Looking for the most realistic C172 handling experience

[Ghost 0]

Hello All,

 

I recently received my PPL back in Oct 2012. All of my training was in a C172N. Due to the high cost of flying the real aircraft I am looking to suplement my experience with flight sims. I have been experimenting with FSX the past few weeks but have not been impressed so far. I have the Saitek/Cessna yoke, pedals and TPM and know there is a lot that I need to do to improve on the out of the box FSX installation. I have been reading a lot on the forums about things like AccuFeel and also getting addons for weather and scenery and will be experimenting with those. Some of my problems may just be in how I have things setup. I am willing to due the research but would appreciate some guidance from the experts.

 

My first quest is to get a C172 model that handles as close as possible to the C172N that I used during training. I read that there are several different ways to improve the C172 such as adding in portions of the "Real Air C172" into the default C172 and also waiting for the ASA or Real Air C172 models to be released.

 

Is my goal feasible? If so, can someone recommend or point me to information to help my quest?

 

Thanks..

[ryanbatc 12,931]

Either the Alexander Metzger 160hp version or the Realair 180hp FDE fix. Metzgers is hard to find but it should be floating around the net. Realair's is on their site.

 

Then of course Realair and A2A are making new planes...

 

Have you considered xplane? Their default c172 needs FDE tweaking too but it could be another option.

[Ghost 0]

 

Have you considered xplane? Their default c172 needs FDE tweaking too but it could be another option.

 

Don't know anything about Xplane yet. Would you recommend I try it before digging deeper into the C172 with FSX?

[LeeL 272]

I'd go with what Ryan said above. You could even get the Carenado 172N and put the realair fix in that. Lee

 

 

Have you considered xplane? Their default c172 needs FDE tweaking too but it could be another option.

Don't know anything about Xplane yet. Would you recommend I try it before digging deeper into the C172 with FSX?

If your already set up with fsx I don't see a point in trying xplane yet. Try the other suggestions first. Lee

[FloG 148]

I'd also recommend not to try X-Plane yet (unless there's a free demo version, I don't know), because I guess that both A2A and Realair willl be ready to release their C172 within the next few months, and they will for sure be less expensive than X-Plane, even if you get both.

[ryanbatc 12,931]

I got the xplane North America regional for about $25 on amazon

[SWFan 2]

And Laminar Research provides a free demo download on their website for X-Plane. So you could try it out cost-free.  If you're not heavily invested in FSX with add-ons and other aircraft and are just starting out, then I too would recommend giving the X-Plan demo a try.

 

Probably the best renditions of the 172 will be forthcoming from Real Air and A2A models.  For what is available now, the Carenado model is not bad, and of course you can tweak it as mentioned above.

[Ghost 0]

I will look into the xplane demo. Also, are there good directions on how to merge the realair and hte carenado models?

[LeeL 272]

The download update will include an "air" file.

 

Just copy that to the Carenado 172 folder and rename it to the name of the one that's in there already

 

Lee

[ryanbatc 12,931]

One thing to note. FS can produce bad habits for your real flying.

 

Over the years I've used fs for good things like checklist flows, preflying a route for VFR flight, and in conjunction with flight planning for sectionals and E6B calcs.

[pilottj 198]

Ryan is very correct about FS abilitty to create bad flying habits, so be very mindful when in FS.

 

I would wait for the A2A or RealAir 172.  I don't think the A2A is too far out, maybe a couple months or so.  They plan on releasing a development update video this month which will give us a good idea where they are at.

 

Cheers

TJ

[Ghost 0]

 

One thing to note. FS can produce bad habits for your real flying.

Over the years I've used fs for good things like checklist flows, preflying a route for VFR flight, and in conjunction with flight planning for sectionals and E6B calcs.

 

Ryan,

 

Thanks for the feedback and I'll watch out for the bad habits. I had planned on using it for all the same items that you mentioend above. Just looking for a way to improve my skills on items such as navaigation, altitude and heading control, cockpit management. Basically learning to think ahead so that I stay ahead of the plane   

[Bert Pieke 7,585]

The Flight1 172N is actually quite good, and the panel layout can be changed if you like a different set of avionics.

 

Another option which works for me, is to equip the default 172 with Metzger's or RealAir's flight model, and add RealityXP gauges for the "six pack" - adds up to a nice aircraft simulation..

 

 

 

 

[LAdamson 240]

Bad habits:

 

Leaving pilot's seat to make coffee, or get a beer. Don't do this in real 172. Since there is already a PPL, I don't think the bad habit part, is very serious. I don't totally agree with the bad habit concept anyway. On some pilot forums, it's like any desktop sim is dangerous. Of course, that's baloney....

[Ghost 0]

 

The Flight1 172N is actually quite good, and the panel layout can be changed if you like a different set of avionics.

Another option which works for me, is to equip the default 172 with Metzger's or RealAir's flight model, and add RealityXP gauges for the "six pack" - adds up to a nice aircraft simulation..

 

Bert,

 

Thanks.. I'll give both options a try.