hello everyone

I've started flightsimming again after a break of a few years. It all began with flightsim 98, going online and realising I could real livery fly passenger aircraft in and out airports I knew. I particularly remember a mission from London to the Austrian Alps in a Learjet. I went through every version of after that finishing with 2004, which I adored.

Then I started working with Apple computers, only running windows in a virtual machine- Flightsim X was out of the performance range of my macs then, and besides, life took over- no time for leisure for various reasons.

Now however, on my powerful Imac retina, on a virtual machine, FSX Steam Edition works very well indeed, all sliders maxed out and frame rates almost never lower than 30- usually up to 100. I even work on a second monitor within OSX at the same time.

I don't play very realisticaly i'm afraid- I have everything on the easiest settings and use the autopilot as much as I can- I like planes that are easy to fly. No it doesnt give me a sense of achievement, it is more that I enjoy the ride, that I can watch a movie, or do some work after taking off and before landing, every so often returning to the simulator to see whats going on.

Over the years, as the graphics have got better and the features richer, the airplanes have become more 'realistic', and that means for my purposes require more effort to fly. Not the default jetliners, they do the same thing they always did, but the add ons are now much more elegant and complicated- yes for the vast majority of you, that is a very good thing, but not for me.

In the olden days, I could download many aircraft in many liveries, and I could buy them too with additional features, but they all flew very easily on the simplest settings, and they all had simple clear panels, and if they didn't the default panels could be used (it was very easy to do I remember). I remember it being very easy to edit a plane- any plane- to enhance the autopilot- to add speed hold to even the smallest props- I did that to a cessna 152!

Nowadays, the payware seems to need many hours of study to understand, for many/almost all of you, that is a bonus- not to me it isnt. I want all the planes but I want them to fly like the default ones with simple but functional panels using the built in GPS system.

Perhaps if anyone can point me towards aircraft that look good but fly simply, and where to start looking if i want to edit an aircraft to give myself autopilot and autothrottle. I'm not asking to be spoonfed and will have a good look through these forums for answers too.

Anyway, I just thought it would be a nice way to say hello finally after all these years.

If you like GA aircraft i suggest A2A Cherokee to start with. Its simple to fly and the textures are fantastic..Its a good starter and may tempt you to look at getting into more complicated aircraft at at a latter stage.

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

I assume from your comments that you rather fly longer range stuff where you can take off, set the autopilot and leave it flying until you feel the need to check back on it.

JustFlight do a range of long haulers under their F-Lite tag -

see https://www.justflight.com/ for their full range of products.....

And see https://www.justflight.com/category/f-lite for their in-house developed F-Lite range.....

Essentially, the F-Lite range is Quote designed to provide top quality aircraft that are extremely high in detail but less demanding to fly unquote and allows you to set up a flight using the FSX Flight Planning tool and the once airborne engage the Autopilot, sit back and relax until its time to land.

I also suggest checking out the file library as most freeware could be considered as being comparable to the JF F-Lite range.

WRT to adding your own autopilot etc to an aircraft that doesn't have one there are a number of options available, either as freeware or payware.

The basic requirement is for the aircraft.cfg file to have an entry that allows an autopilot to function - the appropriate area of the .cfg file for such entries is under the [Autopilot] section and should look something like this.......

[autopilot]

autopilot_available=1

flight_director_available=1

default_vertical_speed=0.000

autothrottle_available=1

autothrottle_arming_required=1

autothrottle_takeoff_ga=1

autothrottle_max_rpm=104.200

The key entries are those marked in red - 0 (zero) equals not available and 1 equals available.

You may also need to add a autopilot panel - there are a number available in the library in various forms ranging from a simple small panel to a large collection of panels in a configured package. Some will need changes to the panel.cfg file (found in the Panel folder of each aircraft) whilst some can be installed directly into the main FSX Gauges folder and selected via whatever method the author has described.

WRT to the panel.cfg edits - The easiy way to do it is to add the gauge as a popup. to do this you will need to make changes in two sections:

First, a line must be made in the [Window Titles] section - this will display an entry in the View menu to allow its selection and will also allow you to open the gauge using Shift+# (whereby # represents the assigned figure key).

In the example below a GPS gauge has been adde at Window 02 and an Autopilot gauge has been added at Window 03 (Red entries)- to open these you would press Shift+3 and Shift+4 respectively (this is because Window 00 opens with Shift+1, Window01 with Shift+2 and so on).

[Window Titles]

window00=main

Window01=Engine_state

Window02=GPS_PANEL

Window03=AP

The next entries to be added are the actual entries that point to the required gauges. They normally appear directly below the [Windows Title] section

[Window02]

Background_color=0,0,0

size_mm=456,378

position=8

visible=0

ident=GPS_PANEL

window_size= 0.500

no_luminous=1

gauge00=fs9gps!gps_500, 0,0

[Window03]

Background_color=0,0,0

size_mm=156,48

position=8

visible=0

ident=AP

window_size= 0.500

no_luminous=1

gauge00=Bendix_King_Radio!Bendix-King Radio AP,

0,0,156, 48

The items in red are the gauges - in this case the default Garmin 500 GPS and the default AP panel used in a couple of default aircraft. The numbers directly after them refer to display sizing and can be varied to suit your needs. The gauge files themselves are located within the default FSX gauges folder. If you are adding another gauge that you have download simply ensure you get the name as per the gauges file name

These are the basics that should suffice to enable you to add basic gauges. The only other tip that I will offer is backup (ie make a copy) of any file that you are going to edit - if your edit goes wrong or causes problems then you delete the edited file and rename the copy back to its original name.

thank you so so much for that extraordinarily comprehensive answer and suggestions, this is exactly the kind of info I am looking for.

These are the things I knew how to do years ago, but age and the passage of time had lost that info for me.

I do remember fs98 came with (or was patched with) a number of panels that could be used for various aircraft- like prop 1 engine 2 engines 3 engines 4 engines, small jets and heavy jets of various engines- I assume FSX doesnt have those things built in?

Well thanks again, you've given me some nice stuff to research into- I'll soon be flying the atlantic overnight again in a Lockheed Super Constellation, ready to activate the IFR plan in ATC 100 miles short of long island and have them bring me in on the ILS while I eat my cornflakes and drink my coffee.

Take off and the last 300 feet to land, are the only times I'll need to touch the joystick.

What you fly doesn't matter? Paint or panel? Then you might as well just push the 'Y' key to activate 'slew' mode, then keep pressing the keypad '8' key until you max out the speed (maybe 2500 kts) and zoom across the atlantic in a few minutes. Your flakes won't even be half soaked and you will be there. Wala!

The aim, and enjoyment, of Flight Sim, is to hand fly something from your local airport to a destination 100 nm alway and land safely. That is aviation. It's not flying to the moon. Or to Mars. If it was so, then it would entail you getting there AND getting BACK. THAT would be the minimums. What you are wanting to do (with OUR HELP?) is equivalent to sitting and watching paint dry. That is NOT 'As Real as It Gets'. Sorry. Try playing tiddly-winks instead.

Chuck B

Napamule

Well said, Chuck! Apparently not everyone understands what the program's title (Flight SIMULATOR) means. If Microsoft had wanted a "game", they might better have named it "Flying Game"!

Pretty arrogant of you guys to tell others how the game is meant to be played; that's right...PLAYED. Some of you delude yourself into thinking you're actual pilots...I find that comical. For myself, I only fly high fidelity simulators on the VATSIM network; however, I don't go around telling others how they should spend their free time.

To the OP, if you're looking for something simple, you should really consider Aerofly fs 2. That simulator sounds right up your alley. Conversely, you should feel free to use FSX SE; after all, far more people use the game for casual flying vice hard core simulating. You, sir, are in the majority; those telling how to use your software are in the minority. Welcome back to simulation, sir!

..........Pretty arrogant of you guys to tell others how the game is meant to be played; that's right...PLAYED. Some of you delude yourself into thinking you're actual pilots...I find that comical............

You, sir, are in the majority; those telling how to use your software are in the minority. Welcome back to simulation, sir!..........

A big plus ONE on these comments.......

IMHO it makes no difference if FSX (or any other FS related products available) are referred to as a Game, Simulator, Simulation or simply FS nor in the way a person chooses to 'play' or 'use' it. Individuals should feel free to use what they consider to be the correct definition and flying style and not be 'bullied' by those who think they have the right to insist that others use their version of a definition and/or must take the hobby as seriously as they or a real world pilot should.

At the end of the day that is what it is - a hobby

Yes, the word 'Simulator' appears in the titles but MS marketed the product under its GAMES FOR WINDOWS banner.

Yes, there are those who will treat the product as a Simulator, spend loads on money on building a cockpit and getting yokes/throttles/rudders and dedicated switch panels whilst there are those who want to simply use it as a source of enjoyment and only invest in a rig and joystick.

A insight as to the mindset of the those who developed the FS products may well upset those who think they know better. Mike Singer, who was a member of the of ACES development team that produced FSX for MS (his official title was "Experience Architect" of FSX) made the following statement when he was speaking at September's 2006 AVSIM conference about FSX:

"A realistic simulation of a compelling real-world activity is game-like by its very nature."

As I stated earlier, simming is a hobby and its up to the individual as to how he/she approaches it.

Pretty arrogant of you guys to tell others how the game is meant to be played; that's right...PLAYED. !

+2.

Guess I better go sink my Deltasim boats.

I've learned from both your comments over the years, but your comments today really frosted my flakes, and reinforced why I (almost) never post here.

What you fly doesn't matter? Paint or panel? Then you might as well just push the 'Y' key to activate 'slew' mode, then keep pressing the keypad '8' key until you max out the speed (maybe 2500 kts) and zoom across the atlantic in a few minutes. Your flakes won't even be half soaked and you will be there. Wala!

 

The aim, and enjoyment, of Flight Sim, is to hand fly something from your local airport to a destination 100 nm alway and land safely. That is aviation. It's not flying to the moon. Or to Mars. If it was so, then it would entail you getting there AND getting BACK. THAT would be the minimums. What you are wanting to do (with OUR HELP?) is equivalent to sitting and watching paint dry. That is NOT 'As Real as It Gets'. Sorry. Try playing tiddly-winks instead.

Chuck B

Napamule

slewing wouldn't be a bad idea, but it involves me having to interact with the simulator, and I like to work, or watch a movie, or do other stuff while the autopilot takes me where I want to go.

thanks for the suggestions though :)

on another matter, thanks to the great help i've had here, i've added a very nice autopilot gauge to the mooney bravo, with autothrottle of course.

landing at london city just now, i took over controls just yards above the tarmac and she came down beautifully

Hi George,

Glad you have got it sorted and are now happily 'flying' how YOU want to.

Don't let a few negative and, IMO, unwarranted comments put you off from using the forums again to get help/info on issues that you have. The vast majority of members don't care about how you use the sim and will be as helpful as they can. Over time you will start to recognise those who have good advice to offer and those who only seem to want to make comments unrelated to the issue being discussed and/or that does not provide any info to resolve a given issue or, again IMHO, only do so to raise their post count in some vain attempt to make themselves feel important.....

Happy Flyin'