It's the 'squalls' or 'storm cells' weather that produces very nice and realistic low level turbulence, downdrafts etc...waiting at the holding point and watching the clouds roll in with the viz rapidly dropping to zero is a very interesting experience. No way to let the controls go for more than a few seconds....

Edited March 1, 201214 yr by bstolle

Speaking of clouds-a real step backwards...

I also tried some heavy weather yesterday. Boy, that was new to me. I could hardly control the plane...! It was too much, actually... It's a shame you can't setup your own weather: the themes with great looking skies are almost impossible to fly in and you can't change that.

I'm really liking it so far. It's incredibly smooth. If they release scenery covering the entire globe and some good jets, this will probably be the primary sim. Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

I am surprised Bernte. I put "stormy" weather in, trimmed the plane, and then watched it fly for 10 minutes by itself without any user intervention. I wish Xplane had more stability, but this is the other extreme. The flying on rails analogy also seems appropriate too-and the roll axis reminds me of native xplane's.

Geofa, I'm thinking that you have something very wrong, because I have NEVER felt that any of Flight's aircraft was unrealistically stable, or that they were "flying on rails." When I'm flying in Stormy weather, my aircraft are getting pushed all over the place. Are you positive that you have all the flying assists disabled, and that your joystick assignments are not conflicting with each other?

I am surprised Bernte. I put "stormy" weather in, trimmed the plane, and then watched it fly for 10 minutes by itself without any user intervention. I wish Xplane had more stability, but this is the other extreme. The flying on rails analogy also seems appropriate too-and the roll axis reminds me of native xplane's.

Hi Geofa,What you are describing sure does not feel like what happens when I fly in bad weather. I don't get it.Kind regards,

I am surprised Bernte.I put "stormy" weather in, trimmed the plane, and then watched it fly for 10 minutes by itself without any user intervention.I wish Xplane had more stability, but this is the other extreme.The flying on rails analogy also seems appropriate too-and the roll axis reminds me of native xplane's.

Geofa -Sure you hadn't fired up FSX ? Does this look any better ? (video 9MB)MS Flight - Stearman - Weather-cocking in "Isolated thunderstorms" theme.Involves ZERO user inputs. Watch the aircraft get kicked about, and note the relative wind changes.HTHATBPaul

Edited March 1, 201214 yr by basys

It's nice to finally see some civil, objective, and educational threads popping up around here... especially when my favorite subject comes up: Flight Dynamics. So what do you guys think? I've only flown the Icon so far...so I can't offer a very comprehensive opinion; but I do feel the Icon may be a tad too stable (although I wouldn't say it flys on rails). Pitch stability seems better than roll stability... it seems a bit overzealous at sticking to its current bank angle. Drag effects seem to be better than the old FS# default models... throttle reductions seem to have a more immediate impact on performance. In the "some things never change" department, rudder/yaw effects are whacked. I swear it descends slower when I cross the controls than it does clean... need to test that out some more. Side/Forward slips just don't seem to work at all. I tried a crosswind landing and had no where near the rudder authority required to line up the longitudinal axis with the runway while banking into the wind. Note that thanks to the simple weather, I had no idea what my X-wind component was, so it's very possible that the crosswind exceeded the aircraft's limitations; but the yaw control just seems "whimpy" at all times. Please share your thoughts and let me know how the other planes fly... I'm going to try the Stearman this evening if I have time.

Well I could be incorrect on the weather I was using at the time -I think rain was coming down but what simplified weather setting I picked I am not sure. Smooth for sure-no feeling of airflow-roll is way too fast and sensitive, way way too stable. I'll give it another try later today-but it has little interest for me.

Well, I flew the beta for a month with only the main island and two aircraft. Accumulated 120 hours of flight time. Got really bored at one point but found other things to do. And now, I have the rest of the islands which should be worth another month or two at least. :DHook

Soooo...does that mean you are...ah..hooked? :LMAO:

Well I could be incorrect on the weather I was using at the time -I think rain was coming down but what simplified weather setting I picked I am not sure

Hi Geof,I believe there is one weather setting that is as you describe. My experience is as per that of other posters - generally in the more severe weather scenarios I am constantly fighting at the controls with eyes like saucers attempting to avoid been thrown into the terrain. But there was one scenerio I tried yesterday that was indeed stormy and rainy...but mysteriously calm.I have no real world experience but my over-riding feeling is that the way even light aircraft react to bad weather in Flight might be a little exaggerated. I realise these aircraft would never be allowed up in that sort of weather to begin with, but by and large the control corrections I find myself having to apply just to avoid a catastrophe are quite astonishing.

throttle reductions seem to have a more immediate impact on performance

And what is with the pitch-up attitude of the Icon when the throttle is closed? Is that typical behaviour for a pusher, typical for an Icon, or not typical of anything?