VFXSimmer

The update had a lot of fixes to various aircraft systems (I hit "V" before updating which showed the list of changes). I'm at work and cant do it now, but I'm sure someone here could point to the changelog. Sorry I cant elaborate further because I was in a rush and didnt stop to read it in detail.

I have a full AIG install along with FSTL and FS Traffic. I DO get Hawaiian 717s .. not sure which is providing that but reading the above responses leads me to believe its AIG.

I'm going to buy it! FYI, if any of you happen to have some spare time in Atlanta, GA .. specifically at KATL .. there is a Delta Airlines museum on the property, and in that museum is a retired, but fully functional full motion Level D simulator of a 737-200. It was an actual simulator used for pilot training back in the day, now its part of the museum. A as member of the public, you can rent it for an hour, get a little training, and see how well your MSFS sim time prepares you for something closer to reality. I did it.. and well.. the passengers wouldn't have been happy ... but I did manage to land us in one piece. After that experience I'd happily buy Blackbird's offering to relive the experience and practice a bit more with the older instrumentation to possibly do better if I find myself with another opportunity at the full motion sim. BTW, the museum itself is really great - you get to wander around up close and personal with a DC-8, 767, 747, and several other older planes.

The amount of polygons needed for a typical airport terminal interior pales in comparison to the amount needed for the exteriors, clutter on the apron, AI aircraft, etc, and is an even smaller fraction of the amount needed for photogrammetry. If your machine can handle a typical PG city, terminal interiors are not the problem.

In answer to the OP… me

Omg - been away from Avsim for a week and this drops! I am gobsmacked. The activities look amazing enough but I would plunk down more money just for the the rotorwash amimation of grass and trees - something very important to a helicopter pilot and something I’d asked for on Zendesk in the past. I will have to break the bad news to the family and friends that I’m going to be unavailable starting in 2024 😉

I'm a fan of PG. For me, however, the best option is a combo of things like Samscene 3D and PG. The great thing about the photogrammetry is that you get recognizable representations of every building, not just the iconic ones. For cities that I know I've clearly recognized places I've been by features like signage on the side of the buildings (for example). I assume I must be lucky enough to have an internet connection that's fast enough that I havent had to endure an excessive amount of the melted look issue that plagues others. So I'm sure that's affecting my opinion, but with the combo approach I feel like I get the best of both worlds in that hero buildings are rendered in crisp detail that you can fly right up to, but I can still recognize everything else that is "off the beaten path" and get that deja vu feeling that this sim is so good at delivering. If you're just 100' away from the PG buildings, to me they lose the wonkiness that you get up close and do the job of recreating the real buildings they represent. The nice thing is that PG is a selectable option, so everyone can choose what works best for them.

It’s taxing but still works on a 13900k/4090 even in VR for me (with motion smoothing). One thing to double check is to make sure you’ve disabled Asobo’s LAX because otherwise it still gets processed even though it’s covered up by iniBuild’s replacement.

But that’s really all humans beings do too. New knowledge is not synthesized out of the ether. It’s nothing but an original recombination or extrapolation of existing information. Humans screw up a lot of things too until they learn to correct them over time which is exactly how the tech behind these new search engines work. Its also important to distinguish “intelligence” from “consciousness”. A system can be intelligent by providing ‘correct’, ‘productive’ (choose your superlative) answers to questions even if it can’t internally reflect on them. And these systems don’t have to be “perfect” to gain traction in our society. They merely have to be better on average than their human competition and you will see society switch to their “expertise”. The fact that we aren’t there today does not mean this won’t happen in the not too distant future. These neural nets keep learning and improving at a frightening pace and their database of knowledge to draw from is literally larger than the Library of Congress.

Thanks Doering, it really was. I’m here in Atlanta for a few more months and am considering giving it one more go before I leave. The Delta pilot said he would set me up with an engine out.. as if it wasn’t hard enough 😉 And absolutely a 2 person job!

Funny timing this thread… 20 years of flight simming here, I just happen to be working in Atlanta for a few months. It just so happens that Delta has a great museum at KATL and they have a level D 737-200 sim that they allow the public to rent out for an hour ($475). Once in a lifetime chance I booked myself a spot. A retired Delta pilot who flew that plane for real was my guide and copilot for the session. I told him my story, that I had simmed a lot but my only experience as an actual pilot was 2 discovery flights in a Cessna. I’m guessing to “see what he was dealing with” he set me up on a short flight from KATL to Birmingham. Weather was set to clear on takeoff but full thunderstorm with a 15 knot crosswind at the destination. It was pretty amazing how familiar it felt to start the engines and taxi. The tiller was a bit more sensitive and you could really feel the whole thing sway if you pushed too hard or braked too suddenly (my passengers would not have been happy). But through taxi and takeoff I felt really good and it went well… Then came the weather… This was an old aircraft - no glass cockpit and we weren’t flying with autopilot. The Delta Captain said he actually hand flew a lot in his day .. or maybe that was just to test me (then again, what’s the point of just letting the sim do it all when you paid $475 😉 ). It took 100% of my effort just to keep the plane following the flight director. I also didn’t know how to read the localizer indicator on that older instrument which all ended up With me way off the runway when I came out of the clouds. Missed approach fail. We tried again at 6 miles out.. this time I had no excuse … and no Bueno. The feel of the thing is totally different then a desktop sim when the weather is brought to bear. After this however, the Captain took pity on me and returned us to clear skies. I did three approaches, straight into KATL 8R, Then KDCA Potomac North approach, and finally the Expressway approach to KLGA 31… and i managed to land all of em. 2 landings were a bit harder than my passengers would have Iiked (flaring feels different than i expected) but i was told It was well within normal landing tolerance. My takeaway is that under clear conditions, an experienced summer could possibly do it. You will have no problem with the switches and controls - so if you have a glass cockpit and use autopilot to minimums you’ld have a better shot. But you will be totally unprepared for the feel … so those last 200’ are going to be a prayer. The other thing is that it is definitely a 2 person job. In my inexperienced ‘heart in the throat’ feeling it was all I could do just to fly it. Just looking up to turn the course dial could get me off the flight path. You would need another summer who you could delegate at the very least. All that said, that was an absolutely incredible experience and gave me a whole new perspective for my next pc sim session!

As was mine. We are on the same farsical page my good sir 😉

Oh I don’t know, then we’ld spend all our time talking about why everyone’s taste in settings other than mine is wrong…. (tongue firmly in cheek..)

I think it should be assumed that if you upload something to the gateway you relinquish the rights for it to be taken down. It’s more like a donation so it’s not really “yours” anymore. A little different than submitting a freeware mod on a website imho

What I usually do is shut off copilot assisted communcations before I start a flight. I initiate and handle the clearance request, start of taxi, and arrival at the active runway. And then right after i acknowledge takeoff clearance I switch the copilot radios back on so he/she can handle the rest of the flight. I do this to avoid the same issue you’re experiencing in fact. I would absolutely welcome a more elegant solution from Asobo, but this workaround is easy enough for me to get by for now.