FlightSpinner

....Windows 11 https://www.avsim.com/forums/forum/863-microsoft-flight-simulator-2020/

I personally haven't installed W11, and probably wont until W10 support expires in 2025 or later. There's a busy and informative thread on W11 here ........

Interesting story thanks. Here's another aviation story concerning the 7 year old 'pilot' Jessica Dubroff. The following article -published a few months ago - recalls the tragic and preventable events of Jessica's final flight, and analyses what went wrong....... 'There's no such thing as a 'child pilot': -The tragedy of Jessica Dubroff "...The four-seat Cessna never made it above 200 feet, tumbling through a freezing Wyoming thunderstorm into a residential street, leaving all aboard dead, including its 7-year-old pilot. “Dubroff’s story began last week as a sweet kind of human-interest tale,” the papers wrote after the crash on April 11, 1996, “a tiny 7-year-old with oversized ambitions trying to set a world record as the youngest person to fly across the country.....[etc]” https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/jessica-dubroff-child-pilot-bay-area-history-16113058.php

Nice summary, Dillon. Being new to Avsim I naively posted a question -over on the main forum- regarding the future of Xplane now that MSFS is on the scene. I wasn't prepared for the negative reaction and amateur dramatics from some commentators. Obviously I touched a nerve relating to previous debates on the subject (maybe there should be a warning notice about which 'touchy' subjects are banned ;-) But anyway, I did receive a couple of helpful and courteous replies that were in keeping with your post above. Basically that competition is healthy, and we wish Laminer and MS all the best.

Thank you S.D. for a straight answer to my question. I agree with you. I also feel Laminer made up good ground with XP11 during the time MS supposedly ended flight sim production My main reason for asking the question in the first place though, was I wondered if Xplane could to somehow match MSFS on the sat data front?

Sorry, I had a word hiccup. I meant to write:... I'm not a word not allowed of MSFS, but rather I'm a fan of both sims, and I'm posing the simple question. ...... ...Is MSFS a threat to Xplane?

Thanks for clearing that up. Surely not. Its called debating. I don't see any hostility in my post. I'm not a word not allowed from one camp but rather a fan of both sims posing a simple question.

First of all I should point out that I've been using Xplane on and off for over 10 years as well as MSFSims. Secondly, I've noticed some hostility recently in some sectors of the Xplane forum community to any mention of MSFS. Granted there are many Xplaners' like myself who also use and admire MSFS. But there appears to be a core of members who sound hostile and defensive towards MSFS and dismiss it as "not a flight sim at all, but an eye candy game". While Xplane, they claim, is a "real flight sim authorized by the FAA". I looked into this last claim and discovered that a) its not true unless you spend many thousands on control hardware etc, and b) Rooting around the web I see that good old FSX (P3D version) appears to be the most popular and widely used FAA certified software in use for civilian, civil and military flight training around the world. Up until now, there's always been quite a friendly MS vs Xplane debate between the two communities over the past 25 years or so. But I feel something has changed lately. Do some sectors of the Xplane community feel MSFS is a threat to the future of their Xplane, I wonder?

I take it that's in the USA. Europe has a similar problem , compounded by the Covid issue. And here in the UK, the government in their infinite wisdom decided a year or so ago not to let delivery drivers from European countries work in the UK, which of course resulted in even less delivery drivers, and has helped create the current fuel ('gas') shortages etc. Now the UK government is desperately trying to recruit these European delivery drivers again, but on short term contracts, with little success. https://youtu.be/ukK58vyq1UI?t=177

> Placebo < How true! Plus fresh installs of any Windows version always boot and run faster..at first! But hey, Windows-11 is a new shiny toy, and its free, so I wanna be the first kid on the block to have it. ;--)

After reading your story, and after watching events depicted in the '5700' movie, I've come to the conclusion that rolls of duct tape should be mandatory on all aircraft.

That sounds almost as complex as the Uk's 'mini roundabout' system, where more often that not, drivers don't have much of a clue as to who has the right of way, especially if two mini roundabouts are linked together, as in this video

Imagine this bizarre scene from a few years ago: Me with no pilots licence, yet I'm sitting next to a highly experienced professional helicopter pilot and giving him instructions on how to fly a heli. So he takes off OK but pulls too far back on the stick, his tail dips low and he starts moving backwards. So he puts the heli down and I take control and show him how to hover, climb then move forward. All in a days work guys! So what happened? You may have guessed it by now. I'd just installed fsx for him, as he was interested in virtual flying. We got a flight scenario going with the Bell heli at meigs, and using my saitek flight stick that I'd just sold to him, he attempted his first virtual flight with shaky results. I think we were both slightly bemused at the surreal situation -with me hollering 'stick forward', more throttle, etc. In the end he did go on to master the rather clunky Saitek stick and fsx. I should have said to him at the time: "Not bad but dont give up your day job'. ;--)

Wine emulation! Heaven help us! ;-) There is always progress being made on the translation layers like Valve’s Proton software and Wine but the unfortunate fact of the matter is that running DirectX games using one of those translation layers is still a total dumpster fire compared to native Windows environments. https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/would-asobo-considers-getting-msfs-2020-compatible-with-linux/425370/20

70mph for the motorways (highways) and for dual carriageways. For straight open country roads its 60mph; then 40mph, 30mph and 20mph depending on the location of towns, hospitals and schools etc. These speeds vary though for large trucks and buses etc Interesting fact: "Speed limits were first introduced in the UK in 1861 as part of the Locomotives on Highways Act, and limited vehicles to 10mph". https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/legal/speed-limits/

That's basically France, isn't it? or as good as. ;-)

Microsoft' is gradually whittling down Windows to a point where user control will be minimal yet more complex. To quote a commentator in the article below: "Oh yeah... kill the control panel... after all who doesn't like doing the same job with 14 clicks instead of 3". Microsoft Working to Sunset Windows Control Panel https://www.extremetech.com/computing/312441-microsoft-working-to-sunset-windows-control-panel

So Windows 8 and 10 are the old horses I suppose, and Windows 11 is the new motor car, a great leap forward in terms of speed, freedom and user control. Except in reality Windows 11 is just Windows 10 with some glitzy shell modifications, and a downgrade of numerous functions found in previous versions. Its like cutting the tail and ears of a horse, then putting a fancy 'go faster' coat on him and calling it progress.

Yup. All those things. I live 30 minutes outside of Liverpool (UK) in a fairly sane new town, with green fields around and no traffic lights anywhere. But even here it can get crazy. The main thing I've noticed is that the lack of patience has been on the increase for around 20 years; even so called 'professional' drivers, such as police, ambulance and taxi drivers are at it. ...Firstly there's little or no use of car indicators at junctions. Then there's the pulling out almost in front of you as you go past junctions, or when you're on roundabouts. It's a free for all out there. And the sad thing is: I do it too (except I always indicate;-). But it seems different from my perceptive, as if I'm more in control than everyone else and have more time. So my guess is: its a sort of national madness that's gripped the country. Every man for themselves. My last road rage incident (and almost my last day;-) A couple of years back I was driving home on a country road when this people-carrier car overtook me on a corner. He was driving at a crazy speed and soon vanished over the horizon. A few miles down the road I came up behind him -and a very slow moving truck that was in front of him. Seeing the road was clear in front, I overtook them both. But speedy Gonzalez didn't take kindly to being overtaken by my little Peugeot 1.4, and he blasted his horn in protest, to which I responded by rolling my window down and giving him a farewell wave. Big mistake on my part, as he quickly overtook me and slammed his brakes on, stopping me in my tracks. I did a quick U-turn and was soon doing 70mph in the opposite direction from this absolute enraged madman, with him close on my tail. ...We both approached a large roundabout at 70mph, with me anxious to get away from the maniac. There was no escaping though, since he kept me in check all the way, staying by my side, and blocking any escape routes at every junction we passed. After 10 minutes of this adrenaline rush madness, I realised I couldn't outrun him, and so I quickly put a plan into action. Basically I just stopped in the middle of the busy road and put my hazard warning lights on and locked the doors; and more and more cars stopped behind me, and the people in cars at other junctions started to look over at the tailback building up. So Speedy Gonzalez sees his golden opportunity and stops in front of me, jumps out his car, flexes his shoulder muscles in a ludicrous fashion, then proceeds to walk 'macho-like' to my car to give me a well deserved thumping. Except he didn't and couldn't. The fact that a line of cars with curious 'witness' onlookers was watching him, plus his sudden realization that the person in the little Peugeot 1.4 car wasn't a 20 year old nutcase, but rather a 58 year old (nutcase;-), soon had Speedy driving off in frustration, but not before slamming my side-window very hard with his open palm as a token farewell gesture. Moral of the story: Don't acknowledge angry road ragers; and especially don't wave, be it a hand or a finger ;-) Footnote: In an odd sort of way I enjoyed the whole thing. It was like being thrown into a very real Grand Theft Auto video game, and fighting for your life.

Keep in mind that Windows 11 isn't an upgrade, but rather a downgrade from Windows 10. As numerous tech sites have mentioned, Microsoft is taking back more control from the user with every update and version of Windows (e.g. less and less options on the Control Panel etc in W11), and their plan is to shift everything onto the Cloud in due course with minimum input from the user. So by using Windows 11 now, while Windows 10 continues to be available until 2025, you're actually helping to speed up the demise of Windows as we know it. 'Windows 11 - Lost Features' -Reddit

Stop getting Bond wrong!!! Classic "Alan Partridge" BBC comedy sketch_____ https://youtu.be/TC8dWWImNzU

Finally, here are a few non-aviation films I've seen recently and enjoyed:- 1) The Boat (2018) RT review: "The Boat is a beautifully shot, well performed, and sharply edited thriller. It sails into uncharted territory and proves to be one of the year's best surprises. Hold fast!" https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_boat_2018 2) Ray (2004) Timeless, a brilliant biography of Ray Charles and his many challenges and triumphs. 3) Vivarium (2020) Probably one of the oddest and most mysterious films Ive ever seen, with great acting by Jesse Eisenberg. (Might appeal to fans of David Lynch style films) https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/vivarium

Thanks again for recommending the '7500” movie. I finished watching it this afternoon, and I have to say it came as a bit of a shock to read later on the web that the co-pilot is actually an actor and not a professional airline pilot. Of course I knew this already, but the film is so convincing that it draws you in and overrides reality in a way. Some thoughts: Spoiler alert Ah, so that's why the man loaded up with duty free wine bottles before boarding the plane. Also, I'm think this film might make the authorities look again at the security of the flight-deck door. Current strategy: " In the air, procedures vary from airline to airline and from region to region, but the principle that only those with legitimate need must be permitted flight deck access must be paramount. Beyond the pilots at the controls, this will include relief, check and training pilots. Exceptionally, such flight deck occupancy may exceptionally be extended to include other specifically-authorised employees of the operator - pilots, cabin crew and maintenance personnel. Flight Operations Inspectors carrying out observations on behalf of the State Regulatory Body may also be permitted access at the discretion of the aircraft commander subject to valid identification being presented prior to entry approval." https://www.skybrary.aero/index.php/Flight_Deck_Security

Thanks. I hadn't realised MS had started that far back. It's just as well Nexgen sim didn't make it to final production around 2020. Perfect timing to be blown out the water by MSFS. I'm not sure Nexgen even aimed for the sat data route. I think they just fished around for any sort of tools and quick fix solutions that would save them production time, hence the attempt to hook up with companies such as Diamond Visionics, with those cheesy 1990s style graphics. I'd never heard of TileProxy until you and previous posters here mentioned it. So thanks for clearing up my doubts as to the origin of MSFS. Can't say I ever wanted Nexgen to take the credit for such a great sim anyway ;--)

Edit: Oops. I hit the enter key I posted before I was ready, and I still don't have access to edit my posts. But here's the Avsim forum post I was referring to from my post above