I was just thinking that in MS flightsim or any computer simulation it is much harder than the real thing. Has anyone done any research on say the realism settings being set maybe about 3/4s instead of full realism? Because of the difficulty and lack of feedback in simulations it actually maybe more realistic to have less realism than the full settings.Has anyone got theories to add or any testing been done in this area?Regards Pete

>I was just thinking that in MS flightsim or any computer>simulation it is much harder than the real thing. Has anyone>done any research on say the realism settings being set maybe>about 3/4s instead of full realism? Because of the difficulty>and lack of feedback in simulations it actually maybe more>realistic to have less realism than the full settings.>>Has anyone got theories to add or any testing been done in>this area?>I run "realism" at full, unless specifically specified by the designer. In general, except for trickier trimming situations in level flight, I don't find simulated airplanes to be harder to fly, than the real ones; unless of course the flight dynamics are just all out poor. With good airfiles, I actually do get a fair amount of "percieved" feedback. This all has to do with what I see on the screen, versus control imputs & the slight resistance of my joysticks centering spring. The "mind" can, and will fill in much of the rest, if one has actually experienced the feelings.Another possible problem, is that much has to do with hardware such as joysticks and yokes. While I can perform a steady climbout from the runway, pilot and non-pilot friends of mine, have been all over the place in regards to speed and altitude, simply because they are not use to MY controls. It's the same with multi-thousand hour pilots who try transitioning to radio-control with short 2" "non-feedback" joysticks.IMO, there just isn't a setting that will be best for everyone. Having or not having rudder pedals will make a difference when dealing with slipstream, torque, and P-factor. Sensitivity's within sticks, yokes, and rudder pedals will also vary with brands. L.Adamson

I also agree with this comment. Come aircraft are just easier to control by way of their programming, the settings you have for your controls also make a huge difference. A plane may be perfectly stable for one user and completely out of controll for another because one has his joystick's sensitivities maxed, while the other has them dulled. The big thing is that virtually no yokes for the computer have the full range of a real yoke, especially considering most real yokes on the "aileron axis" have 180 degrees of movement while most computer yokes seem to have 90 degrees of movement making for 2 degrees of movement on the real yoke for every 1 degree of movement on the computer yoke.----------------------------------------------------------------John MorganReal World: KGEG, UND Aerospace Spokane Satillite, Private ASEL 141.2 hrs, 314 landings, 46 inst. apprs.Virtual: MSFS 2004"There is a feeling about an airport that no other piece of ground can have. No matter what the name of the country on whose land it lies, an airport is a place you can see and touch that leads to a reality that can only be thought and felt." - The Bridge Across Forever: A Love Story by Richard Bach

thanks for the input L Adamson and John.I have always used full realism in the past and your comments pretty well decided me to stick with that. I only have a small amount of real flying experience to draw on and that was a few years back now.thanksRegards Pete

If by harder to fly you mean harder to control in some specific situations like trimming and balanced turns then yes, FS is pretty lousy in those areas. Other than that it is pretty much OK. If anything it can feel sterile, but some addons seem to be able to make up for this is seemingly unfathomnable reasons (I suspect good sounds, not overdone, subconciously make the process more engrossing).I've not had any reason to reduce the realism as yet.