Microsoft Flight Sim 2020

[LukeFF]

Yep, I think the G36 Bonanza is going back into the hangar. The guy who's been modding it has done a great job, but it's still very much a work in progress and at this point work on really making it a plane with persistent wear and tear, a maintenance hangar, etc., has pretty much stalled out. I watched some videos yesterday of what the MV310 looks like, and I'm very impressed, so going forward that's going to be my plane of choice to complete the world tour.

Edited February 28, 2023 by LukeFF

[Hoots]

The milviz 310 is good fun to fly around in, covers ground quickly but not so quickly that you don't see anything. The persistence adds another layer to it.

[CUJO_1970]

14 hours ago, Bremspropeller said:

 

I was toying the idea of getting the 414, but I'll probably pass that one and go straight for the SimWorks PC-12.

https://fselite.net/content/simworks-studios-update-kodiak-pc-12-progress/

But, it’s only got one engine ?

[LukeFF]

For those of you here with the MV310, do you use GPS and if so which one? I'm debating picking up one of the payware 750s.

[JimTM]

3 hours ago, LukeFF said:

For those of you here with the MV310, do you use GPS and if so which one? I'm debating picking up one of the payware 750s.

 

I usually use the GN530/430 combination and I also use an improvement mod for the KAP140 autopilot. However, I did some runway 34 localizer and ILS approaches at KHPN (White Plains NY) today using the basic radio option (no GPS) and I found that I could not engage NAV or APR mode on the autopliot, but I could when I used the GPS option. I tried removing the mod and NAV/APR mode worked with the basic radio option. I'm not sure yet whether the default (no-mod) autopilot behaviour is accurate yet or the mod is better (assuming GPS only).

6 hours ago, Hoots said:

The milviz 310 is good fun to fly around in, covers ground quickly but not so quickly that you don't see anything. The persistence adds another layer to it.

 

Love the C310 a lot! One thing I have found with the persistence is if you shut down and later start on the runway, the engines sputter and die, and need to be restarted again. I'll have to try exiting a flight with the engines running and see if a runway start works better.

Edited March 1, 2023 by JimTM

[Hoots]

8 hours ago, LukeFF said:

For those of you here with the MV310, do you use GPS and if so which one? I'm debating picking up one of the payware 750s.

Can’t remember which it is but the default one. or if there’s enough VORs enroute I’ll use those. I plan the flight in littlenavmap and import that flight plan. Seems to work as it should. I usually fly arrivals and approaches by hand. 

[LukeFF]

7 minutes ago, Hoots said:

Can’t remember which it is but the default one. or if there’s enough VORs enroute I’ll use those. I plan the flight in littlenavmap and import that flight plan. Seems to work as it should. I usually fly arrivals and approaches by hand. 

 

Thanks - yes, I use Little Navmap as well for most of my flight planning.

[Bremspropeller]

11 hours ago, CUJO_1970 said:

But, it’s only got one engine ?

 

True, but statistically one turbine is even more reliable than two pistons. ?

A twin turboprop - other than a King Air - would be awesome, though. I'd absolutely adore a Cessna Conquest.

 

10 hours ago, LukeFF said:

For those of you here with the MV310, do you use GPS and if so which one? I'm debating picking up one of the payware 750s.

 

Just using the standard Asobo stuff. I personally am more inclined to using at least partial steam gauges, rather than all the fancy glass.

[ZachariasX]

16 minutes ago, Bremspropeller said:

I personally am more inclined to using at least partial steam gauges, rather than all the fancy glass.

That is also my choice. But I do prefer aircraft that don't allow for escaping the weather. It's just manlier still taking the chances. Mark 1 eyeballs, a paper map and becons as  means to navigate. Reading road signs along the way is permissible as well ofc: A good friend of mine was once in the Jurassic era was lost in a Venom flying in sour weather over "maybe France, Germany less likely, possibly Switzerland" and flying such that he could read road signs brought him back on course. I just love the idea that pure innate piloting abilities can compensate any impediment. It's also boring when sheer protocol trumps ingenuity. At least in the sim.

[Hoots]

I remember reading an SR71 pilot saying "You've never been lost until you've been lost at mach 3"

[LukeFF]

I think with me there is a side that really likes the old, vintage look of steam gauges but on the other hand, I love all the new gadgets that make flying so much easier. I dunno if on a world tour, though, I want to be so brave as to try to fly by nothing but radio beacons...at least not yet. ? 

[ZachariasX]

24 minutes ago, LukeFF said:

I think with me there is a side that really likes the old, vintage look of steam gauges but on the other hand, I love all the new gadgets that make flying so much easier. I dunno if on a world tour, though, I want to be so brave as to try to fly by nothing but radio beacons...at least not yet. ? 

There's nothing like waiting for a beacon finally to appear after miles and miles of dead reckoning over an expanse of "you better not have to land here".

[Bremspropeller]

Plus, you can always listen to radio-stations with your NDB/ADF radio. Or find the nearest lightning ?

[Lusekofte]

Well when I fly msfs, I accept misjudgment, laugh at danger, love steam gauges, and not yet learned how to get those beacons work. 
Because I am a man and do not read any form of instruction 

[LukeFF]

1 minute ago, Lusekofte said:

Well when I fly msfs, I accept misjudgment, laugh at danger, love steam gauges, and not yet learned how to get those beacons work. 
Because I am a man and do not read any form of instruction 

 

?

 

Well, if nothing else, I'd start with this this on radio navigation - it helped me a lot.
 

 

[Bremspropeller]

Off to Hawaii!

PANC-PHNL.

 

Note to self: If the FMC says V E C T O R S, it means you better put in a fix quick or it's just going to hold that current heading.

I was out over the Pacific for almost an hour, 'till I figured that out. Hello there, 45 degree heading change! ?

 

 

[CUJO_1970]

1 hour ago, Bremspropeller said:

Off to Hawaii!

PANC-PHNL.

 

Note to self: If the FMC says V E C T O R S, it means you better put in a fix quick or it's just going to hold that current heading.

I was out over the Pacific for almost an hour, 'till I figured that out. Hello there, 45 degree heading change! ?

 

 

 

Don't worry you get tailwind on the way back so you can get lost faster ?

On 2/28/2023 at 7:23 PM, LukeFF said:

For those of you here with the MV310, do you use GPS and if so which one? I'm debating picking up one of the payware 750s.

 

I just use Asobo or whatever free upgrade I can find on flightsim.to.

 

I would invest in payware but I'm just not knowledgeable enough on the systems to make it worthwhile yet.

[LukeFF]

1 hour ago, CUJO_1970 said:

I just use Asobo or whatever free upgrade I can find on flightsim.to.

 

I would invest in payware but I'm just not knowledgeable enough on the systems to make it worthwhile yet.

 

Got it - I just downloaded the freeware version of the PMS50 GTN750 and am liking it so far. ??

[Lusekofte]

However if I found myself mid air in a real plane and only One to control it. 
I would crap my pants, love glaspit and autopilot 

[Hoots]

19 minutes ago, Lusekofte said:

However if I found myself mid air in a real plane and only One to control it. 
I would crap my pants, love glaspit and autopilot 

 

Totally this, when I go cross country I have every bit of assistance I can get. In MSFS I don't get angry people shouting at me if I bust airspace

[AndyJWest]

13 minutes ago, Hoots said:

 

Totally this, when I go cross country I have every bit of assistance I can get. In MSFS I don't get angry people shouting at me if I bust airspace

 

Airspace, what is that? I paid for the whole lot, so I'm going to use it... ?

[CUJO_1970]

9 hours ago, Lusekofte said:

However if I found myself mid air in a real plane and only One to control it. 
I would crap my pants, love glaspit and autopilot 

 

The first time I was in the dummy seat flying an airplane it was a 152 over the Hudson River Valley...up to that point I was actually dumb enough to believe I'd know where I was just by looking out the damned window!

[unlikely_spider]

9 hours ago, Hoots said:

 

Totally this, when I go cross country I have every bit of assistance I can get. In MSFS I don't get angry people shouting at me if I bust airspace

"Have number for you to call when you land.  Advise when ready to copy."

[Lusekofte]

16 minutes ago, CUJO_1970 said:

 

The first time I was in the dummy seat flying an airplane it was a 152 over the Hudson River Valley...up to that point I was actually dumb enough to believe I'd know where I was just by looking out the damned window!

Yes I been piloting Cessnas too. Pilots said I was not bad at it. But honestly, you do not have to fly much simulator in order to know how to sort of turn and keep altitude. I was first time actually surprised how easy to judge that part. But what kept me from screwing it up was my fear of excactly that. 
I also noticed it was damn easy to get confused about where you’re at. Even in a clear day. I took it as overload usage of brain. But I still are confused some time as a passenger 

[LukeFF]

So, I finally got around to purchasing the Milviz 310R. Conclusion: this is an awesome plane. ??

 

I flew a test flight from Baker (0O2) to French Valley (F70), in (buried in snow ?) Southern California.

 

Beautiful day on the ramp at Baker, a small airstrip out in the middle of the desert:

 

 

Up and out over the desert:

 

 

Over the (very heavily snowed-in) San Bernardino mountains:

 

 

On the ramp at French Valley:

 

 

So yeah, I can see why people love this plane - the attention to detail, the way the exterior can get dirtier during the flight (as it it in my case), etc., it's all really well-done. I missed a few things in this flight - including tapping the wheel brakes before retracting them and turning off the fuel pumps in cruise, but other than that it went pretty smoothly.

 

Now to get it over to Germany for the round the world tour...

[LukeFF]

After dealing with the angry ground control personnel who were wondering why in the world I parked my plane in a commercial airline parking spot, I eventually got it parked where it was supposed to be and headed off into town. We had a couple of days planned in Munich to relax before our next leg. 

 

My friend then started asking me questions that raised my suspicions, such as "are you still current on your multi engine rating?"

 

"Yes...why?"

 

"Oh, nothing, just curious."

 

Of course, it turned out to be something. When we showed up at the parking area early on the morning of our departure, there no longer sat our Bonanza but now a Cessna 310R!

 

"Nothing, huh?"

 

"Haha, yeah, it turned out to be something. I knew you'd been eying a 310 for a while now, so I found this one here at a local airport. After some negotiating, we made the swap. So...tada!"

 

Tada, indeed. ?

 

And with that, we started our (realtime) journey from Munich (EDDM) south through the Alps to Pisa International Airport LIRP (yep, that Pisa).

 

The weather was overcast as we prepped our new ride. It was a bit windy, but before long we were on our way south:

 

 

It became more cloudy and bumpy as we headed south, which made for a very uncomfortable ride for our passengers (which is indicated on the tablet).  For whatever reason, the autopilot couldn't keep us at our bugged altitude, so once we cleared the mountains I had to manually fly us down to a lower altitude. 

 

Nonetheless, it was a beautiful sight:

 

 

Eventually, the snow cover cleared out and the green countryside of Italy and the Mediterranean coast came into view, and we made our way down into Pisa. 

 

It was during this point that I didn't pay attention and didn't throttle back while I was setting up the approach phase (the pitfalls of not having a true copilot on board), so I was startled out of my seat with the message that I'd overstressed the aircraft. Oops. So, I reloaded the flight at the approach phase and continued on as I planned to LIRP.

 

After dodging crazy Italians zigzagging across the parking grounds, we made it to our parking spot and after securing the plane, headed off to see the sights. 

 

[Mtnbiker1998]

Having real time and weather as an option is incredibly cool. Nothing like watching the Sunset in New Zealand and thinking "Damn I should have been in bed by now!"

 

 

[LukeFF]

So, I'd forgotten that I needed to post the pics I took from my next leg of the trip, from San Guisto (LIRP) to Terme (LICA) (once again, realtime).

 

It was an early-morning start from Pisa, and a cloudy one at that.

 

 

Before long we were out over the coast and out of the clouds. 

 

 

The dude in the back must've had a long night (the passenger models chosen are randomized, at least so far with the right-hand seats):  

 

 

The views en route were great, but we were jolted up and down the whole way by awful turbulence. This ended up biting me as I was trying to descent into LICA, as I overstressed the plane. Milviz is pretty strict with overstressing the 310R, so I'm learning to be very cautious with the throttle when descending with this one.

 

All that turbulence as well showed on the tablet's passenger comfort level, as it was solidly at 0.

 

 

Passing over Naples:

 

 

So, after a reboot and teleport to the final approach phase, we made it down into LICA without incident (which in my frustration I forgot to take a screencap of). 

 

-----------------------------

 

And, tonight's flight, from Terme (LICA) to Ioannis Daskalogiannis (LGSA) on the island of Crete (real time)

 

A little later in the morning for this one, as the sun was coming up over the Med already when we started up:

 

 

This should've been a pretty uneventful flight across the water, but that nasty turbulence was a little too much for my (attempted) throttle management, and so I had to restart twice. Third time was the charm!

 

The water was a beautiful deep blue as we approached Crete from the west. A little bit windy, but thankfully I didn't have to restart anything this time, and we made into LGSA without any problems:

 

[Lusekofte]

17 minutes ago, LukeFF said:

So, I'd forgotten that I needed to post the pics I took from my next leg of the trip,

As long as this is not repeated I guess you are excused. I enjoy your post about your journey 

it sort of give same pleasure as flying them myself. I have limited time home. So I have to choose what to fly 

If I had time I buy that plane myself. It look absolutely lovely 

21 minutes ago, LukeFF said:

This should've been a pretty uneventful flight across the water, but that nasty turbulence was a little too much for my (attempted) throttle management,

Did you get that over stressed message? 

[CUJO_1970]

You'll love the 310 Lusekofte.

 

These long trips are making me jealous, I can only fly 45 min -1 hour at a time right now.

[LukeFF]

7 hours ago, Lusekofte said:

As long as this is not repeated I guess you are excused. I enjoy your post about your journey 

it sort of give same pleasure as flying them myself. I have limited time home. So I have to choose what to fly 

If I had time I buy that plane myself. It look absolutely lovely

 

Did you get that over stressed message? 

 

Thanks, yes, I did get the over-stressed airframe message twice. I think it was one of two things: either the airframe was subjected to too many G-forces and broke apart, or the airspeed was too high, even though it was below the indicated never exceed speed.

I think in the future I'm just going to have to be more aggressive with disconnecting the autopilot and hand-flying it when the turbulence gets to be too much.

 

And yes, it really is a great plane. Excellent model and textures, excellent sound, the systems modeling is great. It really teaches you to fly properly and take care of things, especially if you choose to "own" the plane on your flights (which means equipment is subject to wear and tear from flight to flight, so you have to inspect the plane and decide what to fix before you go). One example: in "my" 310, the right engine typically burns more oil than the left one, so I typically need to refill the oil on that one before taking off.

[ZachariasX]

18 hours ago, LukeFF said:

I think in the future I'm just going to have to be more aggressive with disconnecting the autopilot and hand-flying it when the turbulence gets to be too much.

I think ASOBO still needs some tweaking about what makes plausible thermals and what is still permissible for wind gusts. I now have MSFS kind of working again, after several complete reinstalls, shader & cache deleting, deleting online data, etc. and I get past "Fly" often enough to care for setting up controls again. In a test flight I let the C172 run on autopilot across the Alps and the system ran stable until the Cessna got rekt in flight by the considearble wind gusts. (It was indeed rather windy outside.)

 

Zendesk was actually responsive, as their answers were basically a useful list in resetting the sim. Not that it specifically identified the issue, but now it works often enough. They answered within a day, so that is something.

 

I have to say that the slight hiatus from MSFS made me taking a closer look on DCS again. The last updates there, especially the multithread optimisation show great progress. I can't shake the feeling that MSFS was the kick in the crotch the sim competition needed to actually invest in simulating a believabe world as well. To me, for a sim, that stands above all, even above the FM (as that largely depends on the love you invest in a particular aircraft rather than a constraint of the sim). Before "it couldn't be done". Now, if you don't offer that, you are done. DCS certainly needs more work to make good use of modern systems, but the direction it is going is clear. I see their planned World Map as a step in this direction, that will, at least in medium term open a whole new set of possibilites for DCS. I am certain that whatever comes from the IL2 series, it must follow suit as well, or else.

 

Three years ago, all we got was more same with each iteration of the sims, now evolution is setting in as there is true selection pressure. Thank you ASOBO!

 

Interesting times for simmers, in a good way.

[LukeFF]

New day, onto a new continent: Ioannis Daskalogiannis (LGSA) to Borg El Arab Intl (HEBA), at Alexandria, Egypt (real time of day and weather):

 

The sun was just starting to come up over the horizon as we prepared to start our flight south from Crete to Egypt. A little cloudy but nothing to worry about:

 

 

We headed south after takeoff, bisecting the island as we headed for open water:

 

 

En route over the water we did hit some nasty turbulence, but this time around I was more aggressive with taking manual control and not letting the updrafts push us up to crazy high altitudes and then send us crashing back down at speeds that would be sure to trigger the You Have Crashed Your Plane message. ? Fortuantely, it didn't last too long, but our passengers were quite uncomfortable for the rest of the trip.

 

After about an hour's flight over the water, the Egyptian coast soon came into view, and we started our approach to HEBA:

 

 

The traffic control, always one to not quite get things right, told us to taxi to a parking area that, after looking at the charts after shutdown, was for helicopters. ? Ah well, hopefully no one will notice.

 

 

So, this was my first flight on my round the world trip where I didn't screw anything up. ? I'm learning more about how to get the most out of this plane and meanwhile doing it in a safe manner. ?? I had one shot at this tonight with it being a work night, so it was nice to have everything go as it should.

[Hoots]

12 minutes ago, LukeFF said:

New day, onto a new continent: Ioannis Daskalogiannis (LGSA) to Borg El Arab Intl (HEBA), at Alexandria, Egypt (real time of day and weather):

 

The sun was just starting to come up over the horizon as we prepared to start our flight south from Crete to Egypt, but nothing to worry about:

 

 

We headed south after takeoff, bisecting the island as we headed for open water:

 

 

En route over the water we did hit some nasty turbulence, but this time around I was more aggressive with taking manual control and not letting the updrafts push us up to crazy high altitudes and then send us crashing back down at speeds that would be sure to trigger the You Have Crashed Your Plane message. ? Fortuantely, it didn't last too long, but our passengers were quite uncomfortable for the rest of the trip.

 

After about an hour's flight over the water, the Egyptian coast soon came into view, and we started our approach to HEBA:

 

 

The traffic control, always one to not quite get things right, told us to taxi to a parking area that, after looking at the charts after shutdown, was for helicopters. ? Ah well, hopefully no one will notice.

 

 

So, this was my first flight on my round the world trip where I didn't screw anything up. ? I'm learning more about how to get the most out of this plane and meanwhile doing it in a safe manner. ?? I had one shot at this tonight with it being a work night, so it was nice to have everything go as it should.

Ran out of reactions so have a ⬆️ Like this instead. 

[DD_Arthur]

The giant bat of doomsday approaches....

 

 

 

 

[ROCKET_KNUT]

On 3/14/2023 at 5:17 PM, DD_Arthur said:

The giant bat of doomsday approaches....

 

What??? To FS2020??? When, who is making it, Justflight??? Man you got me very, very excited. ?

[Trooper117]

I know someone who will be wetting his knickers...

[danielprates]

The Vulcan (if well made) and MSFS are a match made in heaven.

[LukeFF]

6 hours ago, ROCKET_KNUT said:

What??? To FS2020??? When, who is making it, Justflight??? Man you got me very, very excited. ?

 

https://msfsaddons.com/2023/03/14/just-flight-shares-detailed-features-of-the-upcoming-avro-vulcan-for-msfs/

[Archie]

I'll have to get that, XM655 is parked a mile away from where I'm sitting! ?