IFR software for practice

[Iliopolus_1]

I'm looking to do some practice on my laptop, and had a bad run with the last software I bought for a desk top with constant crashes.

I'd like to use a usb stick controller with a throttle on it, that hopefully shows a Garmin430 and or a similar display to the Redbirds.

I'd like to try out the software if anyone in Ottawa has anything that they used for a similar purpose?

any suggestions appreciated

Email ramjet555 at gmail

[jpilot77]

If your laptop is powerful enough I'd suggest good old MS flight simulator, back when I was doing my initial IFR rating I'd use all the time to practice holds and all kinds of approaches.

[Taiser]

M$ Flight Simulator or X-Plane. Both have tons of add-on packages that can be found for free with high-res airports/textures of pretty much everywhere including Ottawa. I just added the Rockcliffe airport to my Flight Simulator and it looks amazing. Less of a learning curve for the software as well with M$, but X-Plane is way more powerful now with constant updates. M$ gave up on FS a while back... but lots of guys are keeping it going with add-ons.

[careerpilot?]

MS Flight Simulator isn't entirely dead - Lockheed Martin bought the source code and continues to develop it as a hard simulator software (not for gaming, as stated in the license agreement) as a program called Prepar3d. However, if your intent is to use it for training, it is entirely legal to use on the "academic" license (30 or 40 bucks). The vast majority of FSX addons still work with it.

www.prepar3d.com

It's another option, anyway. If you are looking to play on laptop, I don't recommend the newly released V2 - it requires high end graphics cards (DX11), which is great if you have them (long a bane of FSX, which had little support for graphics cards) but not so much for a laptop.

[Beefitarian]

Has anyone flown that MS Flight sim. It was a free download. They kind of lost me making the fly through things part of the game.

[careerpilot?]

Has anyone flown that MS Flight sim. It was a free download. They kind of lost me making the fly through things part of the game.

MS Flight was a major change from MS Flight Simulator. As the name would imply, they dropped any semblance of Simulation, and it became a game. With FSX/P3D, you can fly real world approaches with the actual plates and charts (some tweaking required to fix magnetic variation due to the age of the database, etc). You cannot do this in MS Flight. The only advantage to MS Flight was graphics, and P3D bridges the gap pretty good.

I used FSX during my IFR phase using the addon T-6 to practice, and I think it was a great help. Nowhere near as good as actual flying or the actual sim, but a cheap alternative for which you are not time-limited (like we were on the actual sim).

[Beefitarian]

Too bad the guys working on FLY went under. It flew more realistically. It was not unstable but you had to stay on top of it much more like the 172s and warrior IIs I flew.

[B52]

Can anyone tell me why X-Plane is better than Microsoft?

Is there any advantage in having a control column versus a simple stick?

Any suggestions on an economical easy to use stick?

[B52]

I'm using a 2012 Dell low end laptop and am concerned that it may not be able to handle
X-Plane 10.

Is that a genuine concern or should I get a 2008 version of X-Plane 9.

[Beefitarian]

I think a yoke makes it seem more realistic than a simple stick. I don't know if that's good or bad. I turned base and dropped some flap once just after getting a yoke then instinctively reached down for the trim wheel. It was not there. I thought, "This is pretty good."

[B52]

I'm worried about the ability of my 2012 Dell Laptop to handle the graphics of the X-Plane 10?
Its a low end Dell Lap top Inspiron 17R N7110

Has anyone tested X-Plane 10? or X-Plane 9

[careerpilot?]

I'm worried about the ability of my 2012 Dell Laptop to handle the graphics of the X-Plane 10?
Its a low end Dell Lap top Inspiron 17R N7110

Has anyone tested X-Plane 10? or X-Plane 9

I just googled your laptop for the specs. You have a Core i5 2510m, which is a respectable processor but you only have integrated graphics. I have run FSX satisfactorily on a similar system, as FSX relies more on the processor than graphics card. I think you would be OK with FSX, but I have never tried XPlane. Your best bet: both XPlane and FSX have free demos available. Download them and try them both, then you can decide which runs better and which you like more.

As for stick or yoke, I use a stick because it has force feedback (no yokes do for a decent price). FF allows you to trim properly, because you can set the attitude and trim off pressure (as you do in real life) rather than trimming to make the nose stop moving. For what you are using it for (IFR training), your greatest benefits are going to be improving instrument scan and procedures anyway, definitely not hands and feet flying. I don't think it matters much whether it is a yoke or stick. That being said, all my real IFR flying is done with a stick anyway...

[rapid602]

I use MS Flight sim X on my desk top with throttles rudder pedals and a yoke. real world plates and maps and the gps rocks !!!!

You can buy a higher end lap top from places like Factory direct .... on line ... for really cheap. I just bought a quad core lap top with a high end graphics card for $400 with a 1 TB hard drive.

Thats about 1 hour or so in the plane .... with chistmas coming you might be able to score a cheap lap top but you can also score a desk top for cheap as well .... good luck

[MIQ]

Probably not as much fun as a Flight Simulator but this little tool helped me save lots of time during my Multi IFR rating.

http://www8.garmin.com/support/download ... sp?id=3527

[B52]

Thanks for force feedback stick suggestion.
Does anyone have any suggestions on force feedback stick?

Do they come with Throttle and trim?

[rapid602]

I had a forced feed back joystick and gave it away but it was great fun running off the end of the runway or crashing on purpose. I bought a saitek yoke and throttle system with extra throttle and rudders for about $400. You can set it up so you have 2 throttle 2 props 2 mixtures. it has several buttons on it so you can use them for trim up and down flaps up and down even gear up and down. The yoke system has a real look and feel and the yoke has a clock in it for time and approaches. I enjoy it and the rudders allow for xwind and single engine work. I usually fly the beech barron. beach kingair 350 and the citation 2. so it is really versitle. I am sure you will love it and you can get shipped from the two place in Toronto. or Sporty's in the USA. by the time you ship it etc ... dif in the $$$$ may just as well buy it in Canada.

Check it out .... I am sure you will like it

[L-1011]

FSX is better then X-Plane IMO

I had X-Plane and got rid of it after a week,

FSX uses real world information. I even tested the Simcoe VOR Morse (Toronto) and it was accurate.

Also, FSX has hundreds of add-ons. I got the SIM as a Training Aid kit and it helped a lot.

[L-1011]

I also have a full Precision Flight Control simulator set-up running ASA Training software for IFR. I am thinking of selling everything.

As for basic controls, Saitek is your best bang for your buck deal going these days.