GWJ FBO: Flight Simulation Catch-all

I just found this, so maybe its old news for the others reading this, but I just found someone who was able to layer in US VFR sectional, google maps, and a bunch of others into Little NavMap. I can use Foreflight + Xplane to follow along on a sectional, but that actually wants to add it to my real electronic Log Book. I also use various profiles with LNM, and I'm a little embarassed to add "King Air 350" into my Foreflight as a profile.. way too poser-y

https://www.avsim.com/forums/topic/5...

Gamechanging for LNM for me.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/UcUUQD1.jpg)

So Real Taxiways USA - Class B, C, D & Non-towered Airports was finally released not too long ago.

I think I agree with the FSElite review: it looks really good, and I can see that a lot of work must have gone into this, but $40 was a bit more than I expected for taxiways. Then again, when I posted about this back in May I thought it would be $45, so either the price came down a little or maybe it's "on sale" for its initial release.

The initial announcement for this said it was limited to class C and D, but it appears it really contains B, C, D, and untowered.

I'm still flying in Canada for the near future, but maybe I'll think more strongly about this when I cross back over into Maine.

One of the things that didn't come up in this video, but I read elsewhere, is that a lot of taxiway lights were also moved and placed more accurately. Those always really annoy me.

Carlbear95 wrote:

If you get this addon, even though you now have real taxiways, i'm not sure if LNM will pick them up, so you'll have to use a real chart which I don't think has a free moving map addon. Simple enough at a small airport, but good luck in Denver or some crazy airport like Madrid (LEMD).

I haven't bought this (yet), but did download the manual to have a look. It says:

TFM wrote:

Users should find that airports covered by Real Taxiways are now navigable via real-world airport diagrams, the signs on the ground, most external moving-map programs and online ATC instructions.

Still not sure $45 (or $40) is worth it for this unless you are flying VATSIM, and even in that case you will likely have a real world chart in front of you and you'll be following that instead of signs on the ground.

In the case of MSFS ATC at a smaller airport, the taxi routes are pretty simple and while it may not match a real world chart, whether its "Taxi via A" or "Taxi via C", its pretty obvious which way you need to go and you can follow it on LNM.

For major airports, even if the taxiways are labeled correctly I sometimes find MSFS ATC's taxi instructions baffling. Crossing at weird places, crossing back and forth. Doesn't really matter if the taxiways are labeled correctly or not.

The cost isn't totally comparable, but an investment in Navigraph I think is a better bet and maybe hope for fixes to the taxiways by MS. Its kind of shocking that they aren't labeled correctly given they have tech that can figure out where a tree is located based on bing imagery but didn't use that same tech to correctly label taxiways for every B,C,D airport out there. I thought it was also hinted that they would have something similar to Xplanes scenery gateway where users can submit fixes to the default airports.

I finally finished the Maritime Canada portion of my tour. I left upstate NY on July 4th and finally crossed back into northernmost Maine today, landing at Northern Aroostook Regional (KFVE). I touched down at airports in Quebec, New Brunswick, Labrador, Newfoundland, "France", Cape Breton (part of Nova Scotia), Nova Scotia proper, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick again, then Maine.

I plan to head down the eastern seaboard for a while, then maybe jump to some other parts of the world.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/hKHqKyR.jpg)

Carlbear95 wrote:

For major airports, even if the taxiways are labeled correctly I sometimes find MSFS ATC's taxi instructions baffling. Crossing at weird places, crossing back and forth. Doesn't really matter if the taxiways are labeled correctly or not.

That is absolutely true, although their taxi directions are no more baffling than any other directions I hear from ATC.

Carlbear95 wrote:

The cost isn't totally comparable, but an investment in Navigraph I think is a better bet and maybe hope for fixes to the taxiways by MS. Its kind of shocking that they aren't labeled correctly given they have tech that can figure out where a tree is located based on bing imagery but didn't use that same tech to correctly label taxiways for every B,C,D airport out there. I thought it was also hinted that they would have something similar to Xplanes scenery gateway where users can submit fixes to the default airports.

I have never understood this, since I am pretty sure that whenever I landed at any arbitrary airport back in FS 2003 or so I always found the directions accurate. Maybe I'm misremembering that...

Won't lie, I'm actually pretty excited about what news is going to come out of FSExpo in the next 48 hours or so, with the Next X-Plane being the highlight tomorrow. Interesting because two very highly anticipated XP11 aircraft, the FlyJSim Q400 and the Aerobask Falcon 8X have consistently said they will release in 2021 but haven't yet and if a platform shift is coming some sort of backwards/forwards compatibility probably needs to be there. That being said the Toliss A340 was just announced with an October release date.

Also, if you were on the fence (like me) the Aerosoft CRJ7 is 30% off, and I think I"m going to finally pull the trigger on it (I think this is the 3rd time I've said that). For those who have purchased it did you buy it from the MSFS store or direct from Aerosoft?

I bought it direct. No regrets. It remains my most flown aircraft in the sim. There's a good series of Youtube tuturials for it by 'The Dude'.

Carlbear95 wrote:

Won't lie, I'm actually pretty excited about what news is going to come out of FSExpo in the next 48 hours or so, with the Next X-Plane being the highlight tomorrow. Interesting because two very highly anticipated XP11 aircraft, the FlyJSim Q400 and the Aerobask Falcon 8X have consistently said they will release in 2021 but haven't yet and if a platform shift is coming some sort of backwards/forwards compatibility probably needs to be there. That being said the Toliss A340 was just announced with an October release date.

Also, if you were on the fence (like me) the Aerosoft CRJ7 is 30% off, and I think I"m going to finally pull the trigger on it (I think this is the 3rd time I've said that). For those who have purchased it did you buy it from the MSFS store or direct from Aerosoft?

How about some new stuff from Honeycomb?

Also Just Flight has a few things on sale, including the Arrow III and Air Hauler 2.

That new throttle looks pretty nice... having both a button for A/T Disco and TOGA below is cool, but it doesn't have the flexiblity of the Bravo. I think I'll want the Table Mount the most though

looks like some photos of Thrustmaster's Boeing offering are showing up from the floor. I dunno about you but the location of those thrust levers on the yoke itself seems a bit... awkward?

IMAGE(https://fselite.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/image_from_ios.jpg)

Got the CRJ... Don do you have a Bravo throttle? I couldn't figure out how to get the throttle back to "Shutoff" and looking it up there doesn't seem to be a way to do it without some additional software, so after doing all of the planning I couldn't actually start the engine. Every mouse press I tried didn't seem to do much either. Is there no way to bind something to that? Throttles just don't want to go back to shutoff.

No, I have the Thrustmaster T16000 setup. I have to use the mouse to release the red tabs under the throttles, then my throttle will work. When shutting down, I have to use the mouse again to drop the throttles to their shutoff position.

To be more clear, I click the red tab and lift the throttle to Idle, all with the mouse. Then I can use my throttle device.

Fiddled with it a bit longer and figured it out. Got in the air but had to get dinner. Hopefully will get it up and down tomorrow!

If you need help, feel free to hit me up on Steam or PM me.

Got it up and down. Overall not too bad. No VNAV and no AT, so managing speed on the approach was challenging... while a lot of it was me not knowing the aircraft, there was definitely some strange behavior pitching up and down as it would keep trying to chase the altitude I set for the approach fix. Flipping between SPD or VS mode didn't seem to help as it would just be all over the place. Ultimately I just shut off the AP and hand flew it to the ground, and I'll just have to practice a bit more to see what I need to correct.

Just a couple of things you may or may not know:
- if you can't get rid of the parking brake, it is because your aircraft still has chocks (EFB -> Aircraft -> Chocks)
- if you hit MFD MENU then hit VNAV (LSK6 twice), Time/Distance to TOD will display on the MFD. [edit: Actually, Time/Distance to next altitude constraint]
- DIR INTC will show descent rate needed to arrive at the selected altitude at each waypoint
- The Pilot and First Officer have independent screens. I like to set the F/O screen to show the flight plan with TOD (hit MFD Data on the F/O side)
- on approach, it is super important to keep your speed at the pink mark (VRef) [EFB -> Set Landing Speeds -> Set All]. If you keep your speed at the mark, it should follow the glide slope right in.
- for Simbrief import, you just need to point the Simbrief exporter to the correct directory, then when you are in the flight plan screen in the CRJ, enter the name of the route, EXEC and it should load in (for KJFK to KBOS, you'd type KJFKKBOS)

I also know that it is possible to use coupled VNAV (it's one of the settings in the EFB), but I don't know how well it works because I don't use it myself. I actually prefer having to do more work in the cockpit.

I fly with Icing off because there was a bug where the CRJ would experience excessive icing, but would not display it visually, and once you experienced icing, you couldn't get rid of it. The bug was supposedly corrected (months ago), but I'm still wary, and for my purposes, adding icing to the mix doesn't add anything for me.

[Edit #2] Regarding SPEED and VS: SPEED simply sets the target airspeed used during climb. It is pretty much the same as Flight Level Change, but really only used for climbing. If you are in cruise, you adjust speed using throttle. Descents can be managed using SPEED, where it will target the speed selected and you control the rate of descent using throttle adjustments, but from what I've read, it is almost never used for descent. VS mode is used for descent, and works how you'd expect.

For climbs, I set target altitude and climb with SPEED 240 until 10000, then 290 until the mach crossover, then Mach .74 until at target altitude. I don't remember where I learned that, but it was either a post on one of the aviation forums or a Youtube tutorial. For descents, I descend at -2000 unless I'm on a STAR. For STARS, I adjust VS so that the banana is over the fix with the constraint. For speed constraints, you have to manage that by adjusting throttle.

One more thing: If you hit FIX, you can type in a fix (waypoint or VOR) into REF, then a distance into DIS CROSS and it will draw a circle with that distance radius. When I fly, I manually calculate where I want to descend (how many miles from the constraint), then type in the fix and the distance, and it shows a dashed ring on the MFD. I find it a lot easier to see where my TOD is, especially when zoomed out.

Good info Don.

For the crossover.. i find the Mach speeds.. inconsistent? For CRZ I set the speed bug to .77 (its what Simbrief said.. I guess 0.74 is standard, but gas is free in a sim :)) but when I got the tape to meet the bug, the white number was showing over mach 0.80. I probably should have found a calculator to see which one was right, but that was annoying.

For approach, yeah the STAR was fine... the KLAX IRNMN2 STAR has a ton of speed and altitude restrictions and I stuck those pretty well, but it was my final approach where I was vectoring myself that I was all over the place. Again, most of it was my fault, as I don't know what N1% I should be aiming for for say 180 and flaps 8. I let the speed bleed off way too much, but what frustrated me was when I added power to try to get that speed back, the aircraft started to climb past the restriction I had dialed into the MCP. Basically I got way behind the aircraft and the various AP functions seemed to be fighting me to try and catch up. When I took manual control it was a bit better. Just need to practice it.. probably should have picked a more straight forward landing where the STAR transitions right into the approach instead of a vector, but live and learn

Good to know the FIX rings work. I will use those next time, and yeah who knew the CHOCKS were such a blocker Evidently if you remove them before the Ground Power Unit you can't disconnect that either!

Other than that (which I'm hoping was more my fault than sim) my complaints are minor, and have to do with non-interactions with my Bravo. Setting the SPD, VS works fine, but I cannot set the altitude bug with the Bravo. The font for that bug is so tiny that I have to pop the screen out to see it, while turning the ALT wheel. HDG bug moves too slowly with the Bravo and oddly, when you use BRAVO's control, it turns the bug, but the actual HDG value that you dial in doesn't show. When you use the dial with your mouse, the number shows properly.

Also, I had a real hard time pushing the "Set STD" altitude, and could not push HDG dial to re-center the bug.

Carlbear95 wrote:

Also, I had a real hard time pushing the "Set STD" altitude, and could not push HDG dial to re-center the bug.

If you are on Legacy controls, right-click then left-click the knobs. Right click takes it off of 'turn the dial' mode so you can press the center button.

I recently replaced my Thrustmaster T16000 joystick with a VKBSim Gladiator NXT, and it has been amazing. I love how this joystick feels, and I love knowing that it probably won't fail on me any time soon. I kept the Thrustmater TWCS throttle, but I modded it with the Impulse mod, and that has been great too.

I only play Elite and Mechwarrior with it right now, but now I'm contemplating installing DCS again.

How to tell someone is not using Live Weather?

Enjoy the lovely weather at the summit of Mount Washington, NH, home of some of the most active weather in the eastern US.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/vzuEpeQ.jpg)

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It was a lovely flight from Portland, ME, passing just north of the summit of Mt Washington, then over the (former) site of the Old Man of the Mountain, south over the White Mountains and Lake Winnipesaukee before landing at Laconia.

Today, I finished my on-and-off project in Microsoft Flight Simulator -- flying from one end of Japan to the other.

It's taken me almost a year -- I started last Christmas, at the southern end of Kyushu. Today I flew from Sapporo to my final stop: Kushiro, in eastern Hokkaido.

Along the way I stopped in cities such as Kobe, Tokyo, and Sendai, saw sights such as Itsukushima Shrine, and enjoyed the countryside from above.

A few highlights:

Checking out Itsukushima shrine:
IMAGE(https://www.matchstickeyes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Flight-Simulator-Itsukushima-Shrine.png)

The urban sprawl of Tokyo:
IMAGE(https://www.matchstickeyes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Flight-Simulator-over-Tokyo.png)

Japanese coast at sunset:
IMAGE(https://www.matchstickeyes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Flight-Simulator-Japanese-coast-at-sunset-1.png)

Departing from Sapporo this morning into a dramatic sky:
IMAGE(https://www.matchstickeyes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Flight-Simulator-Sapporo-departure-1.png)

Emerging from foggy mountains today:
IMAGE(https://www.matchstickeyes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Flight-Simulator-emerging-from-mountain-fog-1.png)

Don't know how many of you watch the Trading Post thread, but I thought this might be relevant to this audience, so I'm cross-posting it here:

CH Products Throttle

Looks like a whole new set of model matching for MSFS for AI/VATSIM is now available from Alpha India Group. Installation requires a phd but is supposed to be amazing. I'm going to give it a shot. I do want to fly VFR on VATSIM with MSFS, but seeing generic planes really is annoying. I know its petty, but seeing an amazing rendition of KSFO and the Bay area with a no-name 320 wandering the field just turns me off.

Tomorrow the GOTY update drops. Some new aircraft plus the sim update and DX12. Free for all users. Also their Air Race DLC for $20 or $60, which personally I don’t care about.

I did read somewhere that they didn't think the DX12 would have any meaningful performance gain or loss at this time. I'll check it out.

A SWA B738 Vatsim Aircraft! In MSFS at KDFW! Thank the maker!

IMAGE(https://i.ibb.co/xYnH8R2/Microsoft-Flight-Simulator-11-17-2021-7-02-19-PM.png)

MSFS update is out. 33GB in game.

Update notes are here: https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t...

And a reminder to empty your community folder (just rename it) when you patch and for the first load after to avoid potential issues. It's also a good idea to check if any of the addons you use have been updated for the new patch. I know JustFlight has updates for their stuff. I don't know about any others -- I haven't looked yet.

yay 26GB download. I'm going to have to quadruple my SSD space for my new PC in order to get this and Xplane to sit comfortably .they currently share a 1 TB drive (not including Orthos for Xplane), and I think I'm down to about 150GB on that thing.

I'm hearing all settings are reset with this new update... come on MSFT.. why do they make it so difficult. Don have you had a chance to take a look?

I've been out all afternoon. I probably won't get to it until tomorrow.

Was able to fire it up.. Control and graphics settings seem to be saved... What was reset was all of the assistance options.

Basically you drop in and all sorts of tooltips and stuff show up, and all assists are now back to EASY. So if you want to fly the plane instead of the plane fly you, be sure to change those back to however you wanted.

They added more UI elements so flying from inside the plane now has some of the same UI elements as when you are in chase-cam mode. Good news is you can turn all of that off, and you can now turn off the UI in chase cam mode as well, which is a much needed improvement.