http://www.generalaviationnews.com/editori...column&-nothingApparently written by a real 767 pilot... I don't know what he's talking about with the speed window and autothrottle being out of position though, they sure look like the real thing to me! (I was just in a 757 cockpit the other day)

Real strange yes... Looks more like a MSFS/PIC Bashing (sorry if I wrote that wrong)

I think this is a glowing review if you consider this was written by someone who is admittedly not a desktop simulator fan, who was looking at FS2000, not using update 1.1 let alone the update for 2002, the wrong screen resolution, not aware of the other pdf manuals and FAQs, gets to fly the real thing and then directly compares the original PIC to zillion dollar simulators, and who had no idea what additional support was available (PIC forum - SID/STAR databases - VATSIM - FSMeteo - etc. etc.)

Ehhh, in all likelihood, he started it up, couldn't figure out how to start the engines and gave up trying. He then decided, because he's a big-time airline pilot, he didn't need to read the manuals. All this frustration from a "game" by that Microsoft company. How dare they make him look ignorant!?He started out with utter disdain for MSFS. That opinion clouded his entire review of PIC to the point where he was actively looking for minor nitpicks--especially since he couldn't find real problems. When he discovered that there really weren't enough nitpicks to trash this kiddie game, he made some up (MCP knobs being incorrectly labelled, etc.).I pay little attention to review by people who feel that if it isn't a real plane or isn't endorsed by some organized group of nitwits to which that person pays too much respect, then it is just a game and only kiddies will find it entertaining. But then again, he's an airline pilot. So he should know better than the silly "game" designers of PIC. Oh wait, wasn't one of them a pilot of some sort? :-roll I think Eric and the guys should go beat him up.

Well, he made my day! I really enjoy reading reviews like this. The more the better.Why?Well, it proves that even a mere mortal like I am, without any pilot's license whatsoever can have better judgement than a "high and mighty real pilot".Everybody has the right to express his opinion, however silly it is. It's good for a laugh.Kind regards,Stephan Haas

The following quotation was particularly amusing:"In fairness, I think Microsoft tried to put too much on its plate, and based on a purchase price of $34, the game was bound to fall short. From a 767 pilot

HAHA good one Stephan

Actually, I wonder what controls he was using? The single thing that has improved my enjoyment of simming was the purchase of a flight yoke from PFC, the use of a separate throttle control from my Saitek X-36 stick/throttle combo and the use of rudder pedals (CH Pro Pedals). While the Saitek and CH products really pale in comparison to the PFC yoke, they work well enough so that you can actually control the airplane. I don't know how anyone lands anything in FS with a joystick mounted throttle - let alone flies the unfriendly skies in IL-2 or Janes F-18.

Just because he's an airline pilot does not make him right. And this guy flys 767's! ,now thats scary.

Hey Mike,I wonder what he would think of PIC (and flightsim) if he were sitting next to you or me during our catIII approaches into Boston? :)Flying PIC the way most of us on this forum do is no different than any using other specialized tool...for example...Put me in front of a Steinway and I can play a mean rendition of chopsticks or Mary had a little lamb. Put Beethoven, Bach, (insert your favorite pianist here) behind that same piano

Okay 767 PIC pilots the man who wrote this is Kevin Garrison he is a Captain for very major airlines, the last time I had contact with him he was a Captain flying the MD-88. The first thing you must understand about Kevin is his is very rough around the edges, he has more hours than an albatross and he earned them the hard way.He has forgotten more about aviation than every one of Avsim

Yep, I agree. And if he couldn't figure out how to start the engines (I was able to do it without reading the manual) then I also wonder about his judgement and intelligence. Michael J.

"The program, for example, puts the speed window and the auto-throttles(sic) where the autopilot(?) should be."Huh?Anyone know what he's talking about? I'm putting this one down to altitude sickness... I think he's lost control of his "outflow valve". :-)Cheers.Ian.

Well sorry that may all be nice and neat, he might have all the hours of the world, all the stars and stripes, but somebody who claims that "you should learn the FMS before and over all" is dangerous. I'm pretty sure that he even doesn't know how to fly his 767 fully manually anymore (only with VOR, ADF, etc). So what happens the day the FMS says good bye ? Oh, damn, we are in the clouds, the weather is bad, lots of traffic, low on fuel...that's just how an accident arrives. Remember the KLM-Pan Am 2 X 747's crash in Tenerife ? The worse aviation disaster ? The main direct responsible of that crash was the KLM 747 captain, the chief pilot of the whole fleet, the most respected guy of the company. Next to him, a junior first officer... Just to say that experience is one thing, but it just isn't enough in aviation. Discipline in staying current in actually flying a plane is something else, very difficult to maintain in the actual all-computer cockpits. You can allways fly an aircraft without using it's FMS. Just as safely if you have the discipline. Maybe not as economically and easily. You just cannot imagine how many pilots just couldn't fly anymore without their nice little FMS, it's amazing. Just because it looks so nice and perfect, they completely rely on it and let it do everything. Those are the same who allways fly with the autopilot and FD on. But if you never fly the b@!tch manually time to time (A/P A/T F/D off, FMS used only for perf calculations, EHSI only used in ILS or VOR mode) you loose proficiency so bad ! You forget as fast as you learn. So what happens the day you get a total electrical failure on a 767 ? You only have your basic stuff working. Now if you can't handle that situation because you're not proficient anymore, you just made the first step forth to an accident (and not a small one). Now you might say that they are all proficient coz they have sim check-rides every 6 months ? BS. Most of the time they will get engine failures and radio comm failures. In those cases they handle well since they just trained 2 hours of recurrent before the check on a sim, and they just re-studied some theory. When they get some total electrical failures and such, it's another story. During my MCC training, my SFI told me about lots of hard debriefings on crews after prof-checks... don't think it's as nice as it looks like. As young pilots, we are trained after CRM and human resources rules. We learn how to stay up-to-date during our long career, to do things every flight that seem unsignificant but that save lives the day the big s#it happens, which is an eventuality of 1 during 2 added pilots careers. It is not because someone is experienced that someone knows everything better than you. I can tell that a junior first officer is often much better at being disciplined and knowing his emergency checklists than a few-year experienced airlines pilot, who has probably fallen into the routine trap.All this to say that learning how to fly a glass-cockpit in FS is only the way they fly them on a normal day. It doesn't learn you how to fly an airliner the day you have trouble. And that's why pilots are so well-paid (not allways!!). I had the chance to have attended probably one of the best airline schools in the world, the Sabena Flight Academy. Sabena was the second-oldest airline in the world after KLM. All of it's experience was passed on to us students. No need to talk about the accident record of Sabena...simply exemplar. Now I'm not saying that all belgian pilots are gods, but they sure know how to fly a plane ;-) Learning by FS jumps a couple of steps in the process of learning how to fly, and gives some bad habits (that are corrected as they were for me). That's why we learn 1st VFR, then IFR, then crew work and finally advanced automatic systems. Now using the FMS is actually VERY GOOD, because it is allways recommended to use ALL AVAILABLE RESOURCES. However learning how to use that before you know how to fly on pitch & power tables is a BIG mistake in the interest of safety. That's why I wanted to reply to this thread, to try to de-mystify the aura that surrounds everything a real-life pilot says and does and so on. It's not easy at all to understand of course, but it ain't because you're a pilot that you are God.Ok, back to reality this is just a hobby ! Well, yeah and therefore keep on enjoying PIC the way you did up to know ! Don't start learning pitch & power tables coz you think you're not safe ! You are. You are flying a computer. But if you wish to become a pilot (pro) one day, you'll have to start up from the ground, matter how far FS led you, and not necessarily believe everything real-life pilots told you.Regards,Andr

This Kevin Garrison, may have forgotten more than any other pilot will ever learn, however, it is all quite useless if his attitude towards everything is either "mad, angry or just down right mean." Any respect or creditibility he has or should have is severly damaged by that sort of behavior. I'm sure if we all got to meet him, we would all think as you do, that he's a Great Guy, but admit it, that "review" is not exactly a crowning example of either objective opinions or intelligent observations.And from what you say about him, it sounds a lot like this guy is the kind of dinosaur that training and charm departments are trying to do something about...