Any Flight Simulator afficionados out there?

[Gerby]

I am waiting for VR integration before upgrading to 2020 version this will give me a chance to get a 2080ti and install it and a bigger SSD (from what I gather you will need at least 150GB spare on SSD just to smooth out the map loading)

 

[Spriddler]

Back in the late 70's I used to configure and supply intelligent digitised speech systems to Redifon at Crawley for their flight simulators and occasionally sat in the driving seats. An instructor told me that it was so realistic (even in those days) that pilots under stress used to break out into a cold sweat.
As an aside, one of their associate engineers working on something to do with 'intelligent' VTOL jet engine management produced a limited number of amusing car stickers which were highly sought after:
'Happiness is Vectored Thrust'

 

[Just smiffy]

I’ll look out for you on “Flight Radar”...

 

[TheBig1]

A camping friend of ours who has long since passed away was really into flight sims. Having played with M$ flight sim myself, I assumed his set up was similar...wrong!

I was invited into his man cave to see it and it was superb. he had bought parts and recreated an illuminating cockpit dash. He had a special chair, the correct pedals and recreated flight yoke. The screens were early big flat screens that alone cost thousands. The CPU was overclocked with loads of memory for the time, but it still ran slowly.
He would get in from work, start the system to boot up, shower, eat his tea then sit down to fly into the early hours. He flew routes as flown by commercial pilots and could land at some of the most shocking airports in the world

No idea what his widow did with it all when he died, as within a few months she moved to Spain to retire in the sun

 

[nicholsong]

Well out of date, try £180 plus on a PA28

I feel sorry for you guys learning or chartering now.

I was a very, very lucky lad; I got sponsored by British United for a CPL and I/R at Perth. It cost me £50, which was how much of the £1,000 I had been due to pay back, before a lot of us were made redundanr - got my job back a year later. As Second Officers we only earned £1,390p.a. but the licence was invaluable.

All very different for young lads wanting to train now - cost of licence £100,000+, then try to get a job and hope to keep it. Not all roses.

Geoff

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[nicholsong]

Back in the late 70's I used to configure and supply intelligent digitised speech systems to Redifon at Crawley for their flight simulators and occasionally sat in the driving seats. An instructor told me that it was so realistic (even in those days) that pilots under stress used to break out into a cold sweat.
As an aside, one of their associate engineers working on something to do with 'intelligent' VTOL jet engine management produced a limited number of amusing car stickers which were highly sought after:
'Happiness is Vectored Thrust'

When we changed training crews in the simulator it was always a joke to check the seats for damp(from other fluids)

It could be stressful because the Training Captains would throw multiple misfunctions at one time, which were unlikely to occur in the air. Try Leading Edge Flap failure with partial electrical malfunction - also keeps the non-handling pilot busy with the check lists and re-calculations.

Are there any computer simulators that can build-in system malfunctions?

Geoff

 

[ivorantony]

In answer to your last question, yes
Elite flight sim as used by a lot of flying schools could progressively increase weather ( wind speed/ direction) and decrease vis and knock out your vacuum driven instruments randomly if set up before
A flight,
It was a very good program in its day,

 

[Spriddler]

Try Leading Edge Flap failure with partial electrical malfunction -

No thanks, I've only just learned to cope with the Thetford 'Full' warning.

 

[TinaLes]

I suppose most of you guys have heard of "PC Specialist" which I have used in the past and been happy with before laptops took over my mobile life.
Anyhow, last night I sat and configured a new PC everything from choosing the case, to overclocked chipsets. 32 GB Ram, and the Nvidia RTX 2080 graphics card, 2+1 TB SSD drives, 650 watt power supply, extra cooling fans, and I even specified Gold standard Heatsink paste etc, etc.
Its always fun, designing something to be as future proof as you can, and using this sort of supplier is also fun as they tell you if any of your choices are incompatible or over specked.
My new "wish List" system came with a 2.4 K price tag, without choosing monitors, but did include a 3 year parts & labour warranty, and few other peripherals.
Having said that, my first desktop from PC specialists for business use, was built by them around 2007
and it cost £1250 in those days, so in retrospect the all singing new twin SSD drive, with 32GB Ram & I7 processors isn't that much of the shock in terms of cost that it once would have been.
One day if I have the time & dosh I will have a look at the 2020 FS, but I am scared to at present, as I might get hooked!
Thanks for posting all your interesting experiences both in real time flying & on the FS
PS: My Cousin William Barbour is head FS instructor at Virgin Atlantic London, he holds so many licences for so many planes its like a shopping list!
Quite well paid also, as he now has a flat for weekdays in Chelsea, and his main home in oxford, but he has worked hard starting as an RAF flight engineer, then instructor, before taking early retirement to work in the commercial world.
LES

 

[TerryL]

Are there any computer simulators that can build-in system malfunctions?

Geoff

MSFS has a whole section on failures you can set up to be planned or random - I haven't explored them as yet, I can't even manage to land a C172. Gave it a try last night and ended upside down at Carlisle Airport - yes it even simulates quite realistic crashes!

But just picked up the new computer so probably won't see me on here for the next 24 hours while I get it set up - I'll be transferring some of the goodies off the old machine to upgrade it further.

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[Spriddler]

Gave it a try last night and ended upside down at Carlisle Airport - yes it even simulates quite realistic crashes!

But just picked up the new computer so ....... I'll be transferring some of the goodies off the old machine to upgrade it further.

Hopefully that won't crash as well.

 

[TerryL]

Just came across this old post and, although it has little to do with motor-homing, thought maybe some of you would like an update on what has transpired since. Of course B----t and Covid have come in between which has changed many of our lives, some drastically.

To take up where I left off, the new "gaming" desktop was a moderate success after upgrading it with some of the "old" bits. Having plenty of time on hand (and much to her disgust!) I spent too much of it gradually finding things out, tweaking here and there and downloading hundreds of add-on scenery and airport files in an effort to make it even more realistic. Wasn't long before I "needed" a new monitor, limited by how much room I "was allowed" to have but I managed to use the old as a very useful second monitor and off I went, finally mastering the basics and re-learning most of the old skills. But I will admit here and now that it doesn't really compare to the "real thing". However, as I love travel I've been able to visit places I will never get the chance to in the future as well as revisit trips we've done in the m/h, which has shown just how realistic MSFS has become. Okay, the detail is not good enough to identify the spices in the souk at Marrakesh but nevertheless, thanks to Bing maps, is quite remarkable. I've now progressed to be able to take a plane load of happy holidaymakers to Bermuda, using a fully accurate replica aircraft and all the required procedures. I can even now organise and watch the aircraft being refuelled, baggage and catering loaded and then the passengers walk out and up the steps! I've also managed to learn new skills I never had the chance to try out "in real life" and that makes it all the more interesting and addictive. Just a quick note that many of these extras are from third-party developers who show amazing skills in their creation, many of them for free or at least very reasonable.

Then just as we were allowed to start getting out and about again I suffered a quite serious medical episode, which curtailed our m/h activities for a while - thankfully It didn't affect my "flying"!

So where are we now? Well, inevitably, I found my "rig" was slowly getting behind all the improvements and upgrades (we're up to v10 now of the simulator) so a few weeks ago I took the plunge and spent some - well most - of the savings made through no motor-homing on a serious gaming machine, not top spec but more than powerful enough for me. It would have been easy to let it take over my life but I'm blessed with a "supervisor" who insists that there are other things in life. There are a couple of very active forums, the best probably being the Microsoft official one, https://forums.flightsimulator.com/ , which again I spend far too much time perusing, much like MHF, rather than "doing".

I haven't yet explored the "multiplayer" options, where groups of enthusiasts fly together, so if there are any other MSFS addicts out there maybe we can organise a "meet" sometime. But for now I'm being reminded I've got other chores to do before I collect the Citation bizjet and take three passengers from Atlanta (GA) to Columbia (SC) for the last leg of our round the US State capitals tour before returning home to Newcastle (UK) via Bermuda and the Azores ...............................

 

[nicholsong]

TerryL

Do these 'simulators' replicate emergencies like hydraulic system failure or flap failure and do they reflect the aircraft performance if, for example, flap is not selected?

 

[TerryL]

TBH I've not really delved into the failures menus but they appear to be quite comprehensive, varying of course from aircraft to aircraft.
And yes the flight modelling does take into account airframe configuration. I can only speak personally, of course, about GA aircraft and how the sim reflects their performance but it looks right to me.Tubeliners, well you'd have to ask a "real" pilot but from what I've read they are faithful to the original as far as the programme allows. There are a couple of extremely good add-on aircraft which are advertised as "study level".

There are still some "bugs" that MS/Asobo are trying to sort out though. ATC is, well frankly, less than good but it's workable if you aren't too picky. There is also an ongoing problem with ATC selecting wrong runways for landing/takeoff although there are a couple of workarounds that work for some people - or you can just ignore ATC altogether of course...................!