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 Welcome to the all new flight sim thread. Here we talk about flight simulators of all kinds, associated hardware, and other things associated with flying. IRC: irc.synirc.net #flightsim  Microsoft Flight Simulator X Still the yardstick after 7 years X-Plane lawl  Digital Combat Series (DCS) IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946 Wings of Prey Rise of Flight Free to Play with 2 Planes, other planes are DLC Strike Fighters 2 series/First Eagles Sim-Light, SF2 series is Jets from the 50s through the 70s, First Eagles is WWI Over Flanders Fields - Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 3 required!  Joysticks / Rudder Pedals / Other CH Products - Expensive Saitek - Expensive Thrustmaster - Expensive / Affordable Logitech - Expensive / Affordable Cyborg - Affordable / Console Compatible Headtracking Natural Point's TrackIR - Expensive FreeTrack - Free / DIY FaceTrackNoIR - Free / Experimental / Webcam-based  Civilian Sims http://vatsim.net/ - Virtual air traffic simulation network, works with Microsoft Flight Simulator series and X-plane (and others through some trickery), better than the lovely AI Air Traffic Control in FSX/FS9. http://www.vataware.com/ - Goon maintained, tracks all filed flights on VATSIM. http://www.simroutes.com/ - Good for flight planning, some issues with SIDs/STARs. http://chartfinder.vatsim.net/ - US and Canadian airport charts (Canadian charts are out of date). http://www.x-plane.org/ - Plenty of free add-ons for X-Plane + plenty of payware stuff. http://www.simviation.com/ - Lots of freeware add-ons for FS9/FSX. OH GOD MAKE FSX WORK HALFWAY DECENTLY http://www.venetubo.com/fsx.html Tool for optimizing FSX's lovely old code for your modern system. Military Sims Combat Ace - Lots of addons for various Military flight sims Other SimHQ - Simulation news and forums for sperglords. Page 114 of this thread - Daimo's efoort post with a shitload of decent freeware planes. FAQ How do I turn on time acceleration in FSX?  Thanks to pixelbaron for the pretty graphics and formatting! Kilonum fucked around with this message at Sep 17, 2012 around 16:38 |
| # ? Nov 27, 2010 20:22 |
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| # ? May 24, 2013 08:36 |
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Wings of Prey is available on Steam for 50% off, does anyone play this game?
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| # ? Nov 27, 2010 20:29 |
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 Hello, welcome to the VATSIM Information Section.Gee golly flightsimmers, I've never understood what VATSIM is...so what is it?!?! VATSIM stands for Virtual Air Traffic Simulation. In essence, VATSIM replicates real world air traffic operations across the WORLD. Some people log in as controllers to control air traffic, and the majority of us log in as pilots and fly from place to place talking to air traffic. VATSIM takes themselves very seriously. They do not allow attempts to fly into any buildings. If you want to do this, or be a complete douchebag to people online, go somewhere else. Again, VATSIM tries to professionally replicate the real world as much as possible while still remaining friendly and understanding that we're all staring at a computer that might crash at any time. First question when it comes to VATSIM What software am I going to use??? You have options. Flight Simulator X, or X-Plane. Personally, I believe X-Plane is a better flight simulator, however, FSX really is the way to go if you want to do VATSIM. The plugins all around for FSX are better and VATSIM works better with FSX. If you don't have FSX, go to your local electronics store or amazon and pick up Flight Simulator X: Gold Edition. It has all the latest updates and the Acceleration pack that you want. Second question for VATSIM Okay, I've got FSX/Xplane, now how do I connect to VATSIM?? If you are using FSX, please follow this information sticky step by step. You probably want to read the first post all ONCE(It's quick) and then follow the instructions so you have a complete grasp. FSInn http://forums.vatsim.net/viewtopic.php?t=20466 If you have X-Plane, download Squawkbox and install from here http://www.squawkbox.ca/downloads/ SPECIAL NOTE FOR FSX FSINN USERS. After installing FSInn, navigate to Start/Programs/FSCopilot and click the FSInn Control Panel. Open it and then click the CHAT button. After it loads properly, close out the program. Start FSX(Xplane) and load up a free flight mission. Get in the habit of loading up your free flight on a runway, and OFF OF THE RUNWAY. GET IN THE HABIT OF LOADING UP AT A PARKING AREA. Remember this is like real life, if you connect on an active runway, air traffic control will get pretty upset! So once fsx is up, press the alt button on your keyboard to make the toolbar come up. Then navigate to Addons and then FSCopilot and FSInn Control Panel. It will cycle through and update a list of airplanes, just be patient here. Now, click on the bottom right "SET" button. Under "BASIC" fill in your real name, this is important, do it. Then navigate to "NETWORKING" and reset the IPs. Now, the default servers for FSInn and most likely squawkbox are OUTDATED. Click for a list of updated IP's http://faq.apollo3.com/ljames/fsinn.../showservers.pl After updating all information, close the settings dialog box. Then, while looking at the FSInn Control Panel, click the button to the left of the big green VATSIM sign. It should turn the WHOLE BOX bright green. That's when you'll know you have successfully connected to VATSIM. If it turns red after about 10 seconds, your vatsim ID and PW or your user information has not been inputted correctly. Congrats, you're now connected to ONLINE VIRTUAL AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL  Having problems, have a question that can only be solved by human interaction? DROP BY OUR IRC CHANNEL! irc.synirc.net #flightsim Connect with http://mibbit.com if you don't want to be a constant idler, but I bet we'll convince you to stay! Captain Apollo fucked around with this message at Nov 28, 2010 around 06:16 |
| # ? Nov 27, 2010 20:30 |
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What is DCS? What are all the other popular flight sims people play nowadays? This OP is extremely anemic. I wouldn't mind playing another flight sim but I don't know anything about where the genre is at these days.
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| # ? Nov 27, 2010 20:33 |
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DCS Black Shark I fired up for the first time on arcade mode with a Grand Campaign and offically got kicked in the balls. Game is harrrd.
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| # ? Nov 27, 2010 20:34 |
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I am in the FO recruiting process with Copa Airlines in Panama, so I dusted out my controllers and FSX to practice instrument procedures. I'll see about joining you guys.
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| # ? Nov 27, 2010 21:37 |
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You should put a link up there for how to set up FSInn, and also the one that explains how to use VATSIM and multiplayer flights.
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| # ? Nov 27, 2010 21:49 |
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Animal posted:I am in the FO recruiting process with Copa Airlines in Panama, so I dusted out my controllers and FSX to practice instrument procedures. I'll see about joining you guys. Tell them that when they cancel flights to Washington, DC due to weather they should probably tell the airport that they're not coming, then when the reps show up two days later let them know that the flight didn't actually show up and take off empty. (Worst airline to role play as)
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| # ? Nov 27, 2010 21:59 |
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Lord Commissar posted:You should put a link up there for how to set up FSInn, and also the one that explains how to use VATSIM and multiplayer flights. I'll volunteer to do that! Give me a day or two, though, I'm out of town 
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| # ? Nov 27, 2010 23:14 |
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Stupid DCS: Black Shark question - does playing in arcade/game mode mean I lose the awesome damage model?
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| # ? Nov 27, 2010 23:15 |
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Dr. Video Games 0031 posted:What is DCS? What are all the other popular flight sims people play nowadays? This OP is extremely anemic. I wouldn't mind playing another flight sim but I don't know anything about where the genre is at these days. DCS or http://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/ released a simulation called DCS: black shark (avaible on steam or on their website), which features the Ka-50 russian helicopter. They also have an open beta of their new game A-10c warthog which is also awesome (while still buggy), it's a lot easier to fly and get into than the Ka-50. It's also the better game of the two in many other categories. Here is a video of DCS A10C, I just couldn't for the life of me find a short video showing actual game play of black shark that wasn't set to terrible music or had so many jump cuts that you'd have no idea about the game itself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PS0GmhOpk_c Both games are highly recommended. Only thing I hate is the lack of a dynamic campaign, I guess I am spoiled by Falcon 4.0
Fredrik1 fucked around with this message at Dec 2, 2010 around 13:50 |
| # ? Nov 27, 2010 23:32 |
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weak rear end op Kilo you lazy
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| # ? Nov 27, 2010 23:55 |
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Fredrik1 posted:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PS0GmhOpk_c While that is pretty representative of what you'll be doing in A-10, nothing beats this to hype up the game. The 104th Phoenix also has several well done training vids that show how to go through most of the engagement procedures.
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| # ? Nov 28, 2010 00:14 |
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Goetta posted:Wings of Prey is available on Steam for 50% off, does anyone play this game? It's good if you want to jump in and shoot stuff, since it has pretty graphics and can handle lots of planes. It's definitely aimed at a more casual market, and doesn't have the sort of depth or modding community you'll get out of IL-2. I got bored of it pretty quickly myself, but if you think a more casual version of IL-2 is for you then go for it. To be honest, there aren't many other alternatives out there for budding WWII pilots. Jimlad fucked around with this message at Nov 28, 2010 around 00:23 |
| # ? Nov 28, 2010 00:21 |
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Fredrik1 posted:They also have an open beta of their new game A-10c warthog
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| # ? Nov 28, 2010 06:29 |
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Extortionist posted:It's not totally open, right? You have to pre-order the game to play the beta? Open to public beta. It's still a product you have to pay for.
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| # ? Nov 28, 2010 06:52 |
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Does one of the popular games slowly ramp up how complicated things are so you can learn gradually? Every time I've tried to get into a flight sim in the last few years I just end up sitting in the same spot, or driving around without being able to take off until inevitably crashing into a control tower or something. Also, what are the good joysticks? Would it be feasible to ham-fistedly use a game controller while I wait to be able to afford one? The amount of information that comes with these games is a bit daunting to someone new. VATSIM sounds interesting, so I'm starting to do some reading about FSX. Edit: My questions have been answered in a much better OP! Also, thanks pixelbaron! Systemic Flaw fucked around with this message at Nov 29, 2010 around 19:10 |
| # ? Nov 28, 2010 07:23 |
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Kolodny posted:While that is pretty representative of what you'll be doing in A-10, nothing beats this to hype up the game. He did a very good movie for Black shark as well, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZbeBpY85c8 Both of them are as you said very good for building hype, but they don't really convey what kind of game it is, those videos could easily more or less have been filmed in any kind of flight simulator. Anyway those training videos are great. Extortionist posted:It's not totally open, right? You have to pre-order the game to play the beta? As someone said, the beta is open for anyone to attend. That doesn't mean you get a free game out of it. Fredrik1 fucked around with this message at Nov 28, 2010 around 10:05 |
| # ? Nov 28, 2010 10:01 |
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OP updated! (Thanks pixelbaron)
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| # ? Nov 28, 2010 19:10 |
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now thats more like it
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| # ? Nov 28, 2010 19:22 |
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laice posted:Does one of the popular games slowly ramp up how complicated things are so you can learn gradually? Microsoft Flight Simulator X has some decent training tutorials that gradually push you forward, but that's about the only game I know of that has training missions that aren't worthless or nonexistent. The DCS series A-10 Warthog simulation apparently has a slick tutorial system that highlights and labels the cock-pit instruments and teaches you the various systems. Not sure if it goes over basic flight, though. Most flight sims don't have very good in-game training, but that shouldn't steer you away from trying them. We've got a pretty chill channel on IRC that is active, and newbies are obviously welcomed and encouraged. All these games are a pretty small niche, and the more people involved the more fun it usually is. quote:Also, what are the good joysticks? Would it be feasible to ham-fistedly use a game controller while I wait to be able to afford one? I wouldn't bother with a game controller as that only leads to frustration. If you are interested in flyin' you should purchase a cheaper stick to gauge your interest, and if you get hooked then spend $100+ on a HOTAS (Hands On Throttle-And-Stick) at a later date. Check out the OP now that it has been updated, under Hardware there is a list of companies that make some of the better joysticks. I tried to list them based on how expensive / affordable their products are, but that really depends on your budget. CH, Saitek, and Thrustmaster have the better products in my opinion (they are also generally more expensive). Many people consider the Microsoft Sidewinder Precision Pro the best joystick ever made, ever. Ever. You can still find them on eBay occasionally. Here are some suggestions for you though, making the assumption that you'd be willing to spend a small amount for a cheaper joystick to get you started: Saitek Aviator (Also comes in versions compatible with Xbox360 or PS3) Saitek Cyborg X Thrustmaster T-16000M Cyborg V.1 (Doesn't appear to have any extra buttons, bummer) Logitech Attack 3 Logitech Extreme 3D Pro I am using the Saitek Aviator right now and so far it has been a good joystick. What you're going to want to look for in cheaper models is:
pixelbaron fucked around with this message at Nov 28, 2010 around 20:42 |
| # ? Nov 28, 2010 20:28 |
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For those wanting to learn to fly in the civilian sim environment, we have learned how to set up a shared cockpit on VATSIM. There are a couple of us who really enjoy sharing the hobby, and if you're seriously interested, it can be a great way to learn
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| # ? Nov 28, 2010 23:03 |
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The Ferret King posted:For those wanting to learn to fly in the civilian sim environment, we have learned how to set up a shared cockpit on VATSIM. There are a couple of us who really enjoy sharing the hobby, and if you're seriously interested, it can be a great way to learn And it's pretty great! So far Ferret King and Dead Babies have both taught me some stuff. Seriously, hang out on #flightsim. Everyone's helpful.
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| # ? Nov 28, 2010 23:28 |
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Alright, this is the idiots guide to Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX). What the gently caress is FSX? Here's the skinny: FSX is the defacto flight sim these day for the civilian dick wagging flight sim folk. The other big one seems to be X-Plane, but I haven't got that one. So suck a box of dicks, I'm not made of money. I think of FSX as a little framework to which you can hang a retarded assortment of free and pay content to turn it from a graphically "meh" flight sim into a jaw dropping visual feast complete with real life air traffic controllers who will steadfastly ignore your requests for take-off from Atlanta(drink more Coke, newb). More on these later, what you need to take away is "boring", "ugly", and "no guns" PLUG INS: Ok, like I said before, FSX is kind of gently caress ugly in vanilla format. This is ok because I have painstakingly researched all the bullshit you'll want to buy and plug into your copy to make it rival any modern flight simulator in the eye candy department. MUST HAVES: GEX2: This replaces the boring ground textures with gently caress-you gigantic 1024X1024 photo-realistic textures. That's pretty much it. It turns the flat ground textures into something that doesn't look like Xeroxs from a convenience store smeared all over the ground. You can check it out or buy it here: http://www.flight1.com/products.asp?product=gexusacan REX: Ok, REX replaces most of the other graphics. It does the sky, clouds, the sun, bodies of water, Airports .. all that sort of poo poo. Stack this on top of GEX2 and now you've got the makings of some eye candy worth flying around in. You can check it out or buy it here: http://www.flightsimstore.com/produ...products_id=809 UTX: To be honest I'm not super sure what this one does, but I was assured it does something you want that involves replacing roads and .. meshes? I recall hearing that word at some point in the conversation. Definitely the roads part. http://www.scenerysolutions.com/ut_fsx_usa.html Active Sky: The final big one you want is active sky. Now you /could/ replace your clouds with these, but I'm told the hot ticket is to use this one exclusively to calculate weather systems. You use the REX clouds, but this ones ... internally bits. I dunno, FSX is complicated. http://www2.hifisim.com/node/1044 So there you go, basically you get these 4, it replaces basically everything except for the actual plane models and makes things look super sweet. This will inspire you to aimlessly fly around for hours on end "ooing" and "ahing" and generally tugging one off for mother nature. OK- So lets assume you dropped 200 bucks on all this stuff and now you have graphics all lined out, what else is there? VATSIM: Vatsim is real life air traffic controllers for your FSX. Yeah, you heard me, real loving life people train to become virtual ATC Controllers and then spend their evening routing people around Cleveland. This adds another level of immersion and is supposedly really awesome. The software is a plugin that you add to your FSX and you then register and account and do some other stuff, basically- think plugin, learn some poo poo, use your headset to feel just like a real pilot. http://www.vatsim.net/index.php?id=start Additional Planes: The basic software comes with something like 18 aircraft to fly. If you get tired of those 18 there is a loving WORLD of planes to add on. Everything from free poo poo people make because they have way too much free time to poo poo that costs 35 bucks a plane and is modeled accurately to every detail. No, really http://www.precisionmanuals.com/pages/product/738.html. Google some more of that stuff up but seriously, I'm pretty sure at this point commercial outfits and community modders have added everything from the SR-71 to a loving Veritech fighter. The quality isn't terribly consistent across the board, but a little research should save you heartache. Additional things to waste time on: I'm told you can even become a pilot for a real life, honest to god pretend airline. They make you run flights, following routes and poo poo- supposedly some of the even run metrics to evaluate your on job performance and customer comfort. This is an example of one: http://northeastva.org/ Seriously though, there are a ton of these things, just google 'virtual airlines', there must be 30 of the things. So why should you play the FSX? Basically- it's an incredibly complex simulation that will allow you to build and test your skills over a consistent and incredibly extensible framework of awesome. Every time you think you have got things mastered- there are more things that you can tack on to make the experience even more elaborate. It's a hoot. I've been at it for 3 days now and am just working out what all those funny dials in my cockpit do (mostly) but I look forward to getting a lot of plug-ins and really pushing this as far as it will go. PadreScout fucked around with this message at Nov 29, 2010 around 10:03 |
| # ? Nov 29, 2010 09:54 |
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Seeing FSX Gold on sale for £17.00 at amazon.co.uk made me finally order it. I always wanted to get into Flight Sims, but never really took the plunge and I'm still not sure if I'll actually have the time to play a lot. The only "experience" I have is flying and landing planes in X-Plane for iPad and docking at the ISS in Orbiter, using the Deltaglider while following the tutorial (still, this was one of the most satisfying gaming achievements in my life so far). So, how should I start with FSX? I just played the demo a little and managed to drunkenly land using the keyboard controls (I'll go and get a joystick later), but I don't really know anything about flying yet. Where should I go to learn the basics and all that stuff so I can "properly" fly from A to B (i.e. using navigation tools, radio communication, checklists, etc.)?
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| # ? Nov 29, 2010 12:47 |
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FLX posted:(I'll go and get a joystick later) consider doing that sooner.
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| # ? Nov 29, 2010 13:21 |
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Also, the tutorials in FSX are pretty great for getting you airborne and used to flying. Then you should come to #flightsim and get help from real pilots.
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| # ? Nov 29, 2010 13:31 |
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Any recommendations for a flight yoke for FSX? It seems the CH yoke is pretty highly recommended. There is also this webpage which I guess was made to be handy but doesn't really compare anything. http://flightsimyoke.org/
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| # ? Nov 29, 2010 13:51 |
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Well, I can tell you not to get the Saitek yoke, it sucks or at least my example does. Very sticky on-center in both x and y axes, and has limited travel when turning left and right (aileron control). The pots were also misaligned on mine, so I had to take it apart to re-align the mechanism that actuates the pots. I understand it's discontinued at Saitek anyway, but there's probably stock available at retailers. You can hardly go wrong with CH stuff. I have a full fighterstick/throttle/pedals setup and although sort of outdated it's great quality. The yokes are similar and about as good as you can expect outside of spending big money for the advanced stuff like http://www.simw.com/sen/hardware.html
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| # ? Nov 29, 2010 14:13 |
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Quincy Smallvoice posted:consider doing that sooner. Done  Got a second hand Thrustmaster T.Flight Stick X from an electronics store around the corner, which works well with the FSX demo so far.Lord Commissar posted:Also, the tutorials in FSX are pretty great for getting you airborne and used to flying.
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| # ? Nov 29, 2010 14:53 |
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FLX posted:Is there maybe some reading I can do while I wait for my FSX copy to ship?
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| # ? Nov 29, 2010 15:09 |
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This youtube channel is great for ground school basics, they cover a lot of stuff. The VOR navigation video is very good. http://www.youtube.com/user/willteachyou
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| # ? Nov 29, 2010 15:56 |
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I updated my post the other day with vatsim information. Did anybody notice it? Don't want 20 people trying to fill in that information!
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| # ? Nov 29, 2010 16:43 |
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Captain Apollo posted:I updated my post the other day with vatsim information. Did anybody notice it? Don't want 20 people trying to fill in that information! You linked the wrong version of squawkbox for X-plane, the one you linked is for FS2002/FS2004/FSX This is the right one: http://www.xsquawkbox.net/xsb/index.php
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| # ? Nov 29, 2010 16:56 |
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I've been trying to get to grips with IL-2 for a while now, but I think that one of the concepts I'm struggling with is 'trim'. I understand that this changes the controls to a new 'zero' point, but how often should I be adjusting trim? Can anyone give me a dummies guide to trim?
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| # ? Nov 29, 2010 17:36 |
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My wife is an awesome wife. As a little late birthday gift, she printed out the map for the DCS games for me on her big 36" wide printer at her office and it turned out great. Now to get a poster frame for it and put it up on my wall. 
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| # ? Nov 29, 2010 17:39 |
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Goetta posted:Wings of Prey is available on Steam for 50% off, does anyone play this game? I played it as IL-2 Bird of prey on the consoles, and it was incredibly difficult to complete some of the missions in the arcade mode, so I didn't attempt the realistic or simulator modes. Picked Wings of prey up during the Steam sale and I've kinda painted myself into a corner in insisting that I play it in 'realistic'. Currently attempting to intercept wings of Heinkels over Stalingrad in what appears to be a Buffalo is an exercise in frustration, but I suspect that this is down to my skill levels. I finally got the hang of correcting spins, though.
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| # ? Nov 29, 2010 17:45 |
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slidebite posted:My wife is an awesome wife. As a little late birthday gift, she printed out the map for the DCS games for me on her big 36" wide printer at her office and it turned out great. Now to get a poster frame for it and put it up on my wall. That right there is a keeper.
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| # ? Nov 29, 2010 17:48 |
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Hav posted:I've been trying to get to grips with IL-2 for a while now, but I think that one of the concepts I'm struggling with is 'trim'. I understand that this changes the controls to a new 'zero' point, but how often should I be adjusting trim? slidebite posted:My wife is an awesome wife. As a little late birthday gift, she printed out the map for the DCS games for me on her big 36" wide printer at her office and it turned out great. Now to get a poster frame for it and put it up on my wall.
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| # ? Nov 29, 2010 18:47 |
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| # ? May 24, 2013 08:36 |
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Hav posted:I've been trying to get to grips with IL-2 for a while now, but I think that one of the concepts I'm struggling with is 'trim'. I understand that this changes the controls to a new 'zero' point, but how often should I be adjusting trim?
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| # ? Nov 29, 2010 18:50 |
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