X-Plane 11 & Helicopters!

Commadore 64. You must have come from wealth. All I could afford was an Atari 800XL! :D
 
redtail said:
haha wealth? Not even close. I saved up my summer job money and ordered it from 'Consumers' for $200 (I think). Remember the catalog, lol.
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lol! Yeah, I wanted the 64 but it was just outside my savings. Think I paid just over $120 for the 800XL.
 
Did they have any flight sims for it? I don't remember much about the Atari other than playing a game console years later. Funny thing about me and the Commodore is, I got it for the other games and then started learning BASIC on it, a little. But once I found a few flight sims (SOLO FLIGHT, etc) ....it was all over. I was hooked LOL. That's because I was born with the aviation bug and other than paper planes and a few toys, this was the next best thing!
 
redtail said:
Did they have any flight sims for it? I don't remember much about the Atari other than playing a game console years later. Funny thing about me and the Commodore is, I got it for the other games and then started learning BASIC on it, a little. But once I found a few flight sims (SOLO FLIGHT, etc) ....it was all over. I was hooked LOL. That's because I was born with the aviation bug and other than paper planes and a few toys, this was the next best thing!
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No flight sims. Atari didn't support it well so it basically got beat out by the 64. It could take a cartridge like the game consoles but I didn't have money for all the options. I should've saved for a 64 and a floppy disk drive.

It's kinda like when I started buying the HD DVDs because an employee from Circuit City said they'd beat out Bluray. I missed the train again. :(
 
Sort of like why I eventually wound up getting a "PC compatible" and later started building my own PCs. All of the flight simulators were being written and updated for the IBM platform. Commodore support was fading and only one or two were available for the Apple (which was out of my price range anyway).
Oh, speaking of the floppy disk drive. I had to save up to get that several months later.
All I had was that cassette tape drive that came with it. That thing was sloooow:eek:
 
Well not exactly X-Plane, but Digital Combat Simulator (DCS) A-10C is one of the baddest sims to ever grace the PC! I'm not sure if the guy doing the voice acting is a real Instructor Pilot, but he sure has one of the coolest voices ever. "Do not jump ahead and start mashing buttons and throwing switches!" lol:D

 
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The terminal building was in need of some lighting as well, so I installed a couple of flood lights, but what good are flood lights that don't illuminate the surface?

Then it hit me....'bump up the visual effects slider in settings'.... bingo!
HDR to the rescue :). I'll be installing the new GPU in a few days to take full advantage of this machine.

Still can't get over how incredible X-Plane11 is.

Concluded with an impromptu landing on the Nimitz :D
 
This topic made me buy x-plane 11 :)

So far, I'm really enjoying the Verticopter free VTOL plane. Another fun one is Airwolf, Mach 1.8 to 50,000 feet is fun too.

Onto real helicopters, so far they are a blast. I bought an Oculus Rift to play Xplane in Virtual Reality and that was fun, but, I returned it, as the first generation is good not great. So maybe whenever oculus rift 2 comes out, I might pick it up.
 
jmp470 said:
This topic made me buy x-plane 11 :)

So far, I'm really enjoying the Verticopter free VTOL plane. Another fun one is Airwolf, Mach 1.8 to 50,000 feet is fun too.

Onto real helicopters, so far they are a blast. I bought an Oculus Rift to play Xplane in Virtual Reality and that was fun, but, I returned it, as the first generation is good not great. So maybe whenever oculus rift 2 comes out, I might pick it up.
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That's great! I completely forgot about the Verticopter. I played around with it briefly in XP9 or 10 but didn't put much time on it. I'll check it out in XP11 when I get a chance.

Just installed my new GTX 1080ti a few days ago, but haven't had much time to check it out. This is an upgrade from the 780ti (used in the videos), so now I'm VR ready. My rig exceeds the minimum requirements. I'm still on the fence with whether to take the Oculus plunge, or wait for the next generation. Glad you're enjoying XP11. It really is amazing! I can only see it getting better with time.
 
redtail said:
Learning this baby and tweaking the checklist found on xplane.org
Wasn't happy with all of the mispronounced words, so I edited it so that NAV, COM, TRANSFER, STANDBY and a few others sound as they should. Added a few other checklist items as well. Maybe I should change "prepare for hot start" to "Prevent hot start!"

I don't really know what I'm doing, but it's FUN :D
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I like that you tied it down in the middle of a runway! :)
 
Thanks.
It's an i7-7700k Kaby Lake. 16gb of DDR4 ram (I'll be doubling that soon). Built it a couple of months ago. I have it overclocked to 5Ghz stable, using the ASUS ROG Maximus IX Hero motherboard and a closed-loop liquid cooler.
The 250gb SSD is a little small, but this PC has only three large programs on it.
X-Plane 11, DCS World and Arma3, so that's plenty of space.

Side note: Speaking of the Morristown tower. I still have fond memories of that day when my CFI told me to pull up to the base of the tower and let him out. He'd stand by with my handheld if I needed to contact him during my solo, lol.
 
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denverpilot said:
Very cool video by the way. Dare I ask how much horsepower your gaming rig has for video and whatnot to make it that smooth while recording at the same time?
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Standby just a little, if you're looking to build. X-Plane is going to rework some code for Vulkan or something about stuff I don't know a bunch about. However, it's not guaranteed, but it should make older, higher core processors (like mine) run the sim more efficiently.

His build is $$$. You should be able to get a similar performance for a smaller $ if you wait until the new rewrite it out.
 
I have 10, been putting off 11 until the bugs are worked out. But this GTX 1070 is so bored...
 
Cpt_Kirk said:
Standby just a little, if you're looking to build. X-Plane is going to rework some code for Vulkan or something about stuff I don't know a bunch about. However, it's not guaranteed, but it should make older, higher core processors (like mine) run the sim more efficiently.

His build is $$$. You should be able to get a similar performance for a smaller $ if you wait until the new rewrite it out.
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Yes, I recall Ben Supnik mentioning Vulkan just recently in his blog. Looks promising and should provide a performance boost as you said. However, for me, I have been doing this type of build for awhile now, just for the fun of it. Usually every 5 to 7 years.
When I was a kid, I used to build electronic kits, a speech synthesizer for my Commodore-64. Crystal AM radios kits.

Even a shortwave radio (actually climbed the tree in our backyard to string a wire antenna from the attic window, lol).
I find it quite rewarding.:D
 
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7 years for me at the moment. But I have been upgrading parts as time goes on.

The thing holding me back from an entirely new, super performance build isn't my imagination. ;)
 
Had my adult kids and a nephew over yesterday. They had a blast trying some of the fixed-wing aircraft. The first thing they noticed was how slippery they are on the ground! My son's girlfriend couldn't manage to get off the ground, continued to ground-loop and crash. That was after I kept reminding her to keep heels on the floor, she kept pressing the toe brakes without realizing it. haha

My son and nephew did a little better and managed to get airborne after swerving all over the place. We were having a ball. With the exception of his girlfriend, they've all flown with me and wondered if the sim was anything like the real thing.

I explained to them that other than the ground physics, X-Plane is very realistic. The ground friction model is horrible and the problem has existed for several years now, over several versions. Guess I'm just used to it by now, so I've learned to compensate fairly well and manage a decent takeoff roll. Hopefully Laminar will put more effort into resolving this issue, it's been like this far too long!

My son is senior web developer/programmer and app designer at a small NJ firm. I told him he needs to get into flightsim coding and help them fix this thing o_O.

Overall, they were impressed with how real things look from the air, especially the vehicle traffic and lighting at dusk!
 
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Upon further testing, I realized that although they've made major improvements to the default planes, they still have a ways to go. I should have known better than to introduce first-timers to the default Cessna (or any default planes).

What I should have let them try (since this wasn't intended to be a real flight lesson), is the GA plane that I usually fly. The Caranado Baron B58. The ground handling is much better.

Another thing I forgot to do was dampen the sensitivity a bit in the settings menu. I usually fly with no stability augmentation (especially with helicopters), which was probably way too sensitive for a first-timer.

So I think I'll setup another joystick/rudder profile and have them try that when they come over again. None of them have any real interest in learning to fly, but they did enjoy the fun aspect of the 'game'.
 
Getting this level of performance in a densely populated city like NY, in flight simulator, is something I used to dream of long before becoming a pilot. To those who are waiting for all of the bugs to be eliminated, you will be waiting forever. The current state of XP11 is well worth the price of the new PC, IMO. The boys over at LR are doing a great job tweaking her performance and will only get better. Frame rate at this level of detail is averaging around 60.

On another note. I made further enhancements to the lighting at KJRB and added a few more signs around the perimeter of pier 6. Never thought I'd get this deep into this little project. However, transforming a completely dark and boring scenery item into a well-lit heliport, utilizing only the basic 'World Editor' that comes with the sim, is extremely rewarding!
Looking forward to the day when we have decent AI helicopter traffic available.

By the way, the Skyhawk has been coned off and will be removed soon. The owner has been located:)
Edit: The windsock will have to be relocated closer to the terminal building. It's not in a good spot at the moment.
 
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Jazz at 5 (from JFK).
Having started my career as an electrician at EWR over thirty years ago (before obtaining my PPL), maintaining the runways and all things electrical for a decade...this virtual flight was a whole lot of fun! Something I'd never be allowed to do in real life :)




Crazy chopper pilot-RT

Awesome jazz artist:
Pat Metheny (guitar)
Jean Luc Ponty (violin)
Miles Davis (trumpet)
 
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redtail said:
Upon further testing, I realized that although they've made major improvements to the default planes, they still have a ways to go. I should have known better than to introduce first-timers to the default Cessna (or any default planes).

What I should have let them try (since this wasn't intended to be a real flight lesson), is the GA plane that I usually fly. The Caranado Baron B58. The ground handling is much better.

Another thing I forgot to do was dampen the sensitivity a bit in the settings menu. I usually fly with no stability augmentation (especially with helicopters), which was probably way too sensitive for a first-timer.

So I think I'll setup another joystick/rudder profile and have them try that when they come over again. None of them have any real interest in learning to fly, but they did enjoy the fun aspect of the 'game'.
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Do you have the Reality Expansion Pack (REP) for the B58? It really brings the aircraft to another level. Id say it represents engine behavior and management to about 90% of real life. Its not totally perfect but its damn good. Well worth the cost and adds an entirely new level of immersion to the simulator.
 
Cpt_Kirk said:
Do you have the Reality Expansion Pack (REP) for the B58? It really brings the aircraft to another level. Id say it represents engine behavior and management to about 90% of real life. Its not totally perfect but its damn good. Well worth the cost and adds an entirely new level of immersion to the simulator.
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Oh yeah! I have it, it is incredible. Waiting for Carenado to update the Baron to XP11
 
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So while I anxiously await the arrival of my Oculus Rift in a few days, I'm reading more and more positive experiences in flightsims, particularly DCS and X-Plane. This one really has me excited because he talks about his virtual helo flight experience.
TrackIR 5 has served me well over the years, but this looks like a game changer for sure.

http://www.mudspike.com/flyinside-x-plane-10/
"Even though I’m a few weeks into the VR experience at this point, the feeling of being in a VR cockpit always leaves me giddy with how incredible the technology is. I mean, I’ve been simming since before the Commodore 64. The journey through flight sims that I’ve been one has taken me from wire frame models running at 1 FPS to where we are now. And I can’t believe where we are now. I’m so psyched about this VR stuff that I’m taking my whole computer, HOTAS, and Rift to my next staff meeting where I plan to show the other fifteen pilots at my company how cool this stuff is. It will be interesting to see their reactions.

One thing that I think is exceptional with regards to VR flying is the almost auto-magic precision bonus you get when flying helicopters. I would have never guessed that a few inches of eye separation are so important to depth perception and the ability to fly more precisely, but my trials with P3D, DCS World, and X-Plane in VR all confirm the same thing – in VR, you are practically wearing the helicopter and the precision of movement and the ability to put your helicopter at any point in space is just awesome. Each night before I go to bed now, I make a silent prayer to Bohemia Interactive to please bring VR to Arma helicopters. And bring back Take on Helicopters.

I wish I could just say – “well, the videos speak for themselves” – but that doesn’t work here. If you’ve spent 10 minutes in a VR headset with the likes of FSX, P3D, DCS World, Aerofly, and now X-Plane, you’ll know what I’m talking about. A month ago, I had no idea what all the VR hype was about, and the videos of the two eyed, side by side views were very much..meh..because I didn’t have a frame of reference. If you haven’t had a chance to check out VR – I can help you with some frame of reference though. Go to an airport, get in an airplane cockpit and look around. Now, imagine that in a PC sim with a bit less resolution, and a bit less peripheral vision. It’s that intuitive and that much fun."
 
Well, after several weeks of enjoying Aerofly FS2 and DCS World in VR, last month X-Plane finally released their native VR support (still in beta). The guy who wrote the review that I quoted last year, really summed it up well. Flying helicopter sims in virtual reality is whole new experiance! It will only get better from here.

For those of us who have always wanted to fly a real helicopter, but probably will never get the chance, this is a dream come true. Now we just need higher resolution VR HMDs, performance tweaks and improvements from Laminar Research to make this thing scream. At present, I had to turn down a lot of graphics settings options in order to get fairly decent framerates and reduced stutter. As a result, the video is recorded at a much poorer quality than is possible. So remember to select 720p in YouTube view settings.

That said, VR is a blast! With the 'JetSeat SE' cushion in my chair (8 vibration motors), the tactile feedback of the helicopter's rotor at startup and in flight is simply incredible! It really adds to the immersion.
https://andres.shop/jetseat/24-jetseat-sim-edition.html


VR is a game-changer folks.
P.S. Although my skills are improving, I need more practice. Following a successful landing on the White House lawn, I almost bought it while hovering near the Capitol Building. I tried to fly sideways and got into a little trouble :D


gubment's openo_O

 
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