New MSFS X user has a few questions

[Guest mwr]

A friend installed MSFS X on his new Dell 3.6gh/2g RAM system and asked me to see how I liked it (I'm a pilot). It has a CH Products control wheel and rudder pedals. I flew the 172SP and Mooney Bravo that came with the software. I set the Flight Model to full realistic and aileron and rudder to full authority. MSFS is new to me, so I have some observations and questions. 1. With details set to moderatly high, the aileron response was very sluggish. With details set to low (except aircraft details), aileron response is not bad. Is this to be expected with a computer of this power? 2. Full rudder only nudges the nose a bit and then the nose stops moving. The ball in the Turn Coordinator never leaves center. 3. When the plane turns so the panel is in the shade, the panel gets so dark as to be almost or completely unreadable. Any comments on those points? I haven't flown a 172 or Mooney in quite a while so don't have a feel for how realistic the performance is for various consigurations, airspeeds, power setting, attitudes, etc. Does anyone have an opinion about how realistic these things are?

[aerdt 0]

1. Short answer: Yes. The long answer is: Look around here. Currently FSX has some performance problems, but you or your friend can find great tips in here to get the best experience out of FSX2. Realism settings > Turn autorudder off3. Um, I haven't experienced that yet. Have you tried turning on the panel lights?The realism of the flight dynamics are controversial at best. You probably won't get 100% accurate flight dynamics out of the default models that shipped with FSX, although I find them vastly improved in FSX. There are some excellent add-ons for FSX available or in developement that have been co-developed by real pilots.Good luck!

[Guest mwr]

Thanks! I hadn't seen that autorudder check box, and of course that fixed the rudder problem.After I figure out how to turn on the panel lights that should at least make the panel readable in the shade. I'm curious that you haven't experienced the too-dark panel in the shade. That's the first thing I noticed after I took off and did a 180 (11am on a fair-weather day). I just can't imagine it should be doing that.Did you mean that add-on aircraft have more realistic flight charcteristics than the furnished ones? If so, is there a way to tell which ones have the good flight charcteristics other than just trying them?There's definitely a learning curve just getting familiar with the features...

[Guest cwright]

>After I figure out how to turn on the panel lights that should>at least make the panel readable in the shade. I'm curious>that you haven't experienced the too-dark panel in the shade.>That's the first thing I noticed after I took off and did a>180 (11am on a fair-weather day). I just can't imagine it>should be doing that.Just hit the L key once or twice to turn on the lights. Then you should be able to read the gauges even at night.However, this does illustrate a *major* shortcoming in FSX (and FS9). I don't know, but I would assume those aircraft have self-illuminated gauges so you could read them even at night without needing cabin lights. Unfortunately the default FSX aircraft do not have self-illuminated gauges. Even the multi-function displays are not self-illuminated, which is bizarre in the extreme! This is hard to understand, as many add-on aircraft have had self-illuminated gauges for years.Best regards, Chris

[Guest mwr]

Thanks! I'm still puzzled about the too-dark panel during bright daylight when the panel is deemed to be in the shade. I'll add that the flight date was the real date, 1/1/06 and the flight time was 11am so the sun would have been maybe 45 degrees low, casting some shawdows so that part was correct. But to have that make the panel too dark to read is rediculous. In real life your eyes adapt easily and you can easily read the shaded panel. Hasn't anyone else noticed that?

[yellowjack 28]

Yes, this problem was apparent in FS9 as well as FSX. However, we are talking about the virtual cockpit view only. Some developers for FS9 and FSX place lights in the cockpit area specifically to alleviate this problem. It appears the the light reflection from the interior of the cockpit is not modelled and the cockpits can become quite dark during the day. Sometimes monitors can be adjusted to reduce the effect. It is another one of those things that MS didn't give a priority to fixing during the development of FSX.