Joined: Jul 20, 2004 Posts: 3702 Location: Birmingham, UK
Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2006 12:53 pm Post subject:
30" monitor will be good for flight simulators as you'll be able to have a better view and more room on the screen for the instruments. Ideally, it would be good to have three monitors, one set to front view, and one for left and right, to give you more sense of being in the cockpit.
Joined: Mar 18, 2006 Posts: 11 Location: Ft. Worth, TX
Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2006 4:44 pm Post subject: Since 98
I've been using MSFS since FS6 (Flight Sim 9. The current version is very well done. I noticed Whirlygirl had mentioned X-Plane, and I'm quite familiar with that too. However, I find MSFS more customizable...the customizations are not nearly as easy as they are in X-Plane, but...
I actually got involved with a Helicopter specific MSFS site 4 years ago...Hovercontrol.com...got together with a group of folks and began a much more in depth journey into the bowels of FS. Turns out, with the tweaking that could be done, I successfully taught myself how to fly helicopters. I built my own flight controls, (which I wound up selling to one of my flight instructors), took things very seriously, buckled down for a couple of years, and now at 24 hours of turbine time, I'm ready to solo. It truely amazed some of my instructors...some even called me a liar! If one dedicates the time and energy to it, FS and X-Plane can be extremely proficient tools for learning the basics of flight.
I now work in the helicopter simulation field, for a helicopter manufacturers' Training Academy. (I'd really rather not devulge completely ) Simulation and technology are moving at a blazing speed...solely to our (those who accept these training tools) benefit. MSFS and X-Plane are fantastic tools for those beginners who are thrilled by the thought of flight, and for those veterans of flight who can't get enough!
Scott _________________ The comments and postings on this site by me are of my own and do not
neccessarily represent Bell Helicopter's position, strategies or
opinions.
Joined: May 08, 2005 Posts: 1078 Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2006 6:30 pm Post subject:
Scott - Great to see you come and join the forum
You will find that some of the members here are MAC users so they dont really have much of a choice when it comes to FS or X Plane as as far as I know FS is a PC based program at the moment with no plans to offer a MAC platform version.
Cheers and make sure you drag Sheldon and the other guys from work in here
I have got Flight Sim 2002, with several of the add on programs like British Airports etc.
I have downloaded freeware heli's from flightsim.com . One is a US coastguard As365 Dauphin. Very realistic although you do have to pause the game to raise or lower the undercarriage.
Also got helicopter operations add on which gives the Bell 407/427, S76, AS365 and R44. The only flaw is that you appear to be in the left seat in the S76 but when you look left using the top hat on the joystick you have P2 sat on your left. It appears that there should be 3 seats in the cockpit.
It appears that a lot of the downladable heli's use the B206 sound effect.
The military heli's add on is also really good although it's very jumpy on my PC, need more memory or faster processor or both.
I use FS 2004 and enjoy the different helicopters a lot. Using www.hovercontrol.com as a main sourse for files.
But now with the new Apple "Intel" computers it is possible to dual boot both Mac OS X AND Microsofts XP. So now my last reson for having a "microsoft pc" in the house is gone.
The system WhirlyGirl describes is great. The company now also has a new model/more expensive one on the line! Thats the one am gonna get my hands on hopefully.The Ranger 5s:
http://www.simcontrol.co.uk/ranger%20page.htm
Joined: Feb 01, 2006 Posts: 3 Location: Sutton Coldfield
Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 3:15 pm Post subject: FS2004
When I got a PC to do design work I always vowed not to get Flight Simulator, fearful of all the hours I could "waste" on it... Then a friend got me '98...
Now I find myself buying a new CAD workstation mainly because it runs flightsim really well !
It's amazing how far FS has progressed and where it might go in the future. It is like, and also not like, the real thing - one thing is for sure though, the gap is closing. I only have a handful of hours in a vatiety of "real" machines to compare, but flightsim does stack up favourably with the MD900 sim at last years Helitech, and a Russian sim I tried a couple of years back.
I'd reccomend the following add-ons:
1. Switzerland Professional Scenery - Space Shuttle radar terrain survey data overlaid with aerial photos, for those that have seen Just Flight's UK scenery this is a totally different animal.
2. There are a couple of brothers in Hungary, the Nemeths, who produce the most amazing Russian helo models - Mi2/17/24 + more on the way.
3. Track IR infrared head tracker - does exactly that, allows you to look around the cockpit as you fly. Great for making sure the skid is laterally and longitudinally centred on the right bar of the "H" when you touch down...
4. Pedals of some kind.
5. There is an authentic B206 with proper torque etc. by Dodosim but not tried this yet.
From what I've seen X Plane is a far better flight model but FS has much more beautiful graphics.
I hope these comments are useful - please pm me if you'd like to see some screen shots.
Joined: May 08, 2005 Posts: 1078 Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Posted: Wed May 03, 2006 3:22 am Post subject:
Talk about realistic - wonder how long before the gap really closes between what some of these FS designers are doing and the top level systems such as those that Flight Safety use.
Ned _________________ Serving the Civil Helo Industry - www.heliopsmag.com
anuva brilyant mynd rooind buy tha publick ejakayshun sistum
Joined: Oct 12, 2004 Posts: 1003 Location: EGSY (Sheffield) Once a city with an airport :-(
Posted: Wed May 03, 2006 6:54 pm Post subject:
That was a brill video. Sound is excellent too.
Being the ultimate pedant, is it just a 'not checking the manual' thing or do US operators call a FLARE, a FLAIR over there? Surely not, Flairs are like, well, bell-bottom trousers...?
Do I assume correctly that I'd need M$ Flight Sim to be able to run that program from Dodsim? I imagine a full rig of controls would be an advantage too. I noticed a link to follow for controls used in Sims. Reminds me of that Helichair device - I think for getting used to the instrument panel layout of a 206 it could be a most useful tool.
Talk about realistic - wonder how long before the gap really closes between what some of these FS designers are doing and the top level systems such as those that Flight Safety use.
Ned
The system that we have, X-Plane and the controls is also fairly good. The realism of flight is much better than most. The graphics out the cockpit admittedly aren't the best but you can buy add on packs of scenery that work with it and give you the actual country overlay. X-Plane is actually licensed in America to be used for FAA training as it is so realistic.
In that video that was posted it looked as though at one point the heli was coming to land very close to some moving cars. I could be wrong though!
I suppose it is good to land near to a road though if in emergency as you can then always flag down a vehicle if needed but maybe landing too close is not such a good idea!?
Fantastic video though and nicely executed.
Best wishes,
WhirlyGuy _________________ If at first you don't succeed.........
I use MSFS2004 and have the full VFR scenery. I mainly fly the Just Flight R44, Nemith Design EC120 and Alphasim Seaking. I rarely fly fixedwing and when I do its normally old warbirds.
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) Simulation and technology are moving at a blazing speed...solely to our (those who accept these training tools) benefit. MSFS and X-Plane are fantastic tools for those beginners who are thrilled by the thought of flight, and for those veterans of flight who can't get enough!
