My 2 hours in a 737NGX LevelD Sim

[Flightsim Phil 0]

Paul:Do you mind letting us know exactly where you took the sim ride?? I travel down to southern Florida quite a bit on business and might be interested in taking a Level D ride one of these trips!!Thanks,Phil

[upquark 6]

Thanks for sharing your story Paul. Glad you enjoyed the experience. In a previous life I have flown the Vickers VC10 simulator, the Argosy and the Nimrod amongst others.. The Nimrod was the heaviest on the yolk I would say and needed a fair dollop of force when rotating. All I have to do now is just get those 6 lottery numbers..........lolSteve

[gresiek 0]

Trimming and yoke force is probably the most immediately noticeable difference between FS and real aircraft... even in GA aircraft you're like "wow, this is harder than my joystick at home".

Unless you have a force feedback joystick. This makes a big difference compared with the normal one. Although the force feedback effects are poorly modeled in FSX there is a tool on the market which makes ff more credible, at least to meGregor Gresiaczynski

[brucek 38]

To the OP:Is there enough detail in the default FSX to do a visual approach such as the Expressway? Or do you have one of the scenery packages for NYC?I printed off the charts for these and want to try these visual approaches when I get time to do so, sounds like fun especially doing something short and tight such as between the NYC area airports.Thanks, Bruce.

[sandpatch 9]

Great post and thx for sharing you feelings. If you ever would go there to fly again, could you try to fly in bad weather and tell us how it felt with a good weather engine as compared to FSX?Manfred

[paulyg123 135]

Paul:Do you mind letting us know exactly where you took the sim ride?? I travel down to southern Florida quite a bit on business and might be interested in taking a Level D ride one of these trips!!Thanks,Phil

The Pan Am Flight Academy has made acceptions for me to use their simulators. They are located through out the country. If you got the money, they probably will take you. I have been there 6 times so far. I know you must be US citizen and theydid have me checked out. Google them. They are in Denver, Miami, Minneapolis as well.

To the OP:Is there enough detail in the default FSX to do a visual approach such as the Expressway? Or do you have one of the scenery packages for NYC?I printed off the charts for these and want to try these visual approaches when I get time to do so, sounds like fun especially doing something short and tight such as between the NYC area airports.Thanks, Bruce.

I think there is enough detail for this in the standrds default FSX scenery. That's all I have. For the JFK 13L, I diownloaded the lead in lights. You really can't see the expressway in great detail, but you can see it. Per the chart you fly DIALS at 085 degrees and keep looking over your left shoulder for the time to make the dreaded 135 degree decending turn.

[Devinci 0]

I know you must be US citizen and theydid have me checked out.

[kevinh 409]

4. The scenery on the $17 million dollar sim was nothing to be desired. FSX default scenery set at LOW beats the Level D sim by far.

Where any Level D sim's visual will beat FSX every time is low visibility simulation. How much detail is put into visual scenes is down to the cost it takes to create and maintain the airport model. They can be much more detailed than default FSX, it depends on the sim operator's budget. If you ever go again ask to see one of the scenes used for simulator qualification.

I basically proved my theory again in that we can learn a real lot our FSX sims and if you mastered your plane - you can land the real thing.

Practicising with FSX will help you land a Level D FFS without doubt. But the real thing is a different matter. In good conditions using autoland perhaps. Nice report though. I've been at the PAIFA Miami training centre many times, but as an engineer, not a paying customer.Kevin Hall

[brucek 38]

I think there is enough detail for this in the standrds default FSX scenery. That's all I have. For the JFK 13L, I diownloaded the lead in lights. You really can't see the expressway in great detail, but you can see it. Per the chart you fly DIALS at 085 degrees and keep looking over your left shoulder for the time to make the dreaded 135 degree decending turn.

Thanks.

[XPX64man 130]

Great write up and picture. It is always good to hear that flying the gorgeous NGX is so close to the real thing. Sure there are going to be things that fall short, especially in the "feelings" category, but the NGX is great entertainment and its realism is what makes it especially enjoyable.I just set up my new G737 throttle quadrant from Throttletek, and did about three flights so far today and, for me, it is an amazing upgrade. I bought it especially for the NGX and I'm so glad that I did.The virtual cockpit of the NGX is so real looking that,(when using TrackIR) in my opinion, a home cockpit is pointless. On the other hand, to have a realistic 737 throttle quadrant under you hand adds so much to the experience. Especially on take offs and on final approach when you're landing manually.It has the TO/GA switches and auto-throttle disconnects where they are supposed to be and also has working start switches, reversers, realistic flap and spoiler handles. It really feels great and puts me in that NGX cockpit.I believe the only better experience would be like the one you had. Maybe someday I will feel confident enough to try that. I'll bet two hours went quickly.

[davierosoft 13]

Unless you have a force feedback joystick. This makes a big difference compared with the normal one. Although the force feedback effects are poorly modeled in FSX there is a tool on the market which makes ff more credible, at least to meGregor Gresiaczynski

I have the same tool, it must be set to ave better forces, and adding them also on ground (expecially the centering forces).What is missing/wrong is the trim. FSforce uses standard trim logic (trim tab plus elevator). Tat's good for small aircrafts, not for aircrafts with a stab trim. On the 737 the centering on the column changes with: stab position, mach trim, and forces to move it changes with speed.If you are using my same program, you found that to use stab trim you need to move it manually as the trim does not move. The fsforce is designed to re-center the joy wich move only elevator. This may be good for most part of te flight, but sometime you need to recenter command by using stab trim or you are not able to engage AP.I posted on their forum hoping that they could add a stab trim feature on a next version.Hope they listen me.

[Evan Banalian 5]

Very nice, Thanks for sharing.

[ontheair 3]

" It cost me $1,000 but I wanted to see how my flying the PMDG 737NGX prepared me for the real thing" Good idea but rather expensive !! Are you planning to become an arline pilot ? Anyway when reading you, it's clear this full motion LevelD Simulator experience will stay unforgettable !!"The flight instructor with me and the other ones I spoke with could not understand how much I (we) know. They could not comprehend the detail our little $69 sim has. And the concept of VATSIM flying was totally unimaginable to them."Were they about to award you an ATPL licence ?

[simcarlito 0]

Nice ,how about the G force you experience ,compare with fsx...Do that make a good difference in $17 millions dollar sim.?Carl Dumont

[Tallguy 9]

For those in The Netherlands (or Belgium for that matter): SimcenterLelystad also has a full motion NGX where I've been in a couple of times.Link: http://www.simcenter...nl/leisure.htmlTheir prices are very nice indeed!€ 259 for 1/2 hour instructions and 1 hour flight with instructor from Athens (this is a package)If you want to fly solo without instructor (you have to have a remark behind your name or else they won't allow you to fly without instructor) costs € 189 per hour.