Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) - We're really sorry about Microsoft Flight

In NF 3 you can add planes to the database yourself in game. In NF 4 there’s a submission process, but lots of mods are already in the game.

What Ginger_Yellow said. It’s easily modifiable. There was a thread or discord I saw where someone had linked a google doc with some of the third party planes added in the marketplace. I’m assuming or hoping there is a better doc somewhere for those wanting to avoid the work of needing to find all the specs to fill in for an aircraft, thus you could just download a bigger plane database.

IIRC in NF3 it’s just the numbers you can see on the plane selection page in MSFS, so not hard to find.

Another great screenshot, Thrag, you’re crushing it.

Flying through that looks intense. I can imaging heavy updrafts and downdrafts?

Thanks, y’all. With NF4 in beta, I feel like maybe I should just skip investing time/effort in NF3 and toss a few bucks at the dev and get my cash into the new ecosystem. :)

I’m kind of torn whether to get into it. I love the social aspect of FSEconomy – seeing where y’all are flying, finding planes have moved to new places since I last flew them, etc. Plus the ability to fly anywhere just by renting a plane in the location I’m interested in.

But NeoFly’s off-airport and bush missions are intriguing as well. And since I’m content to fly those around the PNW/Alaska, I can just get a few planes going based on those areas, and small cheap planes are fine for that.

Huge props to @Skipper for all the time spent explaining these apps to us!

Hah, I was late to the party for a lot of these. There are still others out there as well, I just left a discord for The Skypark but there is also OnAir and AirHauler 2.

I think a bit of several gives enough change and challenge to keep things fun. NeoFly just keeps getting better.

There’s certainly a lot of choice! I wish I had more time for this. I don’t understand people who claim they’re bored in retirement. Between my books, my game backlog, and MSFS, I could fill days even without leaving the house and interacting with SO and cats. :) And since I do actually do those things too, yeah, I need to live to 130, please. I think I’ll stick to NeoFly and FSEconomy, but OnAir looks cool too. Haven’t even looked at AirHauler 2!

I’ve also thought it’d be really fun to mess with PilotEdge or VatSim. But often my simming requires pause-and-resume routines that aren’t compatible with live scenarios interacting with real humans. :)

The Scrapyard Monster lives, and she is beautiful. After a quick lunch break flight:

  • Unprecedented ground handling for a taildragger.
  • Authentic pinball machine starter
  • No doors or windows, so fliers looking to determine WWise by opening a window will have to find a new hobby. Lots of custom sounds that do a great job masking the Extra 330 base engine.
  • 100% seriously a better manual than half the paywere planes I own.
  • Includes engine-warmed French Fry holder, a unique addition unavailable even in PMDG’s most sophisticated aircraft. Holds four servings.
  • Two liveries, including Ferrari
  • Repurposed katana
  • Detailed cold-and-dark startup procedure. Don’t forget your quarter.
  • 26 authentic working circuit breakers, so you guys who find pulling breakers the real joy of flying are gonna have a field day.
  • Paint kit available on the Flying Fries Discord

I have stick time in an F-15D, which has a similar thrust-to-weight ratio once you drop the ballast, so I feel qualified to pronounce this one of the most sophisticated and authentic flight models ever.

Two cockpit configurations depending on livery!

Just look at those textures. If like so many MSFS fans, the joy of the flying experience for you is all about textures, you and the Scrapyard Monster are going to fall in love.

In as much seriousness as I can possibly muster right now, I will say this is a blast to fly! Powerful, STOL-capable, aerobatic certified, and just all-around fun. I do not think you will find it in FSEconomy, however.

A couple of more shots that I took last week. Soon after this I flipped the cub like an idiot after landing. Twice. Insurance gave me a second one which I immediately flipped in the same exact way. I pumped the breaks too hard while taxiing with a strong tailwind and not keeping my elevator down. Fortunately the AI pilots made enough for me to upgrade to a used XCub.

I do really love flying the various center stick bush planes, though I do it with a yoke. It’s making me fantasize about one day adding a really nice stick with an extension. Anyone have a Virpil or a Winwing or other fancy stick with an extension and have thoughts about the setup? Worth it?

So, we’re getting/being pushed into a sequel next year. They’d better start talking soon about compatibility or lack thereof.

Pushed into a sequel? MSFS 2024 or something? I didn’t get the memo.

Just announced, albeit very vaguely.

Game Pass Tweet confirms it’s a sequel

Interesting but also a bit alarming given how little we know. Comments on Reddit indicate that MSFS was a ten year deal of updates and culling of FSX legacy code but the cynic in me says the MS beam counters got involved and mandated a “new”, non upgradable sim every four years. What about FS2020 users who won’t upgrade? Will they lose cloud devices? Enquiring minds want to know.

I started messing about with NeoFly 3 this weekend, had a blast starting a career, and I have no idea what I’m doing. I can barely put my flaps down. Or up. Or something. Made 2 deliveries successfully. Clipped a tree line trying to land in a field and crashed on one run. Had to abort a night run once as well, as it was sending me to an unlit field in some woods in the middle of the countryside at night, and I couldn’t see the runway at all.

Fun times.

It’ll do that. I think you can filter by lit runways in NF3, you certainly can in NF4, even so I find they’re not worth the risk with all the random trees.

I’ve been using NeoFly 4 to get to know my region and all the little strips in it.

image

Made a base at South Lake Tahoe and have been flying in and out and all around there. It’s very scenic flying having to hop back and forth over the mountains into the desert. It’s been a very wet spring in the area there are rainstorms again today. Had a few flights back and forth between South Lake and Truckee where there was near zero visibility over the water. Though it’s sure nice when the clouds break.

Thrag’s ability to hunt down double rainbows is unequaled. Beautiful!

I tried filtering out the small airports like that but I’m not sure it worked. Or more likely I did it wrong. :)

I kind of like the grass strip landings in the middle of nowhere, though. Just not at night in the pitch dark. That’s nuts.

Sounds like all the MSFS stuff carries over. Which is a huge improvement over FS02/FS9/FSX where 70% of stuff would break or have quirks each update.