Funky D

I guess this is my other problem with XP... Back in the FSX days I used to run ActiveSky, custom landclass and meshes, downloaded satellite data, all the goodies. But I just don't want to deal with any of that these days. I run an empty community folder and get all my addons from the marketplace so I don't need to deal with downloads and updates and running external programs. I've been putting off buying JetCard even though it would basically remove all my VIP charter frustrations in career mode because I'm reluctant having to deal with an additional program. For this same reason I don't deal with BATC or other commonly recommended external apps. In the end I am probably missing out, but MSFS and a few addon planes and airports is "good enough" for me, frustrations and all.

Agreed, but some folks like to think that certification is the end all/be all for a flight sim. Microsoft already sold their IP in the form of P3D... doing it again for the current MSFS would probably take a pretty big carrot, but I've been surprised plenty of times in this hobby! My main issue with XP was the lack of turbulence when flying small aircraft, and the "on rails" feeling was still a common complaint the last time I checked. In MSFS, I've gotten the same thermal updraft when flying over a parking lot during short final at my old home airport that I used to get IRL. I'm sure the location of that thermal was just a coincidence (realllly doubt MSFS is taking ground color into account for generating thermals), but it's that "lively" feeling when flying GA that I love most about MSFS, even though it is at times overdone.

I upvote bugs/features in the MSFS forums and add my comments when I can contribute additional information. Anything beyond that is just wasted hot air (...hot keypresses?) IMHO...

I'll have to disagree with you here... certified for flight training means nothing for "realism". Plenty of folks have mentioned the shortcomings of even Level D simulators. They are meant to accurately simulate procedures. MSFS will likely never be certified for flight training because it is in a constant state of change. As for flight dynamics, I won't open that can of worms, but MSFS was the first flight sim since Flight Unlimited that made me feel like I was actually flying a plane. But I'm a GA guy 🙂

As I previously stated, I've been vocal about the shortcomings. But I do not dwell on them. Yes, a flight sim should have these things, and I never said they shouldn't. But I don't agree these shortcomings should be Asobo's priority, and it seems they don't think so either. I think the clouds look good enough and I don't particularly pay attention to what the AI aircraft are doing. My top wishes are career mode improvements and ATC improvements, but I'm not going to demand those improvements every chance I get. I no longer fly, but I do have my PPL. I have been the passenger of a Pitts S-2C during an airshow and was lucky enough to get a minute of stick time to do my own loop and snap roll. I'll be the first to admit MSFS (and every other modern sim) sucks at the fringe edges of the flight envelope. My iRacing comment comes from this video... if a real acrobatic pilot is impressed with how the planes handle the Red Bull courses, I will take his word for it.

If you think I am some kind of MSFS apologist, you are mistaken. I have been vocal about plenty of the shortcomings in MSFS. But I am also a realist, while many others have their heads in those clouds they complain about. Following their roadmap would lead MSFS down the FSX road to obsolescence. Where exactly is it "SUPPOSED" to be headed, and what makes your opinion on that more valid than those in charge of the MSFS roadmap? Also, not heading anywhere? The folks patiently waiting for the National Championship Air Races will disagree with you. And for those who think the air races are just a "game", go ahead and fly the current Red Bull races at their highest difficulty. This is iRacing of the flight sim world, and some of those competing at the top level have sim rigs that put those Airbus-focused Winwing setups to shame.

That's great, I'm hoping the folks complaining about the same thing ad nauseam make the switch to other sims! Every thread about a new beta SU that should discuss the experience folks are having with that SU just devolves into "THE THING I WANT CHANGED ISN'T BEING ADDRESSED IT'S ALL XBOX'S FAULT THE GAMERS ARE RUINING IT FOR EVERYONE!" (I'm not referring to your post, just calling out the trajectory that these topics always take... although I will disagree with your short list of improvements in 2024 vs 2020) Meanwhile, I'm sure the "gamers" will love the additions to the pneumatic & ECS system (one of the many SDK additions that will not make its way into 2020). Are Asobo ignoring certain complaints about weather and LOD issues? Absolutely! But I'm going to assume it's because addressing those complaints is not as simple as people wish they would be. I too hope they are addressed, but I'm not going to try and dictate how Asobo prioritizes fixes and features. With SU7, these first patch notes seem to address a lot of developer concerns. Which is great, because while everyone in this topic is complaining about weather and gears, aircraft developers are getting complaints ad nauseam related to systems that don't work as intended, and these SDK additions will help those devs address those issues.

Those who are complaining about severe weather need to try a different plane or adjust their turbulence settings. I almost ended up inverted flying the Phenom through a storm two nights ago, and I have a hard time imaging a larger plane would have fared much better if it was actually taking the sim weather into account.

The free castoring nosewheel is not modeled at all, so it just taxis like any other aircraft with nosewheel steering. A compromise they made to accommodate those without differential braking controls.

The magenta line followers think this is a "game" mode aimed at the Xbox crowd and will probably use the release as an excuse to complain about something else in the sim. The races were done really well in 2020 though, and from pilot feedback on how realistic the Red Bull planes fly through those courses, I'm excited to see the changes they make to these planes. And having to manage things like engine heat could make the races a bit more varied.

How is the ground handling, will it ground loop if you're not careful with the rudder? That is one thing I appreciate about the CAS J-3: jam the throttle to the firewall without being quick on the rudder and you will end up pointing in the wrong direction!

I bought the Citation X on sale and it was collecting dust in my virtual hangar waiting for the promised career mode support. Now that the update is live, I finally did some studying and took it for a few career flights. This is the first non-Garmin biz jet I've flown, so it was a bit daunting, but not as bad as something like the FSW Learjet (which is still sitting in my virtual hangar waiting for the day I actually learn to fly the thing). The X is actually very easy to set up and get in the air though, as most of the systems are automated and most of the switches just stay in the "norm" position. The sounds are really great, especially coming from the Phenom, which sounds like a rickety toy in comparison (to be fair, I wouldn't doubt if the real Phenom sounded a bit rickety given how light that jet is). It hand flies very well, and the autopilot is also very smooth. I was able to do 8x sim rate with no issue. The custom turbulence effects seem to keep the plane from entering the oscillating state that can happen to other planes at over 4x sim rate if not carefully managed. Still getting used to landings, although my last landing was so smooth I didn't even realize that I landed (had the headphones off and the speaker turned down... thought I was floating until I saw the "reduce speed" mission notification). Manually popping the spoilers, forcing the nose down and deploying the reverse thrusters is a joy and something I miss in the Phenom. As for career mode... It exacerbates some of the career mode bugs: the weight and balance of the FlightFX EFB does not play nice with the MSFS EFB, and every landing I've gotten a remark from dispatch that I did a good job despite not having a working landing gear (it got me to my parking spot, so the gear seemed fine to me!) It's also a victim of the MSFS mission generator. It would be great to take this from NY to London, or LA to Tokyo, but the longest VIP flights in career mode are around 2000nm. As someone who never understood why people want failures though, I finally "get it" after spending so much time with the Phenom. I miss the ability to break things when I do something wrong. I'm assuming I can trip all the CAS messages on the Citation by manually messing with fuel or hydraulic systems, but in the end I'll never need to do any of that because nothing in those systems can fail, even though so much is simulated. I even miss trying to cool down an 80° cabin and having annoying VIP passengers complaining about it. So, while I'll continue to learn and enjoy the Citation X, I will probably end up back with the Phenom, dealing with the annoying passengers who give me a poor rating for anything above a 1.09G landing and a broken VCS every time I forget to turn off the AC during engine start.

The real Citation X has a tiller, and FlightFX's EFB has support for a hardware tiller. I don't have a tiller and using just the pedals feels fine to me, I didn't notice any twitchiness on takeoff/landing (but I haven't tested in strong crosswinds yet). I didn't try anything crazy, but I wouldn't doubt if they're limiting nose wheel travel at speed if you're just using rudder pedals, since otherwise it could be possible to turn the nosewheel way too much if you're correcting for a heavy crosswind.

I would recommend streaming the content, especially with a fiber connection with presumably no data limits. Asobo seemed to tack on the ability to download content to placate people, but for some it causes more issues than it's worth (and I'd argue if it's worth anything to begin with). You can try disabling and re-enabling the content, I've read that fixes it for some. You also typically can't update an aircraft if you have it currently selected in free flight.

I know this question was for Ryan, but I'll take this moment to disagree with him on the 3-4 number. Depends on your MSFS edition, but off the top of my head: 172 SR22 Vision Jet Longitude PC-12 TBM 930 free Dakota (the famous flyer they gave away) free Huey (Taog's Hanger chopper they gave away) All the Got Friends bush planes Even the default Caravan is pretty nice I'm sure there are others that I've never flown that are also worth mentioning. Are the above planes Black Square quality with failures and every circuit breaker modeled? No... but they are all at least Carenado quality.