FTX ORBX vs UTX

[MatthewL 16]

I'm upgrading my scenery, and I have checked out both Ultimate Terrain X USA and FTX Pacific North West. I'm going to be bush flying mostly, so I want to have the best scenery possible.

 

Which is better, higher quality? UTX or FTX Pacific North West? (If I go with FTX I'll get all of them)

[ivanm 20]

For bush flying I would definitely pick Orbx PNW. Orbx is by far the best scenery for low and slow flying. Even if you don't add any of their detailed airports (which I highly recommend as well), the scenery is outstanding.

 

UTX is a very different product which puts the rivers and roads where they should be (amongts a lot of other things). For bush flying, I wouldn't recommend it without including GEX as well. The visual upgrade to the default textures make it a must have if you want to upgrade all of North America.

 

All of these are great products, though I definitely would recommend Orbx for GA flying.

[Gregg_Seipp 565]

...he says with a 777 banner.  But cool!  I'd have to agree with ivanm.  I have both.  PNW can be heavy on frames (especially around KSEA) but it is also pretty amazing.  Not sure where you're going to be bush flying but FTX Felts looks pretty amazing and I know some bush flyers use it as a base. (I don't have it yet but my credit card is nervous.)  As for UTX, it's worth it for the non-FTX areas you might be flying into. 

 

Gregg

[MatthewL 16]

...he says with a 777 banner.  But cool!  I'd have to agree with ivanm.  I have both.  PNW can be heavy on frames (especially around KSEA) but it is also pretty amazing.  Not sure where you're going to be bush flying but FTX Felts looks pretty amazing and I know some bush flyers use it as a base. (I don't have it yet but my credit card is nervous.)  As for UTX, it's worth it for the non-FTX areas you might be flying into. 

 

Gregg

Haha, I do both. I switch it up every know and then From cessnas to 737's 

As for airports, will all the airports look the same as default? Do I have to actually purchase airport for some nice scenery? I hope there is even a little bit of scenery added on the airports. Like a hangar or something. 

 

-Matthew

[Gregg_Seipp 565]

 

Haha, I do both. I switch it up every know and then From cessnas to 737's

As for airports, will all the airports look the same as default? Do I have to actually purchase airport for some nice scenery? I hope there is even a little bit of scenery added on the airports. Like a hangar or something.

 

 

For the briefest moment I imagined a 777 on final at Harvey Field (shudders...LOL). 

 

It's probably going to sound odd, but when I fly up in PNW I'm generally just up admiring the scenery.  I love the PNW little towns at dusk.  I don't think there's anything stock in it but I haven't paid much attention to hangars.  I haven't bought any FTX airports.  As for UTX, there's a fair amount of stock it's hard for me to tell what...but it's easy to see that things just look better.

 

I'm not a bush flyer (yet) but if I had my choice I'd probably pick FTX for bush flying.  Seems more suited and their add-on airports seem geared for it.

[Kaboki 437]

I would reccomend FTX NZSI and Milford Sound, with Milford Sound addon you get 3 challenging bush strips, especially Qiuntin lodge strip. And all the NZSI airstrips have been enhanced so they look better than default with some people flow. And there is plenty of bushstrips around the Island and the performance is excellent.

[pete_auau 1,154]

I agree with the others i got all of orbox scenery and dont see that much of an issue with the fps depending on your pc hard ware that you have got.

 

With your question on payware airports to the default ones yes you will see alot of difference etc as others will say. Orbox has free airports that you can try at first etc and if you like them and run ok on your pc than you might want to check out other payware airport that are around being fdst(they got trial airport  for  your  to use   to see if  it  works on your  pc  it  will run for about  6 minutes before it  reverts  back again), orbox, aerosoft. an uk2000 airports

[FloG 148]

I would reccomend FTX NZSI and Milford Sound, with Milford Sound addon you get 3 challenging bush strips, especially Qiuntin lodge strip. And all the NZSI airstrips have been enhanced so they look better than default with some people flow. And there is plenty of bushstrips around the Island and the performance is excellent.

That's actually a great advice, I second it. And IIRC there are a few more sceneries to come for NZ by ORBX, besides there are some good looking ones in the Avsim library.

 

If it has to be North America, ORBX is definitely the first choice for bush flying. But it is kinda addictive, so you might find yourself speindg way more money than you intended to...

[Gregg_Seipp 565]

Where do you guys bush fly in PNW?  How do you make it real?

 

Gregg

[Griphos 138]

Yes, Orbx hands down. I have the NGX and the J41 and have flown both maybe 10 hours each. Otherwise I have several thousand sim hours bush flying, and I mean bush flying, largely in the Cub and often into strips the C172 would find challenging. Most of my flights are at 1000 or so AGL.

 

I have UTX and GEX and pretty much quit flying FSX until Orbx came along and saved the sim for me. I'm a RL pilot, and even with UTX and GEX, the sim was just too little like life for me when flying. But with Orbx, I can believe I'm flying over real country again.

 

They do unique textures for each region, and as someone who has lived in several Rockies states, I can tell you they get the textures right. All the airports in a region get upgraded and some are very nice.

 

Get the demo. It covers the whole Olympic peninsula and you can get Bowerman (KHQM) and Vashon as freeware airports in that region. Bowerman is one of their best, free or pay. Vashon is right across the sound from Seattle, the worst FPS hog in the sim, so you'll see how your system can handle it.

 

Not sure what is meant by the question of how we keep,it real. But if you mean what airstrips, there are lots of little strips, even in PNW. CRM has the Idaho forest service strips that challenge even the Cub. And you can land off airport in tons of places in all the scenery. But the freeware OzX set of strips for the San Juan islands are fantastic!

[Gregg_Seipp 565]

 

Not sure what is meant by the question of how we keep,it real. But if you mean what airstrips, there are lots of little strips, even in PNW. CRM has the Idaho forest service strips that challenge even the Cub. And you can land off airport in tons of places in all the scenery. But the freeware OzX set of strips for the San Juan islands are fantastic!

 

I guess my impression of bush flying is that you do it for a reason other than going out for a Diet Pepsi and a Moon Pie.  Delivering cargo...picking up or dropping off pax....that kind of thing.  I guess there's a lot of fun to be had flying in and out of small airports in the mountains and trees in and of itself.  Is it a professional mentality or just grab your fishing pole and binoculars and go?

[Griphos 138]

Well, I've done a fair bit of the "professional" kind of bush flying in FSE, where I both owned a Scout and flew for several VAs as well located in the PNW and Tongass Fjords country, hauling bush pax and freight. That's fun too. I did a little weekly postal run in the C185 along the Salmon river in Idaho that perfectly duplicated (both route and plane) a RL bush operation out of McCall.

 

But I think "bush" flying as used by most people, especially connected to FSX, means the more general small plane, small strip, flying low and slow taking in the scenery, as opposed to the tubes or GA flying from regular airport to regular airport.

 

Some of my MP friends live in Alaska and do a lot of bush flying in RL, and probably most of it is personal fun flying into bush strips or off-airport backcountry.

[Brad_Allen 6]

You could try some of our freeware offerings. We've put a few places together for PNW, PFJ, Tongass Fjords and soon, SAK.

 

Brad

 

http://www.return.mistymoorings.com

[Gregg_Seipp 565]

 

But I think "bush" flying as used by most people, especially connected to FSX, means the more general small plane, small strip, flying low and slow taking in the scenery, as opposed to the tubes or GA flying from regular airport to regular airport.

 

I see.  So, what do most folks do when they start?  Find an airport and start learning the area with some dead reckoning thrown in?  Any method to the art?

[Griphos 138]

I don't know what most people do, but I use sectionals or Plan G to scope out the little bush strips and then use pilotage to find them. It's easy to do in Orbx scenery.

But I also often just take off and fly around, like I do in RL, traveling up whatever valley seems appealing and seeing where it leads. I still have a sectional handy so I have a general idea where I am.  So, once again, pilotage.