Perfection.
Does anyone know if there is a mod or something yet where you can access charts for the planes that show recommended mixtures, prop rpm, all the V? speeds, etc.
I tried out the Bonanza G36 a but yesterday. Wasn’t quite prepared for how much power seemed to drop off at higher altitudes and I crashed it into the side of Mauna Loa. I went searching for and found this useful post on it:
I just so wish there was some way to access this info in game for each plane. How do actual pilots do this? Memorization? Handy chart on a kneeboard? Feel? Various combinations of the three?
That data can be found in the airplane’s pilot operating handbook. A lot of them are freely available if you Google plane name plus the handbook. Sometimes Flightsim.to will have user made checklists as well.
For the G36, this is the first hit off of Google.
bonanza-g36-complete-pilots-operating-handbook.pdf (aircraftassociates.com)
Section 5 will have the flight planning and performance data you need to make your flights more realistic. Just use those numbers as a ballpark figure as they may not match up exactly with the published numbers but it’s more than adequate for sim flying.
Yeah, that’s what I’ve been doing. I just keep hoping someone will eventually add an in game reference.
While this works, I agree with Thrag here. The issue is getting a lot more complicated since 3rd party aircraft is available both in the marketplace and for downloads elsewhere. And for many of those, there is no pilot handbook available. There should be a key in game that you can press with the settings for each aircraft at a glance. Or a mini-handbook, whatever they want to call it. Adding the capability for that would then put the onus on developers to add that to aircraft created, and for reviewers to comment that the data isn’t available for that aircraft if they skip out on it.
I just want to take a step back and shake my head at how this game turned out. When I saw the previews, I was so excited about a game in which you could explore the whole world. Hello! The WHOLE WORLD! Of course, there’s parts of the “the whole world” that were poorly designed from a gameplay perspective. I don’t know what they were thinking with certain repetitive parts. Lots of copy-pasta on late nights by that level designer, you know? But honestly, overall it hasn’t been like that. It’s been really amazing. I would say it’s even exceeded my really high expectations in that respect. There’s always something interesting to see because it’s based loosely on real life, so you always wonder: why is there a farmhouse here out in the middle of nowhere, who lives there? Look, someone built what looks like a resort hotel so far away from the nearest city on the edge of this gorgeous lake overlooking these mountains. I wonder if that a financial success? And on and on and on.
Now, granted, I do want to play something more structured too, like the air races and stuff they’re going to add. But just this incredible whole planet that’s already there has been really fascinating. It’s not often that one day something you dreamed about in one of your fanciful childhood dreams when you were playing on the computer actually came true when you became an adult. And it’s probably even rarer that the actualization of that dream is better than what you imagined.
I live out in the sticks and I was able to see my own house in game, which was kind of nuts.
When they add helicopters I am so landing in my driveway.
I like using live weather and am still a very VFR pilot, so in the evening when it’s dark here I’ve been flying around Hawaii. With the help of the handy chart, and finally getting the hang of setting mixture by watching how GPH goes up and down as you adjust, I made a proper ascent over the big Island to go visit the volcanoes and the observatory.
I ran out of gaming time before I could go land back at Hilo so I left the game paused overnight. Since I use live weather when I came back this morning night had fallen. So I tried my first night landing and first bonanza landing at the same time. I lined up well. I came in way too fast from descending from 13,000 ft, but worked my attitude to bleed speed until I could get the flaps and gear down. My approach was a bit wobbly but I thought I was doing great. Touched down at a good speed, pretty centered, but unfortunately quite short of the runway. In a panic I threw back in the power did a short hop on to the actual runway and made a terrible landing. I almost put a wing into the strip before the gear touched. Still, it was a landing.
If any of you are looking to fly with others but not sure where or how to start, I would highly recommend a group I’ve been flying with for several months now, called Virtual Flight Online.
They set up regular flights, both VFR and IFR (as I type there’s a VFR flight exploring Area 51) on weekends and throughout the week, and aim to cater to everyone.
The reason I recommend this group in particular is it’s an especially friendly and welcoming group and has regular fliers of all experience levels. Flights are typically full of people asking questions and getting advice, good-natured humour, and general chit chat about all things aviation related.
Flights are always hosted by a member who posts an invitation and a flight plan a few days in advance (as well as announcing on the MSFS forum). Participants are generally expected to show good runway etiquette - queuing to take off rather than rushing over everyone else - and SIDs/STARs are suggested, but by and large it’s not restrictive at all and the primary aim for every flight is fun, enjoyment and learning.
Anyway, I only mention this group in particular after flying with them for months because it’s definitely the most welcoming group I’ve flown with since the game’s launch. Oh, and the founder Jonathan is also the developer of the Transmitter app you might have seen on flightsim.to which allows groups of users to see each other without the usual range restrictions on Little Nav Map.
I feel like I should know what this means but I don’t know what that is?
Oh sorry, they’re the various departure from airspace and arrival into airspace routes that many airports have. The SID will guide you away from an airfield in a controlled manner while the STAR will guide you either to the approach phase or to a point where you’d get vectored in by ATC.
One of the most useful things they both do is give you a safe route through terrain in instrument conditions. 320 Sim Pilot has a video all about it.
Roger that, okay I did know what you were talking about but I’ve been not playing of late and my old man mind needs more something to put 2 and 2 together there.
Two days until the GOTY content hits.
I’ve been away from the game for a bit. I’ll probably come back after a bit. It would be interesting to visit Mexico’s Copper Canyon, for instance, and see how it looks like from high up instead of on the ground like in Forza Horizon 5.
Likewise. Been trying to catch up on non-MSFS games, and I also know I’ll be sinking a ton of time into FS22 when that comes out, so I have a narrow window to try the racing expansion and check out my first fighter jet.
For a brief bit there I thought you meant Flight Simulator 22 and I was already going crazy wondering how they did that. Farm Sim 22?
I still usually fly once a day, either in the CRJ-700 or the DC-6. Hopefully PMDG are still on track to release their 737 by the end of the year. I will be first in line for that! As a Boeing fanboy, it physically hurts that there’s still no decent Boeing in the game yet.
Didn’t they have the Dreamliner? Isn’t that good?
Dreamliner is only in the Premium edition, and Game Pass only has the standard edition.