18 hours ago, norman_99 said:

And here I was thinking I’m the only person that favours analogue over glass.

Firstly, it’s more challenging. Following the magenta line is easy.

Sure, flying an airplane equipped with the G3X is easy. Just step in and fly!

I take it you have extensive experience flying both analogue and glass?

Its the only reason I don't fly the XCub much, I'm the same in real life I have flown a few permit class EFIS equipped aeroplanes and even owned one (I quickly converted the panel back to steam gauges) but for the type of flying I do I just don't get on with them

 

Yes I'm a Dinosaur

11 hours ago, Pathfinder633 said:

Its the only reason I don't fly the XCub much, I'm the same in real life I have flown a few permit class EFIS equipped aeroplanes and even owned one (I quickly converted the panel back to steam gauges) but for the type of flying I do I just don't get on with them

Dude, I just flew an entire flight in the XCub using VOR navigation, following the HSI just like I would in an analog plane.    You can even hide the split-screen map so all you have is your tapes and (the admittedly high-tech) synthetic vision.  (But I think I read there's a way to turn that off if you edit a gauge somewhere).

Is it totally the same?  No.   Do I wish there were more steam gauges in the sim, too?  Yes.   But the XCub is a really fun plane and if you want it's _really_ easy to pretend it doesn't even have a GPS in it.  (But it's there if you get lost...)

https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/study-level-dc-3/248001/7

 

A DC-3 would be nice!

There are probably a lot more steam gauge GA planes out there in the real world then glass but in this sim it is the other way around..

I generally prefer analogue instruments. My 50 odd year old analogue multimeter not only shows me DC voltage but I can actually see the AC ripple on top of the DC by the way the needle moves, the analogue tacho in my car gives me a lot more information changing gears than  digital one possibly could. 

 

 

Also to note, and sorry if its alrezdy been mentioned. Us with less than ideal or optimal PC specs get a big FPS drop with the glass cockpits. Im in the process of upgrading the DR400 Cadet, to the Regent version (180HP), because the simple analogue panel gives me 30FPS everytime everywhere. And its an amazing little plane to fly actually, pure dead reckoning VFR, in places like the Netherlands with VFR procedures ressembling IFR approaches, its just so satysfying, and quite stressful when you loose your bearings and have to desperemately looking for a feature or a landmark you can cross reference with your map. On the G's, you just look at the screen and instantly know where you are. .. Boring 😄

I remember the feeling of accomplishment on my first "cross-country" flight in FS2.  All my previous flying had been done in greater Chicago area, trading off between Meigs, Midway and O'Hare.  It didn't take any real effort to just 'point' you aircraft in the right direction and then within a minute or so, you saw the first glimpse of the airfield amongst the sea of green and you were golden.

But flying to Champaign?  That was over an hour of vast nothingness.  If you drifted ever so little, you'd miss the isolated hive of Humanity that was Champaign.

So out come the charts, and looking at the VOR's and tuning the radio's and progressing by either riding the radials, or, if you were a true navigational ninja, plotting your course and triangulating your actual position using two VOR's.  

No autopilot to keep you steady, no altitude hold, nothing.  You had to trim up your plane, and keep adjusting the heading.  It was an exhausting 70 to 90 minutes.  But then you were rewarded by the sparse terrain detail of Champaign coming into view, and you felt like you had taken the next step.

I am not a real life pilot, but it makes me giggle when certain people complain about flying not being able to fly IFR in this sim, when they really mean that they can't activate the autopilot 30 seconds after take off and then disengage it 30 seconds before touchdown, perfectly lined up with the runway and on the glideslope.  

Edited November 9, 20205 yr by wthomas33065

On 8/22/2020 at 3:29 PM, captain420 said:

I love the modern all glass cockpit planes. Looks so clean and high tech! I don't care for the steam and analog gauges.

I like steam gauges as unless you have 20-20 vision they give instant indications about speed, climb etc compared to glass. I don't mind glass gauges except that the most important info is always far too small. They are enormous gauges but the speed readout tape is ridiculously small, as is the climb/descent font. I routinely have to undock the PFD in order to properly see the important numbers. On the CJ4 for example, the speed readout is absolutely tiny.

So it is not the principle of glass gauges I'm against. It is that they are very badly designed (and in my view potentially dangerous).

On 8/22/2020 at 8:57 AM, kapitan said:

The two gigantic MFDs occupy nearly the whole monitor, and its interior graphics are FS4 quality.

The graphics on the MFDs are pretty close to the graphics on the same MFD in a real airplane. Here's a shot from a real TBM:

 

The main difference in MSFS is that not all of the systems are supported (that lovely ability to pull up a chart, for instance). But the visuals are actually pretty good. 

What I would recommend if you feel the graphics in the MFDs are too close to FS4 (come on, really?), is to lift your eyes a little bit above the MFDs. You'll see a roughly horizontal line which is called the dashboard. Above that is a thing called a window, and if you look out of it, you will see the world represented in beautiful modern graphics. I'm glad I was able to help you through this technical difficulty. 😉

 

BTW, I like steam gauges too, but I think AS made a smart decision in tilting the balance toward glass cockpits. Steam gauges are much harder to learn than glass 'pits, and it's nice to have a smoother onramp to learning how to work a simulator for new people. There will doubtless be lots of steam gauge addons, both included with MSFS and available for purchase, in the future. Personally, I'm hoping A2A brings its Connie into the new sim.

But in 2020 complaining that a modern flight simulator has fewer steam gauges than glass cockpits is like complaining that a racing simulator doesn't have a manual spark advance. Yeah, that's because modern race cars don't have manual spark advance either. Like it or not, steam gauges are in decline in the real world, and it's not surprising they'd be in decline in the default sim world either. 

 

More than glass cockpits, I think developers should stop releasing so many niche planes. How about a Cherokee? We’ve got the Icon, some LSAs, some antiques, but no PA28? 

Kind of ridiculous. 

Beyond that all planes are niche planes because most people can't afford them, I think there are plenty of "common" planes in the sim. King Air, C208, TBM, Baron, Bonanza, C152, C172, SR22, the Diamonds, several Cubs... 

 

Remember that older versions of the sims had even more "niche" planes. I mean, the Concorde was great, but it wasn't exactly something that the vast majority of real world pilots even saw on the ramp, much less flew. And don't forget the Wright Flyer. 😉

 

 

 

I prefer a steam gauges because they are better READABLE on the 27" monitor. 😄

Edited November 9, 20205 yr by OSM

1 hour ago, mtr75 said:

More than glass cockpits, I think developers should stop releasing so many niche planes. How about a Cherokee? We’ve got the Icon, some LSAs, some antiques, but no PA28? 

Kind of ridiculous. 

Im dying for a single piston from piper. Make it a cherokee, arrow, archer. Dont care, but just make one already 😄

4 hours ago, leprechaunlive said:

Also to note, and sorry if its alrezdy been mentioned. Us with less than ideal or optimal PC specs get a big FPS drop with the glass cockpits.

There's a refresh rate setting for the glass in the options. You could try changing that to negate the FPS drop you get with them.

I'd like a G1000 or G3000 something like the F1 Citation that has Garmin's identical demo software or close to its completeness, I'd like that on something like that on  the Citation and a 172.

But then all other aircrafts including the 172 analog gauges.

Learning IFR on analog its not hard to transition to Glass. But doing IFR on Glass, not sure you can easily transition to Analog. You may have to do your IFR all over again.

The Glass we have in MSFS is garbage and throwing that into any add on does not take much effort.

I've flown both in real life. I prefer the G1000 in real life. but in Sim, I prefer the analog but don't mind a very good Glass as close to the real thing.

Edited November 9, 20205 yr by Manny