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new idea for FSX--Virtual Co-pilot

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Guest cimanera

I was just flying a long-haul flight and the idea came to me that it would be great for FSX to feature an option for a virtual co-pilot. MS can make it an involved as time/resources allow, but even a simple feature that would hand you aircraft over to AI logic for an unspecified length of time would be great. Having this feature would overcome one of the major problems with enjoying long haul flights i.e.. if you want to use ATC you can't just get up and go do some (real life) chores for 4 hours while your aircraft is crossing the Atlantic or your ATC will be cancelled. For those who like to fly real life schedules in uncompressed time this feature would help a lot.Not sure if this was mentioned before. If so, sorry for bringing it up again.

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Guest grapesh

Great idea, although unlikely to be in FSX!If you expand on it, you may have a pool of AI pilots, from which you may select your co-pilot any time you fly an aircraft. They get training and log flight hours as you do. They receive ratings as you do. They also fly AI aircraft for GA and airliners. It's up to co-pilot's skills that you can rely on him/her enroute. The ones that have many hours can easily land your aircraft if you are away from PC, and the ones that are unexperienced, or not current, can even crash enroute...Well, this is certainly beyond flight simulation per se, but it may be quite interesting expansion that brings a "human factor" into the game. There will be not just AI planes but AI pilots around you, and, with a proper SDK, we can even conceive, train, and share those AI pilots :) Cheers!=S.V.=

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>> if you want to use ATC you can't just get up and go do some (real life) chores for 4 hours while your aircraft is crossing the Atlantic or your ATC will be cancelled.Obviously we can't say whether the following will work in FSX, but it works in FS9:When you are instructed to change to a new sector controller, acknowledge the change of frequency, but don't contact the next controller. Step away and do some real life chores letting LNAV and VNAV do the navigating while ATC keeps working in the background.Returning to the computer, contact the current controller (as shown in the ATC popup dialog). After contact, you will be instructed to turn opposite your current heading (in an attempt to get you back to your past point of contact). Just acknowledge the instruction and wait, the controller will then tell you to turn to your current heading (or close to it). From this point on, ATC will work as if you stayed with ATC the entire time.Very rarely, I've had the controller continue to tell me to turn in the opposite direction and not to resume my course. I just ignore the instruction until the point of descent, when the instruction will stop. But it's very annoying if you still have 2 hours to go and have to listen to the same turning instruction!As for the idea of a virtual copilot, I would like to see it built into FS. In the meantime, you can use other products, like Radar Contact 4, which includes a copilot, plus the means to pause the sim at a point along the route in case you don't get back to the computer in time.Bruce

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It would be nice if FSX did in fact incorporate a simple copilot to (optionally) answer ATC so as to address this widespread issue of cancelled IFR. The tried and true workaround Bruce mentions mostly works but a better solution would be good.regards,Markhttp://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a319/mar.../sup_banner.jpgXPHomeSP2/FS9.1/3.2HT/1024mb/X700pro256


Regards,

Mark

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Guest grapesh

>It would be nice if FSX did in fact incorporate a simple>copilot to (optionally) answer ATC so as to address this>widespread issue of cancelled IFR. Who's to blame for canceled IFR then: AI copilot or AI controller? ;)

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The ability to select some kind of 'virtual copilot mode' is something that FS needs desperately IMO, whereby the most suitable option in the ATC pop-up menu would automatically be selected according to the currently loaded flight plan. Feasible? I don't know.. but the current lack of a feature such as this really puts me off doing longer flights to be honest.. It would certainly be great if MS could implement this in FSX.

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>The ability to select some kind of 'virtual copilot mode' is>something that FS needs desperately IMO, whereby the most>suitable option in the ATC pop-up menu would automatically be>selected according to the currently loaded flight plan.>Feasible? They could definitely implement a simple feature whereby you would specify - "please leave me alone for XX minutes or until XX:YY". No need to have a virtual pilot since it may be difficult to do it in case of aircraft like PMDG 747. In this case you would leave the aircraft on AP (default or custom) and promised to return in so many minutes without being bothered or disconnected. There should be allowance for returning earlier than specified time so you could continue. Michael J.http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/for...argo_hauler.gifhttp://sales.hifisim.com/pub-download/asv6-banner-beta.jpg

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Hi,I think your idea could be implemented even more simply - "Leave me alone until I return". A keystroke or similar would tell ATC you are back. No time need be specified.Hope this helps,--Tom GibsonCal Classic Propliner Page: http://www.calclassic.comFreeflight Design Shop: http://www.freeflightdesign.comDrop by! ___x_x_(")_x_x___

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As Michael J pointed out, internet co-pilot functionality will be likely limited to aircraft that conform the MS SDKs -in other words, the default aircraft.As someone who develops flight crew software for FS2004, I am very familiar with the limitations of the existing MS SDKs and the issues that arise when trying to interface with complex 3rd party addons like the PMDG 747/737 or Level D 767 or the Flight1 ATR.Basically, it's not an easy row to hoe, unless you have a good SDK like the one provided by Level-D. However, with any luck the FSX SDKs will give 3rd party developers like PMDG the ability to network their gauges so you can have a co-pilot over the Internet that genuinely works so that when you flip a switch on the overhead, your buddy on the other side will see the switch move on his computer.That, I think, would be a pretty big thing.Bryan

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>As Michael J pointed out, internet co-pilot functionality>will be likely limited to aircraft that conform the MS SDKs>-in other words, the default aircraft.I think it'd more fair to say that the only a/c that will be fully compatible with the new "Shared Cockpit" via the new "Multi-Player" funtionality will be those third-party models that conform to the the NEW FSX SDK... ;)


Fr. Bill    

AOPA Member: 07141481 AARP Member: 3209010556


     Avsim Board of Directors | Avsim Forums Moderator

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Agreed. Hopefully the new FSX SDKs will be sufficiently powerful that developers like PMDG and Level-D will be able to conform to them to a much higher degree.That's probably going to be unlikely, but we'll just have to wait and see how the new FSX SDKs pan out.Bryan

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>That's probably going to be unlikely, but we'll just have to>wait and see how the new FSX SDKs pan out.I think we'll both be pleasantly surprised... ;)


Fr. Bill    

AOPA Member: 07141481 AARP Member: 3209010556


     Avsim Board of Directors | Avsim Forums Moderator

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Guest jboweruk

I think I'll wait and see, no point griping or whinging about what we don't know, better to assume the worst and hope for the better stuff, then we may be pleasantly surprised when it's out.

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