Virtualwombat

Yes, I value the RealAir attention to detail above all else. I'm never disappointed with the quality of their planes, whereas other makers, even the big names, often have little problems that take patches to fix. Still, if RealAir can release in December, then it will mean more sales, me among them. Cheers, Noel.

The RealAir site indicates the Turbine Duke V2 is in development. http://www.realairsimulations.com/home.php?page=home Has anyone heard if RealAir intend to release it before Xmas? Their B60 was magic and I'd love to see what they can do with the turbine model. Cheers, Noel.

Hi Guys, I felt I should pass on my experience with a Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog, in case any of you were considering purchasing it. This may be the most expensive joystick/throttle combination on the market, retailing for over $500 from many suppliers; in fact, I paid almost $600, including tax and shipping costs (it is all metal construction and VERY heavy). Thing is, the joystick lasted a little over 3 years and now none of the buttons work. The warranty is only 2 years and neither the manufacturer nor the retailer want to know me, not even if the repair is at my cost. Obviously there is a chance that I was simply unlucky and that others experience will be different. But the attitude of the manufacturer and the retailer is the thing that gets me. Do they really think a $600 joystick that fails within 3 years is an acceptable value proposition? Cheers, Noel.

I'm shocked! This worked for me out of the box (just set 30 fps). Massive increase in performance at Orbx YMML with full overcast. I guess I averaged 10 fps improvement from 16 to around 26, even hitting 30 fps on occasion. Cheers, Noel.

There's also DCS World and Arma 3 for those interested in military sims. They both have their own strengths and weaknesses but I still return to FSX because is has largest feature set and third parties can produce killer aircraft and plausible environments, even if the trees look horrible by modern graphical standards. Cheers, Noel.

Yep, Aarnet is fast, but only when the server at the other end is also up to the task, which is not often. Obviously I bought the academic version of P3D. Cheers, Noel.

Results when tested a few minutes ago: 783.47 Mbps down 946.72 Mbps up Cheers, Noel.

I have V2, downloaded in less than 5 min. L-M must have one masssive server farm... Cheers, Noel.

Photoscenery looks good at high altitude, not so good on the ground. It needs to be paired with good mesh and autogen, otherwise it can look flat. And often only one season is presented. My favorite photoscenery is of Hawaii, either MegaScenery payware or there is some excellent freeware by Ironhand for some islands. http://en.shop.aerosoft.com/eshop.php?action=article_detail&s_supplier_aid=12047&position=54694711&anzahl_treffer=267 http://www.lockonfiles.com/files/category/28-fsx-scenery-packs/ Cheers, Noel.

http://www.fullterrain.com/product_ftxgiceland.html#demo Pretty cool... Noel.

Thanks, but it seems to be offline. Maybe their server is down on right now. I'll try again tomorrow. Cheers, Noel.

So I understand from the comments above that the AivlaSoft EFB works pretty well. Anyone have a working link for their trial version? I can't access their website through: https://shop.aivlasoft.com/. Cheers, Noel.

Thanks for your help. In FSX, the GPS will show arrival procedures (STARs and transitions) but if it can show SIDs, I don't know how to show them. The Q400 FMS seems to have many more options than the default GPS, among them SIDs and airways. I'd like to visualise these, to make informed selection, rather than by trial and error. It seems to me that this has to be done outside of FSX in some kind of flight planning application, but the ones I have (FS Commander, FSBuild and Plan G, aren't great in this respect. I guess I'm asking if there is another flight planning application out there that is better than FS Commander for visualising SIDs, STARs and Transitions? Cheers, Noel.

Hi Guys, What is the best way of visualising SIDs, STARs and transitions when planning a flight? I have FS Commander, which works to some extent, as well as FSBuild and Plan G. My difficulty is that the routes that FS Commader suggests sometimes do not correspond with those in the FMS of my Majestic Q400, and it can be difficult to choose the best, most realistic proceedure to suit the overall route and specific runway for the weather. What do most people use for this task? Cheers, Noel.

Yep, the best modern military jet available. My only quibble is it's a bit hard on frames, so you might consider the freeware Sludge hornet if your system is slow. Cheers, Noel.

No one has mentioned FSrealWXlite. Anyone care to comment on this one compared to payware weather engines? http://www.hanse-coders.net/index.php?page=self&id=1 Cheers, Noel.

I like the Carenado C337H. Being an in-line, high-wing twin, it gives you great visibility and excellent speed. Sure the RAS Legacy has a more realistic flight model. But the low-wing design makes it less suitable for sightseeing. Cheers, Noel.

My 2c. I've not been much interested in tubeliners. Complex examples tend to be frame rate hogs and the long take off and landing requirements condem you to city airports where again frame rates take a big hit. But the Majestic Dash 8 is different. It has almost no impact on frame rates on my system, even though it runs full FMS. You can get into regional airports, so it's incredibly versatile and you can benefit from a less demanding environment. Sounds, graphics and systems are among the best in the business. Now I'm addicted! My GA fleet and military fighters are gathering virtual dust! Cheers, Noel.

Hi Brendan, Has this happened more than once? The only time I've had this sort of thing happen is when the PC tries to update an application in the background, which can mean a conflict over resources between the update and FSX. You might try uninstalling the Q400 and re-installing it (latest version of course). Cheers, Noel.

Hi Bob, I checked through your questions again and found the answer. I'd confused NAV1 for FMS1 when selecting the source. Simple. I must have checked this twenty times but not realized I was making the same error each time. Cheers, noel.

Hi Bob, Yes, the flight plan appears in the FMS and in flight advances from waypoint to waypoint (magenta line) as expected. I'll have to get back to you on the other questions, as I'll at work right now and can't check the sim's behavior. But I appreciate your help! Cheers, Noel.

Thanks for the suggestion, but FMS is indeed selected. Has anyone had problems with the Dash 8 when using default ATC and/or flight planning? Cheers, Noel.

Hi Guys, I'm having trouble selecting NAV mode on the autopilot. Heading mode works fine but for some reason I can't get into NAV mode even though I think I have programmed a valid flightplan into the FMS. Any clues on what I may have done wrong? Cheers, Noel.

I am in the same boat, having purchased the B55 from the AVSIM store on 17 August 2012. Nicholas is unable to help with the new installer, as he has no access to Milviz files now. I would be most grateful for your help in finding a way of getting the update. Cheers, Noel.

After 20+ years of development, FSX is packed with features and details. Moreover, the support of third party companies extend the feature set and quality of FSX, so that the FSX experience is almost impossible for a new entrant to match. Just look at Aerofly FS. Stunning graphics. Awesome scenery. But it sits unused on my shelf at home because it totally fails to meet my expectations for a flight sim. And that‘s the same with almost every other alternative I’ve tried recently (RoF, DCS, X-P9, ILS-CoD). They have their strengths but I always come back to FSX because it has the most complete feature set. But nothing lasts forever, and after 15 years of regular flight simming, I’m having trouble maintaining enthusiasm for software that is looking dated compared with modern offerings in other genres. And let’s face it, FSX never really ran well, even on the best hardware. There are always new problems and I still spend a lot of time tweaking. I hope we can maintain the feature set of FSX and move forward into the future with P3D. If there is another alternative in the wings (sorry!), I'd like to hear about it! Cheers, Noel.