As I have been considering this purchase, I'm interested in hearing the opinions ONLY from owners of this plane who also prefer to fly from VC only (typical vc junkies).Question 1: what is your honest opinion regarding the vc lighting at times when you need it most (such as when sun is directly facing you causing the vc to get very dark and unreadable in shadows)...from my understanding, FT left out the floodlights as they lack the knowledge to be able to include it. I emailed them about it and their response was to say that NO addon planes exist with vc floodlights because its not technically possible (which is really sort of laugh-able if they truly believe this). So is there ample lighting in the vc to be able to read the panel and see the knobs, etc?Question 2:Are both taxi & landing lights viewable from the vc at night?Question 3:How would you rate the vc overall as far as clickable functionality AND crispness/readabilityIn order to avoid any possible flaming or bashing please try to refrain from mentioning the names of OTHER addons if comparing, and please try not to comment here if you dont actually own this particular plane in the first place :-)Thanks for all your help in my decision making:-)Dave Kalin

one last try, bump...:-zhelp

Dave judging by your questions and concerns, you

thanks Dillon...every vc shot ive seen lately makes the vc look so dark, i cant understand how its readable in the shadows if FT says there arent any flood lights though.Dave Kalin

The instruments are somewhat difficult to read at times. The issue with FS that gauges don't become luminous until well after sunset also plays into this. Furthermore, the VC overall has a very shadowy feel to it because the textures that are used (textures that IMHO are a little icky) are very dark. Also, the gauge refresh rate is, as stated above, fairly low. Overall, the VC seems useless to me becuase of these issues. If you can get past the VC, which is regarded by many as a low point, the overall package is very polished and is easy to recommend.http://img250.echo.cx/img250/2845/b18sig5kd.jpg

I agree with the above comment. I tried the VC for a few flights but stopped as I found that in order to actually see the instruments I had to change the zoom such that my outside perspective was way off especially on landing. That said, I use the ERJ-145 almost as much as the PMDG 737, just depends on whether I want to do some flights to some of the smaller cities. I use the 2D panel on each exclusively. the only thing lacking on the ERJ 2D is there are no side views with cockpit walls, windows, etc. A bit strange they left that out. However, I like the systems and flight modeling. I tried most of the other regional jets that are out and think the feelthere ERJ is still the best despite its faults. Mike

On my system (P4 2.8G, 1Gb DDR RAM, GEFORCE6800) I get the absolute best refresh rate in the VC, as stated, you can tweak primary gauges performance from their config tool. It is true that the VC is a little dark, but using Active Camera and preset views, I can zoom in PFD/ND as needed. As far as the usability and clickable functions, all 2D functions are available from the VC. There is also a great fuel planner that has been released. It allows one to fuel or defuel the plane. The technical support is outstanding... I would say go get it.RegardsJohn

well , hmm...seems that all but one of you agree that the vc can be problematic at times when it comes to either lighting issues or gauge refresh vs overall fps...so at this point the only thing i am confident about is that this plane would be great for a 2d flyer, LOL.I think i might pass on this one simply because i refuse to fly from 2d. If there was more ambient lighting options within the vc i would have gone for it.I was hoping to find a smaller payware jet or business jet with an included FMC/FMS and this was the only thing available i could find that comes close. Kinda tired of the big airliners but there seems to be only 3 choices when it comes to having an FMC for now.Thanks for all your input guys, as usual its always appreciated in a big way!Dave Kalin

I was going to purchase it too but as I also fly strickly from the VC I will pass as well. I can't stand not being able to read the main gauges without having to zoom back in, and not having a dome light to light them up like most new aircraft have. Looks like I will have to spend my time enjoying the big iron until a new version or a new model is released from somebody.

Hi Dave,I have just spent four months evaluating the PIC ERJ-145 in detail, my review was posted this weekend.To answer your questions specifically the VC is very clear and readable both at 100% and 75% zoom and basically all switches will work from the VC, the only two that I didn't find to work were the ones for the panel and floodlights which are on the outer visor, these are accessible from the 2d panel. The panel lights switch will switch on all the backlit labeling for the panel, the floodlights illuminate the panel with a soft dispersed light from recessed lighting (this is actually done via the bitmaps because the statement by Feelthere actually is correct regarding simulating a floodlight). I found the lighting in any combination (panel only/panel with floodlight/floodlight only) all to all work very well your own preference will decide what you use. Taxi as well as landing light are switchable and viewable from the VC. VC gauge update rate is satisfactory and certainly not worse than any other VC with glass cockpit displays. The only fluid VC gauge movement is achieved through another technology and not with traditional FS gauges (this also unfortunately doesn't work for glass displays). I have flown from the VC at night, dawn, day and dusk, directly towards the sun, directly away from the sun, at no time were there difficulties reading the panel from too much shadowing occuring.If you do want a realistic simulation of this little Embraer jet, this is as good as it gets.Hope this helps,Zane

>>The only fluid VC gauge>movement is achieved through another technology and not with>traditional FS gauges (this also unfortunately doesn't work>for glass displays). PMDG's upcoming 744 promises both analog and 'glass' fluid gauges in VC. Lets hope they can deliver on this promise.Michael J.WinXP-Home SP2,AMD64 3500+,Abit AV8,Radeon X800Pro,36GB Raptor,1GB PC3200,Audigy 2

Zane - hmf! you sound so confident i wont have any lighting issues that you are making me sort of re-consider again (uy-uy-uy), however even the vc pic on your review page shows the bitmap on the dark side during the day, where you cant see the bitmap even lit up at all (unlike your pic of the 2d panel where the bitmap is nicely lit).uh, ya got enough confidense there to offer me a money back gaurantee if im not happy after my purchase?:-bla ...hehe, j/k.Thanks for trying to help...still considering itDave Kalin