A320 fidelity

[dasUberSoldat 2]

Hi, sorry if this is a stupid post.  I'm a 320 pilot looking for a sim to maintain currency on.  Will the 320 in this sim be a full fidelity implementation or simplified?  I've watched as many videos as I can find on youtube.  I see the FMA appears to work, A/THR etc.  Is the FMGC implemented?  Can I get ECAMS etc?

Thanks.

[cmpbellsjc 2,960]

2 hours ago, dasUberSoldat said:

Hi, sorry if this is a stupid post.  I'm a 320 pilot looking for a sim to maintain currency on.  Will the 320 in this sim be a full fidelity implementation or simplified?  I've watched as many videos as I can find on youtube.  I see the FMA appears to work, A/THR etc.  Is the FMGC implemented?  Can I get ECAMS etc?

Thanks.

Well if I were you, I’d assume from past releases of default aircraft that it will not be a “study level” aircraft like what FSLabs and PMDG put out.

Since the NDA has not been lifted, the people who’ve used it are not permitted to speak about the level of detail, so you’ll have to wait until either the NDA is lifted or it’s released on Aug 18 to find out all the details. Anything you hear between now and then will just be guesses unless someone breaks the NDA and spills the beans on it.

It looks like it will be better than default aircraft we’ve gotten in the past but surely not complete enough to be a training tool.

[polosim 841]

3 hours ago, dasUberSoldat said:

I'm a 320 pilot looking for a sim to maintain currency on.

Just to be honest, don't expect nothing 'Pro' level, not even close to Aerosoft version, remember still in Alpha stage, but...

What issues can we see in this picture?

 

For naming some:

1- Landing lights out, no memo message showing.

2- 770 RA, no ECAM MEMO 

3- Residual pressure on triple indicator

4- In FMA no speed mode with A/THR on  , FD on.

 

Some others 'issues'  can be detected but could be  fault of the alpha tester and his poor knowledge in the operation of an Airbus.

 

So, do you have an idea know?

 

 

[DavidP 1,410]

3 hours ago, dasUberSoldat said:

Hi, sorry if this is a stupid post.  I'm a 320 pilot looking for a sim to maintain currency on.  Will the 320 in this sim be a full fidelity implementation or simplified?  I've watched as many videos as I can find on youtube.  I see the FMA appears to work, A/THR etc.  Is the FMGC implemented?  Can I get ECAMS etc?

Thanks.

The Flight Sim Labs bus is the nearest thing to what you require, but how long before that gets to the new flight sim, if ever, who knows? Maybe you should explore P3D and the 'Labs bus? Just a suggestion that may fit your time line a bit better.

[dasUberSoldat 2]

32 minutes ago, polosim said:

Just to be honest, don't expect nothing 'Pro' level, not even close to Aerosoft version, remember still in Alpha stage, but...

What issues can we see in this picture?

 

For naming some:

1- Landing lights out, no memo message showing.

2- 770 RA, no ECAM MEMO 

3- Residual pressure on triple indicator

4- In FMA no speed mode with A/THR on  , FD on.

 

Some others 'issues'  can be detected but could be  fault of the alpha tester and his poor knowledge in the operation of an Airbus.

 

So, do you have an idea know?

 

 

Thanks all for their replies. Sounds like I need to look elsewhere for now. 

[dasUberSoldat 2]

Yes, my company is keeping us current with 90 day 3 to/ldg sims, but as you're no doubt aware, it just isn't enough for safe line operations.  I'm rostered to head back to work soon, so running through the motions a few times beforehand seems pertinent. 

 

Thanks.

[jon b 2,047]

I’m in a similar position , though in my case Boeing not Airbus.

Default aircraft , especially airliners in multi aircraft simulators are always generic designed so most people can just launch off in them without having to gain a type rating first.

You won’t find what you need from default aircraft in any simulator, although the smaller Cessna trainers etc tend to be quite good airliner complexity isn’t there.

The only way I’m afraid is to get your hand in your pocket and pay for specialist products, which I know isn’t easy at the moment for us in the industry with  employment hanging by a thread every penny has to be accounted for.

However choosing one of the products Rob mentions above , and if you can stretch to it a VR headset will give you an incredible experience.

The VR really crosses the bridge between PC simulation and the real aircraft and you’ll basically end up with your own life size fully functional Flightdeck and aircraft to do whatever you want with.

Add some decent control hardware like the new thrustmaster airbus system  (I know , more expense ) you’ll get as much value out of it as paying for time in a full motion simulator but for much less money and it’s your to use whenever you want.

[Zcloudman 0]

Thank you for creating this post.  I too am looking for a tool to keep up with currency.  I have been using the MSFS X with the Aerosoft A320 and this has worked out pretty well.   In anticipation of FS20, I purchased a new "blastomatic 5000" computer with all the bells and whistles.  I wanted to wait until the new sim was out before migrating over to the new computer.

So far, from what I have seen, and close examination of the videos, I don't have a lot of faith this sim will be even close to being useful.  I really wanted this to work because I'm a long time Microsoft Flight Simulator user and the graphics of FS20 look so amazing.  Unfortunately, I am really leaning toward loading P3D V5 with either the FS Lab or Aerosoft A320 onto my new PC.   Once Microsoft gets all the bugs out of their stock A320 or someone (FS LABS or Aerosoft) comes out with a better addon aircraft, I'll load up FS20.

 

Edited July 20, 2020 by Zcloudman

[michal 44]

On 7/16/2020 at 5:12 PM, dasUberSoldat said:

Hi, sorry if this is a stupid post.  I'm a 320 pilot looking for a sim to maintain currency on.  Will the 320 in this sim be a full fidelity implementation or simplified?  I've watched as many videos as I can find on youtube.  I see the FMA appears to work, A/THR etc.  Is the FMGC implemented?  Can I get ECAMS etc?

Thanks.

Are you a real A320 pilot? Pardon me but I have some doubts reading your post. Every pilot knows that consumer based simulation products do not count for currency. There is no way you could log it. I am a lowly Cirrus pilot and I could possibly turn it into a BATD and got approval from FAA but that would cost me dearly and would have to purchase thousands of $$ worth of hardware controls. But I fly Part 91 and you are Part 121 (per FAA) so for you the threshold of what is loggable is much higher. 

Edited July 20, 2020 by michal

[WestAir 2,522]

19 minutes ago, michal said:

Are you a real A320 pilot? Pardon me but I have some doubts reading your post. Every pilot knows that consumer based simulation products do not count for currency. There is no way you could log it. I am a lowly Cirrus pilot and I could possibly turn it into a BATD and got approval from FAA but that would cost me dearly and would have to purchase thousands of $$ worth of hardware controls. But I fly Part 91 and you are Part 121 (per FAA) so for you the threshold of what is loggable is much higher. 

Michael, I don't think he flies in America to be FAR Part anything, and from his other posts it sounds like he just wants to keep his memory up.

To the OP: Go for P3DV5 with the FSLABS (Not Aerosoft). It's a study level sim and while it's not FAA certified, you'll be able to accurately perform failures / abnormal operations that will match your company documents to the letter. Just make sure to cross reference everything you do with Airbus or company provided documents. But it sounds like you already know to do that. Best of luck!

Edit: Just so you can see if it's what you're after, here is a more recent video of the FSLabs Bus to give you an idea of the system fidelity. I don't often post here so I don't know if I'm even allowed to link flightsim videos here, but I trust the mods to edit my comment if I'm out of line.
 

 

Edited July 20, 2020 by WestAir
To put a video

[GearUp180 55]

Back to the original question from dasUberSoldat (I am pretty sure that, at this point of his career, he knows the difference between a general consumer flight simulator and a level-D in term of certification), my 50 cents is that the default Flight Simulator A320 will be a "cosmetically" enhanced version of the default FSX A320 with the same depth in term of systems (very shallow).

As a result, I am still planning to keep my FSLabs and my Toliss to study my procedures.

My only hope is that, this time, Microsoft allows the community to improve it's default aircrafts (like the 737 with Zibo on X-Plane).

[OzWhitey 3,353]

On 7/17/2020 at 2:44 AM, jon b said:

I’m in a similar position , though in my case Boeing not Airbus.

Except this guy is flying a bus, so VR isn’t so easy.

FSL isn’t great in VR in P3D (would only use if you are desperate). And the flightfactor bus isn’t good in VR in x-plane.

I fully concur that VR “crosses the bridge” as you say between pc sim and real.

If I was going to recommend an airbus for VR, it would be the Toliss in X-plane.

Finally, there’s no timeframe on when - if ever - MSFS will have VR, so the default airbus from that sim is not a near-future option.

 

Edited July 21, 2020 by n4gix
Removed unnecessary long quote!

[tweekz 2,165]

1 hour ago, GearUp180 said:

my 50 cents is that the default Flight Simulator A320 will be a "cosmetically" enhanced version of the default FSX A320 with the same depth in term of systems (very shallow).

While you are certainly right that it is far from study level, it also has nothing to do with FSX' version of the A320. Already the fact that it offers a MCDU that looks realistic on a basic level lifts it above FSX and pretty much any other default aircraft.

I guess it also has an implementation of the FBW and flight protections...

Edited July 20, 2020 by tweekz

[Chock 17,769]

Best bet is the Flight Sim Labs A320 in either FSX (with FSX being a cheaper option) but potentially FSX can run out of memory with fancier add-on aeroplanes, or, the same add-on FSL A320 in P3D.

P3D is the more expensive option, but won't crash due to an out of memory issue and its features are more up to date in terms of things such as radios, nav aids etc, so it probably is the smarter choice for practicing real world stuff.

Functionality wise the FSL Airbus A320 is pretty much the same in either FSX or P3D, but in either case it doesn't do everything the real one does in terms of stuff you can simulate, but it does nevertheless come very close to being able to simulate everything, including emergency practice procedures, and certainly far moreso than anything else you could find on a PC for that kind of money. So it is good for practicing memory items for currency check rides and such.

But as noted, all that is only for your personal use and not loggable as any sort of official training, so one has to be careful to be training the correct procedure in those circumstances. Otherwise, without someone overseeing the training or running it, doing that stuff on your own runs the risk of reinforcing incorrect procedures if you practice things incorrectly, so be careful with that potential pitfall.

I have used the FSL A320 for some training practice for stuff I do on the real things at work though, so I know it can indeed be used for that kind of thing successfully, but I always backed that stuff up with doing it on the real aeroplanes as well!

Edited July 20, 2020 by Chock

[jon b 2,047]

@OzWhitey I’ll bow to your experience on that , I have both the FSL and FF 320 , and also the FF350 but I must admit to not having done more than a quick circuit in each ( and people here complain about study level sims not being value for money😆) I bought them to familiarise myself with Airbus operations when it looked like I might be sent onto the A330.

 

To the OP’s and @Zcloudman

FS2020 will be a good sim , but as has ever been The case a default version of a complex airliner won’t be....complex, nothing will change now.

Your best bet Is one of the existing simulators with a good quality add on.

 

I think when the OP talks about maintaining currency he’s talking about mental currency rather than legal currency.

You’d be surprised though, one of the requirements under EASA for approved training organisations to teach and examine for type ratings is the use of an approved training device in a class room to run over procedures and briefings,we indeed had one of those ... it was a flight deck poster hanging on the wall. Seriously it was classed as an approved training device.