Bare bones navigation from the dawn of commercial aviation…
Flying really low and slow in all weathers, day and night, no autopilot required…
Following in the slipstream of Leon D. Cuddeback & Elrey B. Jeppesen…

Version 2.1 update:

It seems there was an issue with our services files. This is an Asobo MSFS issue.
It disables services on a global scale, including glider tows.

We looked into it, and compiled an update. Please download and install this latest version, 2.1 It completey replaces version 2.0.

Delete the 2.0 version from your Comunity folder, before installing this update.

Our Version 2 is now ready and includes:

• our original Contract Air Mail 5 (CAM5) route from Salt Lake City, UT to Pasco, WA but with new and improved models and lighting
• the CAM32 route from Portland, OR to Spokane, WA (33 beacons) using the new models and lighting
• the additional lighting for CAM32’s 25 mile stretch through the Columbia River Gorge, east of Portland, with beacons positioned to allow air mail pilots to fly under the low cloud and fog that frequently blankets the gorge
• the northernmost section of CAM8 from Portland, OR to Seattle, WA (17 beacons), using the new models
• 11 Intermediate Landing Fields along the airways; located, laid out and lit according to their descriptions in the official Airway Bulletins, making it possible to fly shorter sections of the CAMs
• terraforming and tree felling to ensure that arrows and beacons are visible in the modern landscape
• CSV files for use with Little Nav Map and other flight planning software
• KMZ reference files for each of the routes
• a 32 page manual with information about the CAM system and the air mail pilots, the different elements of the addon, suggestions of what to fly, links to the original sectional and strip maps and the 1931 weather overviews for the states we cover

Don't forget that Arrows Across America Varney Airlines veries for the DC Designs Stearman PT17 are also available at the following link at Flightsim.to

Stearman PT17 VarneyAirMail

If this sounds like your kind of flying, then we might have something for you.

Inspired by a discussion on a MSFS forum thread we have been recreating an original US Air Mail airway for the sim.

In 1926 the US Postal Service & Department of Commerce began contracting air mail routes that would eventually criss-cross the USA.
Each route was marked approximately every 10 miles by a path of 51' long yellow concrete arrows with flashing rotating beacons mounted on 51’ towers, interspersed with landing fields. 
The beacons have a generator shed and a fuel tank, and the Airway and Beacon number on the roof of the shed. The arrow points in the general direction of where the next beacon is.

Some surviving arrows are visible on Bing Maps, meaning that they are also visible in the sim, if you know where to look.

So, we have decided to recreate the whole 485 mile Contract Air Mail 5 (CAM5) route from Salt Lake City UT to Pasco WA, using original maps and research by aviation historians.

The route is mapped, 51 individually numbered beacon sites have been built to scale, with a animated rotating beacon, positioned precisely using the original sectionals & surviving remains.

If you want to find out more about the airway system, then these sites are a great place to get started:
Arrows Acros America
thesurveystation

And for an account of how low you need to go to fly the mail check this interview with Elrey Jeppesen
Jeppesen interview

See you on the Airway! We would love to hear your feedback and see screenshots of your air mail runs.

Acknowledgements notes and :

• RobCap1966: 3D modelling & lighting; CAM5 & CAM8 lead
• PipsPriller: research, route mapping & documentation; ILF lead
• Megadyptes7635: terraforming; liveries; CAM32 lead
• MrsCappers: decal creation and logo design
• Mamu, Rhumba Flappy and the community at FSDeveloper.com: support in building and animating our custom models
• YouTube videos by Flying Theston, Federico Pinotti, MyPhysical World: help in with understanding Blender and the MSFS SDK
• Stearmandriver2: beta testing
• WaldoP3pper: beta testing
• The many enthusiasts, researchers and historians who have documented the air mail service and the CAM system, allowing us to reconstruct it for MSFS.

Disclaimers

• Textures and effects for the beacons are stock MSFS but for the ILFs to display all buildings fully you should have the C53 Lower Loon Creek airfield from World Update 10 installed.
• An MSFS bug may mean that the beacons 8, 9A and 10 on CAM5 do not show properly once Beacon 9A has been passed. Similarly,
• Beacon 3A (Beacon Rock) on CAM32 may not always show. These seem to be an intermittent problem and we will continue to
  look for a fix as the SDK is updated.
• Some of the generator shed and hangar decals may flicker from certain angles and in certain lights. Again, we will keep working on this and issue a fix as when we can.
• In a tribute to the skills of the airway surveyors, many of the original beacon sites are now occupied by modern aerials and mobile phone masts. To avoid doubling up, we recommend disabling Puffin’s “We Love VFR” add-on whilst flying the airways.

Legal Stuff
This scenery is released as FREEWARE. You may use it for your personal enjoyment, but you may NOT use it in any kind of money-making endeavor, you may NOT modify it and you may NOT publicly distribute any copies of it, whether modified or not, without my permission.

Rob Cappers 

GPS Coordinates

43.12691802,-115.7274829