A tour around Borneo

[Viking01 190]

We are back in Malaysia, on the Island of Borneo in the province of Sabah.

Our departure airport is Kota Kinabalu (WBKK). We head northeast and explore Malaysia‘s highest mountain, Mount Kinabalu. It reaches 13435 feet and can be climbed without any mountaineering equipment.

We turn southeast and land at Ranau (WBKR). We continue towards Mount Mantapok and land at Pamaul (WBKP) and continue towards Sandakan (WBKS). Sandakan is the second largest town in the Province of Sabah. Sandakan began to prosper when the British North Borneo Company (BNBC) started to build a new settlement in 1879, developing it into an active commercial and trading center as well as making it the main administrative center for North Borneo. The British also encouraged the migration of the Chinese from British Hong Kong to develop the economy of Sandakan. However, the prosperity halted when the Japanese occupied the area. As the war continued and Allied bombing started in 1944, the town was totally destroyed. Unable to fund the costs of the reconstruction, the administrative powers of North Borneo were handed over to the Crown Colony government. Subsequently, the administrative capital of North Borneo was moved to Jesselton. As part of the 1948–1955 Colonial Office Reconstruction and Development Plan, the crown colony government began to develop the fishing industry in Sandakan. Sandakan is one of the main ports for oil, tobacco, coffee, sago, and timber exports. Other economic activities include fishing, shipbuilding, eco-tourism, and manufacturing. Among the tourist attractions in Sandakan are the Sandakan Heritage Museum, Sandakan Cultural Festival, Sandakan War Memorial, Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary, Turtle Islands National Park, and Gomantong Caves.

We continue southeast and land at Tommanggong (WBKM). Here we turn south and then west and reach Lahad Datu (WBKD). On 23 September 1985, 15-20 armed foreign pirates from the neighboring Philippines landed on this town, killing at least 21 people and injuring 11 others. Another standoff occurred in February 2013 and lasted for over a month between Malaysian authorities and the Filipino-based militants of the self-proclaimed "Royal Security Forces of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo" led by Jamalul Kiram III resulted in a Malaysian victory and creation of the Eastern Sabah Security Command and Eastern Sabah Security Zone. The standoff reportedly saw a total of 68 deaths – 56 from the Sulu sultanate, nine from the Malaysian authorities, and six civilians. Before this incursion, the government of Malaysia continued to dutifully pay an annual cession payment amounting to roughly $1,000 to the indirect heirs of the Sultan honoring an 1878 agreement, where North Borneo – today’s Sabah – was conceded by the late Sultan of Sulu to a British company. After the event, the Malaysian government halted the payment. Years later, eight of these Sulu heirs, who insisted they were not involved in the standoff, hired lawyers to pursue legal action based on the original commercial deal. The case is still ongoing.

We cross the peninsula and land at Tawau (WBKW).

Before the founding of Tawau, the region around it was the subject of dispute between the British and Dutch spheres of influence. In 1893, the first British merchant vessel sailed into Tawau, marking the opening of the town's seaport. In 1898, the British set up a settlement in Tawau. The North Borneo Chartered Company (BNBC) accelerated the growth of the settlement's population by encouraging the immigration of Chinese. Consequent to the Japanese occupation of North Borneo, the Allied forces bombed the town in mid-1944, razing it to the ground. After the Japanese surrender in 1945, 2,900 Japanese soldiers in Tawau became prisoners of war and were transferred to Jesselton. Tawau was rebuilt after the war, and by the end of 1947, the economy was restored to its pre-war status. Tawau was also the main point of conflict during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation from 1963 to 1966. During that period, it was garrisoned by the British Special Boat Section, and guarded by Australian Destroyers and combat aircraft. In December 1963, Tawau was bombed twice by Indonesia and shootings occurred across the Tawau-Sebatik Island international border. Indonesians were found trying to poison the town's water supply. In January 1965, a curfew was imposed to prevent Indonesian attackers from contacting Indonesians living in the town. While in June 1965, another attempted invasion by the Indonesian forces was repelled by bombardment by an Australian destroyer. The military conflict finally ended in December 1966. Among the tourist attractions in Tawau are: the Tawau International Cultural Festival, Tawau Bell Tower, Japanese War Cemetery, Confrontation Memorial, Teck Guan Cocoa Museum, Tawau Hills National Park, Bukit Gemok, and Tawau Tanjung Markets. The main economic activities of the town are timber, cocoa, oil palm plantations, and prawn farming. We finish the flight at Old Tawau (WB10).

The flight plans are available here. 

The flight has 277 miles and 6 landings. I will be in the AzurPoly OV-10 Bronco. There is a freeware version of the Bronco available at flightsim.to.  Any aircraft capable of cruising at about 200 knots and operating from a 2100-foot runway is suitable.

There are 7 downloads available. Some airfields require the Malaysian Airstrip Pack, they are not in the default database.

https://flightsim.to/file/28060/wbkk-kkia-kota-kinabalu-international-freeware-edition

https://flightsim.to/file/42232/ranau-airstrip

https://flightsim.to/file/46596/pamol-airstrip

https://flightsim.to/file/6594/malaysia-airfield-pack

https://flightsim.to/file/14214/tawau-airport-wbkw

https://flightsim.to/file/41520/old-tawau-airport

https://flightsim.to/file/13808/sandakan-airport-wbks

We try real weather. Please set your simulator for 4 pm local departure.

 

These flights are events posted at DigitalThemePark and use DTP's Teamspeak Channel for communication.

 

If you want to help others enjoy the multiplayer experience, don't forget to enter your aircraft details on the multiplayer spreadsheet (linked here). Please be kind enough to enter the title exactly as it stands in the title=”xxx” line of the aircraft.cfg file. Your courtesy will save others a lot of time and effort. Thanks!

[Viking01 190]

I included the wrong flight plans for the GTN - users. Please use this link to get the extended version. The arrival airport is not in the GTN database.