MICROSOFT FLIGHT SIMULATOR BRIEFING ONLY · NOT FOR REAL-WORLD FLIGHT PLANNING OR NAVIGATION
Stage 02 • New Zealand • Central Taupō Volcanic Zone

NZRO (Rotorua) to NZAP (Taupo)

Tarawera, Okataina and the immense Taupō caldera

Route Distance74.4 NM
Est. Time (150 kt)00h 30m
Suggested Sim Altitude6,500–9,500 ft
Visual Waypoints3

Departure: NZRO (Rotorua)

  • Elevation: 937 ft MSL
  • Runway: Hard surface, longest 6,056 ft · approx hdg 205°T
  • Fuel: Avgas / Jet fuel
  • Comms: Tower 120.1 | ATIS 128.8
  • MSFS mag var: 21.3°E

Arrival: NZAP (Taupo)

  • Elevation: 1,322 ft MSL
  • Runway: Hard surface, longest 4,536 ft · approx hdg 195°T
  • Fuel: Avgas / Jet fuel
  • Comms: UNICOM 118.4
  • MSFS mag var: 21.8°E
Volcanology Brief

Mount Tarawera

Tectonic setting: Back-arc extension and subduction-related volcanism within the Taupō Volcanic Zone.

Why it matters: The 1886 eruption ripped open a chain of craters across Tarawera; the fissure is still striking from the air.

Visual Route Map, Magnetic Tracks & Radio References

RING OF FIRE · VISUAL / MAGNETIC TRACK CHART N E S W VAR 21.5°E MSFS RADIO NAV REFERENCESRO VOR/DME 112.10 MHzAP DME 116.70 MHzTG DME 113.20 MHz 107°M336°M187°M018°M NZRO · RotoruaTARAW · Mount TaraweraOKATA · Okataina CalderaTAUPO · Taupō CalderaNZAP · Taupo RO VOR/DME 112.10 MHzAP DME 116.70 MHz Departure Arrival Volcano Caldera Optional airfield Route / °M badges

MSFS Radio Navigation References

Departure VOR
RO · VOR/DME
ROTORUA
112.10 MHz · 0.2 NM from reference point
Arrival VOR
AP · VOR/DME
TAUPO
116.70 MHz · 0.5 NM from reference point
En-route VOR
TG · VOR/DME
TAURANGA
113.20 MHz · 44.8 NM from reference point

Navigation & Waypoint Breakdown

IdentTypeTrack (°M)Nav / FrequencyLeg DistCum. ETELandmarks & Sim Flying Notes
NZRODeparture —RO VOR/DME 112.10 MHz 0.0 NM00:00 Depart Rotorua; establish the visual route only when simulator weather and terrain are suitable.
TARAWVolcano / VP 107°Visual volcano 11.3 NM00h 05m Distinctive fissured summit.
OKATACaldera / VP 336°Visual 7.6 NM00h 08m Large silicic volcanic centre east of Rotorua.
TAUPOCaldera / VP 187°Visual 49.2 NM00h 27m Use the lake margins as the visual gate into Taupō.
NZAPArrival 018°AP DME 116.70 MHz 6.2 NM00h 30m Land at Taupo.

Volcano & Terrain Tips — Simulator

  • Ash / plume awareness: Treat any visible volcanic plume as a no-go visual area in the simulator and route around it.
  • Terrain: The altitude band is a sightseeing suggestion, not a clearance guarantee. Use the simulator's terrain/weather information and stay laterally clear of high summits.
  • Weather: Mountain cloud, rotor and poor visibility can hide landmarks quickly. If the route stops being visually comfortable in MSFS, divert around the high terrain.

Data Note

Airport existence, coordinates, elevation, magnetic variation, runway length, fuel flags and airport radio frequencies are derived from the supplied MSFS 2024 scenery-library CSV; radio-navigation references use the supplied VOR, NDB and ILS datasets.

VOR, NDB and ILS references are selected from the supplied MSFS 2024 navigation-library CSVs. Only nearby aids useful for orientation are shown, so the volcanic sightseeing route remains visually readable.

Digital Asset Pack

EFB / Route Reference

NZRO TARAW OKATA TAUPO NZAP

Garmin TDS GTNXi-style Reference

FPN/RI:NZRO:TARAW:OKATA:TAUPO:NZAP

Volcano identifiers are custom visual waypoints from this briefing.

MSFS .pln Skeleton

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<SimBase.Document>
  <FlightPlan.FlightPlan>
    <Title>Ring of Fire Stage 02 NZRO to NZAP</Title>
    <FPType>VFR</FPType>
    <RouteType>Direct</RouteType>
    <CruisingAlt>6500</CruisingAlt>
    <DepartureID>NZRO</DepartureID>
    <DestinationID>NZAP</DestinationID>
        <ATCWaypoint id="NZRO">
            <ATCWaypointType>Airport</ATCWaypointType>
            <WorldPosition>S38° 06' 32.99",E176° 19' 01.97",+000937.13</WorldPosition>
        </ATCWaypoint>
        <ATCWaypoint id="TARAW">
            <ATCWaypointType>User</ATCWaypointType>
            <WorldPosition>S38° 13' 33.60",E176° 30' 21.60",+003645.00</WorldPosition>
        </ATCWaypoint>
        <ATCWaypoint id="OKATA">
            <ATCWaypointType>User</ATCWaypointType>
            <WorldPosition>S38° 06' 00.00",E176° 30' 00.00",+002500.00</WorldPosition>
        </ATCWaypoint>
        <ATCWaypoint id="TAUPO">
            <ATCWaypointType>User</ATCWaypointType>
            <WorldPosition>S38° 49' 12.00",E176° 00' 00.00",+001170.00</WorldPosition>
        </ATCWaypoint>
        <ATCWaypoint id="NZAP">
            <ATCWaypointType>Airport</ATCWaypointType>
            <WorldPosition>S38° 44' 23.00",E176° 05' 03.99",+001321.63</WorldPosition>
        </ATCWaypoint>
  </FlightPlan.FlightPlan>
</SimBase.Document>
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