FlightSim

RE: FlightSim

Thanks Andrew, point taken.
Regards

RE: FlightSim

Whoa a minute.

coanda,

all the features you have described for X-Plane are avilable with MSFS if not with the main program in some cases but with free downloads. There are also more developers of freeware for MSFS and this gives you free downloads of many aircraft that go beyond the quality of payware add-ons!

I aint being biased but with certain packages, mainly freeware) MSFS can do all of the said above and also has a bigger following which usually means more developments add-on wise.

RE: FlightSim

Thanks very much for taking the trouble to give such a comprehensive run down on the system(s).
Checking the advt for the X-Plane I see that it does not give the version……………….
I will have to wait a few days for my computer (this is on a laptop) to get back from repair, and then I’ll go for a demo download. I’ll come back with my thoughts after that.
Thanks again!

RE: FlightSim

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 02-02-03 AT 11:15 PM (GMT)]if your buying it out of a catalogue then its going to be version 5 I wouldnt get it, save a bit more and then go and buy from x-plane.org
version 6.

The updates are free to download between major versions, ie. 6.->6.99

If you have any questions you can ask me, I have version 5 and 6, and the most recent update, aswell as the scenery for the uk, as done by something called GLOS (basically more accurate than the scenery on the disk.)

If you have a desire to try it out then go to x-plane.com.

Ok the download is pretty hefty but thats because it IS the sim, with some restrictions, this is WHAT YOU WILL GET.

the scenery is held under close scrutiny, and its for you to decide whether or not you want to spend the time in actually MAKING your own scenery with worldmaker(with a little intellect you can import tiles taken from photographs), part of x-plane or whether your happy with MSFS.

I also suggest you take a look at the forums on x-plane.org.

all in all for realism and flight model it DOES NOT get any better, if its screwy, its YOUR fault, it doesnt run off tables it runs off of mathematics.

You can design your own aircraft and scenery and objects (even if this one is abit lengthy)and make your own airfoils.

you can land the shuttle, land aboard frigates/carriers/oilrigs…..you can make airports, add navaids/ils’s

its a very versatile program as long as you can use it.

buy MSFS if your happy to fly around on rails and not worry about where your flight model is coming from, or that you can spin the learjet across the sky for eternity if you so wished.

as for addons, well at the moment they are all free. you should again go to x-plane.org and search their moderate database to see what takes your fancy (note the aircraft are version specific)

there are no buy-on add ons as with MSFS, but with the SDK plugins that are now happening, things are about to get a whole lot better for x-plane (which in my opinion is doing better than MSFS in an number of ways already)

frankly there is nothing that somebody who can input data into a failsafe table can do that x-plane cant model better in the flight regime, thats not my opinion, thats fact. If the designer of the aircraft is good and gets it right then you have an excellent model, however there arent that many brilliant designers (nearly all of whom are engineers or pilots in some way themselves who understand the physics behind it).

the choice is about what you like to see in a sim, realism in flight model, or pretty ground……

coanda

RE: FlightSim

Thanks for that Andrew. Notwithstanding other comments that may appear, at GBP19.95, it might be a good starter.
Regards

RE: FlightSim

X-Plane is basically the competition to Bill’s Flight Simualtor. It has very little, if any add ons because it only gets soemthing like under 10% of the 5 flight sim fans buying it.

The aircraft are known to be high quality and the latest version (6 i think) was extremly highly praised.

If you want a flight sim that is extremly good quality but lacks features the bigger brother has, its a good one. Main reason people dont buy it is because of lack of add-ons as there are pratically none and only a hand full of freeware stuff.

Its scenery can somethimes let it down

Fly! is another good one also but sadly the community is in shock as its author has annoucned he is dying and this means that no more updates will soon be released.

The good thing about the FS community is if someone inspirational dies a monument is started. There is now a Richard Harvey Scolorship up for grabs (Richard is the guy dying) in his memory and its in Aeronautical Studies!

RE: FlightSim

However,KabirT,……since you brought it up, I just did a little research and the info I found suggested that the IL62 was “unveiled” in Sept62, whilst the VC10’s first flight was on 29 June of the same year.

RE: FlightSim

Oops!

RE: FlightSim

The IL 62 came before the VC 10.