twharrell

Gordon, Both the Mindstar GNS and Flight 1 GTN units are very good. The GTN gets the edge only because it is the newest GPS technology and the "touch-screen" interface is so user friendly. The downside is finding affordable current navdata, especially for Europe. If you can find someone who is a pilot and has a Garmin navdata subscription, it is perfectly ethical and legal to use that individual's navdata for personal entertainment use. Garmin has no problem with that. Otherwise you will have to purchase a subscription yourself, which isn't cheap. Other than that, the GTN gauges are pretty feature-rich. The negative is the price for each and crossfill is not yet implemented. When it is, I have no idea if it will cost extra or not. Hopefully not. Of course, if you only want the 750, that doesn't matter. The Mindstar GNS units, while older Garmin GPS technology, are also very nice. The advantage of buying this series is you get both the 530 and 430, including crossfill, for $50 USD. For navdata, you have to purchase RealNav subscription for $40 USD annually (for 4 cycles). I personally like RealNav and it is arguably thd most accurate of the available navdata publicly available. The main disadvantage of these units is WAAS is not yet modelled, which means you can't fly LPV approaches. This feature is supposed to be added in the future but it may be a ways off because Mindstar's main focus is the commercial simulator market. Updates are driven by the needs and desires of their commercial customers (as it should be). A big plus for Mindstar is individualized, one-on-one, technical support. They are a small company and are not always available at the drop of a hat, but they will address any issues you have. As for addons, this may ultimately sway your decision. Which addons will you be flying and is VC integration important to you? Cheers, Todd

Skyvector.com, a great resource for charts, will graphically display all current NAT tracks. If you hover over each track, a text window opens displaying the entry and exit waypoints, coordinates for all waypoints in between, and altitude for each track. A nice feature. Also, the FAA posts NAT tracks in the daily NOTAMs: https://www.notams.faa.gov/common/nat.html

RJ, you are a lucky man! The Citation X is still one of my top 3 aircraft to fly. Just the other day I did an RNP approach and it seemed to fly it perfectly. My uncle, a C 750 pilot, recently sent me his FlightSafety manuals and checklists, so I am eager to dig in and find out even more about this beauty. Todd

Good stuff, Rob. Your instructions are detailed and well-written. And who says Mondays are a drag?

The MilViz KA350i is, right now, one of my favorite business aircraft to fly, and I have had zero performance issues in P3D. I also 2nd (or 3rd) the Lionheart Lear 24B. Just flew it yesterday and had a blast. I love the fact you can fly old school or with the GTN 750 without having to restart the sim - just flip a switch to change the panel (elegant solution by Bill Ortis).

I have both the 750 and 650 in the MilViz C310, and the 750 in the Lionheart Lear 24B. F1 did a really nice job with these gauges. I would love to see RealAir or A2A make a C182 with GTN integration. Off topic, back to Carenado.....

Well, being that I use P3D exclusively, Carenado not moving forward with GTN integration (especially in their new releases) kills any chance of me buying any of their GA addons. Why they refuse to embrace Mindstar G1000 and GNS gauges and the new Flight 1 GTN series is a head scratcher. At least we have MilViz and, soon, RealAir to look forward to.

Does anyone know if Carenado plans to release a GTN 750/650 panel option?

Nice video. Performance doesn't look too bad. However, being that I use P3D exclusively, I'm going to hold out until there is a Flight 1 GTN option, which I hope is in the works.

Eaglesoft Citation X v2.0 is the best out there and I haven't had any performance issues. Almost every system is modelled and you can even shoot RNP approaches. If you like turboprops, the MilViz King Air 350i is a great aircraft, even in its alpha stage. Todd

I'm a huge fan of the Lear and love that I have a choice to fly with old technology or new technology. Just yesterday I tried a flight on Pilot Edge using the GTN 750 and really enjoyed it. Todd

Oops. I was too lazy to go back and look.

Both the B55 and C310 are compatible!

Pilotedge works perfectly fine if you run the sim and PE as admin. I do it all the time and have never had an issue. Just an FYI. Todd

In my opinion, whether you use REX or freeware clouds, the non-HD 512 (or even 1024) textures look a lot more realistic and natural than HD textured clouds. Not to mention performance is better.

I agree. A FMS just wouldn't look right in a C550. A GNS430 or 530, perhaps, but not a FMS.

Bill Womack (iBlueyonder) is working on Nantucket, which will be a great addon when released. His sceneries are always top notch. Also, don't forget FlightBeam KIAD (Dulles) and TropicalSim KDCA (Reagan National). These are more mid-Atlantic airports, but still are good launching points for northeast destinations.

In P3D, make sure the F22 is the default flight. Select the Lear - it will load with engines running. Next turn everything off. Save the flight as your Lear cold and dark. Todd

+1 At least give us the option of choosing the new, well-cared-for VC.

Actually, the 6 missions can be downloaded from the Milviz B55 forums. Problem is they don't work in P3D (at least not for me). If anyone has these and the C310 missions working, I'm all ears. The aircraft itself works great in P3Dv2. One of the best GA twins available along with the 310.

I agree. Great book. Newest alpha build released today. New features working as well as new texture details. Chart viewer also supposed to be functional now, although I haven't figured it out yet. Somebody has scratched up my new center console and fuel panel, dadgummet!

I don't think that is a fair statement. Current OpusFSX customers have to pay an upgrade fee of $25 to get OpusFSI, which is half the price new customers have to pay. If I am not mistaken, upgrading from ActiveSky 2012 to ActiveSky Evolution also required an upgrade fee, as did the upgrade from ActiveSky Evolution to ActiveSky Next. By your standard does that mean none of those ActiveSky products were "finished" either? Almost everything in FSX and P3D is in constant improvement/development, especially weather engines. We are very fortunate to have 2 outstanding weather engines in ASN and OpusFSI. It's good to see them push each other to get better. Todd

Like the real Lear 24B, the Lionheart Lear does not have thrust reversers, so don't include them in your control settings. If you do, bad things will happen, i.e. you'll get the opposite effect. I've never flown in a Lear before but I really like the way this one flies. You really have to manage the throttles or you can easily overspeed it. Todd

The people in this jet look normal and won't keep you up at night with your covers pulled up to your eyes.

By simplified I mean the startup procedure is simplified. Also, navigation is ADF and VOR only. Old school but true to the era. You have the option of turning the realism settings off (there is a switch under the glareshield), thus making the airplane a get-in-and-go-full-throttle kind of addon. The aircraft is more complex than Carenado but not so complex that you can't jump in for 15 minuted. I think this jet will attract a wide audience. Todd