July 7, 201213 yr Author On my check ride the flight examiner pulled the power and asked, well, where you gonna go. I found a nice cow infested field and was going over the fence with the flaps down before he would let me add power and climb out, milking the flaps up again. Anything can happen and you have to be prepaired, that could have been carb ice. The other fun thing he did was have me in a steep turn around a point and ask me what the outside air temperature was. I was glad when that flight was done, one of those things you never forget. Also the first solo is always memerable and that was 35 years ago.
July 7, 201213 yr On my check ride the flight examiner pulled the power and asked, well, where you gonna go. I found a nice cow infested field and was going over the fence with the flaps down before he would let me add power and climb out, milking the flaps up again. Anything can happen and you have to be prepaired, that could have been carb ice. The other fun thing he did was have me in a steep turn around a point and ask me what the outside air temperature was. I was glad when that flight was done, one of those things you never forget. Also the first solo is always memerable and that was 35 years ago. I took a few hours in a Piper Warrior, and the instructor pulled the power over the Everglades at about 600 feet. I set up the proper glide speed, and we kept getting lower and lower, and I kept waiting for him to grab the controls, and we still got lower and lower, and I headed for this flat area next to a tree that looked like it has some land around it. We got down to about 30 ft AGL, he grabbed the controls, applied power, and flew around the tree twice !!!!!!!!!!!!! I decided to find another instructor after that..... The temperature thing should be addressed, IMHO. Carb and pitot icing should also be modellled. Stuctural icing is more complex, but MSFS 9 and X had it, even if implemented not so well... What would you do in a Maule, or Stearman, or Icon if you encountered structural icing, besides crash?
July 7, 201213 yr On my check ride the flight examiner pulled the power and asked, well, where you gonna go. I found a nice cow infested field and was going over the fence with the flaps down before he would let me add power and climb out, milking the flaps up again. Anything can happen and you have to be prepaired, that could have been carb ice. The other fun thing he did was have me in a steep turn around a point and ask me what the outside air temperature was. I was glad when that flight was done, one of those things you never forget. Also the first solo is always memerable and that was 35 years ago. I'd really dreamed of getting an engine rating, although I love soaring, but that would allow me - should I have the chance to, which happens to be difficult around here... - to be able to fly motor-gliders... I can't even fly an SLG or an SSG :-(... Flight Simulation has given me that chance, so, I transposed my dream to an "almost perfect" GA flightsim.... I am left with very few alternatives other than ELITE (which has old fashioned and limited world graphics, and flies like in raills, but is extraordinary for IFR and flying by the manual, and although I know for instance a product like DCS-p51 is as detailled as one can think/imagine, I really don't see me investing on such a sim, military-oriented, just to benefit from a great flight and systems model.... MS FLIGHT has almost all I could ask for :-/ Flying gliders since 1980 Flightsimming since 1992 AMD Ryzen 5600x, 32GB RAM, GPU Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti 8 GB, 1 TB and 500 GB nvme2 SSD drives, HP 27" 60Hz LED monitor @ 1920x1080, T16000, Hotas from old X52 Pro, Saitek Combat Rudder Pro (2010 model)
July 7, 201213 yr I have combat pedals and trackiR gear on order so I expect to be around for the duration. We can only hope for better things to come. Oh you are so in for a treat!! Congrats and have fun with the new hardware! Keep in mind when you get those Combat pedals hooked up, Flight likes to assign some strange stuff to them - you will need to check and clear some of that out possibly. Also when you assign your toe brake axis', be sure and put a check in the "invert" box, or they will be on when you start. Still no idea what caused your issue? Don B
July 8, 201213 yr I decided to find another instructor after that..... Wise. As you witnessed... practice emergencies can turn into a real one real quick. I found a nice cow infested field and was going over the fence with the flaps down before he would let me add power and climb out, milking the flaps up again. Anything can happen and you have to be prepaired, that could have been carb ice. This is the kind of thing that is a recipe for a real emergency (as you really could have picked up a load of carb ice while at idle). Or have a wire strike. Just curious if he allowed any "clearing" of the engine (i.e. say smoothly running up the engine to 2000 rpm to check for ice) while you glided in. I know CFIs and DPEs (Designated Pilot Examiners) like to pull these stunts. Totally unnecessary imo. Want to practice such a thing, then find a good grass strip. Or break it off with some decent amount of altitude remaining. Stuctural icing is more complex Not too complex how you can pick it up... In the clouds at or below freezing In VMC or IMC... Freezing precip And the (U.S.) regs about it are clear: § 91.527 Operating in icing conditions. No pilot may fly under IFR into known or forecast light or moderate icing conditions, or under VFR into known light or moderate icing conditions, unless— [1] The aircraft has functioning deicing or anti-icing equipment protecting each rotor blade, propeller, windshield, wing, stabilizing or control surface, and each airspeed, altimeter, rate of climb, or flight attitude instrument system; You should be aware the NTSB considers (and has for decades) any information available to the pilot before / during a flight (including a forecast of icing) to be "known icing". You have an accident -> you will be cited under "Careless & Reckless" operation. If you suspect there are icing conditions possible, you don't take off, period, unless you want to kill yourself and or wreck your aircraft, You are most correct sir... given the exception for aircraft certified for flight into know icing conditions. and losing power is no reason to stall and spiral Stall - spin maybe? (stall + yaw = spin) ... as a spiral the plane is not stalled. And would not be the first time someone lost power and decide to haul back on the yoke. "Better to crash under control than to crash out of control." I uninstalled MS FLIGHT :-( I am sincerely sorry (and sad) to hear this jcomm. You have been one of the most (if not most) enthusiastic & vociferous proponents of FLIGHT... and I hate seeing some of FLIGHTs oddball quirks frustrate? you to the point of abandoning it. Maybe (and I know a long shot) in the not too distant future we have a sim that is "as real as it gets" (an FSX on steriods)... something that faithfully recreates flying in "as many aspects as possible". I am sure many of us would pay several hundred dollars for such a platform. And also maybe you could take some of that money not spent on FLIGHT and use to fly some dual sessions in aircraft of your choice? Here's to hoping... Rob
July 8, 201213 yr Any time someone mentions structural icing I tend to get a sinking feeling. I had it once. Luckily the ice came off after I descended about 1500 ft. elevation... the ground wasn't far below me... maybe five or six hundred feet. The thing is it happens so fast. It happened once when I was a passenger in a G3B1 helicopter... same thing the ice came off when we got closer to the ground. At least in the chopper the pilot had already found a spot to land.. In my case in a PA12 I was still looking for a place to put down.
July 8, 201213 yr Any time someone mentions structural icing I tend to get a sinking feeling. I had it once. And that is what is so insidious about it... like you said... can happen so fast... and it does not take a lot to screw things up. Even frost on wings has to be cleared... just crazy how those tiny "bumps" destroy lift. And EVERYTHING bad about ice... destroys lift and thrust... adds weight and drag (besides screwing with control movement and ability to see out the front).
July 8, 201213 yr And that is what is so insidious about it... like you said... can happen so fast... and it does not take a lot to screw things up. Even frost on wings has to be cleared... just crazy how those tiny "bumps" destroy lift. And EVERYTHING bad about ice... destroys lift and thrust... adds weight and drag (besides screwing with control movement and ability to see out the front). And that is what is so insidious about it... like you said... can happen so fast... and it does not take a lot to screw things up. Even frost on wings has to be cleared... just crazy how those tiny "bumps" destroy lift. And EVERYTHING bad about ice... destroys lift and thrust... adds weight and drag (besides screwing with control movement and ability to see out the front). Doesn't take much ice at all on the leading edge to destroy the lift of the wing, and you are in deep doodoo.
July 9, 201213 yr I uninstalled MS FLIGHT WHAT?! Say it aint so, JC (but tbh, I hear your complaints - You can't use something if it doesn't do it for you) As has been said; it is a shame, as you were a very vocal exponent of FLIGHT, for all its faults.. You'll be back, no doubt ;) JAKE EYREIt's a small step from the sublime to the ridiculous...Napoleon Bonaparte
July 9, 201213 yr Can I have your stuff? Uh, scratch that. We're really gonna miss you, jcomm. Will you be going back to Condor or Silent Wings? I thought you'd uninstalled those in favor of Flight at one time. I find Condor to be very tempting. If FSX worked without crashing, I'd get the DiscusX, as I've already got CumulusX and love it. Icing is one of those things you think you want to see modelled until you encounter it, after which time you avoid it at all costs. It really only makes sense with real world weather, and we don't have that yet. Cloud icing, maybe, but that's another thing you want to avoid when you can. Maybe you can fly below the icing. Maybe. If the ground level is low enough, and it's not in icing conditions on the ground. You can probably simulate icing well enough by starting a job in conditions where icing could occur, and 2/3 of the way through you flip a coin. Heads, you continue the job. Tails, you pull the mixture back to lean cutoff and leave it there. If there were a weather option for icing, I'd turn it off and leave it off. All this is moot, as I doubt icing is the real reason you're giving up on Flight for now. I do wish you'd reconsider, as just flying around in Alaska is a lot of fun. Right now that's all I'm doing, and if there's a passenger or cargo job in the direction I want to go I'll take it. If not, I'm not going to worry about it. Oh yes, if there's ANY performance drop in the Maule, I haven't been able to detect it. The prop response has changed, but it's not a major problem for me. If it's broken, maybe it'll get fixed later. Hook Larry Hookins Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of EarthAnd danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
July 9, 201213 yr Yes, not Condor but rather SilentWings and ELITE. I continue to think MS FLIGHT is great, the best so far, regarding the recreation of a flying environment, and the overall sensation of being there, even if with the limitations it presents. I am looking fwd for the upcoming DLC announcements. If I decide to reinstall I'll get a new fresh account - the old is being used by an old friend I introduced to flightsimming some 5 yrs ago...and he's enjoying it a LOT. I'll follow a different approach if I decide to buy my 2nd copy of FLIGHT - buy only Hawaii and Alaska. Buy no more cockpitless aircraft, and even not the Maule because I really think it got really downgraded and weird with the latest pacth. That was part of my disappointment... The RV didn't suffer that much with the patch, and still shows acceptable prop effects, even if a lot less yaw due to slipstream than it should... The icing is a feature I was expecting to find with Alaska, or at least coherent temperatures since the challenge of the hard weather conditions found there was announced as the main characteristic of that DLC. :-( Even in glider operations, specially when we take a water ballast, it must be taken into account. Flying in wave, during winter, is an experience that can bring a few surprises... I would also try to restart a carrer with one objective - ZERO crashes! I would progress calmly trying to do my pax jobs with the RV and a few flight with the Stearman, also the Icon, and wait for deluxe aircraft only! Of course I also find the Carbon Cub very nice, and think that with a proper cockpit it'll certainly turn into the most popular airplane in MS FLIGHT until a new kid in town is available. As many of you figured ... I migh not resist reinstalling :-) Regarding ELITE, I'm really happy to own it. Might even consider getting the GenView sceneries for Hawaii and Alaska, to fly using RW METAR and navaids for those regions... Thx for the support guys... I am happy to keep reading your enthusiastic posts while you progress through Alaska. Flying gliders since 1980 Flightsimming since 1992 AMD Ryzen 5600x, 32GB RAM, GPU Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti 8 GB, 1 TB and 500 GB nvme2 SSD drives, HP 27" 60Hz LED monitor @ 1920x1080, T16000, Hotas from old X52 Pro, Saitek Combat Rudder Pro (2010 model)
July 9, 201213 yr I think the Maule is much better after the upgrade. Sent from my SGH-T679 using Tapatalk 2
July 9, 201213 yr No problems with the Maule for me, other than prop effects being actually noticeable now, and a heavy load seeming to affect the climb performance where it previously did not. It needs finer trim controls, but otherwise does about what I would expect. My main disappointment with Alaska is the lack of off-airport Jobs or Missions. You can't do real bush flying without going into the bush. Real weather modelling with temp and pressure variations sure would be nice, though.
July 9, 201213 yr The thing that non-pilots don't realize, is that all aircraft are a little different. They are rigged differently, engines have different amounts of wear and respond differently, etc..etc.. When they design a flight simulator at CAE for the airlines, they actually take data from several test flights and ask the pilots which represents the ideal in their opinion, for representative flight model. So to read some aircraft GA spec sheet, which is derived from a brand new aircraft, with new engine, rigged perfectly, and flown by a company test pilot and expect a flight model in a PC simulator to duplicate these characteristics, is pure fantasy. I have flown probably 10 different 152s, and the same number of 172s, and they all felt and flew a bit differently. One would climb like crazy, and the next one would struggle to hit 400 feet at the end of a 4,000 foot runway. Aircraft are not perfect, and either are aircraft in simulators. You want perfection , look for something else besides aircraft.
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