PhilipWilson

Thank you for a wonderful and touching video. From someone who has made a number of FSX videos, I sincerely appreciate everything you put into your work. One question though; what music are you using? Your music choice pulled everything together. Thanks, Philip

As a former reviewer I can tell you sometimes purchasing the products are far better than spending 50 or more hours writing a “professional” review. And a reviewer must be willing to outline any and all flaws regardless of who the developer is. A favorable review for a free product is a worthless review. You are reviewing for our fellow simmers, not to get a title for free. If I have misunderstood your post, then please accept my sincere apologies, but if I haven’t, you may need to really think about your direction regarding reviews. Thanks, Philip

Dillon, Watching the clips is a serious laugh since the first versions of FS were not much more than white lines moving around on the screen. I'll plan on putting a video together this weekend. Thanks, Philip

What a coincidence…I was just going through some old boxes yesterday and found my original Flight Unlimited 3, Fly2K, MS FS2000 (Professional Edition no less), Strike Fighters Project 1, and Lock On Modern Air Combat disks. For a fleeting moment I thought about building a “retro” pc with all the parts I have laying around, installing WinXP and loading all those old titles up. On closer inspection most of the disks have “works with Win 95, 98, 98SE” written on them. That was a deal breaker for me.  On another thought, I actually have video clips of every version of FS from day 1 through FSX. All I can say is WOW! I haven’t searched YouTube to see if anyone has posted a video containing all the versions, but if no one has, I might put one up. Philip

Thanks Cheryl. Thats what I call excellent service. Sunday responses within minutes of my post. I'm purchasing Opus. If every vendor had even a fraction of this level of service the world would be a better place. :-) Philip

In the past I’ve read here in the Avsim forums that REX and Opus complimented each other…sort of. Installing both gave you the best of both worlds with REX providing the weather/cloud textures After reading the release notes on the latest REX version and the latest Opus version, they seem to be moving closer to competitors. I have both the FS9 and FSX versions of REX (before it became REX Essential PLUS with OverDrive). My question is this; should I still buy both the new REX and the new Opus for the best results? Doubling the cost of a weather solution isn’t my idea of fun but both products are very compelling. I received the REX products when I was an Avsim reviewer so I’m not eligible for ant sort of reduced upgrade savings. I have a lot of respect for Tim over at REX, and their team does phenomenal work, but at the end of the day, hearing from fellow simmers with experience using both REX and Opus will help my purchasing decision. Also, Stephen, your continued responses to posts here really does say a lot about Opus's commitment to ensuring customers are informed. That really does mean a lot to those who place customer service high on their list of priorities. Thanks Philip

Here is a bit of input on Adobe CS series software. I have owned nearly every version of CS since CS1. I have purchased the Master Collection of CS4, CS5, and now use CS6 Master Colleciion. After nearly ten thousand dollars going toward Adobe software I had an issue where my hard drive failed. I could not un-register the software on that drve and it took nearly 11 hours of phone calls before they would un-register it for me. Adobe is the tightest software company I've ever worked with and they don't give much away for free. That being said; you can now get the CS6 Master Collection for $49 a month, continually updated with the latest software, and it's been solid as a rock. By my estimates, they are making tens of millions more offering the subscription as a lot more people that couldn't afford the purchase price are now subscribers. And lets face it, they are the world leaders in what they offer. Philip

Hi Adam, I took the on-site photos for this scenery so I thought I'd post 2 here as attachments. I actually took several hundred images. I also took the images of Orcas Island, Anacortes, and Concrete so if anyone would like to see the real scenery, just let me know. Thanks, Philip

As someone who has produced a number of videos for commercial FSX developers, I have to say, your work is amazing. Makes me miss creating videos. Thanks for sharing.

"For the love of all that is good, you have to do it!!!" That comment made my day. :lol:

As a rw pilot with a few thousand hours in numerous aircraft, I can say with confidence the probability of a successful hand flown approach in a 737 is close to impossible and would likely end up in a lot of lives lost. In an emergency situation where mechanical factors are present and you only had one opportunity to land, the chances are very slim. If you were not in an emergency situation and took the aircraft at altitude on autopilot, and setup for an autoland, you would have much better chances. Throw in rerouting by ATC, a little weather, and a late descend release requiring you to get down in a hurry, your chances go back to pretty slim. Both Flying and AOPA Pilot Magazines have done articles on this using active GA pilots with varying degrees of experience, putting them in a level D simulator. Even a highly proficient pilot of a twin turbine didn’t succeed on his first two tries. There are so many more elements to landing a 737 than even the highest time PMDG 737NG driver could ever know. And the last place to you want those surprises is on final.

Hey there CloudSwimmer, I'm really surprised you are having any issues at all. I'm running a 3.8GHz 6 core AMD Black with 16Gb of high performance RAM and the AMD 5770 1GHz card. With the exception of the RAM, your system is much more powerful than mine and I'm maxed out on the graphics without a single stutter. (Well when I hit the ground things in my head stutter..."where did that missile come from?). With some searching grasshopper...you too will find the error of your ways and will be stutter free. ^_^

I purchased LOMAC...wow nearly 9 years ago now...and really loved the sim. It needed some polishing, but overall a lot of fun. When FSX came out I was all over it. Several weeks ago I read a post here about DCS and went to check it out. What an amazing transformation on many fronts. I've downloaded the free DCS world and SU-25. Tried to purchase the A-10 but there were server issues so I'll try again tomorrow. With their upcoming Flaming Cliffs with F-15, Mig-29, SU-27...I think I've found my FSX replacement. If many of the top 3rd party developers start releasing titles for DCS World, there will be some serious growth within that company.

I have the utmost respect for anyone who can publicly admit they were passing judgment on something they hadn’t experienced. And admit they were wrong after gaining said experience. If there were more people like you in the world, it would definitely be a better place.

For those interested in Air Force One, there is a very cool documentary on Netflix about the 747. Its on the streaming section and I've watched it 4 times. It's just that cool.

In the 80's I met the actor Robert Conrad who played Pappy Boyington in the tv series Baa Baa Black Sheep. He was flying in a Piper Malibu and when I started talking to him in the Concord, CA airport FBO, all I could think was "what a complete jerk". On that flight I was flying my flight instructors T-210, and I remember thinking how proud I was to be flying what I considered a better aircraft than the Malibu. Oh to be young again. Philip

A few years ago I put some items on Craigslist, and when an older gentleman came to pick them up, he noticed my aviation art collection. After a few minutes of conversation I realized I was in the presence of one truly amazing man. He was a retired United 747 Capitan with more than 29,000 hours. He retired before the advent of glass cockpits and had flown 60+ different aircraft. He started his career as a Marine helicopter pilot with HMM-263…the Thunder Chickens. We spent many hours talking over the years and just listening to the stories was an experience mere words can’t adequately express. I would love to hear from others who experienced meeting living legends. As for me, here are a few other notable experiences I’ve had: Having lunch with the Air Force Thunderbirds at the Nellis Air Force Base Officers Club. Not a press get together…I just happen to be having lunch there at the same time they were. My first civilian flight instructor was a retired Vietnam era F-4 Phantom pilot (and a mean SOB) Meeting Navy Capitan (ret.) Dale “Snort” Snodgrass. Honor’s graduate from Navy Fighter Weapons School - TOPGUN Highest time F-14 Pilot ever, with 5,000 hours in the Tomcat 7,800 hours in Fighters and10,000 hours total, including 1,287 Carrier Landings Tomcat Flight Demonstration Pilot I can’t wait to read about your experiences. Philip

I can honestly say this topic surprised me. Full disclosure here; I was both an Orbx beta tester and took many of the on-site photos used in creating several PNW airport sceneries. Working closely with John and his team over at Orbx gave me an opportunity to experience the behind the scenes development process. I can’t count the number of times a customer requested a feature, and John asked the team to implement it. I have seen first-hand, his generosity towards others, and this post revealed things completely out of character from the Orbx I knew. Legitimate customer reported bugs were always top priority. I was truly unaware of instances where a number of customers were banned or not supported. All that being said, I feel Orbx users should have an unofficial support forum if they are not getting support from Orbx. But…the content of that forum must abide by the Avsim rules, and if it has become an advertising avenue, regardless of the vendor, the forum should either be more closely moderated or closed altogether. Cheers, Philip

It took me almost 2 years to migrate to FSX. I had (still have actually) nearly every add-on to ever come out for FS9. Aircraft, scenery, environmental, utility…you name it I had it. I can tell you there are some aircraft that are truly more realistic in FS9. As a real world aviator I have flown a number of aircraft that fall flat in FSX and were stellar in FS9 when it comes to realism. The one that really sticks out in my memory is Dino’s F-14. In FS9 the flight dynamics were as close to the real aircraft as anyone has ever been. His FSX version, although a significantly better visual model, has lost the “feel” of the Tomcat. Mind you…the flight dynamics of any aircraft can match the “book”, and not feel anything like the actual aircraft. There are a number of pilots here in the forums who can attest to that. A 74,000lb aircraft carries a bit of inertia at 170kts. Engines take a few seconds to respond and even after they do, a few more to actually affect the aircraft’s path and speed. Low and slow behind the carrier you must be well ahead of the airplane or you are in a very bad way. But with all that being said, I have enjoyed my time with FSX immensely. Much better immersion, and with add-ons, you can really get sweaty palms on a non-precision approach to minimums at night. Philip

I visited Mallorca 6 times between 1986 and 1990 and to this day it brings wonderful memories. Based on popular opinion the AS Mallorca scenery looks like it should be on my Christmas list. Philip

Sound level in the VC must be that King Air super soundproofing being simulated. :rolleyes: Those passive attenuators bolted to the frame work wonders. Philip

I have MyTraffic 2010 which also features g/a, military, cargo, regionals and such. I can't really tell if the ai models are better with 360, but I tend to set and forget the ai so all the extra tools for editing flights/aircraft are pretty much lost on me. I'm perfectly happy with MyTraffic 2010, but if 360 is a much less resource intensive, and a more polished program, I'd consider making the switch. If someone purchases 360 that has MyTraffic 2010, I'd love feedback on a comparison of the two. Thanks, Philip

Hello All, I've used multiple defrag utilities over the years both free and commercial. For those with the means ($30-$40) the Raxco products are truly the best I've come across. http://www.raxco.com/home/home-premium.aspx I've used their PerfectDisk utility on every computer I have owned for the past 7 years with stellar results. (For the record...I don't work for Raxco) This is one of those cases where you really do get what you pay for. Thanks, Philip

Hello Tim, You have always been a gentleman and your team never ceases to amaze me. I’ve created a new account for the REX forums and will post any further questions there. Thank you, Philip

Hello, I have REX2 HD for FSX (boxed version), which coincidentally I'm reinstalling tomorrow. I remember installing an update months ago, but don’t remember what it was. I think a significant update of sorts but it’s kind of foggy. (Old age ya know) After reinstalling the boxed REX2 HD, will the update to REX Essential + Overdrive be free, or do I need to purchase the original REX Essentials to get the new updates? Thanks Philip Wilson