AS Real as it Gets????I have been flying FS for a long time and got FSX when it first came out.After upgrading my PC I can fly with the scenery almost maxed out.When I fly I have the aircraft realism maxed out along with detect crash... Just to keep me honest!! LOLI am a RW Private pilot working on my instrumsnt and Commercial ratings.I got my Lic in the early 70's. With a Family and all that goes with it, I stopped flying in 1978. I started flying the FS98 then up to FS9-FSX.3 years ago I decided to go back to RW flying. I had flown all the lessons in FS9 . I had downloaded "photoreal" cockpits and purchased a Cessna 172 from Flight One.I got information from AOPA , got the Faa Medical then went to the airport.I took a refamiliarization flight that was planned for only 20 min. but ended up being a 1.5 hr flight.I did every reference maneuver, put the hood on for some simulated IFR then full emergency procedures including simulated engine out flight. On the way back to the airport the instructor quizzed me about how long it had been since I had flown. He said he wanted to check my flight Log to verify the 28 years. That is when I told him I had been flying FS9. He said that explains alot. He had a 16 yr old student pilot land the aircraft on his first flight. He also had been working on FS9.I made the approach and landed a little long past the numbers but no bounce.When We met with the chief pilot he asked "well how did he do"??? The instructor said.. "he knows how to fly" will just have to get up to day with FAA procedures. So I flew 11.0 hrs with the instuctor, flew 3 different aircraft, flew is the worst wind so that I could practice Xwind landing. One flight the wind was @25Kts gusting to 35knt with a 30 deg crosswind. Now there was some "Pucker Power" going on. Had to use full rudder and alerion to crab into the wind just to align with the runnway.. and this was in the dark!! Passed my Flight review and the rest as they say is history.I am using FSX to fly all the IFR and Commercial flight lessons then just adapting to the real aircraft. This really reduces the cost!!So how real is it??? I have been in several full cocpit simulators and except for their 3D motion there is not much difference.Skyhawk51

AS Real as it Gets????I have been flying FS for a long time and got FSX when it first came out.After upgrading my PC I can fly with the scenery almost maxed out.When I fly I have the aircraft realism maxed out along with detect crash... Just to keep me honest!! LOLI am a RW Private pilot working on my instrumsnt and Commercial ratings.I got my Lic in the early 70's. With a Family and all that goes with it, I stopped flying in 1978. I started flying the FS98 then up to FS9-FSX.3 years ago I decided to go back to RW flying. I had flown all the lessons in FS9 . I had downloaded "photoreal" cockpits and purchased a Cessna 172 from Flight One.I got information from AOPA , got the Faa Medical then went to the airport.I took a refamiliarization flight that was planned for only 20 min. but ended up being a 1.5 hr flight.I did every reference maneuver, put the hood on for some simulated IFR then full emergency procedures including simulated engine out flight. On the way back to the airport the instructor quizzed me about how long it had been since I had flown. He said he wanted to check my flight Log to verify the 28 years. That is when I told him I had been flying FS9. He said that explains alot. He had a 16 yr old student pilot land the aircraft on his first flight. He also had been working on FS9.I made the approach and landed a little long past the numbers but no bounce.When We met with the chief pilot he asked "well how did he do"??? The instructor said.. "he knows how to fly" will just have to get up to day with FAA procedures. So I flew 11.0 hrs with the instuctor, flew 3 different aircraft, flew is the worst wind so that I could practice Xwind landing. One flight the wind was @25Kts gusting to 35knt with a 30 deg crosswind. Now there was some "Pucker Power" going on. Had to use full rudder and alerion to crab into the wind just to align with the runnway.. and this was in the dark!! Passed my Flight review and the rest as they say is history.I am using FSX to fly all the IFR and Commercial flight lessons then just adapting to the real aircraft. This really reduces the cost!!So how real is it??? I have been in several full cocpit simulators and except for their 3D motion there is not much difference.Skyhawk51

-------------------------------------------------------------------------Skyhawk,Great post! Very informative, and a good read. Thanks for sharing. :)Mitch

Well, if I only had a terrain mesh for KIRK and surrounding area.... My little town has been depicted on the wrong side of the highway on every sim I've had. Even Xplane, where all the streets are accurately depicted-around the grass, while the town is off over there. There is a train track running through town, and it intersects with HWY 63. I can find town, at least. Piddly complaint aside, I agree with all comments on this thread. I've been flying around mountains and scud running today. Outstanding!

AS Real as it Gets????I have been flying FS for a long time and got FSX when it first came out.After upgrading my PC I can fly with the scenery almost maxed out.When I fly I have the aircraft realism maxed out along with detect crash... Just to keep me honest!! LOLI am a RW Private pilot working on my instrumsnt and Commercial ratings.I got my Lic in the early 70's. With a Family and all that goes with it, I stopped flying in 1978. I started flying the FS98 then up to FS9-FSX.3 years ago I decided to go back to RW flying. I had flown all the lessons in FS9 . I had downloaded "photoreal" cockpits and purchased a Cessna 172 from Flight One.I got information from AOPA , got the Faa Medical then went to the airport.I took a refamiliarization flight that was planned for only 20 min. but ended up being a 1.5 hr flight.I did every reference maneuver, put the hood on for some simulated IFR then full emergency procedures including simulated engine out flight. On the way back to the airport the instructor quizzed me about how long it had been since I had flown. He said he wanted to check my flight Log to verify the 28 years. That is when I told him I had been flying FS9. He said that explains alot. He had a 16 yr old student pilot land the aircraft on his first flight. He also had been working on FS9.I made the approach and landed a little long past the numbers but no bounce.When We met with the chief pilot he asked "well how did he do"??? The instructor said.. "he knows how to fly" will just have to get up to day with FAA procedures. So I flew 11.0 hrs with the instuctor, flew 3 different aircraft, flew is the worst wind so that I could practice Xwind landing. One flight the wind was @25Kts gusting to 35knt with a 30 deg crosswind. Now there was some "Pucker Power" going on. Had to use full rudder and alerion to crab into the wind just to align with the runnway.. and this was in the dark!! Passed my Flight review and the rest as they say is history.I am using FSX to fly all the IFR and Commercial flight lessons then just adapting to the real aircraft. This really reduces the cost!!So how real is it??? I have been in several full cocpit simulators and except for their 3D motion there is not much difference.Skyhawk51

Great post Skyhawk51...I have found the same benefits-an extremely useful and money saving device...I've used the sim for every rating I've ever done and it does keep the rust off during down periods.Good luck on your ratings-you will find fs doesn't do so well on the commercial maneuvers (rudder input etc.) but still being able to run thru them on the sim is of great help.

What a great thread. Thanks for the uplifting experiences. It's really good to see the positive side and not just the problems.GW

The OP surprised me a bit... I expected to read how crappy FSX is when it comes to accuracy. While reading the post I got the impression the poster thought FSX was great and accurate... B) but then it suddenly was revealed UTX was great and accurate... :( FSX itself, by default, isn't accurate at all. I don't really understand why the poster of the OP was so extremely surprised to see certain things down there in the updated FSX-world... Didn't he read about UTX before he bought it...?!? :( What did he think he bought...?The topic-title should have been 'How accurate/'real' is UTX....hmm....' :(Nice topic nevertheless. :(

I agree that FSX out of the box was NOT good at all! However after SP 2 and after you install UTX, GEX, and REX, you will have jaw dropping experiences.Since we are talking about realism, I love that the ATC frequencies, airport identifiers, and runways are as real as they can get.I'm also an Orbx supporter. I've never flown in Australia, but I'm in amazement at the amount of detail in some of the airports with little to no fps hit.I've waited more than 10 years to experience the joy that fsx is giving me on a daily basis.

The OP surprised me a bit... I expected to read how crappy FSX is when it comes to accuracy. While reading the post I got the impression the poster thought FSX was great and accurate... B) but then it suddenly was revealed UTX was great and accurate... :( FSX itself, by default, isn't accurate at all. I don't really understand why the poster of the OP was so extremely surprised to see certain things down there in the updated FSX-world... Didn't he read about UTX before he bought it...?!? B) What did he think he bought...?The topic-title should have been 'How accurate/'real' is UTX....hmm....' :( Nice topic nevertheless. :(

-----------------------------------------------------------------You'll have to read it again...for I typed about the FSX WORLD...and not merely the out-of-the-box software itself. :)Everybody's FSX 'world' is different, dependant upon what add-on's they have...of which in my system, I clearly identified. :)Cheers,Mitch

-----------------------------------------------------------------You'll have to read it again...for I typed about the FSX WORLD...and not merely the out-of-the-box software itself. :)Everybody's FSX 'world' is different, dependant upon what add-on's they have...of which in my system, I clearly identified. :)Cheers,Mitch

The accuracy of default fsx also seems to depend on where you are from. In my area it was very accurate-the small lake I live on which was never depicted in fs9 or any add ins I bought for it, was depicted in the default fsx-and very accurately.Never the less- I also immediately got all the "x" upgrades and of course they all make fsx stellar.

I blame Oz and Ultimate Terrain for spoiling me so much that when I fly in a part of the world not covered by higher resolution mesh landclass and coastlines I feel so disappointed in the surroundings