2 hours ago, Cruachan said:

Regarding FSTramp:

My curiosity was piqued and so I did a little research. Turns out this is 'FSNavigator' reborn!  Back in the day FSNav was possibly one of the best FS utilities ever! What's more, it appears that this welcome reincarnation is by the same author, Helge. That's the good news!

So, I rushed to look into it further only to find that, apart from the licence requirement, there has been very careful avoidance of mentioning the pricing structure on the FSTramp website. There is a 'free' trial period designed, presumably, to entice us into taking the next step. Seems quite a few people are unhappy about Helge's decision to impose an unrealistic annual licence charge for continued use of the product:

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/showthread.php/98541-FSTramp-Users-Rejoice!

Also, I discovered that until the recent 6.x updates there was no ability to create Flight Plans. On the plus side it is now P3Dv4 compatible.

While I can understand his need to justify the time and effort spent developing this excellent product, Helge's explanation for adopting this approach is somewhat unconvincing and, quite clearly, is at risk of discouraging potential purchasers like myself. He would have been far better levying a one off value charge rather than attempting to lock users in in this way. Think PMDG. Imagine how we would feel if a Developer of our favourite definitive aircraft imposed such an ill thought out scheme. I know Helge is not alone in this, but the Flight Sim hobbyist community is a special case and, for the most part, unlikely to be attracted to Addons that impose recurring charges without compelling reasons for such a commitment.

I do hope Helge reconsiders. Financially it could prove to be a very wise decision 😀

Mike

I  use FlightSim Commander as a somewhat comparable flightplanning utility and moving map. The fact that it can export flightplans to PMDG planes is a big bonus. It can import weather etc.  I loved FSNAvigator and for years used it. The claim for his exorbitant cost scheme of $200,000  is not on resources such as over head with respect to equipment or personnel or the purchase price of the former Navigator but his own programming time at the rate of $80,000 a year. This is an absurd criteria for the costing scheme or at least one which should not be rewarded. But to each his own.

If FSTramp were the only game in town, he might get by with it but, IMHO, Lil Nav and PlanG are every bit as good - and they are freeware.

Vic

A year and a bit later and I see FSEarth Plus is now available, from the same author as the original FSEarth.  P3D compatible.  Unfortunately it is subscription based and there appears to be no trial mode.  Has anyone tried it?

David, CYXE

 

14 minutes ago, torque2 said:

A year and a bit later and I see FSEarth Plus is now available, from the same author as the original FSEarth.  P3D compatible.  Unfortunately it is subscription based and there appears to be no trial mode.  Has anyone tried it?

David, CYXE

I won’t and I suspect he’ll struggle with the subscription option. I understand he’s simply passing on the bill that is charged by Bing for access to the map. But given LittleNavmap uses OpenStreetView - a free alternative - I’m afraid I won’t be taking up the offer.

I did buy the earlier versions for FS9 and FSX but you don’t even get a discount as a prior customer.

On 7/3/2017 at 5:50 PM, Ray Proudfoot said:

I'm looking for a replacement. Requirements are pretty simple. Must use Google Earth or near equivalent, have a zoom function and should run via WideFS on another PC.

There has to be something like that available surely. Freeware or payware. I don't need anything that includes a flight planner.

I'm quite sure that FSXmap now does this over Google maps, just filter out the airports and your set.

42 minutes ago, FPStewy said:

I'm quite sure that FSXmap now does this over Google maps, just filter out the airports and your set.

You need to visit the forum more often. I wrote that 21 months ago! I use LittleNavmap. Excellent program. FSXMap is subscription based. Not interested.

11 hours ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

You need to visit the forum more often. I wrote that 21 months ago! I use LittleNavmap. Excellent program. FSXMap is subscription based. Not interested.

Yea I know it's a tad old, but I though google pulled the plug on their api, I just stumbled on it doing searches and I also use LNM but it doesn't use the google map view which was one of your requirements and you also mentioned payware or freeware. Maybe someone else would be interested, are you sure that were talking about fsxmap.com ? I don't see any subs requirement.

 

20 minutes ago, FPStewy said:

Yea I know it's a tad old, but I though google pulled the plug on their api, I just stumbled on it doing searches and I also use LNM but it doesn't use the google map view which was one of your requirements and you also mentioned payware or freeware. Maybe someone else would be interested, are you sure that were talking about fsxmap.com ? I don't see any subs requirement.

Yes, sorry. It's not the package I thought it was. It doesn't really appeal though. LNM really should be payware it's that good but I did make a donation to the author as I hope many others did.

Whilst LNM doesn't use Google Maps (they're not free as you say) the free alternatives in LNM are good enough for me.

'Sup Ray, 

LittleNavMap without a shadow of doubt.  Not quite sure why Google Maps is a must when LNM in Map mode shows all the main roads, unless of course you need to see each house/building. I particularly like the Terrain info when VFR takes my pleasure, which is a lot now I've finished Ortho'ing the Scottish Highlands & Islands in XP 🙂 

47 minutes ago, Dean_EGTC said:

'Sup Ray, 

LittleNavMap without a shadow of doubt.  Not quite sure why Google Maps is a must when LNM in Map mode shows all the main roads, unless of course you need to see each house/building. I particularly like the Terrain info when VFR takes my pleasure, which is a lot now I've finished Ortho'ing the Scottish Highlands & Islands in XP 🙂 

Indeed Dean and I've had it for well over a year. Made a donation too as the author was very generous to give it away.

No, I don't need to see each house. I use it for finding out what city that is down there or what river or lake. Navigation is handled by EFB v2.

Time to find a new project it seems!