Krister

I have only experience of Logitech and Microsoft keyboards but they have never let me down. Since I wanted a wireless, backlit keyboard with a small footprint for my flightsim, I am now using a Logitech K810 which I think is marvellous. It uses bluetooth and you can have several blueetooth devices connected to it simultaneously, in my case two iPads. On my other computer I have a Logitech K800 which is also backlit and uses bluetooth. It has the normal size and the keys have a wonderful feel. It also comes (probably goes for the K810 too but I haven't checked) with the unified receiver which means several logitech devices can connect via just one USB receiver. This would be my no 1 choice if I needed the keyboard for writing too! If you really want to minimize your keyboard, there is always the Logitech DiNovo mini that I use with my HTPC. Backlit, bluetooth and with loads of feature but as I mentioned very small too!

iPad for charts is the way for me. I use the fantastic FS2Kneeboard to load all charts for the US and can also load other charts in the app if I first save them to dropbox.

Got tro try that! I absolutely prefer flying in fullscreen mode but fsx and Squawkbox (the client you use to connect to vatsim) really hates it each other in full screen mode and about four out of five times it ends in CTD. Looks like I will try this: http://captainsim.org/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1358559328

Did this happen for all radio frequencies in the list?! Sometimes it may be a server issue where either you or the controller have a problem establishing connection to the voice server.Or the controller was text only for some reason, but that is extremely rare. Oh, you did make the tuned channel active?

A couple of days ago I flew VHHH - EGLL on vatsim. It's a 12 hour flight and I always fly in full screen mode. Even vatsimmers with little experience knows this can't have a happy ending... I actually managed to fly for about 9 hours with just smaller hitches. Sure, PMDG777 would occassionally disconnect the ap and go into a death spin, sometimes the Heading select meant just a wish, not a command and so on (all problems disappeared shutting down FS Global Real Weather and clearing the weather). Squawkbox 4 froze but only perhaps 6-7 times. So I was pretty content with the situation. Over the Baltic sea (I can see home weeee....) I started preparing for the approach and checking the charts, then wham bam thank you mam I was looking at the windows 7 desktop. I didn't say a word, just finished my cognac shut down the computer and went to bed. A couple of years earlier I would be cursing, banging my head against the cat and do all sorts of unproductive things. Now I am just so used it and realize running in full screen is really just torturing myself. The number of unfinished vs finished flights in FSX on Vatsim is about 15:1. That's why I almost always fly long hauls and Vatsim in fs9! But one day, I will prevail!!!

My fps counter sometimes reads between 400-500 fps and it's actually craaaaaawling - no idea what that bug is.

Before you buy any of those apps (there are several that do the same work) remember that they can only used the way you intend to when running FSX in windowed mode. The only IOS app that IMO works perfectly as an FMC in FSX is the VirtualCDU but only with the iFly 737 (in fs9 and fsx) and the PMDG 737. The developer seems open to take on new projects but I haven't received any response to my inquiries despite several mails.

The last time I crashed an airplane I simply jumped into another plane and took off 15 minutes later. It was the fligh clubs airplane so I didn't pay for anything. Oh, this was IRL!

I forgot to reply but what Bryan suggested in his answer to me fixed it for me. I have zero problem with the word "on" now.

Do you have a link to the facebook page? ... just kidding! ^_^

It's really hard to tell whether you will like it or not. Personally I wouldn't fly without it either but others have tried and never came to terms with it for one reason or another. You simply have to try it for an extended period of time. It also depends on the environment where you use it. Also, when I used the track clip pro on my logitech headset, the movements looking far up on the overhead in the 737NGX where actually quite hard to master. Then I connected the clip pro to my Dave Clark headset and it was like night and day! The 737NGX, TrackIR and FS2Crew is a match in heaven!

Don't forget also that it's easy to save charts for other countries (or whatever kind of document you want as long as it's a PDF) to dropbox and from there load them to tabs in FSKneeboard 2. I do that for charts, OFP from PFPX, different manuals, enroute charts... Only problem with OFP's as PDF's in FSKneboard of course is that you can't jot down comments like fuel and time updates.

Morten, I wasn't aware of any "Send to skyVector"-functionality in PFPX. I saw the author saying he would take a look at it (October 2nd) but that's all I've read about it. I just had a look at it but couldn't find it - any pointers?

I hate threads like this! And love them of course! Since I have a total lack of self control and know all my credit card details by heart, they make me end up buying lots of add-ons that, magnificent as they are, just doesn't fit into a 24 h day. MSFS has never been in better shape than what it is today and it's still improving. Who would have thought...

Luke, this is the thread http://forum.avsim.net/topic/415254-can-pmdg-enable-fmc-control-via-internet-ip-address/ Ryan aka Tabs didn't really say anything in the thread, just that it MIGHT be an EULA violation until they knew how the developer had done it and later that the app had been taken down but not at their request.

Luke, I fully concur with you. Actually there has been quite a lot written about it here in the forum but perhaps in just one thread. Everyone was singing its praise and then PMDG started wondering about how it actually worked and whether it actually didn't break any EULA. The app was then taken down by the developer and I didn't know it was brought back online until I checked it now. Will make many people happy! One nice feature is also that you can have it running on two iPads independently of each other, so one can be the Captains and one the FO's MCDU! I use the first version iPad and generation 3 and do not notice any performance differences between them. As you said, hoping for a 777 version - the developer seems eager to come up with new products!

I realize this is related to the voice recognition engine in windows and not FS2Crew, but has anyone a tip how to make FS2Crew realize I say "on" and not "armed"?! I've run through the software to train the computer to understand my voice better a few times but to no avail. I try and say "on" in a myriad of ways - slow, fast, low voice, high pitched etc. Just in 1 out of perhaps 15 attempts I succeed. On the other hand, if I sigh, draw air or exhail or yawn - it recognizes it as "on". argh.... I know I can say "check" instead but it's not the way I want to do it. "On" is the only word I have difficulties with. I have the same problem whether I use my Logitech USB Headset or my Dave Clark Headset which has a very sensitive mic. /Krister

As reed259 said, it's all about atmosphere and the sense of believing that you are actually there in a cockpit being part of a process. The part that always gives me the most goosebumps is "ground, we are ready for pushback and engine start" B) My biggest problem with FS2Crew for 737 is that I haven't used it that much lately so I have to sit with both the checklist and the "flowlist" in front of me (well, on the iPad) which takes away the natural flow. But it's an issue related to my bad memory, not the program!

The T7 experience of course is extra-ordinary but looking at the total "eco system", the 737 beats it FOR ME. I can use the 737 with my CP Flight MCP, FS2Crew, Top Cat and Virtual CDU on iPad. Also since I fly on VATSIM with time limits of about 5 hours and try to stay away from time acceleration, it's of course easier to find suitable routes for the 737.

The only strange issue I've noticed is when I got a "pilot response" message and I couldn't extinguish the Master caution light by pressing it. No crashes so far (well, some tail strikes...) and performance on par with the 737NGX. Absolutely no reason to wait - you know you will end up getting it anyway!

Nothing fancy so far, just Vatsim (of course), FSGRW with REX textures, AES and GSX, PFPX, TrackIR and the iPads for all kinds of stuff. Looking forward to FS2Crew and Topcat and (hopefully) a 777 version of Virtual CDU for the iPad.

I have done that a couple of times with my Samsung 830 SSD and haven't noticed anything peculiar - everything worked as when recovering to a normal spinning disk. This is with Acronis 2013. I agree that it's expensive, especially since you need a license per computer, but I got a bundled price for three licenses so it was manageble.

I use Acronis Trueimage 2013 and I am happy with that. Its interface can be a bit confusing sometimes but once you get a hang of it it's very competent. I use it on one hand to make a mirror of the Win 7 partition. Secondly I have all my MSFS installation files and the associated files with keys/serials on my sim computer and I use Trueimage to copy them via my home network to a disk on another computer. Whenever I add a file to the source disk, it will get automatically copied to the other computer. If the house burns down it won't help me no matter how many disks I have the files backed up to, so I also keep a disk at my fathers house. Then again MSFS files would be the least of my concerns.

I have Aivlasoft EFB but haven't got it installed any longer. Anyway I have iPads and no Surface so it's a moot point anyway. What I do use my iPad for is -Virtual CDU for controlling the FMC in PMDG 737NGX or iFLy 737 - FSKneeboard 2 for: -- checking weather (Metar and all kind sof maps and radar images) -- loading all the charts for the US in different tabs for easy access -- loading charts for other countries via dropbox (I download them on my computer, upload to dropbox where I have them sorted in folders) and also display them in tabs -- show the IFR charts with air routes that I use when flying iFR or VFR charts when I am in ORBX land low and slow -- showing the OFP from PFPX also via dropbox -- via the built in browswer bringing up maps from airportterminalmaps.com that show parking positions at different airports (haven't found those for US airports from other sources) -- I also have started more and more to use the checklist function instead of paper checklists - VATMAP to check out traffic and controllers on vatsim - circle to land to view charts from some mostly European countries. I don't have to go via Dropbox to get them into FSKneeboard then but it also means I have to switch to another app to view them. Also it lacks the covenient tabs system in FSKneeboard. - Air Navigation Pro. It's an app I use when flying IRL but it can also be connected to FSX and used exactly in the same way.

darn...why did you have to start talking about beer... off to the supermarket, vatsim flight coming up later!