DAVIDSTRAKA

LOL! Still have a lot to do but I need to get in some flights so y'all can pick away!

You are welcome Larry. Yes, the research is well done. It's good to be back!

Impressive! I believe I saw some "Red Tail" Mustangs back there

Really enjoying the old bi-wings lately! Very nice

Very nice looking bird!

The aircraft fits the scenery very well! Nice tweaking!

I got just a bit concerned when I saw you flying over water. My fears were calmed when you landed on Terra firma! Umm, do you have a club in your right hand about to obliterate that fine water creature? By the way, nice flight and scenery. I long for the beach.

Thanks for the flight! The added descriptions along the route make this seem less like a simulator and more like the real thing. I can just imagine sitting in the cockpit on the flight. :cool::pilot:

Great comparison! My first was the SubLogic flight sim in the 80's. Pretty much upgraded every time a new version came out. (except for upgrading the computer. I would keep them for 5 or more years. i finally upgraded to my new gaming computer just recently.) Thanks for starting the thread! Awesome history from the others also!

Amazing scenery! I just enjoy what you all come up with in these sims! Nice work!

I really like those shots. So clean and realistic! :cool:

Looking good Rick! Looks like she does fly nice!

Beautiful shots! Looks like a nice place to visit. I could use a couple months to recover there!

Beautiful looking for sure! :cool:

Very interesting information. I was not aware of that.

Thanks for the tutorial! Flying the GPS Vectors to Final is a nice feature. However a person could run into a couple issues. 1. Knowing the appropriate approach altitude. Typically one would use an approach plate to know the Glide Slop Intercept Altitude, otherwise you would be too high or too low for the approach. You want to make sure the approach is stable. 2. The intercept angle to the Final Approach Fix (FAF) could be too sharp to make a nice turn to capture the localizer. For our friends starting out practicing ILS approaches, flying an IFR plan from one airport to the other can help them get in practice having ATC vectoring them to the ILS approach which is typically within 30 degrees of the localizer. The last thing is one's speed for the particular aircraft. Too fast you overshoot the localizer, too slow the aircraft stalls. You have mentioned the approach speeds while on the ILS but make sure you are at the right speed so you don't end up playing "chase the needle." Those starting out, if your not used to flying tubeliners yet, practice with a slower aircraft first. Then graduate to the faster aircraft. But overall, a wonderful tutorial for landing your plane in soupy weather!

Very nice posts. Really enjoyed the wing views!

Very nice! Great scenery and airplane

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.

Hi Jack. It's great to hear from someone involved in any aspect of aviation. I have never tried skydiving however it should be on my "bucket list!" It's interesting you asked about the "sweaty palms" syndrome. If a person works with flight simulator to set up emergency situations, engine failures, instrument failures, etc., I believe that if you are really immersed into what you are doing in the simulator and these situations occur, you will definitely experience what a real pilot would in an actual real world emergency. I believe at first it's a quick denial of "this can't be happening!" Then immediately your training kicks in. You will first fly the airplane above all else and begin your emergency procedures. Then step by step you make appropriate decisions that will (hopefully) end in a safe ending. I once had a situation in the sim where I had just taken off from an airport oh less than five minutes into the flight and the engine quit on my single engine I was flying. I was in IMC (instrument meteorological conditions) which means flying by instruments only. This relies on the pilot using his instruments only. If a person is serious about doing things properly even in the simulator, the body does strange things. The heart rate increases, the nervous system goes into over drive and tunnel vision does occur. Imagine yourself in a "fight or flight" situation and and the times your palms and other areas started to perspire. It's a natural reaction. Following ones training you will probably not notice it as you will be busy. Once it's over, your will feel it and the shaking starts. I'm sure the best pilots will tell you, it happens. I read Capt Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger's book "Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters." What really caught my attention was his reactions at the moment of the bird strikes that trashed both engines on his flight that day. His explanations of what the physical and mental reactions he experienced at that moment. Tips? Everyone is going to react differently. Like anything it's focus and rely on your flying the plane, training, procedures and checklists. Fall apart later once you are safely on the ground and kissing the Earth!

Everything looks great! The VC is looking really good. I think I will need to try it out!

:):pilot:

I believe the idea is to use a runway for take offs and landings. Not the taxiway. Obviously you are from the Harrison Ford school of flight? ;):rolleyes: