ianhr

A2A, and, yes, they are amazing.

Thanks, guys! That's Orbx Africa Landclass. We flew all the way from Djibouti to Beira in Mozambique, covering most of the Western and Eastern Rifts, and saw some spectacular scenery.

I got FS20 on Day 1. I installed it, flew over my house, uninstalled it, and got a refund. It's possible that one day it might be a real simulation but right now it's too game-like for my taste.

"Landing is one of the easiest maneuvers in flying." While landing is hardly the most difficult maneuver one faces as a pilot, for the average sim pilot with no real-world flight experience, taking off, climbing, turning, flying straight and level, and descending are much easier. If you don't care how they look, even loops, rolls, lazy eights, et al. are pretty easy . But after having had the whole virtual sky to wander in, bringing your bird down to a relatively small spot on the surface at the right speed, in the right attitude, at the right sink rate and then bringing it to a successful stop can be a challenge. And you should bear in mind that for some people it can be discouraging to be told that the thing they're trying to master is "one of the easiest".

"Landing is one of the easiest maneuvers in flying." Really?

Seriously? Ok, I get it, you're into airports. Personally, as long as there's a runway I'm happy; everything else is just non-essential eye-candy. And as for the aircraft, it's possible their aerodynamic modelling is significantly better than that of the FSX default planes I never fly, but without the wear and damage modelling of, for example, an A2A or PMDG aircraft, they're almost as worthless. For me. Better to use the saved sixty bucks for quality add-ons.

True about the stick, but with a big, heavy four-engined bird with unpowered controls it can take some serious muscle power to work the control surfaces, and a "wheel"makes more sense mechanically than a stick. Nowadays, with servos and hydraulics that is no longer an issue, which is why Airbus can get away with side sticks in their planes.

Now why would you assume that? Because if I had I would have become an instant convert? Sorry to disappoint, but once I got past the gee-whiz factor I was turned off by the low resolution and restricted field of view. Nice idea, but it's got at best a few years to go before it'll work for serious simmers.

Well, apparently you do, and quite vehemently, too. Personally, I think VR will never really work for flightsims. I'm convinced that the way to go is a 55" monitor and TrackIR. It is an entirely different experience, and I think this site should immediately establish a dedicated forum for TrackIR in FS20.

Beats me, I just thought it sounded good. :)

Berlin Airlift flight ready to depart Tempelhof.

If you browse the postings on the A2A Mustang forum, you'll see the most common complaint from new users is "I can't get off the ground!" When they first released it, I had the same problem; finally took to driving it around the dry lake at Edwards going faster and faster until I got the hang of controlling the torque. Fortunately, the wide-track gear handles ground loops with aplomb. The best way to start off is with about 30" of manifold pressure, keeping straight with the tail wheel until you get some rudder authority. As you bring in more power, add more right rudder, some forward stick to get the tail up (but not too much!) and some right aileron to take the weight off the left wheel, otherwise she'll roll enthusiastically to the left as you rotate. Quite a handful at first, but persistence ( and cheap repairs) pays off. Ian

Check out Skyvector.com for flight planning and airport info.

An A2A Misfit Squadron multiplayer flash flight today over East Africa.

Choose "Natural" visualization, and instead of spirals you'll see soaring birds.

To ease the current crisis a bit, A2A are giving away their P-40 for FSX and P3D. Details at their site. Of course, the site is a bit overwhelmed.

Clearly you've never tried the A2A bird. That one you have to learn how NOT to flip.

The first thing I would do is unplug all joysticks, pedals, etc and try flying the 172 with the "mouse yoke" or the keyboard. You may not get very far - it takes some practice - but you will be able to see whether it's something about the program or something about your control setup.