Okay, well... sold. ^_^ I will let you all know how it goes!

 

Be interesting to hear your reports hope its good as it sounds, as iam tempted to purchase the product as well

There sure aren't many people showing up on the REX Latitude Radar page. Is this thing a dud or is it just because of the holiday weekend?

 

I thought there would be dozens if not hundreds of people logged on at any given time...

Looks interesting but really interested in their SimAir deal.

Okay, my first impressions after checking out the program, reading most of the manual and doing a flight (only one yet).

 

I like how the programs looks. I can imagine not everyone getting excited from all those colors, but I like it. I also like it that the settings page is utterly simple. Not tons of options you have to check: in that regard the program is very simple!

 

I will tell you how things went so you might benefit from my experiences: when I installed Latitude I got an error about Internet Explorer. Turns out you need IE 9 installed on your pc! I proceeded the install, ignoring the error, and got a script error everytime I tried to run Latitide. After that discovery (it isn't mentioned anywhere) I uninstalled Latitude, installed IE 9, installed Latitude again and all was fine. I wasn't too happy about it though because I don't need IE 9 at all and it took some time to find out was was wrong, So beware: make sure you have IE 9 installed (at least on Windows 7 64 bits which I run).

 

Next disappointment: you can't prepare a flight, minimize Latitude and start FSX. In fact, starting FSX itself isn't enough: you actually have to start a flight and be in the airplane on your departure airport before you can tell Latitude what the load etc. will be. So this means you have to setup a flight, start it and after that you have to alt-tab to Latitude... Pity. You should be able to set load and fuel etc. before FSX is even started imho. I now have to alt-enter FSX to windowed mode and then go to Latitude (because whenever I alt-tab I have to hit a load of buttons in order to get FSX working again). No huge problem but I did think 'Oh bummer'. It also took me a while to figure that out because I also couldn't find a mention about this anywhere (just like IE9 being mandatory).

 

Next little problem (don't worry, things will get better soon: I am just sharing this to prevent problems for others!) is that the program accepts input of comma's but doesn't see them. I am Dutch and I am used to use comma's in numbers, so 34.5 nm is 34,5 to me. So... I entered 34,5 into Latitude's planner to calculate fuel and I was told to load some 228 lbs into the plane... WHAT?!? But well, if that is what Latitude needs... I thought it had something to do with having to have 1 hour of fuel onboard after landing. It wasn't until I ended my flight that I found out that you can type a comma but Latitude doesn't see it... so it thought I was going to do a 345 nm flight! When I changed the comma to a dot the amount of fuel needed suddenly was a more logical 24 lbs... So be warned again! REX btw knows about this know and will allow comma's officially or block the use of them. Which brings me to the next problem:

 

Latitude is lbs only for now. So all Anerican numbers! Nothing metric! However, REX has said this is on a to do list, so let's hope they fix this (imho) large omission.

 

Well, not I have that out of the way, let's fly. You set up some parameters in Latitude (fuel, which you can estimate in Latitude's planners), load (passengers, cargo), not that much and off you go. Latitude shows you (in Latitude itself) the speed at which you have to take off and also the landing speed but these speeds are also called out inflight: the inly thing you will notice inflight of Latitude. The idea is to do everything as close to those speeds as possible or you will get penalized (deduction of points and maybe even money).

 

After that it is ALL about flying as steady as possible. Fly smooth and you will get high points. Latitude looks at 4 phases of flight: the take off, climb-cruise-descent, the approach and the landing. That's it, It doesn't care about the use of lights or radio of whatever.

 

My take off and flight was pretty good but my approach was terrible. Well, not according to me but according to Latitude. The thing is: the approach phase is triggered depending on altitude above ground (and/or time before touchdown). I fly the Legacy and since it is hard to slow down I like to be flying low quite some time before I reach the airport. This resulted in Latitude thinking I was approaching way too long and at the wrong speeds and all.

Also important: this resulted in a wrong callout of my landing speed! The interface of Latitude shows the desired landing speed but it also calls it out during approach. However, that call out is based on the current actual setup... and since I was pretty low before reaching the airport I didn't have my flaps up yet and so the calculated landing speed was higher then it should be! This resulted in VERY bad point for the landing also because I landed too fast and my final debrief was based on the calculated speed WITH flaps... (It's getting complicated, isn't it? ^_^ )

 

Anyway, take my advice and read the manual because it explaing in detail what Latitude sees as the approach (which is much shorter than I always though it was). So my next flight I will make sure to NOT fly too low until I actually want to aproach! Now this is nice, because now I am sort of forced to follow proper procedures and that's what Latitude is all about! On the other hand... it also feels like you are only trying to please the system and trick the parameters...

 

After landing and when you have slowed down you get the results of your flight onscreen (in FSX!). Latitude also doesn't care at all about taxi btw: it's starts to follow the flight at a certain speed during take off and stops at a certain speed after landing. When you switch to Latitude you get a lot of details about your flight, what you did wrong, what went right, and you also get nice charts: there is a LOT to look at! When you upload the flight to the Portal (you have to option to don't do that) you can see the points you have been rewarded and how much money you have earned (or lost...). All your flights will be added up and this way you build up your career.

 

The first thing I thought after watching my results was 'I'll do this flight again but then better...' so in this regard the programs works: it really intices you do do better and fly more realistic and that's great. On the other hand... the second thing I thought was 'I better use the autopilot all the time during the next flight...' I fly GA only and usually manually but when you get penalized for not keeping the altitude here and there or climbing or descending a bit sloppy, you of course tend to let the AP take care of everything... You also tend to use ILS or GPS approaches more often. Another thing I thought was that I have to figure out EXACTLY at what distance and speed I need to start the descent in order to do a smooth approach: a very good thing but it makes everything a bit calculated, taking away the spontanity. Then again, you don't have to use Latitude everytime and if you do, you can decide to NOT upload a specific flight.

 

All in all, even though this 'review' contains a lot of negative things and problems, I think I like Latitude. It adds something to the flight, the community idea is nice and that add's even more. I am really looking forward to my next flight, hoping to do better, more by the book, and that proves that Latitude 'works'. It has to be seen though how long I will like Latitude: if things become repetitive and I only fly by the exact numbers, I might become too much like work and as if I lost my freedom. But well, we'll see. After all I've only done one flight up to now... ^_^

 

EDIT

Just finished my second (very short) flight. What can I see... It DOES make flying a lot more exciting! Before taking off I had another look at the manual of the plane to see what the proper speeds should be and I made sure to not trigger an approach to soon again, so instead of flying too low too soon I descended in time to 1250 feet above the airports elevation and this enabled me to do a proper approach: I think I was descending at a nice rate and speed with gear down and flaps full before Latitude triggered the approach phase. Where my appr and landing skills were ZERO % the first time, it was now 88% and 74%! Yes! So Latitude is actually making me a better pilot! ^_^ Looking at all stats is fun too btw.

Thanks for your thoughts J van E. Just to give you some pointers, I can't think of a scenario where you would approach shallow on purpose. Shallow is bad for two reasons. One, altitude is your friend, in case of engine failure, and two, shallow approaches (especially at night) can be very dangerous. You approach was very shallow (0.6 degrees, which for all intents and purposes is near level flight).

 

The approach phase corresponds to the generally accepted point where your aircraft should be ready for landing on normal configuration at normal rates of descent. This ranges from 30-60 seconds depending on aircraft size and is based on a standard 3 degrees for altitude. So you can be steeper but shouldn't be shallower (you can do slightly shallower approaches but see above).

 

If you can's slow down your plane you're either descending too fast, or didn't plan far enough ahead. The "student" mentality should be to be at 500 feet above pattern over the airport, so at the point you can slow for maneuvering and do your 45 degree entry. On the other hand, once you know your airplane you'll know when to start slowing.

 

3 degree approach path is a standard ILS, and in visual flight is generally shallow for slow GA aircraft. When not on an instrument approach, most GA pilots do a much steeper approach, definitely not shallower. A stabilized approach is both safer and will help during landing.

 

Now, with regards to start up. Unless FSX tells me what airplane you're using I can't tell. So FSX needs to load and initialize an aircraft so I can get all the data associated with it. Could I read this from disk before hand? Probably, but not everything. Some of the speeds FSX tells me are not in the aircraft.cfg, but are based on calculations of the aerodynamics for the plane. Also, if I were to rely purely on what's on disk, you would not be able to use this application on a client machine. One note about fuel planning... you probably don't need to be that precise with fuel, and as the manual states, you'll end up flying longer than your point 2 point distance anyway, plus you'll need your reserves. You use that as a general guide not as a precise value.

 

Lastly, with regards to flying by the numbers... Latitude forces you into standard real world principles for a reason. You would not be able to get you PP or even Sport Pilot certificate unless you can hold altitude to +/-100 feet. That's not too much to ask, and Latitude actually gives you +/-250 feet (which is roughly the point where the FAA could fine you when under their control.) You learn these concepts when you get your tickets. Eventually they are no longer numbers. They will just come naturally. The speeds on takeoff and landing are there especially when you're new to the airplane and don't quite know what to expect.

 

If you ever want me to review a flight for you, don't hesitate to ask.

Thanks for the great explanation! Much appreciated! I have to say I have learned a LOT already from just two flights and looking at the 'debrief'! So Latitude really works well in that regard! ^_^ And I notice again right now that I am very eager to do yet another flight and see how I will do. So Latitude certainly gives new live to FSX for me. ^_^ It's also very nice being able to look at EVERY detail from previous flights. I think that even when I want to fly 'just for fun' and with no one looking over my shoulders, I will still keep Latitude running in the background anyway. Yes, I like it more and more minute by minute. :rolleyes:

Giving this some thought, but, if IE9 is required then it can not be run on XP? I would want to run on a client machine, which is running XP and hence not able to run IE9 . . . The FSS Store lists XP SP2 as sufficient?

 

Curious . . .

Giving this some thought, but, if IE9 is required then it can not be run on XP? I would want to run on a client machine, which is running XP and hence not able to run IE9 . . . The FSS Store lists XP SP2 as sufficient?

 

Curious . . .

 

It will run on XP SP2 but the RADAR tab will likely not function fully. From limited experience with testing via IE8, the map is rendered and update correctly, but the chat functionality will not work. The web technologies behind Latitude are fully standards based, so it requires a browser that will support them "without quirks" to do a lot of the background updates.

 

We are exploring the possibility of embedded a different browser (Gecko which is the rendering engine behind Firefox), but there's no timeframe on this.

Just did my third Latitude flight. I am enjoying it more and more. This time I focused on flying level and although I succeeded for the most part, I screwed up elsewhere during the Enroute phase. (But I've posted about that on the Latitude forum.) I have to say Latitude really adds to the excitement! Never thought trying to fly level (I fly the Legacy but don't want to use the AP for now) could be so hard! It's nice looking at the charts after the flight and see where I screwed up big time. :rolleyes: And btw that rotten English weather doesn't really help...! :lol:

 

Anyway, Latitude is fun. Go get it.

It will run on XP SP2 but the RADAR tab will likely not function fully.

 

I have purchased it (if you remember I used your earlier versions, pre-REX), and will wish to use it on an XP-based Client. I don't think I've even got IE8 on that. I never use IE itself on any of my cockpit clients -- only firefox when needed, which would only be on one of them.

 

So, wll i get the Script failure every time I load it?

 

Regards

Pete

I have purchased it (if you remember I used your earlier versions, pre-REX), and will wish to use it on an XP-based Client. I don't think I've even got IE8 on that. I never use IE itself on any of my cockpit clients -- only firefox when needed, which would only be on one of them.

 

So, wll i get the Script failure every time I load it?

 

Regards

Pete

 

Pete,

 

Probably... but I'll look into this, and try to fix the problem (client won't need to be updated). However, at least IE8 will be required, that is as old of a browser you can get without things just completely not working right.

 

EDIT: Even if I can't fix it completely, on the next update I'll disable the "Javascript" pop-up warnings.

I am really enjoying Latitude as well, with 13 flights under my belt. I have almost recovered from all my unprofitable initial flights before I understood the system, and I'm ready to get rich :-)

 

A quick question. I notice that I am not able to view my profile without being logged in. Is there, or will there be, a public version of the profile that shows a brief summary of my skills and earnings?

Looks funny watching you guys fly around the globe on that map. Really interesting product. I will put it on my list for the Christmas stuff and I hope I will have time for flying. Keep some negative ratings open for me. :lol:

 

So is REX turning FSX into a sort of MMO now?

Simair I think is supposed to be exactly that.

I think I have to read more into the differences then. Not much pressure on getting something new these days, but, as said, looks like fun from the reports.

 

I'm running FSX without any career or rating addons so far. Hence my lack of knowledge.