X-plane Flight Simulator Download

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Yazmín Bohon

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Aug 4, 2024, 9:17:52 PM8/4/24

to bilbtingdowsnull

Asfor Fenix, FBW, PMDG etc, people can make whatever claim they want about the future. Sometimes their predictions turn out to be true, and sometimes they turn out to be completely wrong. But an incorrect and inadequate environment will only produce an incorrect and inadequate result. No amount of FBW, Fenix, PMDG or A2A can fix that.

However, one other area where MSFS is possibly lacking right now is in atmospheric effects - updrafts, downdrafts and others turbulence related. How do these things feel in X Plane? Is there a big difference currently?

The simple truth is there is not one flight simulator that is good at everything.

Realistically I would rather suspect we will not see the true quality third party developers can start achieving with regards to flight model for 2-3 years and once the SDK has matured and allows them to innovate and push themselves and the sims capabilities to their limits.

I am wondering at what point in PPL training other users would recommend the use of X-Plane? I am planning to go to a flight school in about 3 months, and am working my way through studying for the Written (knowledge) exam in preparation for that.

1. Use the sim for practical, "mission-based" flying for training prior to going to the actual flight lessons. (Pros: you'll have done intense "chair flying" leading up to the training and will be mentally more prepared for the actual lessons. / Cons: Some argue this will engrain some bad habits that will compromise your "real-world" feel/controls for the real plane, all of which you'd need to "unlearn" once you start doing real lessons)

2. Use it during training to review what you've learned that day. This would allow you to go through the various situations you worked on that day with your CFI. (Pros: a great way to review what you learned that day / Cons: same as above, you'll be potentially "compromising" the physical "muscle memory"/feel of what you're learning)

3. Don't use the sim until you're done with your PPL training. By then, your "default" feel will be for a real plane, and it would be far less likely that the sim could "mess" with your "feel". (Pros: a great way to practice mission-based cross country etc (with Pilot Edge, for example) / Cons: Well, at least for me, the main con would be having to wait months to use X-Plane, when I'm itching to apply some of what I've been learning in a pseud-"real world" environment.

I think the idea of ingraining bad habits by using a simulator is not really very valid. I have used a fight simulator since Microsoft provided it on a 360K floppy disk - that was in 1984, I think. I only went to flight school 25 years later and I don't recall my FI having to knock out any bad habits.

IMHO the more hours you spend in X-Plane, the more effective your actual practical training will be. But... Always try to fly correctly. Learn to use checklists, stick with the C172 and leave the jets alone. A payware addon like the Airfoillabs Cessna C172 or The Justflight DR400 together with Simcoder's reality pack will provide a deeper learning experience.

I had wanted to start PPL training for years but my job prevented me from doing that as I was traveling too much and would not be able to consistently keep up with the training. I started off with flight simulators as a way to familiarize myself with aviation and in the process got hooked on flight simulation as a hobby. After about 6 years of flight simulation, I finally retired and started my PPL. All those years in flight simulation helped in some ways but hurt in others. Here is what helped:

I think it is perfectly OK to start with the sim before you start your real PPL training but make sure you are aware of the above limitations. I also recommend that you follow the RW checklists to the tee, fly the pattern like you would in real life, and stay away from the autopilot.

One of the best things anyone can do to learn VFR flying whether in a real plane or on your computer, is to hold a course by looking at far off landmarks, and holding your altitude by noticing where the horizon line crosses your windscreen. Much better in the long run than continuously chasing the VSI and gyrocompass.

Thanks so much! Yes that all makes sense. In my case, I'm not even really planning to practice landings in the sim. I might want to do some patterns work. Basically, I have no expectation that the sim will at all be like flying the real sim. I just want to work on "mental" things- what is the "idea" of this pattern? What steps should I be thinking of? I've heard that not-looking out the cockpit is a common problem... But it seems like the sim would be helpful in also just getting familiar with the instruments too. I'm a total beginner so even pay attention to the VSI, for example, seems like it would be helpful. And yes, running through checklists. It'd be kinda funny to turn on the sim, run through the checklists, taxi to the runway, and then turn off the sim lol. But I mean, I'm at 0 hours flying, so maybe that's the best way to use it right now... Anyway, thanks again! And I will definitely reach out if I have any questions!

My observations:

I also "didn't manage" to do PPL, although it was close, but life turned out differently.

Anyway, I spent many, many, many hours in the air with the yokes and sticks in my hands, and I remember that great feeling from the real world.

At that time, I had been using flight simulators for years and it was a great complement to learning how to navigate, use on-board instruments, etc.

But the impression from the "physical" feeling of flight was absolutely different in the sim and in real life.

And that was until I tried VR simulation for the first time (two years ago?).

It was my second WOW feeling in my life - I'm flying again ?

Of course there is still a difference, but simulating has never been so close to seeing the real thing. The feeling of being in a cockpit in a 3D world, the depth in sense of distance and height, control of the surrounding world etc - is beyond comparison to a 2D simulation (even when I was using TrackIR).

(ButtKicker is unfortunately a must-have for VR ? )

My observations:

I also "didn't manage" to do PPL, although it was close, but life turned out differently.

Anyway, I spent many, many, many hours in the air with the yokes and sticks in my hands, and I remember that great feeling from the real world.

At that time, I had been using flight simulators for years and it was a great complement to learning how to navigate, use on-board instruments, etc.

But the impression from the "physical" feeling of flight was absolutely different in the sim and in real life.

And that was until I tried VR simulation for the first time (two years ago?).

It was my second WOW feeling in my life - I'm flying again ?

(ButtKicker is unfortunately a must-have for VR ? )

I agree with looking off in the distance for a target to hold course/heading and fixing the horizon picture to hold altitude. I was also struggling with steep turns because I tried to do it almost entirely with the instruments. I did not really nail steep turns until I started spending most of my time looking out the window and then only scanning the instruments to confirm that I was on altitude, speed, and had a good 45-degree bank.

Items that X-plane can greatly assist with include cockpit familiarity, navigation/avionics, and procedures. Basic flight characteristics are also fairly well represented in the simulator. A good 3rd party ATC service can also be helpful before you ever step inside of a cockpit and key that mike.

However, the simulator is not a good teaching tool near the edges of controlled flight and anything that requires sight training and control feedback, which describes what you will learn to master during landing attempts. Even the big boys ie full motion simulators costing millions of dollars struggle to get some of these conditions perfectly in line with reality.