Flight Sims

[Elkhorn]

Anyway, I've been giving serious though to getting back into it. I can't fly as often as I want and I notice that I'm not as sharp as I'd like to be on my flows flying just once every other week. So let me float this amongst y'all: Do I get a "prefab" system, such as the Redbird Jay or TD1 or go for a gaming PC with add-on yoke, throttles etc? I may still have a yoke and throttle quadrant in storage, though if they still work is another question.

I've got a fairly capable iMac (32GB Ram, 2GB AMD Radeon), so I'm considering XPlane as well.

For your purposes I definitely wouldn't waste your money on something like a Redbird. Get a gaming PC that will run Prepar3D well and get some addons. All in you will be less than $1,500 if you already have a monitor (or two) and a yoke/joystick.

Jetline Systems makes good stuff, but it seems that you can get a comparable PC elsewhere for less. I'd just shop around on newegg until you see a good deal.

 

[Cessnaflyer]

https://classicreload.com/microsoft-flight-simulator-v30.html

That's some memories right there! We had an Apple IIGS and I remember my dad bringing this home. I used to play the hell out of the Flight Sim, Reader Rabbit, and Test Drive.

 

[SlumTodd_Millionaire]

I remember when my parents bought me FS5 for Christmas, I couldn't run it on our computer. I had to go with my father to buy a whole 2mb of RAM because our measly 256k wouldn't cut it. If I remember right, I think that 2mb cost something like $250 at the time.

 

[Cptnchia]

@Cptnchia Does this all ring a bell, or was this too advanced for your time?

The first computer I built used one of these for storage:

But I’m not a Luddite.

 

[av8tr1]

The first computer I built used one of these for storage:

But I’m not a Luddite.

Right there with you. I learned to code on this.

I would get the code out of the back of one of the magazines of the time, I think it was Atari Gamer and write my first programs.

 

[BigZ]

Yup....

This was a bit later, but....
First "mission oriented" flying - old F-117A Nighthawk
First multiplayer dogfighting F29 Retaliator
MSFS '95... Meigs Field and stuff.
But mostly WW2 combat stuff

Good times

 

[ozziecat35]

Holy cow, such great memories of FS. I was big into FS9 (2004) and the whole VATSIM / West Coast ATC world back in the day. My first flight lesson I had the CFI's jaw dropped when I made the radio call, all thanks to a silly video game. PMDG and Feel There scenery ftw.

 

[Cptnchia]

Thought we were high tech when the computer lab in college put these in my freshman year. Writing lab reports was so cool. Also had to take a class writing in FORTRAN. That wasn’t so cool.

 

[machvista]

Prepar3d from Lockheed Martin is the new Gold Standard in flight sims and it supports VR. Plus its easy to transfer aircraft created for FSX to this as they run great on it.

https://www.prepar3d.com/

I disagree here. I use both Prepar3d & X-Plane 11, and I find X-Plane 11 to be superior. X-Plane 11 is the most modern sim in my opinion as of now. With photo-real scenery (Ortho4XP, free), and a plethora of add-on aircraft's, I find XP 11 to feel more modern and optimized.

P3D is still awesome for the many add-ons it has (PMDG, Majestic). But other than those very nice add-ons, I prefer XP as a primary sim.

Chugging along around Aspen in the Super Cub (XP 11).

Turning towards LGA (XP 11):

On final for LAX (XP 11):

 

[milleR]

Man you guys played boring flight sims ... Falcon 3.0 ftw.

 

[Elkhorn]

I disagree here. I use both Prepar3d & X-Plane 11, and I find X-Plane 11 to be superior. X-Plane 11 is the most modern sim in my opinion as of now. With photo-real scenery (Ortho4XP, free), and a plethora of add-on aircraft's, I find XP 11 to feel more modern and optimized.

P3D is still awesome for the many add-ons it has (PMDG, Majestic). But other than those very nice add-ons, I prefer XP as a primary sim.

Chugging along around Aspen in the Super Cub (XP 11).

Those are the best X-Plane shots I've seen. Nice! I just ran across these from the Prepar3D forum:
https://www.prepar3d.com/forum/search.php?st=0&sk=t&sd=d&sr=posts&author_id=87979

 

[machvista]

Those are the best X-Plane shots I've seen. Nice! I just ran across these from the Prepar3D forum:
https://www.prepar3d.com/forum/search.php?st=0&sk=t&sd=d&sr=posts&author_id=87979

Flight Sim has an immense community. One of the most passionate community's that I'm apart of. I highly suggest hanging around the FlightSim reddit page, a lot of good resources and discussions there. reddit.com/r/flightsim

Be careful though, before you know it you'll spend $500 on some add-ons. :|

On a serious note though, I highly recommend for everyone to download the XP 11 demo out and give it a go, doesn't hurt to try it out.

 

[av8tr1]

Man you guys played boring flight sims ... Falcon 3.0 ftw.

+10000000 Still have it! But only got to the 3rd chapter of the manual.

 

[milleR]

+10000000 Still have it! But only got to the 3rd chapter of the manual.

Oh man, that thing was something wasn't it?

My grandmother got me a Thrustmaster FLCS and TQS for Christmas one year ... I was taking things waaaay too seriously lol. They're buried in a closet somewhere I'm pretty sure.

 

[ShyFlyer]

I highly recommend for everyone to download the XP 11 demo

I did that yesterday and played with it for a bit. I'm really impressed, though I probably would have gotten more out of it had I not been controlling the aircraft with the mouse.


Picking through Prepar3d's website, I saw this little interesting nugget:

https://www.prepar3d.com/product-overview/prepar3d-license-comparison/

Prepar3D is not to be used, offered, sold or distributed through markets or channels for use as a personal/consumer entertainment product.

Really? I get that LockMart's target market isn't the recreational flightsimmer (the price alone reflects that), but let's be honest here. The product has it's roots in a mass market consumer product. It's still, for the most part, compatible with third party add-ons that were first introduced during the Microsoft era. It even includes a drone. Is LockMart going to cancel my license because I took the Connie up for some aerobatics because I didn't feel like practicing engine failures in the Skyhawk?

That's like Ford saying their pickups can only be driven by farmers and ranchers.

 

[av8tr1]

I did that yesterday and played with it for a bit. I'm really impressed, though I probably would have gotten more out of it had I not been controlling the aircraft with the mouse.


Picking through Prepar3d's website, I saw this little interesting nugget:

https://www.prepar3d.com/product-overview/prepar3d-license-comparison/

Really? I get that LockMart's target market isn't the recreational flightsimmer (the price alone reflects that), but let's be honest here. The product has it's roots in a mass market consumer product. It's still, for the most part, compatible with third party add-ons that were first introduced during the Microsoft era. It even includes a drone. Is LockMart going to cancel my license because I took the Connie up for some aerobatics because I didn't feel like practicing engine failures in the Skyhawk?

That's like Ford saying their pickups can only be driven by farmers and ranchers.

That was done due to the license agreement with Microsoft. When the deal was done MS was still planning a consumer product in the future and thus required that it only be used for non-entertainment purpose. So LockMart had to include that language in the license agreement. But if I’m ever asked I use it for sim training my students.

Buddy of mine was in the team who negotiated the deal. I started my career at LockMart when they were first getting into gaming simulation. Bet you didn’t know Daytona USA was developed by the same guys who build bombs.

 

[ShyFlyer]

That was done due to the license agreement with Microsoft. When the deal was done MS was still planning a consumer product in the future and thus required that it only be used for non-entertainment purpose.

I was always under the impression that Microsoft wanted rid of the whole flight sim world because it was demanding more and more resources. Somehow I'd either missed or had forgotten about the short-lived Microsoft Flight.

Still seems kinda toolish to put the notice on the website when LockMart isn't actually required to obtain any proof that end users are using it for training purposes. It makes sense to restrict how LM is to market and distribute the software, but to say the end user isn't to be entertained by it? Yeah, for $200 Imma gonna land that Connie in downtown Vegas.

 

[FloridaLarry]

I was always under the impression that Microsoft wanted rid of the whole flight sim world because it was demanding more and more resources. Somehow I'd either missed or had forgotten about the short-lived Microsoft Flight....

I think it was not thinking there was a large enough market for Flight Sim for a mass market company like Microsoft. Combine that with the Microsoft resources it would take to remain competitive. They wanted to invest the resources on more profitable products. Like bulking up Windows.

 

[ArcherII]

That was done due to the license agreement with Microsoft. When the deal was done MS was still planning a consumer product in the future and thus required that it only be used for non-entertainment purpose. So LockMart had to include that language in the license agreement. But if I’m ever asked I use it for sim training my students.

Buddy of mine was in the team who negotiated the deal. I started my career at LockMart when they were first getting into gaming simulation. Bet you didn’t know Daytona USA was developed by the same guys who build bombs.

Yeah, I'm not having fun at all. This is boring business

 

[Cptnchia]

Yeah, I'm not having fun at all. This is boring business

Too neat, clean, and tidy to be a real cockpit.