Prepar3d or X-Plane 11? For small GA training.

Hello All, further to my inquiry about the "best sim for ultralight training" I'd like to get opinions on moving up from both FSX:S and XP10. I have both installed now and flip back and forth. My favorite plane is in both and it's been fun virtually flying around my local lakes.

FSX has nice ATC and traffic, XP looks a little better (on my setup anyway.)

Will P3D be similar to FSX but "better looking" and have as good or better ATC and traffic?

Will XP11 have ATC and traffic good enough for true learning about ATC and VFR flight planning? (Yes I know it's not released yet but let's speculate shall we ;) )

Cheers

FSX and P3D are good procedures trainers, but aircraft handling and ATC in the sims are likely to provide you with bad (or wrong) habits that are tougher for a CFI to help you break and replace with the proper ones. ATC in FSX and P3D are about the same -- I've never encountered it in the X-Plane demos I've run, but I doubt it's any better.

The sim ATC is rather goofy, though not bad when used for "ambience," but not good when looking for learning to deal with the real thing, and there are many things it doesn't do at all.

So learn procedures (navigation, especially) and traffic patterns but don't expect a real aircraft to be the same as the one in the sim by the same name. And it's probably best if you learn while working with a CFI, at least for some guidance.

Thanks Larry, in a way, you've hit the nail on the head. I don't want to learn any bad habits. I'm looking for general knowledge, and my current level is "total newb".

For example, this morning I learned the difference between ATC and ACC.

So in the past few weeks, while lake hopping around in FSX, I didn't know why it would want me to tune to Center. So I looked it up and gained some new knowledge.

Another example would be learning more about (as you pointed out) navigation. I'd like to read up on VOR navigation then apply a little of that knowledge to a flight sim.

At the same time, I'd like i to look fairly pretty... flying low and slow you really notice when you are following a road and it suddenly disappears into the ground!

At the same time, I'd like i to look fairly pretty... flying low and slow you really notice when you are following a road and it suddenly disappears into the ground!

I've found "pretty" to be best under most low conditions when using ORBX sceneries. At https://orbxdirect.com/ you can look at their regional sceneries, their "global" sceneries and/or their individual airport sceneries. Most of their stuff isn't "photo real," but they often use photo-based textures in parts of their sceneries. Also, airports will have aircraft (static, not just AI), people (many are animated), cars, dumpsters and much more, to give the sim a feeling of being inhabited. There are also some nice surprises from time to time, such as a tractor or combine in a farm field.

Personally, I have all the North American regions, Global Base, Global Vector, OpenLC North America, Global Trees HD and several airports (much more detailed than those with the regions). It makes P3D full of "eye candy," as some will term it, meaning it's much prettier than the default, and makes it easier to "suspend disbelief" to feel as if you're really up there.

A number of folks tout "photo-real" sceneries, but my low and slow experiences with those are that they leave a lot to be desired until you're above 3,000 to 4,000 AGL (Above Ground Level).

Most of my flying is from 10 feet (following roads, rivers, etc.) to a couple of thousand feet AGL, occasionally going higher to clear mountains or to run the autopilot for longer hauls if I'm flying straight for a while.

If this appeals to you, you can try their free demo of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state to get a good feel for their regions, and/or their free Iceland demo to get a feel for some of the other products (Global stuff).

I'm with you Larry. I'll include a picture I took years ago of my wife in Bourton on the Water. They have a model of their village there. Including a model of their model of their village. They take great pride in everything being exactly in place as seen from far above. But like photo real scenery, I think something is lost unless you're looking down from really high up.

Contrary to how this picture appears, Molly is only 6' tall. Not 50'!:D

So I'm teaching my son in a C172. M model with mph instead of knots. Which sim would you recommend to mirror training as close as possible?

Thanks

David

So I'm teaching my son in a C172. M model with mph instead of knots. Which sim would you recommend to mirror training as close as possible?

 

Thanks

 

David

Get X-Plane 10. Compared to Prepar3d/FSX it flies more realisticly. P3d/FSX feels like it flies on rails. Out of the box, without mods, X-Plane 10 is more complete. Great instructor station tools in map mode.

If you buy X-Plane 10 now you'll get version 11 when it's released.

Get X-Plane 10. Compared to Prepar3d/FSX it flies more realisticly. P3d/FSX feels like it flies on rails. Out of the box, without mods, X-Plane 10 is more complete. Great instructor station tools in map mode.

 

If you buy X-Plane 10 now you'll get version 11 when it's released.

In regards to realism, it depends entirely on how the aircraft has been modelled. There are good and bad examples for both simulators.

Whilst I'm an avid X-Plane fan; some of the most enjoyable flights I've had, have been in the A2A Cub...one of the finest add-ons available for FSX/P3D.

You're correct that out of the box, X-Plane is more complete, especially in terms of mesh, landclass and vector data. However, for those looking for seasonal variations and slightly better ATC, then the MSFS series is highly tempting.

Personally I enjoy flying both:D

Cheers

Dominic

I had X-Plane 10 last year but later gave it away because I found that the single-engine prop planes had no natural stability and tended to slowly develop a roll no matter how carefully i tried to trim the wings to stay level. I enquired at their website and discovered it's a longstanding issue. Perhaps X-Plane 11 will fix it, I don't know.

I've never had P3D so can't comment on that.

FSX has been my favourite sim for the past 10 years but it's not perfect, for example trying to stay straight on the runway when taking off or landing can be tricky because the tyres don't grip the runway too well, as if it's like slippery ice.

FSX can also be glitchy and tantrum-prone.