Microsoft Flight Sim 2020

[Hoots]

I think with the addition of the more detailed aircraft and persistent settings like the A2A aircraft, coupled with the adjustability and ease of option setting this sim is going to be very hard to beat, add in the frankly superb graphics and it really is a fantastic offering. For me the ease of switching between VR and 2D is just brilliant.

[Lusekofte]

1 hour ago, Hoots said:

For me the ease of switching between VR and 2D is just brilliant

This is why I love it. Do not have to use vr om longer flights and be able to fly with 2D in full settings. A keystroke away back in vr with tweaked settings. 

Edited April 5, 2023 by Lusekofte

[Lusekofte]

Only tech I bother with right now ethnic TV

[Hoots]

5 minutes ago, Lusekofte said:

Only tech I bother with right now ethnic TV

 

Oh that's beautiful!

 

[BOO]

So. One of them thar "Big Days" - New York!!

 

 

Setting off from Gap View, we headed SW, initally to refuel at Somerset Airport, NJ (self service, surly staff, filthy toilets) before heading into the industrial bay areas of New Jersey.

 

 

Swinging North into leadening skies and towards New York. we pass over Liberty Island and up the Hudson River. New York looks.......well kinda rubbish. The game is on the verge of stutter and Im doing what every combat sim player always does when they see a big building, I fly lower and closer than i need to and totally miss the specticle of the city laid out below me. Later ,I try a further sighseeing flight with a little more realistic restraint and its awesome. But not this time. Idiot! Anyhow - picture of NY..

 

 

.Having gotten over the self inflicted let down of the city, I head North up the river before turning East towards Long Island. What impresses is the permanency of the city in the distance. Its all there, it doesnt fade too quickly but does so naturally and imperceptibly. Less impressive are the naff looking bridges with blocked out details so close by. 

 

 

Turning East we fly over Long Island with, I presume, its RL its demogrphics on full display- mansions and golf courses to the West of the Island, high schools and more regimented suburban sprawl to the East. Leaving Long Island behind, crossing the sound and skirting the shores of Rhode Island there are some interesting things to see whith the old Chartlestown NAS and the logging land nearby especially standout.

 

 

Crossing inland accross Rhode Island and into Massachusetts, we finally cross Cape Cod Bay and reach our destination, Provincetown where we fuel back up for the next leg. Tis took a lot longer than anticipated as I tried, and failed, to get the G3X and A/P to execute an ILS approach repeadetly, eventually goving up and doig it the ole fashioned way. I need to learn this (definately a user error thang)

 

 

So, 4 days in and MSFS still impresses overall. There re bugs and glitches but theres also enough great stuff around you to forget them in an instant. That I can go anywhere i want still hsnt truly sunk in. 

 

 

Edited April 5, 2023 by BOO

[LukeFF]

2 hours ago, BOO said:

Having gotten over the self inflicted let down of the city, I head North up the river before turning East towards Long Island. What impresses is the permanency of the city in the distance. Its all there, it doesnt fade too quickly but does so naturally and imperceptibly. Less impressive are the naff looking bridges with blocked out details so close by. 

 

Have you downloaded the World Update packages from within the game? If not, they will make areas like New York look much better.

[Lusekofte]

@BOO and @LukeFF

Your continuous enthusiastic flight reports keep me going and add to my motivation for keep at it. Great posts from both of you

[BOO]

3 hours ago, LukeFF said:

 

Have you downloaded the World Update packages from within the game? If not, they will make areas like New York look much better.

Yeah its all up to date - NY looks great. Its the bridges a little up and down from the city. I know they are not technically "in the zone" but they are close enough not to avoid seeing them when flying around the area and are large structures in their own right. I know you could say "where do you stop?" but, in the case NY Id answer  "about 3 mile further out".  

 

All that said - there is always something that makes you forget stuff like that almost in the same breath. Its an incredible product given the ambition and scale of the thing. 

1 hour ago, Lusekofte said:

@BOO and @LukeFF

Your continuous enthusiastic flight reports keep me going and add to my motivation for keep at it. Great posts from both of you

 

Thank you Luse. I hope to still have Lukes enthusism when im that far in. Tonight I made Canada. Just. 

Edited April 5, 2023 by BOO

[CUJO_1970]

You can go the add-on route for NYC...also regarding the bridges look up RK Bridger, he did all the bridges on the Hudson/east rivers and another add-on for Jersey. I also added more realistic traffic and yes - birds - it all adds to the immersion if you have the rig to run it and don't mind paying for add-ons.

 

 

 

[BOO]

1 hour ago, CUJO_1970 said:

You can go the add-on route for NYC...also regarding the bridges look up RK Bridger, he did all the bridges on the Hudson/east rivers and another add-on for Jersey. I also added more realistic traffic and yes - birds - it all adds to the immersion if you have the rig to run it and don't mind paying for add-ons.

 

 

 

For now im leaving any scenery add ons. Not because of any "stance" I think they are great but simply because theres a whole world to explore!! ? When i settle into areas I like to play around I'll look into it further. i do think the RK bridger one does appear to be worth the money if you we a regular NYC visitor. 

[Mtnbiker1998]

2 hours ago, CUJO_1970 said:

You can go the add-on route for NYC...also regarding the bridges look up RK Bridger, he did all the bridges on the Hudson/east rivers and another add-on for Jersey. I also added more realistic traffic and yes - birds - it all adds to the immersion if you have the rig to run it and don't mind paying for add-ons.

 

 

 

Heck, theres some good freeware scenery addons too. I got some for adding power lines and radio antennas that adds a ton to immersion, especially since we have some local guys with some pretty big ham radio masts. All there! Super cool. "We Love vfr" is the name I think.

[CUJO_1970]

**This little dude is available for $2.00 right now in Marketplace, and it's actually pretty cool:

 

 

 

A couple of Thursday randoms:

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, BOO said:

For now im leaving any scenery add ons. Not because of any "stance" I think they are great but simply because theres a whole world to explore!! ? When i settle into areas I like to play around I'll look into it further. i do think the RK bridger one does appear to be worth the money if you we a regular NYC visitor. 

 

I mostly d/l stuff where I fly frequently:

 

1. Florida Gulf Coast (Gulf of Mexico)

2. PNW and Alaska

3. Australia/NZ

 

The UK already looks fantastic and I want to fly there more, it's just a matter of having the time to do so.

 

But you are exactly right, when you can pick up and fly anywhere in the world, that's pretty incredible...and honestly it looks good enough you don''t really have to pay for anything extra at all.

[CUJO_1970]

1 hour ago, Mtnbiker1998 said:

Heck, theres some good freeware scenery addons too. I got some for adding power lines and radio antennas that adds a ton to immersion, especially since we have some local guys with some pretty big ham radio masts. All there! Super cool. "We Love vfr" is the name I think.

 

Yes We Love VFR, they just finished their third region and now cover the whole earth. It's one of the very best and most important freeware sceneries...the modding community in FS is unreal.

[BOO]

Just took an X Cub Floater for a quick flight from Clementsport to Granville Ferry, Nova Scotia (after altering the "who took the seat out" default camera view.  Anyhow, after playing with the novelty of "now its a boat, now its a car, now its a plane.......oooo its a boat again" I landed in the water, deployed to U/C, drove it up onto the beach, parked it up and shut the engine down to glory in the setting sun. 

 

Out of nowhere the hoot of an owl gave me a right start. I know other sims have the ambient noses too but sat there, in my own little world, listeing to woodpeckers and owls and even the odd Wolf (coyote??) was quite magical. 

 

@CUJO_1970 the Zeneth is a silly price (£1.69) - felt bad buying it ? Thanks for the heads up

[LukeFF]

1 hour ago, CUJO_1970 said:

Yes We Love VFR, they just finished their third region and now cover the whole earth. It's one of the very best and most important freeware sceneries...the modding community in FS is unreal.

 

Going to have to download those - they look great. ??

[BOO]

8 minutes ago, LukeFF said:

 

Going to have to download those - they look great. ??

mamudesigns solar farms and powerlines is another one for low slow showboating...

[Mtnbiker1998]

Just when I was thinking my paycheck was gonna be safe, they go and start a sale... Ended up checking a few items off my wishlist!

[BOO]

Day 5 Provincetown, Massachusetts – Clementsport, Nova Scotia. 350Nm (possibly).

 

 

Passports checked for, we set off into a grey but calm sky along the coastline, hooking around Boston and onto Portland.

 

 

Im starting to learn how MSFS does things now. Some settings dialled back, the game runs smoothly and handles the heavy overcast and R/T traffic well. For VFR, the R/T traffic isn’t really needed however and the ATC/pilot voicings are more immersion breaking than anything. Im also leaning that photogrammetry in some places is better than others and best seen between 1500 and 7500 ft. This helps inform my flight plans flights dependent on whether Im hitting cities or not. There is some suggestion that PG knocks framerate even when not in picture so I may test this for those times I’m just out in the wilderness.  

 

 

Heading out across the Gulf of Maine, the headwinds are strong, some 16kts and a check of my fuel indicates it will be a dry tank landing at Clementsport at best. I opt for a stop on Matinicus Island and, after a squeaky bum landing on the small strip, have my now habitual standoff with batgirl, before fuelling up and lining up to take off.

 

 

MSFS and GA isn’t DCS and F18s. Crosswinds matter and I get schooled hard in this fact. There are no pictures of this. I simply did not have time! Rolling off, the Cub veers uncontrollably to the right as the winds pound the tail and weathervane the aircraft towards the tress. I dab the left brake to correct the direction but this fix is fleeting and the swing begins again. By now I’m too fast to stop before hitting the trees so, in desperation I yank hard left and back on the stick to get the wind under the wing and throttle up. It works in a very untidy fashion and I’m off. Lesson learned.

 

The skies are darkening now and I decide that discretion is the better part of valour.

 

 

 

I cut the trip short and land, without drama and Grand Manan Island, CANADA! – yeah -go me, I’m an international traveller finally!.

 

 

Day 6 – Grand Manan – Clementsport

 

Another grey start but a short hop today. Im going to take a break for a few days in Clementsport and have a look about the area. I hear theres a Cub floater for hire there ?.

 

Now to call Clementsport an airstrip is really bigging it up. Not many runways have a bend in them that’s for sure.

 

 

Still, a smooth landing is made and the Ugly Duck its tied down for a few days......... 

 

 

......whilst I eye up my hire…..

 

Edited April 7, 2023 by BOO

[BOO]

Im encountering a crash usually when starting the first 1 or 2 flights in MSFS - seems quite a common one relating to the GPU overclocking/overheating/driver.  Done some digging and theres as many suggestions as MSFS has airports - many of which are especially sensible or helpful. Ive tried various recommend drivers (currently on the latest).

 

Anyone else encountered this and resolved it before I start disabling add ons? 

EDIT. ITS THE ADD ONS. Reducing the amount of scenery add on seems to stop the issue. 

Edited April 7, 2023 by BOO

[ZachariasX]

Nice screenies! Keep em coming @BOO!

 

On my side, as MSFS for the moment persistently seems to work fine, I got myself the MV310. Lovely module indeed. But one question, with the analog radio stack, the autopilot dies not seem to have the NAV or approach function. Nothing happens when I click them. ROL and HDG as well as altitude/climb functions work as usual. Anything I am missing? (I know RTFM is sooooo 1995…)

[LukeFF]

2 hours ago, ZachariasX said:

Nice screenies! Keep em coming @BOO!

 

On my side, as MSFS for the moment persistently seems to work fine, I got myself the MV310. Lovely module indeed. But one question, with the analog radio stack, the autopilot dies not seem to have the NAV or approach function. Nothing happens when I click them. ROL and HDG as well as altitude/climb functions work as usual. Anything I am missing? (I know RTFM is sooooo 1995…)

 

I can't give a solid answer to your question, since I've been using GPS with the 310, but I'd ask over on their Discord. They are usually pretty fast to respond to any questions. 

[ZachariasX]

During my hiatus from MSFS, I noticed that they tuned the autopilot in general. It seems to only catch a beacon when you are really aligned. Before, no matter the situation it would just pitbull in the radial or the glideslope. You guys also notice this?

[LukeFF]

1 hour ago, ZachariasX said:

During my hiatus from MSFS, I noticed that they tuned the autopilot in general. It seems to only catch a beacon when you are really aligned. Before, no matter the situation it would just pitbull in the radial or the glideslope. You guys also notice this?

 

There was a big avionics update not that long ago, so that might be what you're seeing.

[JimTM]

On 4/7/2023 at 12:20 PM, ZachariasX said:

During my hiatus from MSFS, I noticed that they tuned the autopilot in general. It seems to only catch a beacon when you are really aligned. Before, no matter the situation it would just pitbull in the radial or the glideslope. You guys also notice this?

 

I ran a test just now in the C310 with the non-GPS radio option:

• I took off from Teterboro (KTEB) and intercepted the Kennedy VOR 315 radial inbound at a 90 degree angle. Well before the radial, I changed from HDG to NAV on the autopilot, but it changed to ROL mode instead. Once the CDI needle started moving, I selected NAV again and it armed NAV mode and then intercepted and tracked the radial quite smoothly.
  
  UPDATE: Same behavior in the King Air 350i with the Blacksquare analog mod.
   
• I flew to 15nm southwest of Newark (KEWR) and then turned north in HDG mode to intercept the ILS approach for runway 11. Just after turning north, I selected APR, which then showed that it was armed. Later, the autopilot changed from HDG to APR mode and intercepted the localizer correctly. However, as I got down to about 500ft., I saw that I was slightly left of the runway and quite high (almost two dots) on the glidepath. Perhaps this is a MSFS issue. Try it at another airport.
  
  UPDATE: Same behavior in the King Air 350i with the Blacksquare analog mod. I think the glideslope deviation was my fault after disengaging the autopilot.

 

I remember that in another plane I flew (maybe King Air or DA-62), selecting NAV while in HDG mode armed NAV, which then triggered once the radial was close.

 

Hope that helps.

 

2nd UPDATE: I tried the above scenario the next day with the C310 and neither NAV or APR would engage. Looks like a bug.

 

 

 

Edited April 8, 2023 by JimTM
Added update for King Air

[JimTM]

@ZachariasX, I added updates above for the King Air.

[ZachariasX]

1 hour ago, JimTM said:

@ZachariasX, I added updates above for the King Air.

Thanks guys! I will try some more.

 

I love the 310. I still have to work out how to milk the best mileage from her for some more challenging flights.

[LukeFF]

9 minutes ago, ZachariasX said:

I still have to work out how to milk the best mileage from her for some more challenging flights.

 

I typically fly at 7500 feet, full throttle, and 2300 RPM, which corresponds to about 65% horsepower. I then pull the mixture back until the needles on the fuel flow gauge line up with 65% power, which equates to 80 gallons per hour. That matches up pretty well with the charts provided in the manual. That equals about 13 gallons per hour for each engine. That'll get you over 500 miles on just the tip tanks (again the included charts are very helpful here).

[JimTM]

By the way re. the C310, here are links to free documents from the manufacturers for the KAP 140 autopilot (our version starts on pg. 83) and the EDM-700 Digital Engine Temperature Gauge.

Edited April 7, 2023 by JimTM

[CUJO_1970]

The Maule is in the Marketplace ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BOO]

Norseman is also out

 

https://bigradials.com/products/big-radials-the-norseman

[ZachariasX]

9 hours ago, JimTM said:

By the way re. the C310, here are links to free documents from the manufacturers for the KAP 140 autopilot (our version starts on pg. 83) and the EDM-700 Digital Engine Temperature Gauge.

Thanks for those! To me, the only manly way to navigate is Mk.I eyeballs and radio beacons. The rest is cheating that I deem appropriate for safely returning club aircraft on time. And stay clear if of all these unnecessarily complicated airspaces that I care very little for in MSFS…

[LukeFF]

2 hours ago, ZachariasX said:

Thanks for those! To me, the only manly way to navigate is Mk.I eyeballs and radio beacons. The rest is cheating that I deem appropriate for safely returning club aircraft on time. And stay clear if of all these unnecessarily complicated airspaces that I care very little for in MSFS…

 

I was thinking about doing a radio-only around-the-world tour when I started this whole thing, but I got lazy. ? And, speaking of which...

 

Udaipur (VAUD) to Lucknow (VILK) -real-time weather, time of day, and traffic. Distance flown: 400 nautical miles:

 

 

Another hazy and warm morning in India. The preflight check didn't reveal any faults we needed to rectify, so after fueling up the plane we taxied out and took off...just as ATC cleared an airliner to land in the opposite direction of our takeoff roll. Yep, sure enough, as we were initiating our climb-out, in came the airliner at 12 o'clock low. Hoo boy, just another day with the braindead MSFS ATC...

 

 

The terrain was fairly bland on this stretch - lots of brownish farmland, punctuated by occasional rises in the terrain. We had some turbulence early on, but eventually, it settled down, and once again we had a tailwind, this time about 10 kts:

 

 

It was hazy again as we came into VILK, but ATC gave us the straight-in approach to runway 09, so we shot the RNP approach and landed - thankfully this time around without any airlines barreling at us head-on:

 

 

VILK is another smaller airport, but there were a few commercial airliners on the tarmac as we taxied in:

 

 

 

Our next leg should prove to be much more scenic, as we are going to make our way up to the capital of Nepal and the foot of the Himalayas.

 

Also, I just found out today that there are several hidden click spots inside the 310's cockpit. They activate a variety of stickers and an extra sideslip indicator next to the magnetic compass. ?

[Lusekofte]

6 hours ago, BOO said:

Norseman is also out

 

https://bigradials.com/products/big-radials-the-norseman

Norwegian pilots operated them for sub patrol from Iceland. I gonna buy that one

[BOO]

@LukeFF  what are you using for traffic generation and airfield life? 
 

I wish the nx cub had persistent state. Then again how I’m flying it would have been scrapped by now! 
 

I’m going attempt a radio nav for the next leg but even the “my first glass pit” G3X is somewhat of a mystery to me and my distracted brain at this point as it doesn’t appear to perform like it’s R/L counterpart. I’m sure it’s all basic stuff. 

[ZachariasX]

The simple radio stack in the 310 doesn't seem to have NAV and APR functionality in the AP on my end. No matter what I try. As soon as the ASOBO Garmin or the other glass pits are selected, all works as intended. How manly to fly GS via heading bug and sinkrate... or by hand.

[BOO]

41 minutes ago, ZachariasX said:

... or by hand.

I drive a car that, literally, will not let me kill anyone let alone myself. Never thought a GA sim is we’re my life would end up taking me to thrill seek. ?

[LukeFF]

1 hour ago, BOO said:

@LukeFF  what are you using for traffic generation and airfield life? 

 

It's the FSLTL mod, found here: https://www.fslivetrafficliveries.com/

 

1 hour ago, ZachariasX said:

The simple radio stack in the 310 doesn't seem to have NAV and APR functionality in the AP on my end. No matter what I try. As soon as the ASOBO Garmin or the other glass pits are selected, all works as intended. How manly to fly GS via heading bug and sinkrate... or by hand.

 

That is really odd. When I have the time I'll have a look and see what's going on. It should be working like the VOR autopilot in any other plane.

[ZachariasX]

23 minutes ago, LukeFF said:

That is really odd. When I have the time I'll have a look and see what's going on. It should be working like the VOR autopilot in any other plane.

I would have thought so too. Yet with simple radio stack, NAV and APR buttons don't do anything. As if the internal system was stuck on the absent GPS.

[JimTM]

13 minutes ago, ZachariasX said:

I would have thought so too. Yet with simple radio stack, NAV and APR buttons don't do anything. As if the internal system was stuck on the absent GPS.

 

I tried the above scenario the next day with the C310 and neither NAV or APR would engage. Looks like a bug.

 

[Trooper117]

With the sale on I got the L-4 Grasshopper... and caved in and got the Bf-108...