sound of the flushing toilet, instead, rather preferring to listen to the sound of the Dart engines. But there is no denying that the (functioning) toilets are significant in RW operation, especially in long-haul flights; I recall now one instance where one of the Restrooms, on a long-haul B777 flight, was in-operative; causing tremendous inconvenience to the pax. So, the toilet might indeed have its rightful place in our virtual world of aviation too...🙂...Oh well...

Hope you enjoy the collection of images of this iconic (Japanese) Turboprop YS-11, flying here one more time, at the command of yours truly; starting with Engine Covers (shot #1), followed by Cold & Dark startup, and then getting it ready for flight-worthy condition, for an enjoyable (but short) 450 miles trip over and across the (familiar) Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, to my final destination of (KPHL) Philadelphia's ILS Runway 09R.

Thanks for viewing and happy flying in the SIM of your choice...!

Edited September 30, 2025Sep 30 by P_7878

Brings back memories, It needs the classic 1968 Piedmont YS-11 delivery paint scheme

Edited September 30, 2025Sep 30 by jymp

Great plane shots, great mountain shots. So glad to see the YS-11 repaints coming through today on the .to site for both MS2024 and MS2020. I was holding my breath (fingers crossed too) for the latter.

4 hours ago, jymp said:

Brings back memories, It needs the classic 1968 Piedmont YS-11 delivery paint scheme

Thanks for chiming into my post. Yes, agree; that primary Piedmont livery of “Red, White, and Blue” would be so nice to have on the YS-11. Our repainters must be already busy…🙂…

 

18 minutes ago, John F said:

Great plane shots, great mountain shots. So glad to see the YS-11 repaints coming through today on the .to site for both MS2024 and MS2020. I was holding my breath (fingers crossed too) for the latter.

Appreciated the feedback, John. So, it looks like you got this bird too…🙂…This a/c being for both FS20 and FS24, surely you’ll have plenty of colors to fly with. I’m hoping for the same in the Marketplace/Xbox…🙂…

Fine set, thanks for sharing !

cheers 😉

Hi TOGA-saurus:

Glad you liked this YS-11 post…🙂…

 

18 hours ago, pmplayer said:

Fine set, thanks for sharing !

cheers 😉

pmplayer:

Appreciated the note, and you’re welcome…🙂…!

Cheers…!