Flight Sims (Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020)

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nipper
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6:41p, 4/28/20
AG
I've been reading up on the next installment of MSFS, due out later this year, and it seems really intriguing.

They are using Bing Maps + Azure to render the entire planet (Azure procedural generation apparently fills in the gaps). There are about 2PB of data that they will stream to you in real time for the rendering...

Other impressive features include live real life flight traffic rendered in game, live weather patterns, etc.

Are any Aggies here into flight sims? I'm wondering what a good entry level setup would be, potentially giving me a foundation to upgrade later if I decide to go deeper into the flight sim world.

My computer (RTX 2080, i7 8700K, 32GB Ram, 1TB NVME) should be enough to handle the game itself, but I have no idea where to start on peripherals...

Also any general tips for dipping my toes in this genre would be greatly appreciated.
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TxAg82
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7:12p, 4/28/20
AG
I have always enjoyed flight sims and have been following the development of the new Microsoft Flight Simulator with much anticipation. It looks like the real deal.

I decided to dig out all the sim equipment I had collected over the years, but never really used and put together a little sim cockpit. I am still working on it, but it is really fun. I had the Logitech radio panels and yoke laying around in a cabinet. I decided a to purchase a new yoke and have a dual set up so the kids could join in the fun if they wanted. ---- they love it by the way.

The new yoke is a Honeycomb and I highly recommend it over the Logitech if you don't already own one. They are releasing a throttle quadrant later this year that will sit in the space between the two yokes.

As for a starter set up I would get a nice yoke, throttle quadrant and an iPad running any of the various flight sim apps - Air Manager, Air Track , RF Cockpit... Air Manager is the one you see in my picture. It is easy to replicate any panels, from any plane you are flying and allows you to interact with them through the touchscreen. If you enjoy using the Yoke and iPad set up, watch out..... you will soon be building a larger cockpit.

And, yes. This is definitely the nerdiest hobby I have. But I figured the lockdown was a good time to dive in.


Apparently I do not know how to post a picture
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nipper
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In reply to TxAg82 • 8:14p, 4/28/20
AG
Thanks for sharing. I love the dual yokes and this is the first place I've seen someone using iPads (great suggestion).

Any thought to yokes vs joysticks? Does it depend on what you are flying?
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TxAg82
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8:25p, 4/28/20
AG
Yeah, it really does depend on what you want to fly. If you want to get into generation aviation or big jet simulation a yoke is the way to go.

If you want to do fighter jets a joystick is a must. Joysticks can also work for general aviation planes. So if you want to get into both the joystick may be the better option.

DCS World is a military simulator and is quite amazing. It is actually free to play and includes a few aircraft. You pay for additional aircraft, maps, etc... once you get sucked it.
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TresPuertas
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In reply to TxAg82 • 1:35p, 4/29/20
AG
TxAg82 said:
I have always enjoyed flight sims and have been following the development of the new Microsoft Flight Simulator with much anticipation. It looks like the real deal.

I decided to dig out all the sim equipment I had collected over the years, but never really used and put together a little sim cockpit. I am still working on it, but it is really fun. I had the Logitech radio panels and yoke laying around in a cabinet. I decided a to purchase a new yoke and have a dual set up so the kids could join in the fun if they wanted. ---- they love it by the way.

The new yoke is a Honeycomb and I highly recommend it over the Logitech if you don't already own one. They are releasing a throttle quadrant later this year that will sit in the space between the two yokes.

As for a starter set up I would get a nice yoke, throttle quadrant and an iPad running any of the various flight sim apps - Air Manager, Air Track , RF Cockpit... Air Manager is the one you see in my picture. It is easy to replicate any panels, from any plane you are flying and allows you to interact with them through the touchscreen. If you enjoy using the Yoke and iPad set up, watch out..... you will soon be building a larger cockpit.

And, yes. This is definitely the nerdiest hobby I have. But I figured the lockdown was a good time to dive in.


Apparently I do not know how to post a picture


Neat setup. If you don't mind me asking the ballpark that setup runs? It's something I'd be interested in but if I were to tell the wife I need to spend $1k on a video game airplane set up she'd likely try to kill me
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TxAg82
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In reply to TresPuertas • 4:11p, 4/29/20
AG
Well, now you are going to get me in trouble with the wife if she finds out I added all that up.

The only reason I have two yokes is because I decided to upgrade from the $150 Logitech yoke to the Honeycomb Yoke which cost $250. I just randomly saw a picture on the internet of some guys two yoke setup and cut the dashboard I was building a little larger to fit both.

If you go with the Honeycomb you will also need a throttle quadrant. But, I highly recommend it over the Logitech.

https://www.logitechg.com/en-us/products/flight/flight-simulator-throttle-quadrant.945-000032.html
$60

The radio stack pieces all came as gifts at various times and are probably $150 each. But you can use iPad apps to do the same things.

https://www.remoteflight.net/

I built the dash myself for $~20 worth of MDF. But you can buy nice ones that the common hardware fits in.
More expensive of course. ~$200.

I did not buy the iPads for the project. I had one laying around from work and one the wife got as a gift years ago. I bought these sweet $9 American Made iPad holders to easily take them in and out of the dash.
https://www.amazon.com/Pad-Bracket-Wall-Mount-Apple/dp/B0046V4CE4


For less than $500 should be able get you a yoke, throttle, one more piece of Logitech Radio/Autopilot panels and some apps for an iPad if you have one laying around to use.
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AtlAg05
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7:18p, 4/29/20
AG
You guys might enjoy a YouTube channel, I believe it's Airforceproud95. He has a bunch of funny flightsim videos from playing the old simulator. There's also some that show his setup.

I thought I read the recommended specs were a 2080ti. Going to be a beefy game.
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flyingaggie12
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11:21p, 8/17/20
AG
Tonight is the night! Currently running the download. 4.67 GB down, 90 GB to go. If anyone is stuck on the loading screen make sure you run the app as an administrator.
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TexAgs91
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In reply to flyingaggie12 • 11:31p, 8/17/20
AG
flyingaggie12 said:
Tonight is the night! Currently running the download. 4.67 GB down, 90 GB to go. If anyone is stuck on the loading screen make sure you run the app as an administrator.

Thank you. That helped
I identify as Ultra-MAGA
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OldArmyBrent
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In reply to flyingaggie12 • 11:33p, 8/17/20
AG
Aw crap I almost forgot. I better get that download started.
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TexAgs91
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11:10a, 8/18/20
AG
Here's a series about the flight sim setup. The 2nd video is useful for getting unsupported things like CH yoke set up.

I identify as Ultra-MAGA
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boredatwork08
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3:41p, 8/18/20
AG
Anyone want to record a College Station flyover?
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Pman17
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4:03p, 8/18/20
AG
I hope my computer is downloading at home. I had the pre-load set. Time to dust off the barely used flight stick.
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bankshot11
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5:21p, 8/18/20
AG
I want to check out the Xbox version. Or is this something I should really be playing on PC?
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Sweet Kitten Feet
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6:30p, 8/18/20
S
Supposedly it's pretty good using an Xbox controller. Can't wait for it to be available on xbox.
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OldArmy07
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7:19p, 8/18/20
AG
Fun game. Add me (ScottAPerk) if you want to fly around.
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AgsWin2011
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8:36p, 8/18/20
AG
Damn I got excited thinking it was available for Xbox since I saw it was available on Xbox Gamepass. Is there a date on Xbox release?
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AGSPORTSFAN07
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8:56p, 8/18/20
AG
Wow, I didn't realize I would finally need to upgrade my video card. I'm running a GTX 970 and I can only power this game at half. Unbelievable. It's awesome though. It has all the sounds you would expect to hear on a plane. Rickity noises, engine sounds, wind, etc.... And the map is stupid huge. Trying to figure out where I want to fly first after I finish all the flight training.
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OldArmyBrent
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10:30p, 8/18/20
AG
Thought I would have everything downloaded overnight to check it out tonight. But then when I went to start it for the first time, it said I have to download the content. Cool, but I have been downloading that 95 gb for 3+ hours and only about a third through. Do I somehow have it throttled? I'm new to Steam, so this is probably a dumb question.
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OldArmy07
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In reply to OldArmyBrent • 11:12p, 8/18/20
AG
It downloads from Microsoft's servers.
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OldArmy07
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In reply to boredatwork08 • 11:14p, 8/18/20
AG
Not really worth recording. Kyle Field is flat. I don't think the AI recognized it as a football field. Maybe it will get fixed at some point.

Easterwood field was hopping tonight. Lots of Aggies wanting to check it out.
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flyingaggie12
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In reply to OldArmyBrent • 11:35p, 8/18/20
AG
Run the program as an administrator and that should work.
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The Fife
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7:58a, 8/19/20
edit: Any idea if there will be add-in planes either from MS or people who just like developing that sort of thing? Some of the ones that I'm interested in aren't available.
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TxAg82
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In reply to OldArmy07 • 9:21a, 8/19/20
AG
Yep. Campus overall was way better then X-Plane auto-generated scenery. But it could certainly use some custom 3d buildings like Kyle Field, Academic Building , water tower, etc...
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aggieforester05
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In reply to The Fife • 9:51a, 8/19/20
AG
The Fife said:
edit: Any idea if there will be add-in planes either from MS or people who just like developing that sort of thing? Some of the ones that I'm interested in aren't available.

Undoubtedly, it'll take some time but there will be big support for it eventually as long as it doesn't bomb like Microsoft Flight did. I'd imagine there's many add ons already in development.
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TxAg82
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In reply to aggieforester05 • 10:17a, 8/19/20
AG
Yes add ons will be available and are already in development. I think i saw a youtube review where someone was already flying a 3rd party plane.
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AgsWin2011
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11:37a, 8/19/20
AG
How realistic is it in a sense of flight time? For instance if it takes 3 hours to fly from Dallas to Chicago, is that how long it takes in the game, or does it skip over the flat/boring parts of the flight?
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flyingaggie12
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In reply to AgsWin2011 • 1:02p, 8/19/20
AG
It's the same amount of time (as long as your operating within regulations and inside of aircraft limits). However there is a feature where you can speed it up or bypass to certain sections of the flight (approach, final, landing etc).
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tk for tu juan
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3:54p, 8/19/20
How do you manually assign controls for a joystick? The program does not have a default config for a Sidewinder Precision 2 even though it is a microsoft controller.

I had to go thru the 91 GB download twice since the first install glitched and had to delete it. After all of that, flying with with a keyboard because the joystick didn't work was disappointing. Did get to see my house (before crashing into it)
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flyingaggie12
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In reply to tk for tu juan • 4:27p, 8/19/20
AG
You can edit them under the control settings. I had to do the same for my Logitech joystick.
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The Fife
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In reply to aggieforester05 • 5:39p, 8/19/20
aggieforester05 said:
The Fife said:
edit: Any idea if there will be add-in planes either from MS or people who just like developing that sort of thing? Some of the ones that I'm interested in aren't available.

Undoubtedly, it'll take some time but there will be big support for it eventually as long as it doesn't bomb like Microsoft Flight did. I'd imagine there's many add ons already in development.
Cool, I'd love to see it with a 707-320 and a C-5A/B/C.
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tk for tu juan
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In reply to flyingaggie12 • 8:18p, 8/19/20
flyingaggie12 said:
You can edit them under the control settings. I had to do the same for my Logitech joystick.

It was 3am, completely missed the filter was set to "assigned" in the control settings, so nothing was showing under the joystick settings. Much better now
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tk for tu juan
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11:44a, 8/20/20
Why does the 747 act like you are flying in a hurricane? Tried the JFK landing challenge and it would bank wildly with any minor control input.

Enjoy flying the Icon A5 and buzzing the Florida beaches
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Pman17
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In reply to tk for tu juan • 9:48p, 8/21/20
AG
Haha, I had that issue too

Update: Reading that the big planes aren't working properly. Still a lot of things to be fixed, but the small planes work well, especially the Cessna.
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Sweet Kitten Feet
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10:15p, 8/21/20
S
Any of y'all recording a flight around college Station? Can't wait for this to come out on Xbox. My son is autistic and has a real affinity for maps, landmarks, etc. He's gonna love this.
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