Flight Simulation

hazeleyes · November 21, 2019, 8:27pm

Some people here may remember me mentioning that I’m a fixed wing aircraft pilot. I haven’t flown in several years due to life circumstances, but every winter, I get bitten by the flying bug once again. (It doesn’t help that I drive past a beautiful general aviation airport every day on my way to & from work.)

I don’t really have time at the moment to get back into the air (though that’s on my list of things I want to achieve in 2020), but I thought perhaps to start working out some of the rust via sim flying.

Of course, because I have no sense of proportion, I figured I’d also build something that would feel like flying a real aircraft – not a full-motion sim, of course, but something with realistic instruments, a quality yoke, throttle quadrant, and rudder pedals, etc.

Sooooo … I thought I’d start this thread to document my progress in case anyone’s interested!

hazeleyes · November 21, 2019, 8:36pm

SOFTWARE

I’ve been a fan of Laminar Research’s X-Plane for a long time, due to the fact that its flight models have been more realistic than those in Microsoft’s Flight Simulator. Also, MS Flight Simulator hasn’t had a major release in 13 years, so it’s pretty far behind X-Plane in terms of technology.

HOWEVER, Microsoft are about to rectify this – in 2020, they’ll be releasing an entirely new, almost unbelievably sophisticated version of Flight Simulator. The trailer above gives some sense of what’s in store – the graphics alone are stupendous, but there’s so much more – from the aircraft modeling to the weather to the ability to expand the software via 3rd party add-ons … I can’t wait!

Needless to say, whatever I build needs to be ready for the Microsoft release next year. But in the meantime, I’ll be running X-Plane 11:

hazeleyes · November 21, 2019, 8:45pm

RUDDER PEDALS - MFG Crosswind V2

Just ordered this beautiful piece of equipment from Milan Flight Gear! I was never particularly happy with any of the flight controls I had previously, because they felt very cheap and unrealistic. The pedals (Fanatec ClubSport) I have for my auto racing setup on the PlayStation are superb and convinced me I needed to look for something better than my old CH Pro Pedals for flight sim use.

NinjaBryden · November 21, 2019, 9:28pm

Wow didn’t know u were a flight pilot! I heard that job was really demanding in terms of how often you’re on the clock

hazeleyes · November 21, 2019, 9:48pm

Flying’s just a hobby for me – I wish I got paid for it, instead of having to pay for every hour I’ve got the engine running!

Also

I have LOTS of friends who are professional pilots though – most of the pilots I knew in the Navy are still flying in some way or other. For example, one of my friends flies this for a living:

NinjaBryden · November 22, 2019, 2:57am

A NASA plane?!?!?! Your friends are really cool then

hazeleyes · November 22, 2019, 2:26pm

I’ve decided this is my goal (both in real life and in building a home sim cockpit). Gonna be a long way off, but that’s what I’m aiming for!

This is the aircraft that cockpit belongs to:

Diamond Aircraft DA42 VI

hazeleyes · November 24, 2019, 1:16pm

Ran across this online series from Pilot Workshops, a well-regarded education site for real-world pilots. Although most – if not all – the information contained in it is available without cost by digging through the various online flight sim resources (forums, web sites, &c.), the value of this course is that it’s all in one place, well-organized and presented. I’ve watched a couple of sections (about 20 videos) so far, and I’m very pleased with it:

hazeleyes · November 24, 2019, 1:40pm

JOYSTICK - Thrustmaster T.16000M FCS

Made my first flight in X-Plane in 10 years yesterday, and it was a success (landed safely back on the runway) despite having been forced to control the aircraft with this:

Let’s just say a 3D mouse designed for Maya, 3ds Max, etc. is NOT a good flight sim controller

That leads me to hardware purchase #2, which is this Thrustmaster joystick:

This is the one highly recommended by both instructors in the course I linked to above. Their reasons made tons of sense to me:

it’s extremely reliable and precise, because it uses Hall-effect sensors to detect deflection of the stick from the neutral position: no noisy potentiometers!
it can be used to control yaw by twisting the stick, so you can fly without rudder pedals if you prefer
it can be set up for left or right hand use (I fly with my left hand, even with a yoke, because from the left seat, the throttle quadrant is on the right as are the radios)
it’s much less expensive ( < $100 US) than a quality yoke ( > $800 US)
it’s easy to move out of the way so you can use your computer for something other than flying

More details here: https://www.thrustmaster.com/en_US/products/t16000m-fcs

hazeleyes · November 24, 2019, 4:46pm

Wow, flight sims have come a LOOOOOONG way in 10 years!

Here, I’ve got the T.16000M connected and configured, and I’ve also got the sim connected to Garmin Pilot software running on my iPad – here, it’s showing the position of my aircraft in the sim on the appropriate sectional chart! Omg, I can’t even believe what’s possible these days!

Aside: My flying was done before moving maps in the cockpit were routine. Now, anyone with an iPad can have a high resolution moving map display in even the most basic training aircraft – what an amazing thing! It would have made my early flight training sooooo much less stressful – no more worrying about being lost after crossing the Chesapeake Bay!

Aside #2: In the image above, I’m on the ground at Virginia Highlands Airport in southwest Virginia, an airport I’ve flown to many, many times. For a small airport in an out-of-the-way area, it’s remarkably accurately modeled!

hazeleyes · November 29, 2019, 11:03am

As is usual with me, I’ve been overcome with enthusiasm and have done something rash – I bought an airplane

Fortunately, it’s a virtual one (Diamond DA62 by Aerobask) and only cost $35 US rather than the $1.25M US it would take to purchase the real DA62

Here, I’m on the ramp at Tri-Cities Regional – I’ve got to figure out how to set the sim to use a different start point at this airport, because this is the passenger terminal, not the general aviation parking area

Also in the image above, I’ve got the sim connected to ForeFlight on my iPad – ForeFlight is what’s known as “electronic flight bag” software: it not only functions as a moving map display but it can also pull up airport information, weather, various aeronautical charts, live traffic, &c., and it lets you plan a flight in great detail before you ever step onto the ramp. Really amazing stuff. (It’s similar to the Garmin Pilot software I linked to up above. However, ForeFlight has more features and works a little better with X-Plane, so I’ll probably end up using it instead of Pilot, even though it’s more expensive.)

Also

Face reveal!

hazeleyes · November 30, 2019, 10:54am

Spent some time this morning setting up my StreamDeck to function as a switch panel for the DA62. It works so well that I ordered the larger StreamDeck XL (currently $50 off at Amazon!) so I can add even more functions without having to switch pages on the StreamDeck!

The image above shows the StreamDeck buttons reflecting the state of the corresponding switches on the DA62 panel in the sim. So cool, and much easier than trying to remember keyboard shortcuts! My goal is to get the keyboard out of the way altogether when I’m flying – after all, there’s not one in the real aircraft!

Lies

Except for this one xD

khainl1110 · November 30, 2019, 6:17pm

You seen to really like aircraft. I would love to know about them too, if I have the money to buy real one

hazeleyes · November 30, 2019, 8:16pm

Where do you live, if you don’t mind my asking?

hazeleyes · December 1, 2019, 12:51pm

I somehow missed the latest Insider Update from Microsoft’s Flight Simulator development team:

All I can say is …

The visual fidelity of this sim is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. If the flight models are as good as the imagery (and the dev team are apparently fanatically determined that the simulated aircraft will fly as closely as possible to the real planes) … WOW.

hazeleyes · December 2, 2019, 6:50pm

PLUGIN - PilotEdge

One of the major shortcomings of sim flying is that you are usually flying alone. I don’t just mean that you’re alone in the airplane – you’re alone in the entire (simulated) world. Sims like X-Plane do provide some computer-controlled aircraft to try to mitigate that feeling of having the skies (and the airports) to yourself, but there are usually few of them, and they behave rather stupidly. (MD80s trying to land on tiny uncontrolled airfields, for example.) Worse, there is little or no radio traffic, and there is no air traffic control at all.

This is nothing like flying in the real world, as anyone who’s ever listened to a busy air traffic control frequency can attest: the radio is constantly alive with calls to and from controllers and other aircraft, and you have to follow certain specific procedures while you’re flying “in the system” – even if you’re flying under Visual Flight Rules and not under the direct control of ATC.

How to reproduce this environment in a sim, then?

To do so, you need to join a cooperative network that connects sim pilots (so that the skies are no longer empty!) and adds actual air traffic control services (just like in the real world, when the sky starts to get crowded, you need someone to direct traffic). One popular service is VATSIM, which provides service worldwide but whose hours and coverage are limited. PilotEdge is another network which takes a different approach: their service area is concentrated around KLAX (Los Angeles International), but ATC service is guaranteed to network members during operating hours (0800-2300 PT, 363 days/yr).

I installed PilotEdge this morning, and when the network came online, I gave it a quick trial run:

Here, I’m sitting on the ramp at Oceano Airport (L52) in Southern California, preparing to take off for a short trip to San Luis Obispo (KSBP). I’ve obtained the weather at KSBP by listening to the ATIS (PilotEdge provides a very realistic ATIS broadcast at every airport in their service area which has ATIS in the real world.), and because I’m connected to the PilotEdge network, my iPad is showing all the traffic within 20 nm of my airplane:

Another really neat feature of PilotEdge is that it redirects the audio from X-Plane’s radios to your headset, but other sounds continue to play through your computer’s speakers. That adds tremendously to the realism!

Depending on the coverage area you choose, PilotEdge costs $20-35/month (with discounts if you prepay annually). When my trial runs out, I will definitely be continuing my subscription.

Vorpalv2 · December 3, 2019, 6:25am

Have you tried Logitech ones?
I have a driving sim setup at home and am looking for flight one since we getting close on next MS flight sim release (?).
Sad that it’s freaking hard to find thrust master ones in India.

hazeleyes · December 3, 2019, 6:46am

I’ve used an inexpensive Logitech one in the past, but I found it to be kind of difficult to control the aircraft with it, so I abandoned it in favor of a yoke (CH Products flight yoke), which had its own problems and which I would not recommend.

The Thrustmaster joystick, on the other hand, is an absolute joy to use – extremely sensitive and precise, without any of the flakiness of my old joystick. I’m certain that the difference is due to the use of Hall effect sensors in the Thrustmaster.

There are loads of people using Logitech joysticks for flying, however, so if you can’t find the Thrustmaster, you should be fine with a Logitech.

hazeleyes · December 4, 2019, 3:25am

Flew my first flight on PilotEdge this evening – great success! I flew a short 47 nm route between two non-towered airports (L52 and L88) in Southern California. Although visibility wasn’t great, it was still quite scenic, as it took me over part of the Santa Ynez mountains:

PilotEdge has a cool training program to help sim pilots become comfortable with the airspace, communications, and ATC procedures within the PE service area. (All of these mimic their real-world counterparts VERY closely, so the training can even help real world pilots who are looking to improve their skills for operating in the system!)

I earned my CAT-1 rating with this flight! I got to see my name appear on the PilotEdge home page twice: when I completed my flight and then again a few minutes later when my rating was awarded.

Yep, I’m hooked.

Also

I was a little nervous about making this flight, believe it or not! Sharp eyed observers may notice that I made a few mistakes (through not following my checklists – I left the landing and taxi lights on for the whole flight, and I forgot to activate my transponder before takeoff. Also, I am flying a bit to the left of my planned course, but I did get back on course a few minutes after I took this screenshot.

hazeleyes · December 4, 2019, 3:34pm

I love the DA62, but one thing that kind of bothers me about the various paint schemes included with the model is that the registration numbers don’t match the one I’m using when flying the sim. (Incidentally, I have actually reserved that registration number with the FAA, so it’s MINE! Muahahaha!)

I decided to try creating a new livery for the DA62, and it turns out that while tedious, it’s not too difficult to create a basic paint scheme. Here’s a quick look at my progress so far:

For comparison, this is the default scheme included with the aircraft model: