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DAVIDSTRAKA

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  1. DAVIDSTRAKA
    Over the last year I have had a really good time with FSX. I accomplished around the world flight in the Honda Jet. Thanks for a fellow simmer providing me the airports that the real world pilot did. I did a few modifications of the destinations. All in all it was quite an adventure to see what pops up in FSX going to places I've never been before.
     

    Then I did a tour of the mediterranean in a single engine turbo prop. There was some amazing scenery with all the islands to visit. I never realized how diverse the terrain was in that area.
     
    Now it's two weeks of vacation coming up. I think that I would miss doing my simming and I would in a way. However, I think it is always good to get away from everything including our hobbies. It's a time to rest, recharge and come back fresh to take on another year of work, chores and hobbies.
     
    So, I will cattle car my way to sunshine and beaches for a while and just sit back and let someone else do the piloting.
     
    I'll definitely keep track of the screenshot forum. The folks there are great and always post quality sim adventures! Fly on! :cool:
  2. DAVIDSTRAKA
    I have been watching with baited breath concerning MS2020 and what the program may bring to the flight simulator world. I'm still working to get signed up on the "Insider" page but I have to set up a Microsoft account in Windows 10 and been trying to avoid it for the longest time. I suppose I should breakdown and just make it so.
     
    When I see screen shots like this:
     

     
    it just seems unreal that the technology has come this far. There is a Facebook page also dedicated to MS2020. I have been following it closely. Aside from the repeated questions and not so nice folks and their comments, there is some interesting information that is posted. There is a mountain of speculation to say the least.
     
    So I'm pretty excited by what I see. The one aspect of diving into a new simulator program that always drives me nuts is what type of equipment I will need to get the most out of the program. The upside is that the actual "scenery" and such will not have to be loaded on my PC.
     
    In the past upgrading to a new simulator they publish the minimum system requirements. That is all fine. What I have always wondered is what those folks are running over there at Microsoft that makes the simulator look the way it does when they market it!!!!!!! Those are the system requirements I want to know so I can get the same results. Do they have access to a top secret NASA computer? Do they build their own special computers that us commoners do not have access?
     
    Just once I would like them to say, "You want it all? Get this type of system y'all [fill in the blank.] Then I know how much money to save PRIOR to purchasing the product :confused:
     
    Peace out!
     

  3. DAVIDSTRAKA
    I have been researching and reading flight simulator forums for many, many moons. Besides the usual simulator problems and issues, I have been seeing a common thread lately. The advances in flight simulator technology is leaping forward at a pretty good pace as is computer hardware. I thought it would be interesting to start a conversation on how we as a community are going to approach this awesome advance.
    When you look at the forum section of flightsim.com you see the following sections:
    FSX
    FS2004
    FS2002
    X-Plane
    Prepar3D
     
    How is it we can keep up with the future of our hobby and/or passion? Many people are on a fixed income, low income or need their resources for other necessities of life. I suppose if your career is a pilot for a major airline you can afford to upgrade on a regular basis. (Rig and simulator software.) Some folks have gone so far to build elaborate cockpit simulators in their homes! I find this absolutely awesome in my humble opinion.
     
    I have seen where folks in the forum are very happy with the simulator version they have and use freeware to update and make theirs more interesting. I have also seen extremely creative folks using pay ware and upgrading their rigs to max out performance as much as they can. Of course the ultimate is a total upgrade of everything.
     
    Dealing with the CTDs, bad freeware, editing aircraft.cfg and other files to tweak a simulator is sometimes fairly easy to a person having to be an aerodynamic engineer to get the simulator to do what you want. I have personally cleared out and reinstalled FSX three times to get a clean version after I mucked it up with some foolish add-on screw up.
     
    So what do we do? I guess it would be like any activity. Look at your limits (technologically and financially) and tweak your simulator to what makes you happy. Research carefully into what you are going to purchase to make your “immersion†into the flight what you want. Pay ware usually gets you good support, freeware, not so much.
     
    So blue horizons and smooth air to you until next time.
     

  4. DAVIDSTRAKA
    I guess from the early days of subLOGIC, those of us interested in aviation either training to become licensed pilots or to those who wanted be but for some reason or another could not, the demand for a PC based flight simulator was born.
     

     
    I started flying at about the age of 13-14 years old and eventually saw myself flying for the Air Force and then on to the airlines. Unfortunately my health brought those dreams to an end. Luckily for a while I was able to fly civilian until the last few years when medicine I take slows reaction time and can cause drowsiness. So instead of potentially killing myself and/or others, my flying days came to a halt. Luckily, there was flight simulator.
     

     
    So is it a hobby, a teaching tool or a passion? All of the above of course.
     
    The hobby side reminds me of the train sets when I was younger. I got my first one, then had to start adding. More track, more cars, more accessories and then eventually have an entire city set up with multiple trains running. It included a large control panel with switches, lights and each one turned on different items. Yes, I even had an airport in the middle of the plywood based city. Along came flight simulator. Creative and talented individuals made 3rd party add-ons where aircraft, scenery, utilities and more made the hobby immersive and enjoyable. It is going to heights never imagined! Oh and let’s not forget multi player and Virtual airlines.
     

     
    Flight simulator is definitely a teaching tool. The simulator advanced to the point where you could practice procedures, checklist, accomplish navigation from Dead Reckoning to advanced instrument procedure flying. Even weather became more sophisticated. The simulators include flight lessons. The lessons are recorded by leading instructors in the field which makes realism of flying within reach of the novice to learn the techniques they needed to enjoy what the world of flying provides, with the exception of motion sickness
     

     
    I truly believe that real time pilots can keep their skills where they need and constantly improve on their techniques and procedures.
     
    I find it a passion personally. The chance to fly different aircraft, fly different parts of the world and thousands of airports is beyond what we could have imagined 40 years ago. The amazing side of the passion is the number of web sites out there to host the results of a flight simmer’s passion. I can visit every single aspect of flight simulator that makes this hobby work. You can tell the number of hours that folks have put into taking flight simulator to a new level. There are so many different forums available to post one’s work and make new friends that enjoy the passion of flight simulator all over the world. To top it off, you learn about their cultures and traditions on top of everything else!
     

     
    I can close this blog by saying there is much more to the world of flight simulator that is to come. I will definitely be visiting those in the near future as well. Enjoy my friends as I do and as my late Dad would always tell me, “Keep your nose on the horizon.â€

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