Sad day for Mxsmanic

It seems as if Microsoft is pulling the plug on MS Flight Simulator.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7902468.stm

--

In article ,
John Godwin wrote:

It seems as if Microsoft is pulling the plug on MS Flight Simulator.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7902468.stm

Wow, it's a very good day to be Austin Meyer. (The guy who makes
X-Plane.)

The bit in the article where he talks about a simmer being asked to land
a passenger plane after the pilots have been debilitated is pretty
funny. Absolutely no mention whatsoever of the difficulty or
improbability of actually pulling off such a feat. It is simply assumed
that it could be done.

--
Mike Ash
Radio Free Earth
Broadcasting from our climate-controlled studios deep inside the Moon

Mike Ash writes:

The bit in the article where he talks about a simmer being asked to land
a passenger plane after the pilots have been debilitated is pretty
funny. Absolutely no mention whatsoever of the difficulty or
improbability of actually pulling off such a feat. It is simply assumed
that it could be done.

It can easily be done.

Large commercial transports are heavily automated, and most flights are
conducted under computer control for most of their durations. With the
automation in operation, no particular flying skill is required to keep the
aircraft flying, and since the automation can also land the aircraft, no
particularly flying skill is required for landing, either.

Because of this, any person of reasonable intelligence who can follow
instructions precisely can land an airliner, with help over the radio from a
pilot.

Many people imagine a non-pilot grabbing the yoke and wrestling the aircraft
to the ground, Hollywood-style, and that type of scenario is indeed
implausible and likely to end in failure. But it's a very unrealistic
scenario, because in reality the automation would fly the plane, and the
non-pilot would never have to touch the controls. As long as he can follow
instructions, press buttons, and turn dials, he can land the airplane (or,
more precisely, he can direct the computer to land the airplane).

This has already been demonstrated on multiple occasions in full-motion sims.
In fact, some people are able to land airliners by hand without any previous
instruction, as long as they have an instructor to guide them. It's not
rocket science.

It's actually easier to land an airliner than it is to land a small aircraft,
because small aircraft usually have only limited automation, just as small
aircraft pilots usually have no clue about how large airliners work, and tend
to assume that everything flies like their Cessnas.

In article ,
Mxsmanic wrote:

Mike Ash writes:

The bit in the article where he talks about a simmer being asked to land
a passenger plane after the pilots have been debilitated is pretty
funny. Absolutely no mention whatsoever of the difficulty or
improbability of actually pulling off such a feat. It is simply assumed
that it could be done.

It can easily be done.

When it's tested, either with an actual in-flight crisis or by having
somebody set it up as an experiment, then I will believe it. Until then,
please do not act as though the unknown is certain.

And no, I don't mean testing it in a simulator.

--
Mike Ash
Radio Free Earth
Broadcasting from our climate-controlled studios deep inside the Moon

Mike Ash writes:

When it's tested, either with an actual in-flight crisis or by having
somebody set it up as an experiment, then I will believe it. Until then,
please do not act as though the unknown is certain.

And no, I don't mean testing it in a simulator.

The simulators are good enough for the FAA and the airlines, so they're good
enough for me.

"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...
Mike Ash writes:

When it's tested, either with an actual in-flight crisis or by having
somebody set it up as an experiment, then I will believe it. Until then,
please do not act as though the unknown is certain.

And no, I don't mean testing it in a simulator.

The simulators are good enough for the FAA and the airlines, so they're
good
enough for me.


Found a photo of you online Anthony.

http://www.balloon-juice.com/wp-cont..._your_ass2.jpg

"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...
Mike Ash writes:

When it's tested, either with an actual in-flight crisis or by having
somebody set it up as an experiment, then I will believe it. Until then,
please do not act as though the unknown is certain.

And no, I don't mean testing it in a simulator.

The simulators are good enough for the FAA and the airlines, so they're
good
enough for me.

Anything is good enough for you. You are satisfied to live in a hole in
France.

"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...
Mike Ash writes:

The bit in the article where he talks about a simmer being asked to land
a passenger plane after the pilots have been debilitated is pretty
funny. Absolutely no mention whatsoever of the difficulty or
improbability of actually pulling off such a feat. It is simply assumed
that it could be done.

It can easily be done.


No it cannot. It would end in disaster.

Steve Foley writes:

No it cannot. It would end in disaster.

Why?

"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...
Steve Foley writes:

No it cannot. It would end in disaster.

Why?


For the same reason I'm really good at killing zombies on my computer, it
isn't real life you nitwit.