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I checked my computer and there was no little Windows icon in my system tray. So I went to MS and checked the FAQ. It seems that if you have the auto system updates turned off, it wouldn't be there. Well, I DO have the auto updates turned off. But MS says that if you run the Check for Updates and manually update, it will appear. So I ran the update, applied the 34 updates it said were waiting, and... No Windows icon. Now, also according to MS, if it isn't there after running the necessary updates, it is possible your computer cannot run Win 10. Supposedly, after July 29th, MS will enable the icon and I'll be able to find out if I can run Win 10 or not. So I guess I'll just have to wait, won't i? In any case, I'm hanging with Win 7 as long as possible, unless the release version miraculously comes out bug-free and perfect. I ain't holding my breath. Judging from the recent reports, it seems to be getting worse.

Oculus does have the Oculus Touch controllers, along with the X-Box wireless game pad, so I can see this product headed in that direction. Once again, though, how expensive is all of this? Oculus is expecting a release sometime in Q1 of 2016. So although there is a lot of activity around these products, for us lowly consumers they don't exist yet. And no one is guessing at a price when they come on the market. The X-Box is currently going for $175 - $250 for a decent package. The PlayStation is going for $400. What will a controller like Oculus go for? With the game pad and the touch controllers? Then again, who cares? If someone can pull this off and make it work, we will pay for it. Well, maybe not me, 'cause I'm broke, anyway. But when Oculus first was announced, I thought right away that "this would be very cool adapted for flight simming!" And now, here it comes. And Bob: I think this does a little more than Track IR, which I have had for some years now and sort of have a love, hate relationship with it. When I have to adjust dials and switches in the cockpit, many times I find myself freezing the track IR view, and just using the mouse and joystick hat to quickly get to where I need to be focused. And I have spent hours tweaking settings on the Track IR, so that is not it. I do think Track IR works fairly well for VFR flying in something like a Cessna, but for looking around a complex cockpit with numerous small dials and switches, I don't find it that useful. Not sure how this would work with Oculus Rift. If you tweak TrackIR right, it works very well in big cockpits. In fact, with the 6DOF, I can lean in and take a closer look at some of the knobs and switches instead of using the Zoom feature on the mouse - it's quicker, easier and more intuitive. And if you start with the default settings, there's a nice "dead zone" that makes slight head movements a non-problem. As I watched the videos here, it looked almost identical to TrackIR, as I watched the split-screen of the user moving his head and the view screen in the cockpit moving in unison with it.

After buying the Real Air Turbine Duke, I've been spoiled. I am getting ready to add the GTN 750 for it, and then it will probably be the only GA I fly. If you don't have it, get it. And it's only $36 USD, even for the P3D version! And if anyone reading this thread knows where I can get a really decent C-208 Caravan, with avionics that work (or that I can add the GTN 750 to), please let me know. I asked in the Carenado forum if I could add the GTN 750 to the Caravan and haven't heard back from them yet.

I'm not catching on here. I know what Oculus Rift is (or is supposed to be), but this seems to be just moving the monitor to a set of screens that you wear like goggles. As I have seen Oculus Rift in action, it is total immersion, where you can touch and control what you see. Like reaching out in the PMDG 777 and turning the knob to set the altitude, or flipping switches.on the panels, or throwing the gear lever. If you can do it with the mouse, you should be able to do it with your fingers, on the panels in front of, and around you. Although I think this is way cool, and would love to wear my monitor instead of sitting a few feet away from it, my TrackIR system works the same way. And with these goggles on, you lose sight of your controllers and keyboard. So you had better know where every switch, rotary and button is on that Saitek, and be a touch typist. I paid ~$150 for the TrackIR system, and it was well worth the money, but I am thinking that this system is going to cost a whole lot more than that. I hope you can keep the price down to where most of us can afford it. I love the concept, and I hope it goes commercial. But until it is truly a total immersion product, where one can reach out and use the controls one sees in front of him, it will still need work. Good luck, guys.

Remember that FSX comes with a whole bunch of default aircraft that everyone used to fly before the VCs and better flight models came out. And I think that most of us would agree that the Carenado stuff is better that those aircraft. I flew the FSX Mooney all over the place, perfectly happy, until the 3dr party guys started making them better and better. I bought the Grand Caravan EX because I was looking for that specific aircraft and Carenado seemed to be the only game in town (I'm still looking for a better model), and I guess it works good enough to keep it on my machine. But it soured me on any future Carenado products. And I can get much better aircraft for what I paid for the Caravan - just under $50 USD. I have to admit that I did buy another plane from their sister company Alabeo, the PA-38 Tomahawk. This time it was for sentimental reasons, as it was the aircraft that I learned to fly in, from first flight to solo to X-countries to being signed off for my SEL license. And (once again), it was the only PA-38 I could find that seemed worth the money. Well, after "fixing" it with 3rd-party solutions, it flies okay. And once in awhile, I take it out for a spin around the local patch. But it hardly beats the default FSX fleet, so...

I only bought the Carenado Grand Caravan EX because it seemed to be the only detailed Caravan on the market. And as an aside, can anyone tell me where I might find a better one? It was a disappointment, mostly because I've been spoiled by A2A, RealAir and PMDG. I couldn't even make it work with LINDA. Even at $40 USD, it could have been better. Way cool that I can open the table in the salon - not way cool how the avionics work and the flight characteristics. Won't go into details, but threads like this one have saved me more money with Carenado. I only spent $40 so I'm not too disappointed/

Rob, I am seeing the future here, and you've got it right. MS (and damned near everyone else) is programming the next OS and probably many more for the "portable crowd." You mentioned XBox. And now that tablets, like MS' own Surface, the Samsung, Dell and others are being pushed as a perfect replacement not only for laptops but also desktop units, and even the cellphone market is jumping into the fray, why even waste time with those of us who still run big metal boxes with huge memories, multiple video cards and giant monitors and 1000 watt power supplies? You want gaming? The XBox and other dedicated systems will take care of that. Only the high-end costly and massive flight sims, starting with P3D and working up, will ever need the computing power that our present day desktops provide. I know that there are many AvSim members up here who use loaded laptops to fly with. The desktop, with the associated OSs are going the way of the dodo, and MS is leading the way. I will be forced to upgrade to Win10 when MS stops supporting Win7, and I will do so. Same thing happened when I had to change to Win 7 from XP. There is no other choice. Apple Mac? Nope. How about Linux? Ever wonder why no one is developing for Linux? It runs everyone else's OS, but where is a dedicated flight sim for Linux? As Chris said, "Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit works just fine here. I have no intention of "upgrading" to Windows 10." Nice thought, but there is no choice, just a time limit. EDIT: Gary I corrected your post as you had your response in the Quotation. - Rob

Remember that I already own FS2Crew for the 737 and 777. I don't have to purchase the Reboot for the NGX - what I have now works fine. The Coolsky and the Mad Dog aren't flown as much, so buying FS2Crew for them isn't a priority. If I had nothing, MCE would look very tempting, as I could use it for everything. But $69.95 USD is too rich for my wallet right now. I've already downloaded it, and will take it for a test drive. And if it blows me away, maybe I'll set aside some cash for a future purchase.

I DO have FS2Crew already for both the 737NGX and the 777, so there is no further cost...yet! I would probably purchase the Reboot if the upgrade price is believable. BUT - I also have the Coolsky Super 80 and the Mad Dog, which I'd also like to crew. FS2Crew has a model for the Mad Dog, but that would be another purchase. So I am interested in MCE. But at this time, the price tag is a bit out of reach. Maybe they'll have a sale...

Very nicely, actually. With DX10, and everything works well. I don't even have OOMs or CTODs on long flights with my PMDG 777. It's all in how you set things up. No, I don't have every slider set full right. But I'm also running FS2Crew, Radar Contact, REX textures, including Soft Clouds, I have several FSDreamTeam airports, and I'm using ORBX FTX Global. How's that? But I think you answered my question. I see traffic here and there, especially while taxiing at the bigger airports, and RC takes care of keeping them out of my way most of the time. It's probably something that would be cool but that isn't really necessary. I also noticed that most of this forum thread has to do with problems with the app. I know it's free and does some neat things, but I just don't have the time to work out all of these problems. I use PFPX for most of my flight planning, so there are a lot of SIDs and STARs to consider, and it would be a nightmare to get that mangled.

Well, I tried reading all 54 pages, but after the first 30, I gave up looking for the answer to my question. I'm totally new to this thread and this software, but I'd love to install and use it. But first I'd like some input (which I didn't find anywhere so far) as to just where my slider should be set for AI traffic. To try and keep things as under-loaded as possible, I keep all of my AI stuff minimized to around 10% or less. I don't care if I see one boat on a lake, or only a few cars driving down the roads. But as this program deals with AI aircraft traffic, I would assume that I should try to make as much of that traffic available, for the effect. And as AI traffic is a load on the eystem, what is the cut-off as far as system minimums? I have a quad core processor running at just under 3 Ghz. I have a nVidia GTX650 with 1 Gb of memory, and 8 Gb of system memory. Should I even be running this stuff? I'd love to give it a try, and I can definitely afford it! I'm also running ASN and TrackIR and ezDok. Input?

Any problems with having both of them installed? I may very well stick with FS2Crew (for now) with my PMDGs while using MCE for the Coolsky and Mad Dog. And maybe for the upcoming purchase of the Majestic Dash 8. My only problem right now is the price. At $70 USD, I may have to wait awhile. :rolleyes:

Don't know if this has a dedicated thread, but I just wanted to know...I have been running FS2Crew for my PMDG 737NGX and 777, both voice and button, and I really do like it. I asked once about MCE but never got the chance to try the demo. But after looking at several YouTube videos about MCE, I'm impressed. Especially with the interface with Radar Contact. SO - not to start any wars or fights (and I know what forum I'm in here), what are the main differences between the two programs, and why would you recommend MCE (if you would) over FS2Crew? FS2Crew is getting ready to release a brand new system for the 737NGX, and before I spend money on it, I'd really like to make an informed decision. MCE might just be the way to go. Input?

Wonder if I could get it to work on my Kindle Fire HD. Looks very cool. I already use Aivlasim's EFB on a 2nd computer, and this would let me be more portable.

So is there a big noticeable difference between your company's Garmin products and Flight 1's offerings? What would someone gain (who is flying FSX) by purchasing the Mindstar GNS 530 instead of the Flight 1 model? The one advantage I can see is the ability to get the navaid updates. Lastly, consensus of opinion - best one? Flight 1 or Mindstar? Prices are the same.

That's Accu-Feel, not Accu-Sim. If I'm correct,Accu-Sim is only on A2A planes. Maintenance Hangar, overhauls, oil changes, battery changes,etc. Accu-Feel is the turbulence, suspension and other "feeling" performance out issues.

Accu-Sim and Accu-Feel are actually 2 different things. Accu-Sim is the software that makes your sim aircraft simulate wear and tear. If you don't fly your P-51 for a few weeks, you'll need to recharge the battery, and if you make a sloppy landing, you'll have to fix the gear and/or the brakes. Stuff like that - that's what the hangar app is for. The wear and tear have to be "fixed" on a regular basis. And as far as I know, it is only available for the A2A line. Accu-Feel, OTOH, is the software that makes your Cessna 172 bump and bounce when taxiing on grass, and gives you turbulence and other movements. It works with every A/C I have, but it's not really meant to use with the big iron - much better with GA aircraft. You don't get a lot of bumpiness when taxiing a 777 from the gate to the active. I love it for the A2A Cub, 172 and P-51. If I had one of those butt-kicker sound systems, I'd really feel like I was there.

Hey, Airbus, I've been flying since the Sinclair ZX81 days. Also Commodore 64. And every version of Flight Sim since Sublogic. I could land at Meigs with my eyes closed! :rolleyes: BTW, I'll be 69 in November. And I have a friend in Texas who flew P-51s during the big one, who is still flying FS9 at the young age of 94.

I recently purchased the RA Turbine Duke, and one of the options was the add-on Garmin GTN750. This looks very nice and I'm going to pick it up. And since it is an add-on, does CArenado support it for the Grand Caravan? I know that you can install the Garmin in just about any aircraft, but I want it to look like it belongs there. Anyone know if, and how, this can be done?

Well, since my turbine Duke and possibly my Carenado C-208 Caravan are my only two (mostly) GA aircraft, I guess I'll have to get the 750. Does it come with the global data, or only North America? Far as the Navigraph data goes, since real-world flight plans are used quite a bit with the sim fleet, IMHO it is still a good idea to have the latest dataset. And since there is little cost involved... Case closed.

I asked if there was a reason for companies like Navigraph to sell data subscription services to sim flyers. Why do PFPX, Aivlasoft and FS Commander use them? I guess it depends on what you think is "reality" to you. Since I use two different flight planners that use this data, I subscribe to it. It also has to do with real flight plans, as generated by sites like FlightAware, which use the up-to-date routes, SIDs and STARs, all which come with the nav data. I'll probably pop for the Garmin GTN750 anyway. But when I do, I'll have to forget PFPX and FS Commander, because the Garmin also can't import those flight plans. I will admit that it does look good in the turbine Duke, which is where it will probably reside.

MAAM still has this gem, if you have never seen a detailed DC-3 sim. Granted, it ain't PMDG, but for the money ($30) you can be flying it long before the PMDG version hits the market. See details MAAM-SIM Douglas R4D/DC-3/C-47 - FSX DOWNLOAD VERSION

The nav data for the standard FMS in most of the tubeliners is updated in cycles. It is not issued by the year. If you crank up your PMDG 737NGX and start to program in the flight plan, you will be warned that the nav data is not up-to-date if you have not loaded in the current dataset. Same with PFPX, and as far as I know, Aivlasoft EFB. I think almost every FMS system in FSX relies on data from one of the nav data sites. Is there a reason for this? Question: how does that affect the Garmin GNS 750? So there is absolutely no need to worry about updating the data? You just start up and fly? I do know that the airports in FSX probably haven't been updated for a decade or more, but there are also airports presented by FS Dream Team and others that have up-to-date runways and ILS approaches. Consensus of opinion - current nav data is/is not essential to use in FSX?