I'm an Active Sky X owner and I've been thinking about getting the latest Evolution version but I'm wondering if it's really worth it. The biggest problem I have with my current setup is windshifts, especially at high altitude, that wreak havoc on my PMDG MD-11. Would Evolution fix this? Is it on the whole worth purchasing for ASX users? Thanks.

In my opinon a big improvement and a no-brainer upgrade.

I'm an Active Sky X owner and I've been thinking about getting the latest Evolution version but I'm wondering if it's really worth it. The biggest problem I have with my current setup is windshifts, especially at high altitude, that wreak havoc on my PMDG MD-11. Would Evolution fix this? Is it on the whole worth purchasing for ASX users? Thanks.

I am not convinced that it would fix your problem, I get them using ASE also the destination weather seems very slow to correct (even though ASE is sending it several times during the flight according to the log)...G

There are specific fixes that can be made with ASE that relate to PMDG's aircraft (notably the 747 and MD-11), and these are detailed in its manual. Broadly speaking, they involve altering some of FSUIPC's wind smoothing effects and ticking a couple of ASE options. There is an Avsim review of ASE coming up, but it'll be some time before it's on the site since I am currently in the process of writing it and only actually got the product very recently, so I'm still checking it out in detail. In the meantime, and bearing mind that I'm still exploring what it can do, I would say it probably is worth getting ASE for FSX even if you do have an earlier incarnation, as it is a very capable program which expands on what earlier efforts could handle, and it does create very realistic weather for both FS9 and FSX. ASE does have the capability to bring FSX to its knees in tears if you go over the top on what it can actually produce in terms of really complex weather detail, but since there is so much customisation you can indulge in, it can be tamed into a compromise that will allow good FPS and good weather emulation too.Where FS9 is concerned, it's an absolute no-brainer to get it in my opinion, since it narrows the gap between the weather improvements FSX offers over FS9, particularly with regard to vertical air movement. Where FSX is concerned, it's also a fairly smart choice, although there are one or two aspects of it that are perhaps less satisfactory in the compromises one has to make to alleviate some issues, however, this is to be expected considering all the stuff it is doing and the advantages that confers, so I would say that the plus points of it tend to outweigh the compromises one has to make by quite some margin.In short, I reckon it would be worth the upgrade.Al

The official Hi-Fi Simulation support forum is of course right here on Avsim.http://forums1.avsim.net/index.php?showforum=171I'd have a browse there if you haven't already done so.Certainly the sensitivity (and presumably realism) of more advanced add-on aircraft such as the PMDG products are covered there.

To the OP, if high altitude windshifts are your concern (not the PMDG S-turn autopilot bug with ASA and ASE) then I would recommend considering the registered version of FSUIPC. This has an option to limit wind speed and direction changes to x degrees or kts/second (obviously you fill in x). If you limit it to 1-2 kts and degrees/second, things smooth out. You still officially get the windshifts, but they occur over 30-60 seconds allow the autopilot and throttle to compensate gradually as they would in the real world.I'm actually still using ASX becuase I don't want to deal with the PMDG autopilot bug and ASX appears unafflicted (I've heard stories that they fixed it with ASE, but also heard users still experiencing it). I just use FSUIPC to control the wind shifts and all works well for me.