Question about X Plane and computer/monitors

BrianNC

BrianNC

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The last flight simulator software I used was Microsoft Flight Simulator X I believe, and haven't used it in several years. Is X Plane comparable to that? Do you have IFR flight scenarios you can fly, etc, like MS did? I'm really wanting to use it for instrument simulation.

Also, for 13 years now I've used a MacBook Pro (have a '13 model now) and I see there is an X Plane version for that. I've got a couple of 27" monitors that I hook up to the laptop from time to time. How easy is it to have X Plane display across both monitors, etc? I assume it's just settings in my Mac just like running anything else across both screens? Do I even want to do that?

One more question. I have Bootcamp installed on the Mac with Windows 8. Should MS Flight Simulator X still work with that late a version of Windows?
 
I have the 3 screen setup. And I like it alot. It is on windows though.
I'm running xplane latest version. I also have latest version of fsx but never use it.
Id say likely yes on fsx with windows 8 but cannot verify.
Xplane 11 is pretty nice. It probably has more features than I'll ever use.
 
Xplane is great, just be prepared for a long install time and LOTS of disk space. It can be reduced by limiting the geographic areas and the aircraft that are installed. From users POV it can be more complicated because it's much more realistic as far as aerodynamics of the aircraft. I tend to use the yoke and the simplest instructions possible.
 
Skyrys62 said:
I have the 3 screen setup. And I like it alot. It is on windows though.
I'm running xplane latest version. I also have latest version of fsx but never use it.
Id say likely yes on fsx with windows 8 but cannot verify.
Xplane 11 is pretty nice. It probably has more features than I'll ever use.
Click to expand...

So is your panel basically going across all the screens?

Does it have the IFR flight scenarios/flights like fsx?
 
murphey said:
Xplane is great, just be prepared for a long install time and LOTS of disk space. It can be reduced by limiting the geographic areas and the aircraft that are installed. From users POV it can be more complicated because it's much more realistic as far as aerodynamics of the aircraft. I tend to use the yoke and the simplest instructions possible.
Click to expand...
BrianNC said:
So is your panel basically going across all the screens?

Does it have the IFR flight scenarios/flights like fsx?
Click to expand...
I think you can download the manual if not, let me know.
 
Good advice. Lots of disk space.
Better have some graphics and computing power too if you want it to be detailed and smooth frame rate.
IFR would cut down on that due to less ground detail I think.
You can download the trial version which is a actual version just unlicensed. Gives you about 10 minutes at a time then locks the controls. Then you crash.
 
Yeah, using mostly IFR don't really need a lot of ground detail.
 
SSD drive would be a recommendation to increase loading times. But...if you're in no hurry...
 
I ran Xplane11 on my iMac and it was OK, but the frame rate was fairly low even with graphics turned down. It simply is an issue with the video card not being able to keep up with the demands of the simulator. I ended-up buying a PC from eBay for $330 with an i5-2400 processor and a Geforce GTX 1050 video card and it works very well with the simulator. As stable as the Apple machines are, when it comes to graphics, it's difficult to overcome the modular nature of the PC and the ability to install a powerful video card. Plus, in the grand scheme of things, the $335 isn't a lot for being able to use all the features and resolution of the Xplane11 simulator.
 
More is better in xplane 11 that's for sure.
I have the gtx 1070 and still can't get max settings smoothly. Turning down a little detail gets the job done though.
Still...you might try the trial on your Mac with low settings for ifr.
Good luck.
 
Go to this site: ( http://www.ontheglideslope.net ) He has a great X Plane set-up. One of the articles I read there talks about how to set up three monitors. I have a front view and a side view ( ony two monitors now) but with three monitors you can have a front and both sides.
 
Just to add, you can run FSX on Steam http://store.steampowered.com/ Not sure if steam works on Mac or just Windows, but since you have both. I have both X-Plane 10 and 11, split screen is just set up within the flight sim itself. Takes a few attempts to get things looking perfect.
 
If you do get multiple monitors, try to stay with 1080p...or a single 4K TV. At first I was using a 65" 4K tv and it looked pretty great. then I opted for 3 27" screens to get the surround effect, which I do like better, but 3 50" would be great.
Check out YouTube if you haven't. There are some nice setups. More than I'm willing to invest ha ha.
jallen0 has the right reco. You can also search for ontheglidescope on YouTube. That guy did it right.
 
Agreed, SSD is a must (you already got that covered) and no need for the newest biggest and slowest sim if you can find the older ones cheaper (and running faster).
Sorry, can't answer your IFR scenarios question but if you really want to jump into realism with ATC, get on Vatsim (free and somewhat decent quality). Some people also use the paid professional PilotEdge services (though they provide a very limited coverage, specifically portion of California).
One word of advice: you will need a lot of patience when setting up your HW with XPlane. There have been many unhappy users who could not set up their yokes etc to work right.
Good luck with your training/simulation!
 
Definitely get X-Plane from Steam. http://store.steampowered.com/app/269950/XPlane_11 You can get a REFUND (within an hour) if your hardware isn't up to the task.

Also, X-Plane outputs to ForeFlight over wifi, which is really neat if you use ForeFlight you will become very familiar with it.

I'm not sure on the missions and stuff. VFR flying is kind of lame unless you have high end hardware.

There's a nice G1000 addon for X-Plane, it saved me a lot of money transitioning to glass.

Another really cool thing is a head tracker. The worst part about monitor based sims is looking around, the TrackIR system will change that and make it a lot easier.
 
Running X-Plane11 on my new build and loving it. It is light years ahead of FSX/P3D in my opinon (and I've been a MSFS user since the mid 80's. X-plane user from about version 3 or 4). The night-lighting alone, is spectacular! and the flight models are the best I've ever experienced on a PC.

This time I went with a Kaby Lake, i7 7700K, base clock 4.2GHz which I've overclocked to 5GHz (thanks to the Thermaltake CPU water cooler), 16GB DDR4, Samsung 250GB SSD. I'm still using my old GTX 780ti GPU, but that will be replaced with a 1080ti in a week or so, that way I can go back to using my three monitor setup. The 780ti is still running strong, but struggles to keep up with three monitors, so I went back to one until I upgrade the GPU.
I'm also running WingX Pro7 via wifi(same as Foreflight mentioned previously) which works flawlessly!

Now, what I'd like to give a PIREP on, is performance under Windows 10. This evening I managed to get in a few hours of sim time, nothing too serious, I just wanted to fool around a bit with the Dreamfoil Bell 407 that I recently bought. Hopping from helipad to helipad in Manhattan (something I'd kill to do in real life,lol) and a few small airports in NJ. Then my PC prompts me to do a windows update, so I put it off for about an hour, then decided to let it.

I knew nothing about this "Windows 10 Creators Update", until after it was finish updating. After rebooting, I restarted X-Plane and...WOW!

My FPS/performance practically doubled!!! I thought it was a fluke or something, lol. I couldn't believe it, so I googled "windows update" and got a number of results confirming that this is indeed a major step in increased performance.

I can't remember the last time I was this impressed by a Windows "update" :).
http://windowsreport.com/boost-game-fps-windows-10-game-mode-pc/

+1 for TrackIR
 
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I forgot to mention Air manager by siminnovations. https://www.siminnovations.com
New version 3.0 is soon to be released.

After I built the new PC, I decided to install this program on the old one, running a separate (4th) monitor and networked to x-plane. This allows the main PC to display the outside view on all three monitors, while your instrument panel is rendered via Air Manager. The overall performance is much better and the experience is just better for serious IFR practice. TrackIR is great for VFR, but I find a stationary 2D panel easier to use for instrument flight and it leaves you an unobstructed view of the runway. Air Manager comes with a few pre-made panels and you can make your own. I like the Baron panel which I modified and use with the Carenado B58 and Reality Expansion Pack from SimCoders.com

A touchscreen is probably best for Air Manager, however, due to space constraints, I'm using a 17" Ultra Slim USB monitor by AOC. This works out pretty well, now all I need is more GPU power for the main PC.
And more spare timeo_O
 
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