Howellerman

Long ago I was at a briefing in West Virginia with multiple server vendors meeting with multiple Federal agencies. The guy from Social Security summed up the trip perfectly: "You could give is the hardware for free and it would still cost us a ton of money".

Been riding for 58 years, starting on a Honda 50 and similar and moving up the power chain as I grew up. Have owned a dozen bikes over the years, Honda, Kawasaki, Ducati, Indian, and now a heavily modified Triumph Bonneville T120. Always just one at a time, if only because I never had the room for a "collection". Several years ago I thought I should "slow down" and purchased the Indian Scout, which is a feet-forward, high-bars, stripped-down cruiser. After modifying the suspension front and rear I realized I was trying to make it faster and more capable, so sold it and got a Ducati Monster SS 1100. Sold that to get the Triumph, which I have turned into a "Gentleman's Express". It is firm, controlled, and only slightly noisy, and has enough torque to make things fun on the twisty roads here in the Bay Area, The Isle of Nine (Highway 9) being my favorite, closed now due to mudslides. When the kids came along I asked the Wif-unit if she wanted me to stop riding. She thought about it for a sec and said "Nope, I don't think you would be happy without a motorcycle. They are part of you." She has been a part of me for 35 years!

Regarding flight planning software, I have used Plan-G for years as it can create flight plans for almost all the simulators and hardware options i.e., GTN devices. Tim is also very receptive to feedback and suggestions. What the ultimate solution that worked in all cases is reloading the flight plan in P3D after the flight has been launched. I have to say P3DV5.4 is really kind of frustrating. It broke the flight planning "default" operation, and apparently some of the XML processing that is used my the MilViz aircraft. I am holding onto hope for Orbx to "port" to V6: since I own almost the entire Orbx catalogue the formal support is required before I jump.

I can't say at this point. I have been fighting with V5.4 with different issues, and updating the mesh is on the back burner.

I highly recommend it. I had the previous version, and it was transformative for flying over out-of-the-way places. For example, a lot of the coastline of Mexico is default flat and featureless. With Pilot's mesh there are little mounds and even hills, and with terrain shadows enabled during the "golden hour" it is stunning.

Great news! I have all my V5 Orbx products installed in external libraries. It may be just a case where I could point the V6 Orbx Central to those same libraries to get the existing products installed, with new V6-specific products handled on a case by case basis.

Just a quick update to those that responded (thanks!). Mind-wiping P3DV5.4 and reloading all segments has done the trick. I think 5.4 is likely going to be my last stop on the Prepar3D train so I am taking my time and reloading/re-installing and verifying every feature/add-on each step of the way. I want the finished product to be stable and smooth. Maybe if Chase Plane comes around on V6 I will move forward...

Greetings! I recently upgraded to 5.4, no problems. EXCEPT: Pre-loaded flight plans do not "follow the magenta line". The loaded aircraft does not respond to the GPS assignment. For example, I tried tonight to fly from KTTD (Portland Troutdale) to KORS (Orcas Island). I input the pre-defined flight plan at startup and found that it was "visible" in both GPS 1.6 (a great freeware utility, by the way) and in the Navigation drop-down menu in P3D. However, try as I might the aircraft (I tried the Carenado Saratoga, the A2A Bonanza, and the RealAir Duke) failed to recognize and engage the GPS autopilot function. The destination on the GNS was FEGBA, which we all know is in the Degma quadrant in the Trafalmador sector, so obviously something is wrong. I have not seen anything on the forums about flight plans gone haywire. I did see that LM introduced new flight planning software, and I noticed on a prior flight a weird "loop-back" flight plan versus the normal ILS "feathers", but nothing about not following the GPS flightplan. I ran through the drop-down menus to see if anything changed but did not find anything. Any hints? Reload P3DV5.4? Wait until V6? 😁 Thanks!

I create a sub-directory under Simobjects/Airplanes called Unused Aircraft. I just move them over and they no longer appear in my list of aircraft. As Bluenarwal suggested, some default aircraft rely on definitions (typically Panel and Sound) and in that case I copy the original definitions to the Panel or Sound file of the aircraft I have decided to retain. Not the most straightforward approach, but it does allow me to clean-up things nicely.

Not having ChasePlane in MSFS is one of the key reasons I have not migrated to the platform. I own it, routinely update it, but don't enjoy using it. The reason why is that I use an Xbox controller to manipulate my camera views in P3D. It is a brilliant combination, as the Xbox controller fits under one hand, offers keys and toggles and joysticks (oh my!) and I can do ANYTHING with the ChasePlane camera views. Unfortunately, we all know how the Xbox controller is dominated by MSFS, and the conflict drives me bonkers during use.

Interesting. My flight sim posts on FacePalm have inspired two people to take up simming, and when I used to post pictures of "party flights" from San Jose to Lake Tahoe, listing who was sitting where in a Beechcraft 350, people would chime in and say "Hey, I want to go on the next one!". Never had a problem explaining it - universally, people I know thought it was cool.

I got to ride the Bullet Train once on a business trip, but rode it at night so it was a very different experience. For one, there was very little sense of speed, and the ride was very smooth. We sat all the way to the rear of the car, and I became transfixed watching the front of the car (they are quite long) warp slightly as it entered and exited the curves. We were going so fast it was hard to see what was outside the window, but I do remember the illusion that buildings were tilted because the train was at such an angle in the curve. Again, zero sense of speed, and smooooooth.

The camera work and editing is excellent. I can see why your kids were engrossed!

When I was young I was taught a life-saving technique for surviving (temperature willing) a long time in the water. If I remember correctly, you conserve energy by minimalist floating, arms out and your head down in the water. When you need to breath, raise your head, take a number of normal breaths, and resume the head-down position. No flailing, no treading.

Just finished a leisurely read through Ed Dover's original book. It is a good story, but I must say the writer from the overview at the start of this thread is a much more accomplished writer in conveying suspense, tension, and setting up a story line.

I would look into the 4080 a little closer, Ryan. I read an article on TechRadar (I believe - it was on my phone) that said Nvidia really hobbled the 4080. 192 bit memory bus versus 256, less than half the cores, making it appear equal to a 3060 or thereabouts. Not sure if they will fix it, but you may be forced to buy a Ti version again.

Really well written! Just ordered the book by Ed Dover as well.

Cataract surgery! It got so bad I had to stop motorcycle riding - I was a danger to myself because of my inability to see into the corners, and my peripheral vision was shot. Even the big E on the chart looked like Klingon! I had the left eye done first, and the contrast to the right eye caused an immediate decision to finish both eyes. I elected to remain near-sighted, as 90-percent of everything I do day-to-day (reading, computer, cooking, phone, et al) is within 1-3 feet of me. However, I did get a pair of glasses that is optimized for the computer and the perceived detail while flying is simply amazing. Highly recommended!

Fully agree. I achieved a "Grade 10" (Director) position in my company, but as an inDUHvidual contributor versus a manager. My on-the-job training provided me with knowledge, and I enjoyed the corresponding respect for that knowledge. I never had a degree, but happily let people assume I had one from Stanford. I also met a lot of people who were educated beyond their level of comprehension. However, as you suggest, I was a rare non-degree employee swimming in a pool of high-tech degrees.

Keep your Sky Force for the textures. ActiveSky works great with the REX textures.

Regarding the Verge hub-less bike, that is a LOT of unsprung weight. Hit a large enough bump at speed and your rear end will be airborne for quite some time.

I took the family to dinner last night to celebrate my #1 daughter's graduation with a Doctorate in Psychology (woo-hoo!). The restaurant was in Berkeley, California, and it is a big "college town", being host of the University of California, Berkeley. No surprise, there are a log of young-uns out and about, all very adept at using new technology. But, I have to admit, I was taken aback slightly by the restaurant and how it operates. Your table has a QR code on it which you scan for the menu. The newly download app also allows you to order your food and pay the bill, all without interaction from the restaurant employees. Indeed, they are pretty much "food delivery" workers, and I have a feeling that if robots could navigate the multiple levels of the dining courtyard that robots would have served me my Hefeweizen and artisan pepperoni pizza. I just handed my credit card to my #2 daughter and said "you drive". It was not so much due to "resisting technology" as it was I did not feel like being the focal point for everyone's ordering process. However, the future of technology and how we deal with it came into much sharper focus!

Hi Noel, By Quest Kodiak I am assuming you are referring to the LHC Kodiak? I used to have it my hanger, enjoyed it (I flew the float version), but it got lost in the "store" conflict, and I have yet to get back to it. I am right now ping-ponging between the TBM 850 and the PC-12, both Carenado offerings. I like the idea of 200 kts+ (if only to get across Africa and Asia!). I know a lot of people disparage the Carenado offerings, but they pretty much do exactly what I want them to do. The write-up from Avbuyer.com (https://www.avbuyer.com/articles/turboprops-compare/daher-tbm-850-vs-pilatus-pc-12-46565) suggests the TBM is superior, but I am still debating. Actually one of the more entertaining internal debates I have had... 🙂

This will be great to see, Noel, and I agree with you, planning is half the fun. I too am contemplating an ATW trip, but want to 1) take my family along on certain legs, ordaining at least a six-seater, and 2) generate a travelogue narration. What are the highlights of the places we visit? For example, the first leg is San Jose Norman Mineta (KSJC) to San Diego (KSAN). How can anybody not visit San Diego overnight and not have dinner in the Gas Light District, or stay at a posh hotel overlooking the harbor? Virtual money is no object!!! I am still debating the aircraft to use. I had everyone home a couple of weeks ago and asked if they would rather sit rear-facing or front-facing, and without hesitation it was front-facing. This rules out a lot of airplanes! I also had them fess-up their current weights - clearly, the pandemic has been tough on the whole family! But, in the interest of realism I needed to know. No jets are in consideration, and very likely a turboprop will be the choice. After all, PT6As are ubiquitous throughout the world, so "repairs" could be handled in Nairobi as easily as San Jose. But, like I said, I am just starting out. I use Plan-G from Tim Arnott for flight planning, and he was kind enough to tell me how to configure Plan-G on my household (non-sim) computer where I can safely access the web for the investigation of the places we visit. My sim computer is locked down, very limited external access, and has a dinky keyboard that is not suitable for touch typing. But, I think it will be fun, and could very well take up a fair number of days to plan and certainly to execute. Have fun, Noel!

LGKR, knowing your video card at a minimum would be nice. I believe a lot of the older Nvidia cards may not find any benefit from the updated drivers, as the underlying technology may not be able to support them.