Thomas Parker Posted September 21, 2006 at 04:15 PM Posted September 21, 2006 at 04:15 PM How many of you use X-plane and VATSIM to get in some good, honest-to-God instrument practice? Based on an idea started in this thread, I wanted to have a set of foggles that I could use in X-plane to limit the view regardless of the real-world weather being supplied to X-plane either by VATSIM or directly. Well, they now exist. Through a request on the www.x-plane.org forums, and some nice work done by Sandy Barbour, he created a foggles plugin that allows you to have just that. It's a nice, generic solution that will work for all aircraft with out any further mods except to install the plugin. If you're interested, go visit his website. He's made a version for Mac, Linux, and Windows. X-plane foggles plugin He really did a nice job. Hope you can find them useful. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Smith Posted September 21, 2006 at 05:18 PM Posted September 21, 2006 at 05:18 PM Good post! I use xplane for my instrument practice, often in Jason Chandler's Piper Warrior. I simply scroll the panel down, it fills 90% of my screen. Going for my second instrument lesson tomorrow, have practiced the approaches a couple of times in advance on the sim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Parker Posted September 21, 2006 at 05:39 PM Author Posted September 21, 2006 at 05:39 PM Hi Keith. I hope they work out for you. I did a nice round-robin flight with them the other night where I did 4 non-precision approaches into 4 airports. They worked very well. Many of the planes I use have the same scroll feature, but I can still "cheat" by looking up. Also, my plane of choice is the C172N by 3pointaircraft.com. It's panel fits all into one display and doesn't scoll like that. I think these foggles are pretty cool. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Carlson Posted September 21, 2006 at 07:43 PM Posted September 21, 2006 at 07:43 PM Have either of you tried using your actual foggles or hood? I realize that a panel in the sim is much more "condensed" than the real thing, but using a real hood should help prevent you from instinctively looking out the window in the sim, right? Personally, I use a panel modification in the Flight 1 C172 under FS9 which blanks out the outside view. Dan Everette made a nice gray bitmap that looks like solid IMC. However, I've been thinking about switching to X-plane in order to get better flight models. Developer: vPilot, VRC, vSTARS, vERAM, VAT-Spy Senior Controller, Boston Virtual ARTCC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Parker Posted September 21, 2006 at 08:11 PM Author Posted September 21, 2006 at 08:11 PM Hi Ross, Actually, it was Dan's thread that gave me the idea. I listened to you two talk and ended up implementing the same thing on my default MSFS C172. But I wanted the same thing for X-plane which led me to this end. I never thought of trying real foggles. I don't even like using them in the real-world because of their vice-like grip on my temples. When it comes to the simulator, I would rather put a piece of paper over the monitor first. But you guys came up with such a slick solution, I wanted the same in X-plane. And I can only encourage you to pickup X-plane. There's a lot of trade-offs between MSFS and X-plane. I realize it's tantamount to a religious battle. But I avidly use both depending on what I want to do. For GA, instrument practice, without a doubt, I use X-plane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Carlson Posted September 21, 2006 at 08:18 PM Posted September 21, 2006 at 08:18 PM Yeah, I just need to try it, I guess. I have the demo for the purposes of X-Tower testing, but I have never flown in it. I'll see if I can find some time tonight. Like Keith, I just started my instrument rating training, so I really want a good way to practice at home. That was the original reason for buying the Flight 1 C172, but I've found that the flight model just isn't all that much better than the default 172. So I think it's time to make the leap to X-plane. I'll still use MSFS for flying the Citation X and PMDG stuff. I've got a hood which is fairly comfortable, plus a pair of foggles. I think I'll give those a try with X-plane. If you find a good way to do a panel mod, please post here. I'll do the same. Developer: vPilot, VRC, vSTARS, vERAM, VAT-Spy Senior Controller, Boston Virtual ARTCC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Smith Posted September 21, 2006 at 08:25 PM Posted September 21, 2006 at 08:25 PM Agreed with all the above... Another solution is to go find bad weather and fly in it. Also, if you fly offline, you can set the weather, which is great for setting the weather to be at or below minimums. Still another solution is to use the 3d cockpit (becoming more popular and well developed with certain aircraft) and set it up such that you can only see the panel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Parker Posted September 21, 2006 at 08:53 PM Author Posted September 21, 2006 at 08:53 PM If you find a good way to do a panel mod, please post here. I'll do the same. Hi again... I think I'm a bit confused. Are you talking about a panel mod in X-plane similar to what you and Dan did in MSFS for the foggles? If so, then the plugin accomplishes the same end result. This plugin goes about it a different way though. In a way similar to how FSUIPC addons work, it goes in and sets X-plane's "visiblity" variable to zero. X-plane draws in all the fog to take away your view. When you turn the foggles off, it resets the visiblity to the current weather reading. The changes are instantaneous just like the approach you and Dan came up with. This approach is nice in that you don't need to mod any airplanes or panels. Otherwise, maybe I misunderstood you. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Parker Posted September 21, 2006 at 09:01 PM Author Posted September 21, 2006 at 09:01 PM oh... and by the way... good luck to both of you on your training. I've got a feeling that your backgrounds here in VATSIM will help you out considerably. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Smith Posted September 21, 2006 at 09:24 PM Posted September 21, 2006 at 09:24 PM Thomas, it does sound like a great plug-in, I'll give it a shot. Somewhere in the discussion, I forgot that the plug-in was created, which is a great solution Ross, plug-ins are not plane-specific, so the Foggles plug-in would work no matter what aircraft was loaded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Carlson Posted September 21, 2006 at 09:51 PM Posted September 21, 2006 at 09:51 PM If you find a good way to do a panel mod, please post here. I'll do the same. Hi again... I think I'm a bit confused. Are you talking about a panel mod in X-plane similar to what you and Dan did in MSFS for the foggles? If so, then the plugin accomplishes the same end result. This plugin goes about it a different way though. In a way similar to how FSUIPC addons work, it goes in and sets X-plane's "visiblity" variable to zero. X-plane draws in all the fog to take away your view. When you turn the foggles off, it resets the visiblity to the current weather reading. The changes are instantaneous just like the approach you and Dan came up with. This approach is nice in that you don't need to mod any airplanes or panels. Otherwise, maybe I misunderstood you. Tom Ignore me ... I read your posts too quickly, then got distracted by something here at work, then came back and wrote my reply. As I was writing my reply, I was thinking that you were looking for a similar foggles mod for Xplane. After re-reading your posts, I see that you are happy with the plugin, which sounds great since it works for any plane. I'll definitely give it a shot. Developer: vPilot, VRC, vSTARS, vERAM, VAT-Spy Senior Controller, Boston Virtual ARTCC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Larsen 885332 Posted September 21, 2006 at 10:08 PM Posted September 21, 2006 at 10:08 PM Dear Mr. Ross Carlson. I think you are Right in choosing X-Plane . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Chou 980766 Posted September 21, 2006 at 11:52 PM Posted September 21, 2006 at 11:52 PM Like Keith, I just started my instrument rating training, so I really want a good way to practice at home. That was the original reason for buying the Flight 1 C172, but I've found that the flight model just isn't all that much better than the default 172. So I think it's time to make the leap to X-plane. I'll still use MSFS for flying the Citation X and PMDG stuff. At the risk of going off-topic, I thought I'd mention there's a thread on the other forum now, by a CFI, I believe, who has been having a difficult time finding a Cessna 172 that feels "real" to him on X-plane. According to him, the planes feels too unstable (both the default Cessna, as well as a purchased one), requiring more input to maintain stable flight than he's accustomed to in the real thing. I'm an X-plane user, hoping someday to go for a PPL, so I've been trying to keep an eye out for reputedly "accurate" models of small GA aircraft that I may someday get a chance to fly. These virtual foggles sound great -- once I can fly adequately well enough even able to see, I'm looking forward to trying them out. Running X-plane in Windows XP on a MacIntel... Why do things the easy way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Parker Posted September 22, 2006 at 12:24 AM Author Posted September 22, 2006 at 12:24 AM This is, of course, my personal opinion. But I have become enamoured with the planes put out by Gerald Rader at www.3pointaircraft.com. I think his Cessna 172N model is very nice and handles as close to the real thing as I've seen. (Again, my opinion) I have always felt that the "realistic" joystick settings are always too fidgety when compared to the real thing -- in both X-plane and MSFS. Real planes just aren't that jumpy. I've got my pitch, roll, and yaw settings all set to half in the joystick & equipment window. To me, that feels "about right" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Larsen 885332 Posted September 22, 2006 at 12:50 AM Posted September 22, 2006 at 12:50 AM Mr.Parker i agree with You, X.Plane is the way to go if You want a real Flying Simulator. I've tried the Carenadi C182 RG but it's nothing compared to X-plane. I dare to say that X-Plane is the real deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Chou 980766 Posted September 22, 2006 at 01:08 AM Posted September 22, 2006 at 01:08 AM This is, of course, my personal opinion. But I have become enamoured with the planes put out by Gerald Rader at www.3pointaircraft.com. I think his Cessna 172N model is very nice and handles as close to the real thing as I've seen. (Again, my opinion) I have always felt that the "realistic" joystick settings are always too fidgety when compared to the real thing -- in both X-plane and MSFS. Real planes just aren't that jumpy. I've got my pitch, roll, and yaw settings all set to half in the joystick & equipment window. To me, that feels "about right" I have looked at the 3Point aircraft, so with your endorsement, perhaps I'll try it. I think I should play with the control sensitivities too. Do you mean the settings on the left side of the screen, that change the "linearity" of the response, or on the right side, which have the "Set all the way to the left for (supposed) realism" side? Running X-plane in Windows XP on a MacIntel... Why do things the easy way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Parker Posted September 22, 2006 at 02:09 AM Author Posted September 22, 2006 at 02:09 AM I think I should play with the control sensitivities too. Do you mean the settings on the left side of the screen, that change the "linearity" of the response, or on the right side, which have the "Set all the way to the left for (supposed) realism" side? Actually both. I dont' know if these settings would need to be different for different joysticks though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Parker Posted September 22, 2006 at 12:03 PM Author Posted September 22, 2006 at 12:03 PM Mr.Parker i agree with You, X.Plane is the way to go if You want a real Flying Simulator.I've tried the Carenadi C182 RG but it's nothing compared to X-plane. I dare to say that X-Plane is the real deal. I play around a lot with both simulators. The days that I fly MSFS are the days I just want the Active Sky eye candy (I love active sky), or my PMDG 737 or ERJ-145 with their full-featured FMS's. But if I want to get serious about practice with real airplane handling like I'd be doing in the RW, it's back over to X-plane. I love the feel, the handling, the sounds as I'm handflying my C172 or Baron. And let's not forget the global scenery or the water textures that came with this latest 8.5Beta. I could go on for hours about the plusses of each. Each has their tradeoff. And in this religious battle, I choose to sit on the fence. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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