Need quick help in Alaska

[Waldo Pepper 1,953]

11 hours ago, Dominique_K said:

Interesting post 😃 because I read your notices but never went and see.

Gliding has never caught a large audience in any of MSFS predecessors or competitors that I know. The reputation is that flightsims are not very good at simulating gliding. I should try a spoon a peas though, to check by myself. 

Then  group flights need a strong internet connection I suppose, to cope with 30 simcraft close to you ?

Multiplayer isn't particularly demanding with respect to your connection.   Many groups use the SE Asia server because it's supposedly less populated.  We have people from all over planet and I don't recall any complaints.   I'm on the US east coast and my ping is around 249ms,  it doesn't seem to matter.   

It's a blast though,  there is something serene about being in a sailplane and looking out at all the sailplanes soaring around you.   Soaring is a constant stream of decisions mixed with gawking at scenery as it passes by in close proximity,   but when you add in the 30+ other guys it's so engaging that people stop talking and start concentrating.  "It's not a race",   but that doesn't stop the competitive juices from flowing. 

One of our guys posted his flight from last week.   At the start the entire group followed a small detour along a ridge to use the strong ridge lift.   I was much too hard headed to do that though.   I thought I could stay on track and make it across the valley, then find lift on the other end.  Flew through nothing but sink.  Disqualified myself in the first 10 minutes because I had to slew up.

I have a bad habit of pushing it too far and avoiding of the safe and sure path.   Comes back to bite me more than it helps me sometimes, but I like the feeling when it works. 🤣

Spent the rest of the flight as a tourist.

 

Edited July 26, 2023 by Waldo Pepper

[Dominique_K 10,151]

11 minutes ago, Waldo Pepper said:

Multiplayer 

 

Is this a default glider and the modulated sound an assist to hint at the strength of the lift ?

[Waldo Pepper 1,953]

Correct,  that tone is the variometer.   An ascending tone indicates a stronger thermal.  The variometer can be configured to display the current value in knots,  m/sec, or feet/sec.

Clayton is flying the Got Friends Discus 2c.    There is a freeware and a payware version of the 2c.

The Discus 2c,  JS3 Rapture,  and AS-33-ME have the most recent and most accurate flight models.   The 2c is a standard class glider with no flaps,   the other two are flapped competition sailplanes.

The Default MSFS gliders look great, but have inaccurate flight models and the variometers aren't well calibrated.    Their glide ratios are off,  and their nav displays don't feature a glider tasking system.

The DG 808s is another popular MSFS glider.   I flew it almost exclusively,  but then I learned that it's glide ratio at high speeds is way too high compared to IRL,  and it gives the 808 a roughly 20 knot cruise speed advantage at 140 knots which it doesn't have IRL.   I stopped flying it altogether until it's corrected.  Many people in the group still fly it though,  I think most people aren't aware.   Like I said,  it's not a race.  Just for fun.

The JS3 features a sailplane task system built into it's nav display,  as does the AS-33.   You can view or create soaring tasks with the B21 Task Planner website.   It will allow you to insert altitude and radius constraints for each waypoint.   For example,   you could set the starting line to have a max alt of 5,000,  and a max radius of 2,000.    You could make a turn point atop a mountain,  with a very small radius. 

Every week someone at SSC creates a new task which is posted each Saturday a few hours prior to each event.    There will be a .pln and a weather preset posted.  The .pln was created with B21 task planner and it contains the waypoint tasks,  the JS3 and AS33 soaring computer can display that information on the nav display.

The Discus,  the DG 808, and the default DG1001e don't have task computers in their nav display.  For them you have to download the LXN Nav mod,   which the JS and AS33 don't need.

In this video,  Ian "b21" Lewis talks about the JS3.    Ian and MADolo of MADolo simulations have released many freeware sailplanes.    The JS3 is the most recent,  and he spent a ridiculous amount of time tweaking the flight model.   So I'd say it's probably the most accurate glider at the moment.

 

 

Edited July 26, 2023 by Waldo Pepper