Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004

Steve House wrote:
We'll know next week. I think it's still there. ...

it is.

For example, there's a company called "Reality XP" that publishes an
add-in for the panel to allow you to install Garmin 530 GPS, GTX 327
transponder, etc and another package that installs a UPS Apollo GL50 GPS,
FL70 Xpndr, FL30 NavCom, and FL15 audio panel.

FS2004 will have the Garmin 500 and 295 built in, supposedly with the
fully approach database.

Real weather? One of the add-ins
available is a package called ActiveSky that accesses the NOA and NavCanada
weather systems via the Internet

FS2004 will have its own 15 minute updates to realtime weather, if you
want it.


...
Not trying to shill for MS - as a long time flight simmer and current PPL
student I'm painfully aware of it's limitations. Even with only 10 hours
under my belt my CFI has me flying partial panel for a while almost every
lesson to help break the Flight Sim habit of focussing on the instruments
instead of the horizon picture, engine and wind noises, etc.

Number 1 problem for all who sim before real-world flying. If a simmer
knows that up front, (s)he can sim more intelligently for initial
training by focussing more on the outside views.



--
"The Final 20 percent of the Project... requires 80 percent of the Effort"
---- paraphrased from Vilfredo Pareto (1848-1923)

"Icebound" wrote in message
le.rogers.com...

..... Real weather? One of the add-ins
available is a package called ActiveSky that accesses the NOA and
NavCanada
weather systems via the Internet

FS2004 will have its own 15 minute updates to realtime weather, if you
want it.

So I hear - there was real world weather in 2000 as well but it used a
server dedicated to flight sim, alas not updated as often as it could have
been nor with as complete info as it could have had. I'm not sure if
they're still using that server system in 2004 or are going with a real time
link to NOAA, ActiveSky was different from FS's stock weather in that it
was going straight to the horse's mouth, as it were, getting its info direct
from NOAA's own servers for the reporting stations closest to the airplane's
current position. Was amazing to turn on my scanner and listen to ATIS from
the airport, then tune the ATIS frequency on Flight Sim's radio and hear
essentially the same info minus the NOTAMS. About the only difference was
FS always made the longest runway active with wind only affecting the
direction of takeoff but I've heard that's been fixed in 2004 to pick the
runway heading closest to the wind when there's more than one and making it
the active.

Steve House wrote:
.... About the only difference was
FS always made the longest runway active with wind only affecting the
direction of takeoff but I've heard that's been fixed in 2004 to pick the
runway heading closest to the wind when there's more than one and making it
the active.




Apparently they have improved that even further where multiple runways
can be in use... the actual feature-quote is that you can...:
"Request a different runway at airports with multiple active runways."
whatever that means exactly.

And they have apparently partnered with Jeppesson to be able to use the
entire database of published instrument approaches, and allow them to be
flown as part of the ATC clearance (FS2002 would just vector you to
intercept ils... FS2004 will still try to do that, but now you can
decline and request (and be granted) a published approach).

And users have commented that although FS2004 does not follow published
SIDs, you can add the waypoints of the SID into your flight plan and
then FS2004 will vector you to the first point after departure after
which you can fly the SID unassisted.

Overall, there seems to be a rising chorus of positives from the group
that had official beta and gold test versions before release, plus those
who have had their ordered copies delivered already.

Again, it should be remembered that some (but not all) of these guys
operate with multiple monitors, yokes and pedals instead of
joysticks..., etc. ...to make the sim experience more realistic.




--
"The Final 20 percent of the Project... requires 80 percent of the Effort"
---- paraphrased from Vilfredo Pareto (1848-1923)

I just bought the simulator yesterday. Meigs is there, but the default
airport is Evergreen (Tacoma)? I just remember it's in Washington State,
somewhere near the Redmond campus I used to work at.


"Peter Duniho" wrote in message
...
"Neal" wrote in message
...
Did they make sure and remove Meigs Field from its database?

I dunno what the "sarcasm, disbelief, and contempous [sic] attitude mode"
business is all about but...

What I read in the r.a.simulators newsgroup was that Meigs Field is still
there, but no longer the default starting point for the game.

Pete

what's the retail on this? sorry if question's been asked already

anyone ever use vatsim?

http://www.vatsim.net/

let's you link up with other sim pilots, and some play controller. -so if you
fly from DEN-LAX, you have real people vectoring you / sequencing finals, etc
the whole trip. i've perused their site but never have time to learn and
download whatever i needed - but i like i think the concept's pretty cool

Yea, I played around with VATSIM while practicing for my IFR practical test.
Several times I found it helpful for practicing my radio work/phraseology,
vectoring/navigating, holds, and approaches. However, more often than not,
I found it frustrating and a waste of time.

It was interesting and sort of helpful -- several times I got controllers
that were on the ball and handled me in a realistic way (I asked them to
assign me a hold and for practice approach clearances), yet some were
interrupted by phone calls, their children, etc. so often that it was just
not worth the time. It's a forum for simulator pilots and controllers in
training, so you find all sorts of levels of competency. Also, the
controllers in my area don't come on at regular times, so it's really a "hit
or miss" proposition for me to find one that will give me what I want. By
the time I got myself organized for the flight, often times the
controller(s) I wanted to speak with had logged off...

It's indeed a cute idea, and it CAN work pretty good. But, "I've been there
and done that" just about describes it for me after a week or two of trying
it out...

"Tune2828" wrote in message
...
what's the retail on this? sorry if question's been asked already

anyone ever use vatsim?

http://www.vatsim.net/

let's you link up with other sim pilots, and some play controller. -so if
you
fly from DEN-LAX, you have real people vectoring you / sequencing finals,
etc
the whole trip. i've perused their site but never have time to learn and
download whatever i needed - but i like i think the concept's pretty cool