Sport Pilot Talk

AviatorCrafty wrote:I noticed they had two LSAs in the release with the Flight Design CTLS and Icon A5 so I'm curious how they'll fly.

The Icon will cost an additional $200, and it will crash a lot.

MrMorden wrote: The Icon will cost an additional $200, and it will crash a lot.

And one of the lesson modules will be to fly it into a narrowing blind canyon.

Wowza! https://youtu.be/0LHEu3WWFqM

Wowza, this simulator is simply amazing! Buyer beware though, it eats current generation hardware for breakfast at 4K resolution and on Ultra settings.

https://youtu.be/AEkNQVWkgpc

https://youtu.be/wCzOBzciqt0

jetcat3 wrote:Wowza, this simulator is simply amazing! Buyer beware though, it eats current generation hardware for breakfast at 4K resolution and on Ultra settings.

You can pick up a PC specced to run 4K Ultra mode for ~$2K. Dell has some good deals.

And you'll need a pretty speedy broadband connection if you want the really nice graphics. They're only available in online mode.

What fun! If you’ve never used a flight simulator, or even if you have, check this one out. It does have some buggy issues for some, but it worked for me right away. Installation was a piece of cake, and it runs well, even on my 3-year-old PC.

Here’s a video a user made using MSFS 2020: https://youtu.be/EUa9oMNTfPk

I really want a Zlin Shock Ultra now!

I installed FS 2020 on the 18th and was very disappointed that my graphics card (GeForce GTX 1050 TI - 4 GB) was terrible - even running it in the lowest settings. I tried boosting the clock speed, but that just caused it to crash the program.

I ordered a new XFX Radeon Rx 950 Fatboy with 8GB and installed it yesterday (along with a new 650 watt power supply). Again disappointed in the quality of the graphics. When I went to use the computer today, the new card was dead (I am so done with the year 2020).

Today I ordered a RTX 2080 Super Founders Edition (8 GB) graphics card on Ebay ($922) and hope to see the beautiful scenery (like in the YouTube videos).

My computer is an aging i7 CPU with a 950 MSI board - 12 GB ram.

This is turning out to be more expensive than owing an airplane....(well almost).

There are known bugs in the initial release that will eventually get worked out, and then I'll plunk down my $$. I thank and appreciate all the first adopters (who MANY companies use in lieu of an in-house QA department) who find and submit all problems for subsequent correction. Some are reporting issues with installation which IMHO is inexcusable after all the durn Beta testing they supposedly had?

My PC 'should' allow me to fly in the middle requirements mode, not the top but not the minimum either. So I expect the graphics quality will be noticeably reduced from the FS2020 commercials which are doubtless made using the highest level of PC they could round up?

Had no issues with bugs. Installation was straightforward, although it did take 6 hours to download.

Did the first leg of the Bush Challenge in the Sierra Nevadas. What fun! I didn’t realize just how bad my pilotage skills had become... decades of reliance on INS and GPS! It’s incredibly immersive and realistic, especially in 4K on a 58” TV.

My impressions so far:

Game visuals are pretty amazing for the most part. I can actually recognize a lot of landmarks where i normally fly - just don't get too close to the ground since it is mostly 2d mapping for "generic" areas ( similar to Bings Map 3d mode )

Flight model is, well ... really odd- so far I have been flying just 2 planes ( Flight Design and JMB ) , both of which perform similar to my Sting, especially the JMB plane and both feel very unnatural ... I find myself doing 1500-2000 fpm climbs and descends all the time , noting really feels natural.

For comparison, I have been flying XPlane 11 and , while not perfect, it is much closer to what I normally experience while flying my Sting.

I guess I would say , so far, MS FS 2020 feels more like a game than a simulator ...

I couldn't wait any longer and took the plunge a couple weeks ago. Turns out I had to upgrade my 2GB NVidia GTX1050 to a GTX1650 with 4GB (the largest card my Desktop PC power supply will support to get the game to run well.

Both patches installed without incident.

I took two flights this morning in my little C152X - One off a listed tiny grass strip airport in the middle of peaceful Amish Country in N/E Indiana to fly over my brother's home, the other off a listed tiny grass strip airport in the N/E Illinois Chain O Lakes region to overfly my son's new lake home on Pistakee Lake.

Took some screen shots that 'looked like' they were taken from my cell phone in a real C152 over THEIR actual real estate. Positively stunning recreations.

The plane flew and reacted to the ground terrain quite realistically IMHO both in sound and in handling characteristics.

Also IMHO light years ahead of my FSX-SE sim. I am impressed with Asobo's offering.

After over 100 hours on MSFS2020, I’m still amazed at what they’ve managed to pack into a $69 computer program. I taught on $100m+ sims that didn’t have the immersive graphics fidelity of MSFS. I recreated past trips, and planned trips, and the reality is so good, I don’t think I’ll fly some of the future planned trips. I feel like I’ve already done them! No 45 minute drives to the airport, no $5/gal avgas, no weather problems, the ability to fly anywhere in the world instantly, no hangar fees... and I can drink beer while I simulated fly, and go to the restroom any time I want!

Hambone wrote:......and the reality is so good, I don’t think I’ll fly some of the future planned trips. I feel like I’ve already done them! No 45 minute drives to the airport, no $5/gal avgas, no weather problems, the ability to fly anywhere in the world instantly, no hangar fees... and I can drink beer while I simulated fly, and go to the restroom any time I want!

Yeah, but the problem is you are not really flying ...

Warmi wrote: Yeah, but the problem is you are not really flying ...

Been there, done that and, quite frankly, southern Arizona has to be one of the most boring places I have ever flown. The summertime turbulence is no fun either. And it takes so long to get anywhere else! Add to that the cost of the current aircraft repair, and I've about had enough...

Btw .. my plane with my actual tail number made its way to MSFS 2020