Matt Sdeel

Wow, the 5080 unit now cost U$2000 MORE than when I bought it last November (Black Friday sale in Newegg). Incredible. I build my own over the decades but this time I just didn't feel like building them anymore. Feeling lucky and glad that I bought when I did last November and saving almost U$2000. Hmmmm, can't seem to post pictures now with the new forum software.

...I'd be more realistic. I'd limit myself to just 6 study level planes and REALLY study the heck out of them and not buy a dozen other "study" level ones that I did, or buy sceneries I never use or buy HOTAS that just complicate life. For MSFS: ...I'd still buy the Premium Deluxe store edition... and only these planes: 1. PMDG 737-800 2. Black Square Piston Duke 3. A2A Commanche 250 (wait for a study level biz jet which can do London and New York, with Garmin glass, reversers and speed brakes). DCS: 4. A-10c II 5. AH-64D Same story with sceneries. Just limit myself to a few airports instead. For MSFS 2024 Scenery: 1. San Francisco airport and a scenery 2. Washington DC airport and a scenery 3. New York airport and a scenery 4. London airport and a scenery 5. Paris airport and a scenery For DCS Scenery: 1. Persian Gulf map For Hardware: 1. Pre-built desktop with 9800x3D, 64 GB backup, 4 TB NVMe, and an RTX 5080 2.VKB Gladiator Evo and a SEM module 3. Red Dragon programmable keyboard 4. Edifier G1500 MAX 2.1 gaming speakers 5. Gaming mouse with 10 keys 6. Quest VR or Tobii (I'd probably get both)

I don't understand why a dev would waste time developing freeware and make it difficult to access and download for free.

Probably why the son died young from alcoholism.

@JimmiG Like this? Hat on the right side...

Can't imagine what it must be like in real life. Imagine doing the same thing 600 times for 2 years. There's got to be more to flying than repeating the same thing over and over again. Interesting note about what Fred Trump Sr. (father of Donald) said to one of his sons Fred Jr. (Donald's older brother) becoming an airline pilot “An airline pilot is nothing more than a high‑class bus driver.”

“A computer can never be held accountable, therefore a computer must never make a management decision.” AI decision-making: Where do businesses draw the line? | IBM

Nice pictures and explanation. Thank you.

Thanks for the pictures. That's my experience too. PAPI lights have low visibility in MSFS. RW pilots and simmers can disagree with each other until they are blue in the face about the luminosity of PAPI lights but in the end a picture is worth a thousand words. Wishing someone would also post pictures of PAPI lights showing PAPI lights which are too bright from 5-10 miles away from the threshold on a default airport. It would be great if MSFS provided a direct setting to tweak PAPI light intensity, rather than forcing simmers to jump through a series of workarounds (see below). All I want is to practice Fokker F27 landings with PAPI lights that are bright enough to be helpful. ----- AI: You’re running into one of the most common visibility issues in MSFS 2024 right now: PAPI/VASI lights are noticeably dimmer and don’t “bloom” at distance the way they did in MSFS 2020. There’s no single slider that fixes it, but there are several ways to make PAPIs significantly brighter and visible from farther out. Below is the complete set of methods — from in‑sim settings to config edits — arranged from easiest to most effective. ⭐ 1. Increase PAPI visibility using in‑sim settings (most reliable) A. Turn OFF HDR (if you’re not using a true HDR monitor) HDR in MSFS 2024 reduces the perceived brightness of small light sources. Options → Graphics → HDR10 → OFF This alone makes PAPIs pop more at distance. B. Increase “Lens Correction” and “Light Bloom” These don’t change the actual light intensity, but they make PAPIs appear larger and more visible. Options → Graphics → Post‑Processing Lens Correction: ON Bloom: ON Light Shafts: ON Bloom especially helps PAPIs stand out from the runway environment. C. Raise “Terrain LOD” and “Objects LOD” At low LOD, MSFS reduces light draw distance. Terrain LOD: 150–200 Objects LOD: 150–200 This increases the distance at which PAPIs are rendered at full brightness. ⭐ 2. Fix PAPI brightness using the aircraft’s camera exposure settings MSFS 2024 uses a new auto‑exposure system that darkens bright objects when the cockpit is visible. Try this: Switch to External View → PAPIs appear brighter Switch back to Cockpit View → PAPIs dim again If this happens, adjust: Options → Camera → Cockpit Camera → Exposure Compensation Set to +0.3 to +0.7 This makes PAPIs noticeably easier to see on approach. ⭐ 3. Developer Mode tweak (safe and reversible) If you want a stronger effect: A. Enable Developer Mode Options → General → Developers → Developer Mode ON B. Open the Lighting Debugger Dev Menu → Options → Lighting Increase: Emissive Intensity Point Light Brightness This affects all lights globally, including PAPIs. You can save the settings as a preset and turn Dev Mode off afterward. ⭐ 4. Community mod fix (most effective) Several modders have already released “Brighter PAPI/VASI Lights” packages for MSFS 2024. These typically: Increase PAPI emissive intensity Increase draw distance Increase bloom radius Fix the “washed‑out at distance” issue If you want, I can find the best‑maintained one and check compatibility with your setup. ⭐ 5. Manual config edit (advanced but powerful) You can manually increase light intensity in the sim’s lighting configuration files. File location (MS Store / Xbox App install): Code %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\ Look for: Code LightingSettings.json Increasing values like: RunwayLightIntensity PapiLightIntensity LightBloomScale …will make PAPIs much more visible. If you want, I can walk you through the exact values to change. ⭐ 6. The “real pilot” trick — use approach angle to force earlier visibility MSFS 2024’s PAPIs are most visible when: You’re slightly above the glidepath You’re looking down toward the lights instead of across them Try: Flying ½ dot high until 3–4 NM Then re‑capturing the glidepath This forces the PAPIs to render at a brighter state earlier. ✅ Best combination for most users If you want the simplest, most effective fix: HDR OFF Bloom ON Exposure Compensation +0.5 LOD 150–200 (Optional) Install a Brighter PAPI mod This gives the biggest improvement without touching config files.

Other AI. I once had a chain restaurant client whose cash registers were connected to its food supplier. The cash register was used for many things (eg. tracked time sheets) including tracking inventory and automatically ordering supplies based on sales volume.

I just read an article about physical AI and I'm wondering how that will affect pilots. Why is Jeff Bezos raising $100 billion to bring AI to factories? Here's what to know "... for example, could simulate how air flows around airplane wings, or predict where a metal part might crack under pressure, the the Journal reported. Without flying an actual plane, companies can use AI to generate scenarios to pressure test the wings so a plane can be brought to market faster. Chatbots such as ChatGPT are large language models that were trained on vast quantities of text, images and videos from the internet. They identified patterns in online information and learned to mimic how people string words, music and pixels together. They are good at creating images, text and code, and even solving complex math. Most of those AI capabilities exist in the digital world, and many companies are trying to find more ways to bring AI into physical workspaces, whether it is washing dishes, delivering packages or building products. Project Prometheus intends to build AI that simulates and understands the physical world...." Physical AI refers to AI + robotics + sensors + real‑world physics working together so machines can: Handle objects Navigate real environments Perform manufacturing tasks Inspect infrastructure Assist in hospitals or homes Work alongside humans safely It’s AI that doesn’t just think — it acts.

See link below: Thanks for this. I'll try it out. --- I asked AI also and it replied below but I'm not sure if these are just AI --to borrow an AI term-- "hallucinations": 🛫 Why MSFS PAPIs look dimmer than P3D 1. Different lighting engines P3D uses legacy FSX‑style light sprites with aggressive bloom. Result: PAPIs appear bright, large, and visible from miles away even in daylight. MSFS uses a physically‑based lighting engine with: Tighter beam geometry Realistic photometric intensity Less bloom and less “glow” outside the intended viewing cone This makes PAPIs look correct from the right angle but much dimmer when off‑axis or far away. 2. MSFS narrows the “usable cone” Real PAPIs are designed to be visible only within a specific vertical and horizontal window. MSFS simulates this more strictly than P3D. So: Slightly high? They fade. Slightly low? They fade. Farther than ~3–5 NM? They fade. P3D, by contrast, shows them like giant red/white headlights from 10+ NM.

They were brighter and easier to view and worked ok for me in other sims but not in MSFS 2024. I'm told they are now not as bright but more realistic in MSFS 2024, but I'd like them to be less realistic and brighter while I practice how to properly land a plane. Is there an app or mod available for PAPI lights? Are PAPI/VASI lights adjustable in MSFS 2024? Mine seem too dim.

Thank you for this tip.

I followed the link and read the product description. There's no info if I can assign and use modifier keys like what can be done in MSFS and DCS. By modifier key I mean the ability to use a joystick button for more than one event or action if used with another key. Is the manual available as a download prior to a purchase?