Here's a look a a demographic like Elite's...light sport aircraft pilots.
50% of the accidents are on landing and takeoff.
Surprise.
50% of the accidents are on landing and takeoff.
Surprise.
General / Off-Topic For Those Of You On The Need For Autopilots :)
- Thread starter Ralph Vargr
- Start date
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The only autopilot I'll be trusting at first is the supercruise one. I tried a docking computer on my Type-9 once, and it boosted incessantly, which damaged my calm and my immersion. MoM seems to have a lead foot, despite all the "approach at a safe speed" warnings we get from the station. And if the same AI flying NPCs will be running my DC, no thanks! Have you seen how NPCs have been flying lately?
Please note that I have formally taken aircraft off of my lottery win list.
If I got filthy rich from a big lottery win. I would mark most GA prop planes off from a prospective owning list. At the minimum would be a dual twin turboprop. Most preferable would be a private jet. These light sport planes and small GA prop are just way too flimsy, cramped small, and weak imo to be comparably more secure with heavier and more powerful planes. And like real aviation, I'd hardly ever leave the touchdown and takeoff points to autopilot control excepting ap-fd autothrottle for heavies. (long time FSX simmer, mostly heavy airliners in peer-graded virtual airline. )
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And, us RL drivers welcome the new autopilot lords. 
Flight "simmers" have held this game back from fresh blood for a long time. I've lost many of my teeth, and even more ego.
Flight "simmers" have held this game back from fresh blood for a long time. I've lost many of my teeth, and even more ego.
You forgot the annuals, the constant refresher training from FSI, hangaring, the outrageous prices of everything, insurance, passing the medicals, etc. I'm not Travolta.
Frontier just cut the cord. As I have been told many times by the warm, sympathetic bunch on this forum: adapt, or die.
Absolutely in the spirit of the Elite series.
I'm never trusting a docking computer since they fly like the AIs. I got caught behind a Beluga on the way out of Ray Gateway, which got stuck in the airlock and fried by the station when it failed to exit the station in time. Flying a Type 6, this was pretty intimidating. Never trust one of those.
Not me. I'd replace my old Denney Kitfox 2 with a later S7 STi on phat tyres*. For me, the real fun is in off piste flying, bouncing off ploughed fields, beaches and the odd hill top, being one with the machine pushing it to the limits of it's abilities. Can't get a computer to do any of that for you. 'Real aviation' is in Class G doing what the hell you want.
Going back to the Paul Bertorelli video at the beginning, one of the points he makes is a lot of accidents with LSAs happen with pilots of spam cans or heavier trying to fly them and getting caught out by the aircraft being much more lighter and frigid than the Sez-nahs and Chokeys they're used to.
The Cub Crafter of course will have a lesser accident rate as it's quite a large, stable machine, being based on the J3, and appeals to a type of pilot who has some skill. The CT on the other hand, being a fast, all singing, all dancing full of electronic bells and whistles will typically attract the 'All the gear and no idea' pilots who find it rapidly gets away from them, and is not going to tolerate being rammed onto the deck on it's nose-wheel at a fraction below Va as I often see the resident PA28s at my field do.
*And maybe an Ikarus C42 C/S as a secondary if they ever get approved in the UK. Or use the lottery winnings to move to the south of Germany where I could have one straight away.
Thanks. That's fun flying. Wish I were up to it.
Ten years ago, I might have considered getting back in the saddle. Declining health makes that unlikely. Can't handle the control inputs anymore.
I'm used to an aircraft that stalls at 126 KIAS. The wing loadings on an F-16A are just slightly higher than the average GA aircraft, and many forget their AOA's under Vref...
I'm not paying a half million for a bird that just barely ranges 1,000 NM, and doesn't have bathrooms. Eight hours of no bathrooms.
I'm not going Travolta, either. I'll fly commercial. Blech.
It's fun to watch the hardcore flight sim guys totally lose it when the center of the skill distribution curve gets more attention than they do. I've already had my humbling in Real Life. Your turn, loudmouths.
Sounds like half the commercial flights I've been on. Three and a half hours in a hideously crowded airport with enormous lines everywhere at each end, with an hour in the middle in some deafeningly loud tin can with one person crapping their guts out in the only bathroom for the entire flight.
You retired pilots. Let's talk costs of a nuclear submarine, though at least we have bathrooms.
You forgot the annuals, the constant refresher training from FSI, hangaring, the outrageous prices of everything, insurance, passing the medicals, etc. I'm not Travolta.
Frontier just cut the cord. As I have been told many times by the warm, sympathetic bunch on this forum: adapt, or die.
Oh I'm aware of many of those concerns and costs. avsim has had plenty of rl pilot members who also sim that share their experiences. And FSX has some addons that simulate costs of flights, fuel, hangaring, insurance, and FAA infractions. That's why I said a "big" lottery win.
And, us RL drivers welcome the new autopilot lords.
Flight "simmers" have held this game back from fresh blood for a long time. I've lost many of my teeth, and even more ego.
It's fun to watch the hardcore flight sim guys totally lose it when the center of the skill distribution curve gets more attention than they do. I've already had my humbling in Real Life. Your turn, loudmouths.
If you're referring to the type of "simmers" that eschew the autopiloting in ED, there are of course different types and degrees of simmers from the casual ones and those who seek to sim with more fidelity to not just aerobatics but also airplane operations, traffic, and systems where in FSX part of the simming is simming use of the autopilot, nav system, etc. and how or when they're used in aviation. I'm all for the new ED autopilot as an extra convenience for the playerbase where its use can be optional. And I don't think I've been one of those who's "held this game back" from a simming standpoint. FD have had implemented a couple of suggestions I made ( or concurrently with others) in the past, but nothing to do with the auto piloting or flight modeling.
I anticipate being fairly humbled if I ever get to rl flying. I'm past the age to get into a flying career, but still healthy and fit enough to get into flying lessons someday. I'm not the type to want to often indulge in bush flying or aerobatics, just content enough to do safe cruising at a decent altitude, enjoy the views, and maybe catch a sight of a UFO. (I'd guess what you refer to about Travolta, or Ford
)
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My only problem with the auto pilots is that they are a bit slow..
I might keep the assisted cruise module when I have a slot available, but that's less for everyday use than, if I wan't to go take a slash or fetch a sandwich.
I might keep the assisted cruise module when I have a slot available, but that's less for everyday use than, if I wan't to go take a slash or fetch a sandwich.