Moved by the DC-6 for X-Plane development by PMDG, and in anticipation of glimpsing its VC for the first time, a couple of weeks ago I did something I never thought I would. I bought X-Plane.

After years and years of Microsoft flight simulator, preceded by countless hours of fun with the amazing FLY! series, I reached a point were I was happy with the sim. FSX was finally working flawlessly on my machine, and considering the amount of high end addons for sale (I admit I own quite a few, especially from PMDG and A2A) I felt compelled to stay with FSX forever. Please note that FSX is, and will be installed on my computer for as long as I keep flying virtual airplanes, however this isn't about comparing two simulators, it is about explaining how it was incredibly rewarding for me to spend the last few weeks learning the ins and outs of a new platform, and obtaining results I never thought I would.

 

Since I needed an advanced aircraft to properly understand how X-plane would behave with a complex airplane, and the Dc-6 was a few weeks away, I've bought the IXEG 737 and spent a few hours learning both the airplane and the sim while searching and installing loads of freeware content which greatly improved my experience.

 

Basically, the interface isn't as easy to use as the FSX interface, the view options and controls are quite hard to set up properly, but I found so many tutorials online that after one hour or so I was using the sim as a pro. I've found it to perform reasonably well on my system, with some limitations mostly related to clouds which do affect performance if not correctly set. I love the fact that it is possible to change the time of the day, and weather without the sim having to load anything, it is an instantaneous process.

 

As I said I won't compare the two simulators, I can only say that I'm happy with my choice and I now have two different platforms with a multitude of addons ready to be explored.

After the DC-6 release I haven't flown anything else, it is simply amazing, and especially, a joy to hand-fly (by my personal experience all the advanced addons I've bought for X-Plane handle incredibly well during manual flight), and I've covered several thousands of miles mostly going up and down Portugal with it, loving every moment so far.

I'll leave you some of my latest screenshots, please note that apart from the airplanes, everything else including scenery is freeware, which surprised me considering the quality (Real terra haze, Spain UHD, and some airports).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, in the end it was quite easy to adapt to this platform, the planes behave fantastically, the DC-6 as expected is a work of art, and if you're undecided about whether  or not you should get X-plane for one airplane only, all I can say is that it is quite easy to make X-plane look amazing without spending any money, considering the quality of the freeware, and there are already some excellent airplanes for the platform, with detailed systems and fantastic flight dynamics. There is a learning curve, mostly regarding the user interface, but it isn't as bad as some people claim, nothing that a few tutorials won't solve.

To PMDG, thank you for another excellent airplane, and for giving me a good reason to try X-plane.

Good read and nice picture.  I have been using the MS line of simulators for 25 years and XP about 10 years. I love both. i am glad you gave XP a chance. I am sure in 6 months you will look back and say ( I can't believe I didn't try XP sooner! )  It really is a great platform if you give it just a little time to truly learn it.

Nive to see another Portuguese user, I guess :-)

 

Liked all of the shots, including tha Faro night approach .... and of course the LPPT approaches too!

Nive to see another Portuguese user, I guess :-)

 

Liked all of the shots, including tha Faro night approach .... and of course the LPPT approaches too!

Sim, de Lisboa , mas há muito fora do país.

 

Thanks, X-Plane night environment is absolutely stunning, especially with RTH lights!

Fab shots!

 

I too have been spending a lot more time in X-Plane recently, due to new aircraft releases. Just now I went back into FSX after several weeks of using X-Plane exclusively, and goodness, I was struck by how dated it suddenly looked..

Love your screenshots

I can share all of your experiences. Definitely a breath of fresh air indeed! 

With regards to the interface, I agree - it definitely is rough around the edges but once you understand what you're doing it's as intuitive as it could be. 

I can share all of your experiences. Definitely a breath of fresh air indeed! 

With regards to the interface, I agree - it definitely is rough around the edges but once you understand what you're doing it's as intuitive as it could be. 

 

Yes. The XP interface isn't "pretty" or "sleek" but it's most definitely functional. Completely utilitarian.

you got some pretty amazing shoots! nice to hear you are enjoying xp.

 

If you need to extend your XP hangar sometime in the future once you have mastered the ixeg + pmdg, you should not miss:

 

-SAAB 340A

-Flight Factor 767

-Airfoillabs 172SP

-FJS732

you got some pretty amazing shoots! nice to hear you are enjoying xp.

 

If you need to extend your XP hangar sometime in the future once you have mastered the ixeg + pmdg, you should not miss:

 

-SAAB 340A

-Flight Factor 767

-Airfoillabs 172SP

-FJS732

 

 

FJS 727 v2 nice released as well.

Nice write-up and screens Carlos. Yes, X-Plane has come a long way. The DC-6 is a marvelous achievement, one that brings us PMDG's excellence to the platform. Things are looking bright for the future.

Great reading stuff. Thanks. My timeschedule though is pretty hard so i tent to take the safe P3DV3.2.

 

BUT Who knows What the future might bring

 

 

 

I would love to see PMDG do some GA planes for XPX !

 

 

 

I would love to see PMDG do some GA planes for XPX !

GA isn't PMDGs thing. Maybe A2A in the future.

I agree entirely about the freeware stuff for X-Plane - Lisboa is one of my favourite destinations especially for a sunset landing with all the landmarks lit up in HDR glory. Also some of the US airports like KSFO, KSAN, KLAX and the newly released KBOS are amazing.