If this is too inflammatory just take it down no worries.  Just curious how this might shake out, and then duplicate it for non RW pilot simmers.

Edited December 23, 20214 yr by Noel

Hi Noel.

I choose MSFS. For my preferred style of flying it gives me the best sensation of "being there".

Weekend fun

Weekday fun in MSFS (hehe 😆)

Edited December 25, 20214 yr by SAS443

Hi Noel.

I had been flying FS9, FSX, and the P3Ds.

FS9 gave up the ghost last summer so I took it down.  I was not able to reinstall it again.  Ditto with FSX.  When I tried to reinstall it from the disks it failed.  So I was left with P3Dv5 for scenery and P3Dv3 for my aircraft collection.

I complained about not being able to reinstall FSX to a dear friend and she suggested Steam.

Well I took her advice and installed FSX Steam.  I'm very happy with it.  And just a few days ago I installed TS2022, the train simulator.

I've dumped the P3Ds and think I have what I want now.

As a former RW pilot I have never approached flight simulation as a substitute for the real thing.  For me it is an enjoyable game that approaches flying but in no way replicates it.  There is not the feel associated with real life flying or that back of the mind looking for a place to land in case you lose power.  There is a fear factor in real world flying...not a large one, but a small nagging one that something could go wrong.  You listen for it and you 'feel' for it.  

No simulator, not even a million dollar full motion one, can give you that small sense of fear you feel as soon as the wheels leave the runway.

Noel

 

2 hours ago, birdguy said:

As a former RW pilot I have never approached flight simulation as a substitute for the real thing.  For me it is an enjoyable game that approaches flying but in no way replicates it.  There is not the feel associated with real life flying or that back of the mind looking for a place to land in case you lose power.  There is a fear factor in real world flying...not a large one, but a small nagging one that something could go wrong.  You listen for it and you 'feel' for it.  

No simulator, not even a million dollar full motion one, can give you that small sense of fear you feel as soon as the wheels leave the runway.

And that's why I choose P3D. I'm an IFR/procedures kind of guy. All this stuff about eye-candy and "immersion" is just a bunch of WNA. Noel has it right. For those of us who've been there, just think about your first solo. And then think about your first cross-country, And then tell me about the feeling of "immersion" in a flight simulator.....Doug

16 minutes ago, W2DR said:

I'm an IFR/procedures kind of guy.

I do puzzle when I hear this, because even now in MSFS' I'm following procedures, to the extent I can, and do IFR flights only, to ILS/RNAV/DME/VOR approaches.  Sure, MSFS is underdeveloped that should go w/o saying.  "Immersion" is a scalable term, so one is talking about "immersion" in a flight sim which can be better or worse relatively speaking between flight sims, not "immersion" in a RW flight, which as is pointed out is the whole different animal.  

If MSFS had all of the features you find yourself using in P3D, would you still find yourself more in P3D do you think, and if so, why?  I think this is a valid question because there may well come a day when this is true, and in my mind it's really not all that far off.  2022 will be fascinating to follow, for not only MSFS, but XP-12 as well.

When I fly I am just getting into the cockpit, starting up, taxiing to the runway, and taking off to my destination.  VFR all the way.  No procedures.  No radios.  Just the GPS for navigation.  And I am enjoying the scenery as well.  And the aircraft might be John Glen's 'Mig Mad Marine' F-86 or a Southwest B737 flying from Phoenix to Albuquerque or the ultralight flying through the Grand Canyon or the DG808 sailplane I have towed to 4,000 feet and seeing how far I can go in it, or my Quest Kodiak taking off from Lake Tahoe and following the crest of the Sierra Nevada to Mojave passing Mount Whitney on the way.

That's why I chose FSX Steam because of the plethora of different aircraft I can fly; some that do not work well, or at all, in P3D.  And while knowing nothing about MSFS I doubt they have the variety of airplanes I like to collect and fly.

This hobby has as many facets as a 10-caret diamond.  A facet for everyone to tailor the hobby to their own fancy.

Noel

I’ve voted for XP as that’s my current most used, but to be fair I’ll switch between P3D and XP every few weeks.

I only fly in VR, I was recently setting up a new install of P3D and using the default F35 to quickly fly around and check for scenery issues.

I started throwing the F35 around at around 5000ft not particularly paying attention  and ended up in a deep stall coming out of a loop. It soon became apparent that I had neither the energy or the altitude to recover and things were only going to end one way.

In those last couple of seconds I felt my stomach muscles clench in reaction to the impending impact as I fell from the sky and as the ground rushed up my stomach felt like I was physically falling ,  and I involuntarily closed my eyes a fraction of a second before impacting the ground.

More than enough immersion with VR for me.

1 hour ago, birdguy said:

This hobby has as many facets as a 10-caret diamond.  A facet for everyone to tailor the hobby to their own fancy.

Noel

So true and isn't it great you have a variety of platforms to use to satisfy your particular needs, Noel.  And thank you for not voting since you're not a user of all 4 platforms.

2 hours ago, Noel said:

If MSFS had all of the features you find yourself using in P3D, would you still find yourself more in P3D do you think, and if so, why?  I think this is a valid question because there may well come a day when this is true, and in my mind it's really not all that far off.

When, and if, this ever becomes true I'll try MSFS again. Personally, given the track record to date, I doubt that will ever happen. But, time will tell. I was wrong once back in 1948 when I missed a question on a second-grade addition test. Maybe this will be the second time.

I don't know if 3 minutes at the controls during a baptism flight qualify me as a RW pilot, but at least now I know the feeling. P3D is still my main sim, but I started using MSFS more and more, maybe because the plane I flew was a Pipistrel and the best one available is the MSFS default one. It even made me replace the springs in my joystick for the lightest ones).

7 minutes ago, Luis Hernandez said:

but at least now I know the feeling

All of we RW pilots know the feeling.  It's something you can try, but can't quite, explain to non-pilots.  And we love it.  There is an element of danger in flying.  It's the seasoning in the salad of control and satisfaction and power and joy of sitting all by yourself five thousand feet above the ground and realizing everything is in your hands now.  You have nobody to turn to.  You truly are the master of your fate until you touch down again.  It's a feeling that can't be put into words, though we try.

Noel

 

1 hour ago, Luis Hernandez said:

but at least now I know the feeling.

Trust me Louis.  Until you've flown for a couple of hours cross-country in a bit of rough weather and then landed in a 25 knot crosswind you really don't know "the feeling". You're all by yourself. Nobody to help you or turn to for advice. No where to go but down. And you hope you remember how to crab a bit (or a lot) until you feel the bump of the tires. God, the memories of being young. I miss it so...Doug

1 hour ago, birdguy said:

All of we RW pilots know the feeling.

My Dreamliner is a BMW R1200RT and I know a little of the feeling for ripping thru the canyons!  Oh yeah there's some danger alright!  Different, but real.  And one of the realizations that it's in your hands, your own fate, at least if you're really staying in the moment at all times.

Edited December 27, 20214 yr by Noel

5 hours ago, Noel said:

My Dreamliner is a BMW R1200RT

My Dreamliner IS a Dreamliner and it’s boring and characterless, I much preferred my R1200RT and the numerous other BMW motorcycles I’ve had.

I currently ride a R1250RS ..plus another 7 BMs in the garage to choose from depending on my mood.

7 hours ago, Noel said:

Oh yeah there's some danger alright!  Different, but real.  And one of the realizations that it's in your hands, your own fate,

Good on ya Noel. I was on a bike. Once. Way back in 1958. A friends old Triumph. On Ocean Ave. in Carmel, California. At the end of the street you come to the beach. And all the babes in all their teenage glory. Boy, was I ever going to impress them. As I made the turn to start back up the hill I goosed it a bit to get the girls attention. But didn't realize how much beach sand had blown up on the road. I laid that sucker on it's side and took the skin off my left leg (I had a bathing suit on) from my ankle bone to my hip bone. That was 64 years ago and I still remember what real pain is like. I'm glad to see you have some clothes on 🙂 .....Doug