On Sun, 15 Oct 2006 21:06:23 +0200, Mxsmanic wrote:

Much easier to spot a Cessna on a 3 mile final to Renton from the Renton
downwind in real life than in MSFS. This proably because the traffic in
flight sim isn't more than a pixels wide until are basically on top of them.

It helps to run at 1600x1200, but it's still hard to make out the
shape of the aircraft until it's quite near. I'm not sure what
purpose seeing traffic serves in MSFS, anyway, since the simulator
doesn't simulate much else having to do with traffic and I have yet to
see any real conflicts.

The actual size of an aircraft at 3 miles is probably smaller than the projected
size of the monitor's pixel. It's your predator instincts that help pick out
the airplane (e.g., "something's moving"), not the physical size of the dot.
The aircraft configuration isn't identifiable until it gets quite close, and not
by type until it gets even closer. Though I once ID'd a friend's airplane at
about three miles due to its color....

Ron Wanttaja