Gliders, what do you think?

[RichieFly 728]

I gave it a try by starting airborne near some mountains. Although I don't really know what I'm doing, very relaxing and enjoyable.

[FBW737 511]

OK, I gave it quick shot and I'll put the speculation to rest right away. My first impression is that it is very good. Perhaps as good as Condor the Soaring Simulator or better.

I went with a tow and the ground run handling felt very realistic. Initially, I had to use rudder inputs to keep the wings level. I used forward pitch to keep the glider on the ground until the tow took off. The glider did seem to stick to the ground a bit when I was pulling back a bit to follow the tow plane but Perhaps i had to much nose down trim applied. I'll find out later. The tow felt very realistic to me. The best way to assess that is if someone with no experience is has trouble with it. I didn't at all. I did descend to find tow wake but it wasn't there or perhaps I didn't get low enough. I also started boxing the wake but I was afraid the amber and red box that appears was an indication that rope would brake so I slipped back into position behind the tow. I could tell when the tow plane was pulling through thermals and also sinking air not just by the Vario but I could see the tow rate of climb increase before mine did and see its rate of climb decrease before mine did. That's what I'd expect to see. I got of the tow in lift and turned as is conversion to the right expecting the tow plane to turn to the left. I couldn't really tell if it did or not or if it just went straight ahead. On another flight I'll pay attention to that. Looking up I could see that the thermal was indeed developing a cumulus wisp and it did get bigger and denser as I circled. The thermal was a bit broken up and difficult to centre much as you would expect on a fairly wind day. I really wasn't paying much attention to the time. It was live weather and I picked a gliding field I once flew out of near Brisbane Australia called Caboolture. I just checked the time and It's just about half past noon there now which is what it looked like to me and I could indeed see the sky changing from clear to developing cloud. Bizarrely  That's the time of day that I actually flew there and I have a pretty good memory of it and the conditions were similar. Back to difficulty centring the broken up thermal with the cloud forming about 500 feet above. As expected I often got a bit of turbulent sink just before entering an area of lift and just after encountering the lift I'd get one wing pushed up a bit more than the other indicating which side of the glider the lift was on. Turing into it it was right there 5 knots up just about what you'd expect. Anyway I didn't have long. It will be interesting to hear what other RW glider pilots have to say about it but my fist impression is that I am pleasantly surprised and very impressed. It was very reminiscent to the condition I actually flew in at Caboolture and the simulated version pretty much nailed it.

Edited November 12, 2022 by FBW737

[lwt1971 7,347]

3 minutes ago, FBW737 said:

OK, I gave it quick shot and I'll put the speculation to rest right away. My first impression is that it is very good. Perhaps as good as Condor the Soaring Simulator or better.

I went with a tow and the ground run handling felt very realistic. Initially, I had to use rudder inputs to keep the wings level. I used forward pitch to keep the glider on the ground until the tow took off. The glider did seem to stick the ground a bit when I was pulling back a bit to follow the tow plane but Perhaps i had to much nose down trim applied. I'll find out later. The tow felt very realistic to me. The best way to assess that is if someone with no experience is has trouble with it. I didn't at all. I could tell when the tow plane was pulling through thermals and also sinking air not just by the Vario but I could see the tow rate of climb increase before mine did and see its rate of climb decrease before mine did. That's what I'd expect to see. I got of the tow in lift and turned as is conversion to the right expecting the tow plane to turn to the left. I couldn't really tell if it did or not or if it just went straight ahead. On another flight I'll pay attention to that. Looking up I could see that the thermal was indeed developing a cumulus wisp and it did get bigger and denser as I circled. The thermal was a bit broken up and difficult to centre much as you would expect on a fairly wind day. I really wasn't paying much attention to the time. It was live weather and I picked a gliding field I once flew out off near Brisbane Australia called Caboolture. I just checked the time and I just about half past noon there now which is what it looked like to me and I could indeed see the sky changing from clear to developing cloud. Back to difficulty centring the broken up thermal with the cloud forming about 500 feet above. As expected I often got a bit of turbulent sink just before entering an area of lift and just after encountering the lift I'd get one wing pushed up a bit more than the other indicating which side of the glider the lift was on. Turing into it I was right there 5 knots up just about what you'd expect. Anyway I didn't have long. It will be interesting to hear what other RW glider pilots have to say about it but my fist impression is that I am pleasantly surprised and very impressed.

Great first report thanks! Assuming Condor Soaring Simulator is the standard bearer of current computer gliding sims?

 

[FBW737 511]

7 minutes ago, lwt1971 said:

Great first report thanks! Assuming Condor Soaring Simulator is the standard bearer of current computer gliding sims?

 

It is. It's on Version 2. My comparion is with Version 1. I've never tried version 2

[Tuskin38 6,459]

So if you add/modify the line 'isTowPlane = 1' to the [fltsim.#] section of any aircraft.cfg file, it can spawn as a possible towplane when using a glider.

Edited November 12, 2022 by Tuskin38

[scotchegg 4,170]

25 minutes ago, Tuskin38 said:

So if you add/modify the line 'isTowPlane = 1' to the [fltsim.#] section of any aircraft.cfg file, it can spawn as a possible towplane when using a glider.

Cool, gonna try it with the JustFlight Hawk🤩

[FBW737 511]

What we need is a Piper Pawnee. Best tow plan ever!

[jcomm 5,890]

Well,

the two new models are interesting, graphically amazing with some really nice implementation details, the tutorials are well done and the challenges interesting to fly.

I dont like the feel of flight though, as well as I do not like it in XP for comparison.

Both sims do different aspects of glider flight differently though.. For instance:

- MFS is more complete / functional, now I would say very good in terms of simulating glider operations. It's a winner in this aspect;

- XP gives a less "discrete" / plastic feel of inertia when rolling and yawing;

- MFS tow felt a bit more realistic than XP's tow, probably due to the more "lively" weather effects;

- Thermalling lacks some important details in both sims, but MFS due to the more detailled weather model provides IMO a better experience, compared to XP, yet, none of the two goes to the level of detail and realism provided by Condor and SilentWings, scenery and weather rendering left out OFC. In that aspect MFS is incomparably superior!

Together with the two helis, the new soaring tasks and gliders are by far the most positive additions to MFS with SU11 and the 40th Anniversary titles.

Edited November 12, 2022 by jcomm

[cianpars 1,164]

Just getting used to the two new gliders and thermals. Not tried a winch launch yet, but the aerotow feels pretty realistic.

It would be quite nice to have sn option for the gauges to show knots rather than km though and I am finding the ASI a little difficult to read (seems a little dark and small).

I can mentally convert km to knots roughly, but the option would be helpful

[tweekz 2,165]

2 hours ago, jcomm said:

MFS tow felt a bit more realistic than XP's tow, probably due to the more "lively" weather effects;

Yeah, the tow plane flight totally reminded me of when I was doing it IRL. Also the bumps in the atmopshere are depicted very well. You experience that a lot when following the tow plane IRL.

What I totally like is the implementation of slipping. Finally you can actually lose some height by doing so!

However: When I place myself on my favorite airfiled and step into the rudders, the tow plane shuts down its engine. 😄 Anyone knows how to solve that issue?

Edited November 12, 2022 by tweekz

[tweekz 2,165]

5 hours ago, Tuskin38 said:

So if you add/modify the line 'isTowPlane = 1' to the [fltsim.#] section of any aircraft.cfg file, it can spawn as a possible towplane when using a glider.

I hope you know what you just did. 😄

[jcomm 5,890]

17 minutes ago, tweekz said:

 

What I totally like is the implementation of slipping. Finally you can actually lose some height by doing so!

 

Feels way better than that of the default K21 in XP12, yes!

[Bushido5 60]

12 hours ago, lwt1971 said:

Once you’ve picked what glider to fly, you can then also select how you wish to get airborne. In addition to using an AI-controlled Cessna 172 to take you to the skies there are also three different winch systems that will propel you.

 

Did someone know how to select the means to get airborne ? I only have a tow aircraft each time. Is there a function to assign ? And if so what shall I look for ?

[Skymaster9999 6]

One remark on gliders - if placards on dash panel were looking Asobo style my technician would frown on me during annual inspection for sure ;-). Otherwise happy camper, bettter than Condor

[Cpt_Piett 4,544]

10 hours ago, FBW737 said:

OK, I gave it quick shot and I'll put the speculation to rest right away. My first impression is that it is very good. Perhaps as good as Condor the Soaring Simulator or better.

I went with a tow and the ground run handling felt very realistic. Initially, I had to use rudder inputs to keep the wings level. I used forward pitch to keep the glider on the ground until the tow took off. The glider did seem to stick to the ground a bit when I was pulling back a bit to follow the tow plane but Perhaps i had to much nose down trim applied. I'll find out later.

The tow felt very realistic to me. The best way to assess that is if someone with no experience is has trouble with it. I didn't at all. I did descend to find tow wake but it wasn't there or perhaps I didn't get low enough. I also started boxing the wake but I was afraid the amber and red box that appears was an indication that rope would brake so I slipped back into position behind the tow. I could tell when the tow plane was pulling through thermals and also sinking air not just by the Vario but I could see the tow rate of climb increase before mine did and see its rate of climb decrease before mine did. That's what I'd expect to see.

I got of the tow in lift and turned as is conversion to the right expecting the tow plane to turn to the left. I couldn't really tell if it did or not or if it just went straight ahead. On another flight I'll pay attention to that.

Looking up I could see that the thermal was indeed developing a cumulus wisp and it did get bigger and denser as I circled. The thermal was a bit broken up and difficult to centre much as you would expect on a fairly wind day.

I really wasn't paying much attention to the time. It was live weather and I picked a gliding field I once flew out of near Brisbane Australia called Caboolture. I just checked the time and It's just about half past noon there now which is what it looked like to me and I could indeed see the sky changing from clear to developing cloud. Bizarrely  That's the time of day that I actually flew there and I have a pretty good memory of it and the conditions were similar. Back to difficulty centring the broken up thermal with the cloud forming about 500 feet above. As expected I often got a bit of turbulent sink just before entering an area of lift and just after encountering the lift I'd get one wing pushed up a bit more than the other indicating which side of the glider the lift was on. Turing into it it was right there 5 knots up just about what you'd expect. Anyway I didn't have long.

It will be interesting to hear what other RW glider pilots have to say about it but my fist impression is that I am pleasantly surprised and very impressed. It was very reminiscent to the condition I actually flew in at Caboolture and the simulated version pretty much nailed it.

Thanks for sharing. I’m a complete noob when it comes to gliders. Never tried in a sim before. When I was 16 I went up in a glider with a friend. It was an exhilarating experience, although I got severely air sick, lol. 

I’ll probably get a chance to test the gliders next week sometime. Should be a very interesting experience compared to what I’ve been doing in MSFS up until now.

Edited November 12, 2022 by Cpt_Piett