FS2004 for Newbies

[Jack Rossini 1137138]

I am a Newbie here and a newbie pilot when it come to flight simulators under real world condition and I am very happy to had found VATSIM.

 

Many years ago I started out playing arcade video games and that then led me to play early flight simulators. One of them was called Corncob -that's going back a long time.

 

Anyway by the time Microsoft came out with Flight Simulator 98, I immediately bought it and I tried playing it. I was very disappointed with the graphics, but more then that was the poor job the software had on "teaching how to fly". I even spent many hours trying to figure out how to set the NAV and COM. -Nowhere in the instructions or help area did it explain anything that this was to be used online with a virture airline. After being discouraged with Flight Simulator 98, I did not rush out to buy any more Microsoft Flight Sims.

 

It wasn't until I found the VATSIM website and after becoming a member that I started to read through the forums that I notice that

other pilots do use Microsoft Flight Sims.

 

After I looked into websites about FS-2004, I decide that I might buy the software soon. But I hope and do expect it to be up to par.

 

Thank you

Jack Rossini

[Ernesto Alvarez 818262]

youll find where we're at now has grown from fs98 by leaps and bounds

 

if real agencies use us as testing beds, that just tells ya how far its gotten

 

take a look at the screenshot forum, youll see what you can expect from FS9 and FSX. ofcourse do keep in mind of performance differences. so what you get out of it is only as much as you are willing to put into it

[Paul Biderman]

And just so you're aware Jack, "FS9" is FS2004. That's what we all call it.

 

If you haven't already, make sure you familiarize yourself with the VATSIM Pilot Resource Center. http://vatsim.net/prc/

[Jack Rossini 1137138]

Hi Guys,

 

Thanks for responding to my post here. Yesterday evening I saw lots of web images of FS 2005 and I am very excited about Flight Sims. It's a dream come true.

 

Currently I am reading all of the VATSIM Pilot Resource. (PDF files that I downloaded).

 

Also I am still learning the very basics on how to fly. I need somekind of diagram of an aircraft showing all of the movements of the wings and things.

 

For now I use FS 98 Cessna (offline). It's hard to fly using the keyboard alone. I am not too clear on what level flight mean? If it means without going up or down, maintain a heading at the same speed, then this is very hard to do. Unless at this point I am suppose to use auto-pilot -which I can not seem to find in FS98.

 

How I practice: I try to find an airport with lots of open space. Follow the check list. Then I try to take off, climb to about 2000 ft, level out the best way I could while maintaining the same heading for about 10 minutes. Then make a 180 degrees turn and try to decent back to where I first took off. Very often I find myself making corrections

and I need to find a better way to keep tract of my distance.

 

Also, I do not understand the flying effects of the flaps on the aircraft.

 

I was amazed to read the part about the rules of "RVSM Airspace" in the 102.pdf. In fact I never knew of such a thing as RVSM. I am not sure if this is a device or just simply a ATC system. However, according to 102.pdf it would seem to be a recent invention in avionics for aircrafts.

 

It would be sometime before I connect to VATSIM to fly an aircraft. Maybe by the end of the month I will have FS2005 and I hope that I could connect to VATSIM as an observer to ATC without flying if that is allowed.

 

I also need to train by eyes for scanning the instrument panel so that I can keep SA without getting tired. How could I learn this?

 

Thank you

Jack Rossini

[Paul Biderman]

From Wiki, A Flight Level (FL) is a standard nominal altitude of an aircraft, in hundreds of feet. This altitude is calculated from the International standard pressure datum of 1013.25 hPa (29.92 inHg), the average sea-level pressure, and therefore is not necessarily the same as the aircraft's true altitude either above mean sea level or above ground level.

 

Basically, if all aircraft above a pre-determined altitude set their altimeters to the same setting, they all appear at basically the same altitude to a radar scope. It helps for ATC.

 

Regarding learning to fly, I'd honestly suggest you get at least a copy of FS2004. There's a fairly comprehensive set of flight lessons included with it. Some might argue how good they are, but they are there.

 

But before you even do that you really need to get yourself a flight stick or a stick/throttle combo or something to that effect. Keyboard flying can be done but it's not easy. You're making the job harder on yourself then you need to.