I personally have little interest in flying with an FMC but would rather navigate with VORs and INS, the closest I get to an FMC is the FMS in a B757.
For a long time I have thought that I was the only one who had little interest in the FMC which seems to become the norm nowadays especially in X Plane 11. I am learning the art of using FMC's but begrudgingly. So it is extremely nice to know that I am not the odd one out in preferring using VOR's and hand flying the radials or better still ADF's though their range is not as good.
Since coming to X-Plane 2 years ago this month I keep trying with FSX but flying does not match the aerodynamic behaviour that X Plane has and find myself uninstalling FSX after a few flights which is a shame as would love to keep flying the old CBFS aircraft that I have stored in my hanger, I know that P3D you can and even with the latest version and of the favourable comments I am not investing any money into a new sim as have spent a small fortune in the past only for the add-ons to be thrown aside and no longer used when the sim has been ditched.
It may well be that if MS2020 overtakes all other sims in the graphics and performance department then I might well be tempted but as for the future who knows what is around the corner? Maybe MS2020 will be a big wake-up call to all developers of flight simulation to improve their platforms as well as pricing in order to compete against MS if it turns out to be as good as some reviewers suggest meanwhile I will sit back in my chair and watch with interest and fly X-Plane 11 quite happily.
Regards
Nigel.
I used to be an optimist but with age I am now a grumpy old pessimist.
The reality is Nigel, developers dont make any money out of the stuff that interests me. Payware Vanguard, Herald, Trident? No, it would take years and would be a labour of love, by which time people would be moaning and groaning that it wasn't a high enough standard.
Thats why I keep FSX (and FS9). Because its hard to see there will ever be half decent classic aircraft... yes, the odd 727, 737, millions of 747's. But many wont remember half of the aircraft I find interesting and enjoyable. For freeware developers to "up their game" it would take years and no job to be able to dedicate the sort of time needed to model these things. I think Ricks Argosy took 2 or 3 years, which we all joked about at the time, but there is unlikely to ever be another.
Some other examples are the ScotFlight airfields or the ODG Rigs and Jack Ups. It was such fun flying helicopters out and landing them on Platforms. The Scotflight models of the Edinburgh Bridges and Castles are still far superior to the Orbx stuff. Similarly, George's models of the bridges and lighthouses in Tyne and Wear are still significantly better that anything which been produced since for the newer sims.
The reality is Nigel, developers dont make any money out of the stuff that interests me. Payware Vanguard, Herald, Trident? No, it would take years and would be a labour of love, by which time people would be moaning and groaning that it wasn't a high enough standard.
How very true Ben, though have to add that I don't think that there was ever a moan or rant at any of the aircraft produced through CBFS but there was a bit of criticism when Just Flight released the Viscount if I remember correctly and the only thing that was noticeably different to Ricks model was the VC!!
Regards
Nigel.
I used to be an optimist but with age I am now a grumpy old pessimist.
Absolutely Nigel. But honestly, the hours that Rick and Fraser put into each and every one of those, you really wouldn't believe. Its not something you could easily do while working or have any sort of family or relationship with. Nobody would do it these days, because, mostly, no one has the time.
DaveB (bless him) told me in one pm that they had a thread specifically for aircraft development and there used to be a number of disagreements in how an aircraft should be done but it was all good fun!!
When Derek was developing the De Havilland Heron I volunteered to do what Dave did best and take a number of photographs for the cockpit as Newark Air Museum has one on display. I spent a good afternoon there trying to get the pictures as they should be for viewing in 2D and feeling quite proud of my attempts sent them to Dave who replied sorry, not quite as they should be!!
I think Dave eventually did them but cannot remember so my first and last introduction to part of the development stage ended sadly, but on a high note I did make Derek a video fro the eventual release of the Heron on YouTube but gawd knows where it is now.
That reminds me I did another video pre-release for Garry when he was finishing his Bristol Freighter but looking back to both of them I rather think I made them too long and boring instead of short and interesting!!
Regards
Nigel.
I used to be an optimist but with age I am now a grumpy old pessimist.
