I Got to Fly a Boeing 737-800

oldman

oldman

Well-known Member
Location
PA
One of my retired pilot friends has this really great flight simulator program from Microsoft. I never tried any of these programs before I tried this one. It takes a little time to get to know the intricacies or details of the program, but it was very real feeling and even the sounds made me feel like I really was in a cockpit flying a plane. I can see where a person without any flying experience, it would be a bit challenging.

I am considering buying one, but not totally convinced it’s something that I would fully enjoy. After all, it is a video game type.
 

Grampa Don said:
If it's the newest version, FSX, make sure your computer is up to it or you may be disappointed. It takes a fast processor and a high end graphics card to look the best. Here's a link to a forum where you can learn more.
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I was on his system when I used the program. He has a neat setup.

The website you listed has a lot of information on it. Thanks for sharing it.
 
Microsoft FX always required a more powerful computer than what was on the market to get the very most out of it. I did MSFS for years through the evolution of their product. I designed additional scenery mostly in Alaska for seaplane facilities and shared it with other enthusiasts on the net. Then one day they closed shop and I got away from it. The new one looks good, but I think I've had enough. I don't know how open source the new version is, and I don't know if I could tinker with it. I probably forgot half of what I learned about making scenery. But it's an interesting simulator, one of the longest and most engaging to me.
 
Flight Simulator has come a long way from its beginning. Here's my first version on my Commodore 64.

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911 said:
I was on his system when I used the program. He has a neat setup.

The website you listed has a lot of information on it. Thanks for sharing it.
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911 went with me and he couldn't get the plane to land without crashing. We laughed like children. He was becoming frustrated and after his third failed attempt, I gave him a few pointer and he finally did get the plane to land.

I watched some YouTube videos where guys made a cockpit in their den and used the software.

 
I think it would be actually possible to get a good head start on learning to fly a jet. I don't see any rudder pedals on the man's homemade simulator, but that's one heck of a setup.
 
I had rudder pedals on my setup, but they didn't last but a year. I think I recall a setting in MSFS called automatic rudder control, where you could just forget about the rudder and and the plane would fly fine without you doing any rudder work.
 
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I've wondered about virtual reality with FS. It seems like perfect situation where you sit in one spot, rather than running through caves and corridors. In FS, it would be realistic to sit in one spot, while events around you continually change and unfold as you move through space. One of things that felt so unrealistic about FS was to look out a side window you would activate the hat switch on the flight yoke with your thumb. In VR you would just naturally turn your head to look out the side or down at the ground. It seems like the perfect situation for virtual reality.
 
MSFS was such a popular program. I'm not sure why they shut down the operation and eventually sold the rights. I had heard from not reliable sources that with each upgrade they just kept adding new code to an obsolete platform, with all kinds of ghost code still in it, making the program untenable and power hungry. New games would come out each year using better platforms, instead of 20 year old platforms, and were less glitchy than MSFS. Did they just get lost in a sea of code and throw in the towel?🚁
 
oldman said:
911 went with me and he couldn't get the plane to land without crashing. We laughed like children. He was becoming frustrated and after his third failed attempt, I gave him a few pointer and he finally did get the plane to land.

I watched some YouTube videos where guys made a cockpit in their den and used the software.

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It’s not as easy as you made it look.
 
JustDave said:
MSFS was such a popular program. I'm not sure why they shut down the operation and eventually sold the rights. I had heard from not reliable sources that with each upgrade they just kept adding new code to an obsolete platform, with all kinds of ghost code still in it, making the program untenable and power hungry. New games would come out each year using better platforms, instead of 20 year old platforms, and were less glitchy than MSFS. Did they just get lost in a sea of code and throw in the towel?🚁
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I read something about it not taking advantage of the new multi-core processors.
 
Grampa Don said:
I read something about it not taking advantage of the new multi-core processors.
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That may be. The original platform they stayed with may not have known what to do with multi-core processors. I'd actually wondered about that. Just before they hung it up, they never mentioned anything about making use of the new processors. So when I upgraded to the next generation computer, I didn't bother taking that into account.
 

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