Small Regional Operations
Neither the elite traveler nor the sim pilot should live by bizjet alone. The prop-plane roots of Red Mountain Airlines Group have been preserved in limited fashion, as an enhancement to the flagship NetJets operation.
Red Mountain Airlines lives on as a single, unbranded aircraft operation based at Scottsdale Airpark (KSDL), using the Beech Starship. Services are geared towards high end luxury travel for those wanting the unique Starship experience, and are largely seasonal. Winter ski season sees charters to Telluride and Durango. The summer and fall seasons of the Utah Shakespeare festival are when Cedar City is served. Las Vegas, Sedona and St. George are served year-round, with SGU being a unique golf destination.
MSFS pilots, your aircraft is the BlackSquare payware, using the N2000S livery with the dynamic registration of N200RM.
FSX/P3D pilots, there's a freeware package with a 2D cockpit and an RMA livery here, but you are welcome to use the FS9 package with a VC, although it is limited in FSX and newer platforms.
Mauna Rua Air, the Hawaiian branch of RMAG also lives on, with a single King Air 200 (Carenado payware) based at Kona, ready to shuttle high-end golfing customers to various places in Hawaii where a bizjet cannot go. These locations correspond to real world golf courses playable in Links 2003, tying in nicely with our flagship Netjets partnership with the PGA Tour (even as the Tour will cease stopping in Hawaii for 2027).
N200MR is available here for FSX/P3D with a gorgeous custom paint job featuring Hawaiian fire goddess Pele on the tail. MSFS pilots, use this livery with the dynamic registration to get an evocative visual of moulten lava for your flights.
LinksAir is a concept borne of the Links 2003 golf simulator for PC. There's even a few old airliner paints out there in cyberspace. The refined concept revolves around golf club members in certain geographic zones flying GA to play neighboring courses; sort of like applying fractional aircraft share to your golf club membership. The Mauna Rua Air operation is the Links Air franchise for Hawaii. Other franchise areas include the "original" southwestern USA concept based at Van Nuys, and other area concepts, each of which can be given their own twist. The West might need the use of faster turboprops or even light jets, whereas smaller and slower GA aircraft can serve the Carolinas, Michigan and the Northeast easily enough. Most of these small operations would involve two aircraft. Due to Netjets overlap, the Van Nuys concept is not represented here.
Links Air Michigan bases at Oakland County International (KPTK), and serves not only the many Links 2003 courses in Michigan, but a few across Lake Michigan in Wisconsin, as well. (Inverness Club in Toledo is served via Monroe, in honor of the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry.) Two aircraft are envisioned here; a piston single and a twin, perhaps a small King Air, or the PC-12. Unlike other LinksAir concept areas, Michigan's operation does involve destinations with only one course nearby. All other operations have a minimum of two nearby courses for every destination. With so many destination pairs, there are no flight numbers in FS Hub.
The Carolina operation bases at Charleston Executive Airport (KJZI), near the Kiawah Island Resort's two courses, and serves nearby Myrtle Beach, Pinehurst and Sea Island resort destinations. A two-aircraft operation is envisioned; both single-engine (TBM, Meridian or even one of them a PC-12). Flight numbers in FS Hub begin with LNC.
While there is some Netjets overlap to these operations, the cost-effectiveness of smaller propeller planes would likely drive the market. LinksAir is just a further nice way to integrate a great golf platform into your flight sim experience, and vice versa.
