# Flight Sim



## Drago (13 Jan 2021)

Does anyone do any flight simming? Fancy having a crack but don't really know where to start.

I've had a look at Flightgear, whichnis free (free is good!) and fancy learning how to fly a 172 from scratch, and then learnig more advanced stuff fro there.


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## sight-pin (13 Jan 2021)

If you head over to Twitch tv, you can view real pilots flying with Microsoft flight sim. 
I use FSX through Steam as my laptop can't run Microsoft's latest version,


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## si_c (13 Jan 2021)

MS Flight Sim is usually touted as the gold standard and with the 2020 release more so - some of the setups people use with this are insane - you can get borderline full cockpits setup.

From what I understand flight gear is really good for those getting into it or with low end hardware, can't hurt to just give it a go.


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## HMS_Dave (13 Jan 2021)

You seem like the attack chopper type drago. Someone i know in his 50's got into DCS world i think it is. Flying a Russian Kamov ka 50, all sorts of clickable switches beyond my understanding, I think he was flying a huey on one occasion, not sure... Seems interesting but I don't have the time...


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## midlife (13 Jan 2021)

Son uses Microsoft flight Sim, apparently it links in with Google maps to allow you to fly almost anywhere. Sent some screen shots of him flying over our house


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## Jody (13 Jan 2021)

Won't be long until we see you in here 

https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/any-pc-gamers-around.266599/


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## Cycleops (13 Jan 2021)

You might like to fly a real one, not full size but a model. All-in-one-box-models are very inexpensive now and electric power means clean, unless you like the smell and sound of nitro.
Also gets you out of the house into the fresh air rather than stuck inside looking at a pc screen.
If you like building stuff there's still plenty of old fashioned kits about and almost-ready-to-fly is a good halfway house.
There are model flight Sims which allows you to connect a controller so you try before fly.
I used to love slope soaring which I found very relaxing, just you, the model and the forces of nature.


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## fossyant (13 Jan 2021)

si_c said:


> MS Flight Sim is usually touted as the gold standard and with the 2020 release more so - some of the setups people use with this are insane - you can get borderline full cockpits setup.
> 
> From what I understand flight gear is really good for those getting into it or with low end hardware, can't hurt to just give it a go.



And he'd need a couple of grand spare for the PC !


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## Jody (13 Jan 2021)

Cycleops said:


> Also gets you out of the house into the fresh air rather than stuck inside looking at a pc screen.



If only we were allowed.


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## si_c (13 Jan 2021)

fossyant said:


> And he'd need a couple of grand spare for the PC !


I just assumed he'd beat up a couple of kids and take their gaming rigs


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## MichaelW2 (13 Jan 2021)

Has anyone ever tested a flight sim kid out on a real aircraft? Could they really land a 747 if the pilot and copilot both ate the chicken ?


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## Drago (13 Jan 2021)

My Dad flies, has his own plane. He'd only ever "flown" big jets on his PC, but once had the chance to "fly" a genuine 757 pilot training simulator - I think it belongs to Bruce Dickinson.

Anyhho, the instructor reckoned he landed it pretty good. Not the smoothest he'd ever seen, but not so bad that it would have got the pilot in trouble in any way or damage the aircraft.

He reckons big jets would be easier to take off and land than tail draggers, becaude you can actually see ahead of you when flying at a high angle kf attack or when taxiing.


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## MichaelW2 (13 Jan 2021)

Sort of


View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DfdpuBg8uvI


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## glasgowcyclist (13 Jan 2021)

Cycleops said:


> I used to love slope soaring which I found very relaxing, just you, the model and the forces of nature.



So is that effectively a really expensive kite?


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## T4tomo (13 Jan 2021)

Cycleops said:


> I used to love slope soaring which I found very relaxing, just you, the model and the forces of nature.


and a border collie?


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## Cycleops (13 Jan 2021)

glasgowcyclist said:


> So is that effectively a really expensive kite?


I guess you could say that. The machine in the pic is a moulded fibreglass semi scale but I reckon you could get in the air with with a built up balsa kit and 2 channel radio gear for about £250 or less with something like this:





http://www.chrisfoss.co.uk/middle-phase/4538950469
The hobby is quite diverse, I used to like building glider versions of powered types like this Embraer Tucano which I built:







Such a relaxing pastime


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## Bobario (13 Jan 2021)

If you've got a beefy enough PC you could give fs2020 a go. It's currently on xbox gamepass for Windows and they do a 3 month trial for £1. It's a fantastic game and very pretty to look at, but as someone else has already mentioned it can be a bit boring just flying from A to B, unless you are really interested in civilian planes. 

For WW2 sims the IL2 series is the gold standard, starting with Battle for Stalingrad, then Battle for Moscow, Battle of Kuban and the latest one Operation Bodenplatte. For WW1 kites the same team do a game called Flying Circus which is one of the best WW1 sims out there.

For modern planes DCS World's base client is free and includes 1 plane, the SU25 ground attack aircraft. This is really fun to fly in itself but be warned all the DCS modules are designed to be as realistic a simulation as they can possible make on a PC. Almost all of the buttons and switches in the virtual cockpit can be interacted with in some way. There is also a sort of DCS lite called Flaming Cliffs, which tends more towards the game side of things, and is where most people are encouraged to start.

If you decide to get into it you will want a decent joystick at least and preferably a throttle as well.


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## midlife (13 Jan 2021)

Somewhere in the garage there's a copy of F16 fighting falcon and Eurofighter 2000


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## Drago (13 Jan 2021)

fossyant said:


> And he'd need a couple of grand spare for the PC !


Well, I downloaded Flightgear, but it takes an age to load, although it does run. My moderately meaty laptop isn't up to the job.


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## keithmac (13 Jan 2021)

I always liked Sega's Afterburner..


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## Bobario (13 Jan 2021)

midlife said:


> Somewhere in the garage there's a copy of F16 fighting falcon and Eurofighter 2000


Falcon 4.0 has been heavily modded and is still a half decent flight simulator even after all these years. I think it's called Falcon BMS or something now. I kept the stonking great manual for many years and only pitched it out a year or two ago when I had a clear out. EF2000 was my favourite game for a long time when it came out. I seem to recall it being set in either Iceland or Norway? The ATC's had Scandinavian accents so it must have been around that way.


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## midlife (13 Jan 2021)

Can't remember where EF 2000 was set, I actually worked on the EF2000 fly by light systems BITD


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## fossyant (13 Jan 2021)

MS Flight Sim 2000 might work..... 

Stupid requirements for MS's latest version for what is a crazy boring sim, but it's good enough for pilots to train on... 

Any pilots on here. It's like driving an out of control bus jammed up with punters on take off, then nothing for a few hours, then massive stress again getting the lot to the next bus stop without a crash. Sounds a bit boring in the middle bit.


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## Archie_tect (13 Jan 2021)

fossyant said:


> Any pilots on here. It's like driving an out of control bus jammed up with punters on take off, then nothing for a few hours, then massive stress again getting the lot to the next bus stop without a crash. Sounds a bit boring in the middle bit.


The 'middle bit' is where you set the auto-pilot, eat your lunch, go for a walk, eat your tea and then land the plane five hours later..


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## fossyant (13 Jan 2021)

Archie_tect said:


> The 'middle bit' is where you set the auto-pilot, eat your lunch, go for a walk, eat your tea and then land the plane five hours later..



Sounds like a plan !


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## fossyant (14 Jan 2021)

My brother's mate is a pilot. He has smashed up more cars than we can count. Just saying. 


I check he's not the pilot on my flights.


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## Smokin Joe (14 Jan 2021)

Drago said:


> Well, I downloaded Flightgear, but it takes an age to load, although it does run. My moderately meaty laptop isn't up to the job.


I got that for an old laptop running Linux. There's a reason it's free.


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