First of all. A bit on my simming background.

 

I first got into flight sims when I picked up FS2002 from a game store in my local town, I think it was the awesome float plane on the front that struck me. I played it on my terrible system back then, couldn't even remember the specs.

 

My major love for the hobby came with FS2004, I got really into it and spent the majority of my spare time flying the virtual skies with a community and then later on to some vatsim time too. Since FS2004 I owned a saitek X52. It's the only thing i used for simming, so maybe not as hardcore as a lot of other people, but i enjoy the experience non the less.

 

It took me a while and a huge struggle to ditch FS2004 and move to FSX. I eventually did and became to love FSX for what it was. I invested into Track IR for FSX, I enjoyed and the smooth view was nice, but needing to put it on my headset every time I played was a big draw back. Played FSX casually (no properly online flights) for quite a while.

 

 

Flight came out, a breath of fresh air. Maybe I was out growing my love for the actual simulation and wanted more of a "game" feel. Today I packed up my Saitek X52 and Track IR and sold it on. I've now ditched FSX for Flight and I'm not ashamed to say I play flight with a smile, I enjoy it and I use an xbox 360 pad to play it, and it acts just as well as the joystick did if you ask me

 

I'm only in my 20s, but coming for FS2002 to Flight is some great progression, I know flight is completely new from 02>04>X but I'm a happy convert to this "game". I don't know what made me ditch FSX for Flight so easily, ditching FS2004 for FSX was an incredibly long and hard task to do.

 

Thanks for the simulation memories Microsoft and I look forward to the future development of Flight :)

Great to have you in our Community!!! :-)

I'm 48, and got infected by flightsimulation when I was 28 :-|....

Good on you Colasanto.

 

Unlike you I never owned Flight Simulator, I'd occassionally be drawn to it only to be put off by the acronyms, add-ons, config files, system tweaking, instability, hardware costs, etc. So I'd only fly the occasional WWII title, as there was less to learn - I enjoyed IL2 and before that there was B17 The Mighty Eighth. When Windows 7 came along it wouldn't recognise my trusty Sidewinder so I replaced it with an Xbox controller. And you're right, it's absolutely perfect for Flight. Panning around is easy too, I'm not even sure I'd bother re-installing my Track IR.

 

I love Flight and log in daily for one Maule mission, the daily aerocache and maybe a bit of practice. Flight has motivated me to learn about instrument flying and aviation in general, I've downloaded VOR tutorials, section charts and who knows what else - it even has me interested in visiting Hawaii. I wish Microsoft well with it and am hopeful they'll grow the simulation side of it, in time perhaps implementing some ideas from our suggestions list.

Welcome and great post!

 

I've been flying virtually (in real life I only flew ONCE in a Cessna... not even in an airliner!) since the mid- eighties on my Atari 1024. As soon as I got a PC around 1990 I tried the then available version of FS. Usually I flew for a few weeks or months and then months would pass before I flew again. In the beginning I was more into combat flying games, but over time I lost interest in all that and stuck to peaceful flying. It wasn't until FS2004 that flying became a steady hobby for me. And when FSX arrived I stopped playing other games almost completely, apart from a few racing games every now and then. So since around 2007 I've been flying on the PC without a real break. Well, flying... tweaking, really. I think I actually (honestly!) spend more time tweaking AND posting on forums AND reading manuals then I actually flew...!

 

Then came Flight. I already was more of a low and slow flyer: I spend months and months above Orbx scenery with just a single plane, so MS Flight wasn't a huge change when it comes to quantity. However, with Flight, just like Voics, I also FINALLY felt the urge to learn ALL about VORs and approach charts. I even bought rudder pedals!!! All these things had my interest in the previous years (decades) but Flight triggered something in me to finally dig in deep into it all. What the other sims couldn't do, Flight did within a month.

 

I can't really put my finger on what it is... Maybe it's because Flight simply runs perfectly? Something I've been longing for for years! (I read a few topics on other subforums last weekend about tweaking FSX and P3D and reading about it alone almost made me feel sick...) Maybe it's because Flight looks awesome with for instance those shadows all over the place? (One thing I've always missed in FSX and other versions was LIGHT! There never was LIGHT in the virtual world but now there is!). I don't know what it is but I DO know that I always look forward to coming home after a long days work and to do a flight with the Maule or RV7, using real world approach charts and VOR all the way. (I hardly do missions and jobs and all that.) It's SO immersive! I love it.

 

I am a convert too. And an addict.

Today I packed up my Saitek X52 and Track IR and sold it on. I've now ditched FSX for Flight and I'm not ashamed to say I play flight with a smile, I enjoy it and I use an xbox 360 pad to play it, and it acts just as well as the joystick did if you ask me

 

This once upon a time was a land (or a sky) of fligth simulations.... now the progression toward Pong seems ruthless

Only joking, enjoy the fresh air, some of us will continue to hope that the future of simulation will be different.

 

A.

This once upon a time was a land (or a sky) of fligth simulations.... now the progression toward Pong seems ruthless

Only joking, enjoy the fresh air, some of us will continue to hope that the future of simulation will be different.

 

A.

 

Funny thing: he sold his Saitek and TrackIR and went for the XBox controller, while I bought Saitek rudder pedals specially for MS Flight...!

But, modern airliners are sort of controlled using an xBox pad!!!! That's the future!!! Actualy, the future will be to have a computer doing the job, hence the external views, just for the joy of watching how we're being flown accross the skies :-)

 

I have a Saitek Cyborg X only, after I gave away to a friend all of my simulation hardware (Saitek, CH, etc...), but I use the mouse and keyboard a lot more, both on FLIGHT and CONDOR...

 

And I am very happy with it too :-)

 

 

This once upon a time was a land (or a sky) of fligth simulations.... now the progression toward Pong seems ruthless

Only joking, enjoy the fresh air, some of us will continue to hope that the future of simulation will be different.

 

A.

But, modern airliners are sort of controlled using an xBox pad!!!! That's the future!!!

:Liar:

Really because every airline I know of has either a yoke or sidestick... I must have missed when Boeing, Airbus, Embraer, DeHavilland and most other modern airlines installed X-Box controllers :Thinking:

Flight must be the first FLIGHT simulator ever to drive people AWAY from using actual flight controls... great job MS!

:Liar:

Really because every airline I know of has either a yoke or sidestick... I must have missed when Boeing, Airbus, Embraer, DeHavilland and most other modern airlines installed X-Box controllers :Thinking:

 

I must have missed that too. I saw many joystick-type controllers in modern airliner and fighters, but I would be really glad if someone show us an example of gamepad used in real aircraft :Hypnotized:

 

Flight must be the first FLIGHT simulator ever to drive people AWAY from using actual flight controls... great job MS!

 

From a commercial point of view I can also understand. MS doesn't produce joysticks anymore, and they surely would be happy if people just use X-box controllers and, in the future, Kinect. That this will be a good thing for realistic simulation, well....

 

A.

Thanks for the simulation memories Microsoft and I look forward to the future development of Flight :)

 

Same here - welcome to the forums! Oddly enough, Flight was what finally convinced me to invest in a set of rudder pedals! Quite like jcomm, got interested in computerized aviation in my early 20s, now in my late 40s. Have quite a few hundred hours of actual time piloting a variety of aircraft - for me, Flight gives the closest feeling to the type of flying I do.

Funny thing: he sold his Saitek and TrackIR and went for the XBox controller, while I bought Saitek rudder pedals specially for MS Flight...!

 

Concerning this, in another thread I read that you bought the Combat model, the most sophisticated (and expensive) of Saitek models. Can I ask if you are satisfied with them? I am thinking of updating my peripherals, and am quite undecided about the choice (also besides Flight, of course ).

 

A.

Concerning this, in another thread I read that you bought the Combat model, the most sophisticated (and expensive) of Saitek models. Can I ask if you are satisfied with them? I am thinking of updating my peripherals, and am quite undecided about the choice (also besides Flight, of course ).

 

A.

 

I love them! But don't forget that these are my first pedals so I can't really compare them to other pedals. However, I really like that you can keep your heels on the ground and simply move the rudders with the er... top/ball (how do you call that) of your feet or even your toes! I bought these because the cheaper rudder pedals force you to keep your entire foot in the pedal and hence you have to use your entire legs more... so it seems to me and so I have read. Using them is easy and doesn't put a strain on your feet or legs (I hope I am using the right English words here...). I also like that you can very easily change the force needed/the tension on the pedals by turning a huge knob (although after changing it three times I found the perfect setting and didn't need that knob anymore). I don't even have the software installed that came with it: they work perfectly fine by default. Again, I love them!

 

All reviews I read about them were positive too btw, specially about the foot on the ground thing.

 

BTW The pedals automatically center but imho not in an annoying way. There is some sort of detent in the middle but I find it easy to pass that when going from left to right.

 

But again: these are my first pedals, so don't (only) take my word on it!

 

P.S. I also read that some other brands have the pedals closer together? These are spaced very well imho! I wouldn't mind an extra inch of space but having LESS space sounds awful!

I love them!...

 

Thanks a lot for your detailed opinion. I am examining the various options available. I was tempted by the Logitech g940, that for a price a bit higher than those of your pedals offers the complete set, stick (with FFB) + throttle + pedals, but I read many complaints about the software, so I am still in doubt.

 

A.

I have been haveing a GREAT time with the Logitech Extreme 3D pro with flight, which you can "program" the stick to the keycomands of the game.

Talk to a Boeing pilot and ask him what he thinks about the sidestick on the modern buses....

Of course I was joking/exhagerating :-)

 

:Liar:

Really because every airline I know of has either a yoke or sidestick... I must have missed when Boeing, Airbus, Embraer, DeHavilland and most other modern airlines installed X-Box controllers :Thinking:

Flight must be the first FLIGHT simulator ever to drive people AWAY from using actual flight controls... great job MS!