Game Discussions Microsoft Flight Simulator

Yes, I've been doing that on some of the planes. Will have to investigate whether there are start-up checklists, as I've only really managed it on the basic Cessna's. :)

There is, you can just move your mouse cursor into the top to make the menu popup, and one of the options is to display the checklist for every phase. You can ever manually "check" the items if you want.

I actually enjoy the taxiing process, which is the main reason I like to start at a ramp / gate, and I agree with you about the pushback, it's a bit fussy (can also be buggy). Did have an issue yesterday at JFK when taxiing to the runway I apparently hit an invisible and un-passable obstacle, and ended up having to spawn at the end of the runway to get away.

Also noticed that if you choose to start in the fuel box but the airport has no pushback service, some planes may not be able to turn around on their own.
 
There is, you can just move your mouse cursor into the top to make the menu popup, and one of the options is to display the checklist for every phase. You can ever manually "check" the items if you want.

Also noticed that if you choose to start in the fuel box but the airport has no pushback service, some planes may not be able to turn around on their own.

Thanks, didn't know that - but should have... :D

Yes, I've been denied pushback at a fuel station. Honestly, just turned anyway (I don't have damage turned on, luckily for - well everybody). I also noticed that on occasions taxiing directions are a bit pants. Requested taxi to depart due south, taxied all over the airport and put on a due north course. The taxiing took almost as long as the flight! 😂

Also, and possibly just a random bug, but I set up and saved a flight / route, and when I tried to start the plane manually (Cessna 172 and have started that many times manually), nothing happened. Batteries and avionics were dead, and engine turned over then stopped. Was all worth it in the end though, once I finally got airborne had one of my most centered landings yet. :)
 
...

DCS too is great, but it becomes too expensive beyond the 2 initial airplanes. And being a modern military sim, I've been postponing reinstalling it because I shudder at the thought of having to set (and remember) the trillions of keybinds...
Kinda true, but there is usually a limited set of keys you need mapped. The difficult part is finding these in the different models when the systems have different names but functionally work similar (target locking e.g.), everything non-time-critical can be done by switching cockpit buttons. So usually I have flight controls, trim, radio, gear, flaps, sensors, weapons somewhere mapped. Lights I usually don't map. And vs AI I don't bother flying with floodlight on. In PvP I reverse-dont bother (meaning: I try to not switch them on at all). Then there is the view keys that are usually the same across plane modules. The sim keys are the same, too.
 
Requested taxi to depart due south, taxied all over the airport and put on a due north course. The taxiing took almost as long as the flight! 😂

Runway allocation is primarily based on the wind conditions and such. If departure is 36 they are not gonna flip the entire schedule to 18 just because you can't be bothered to make an 180 degree turn once airborne. :ROFLMAO: Indicating where you are going makes it easier for them to see how you fit in with local traffic.
 
Since the last weekend I began starting all my flights from parking with everything shut down. It's a strangely satisfying feeling starting the airplanes from dead cold into flight-ready just from clicking / twisting / pushing / pulling on the 3D cockpit buttons / levers / knobs.

I'm lazy, and am going to wait until HCS finish their voicepack for all that - since it will basically do it all for you if you ask nicely. 😄
 
I am really pleased to say that Logitech's flight panels now work in MSFS 2020. You have to run a shortcut after starting a flight to launch the plugins (make the panels work) but they say that automatic launching of plugins will come in a MSFS update soon.

So if you have any of the panels (including the Flight Instrument Panels) you can download the exe file for the plugin:

Microsoft Flight Simulator Plug-in
Software Version: 8.0.281.0
Last Update: 2020-09-08
OS: Windows 7,Windows 8,Windows 10
File Size: 2.3MB

N.B. It is just the one file which covers all panels.


Running in MSFS (sorry about the lousy picture quality) - NB all the gauges on the FIP work (almost) perfectly (trim gauge is incorrect for example):

IMG_0707s.jpg


Now if MS can just fix that "stopped working" issue I would be a happier bunny. (It is annoying to have to restart the sim to make another flight as the load times are just horrible.)


msfs stopped working.jpg
 
Runway allocation is primarily based on the wind conditions and such. If departure is 36 they are not gonna flip the entire schedule to 18 just because you can't be bothered to make an 180 degree turn once airborne. :ROFLMAO: Indicating where you are going makes it easier for them to see how you fit in with local traffic.

Fair enough, and I have no problem making the turn... ;)

And while in the real world, of course this would be true, I wonder whether that's really the case in the sim. After all, I can choose to spawn at the end of any runway when creating the flight, and regardless of wind or traffic conditions, if I have a chosen a specific runway as my destination, when contacting ATC to request landing, that is the runway that I'll be directed to - or certainly has been every time so far.

Would be more realistic I think if when requesting taxi for takeoff only the 'active' or possible runways were given as options. Would make planning for the flight more realistic too. :)
 
If you play FS vanilla without FSE/OnAir you can just add fuel mid-air. Just in case you didn't know. :)

I do, but that would be cheating and IMO it would take away all the enjoyment of finishing a successful flight. It was actually the 2nd time I ran out of fuel and crashed into the sea :) I'll be starting future flights with full tanks instead of just 50%. >)

Also had a flight where I lost oil pressure completely and the engine stopped after a while, could not restart it afterwards and had to glide down into the ground.
 
Oddly enough there are now four versions of FS2020. At launch you had normal, deluxe and deluxe premium. The deluxe added five planes and airports, the deluxe premium added these plus again five more. The added content of deluxe premium is now available as 'premium' too. So those who only want the dreamliner but didn't need the content of the deluxe version can opt for that. :)
 
Been cracking on with the USA bush trip. Really struggled to find the landing strip for the end of the second leg...



Can't imagine why I didn't realize this was actually the landing strip.

The runway's where? :LOL:

Having figured it out, I'm now progressing nicely.
 
Also had a flight where I lost oil pressure completely and the engine stopped after a while, could not restart it afterwards and had to glide down into the ground.

I had that on one of my Patagonia trips. I had to land on the edge of a a lake. I could only get it started by turning everything off and going for a cold restart. Thankfully it worked...
 
You probably all know this, but a big update is coming soon!


Now I'm torn... I'm loving FS, but Elite is also starting to draw me back in thanks to the rebirth of Galnet and CGs. There's only so many hours in the day, and each game is very time consuming (at least how I play). Hmmm... Well, I prefer flying planes during daylight hours, so perhaps I'll save MSFS for days off and ED for nights off!

Speaking of, I find FS way more "immersive" on a 2D screen than Elite. I think it has to do with the superior lighting and sense of scale that MSFS gives me. On the other hand, I usually play ED in VR, which balances out the immersion factor. Now I just have to dig the Oculus out of the closet and hope Mark Zuckerberg doesn't grab me and drag me into the sewers like that scary clown.
 
You probably all know this, but a big update is coming soon!


Now I'm torn... I'm loving FS, but Elite is also starting to draw me back in thanks to the rebirth of Galnet and CGs. There's only so many hours in the day, and each game is very time consuming (at least how I play). Hmmm... Well, I prefer flying planes during daylight hours, so perhaps I'll save MSFS for days off and ED for nights off!

I usually mix-n-match, according to mood.

Besides MSFS and ED, I also regularly play IL-2 Sturmovik. Right now I'm playing MSFS much more than the others, but there are days I mix it with IL-2 or ED. When battle of normandy drops I'll probably play IL-2 much more than the others for a while, and when Odyssey drops I'll likely play ED more than the rest for some time. I also have DCS, but haven't played it for a while.

And these are just the "flying games", I also play RPGs, including a good old rump of ultra-modded Skyrim and turn-based RPGs mostly (currently Wasteland 3). Also enjoy a good Galactic Civilizations III or Tropico afternoon every one and a while, and a good old XCOM weekend. :)

And yes, I do have a job :D

Speaking of, I find FS way more "immersive" on a 2D screen than Elite. I think it has to do with the superior lighting and sense of scale that MSFS gives me. On the other hand, I usually play ED in VR, which balances out the immersion factor. Now I just have to dig the Oculus out of the closet and hope Mark Zuckerberg doesn't grab me and drag me into the sewers like that scary clown.

I guess that's because MSFS has a lot more to see that permanently draws your attention, both outside with fantastic scenery and weather, and inside the cockpit with all those interconnected systems to manage. Now try to imagine MSFS in VR.

ED on the other hand, has beautiful (IMO) visuals but the great moments of awe are few and far between, most of the time we're either staring at nothing in space or over completely barren single biome landscapes, which have their own beauty absolutely, but aren't able to draw your attention for more than a few moments at a time.

ED is also far more anemic as a "flying game", as even though flying ships in ED is indeed a rather pleasant experience, there's barely anything to actively do and pretty much nothing to pay attention to while just flying. Even driving the SRV is more involving.

That's why I am personally much more positive towards Odyssey with it's more "space adventure" theme over the old just plain flying game, because as a pure flying game, ED was quite nice but would always play third fiddle to the likes of IL-2, MSFS, Rise of Fight, X-Plane 11, DCS, etc.
 
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I can't wait until, for "immersion", you go through a full mission brief, a weather brief, the full walk out to the airplane, do the external pre-flight checks, sign off on the form with all the red diagonals on the airplane's maintenance status, strap in, set up, start up, and be told to stand down when you report ready. :)
 
AT&T is coming out today to double my bandwidth. No charge, and no monthly increase. That's the good news.

I need a new PC to truly enjoy MSFS 2020. I had to cancel my XBox subscription. Uninstall.

I'll miss Mole Island. I'll still be playing MSFS X for Steam, which has a glass cockpit 172. My box can handle that.
 
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