Where did you fly today ?

What was the flight time? And did you see any snow?

With the TBM it takes about 45 min from KSJC to KTVL. Live Weather was disabled, patchy snow on mountain peaks only.

Flight plan written to take a route up around Squaw Valley, across to the north end of the lake. Then use the full length of Lake Tahoe to line up an approach to RWY 18. RNAV (GPS).

Ron M

Example flight path from Little NAVMAP:

With the TBM it takes about 45 min from KSJC to KTVL. Live Weather was disabled, patchy snow on mountain peaks only.

Flight plan written to take a route up around Squaw Valley, across to the north end of the lake. Then use the full length of Lake Tahoe to line up an approach to RWY 18. RNAV (GPS).

Ron M

Example flight path from Little NAVMAP:

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]225821[/ATTACH]

Thanks.

How techie is the Little NAVMAP install? Is it self-explanatory? I tried watching a YouTube tutorial, but I haven't had the patience to watch it in full. How, and how well does it integrate with MSFS?

Thanks.

How techie is the Little NAVMAP install? Is it self-explanatory? I tried watching a YouTube tutorial, but I haven't had the patience to watch it in full. How, and how well does it integrate with MSFS?

Not that techie. It integrates very well. The only slightly-techie thing you might want to do--and even then it's optional--is follow the app's advice for being able to use the elevation profile. You might not even want to use the elevation profile but I found it to be really cool, and the directions for making it work were not that hard to follow. It took me about 5 minutes.

I flew the Beechcraft Baron from Sacramento to South Lake Tahoe, mostly on autopilot via low-altitude IFR. For some reason, the only flight-plan option MSFS offered me for this trip was a direct GPS route that I knew in advance would deliver me on top of the airport by some 1,000 feet. I explored different departure options from Sacramento, but none of them looked promising.

(I tried using Little Navmap first--and for the first time--to set up and load a better flight plan. But MSFS kept crashing with the Little Navmap FP loaded; the subject of a separate post. So I went back to the World map and accepted the best plan offer from MSFS.)

Flying on autopilot, I only had to intervene to manage my flight level. Good thing too, because despite the clear live weather, the Baron was bounced around a bit, but with AP, I didn't have to struggle to maintain level flight. I received numerous flight-level change directions from the MSFS's AI air traffic control enroute. I don't credit the sim's AI ATC with much intelligence. At one point, ATC instructed me to descend to 8.500 ft. with the last snow-covered mountain ridge to clear before the Tahoe basin looming in front of me. I've skied at Tahoe. I know those mountains, and I knew I wasn't going to clear that ridge. I ignored ATC and climbed.

Sure enough after clearing the last ridgeline, I was nearly on top of the airport I disengaged the autopilot, flew out over the lake, shed sme altitude, leveled off, circled back to line up with the runway and commenced my final descent -- lowering flaps to slow the plane while keeping an eye on my airspeed to avoid stalling--and remembering to drop the landing gear. (So much to do in those last few moments.) I wasn't proud of my landing; I struggled to stay in line with the runway the last 40-50 feet of the descent and bounced the plane at least once. I taxied, parked the plane, and shut down the engines, with the Baron none the worse for wear, thanks to the very forgiving realism (or surrealism) settings I've allowed myself in MSFS for now.

Though there was snow on the mountains, there was no snow on the ski runs at nearby Heavenly Ski Resort, which must be covered with a 10-foot base by now. Asobo should do something about this in their next update.

Though there was snow on the mountains, there was no snow on the ski runs at nearby Heavenly Ski Resort, which must be covered with a 10-foot base by now. Asobo should do something about this in their next update.

I've had much better luck after Asobo advised players to only load live weather and live time after their flight was fully loaded. Are you doing that and still having weather realism problems?

Flew from Watsonville to Fresno International in the Beech Baron G58, virtually (pun?) all the way on autopilot to an RNAV approach to RWY 11L; via low-altitude IFR, because that's the only way I know how set up a complex flight plan in MSFS. I followed the AI ATC's instructions to fly at 10,000 feet much of the way, in live weather, above a pretty thick cloud deck. Northwest of Fresno, I requested permission to descend to 6,000 feet, which was granted. Descending through the clouds at a relaxed 500 ft./minute, the Baron's windscreen and cockpit side windows iced over, and I began getting stall warnings, at 90-plus knots. I switched to external view, and sure enough, there was ice buildup on the fuselage. Increasing power stopped the stall warning. I looked at every operative switch I could find, but couldn't find one for de-icing. So I cancelled IFR and expedited a descent to warner air 3,000 feet, plenty high enough over the table-flat San Joaquin Valley. Made it to Fresno Int., where I executed another one of my trademark sloppy landings.

MSFS's Baron is supposed to have de-icing capability. Does anybody know how to turn it on?

Flew from Watsonville to Fresno International in the Beech Baron G58, virtually (pun?) all the way on autopilot to an RNAV approach to RWY 11L; via low-altitude IFR, because that's the only way I know how set up a complex flight plan in MSFS. I followed the AI ATC's instructions to fly at 10,000 feet much of the way, in live weather, above a pretty thick cloud deck. Northwest of Fresno, I requested permission to descend to 6,000 feet, which was granted. Descending through the clouds at a relaxed 500 ft./minute, the Baron's windscreen and cockpit side windows iced over, and I began getting stall warnings, at 90-plus knots. I switched to external view, and sure enough, there was ice buildup on the fuselage. Increasing power stopped the stall warning. I looked at every operative switch I could find, but couldn't find one for de-icing. So I cancelled IFR and expedited a descent to warner air 3,000 feet, plenty high enough over the table-flat San Joaquin Valley. Made it to Fresno Int., where I executed another one of my trademark sloppy landings.

 

MSFS's Baron is supposed to have de-icing capability. Does anybody know how to turn it on?

I don’t know the answer. Just for the sake of interesting info about real vs. sim situations though, I thought you’d find this video about icing to be interesting. Forward it to 2:00 for the meat, but every word that this retired military fighter pilot and airline pilot says tends to be super fascinating, to me anyway.

I've had much better luck after Asobo advised players to only load live weather and live time after their flight was fully loaded. Are you doing that and still having weather realism problems?

No, I haven't. Live weather is always on. So should I first select clear weather, then set up my flight plan, load the flight, then when I'm on the ramp or runway, "escape" to select live weather? I knew I could escape a flight to adjust controls and then resume it, but I didn't realize you could that to change the weather.

I don’t know the answer. Just for the sake of interesting info about real vs. sim situations though, I thought you’d find this video about icing to be interesting. Forward it to 2:00 for the meat, but every word that this retired military fighter pilot and airline pilot says tends to be super fascinating, to me anyway.

 

I agree; fascinating, and one more reason why I would never get behind a yoke in a real cockpit.

No, I haven't. Live weather is always on. So should I first select clear weather, then set up my flight plan, load the flight, then when I'm on the ramp or runway, "escape" to select live weather? I knew I could escape a flight to adjust controls and then resume it, but I didn't realize you could that to change the weather.

You have it almost right.

1. When setting up your flight plan, make sure "clear weather" is selected, and make sure live time is not selected. Conveniently, if you do this once, it sticks every time you play the game unless you change it back. I find it even more convenient than trying to use live weather the old way.

2. Finish your flight plan, load up your flight, and get all the way to the very last setup point. If you're like me (I do not start from cold and dark), that means hitting the ready to fly button so I am sitting on the runway.

3. Do not hit escape. At this point you go up to the top of your screen which bring down the options window that is always available in flight. One of them (unless you removed it) is a cloud symbol for the weather. Click on that, and you will get the opportunity to click on live weather and live time.

I agree; fascinating, and one more reason why I would never get behind a yoke in a real cockpit.

Yeah, it's scary stuff. I have completed about 55% of my ground school coursework, and a lot of it focuses on weather analysis. Because this topic scares the crap out of me also, I intend to supplement my pilot education and become as much of a lay-expert on weather as I can. I just don't want to be in these situations, ever. I do spend a lot of time in northern Arizona which is cooler and has more mountains, so unless I intend to stick to the flat deserts of southern/central Arizona for the rest of my life, I'd better do this.

You have it almost right.

 

1. When setting up your flight plan, make sure "clear weather" is selected, and make sure live time is not selected. Conveniently, if you do this once, it sticks every time you play the game unless you change it back. I find it even more convenient than trying to use live weather the old way.

 

2. Finish your flight plan, load up your flight, and get all the way to the very last setup point. If you're like me (I do not start from cold and dark), that means hitting the ready to fly button so I am sitting on the runway.

 

3. Do not hit escape. At this point you go up to the top of your screen which bring down the options window that is always available in flight. One of them (unless you removed it) is a cloud symbol for the weather. Click on that, and you will get the opportunity to click on live weather and live time.

Aha! I'm learning something new almost every day, just what my 75-plus-year-old brain needs.

"MSFS's Baron is supposed to have de-icing capability. Does anybody know how to turn it on?"

The Baron's de-ice is the 2nd row of these switches.

Doing an IFR run from Penang Malaysia to Seoul (RKSI)

Currently at 41000 feet somewhere over Taipei.

I know I should get back into the VFR club more, but flying these jets is so addictive!

Currently: B787 (Pacifica brand)

current altitude: 41000 ft

Hardware details:

CPU i7 10700k

Ram 32 GB

GPU RTX 2070 super

Drivespace (I don't know right now, lots across several of them :-P

Was learning the ropes on the modded Bonanza G36 (Robert Young turbo version) and familiarizing myself more with Garmin & autopilot. Took off from KBKL and was heading to KROC. Everything was going pretty smoothly, finally figuring out the heading and vertical speed functions on autopilot and I *think* NAV, but I may have already been on track anyway. Took me a bit to learn that on the G36, I should pretty much leave the throttle on full and just reduce the propeller RPM for max cruise speed...AAAAAND decreasing the mixture as I got higher (I set cruise altitude at 17,000).

Was enjoying the sights and sped up the rate to get to the descent point (this is where I should've been using Little NavMap but I was testing out my new CH Products Pro Throttle...what a different HOTAS makes!). I saw that I could skip ahead to the descent portion, so I did that.

Well, I won't do that again. I expected to find myself still at 17,000 preparing to descend, only I was already dropped down to 1,000 and KROC was nowhere to be seen. What the...?!?!?

Well, that's OK, this flight was mostly for testing and learning anyway. Loving the new throttle but I think I need to tweak a setting or two. Mixture on the paddle control on my joystick that I previously used for throttle didn't work like I thought it would (it did, just differently).

Anybody ever feel like you spend a lot of time just tweaking everything before you finally get to a comfortable point where you can just....FLY? lol!

I did a Skypark mission yesterday and today during which I basically crashed and died because of icing.

I was supposed to take off from a small airstrip near the Washington-Oregon border and fly to an island off the British Columbia coast. The RL weather appeared to be decent so I used a Cessna 172. Immediately after take-off I iced up, so I circled back, landed, and picked a more powerful plane, the Piper Arrow.

This was a dumb decision too though. The Piper is more powerful than the C-172 but it still doesn't have de-icing equipment. I iced up again and this time tried to soldier on a little further. Right after crossing the Canadian border, I could barely keep the nose up. I tried to emergency land on flat terrain somewhere, but I was over the Vancouver suburb of Surrey by this time. And, all of my windows were iced over so I could barely see. With the realism advantage of VR, I actually opened up the tiny window on my left windshield for a small unobscured view to properly land on flat terrain.

Failure.

Being over a city as I rapidly descended, I crashed into a building. The plane completely flipped over. I would probably not have survived.

Waited until this morning to reincarnate. The live weather was better anyway, but I also opted for a Beech Bonanza to just get the job done. Took off from a small airstrip in Surrey, flew along the gorgeous BC coast to Texard Island, and landed smoothly. Lots of cloud cover and slight icing on the windshield, but the Bonanza at least has a propeller de-icer.

I'm curious in regards to your signature; namely the fact that you have a 49" monitor and a VR headset. Which do you find yourself flying on more often, VR or the monitor?

Almost always VR now. I originally got the monitor for work, really. MSFS is still enjoyable on the monitor but I just don’t fly on it as often.

Almost always VR now. I originally got the monitor for work, really. MSFS is still enjoyable on the monitor but I just don’t fly on it as often.

I see. I've been debating getting a VR headset, but the one I'm interested in, Reverb G2, is just too pricey right now. Maybe the next round of stimulus money I'll get it!

I see. I've been debating getting a VR headset, but the one I'm interested in, Reverb G2, is just too pricey right now. Maybe the next round of stimulus money I'll get it!

Follow the news from Qualcomm, the company that makes the actual chips for both Quest 2 and the G2. In 2020 before the pandemic hit they said that new VR products were in the works for 2021. The pandemic hit after that so I assume there will be some delays, but new VR devices will give you more options, and may also drive down the prices for a G2.

I see. I've been debating getting a VR headset, but the one I'm interested in, Reverb G2, is just too pricey right now. Maybe the next round of stimulus money I'll get it!

If you want to get an HP Reverb G2 VR Headset be very careful where you buy it from. I was looking for one last week and found the usual place I purchase products from (they have free shipping if your a Member) wants almost $800 US for one. I bought mine from HP directly and it was only $600

US with free shipping. I have seen the Honeycomb Bravo Throttle go for $459 at this same sight. If you look elsewhere you can find it for $250 US.

Was flying nicely from KBKL to KRSW in that nifty TBM-930. I finally figured out how to start it up without overheating so rapidly. Looks like I wasn't the only armchair pilot to experience this issue. The checklist was actually accurate, but it drew on the pilot knowing to take it out of lo-idle to flight idle, like the layperson knows that lo and hi-idle are only meant for start-up!

In any case, I wanted a long flight so I could tinker with the G3000 and learn its functions and how to make it work. Slowly, but surely I'm getting more comfortable with the Garmin systems. Used Little NavMap for my flight planning and learned more about the ins and outs of that program as well, such as calculating the route for me and inserting an approach procedure. Learned more about VS in the G3000 and using FMS to implement my flight plan, which MSFS2020 did very nicely from Little NavMap!

Was learning about VNAV and was going to see how that worked when it was time to begin descending when...crap...I was low on fuel! I thought I added enough fuel to get there but apparently not! Didn't get the chance to try out the autopilot approach function like I wanted to. Decided to end the flight there as I definitely got my education.

I'll just have to jump back into it but on a shorter flight so I can properly test out autopilot VNAV and approach.

Next step will probably be learning about fuel and weights and how to calculate that for range and performance. I hope Little NavMap has that function too, I'll have to read up on that.

Oh, and the TBM-930 is a beast of a plane!