Joining the club.

[Peter Nolin 954217]

As far as I see it X-plane have now reached the point where it's actually a good buy.

I tested it some year ago and, yes, kinda liked it but I missed the goodies found in FS9.

I am still worried about VOR freqs and how correct they are compared to the real world but as for now I think the flightdynamics wins over that since I am certainly that type of guy that need realism over beauty.

 

So what I did was simply to order the newest version with globe wide scenerey. Let's hope atleast my favourite airports and vortacs are correct - in the LAX area.

We'll see in about a week..

[Peter Larsen 885332]

check the "Calling X-plane users" for some screenies of default "South Bend" area (near Chicago) and look how eal the cockpit in the Jetranger looks compared to the plastic childrens toy of MSFS .

[Peter Nolin 954217]

While waiting for my copy to arrive I have a few questions for you.

 

* xsquawkbox seems to be at 1.0 version still. Is that the current version or did I find an old link?

 

* I've heard that it's not possible to locate yourself at a gate/ramp while choosing airport. Is that correct?

 

* There seem to be no GPS (altough I loooove VOR navigation the GPS is useful sometimes)

 

* How realistic is the instrumentation in the aircrafts? Main battery, avionics switch? individual lightsettings.

 

* About navigation. I like when you cannot navigate towards a VOR because it's simply too far away in FS9. Does x-plane have this type of "realism" aswell?

 

* I currently use FSP[Mod - Happy Thoughts]engers which is ofcourse not supported in x-plane. Is there any addon for x-plane that can simulate p[Mod - Happy Thoughts]engers, co-pilot and random failures?

 

* Is there any *must have* addon for x-plane that I should know about?

 

Thank you very much in advance. I'm really looking forward to realistic flightdynamics.

[Keith Smith]

* xsquawkbox seems to be at 1.0 version still. Is that the current version or did I find an old link?

V1.0 is correct. The author of xsquawkbox now works on the x-plane scenery engine full time, I don't think he's sinking much time into XSB right now

 

* I've heard that it's not possible to locate yourself at a gate/ramp while choosing airport. Is that correct?

This is semi-true. Many of the airports do not have custom startup locations. In those cases, the aircraft starts up in the middle of the longest runway, when you tell it to start 'at the ramp'. Most of the large airports DO have correct startup locations, however, and you can always change the 'apt.dat' file to include the correcting starting locations for your favorite airports. If you do so, be sure to submit your changes to Robin Peel, the maintainer of the apt.dat file for inclusion in the next cycle. The apt.dat and [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ociated files are revised periodically, independently of x-plane.

 

* There seem to be no GPS (altough I loooove VOR navigation the GPS is useful sometimes)

X-plane has a VFR GPS. That is, it doesn't understand instrument approaches, holds, or missed approaches. The GPS allows you to program in a single waypoint (intersection, VOR, NDB, airport, or lat/lon). It will tell you the distance, time, and bearing to that waypoint. The FMS allows you to program a series of waypoints, with an altitude for each one. You can slave your autopilot (LNAV and VNAV) to the FMS, and it will fly your route. The FMS does NOT understand SIDs or STARs, you must program in each waypoint, independently of the previous/next waypoints.

 

* How realistic is the instrumentation in the aircrafts? Main battery, avionics switch? individual lightsettings.

 

X-plane doesn't have particuarly complex panels, but the functionality that is there is quite realistic. There's main, avionics, alternator/generator/inverter, bleed air, cabin pressure, APU, fuel selector, fuel xfer, mixture, cowl flaps, carb heat, alt air, etc etc. The electrical and vacuum systems is modelled really well. If your alternator fails, x-plane calculates the draw on your battery based on what electronics are being used. For example, if your strobes and beacon are on, it will draw much more power. You can output hundreds of pieces of information on the data output console including all the information about the electrical system, in addition to the standard gauges.

 

The lights are pretty simple: taxi, landing, strobe, beacon, navigation, cabin lights.

 

* About navigation. I like when you cannot navigate towards a VOR because it's simply too far away in FS9. Does x-plane have this type of "realism" aswell?

 

X-plane attempts to simulate the service volumes of VORs. There is also the 'cone of silence' as you fly directly over a VOR. When you're at the border of receiving the VOR, you CDI swings around fairly wildly until it gets a good, clear signal.

 

* I currently use FSP[Mod - Happy Thoughts]engers which is ofcourse not supported in x-plane. Is there any addon for x-plane that can simulate p[Mod - Happy Thoughts]engers, co-pilot and random failures?

 

There is a co-pilot add-on. The failure system in x-plane is already very deep. You can specify the MTBF for failures, fail a specific system after a certain time, alttiude, or speed, or even [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ign the failure to a joystick button. For example, after reading about a GA accident at a local field, I loaded up x-plane, selected the same plane, entered the same weather, set weight and balance according to the information in the report, and took off to replicate his accident, with an engine failure at around 800ft.

 

* Is there any *must have* addon for x-plane that I should know about?

 

Goodway is a great plugin and an external flight planning tool, too.

 

Xpushback is a nice plugin for having a truck push you back, straight, tail left, or tail right.

 

I've written a few plugins, including the FMS plugin which allows you reprogram the FMS by typing a series of waypoints/altitudes, without having to use the mouse to push each individual letter. Saves tons of time.

 

Xsquawkbox...well, I couldn't live without it.

 

Xtwr is in beta, allows you to work a tower on VATSIM using xplane to render your surroundings...no more radar!

 

I've also written a transponder plugin that squawks normal/stdby automatically. It also squawks VFR (1200) when you push CTRL-SHIFT-V.

 

Thank you very much in advance. I'm really looking forward to realistic flightdynamics.

 

You're welcome...give it plenty of time, and ease into it. It's not a very polished sim in many respects, but once you get used to it, it's such a pleasure to fly. There's something very satisfying about hopping in a twin piston, going flying, and being able to maintain your altitude within 20ft, simply using minute changes in the power settings. There's a reason that several companies prototype their aircraft on xplane prior to construction....it's a great simulator, down to choosing the airfoil for your wing, stab and even propeller.

[Peter Larsen 885332]

* How realistic is the instrumentation in the aircrafts? Main battery, avionics switch? individual lightsettings.

 

X-plane doesn't have particuarly complex panels, but the functionality that is there is quite realistic. There's main, avionics, alternator/generator/inverter, bleed air, cabin pressure, APU, fuel selector, fuel xfer, mixture, cowl flaps, carb heat, alt air, etc etc. The electrical and vacuum systems is modelled really well. If your alternator fails, x-plane calculates the draw on your battery based on what electronics are being used. For example, if your strobes and beacon are on, it will draw much more power. You can output hundreds of pieces of information on the data output console including all the information about the electrical system, in addition to the standard gauges.

 

The lights are pretty simple: taxi, landing, strobe, beacon, navigation, cabin lights.

 

* About navigation. I like when you cannot navigate towards a VOR because it's simply too far away in FS9. Does x-plane have this type of "realism" aswell?

 

I disagree as an Xplane user i find MFSF to be utterly primitive, X-Plane does simulates Panles in a complex manner,like the C172 (default) is exacty what you will see in a real life C172.

 

I am sorry to say this but MFSF is purely 3+ years toys compared to X-plane wich does Simulate Aucrafts in an extremey realistic manner,i bet you you couldn'y differ betwwen X-Plane and the real thing ..

[Thomas Parker]

Kieth has given great answers to all your questions. I'll just enhance one of them with another option.

 

...startup locations.... you can always change the 'apt.dat' file to include the correcting starting locations for your favorite airports. ...

 

I usually take a different approach.. it has a top-down map view which shows you where you are. (Forget how to access at the moment, I'm at work) I go into that map, zoom in, and drag-and-drop my airplane to the starting gate. 9 times out of 10, that does the trick. Sometimes, there's enough of an elevation difference between the rwy and the gate that you might bend the gears as it comes crashing down. In those cases, I just reset all failures and the plane's good-to-go.

 

Welcome to the club! X-plane is really worth it. As with anything, there's trades.. If you're like me you'll flip-flop between X-Plane and MSFS depending on your mood.

 

Tom

[Peter Larsen 885332]

Kieth has given great answers to all your questions. I'll just enhance one of them with another option.

 

...startup locations.... you can always change the 'apt.dat' file to include the correcting starting locations for your favorite airports. ...

 

I usually take a different approach.. it has a top-down map view which shows you where you are. (Forget how to access at the moment, I'm at work) I go into that map, zoom in, and drag-and-drop my airplane to the starting gate. 9 times out of 10, that does the trick. Sometimes, there's enough of an elevation difference between the rwy and the gate that you might bend the gears as it comes crashing down. In those cases, I just reset all failures and the plane's good-to-go.

 

Welcome to the club! X-plane is really worth it. As with anything, there's trades.. If you're like me you'll flip-flop between X-Plane and MSFS depending on your mood.

 

Tom

 

Ye Traitor , or should i say Yankee.

[Thomas Parker]

Ye Traitor , or should i say Yankee.

 

he he he... yeah! I'm sad to say it's true.

 

I sometimes miss the airport candy... especially the taxiway signage. (I usually try to follow my taxi instructions by looking out the window like I would in real life). I have found the NYEXPO airports package and a lot of U.S. stuff put out by another guy. But that's just for the larger airports. I have nothing for the smaller airports except blank squares to pavement. Because I like to fly small GA (light single & twin), I also tend to use those smaller airports.

 

I also really like my Feelthere ERJ-145. I have yet to find a suitable replacement on X-Plane.

 

But the aircraft realism is by far the best on X-Plane. So my logic goes like this. If it's what I'd be doing in real-life (or even potentially in real life), I do it on X-Plane -- C172, C182, Baron, and even the KingAir or B1900. Those last two are a bit of a stretch as I'll probably never really fly those. When I fly commerically, which I'll definately never get to fly in real life, I go with the PMDG and Feelthere aircraft on MSFS and enjoy the ActiveSky weather and all the airport eye-candy.

 

That's just me though.

 

Tom

[Peter Nolin 954217]

Wonderful answers! Thank you very much. I guess it's as always with new things. You are a bit confused in the beginning. And it seems like one have to keep a close eye on the open source community. apt.dat for example. It sounds like a volunteer project. Now I just have to find it.

Luckily I'm a quick learner and not to stupid regarding computers (work as a programmer) so I think I will adapt pretty fast. Hopefully!

 

Thanks again.

[Peter Larsen 885332]

Ye Traitor , or should i say Yankee.

 

he he he... yeah! I'm sad to say it's true.

 

I sometimes miss the airport candy... especially the taxiway signage. (I usually try to follow my taxi instructions by looking out the window like I would in real life). I have found the NYEXPO airports package and a lot of U.S. stuff put out by another guy. But that's just for the larger airports. I have nothing for the smaller airports except blank squares to pavement. Because I like to fly small GA (light single & twin), I also tend to use those smaller airports.

 

I also really like my Feelthere ERJ-145. I have yet to find a suitable replacement on X-Plane.

 

But the aircraft realism is by far the best on X-Plane. So my logic goes like this. If it's what I'd be doing in real-life (or even potentially in real life), I do it on X-Plane -- C172, C182, Baron, and even the KingAir or B1900. Those last two are a bit of a stretch as I'll probably never really fly those. When I fly commerically, which I'll definately never get to fly in real life, I go with the PMDG and Feelthere aircraft on MSFS and enjoy the ActiveSky weather and all the airport eye-candy.

 

That's just me though.

 

Tom

 

Ya could import MFSF Scenery into X_plane, I've done that with some Payware (yes i have bought and paid for it) and IMHO it seems les cartoonish, but that's just me though .

[Thomas Parker]

Ya could import MFSF Scenery into X_plane

 

how?

 

Curious,

Tom

[Ben Abes 938374]

especially the taxiway signage

 

coming soon: http://xplanescenery.blogspot.com/2006/06/taxi-signs.html

[Christopher Serio 823884]

Ya could import MFSF Scenery into X_plane

 

how?

 

Curious,

Tom

 

http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?autocom=dlmanager&do=viewfile&fid=5605

 

It does a great job but there are some major issues (no runway lights)....however when XPlane 8.50 is released, these issues can be quickly resolved. XPlane 8.50 is quickly approaching beta too so it won't be much longer now.

[Peter Nolin 954217]

The 60 gigs of scenery that comes with X-plane is useless!? I can expect grey squares on all small airports. Is that what these last posts really are saying?

Also I realize now that NO airport has taxisigns which I feel is *very* important.

[Thomas Parker]

Peter,

 

Not useless at all. I'm sure you've seen the screenies of what the 60GB gives you. Additionally, X-Plane is making leaps and bounds improvements. The upgrades are quite frequent and free. It sounds like 8.5 might fix many of those problems, and seeing that you just bought it, your upgrade will be free.

 

I've been flying all over the US. I've yet to have a problem with VOR freqs.

 

What you're getting far superior and realistic flight dynamics and great scenery along the way. I've used it to practice my multi-engine, engine out procedures. I just can't do that on MSFS because a light twin with an engine out doesn't behave like its supposed to.

 

You also have to remember that what I say is just one guy's opinion.

 

Tom

[Thomas Parker]

Oh... and Chris... thanks much for the link. I'll give it a shot.

 

Tom

[Peter Nolin 954217]

Peter,

Not useless at all. I'm sure you've seen the screenies of what the 60GB gives you.

Yeah. The surroundings are really, really nice. I meant the airports.

What you're getting far superior and realistic flight dynamics and great scenery along the way. I've used it to practice my multi-engine, engine out procedures. I just can't do that on MSFS because a light twin with an engine out doesn't behave like its supposed to.

Tom

Thats what I'm hoping for. Be able to fly according to the laws of physics. You can't imagine what I've done in FS9. Even got stuck in manuvers which should even be impossible on mars.

 

I'm just a bit worried about the airports. I even get the impression that the taxiways aren't correct. My nightmare is to end up with totally different scenery which ends in I'm seeing fellow FS9:ers taxiing through houses or the opposite. I have plenty of charts over different airports. I'm just hoping that the taxiways match / exists.

[Thomas Parker]

From my experience, the taxiways are correct when and where they need to be. (Sometimes the backwoods strips may not have all the side aprons, runup areas, and stuff.) You'll have no problems flying on VATSIM and integrating with the others using MSFS. You're charts and airport diagrams will work fine.

[Peter Larsen 885332]

Even Airport scenery are more realistic in X-Plane IMHO despite the lack of Taxi signs as it is not all blown up eyecandy tht makes it look like a Painting.

You can get taxisigns in X-Plane when importing scenery , i got all taxi sign in their right places when i imported into X-Plane.

[Peter Nolin 954217]

Sooo. I received my DVDs some days ago. First impression - not too good!

 

First of all I loaded up a Cessna at KLAX. The runways were in the water. Ok, need the scenery ofcourse. I installed the US Scenery DVD and hey, it got better but not even close to how LAX looks in FS9. The same with KSAN (San Diego).. I'm really missing terminal buildings but the environment looked OK. Mountainwise etc.

 

It seems like X-plane only registers "hard crashes" which in short means that a belly landing will be too easy in the future. Also bad.

 

The physics then. Well. I had high expectations and sure, the aircrafts were pretty "accurate" but the helicopters where laughable. It was still possible to do impossible loops and spins wich in real life would bring a chopper down in seconds. Also kinda disapointing. Perhaps I missed a realism setting somewhere. The settings are really hard to understand. Setting screen resolution made me laugh. No standard choices!? 1024, 1280 etc.

 

Now, I realize that this is pretty much complaining but I didn't really give x-plane the time it deserves since I've been really busy. One thing I like REALLY much is the gauges. They move like water, no delays and the updateinterval is zero. Love it. It really feels like real life.

 

I'll come back with another impression report later on. Feel free to help me getting started.

[Keith Smith]

Peter,

 

There is NO stock terminal scenery for any of the airports, except some demo scenery for KSBD. It has been mentioned in this forum before.

 

Try the helicopters from Jason Chandler at http://www.c74.net/xplane/

 

Try getting some custom scenery. Calfornia Airlines has some scenery based on the NYEXPRO package for V8 that covers MANY airports. http://www.californiaair.net

 

You'll need to join the VA before being able to download the scenery. You could also get the stock NYEXPRO package from x-plane.org.

[Peter Larsen 885332]

Or just download NYXPRO from x-plane.org, that's what i did.

[Keith Smith]

Or just download NYXPRO from x-plane.org, that's what i did.

Kinda like the last sentence in my msg?

[Peter Nolin 954217]

Aah. Downloaded the package. Much better. Thanks guys.

[Chris Gauthier 895085]

Having been a long-time FS9 user, I decided to give xplane a try, since I happened to be at Fry's. I bought the box version on the shelf and it contained a single DVD (v8.21) and I installed it.

 

Keith is correct about not being very polished in that it is immensely confusing to get set correctly. Additionally, I've been battling random crashes to desktop from what I believe to be video driver issues. Also, to configure ALL THOSE DARN BUTTONS and Axes..... ugh! Makes my head spin.

 

Naturally, I'm frustrated at this moment because there is (for me) a basic lack of much of the functionality I am used to. Could you guys help point me to some "sample" profiles for button [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ignments that might mimic what I expect to see (based on FS9) and some good resources to help troubleshoot my less-frequent, but still annoying, random crashes to desktop? I tend to have less patience as my age increases, so I'm getting close to being ready to sell this DVD. Not-to-mention the fact that the scenery leaves a bit to be desired. (I didn't realize when I bought it that the 60GB scenery was not there).

 

Not attempting to whine, just needing some guidance (and venting a tad bit).

 

Thanks,

 

Chris