Well it may be awhile until my flight department resumes flight operations. Thankfully my company (remaining anonymous) is doing financially well during this entire situation, although remaining humble at the same time.
Not knowing when we will resume ops, there is talk to have us go up to get our 3 bounces in, but I have been looking at XP and the K350 add on to satisfy the civilian flying itch. (Lots of DCS and BMS in the meantime.) I haven’t flown since March 11! Feels much longer due to slight cabin fever.
Please convince me NOT to get XP… because I know if I do, I’ll end up taking out a loan for all of the other cool add-ons! and I’m still trying to recover from my DCS spending. I have read XP with VR looks great with the recent Vulkan update (aware of the initial bugs).
And Supercarrier supposedly comes out this week! So many virtual toys. Certainly not enough time.
I wouldn’t get it, the King Air 350 by airfoil labs is a piece of ■■■■. Especially in VR.
You can check the oil and hand pump gas in it, but you can’t use VR to throw luggage in the back hap-hazardly. Between this and the TBM 900, I don’t know which one I hate the most.
I currently fly the K350 which is why I’d be interested in it. Though it is my understanding that the XP version is the standard steam gauge/EFIS equipped model and our fleet has ProLine 21 avionics.
I also understand there is an E175/195 model for XP. I also flew that airplane and that’s another one I’m interested in if anyone has experience with it.
I pressed the button on the Flyjsim 727-100 on the weekend and got the CIVA INS with some accrued points to accompany it.
I have a steep learning curve ahead of me and I’m quite intimidated…but at the same time, it looks like a great module and is quite well suited for the longer Mudspike treks, so I am looking forward to it!
You will love it. The CIVA is actually very simple…in a very complicated way…yeah, that didn’t make a terrible amount of sense, did it.
What I meant to say is that the concept is fairly simple. It is just LAT/LONG. Getting it all set and loaded…that’s the complicated part…that and the DME position updates….
…and then you may recall that I was using this with an FSX B707 the Mudspike Christmas flight 2 years ago. I accidentally zeroed it about half way across the Atlantic and had to divert into Iceland…try not to do that. Then on the last leg, I fat-fingered a latitude and ended up 60 Nm off course…I also don’t recommend doing that either.
…Until you fly with a Captain who wants every VOR and intersection programmed during the non-overwater portion of the flight. Then it is a PITA. His last name was Loose but we called him “Goose” because he had a habit of getting frightened over fuel and diverting into Goose Bay. God I hated could not tolerate that guy!
@TheAlmightySnark wrote an excellent article on the CIVA just in case anyone is unaware.
Definitely that 727 looks very good, but after I realized that it required 3 crew members to operate it my attention suddenly slipped to that 732 TwinJet.
But didn’t press the buy button yet.
Technically that is correct. However, even in the real world it can be flown by a single individual…well a single pilot and a mechanic…as occurred on the right of 25 May 2003 …and was never seen again…
…ehhh…probably not the best example.
In XP-11, you can jump back and forth between the seats enough that it isn’t difficult at all. There are some FE tasks for getting everything ready to start the engines–APU, fuel pumps, bleed air, etc.–but when you are done its mostly PF stuff. Some FE fuel balancing and AC stuff once airborne…a little something to break up the monotony of plugging in CIVA entries.
Is it possible to download ortho photos that are already processed and ready to be put in Custom Scenery? Curious why you have to go through so many hoops of file conversion etc. to download ortho?
I understand the process, just don’t feel like messing with it. If there was a drag and drop install somewhere, I’d probably test it out. Or a setup like the HD and UHD mesh, where you just pick the tiles you want and download it.
I was a bit undecided between the two as well, but the sale was about to end and I figured either one was going to be a good challenge so I picked the one that flew first, being the 727.
I am definitely intimidated, though. Learning the cockpit flows and operation is something I know how to get going with from DCS - but I really haven’t flown any big civilian jets at all, so navigation and procedures are going to be a challenge. Then again, I can cold start the Mi-8, can’t be less logical than that, right?
I learned a bit of VOR/DME stuff in the Turbo Arrow and Duchess during last year’s trek and know the basics of VFR cross country flying, but the proper IFR navigation stuff will be all new to me.
I might have to make the 727-100 my “bird of the month” at some point before the Xmas trek to get some practice.
That will be my saving grace, together with @TheAlmightySnark’s excellent CIVA tutorial!
I think my first little while will be spent just sitting in the cold cockpit with the manual and the various guides open on the laptop screen…I’ll just take it all in with a quiet appreciation of the magic (and with a healthy measure of apprehension about all the confusion and trouble I will no doubt end up in whilst in that cockpit).
and I’m still trying to recover from my DCS spending. I have read XP with VR looks great with the recent Vulkan update (aware of the initial bugs).
