The main reason I played this game was to get over my fear of flying. That didn’t really work, but it was interesting to learn the basics and appreciate how aircraft designs changed over 50-60 years. The best part was “flying” without any negative consequences. 
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I’m one of those folks who really get the willies when it comes to scaling heights while unsupported in video games. I mean, I know it’s not real, but sometimes it sure feels like it, and I’m sweating like crazy.
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Speaking of which:
Looks like fun, & an interesting place to visit.
ETA: Reversable props come in handy sometimes.
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I flew into Lukla not long after that. There was a wrecked airplane sitting next to the runway. Ah good times.
The glitched MS Flight Sim 2020 Lagoa Nova airport has this one beat.
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touching down is more important than the welcome
Saint Helena Airport is also dangerous because of wind shear and extreme remoteness.
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In a pinch you could presumably go to the Canary Islands, they’re closer to Madeira than continental Europe.
The other fun fact about Funchal airport is that it is named after the football player, Cristiano Ronaldo, who comes from Madeira. This is in contrast to the international airport on São Miguel in the Azores (Portugal’s other Atlantic archipelago), which is named after Pope John Paul II. Talk about priorities.
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Been there, done that. The best part is that if you hike into Lukla, you have to ascend several hundred meters passing by the wreckage of planes that didn’t quite make it.
Nepal is an amazing place with beautiful views and wonderful people. It’s not really designed for people with a low risk tolerance, though. We once had to get from Pokhara to Kathmandu in order to make a flight the next day, but the airport was fogged in, so we hired a car drive us through six hours of hairpin turns alongside tall cliffs, with few guardrails, in the rain, frequently while playing chicken with large trucks going the other direction. Without a doubt the most skilled driver I’ve ever ridden with.
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I was unpleasantly surprised by the number of mountain + plane references that went immediately to crashes. 
Out of curiosity, I tried gondola as a search term. Found folks filmed riding in gondolas, walking, and flying in mountain settings. Now all I need is some hot buttered rum (to prevent vertigo 
)!
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Is that a landing strip or a driveway?
I was going to add Paro to the list too. It’s in a deep valley and the approach involves a series of turns to get down to the landing. There is spectacular scenery, but there is less and less room to maneuver as one gets lower.
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Has anybody here landed at Kai Tak before (Flight Simulator or otherwise)? Looks like it’s defunct now but was 6th most dangerous in its day.
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They got rid of the Niall Quinn bust though 
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I’ve actually flown into/out of Sao Miguel and the airport on Faial. Loved the mid-century modern motif in both airports, which Sata must have had a hand in designing. When we left Faial, it was a beautiful clear day and the pilot flew by the top of Mt. Pico. Breathtaking.
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I only went to Faial by ferry, but we stayed in a very nice hotel on Pico at the foot of the mountain. Beautiful place.
Coming back to Madeira, the island is essentially one steep-sided rock in the middle of the ocean. Hence, the runway at Funchal airport is built on stilts on (and parallel to) the shoreline, so it is very close to the sea. I remember sitting in an airliner taxiing for take-off from Funchal when the captain said over the PA, “I was debating with myself whether to mention it at all, but just in case you’re wondering, the ginormous waterspout over there is really nothing to worry about.”
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