September 3, 2024 / admin / 2 Comments
In recent weeks I’ve had a few emails from readers regarding the various options available or soon to be available in the Airbus A320 family of aircraft. I’m going to sort of summarize the main general question which each asked and provide my own opinion and plan towards the topic.
In a nutshell, the general question was regarding whether to purchase the Fenix A320 and wait out their A319/A321 projects or simply to wait until MSFS 2024 and purchase the FSLabs Airbus series. This is a good question and for many reasons it really is somewhat difficult for me to provide advice. I’ve always been hesitant on telling anyone how to spend their hard earned money. But in this one exception, I’m going to provide my own opinion and the reader can draw from that what they will.
Fenix versus FSLabs
Back in my P3D days I owned all three Airbus offerings from FSLabs and considered myself a very happy customer. Even despite the little stunt FSLabs pulled…I was very pleased with all three of their Airbus A320 family aircraft. So much so that I did hesitate briefly on purchasing the Fenix A320 when it was first released. But at that time, we really hadn’t heard much from FSLabs other than they planned to bring their aircraft to MSFS at some point in time. As I was really wanting a good study-level airliner for MSFS, I went ahead and purchased the Fenix A320 and to this day I’m not disappointed in that decision.
I’m of the opinion that if you truly want a good, study level Airbus A320 in MSFS today, you can’t go wrong with the Fenix A320. Now with their A319 and A321 expansion package the Fenix lineup fills a very much needed gap in the virtual hangar for me and I’m sure for many others.
While Fenix may have had some pain points in their very early days after the release of their A320, they have produced an Airbus A320 which in my opinion is just as good as the FSLabs was back in P3D. As both the A319 and A321 has been built on the solid foundation Fenix as given the A320, and all three from Fenix rival the FSLabs products back in P3D.
The only information we’ve been given from FSLabs is that they plan to bring their lineup to MSFS once the 2024 version releases sometime later this year. While their A320 family was certainly top-notch in quality for P3D, the price tag was certainly a lot more expensive than the pricing Fenix introduced their A320. While FSLabs can certainly price their products however they wish, I believe in order to be competitive they’ll need to fall closer in line to the pricing Fenix set the bar with.
What are my plans?
In short, my current plans are to stick with Fenix for my Airbus A320 family of aircraft. They have won me over as a customer just like PMDG has done with their Boeing lineup. I don’t need duplicate aircraft of the same type in my virtual hangar. It’s already apparent their A319/A321 expansion is just as awesome as their A320 has been and all will provide me countless hours of enjoyment as I fly around the world for many years to come. So my advice to everyone else is to do what you want, but honestly, why wait? Fenix in my opinion is the way forward.
Until next time…
Happy Flyiing!!!
Jerry
August 27, 2024 / admin / 0 Comments
As mentioned back in May, my wife and I are planning to move from Colorado back to my home state of Texas. In about a week, we will visit my family in Central Texas and spend a few days shopping for a new house. It’s been a hectic past few weeks as we’ve already started sorting through 20+ years of stuff in an effort to downsize from a home of almost 5,000 sq. ft. into something about half the size. We’re making great progress, but still have so much to do.
The timeframe for our move is still very much up in the air at the moment. We know we’re going to move and we know where we’re moving to. However, at the present moment in time we don’t have a house in Texas to move into. We certainly want to move this year and would love to be settled into our new home before Thanksgiving. While the calendar tells me that Thanksgiving is still over 3 months away, we still have so much to do and to accomplish before hand.
The planned trip next weeks will hopefully produce fruit in the sense that we’ll find the home of our dreams and then be able to establish a solid plan to get everything from Colorado to Texas. But wow…is this stressful.
There may come a time where my almost weekly blog posts will fall off to perhaps only once or twice a month or perhaps to even nothing for a few months. I’ll keep you all posted on what we learn from our Texas trip. Hopefully that will be good news and we’ve found a house and can truly get this move on the way.
Until next time….
Happy Packing!!!
Jerry
August 22, 2024 / admin / 0 Comments
Fenix released their much anticipated Airbus A319/A321 expansion package companion to their awesome Airbus A320 on Monday and wow….what an impressive package it truly has been. I purchased and downloaded the expansion pack within minutes of the announcement and was quickly flying the Airbus A321 from DFW to DEN which is a real world route I’ve flown on many times and as recent as this past June.
I honestly can’t say enough positive things about this expansion pack. Some in the community have argued against the price which is roughly $52 USD. But how can you honestly complain about getting two high-fidelity, study-level aircraft for this price? I’m sorry but those who say this is overpriced are just out of touch. I spent well over $400 on the same aircraft in P3D from FSLabs. Compared to my total investment in the Fenix at $120. While we may not have the sharklets at this moment in time for the Fenix aircraft, those are coming and they will be free. FSLabs charged $90 each for their A320 and A321 SL models.
Anyway….since my initial purchase of the expansion pack I’ve flown both the A321 and the A319 on multiple flights. I’ve even taken the A319 from DFW down to BOG (SKBO Bogota, Colombia) on a 5+ hour flight. Again, I just can’t say enough about this expansion package or about the awesome developers at Fenix.
Back during my P3D days, the Airbus A319 was my least favorite and I mostly used the A321. But in MSFS, I’m truly loving the sporty feel of the A319 when hand flying it that most likely I will fly the A319 a lot more now.
In my honest opinion, you just can’t go wrong with Fenix. If you’re looking for a study-level, high-fidelity aircraft which rivals the quality and attention to detail of PMDG, Fenix is the way to go. Period!
My time will be somewhat short with being able to get more flights in with the Fenix as my wife and I will be soon traveling to Texas to look at houses. You’ll read more about this next week.
This truly has been an awesome summer of new aircraft releases and hopefully soon we’ll have the Boeing 737 Max from PMDG and of course the release of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is just around the corner. With all the packing and planning I’ve been doing for the upcoming move to Texas, the summer has flown by.
Until next time…
Happy Flying!!!
Jerry
August 18, 2024 / admin / 0 Comments
Today, 4 years ago was the official release of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and what exciting times we live in as a result. While it took me almost two years to fully embrace and move over to MSFS 2020 as my primary sim, I knew on day one that what we were witnessing with MSFS 2020 was truly going to be the best in-class home flight simulator and trust me, it’s only going to get better and better and even better.
My delay in adopting MSFS 2020 as my main sim of choice was the lack of detailed, complex, high-fidelity airliners. This gap was first filled by the Fenix A320 and quickly followed by the PMDG 737. Once I had both of these airliners in my virtual fleet, I uninstalled Prepar3D and never looked back. If all goes well, we’ll all have the opportunity to add two more aircraft to our virtual hangars with the release of the Fenix A319/A321 expansion pack. Like I said, exciting times…..very exciting times.
What will your first flight be in the new Fenix expansion? For me, most likely it will depend on where my aircraft happens to be in the virtual world. But I’m thinking DFW – DEN in the A321.
Until next time…
Happy Flying!!!
Jerry
August 13, 2024 / admin / 0 Comments
Over the past few days there have been some updated information flowing out of Microsoft/Asobo regarding the upcoming release of the new Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. I think from the very first time we began hearing about MSFS 2024, we knew it was going to be BIG both in sheer size but also in functionality. While many in the flight sim community grumbled at the news and didn’t/couldn’t understand why a new sim was needed, Microsoft/Asobo explained the reasons and chief among them was simply that MSFS 2020 had pretty much reached its full potential as a flight simulation platform. With some of this recent new information which has surfaced I have a few thoughts I want to share with you. Let’s Go!
Client Install Size
One of the the areas of concern for me with regards to the launch of MSFS 2024 was going to be whether or not I would have enough real estate on my current system to run both MSFS 2020 and 2024 at the same time. While I’m certainly not planning to keep both versions installed on my system in perpetually, I know there may be some limitations with regards to 3rd party add-ons for the first few weeks/months after the initial release of MSFS 2024. Meaning, I’m not expecting 100% of all my currently purchased/installed 3rd party add-ons to work on day one. And like many of you, I plan to purchase MSFS 2024 on day one and I want to at the very least be able to fly around in a default GA aircraft and look around.
What we’ve learned in recent weeks is that MSFS 2024 will be installed as a “thin client” whereby only the core essentials will be installed on your PC and vast majority will be streamed down via your web connection as and when that content is needed. This concept is both exciting and concerning for me as a user. In a perfect world it’s a great concept. This means a much smaller install instance on our PC’s and I would assume most major updates will occur in the cloud versus the need to download gigs upon gigs of updates as time goes by. But…..
Data Streaming Performance
Over the past four years of owning/using MSFS 2020 there have been many times where their servers have struggled and during these events the use of MSFS 2020 has been a struggle to run. The impact to the users has either been poor performance with the updates for photogrammetry scenery or even worse not being able to launch the sim at all. This is a huge concern with MSFS 2024, but I’m confident Microsoft/Asobo will do what is needed to ensure the best reliability available.
Sim versus Game
Back when I first started in virtual aviation on the Commodore 64 in the early 80’s and certainly due to the lack of immersion, I considered it more of a game versus the true simulation we have today. But with all the bells and whistles which has been mentioned which MSFS 2024 will bring, is it taking a step back to being a game versus a sim? The short answer to that question I believe is NO! However, it will boil down to the individual user to make the decision on just how to use MSFS 2024. It appears MSFS 2024 will allow us to actually walk around in the virtual world. Microsoft have even stated that should one have the desire, they will be able to hike along their favorite trails. Now while I don’t need this level of maneuverability (OK sure, I’ll try it once) what would be really cool is to be able to spawn into a parking lot, walk through a gate of a small GA airfield or even better, spawn into a terminal and walk down a jet bridge to an awaiting airliner. But in my opinion, these are all things that truly add to the immersion and as a result makes it more of a simulator than just a game.
In Summary
I’m really excited for the release of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 and it will be a day one purchase for me. While the areas of concern I’ve mentioned in this blog post are concerning, I truly believe Microsoft and Asobo will do what’s needed to ensure an optimum experience for all of us. I’d like to know your thoughts on MSFS 2024. Are you planning to purchase? Or will you take a wait and see position first?
Until next time…
Happy Flying!!!
Jerry
August 6, 2024 / admin / 1 Comment
Hello and thank you for returning to yet another flight simulator blog post. A few weeks ago I discussed the topic around whether the Flight Sim Virtual Airline concept was still relevant in today’s virtual aviation world. The short answer to that question is absolutely YES! If you haven’t already, please read that article. In that article, (have you read it yet?) I did mention some competition or should I say some an alternative to the VA world that might interest some readers. Today I will discuss a few options for you to explore. Most are payware add-ons, but one that I’m enjoying is freeware with additional payware options you can add if you choose. Let’s break these down.
A Pilot’s Life – Chapter 2
A Pilot’s Life – Chapter 2 from SimBitWorld simulates the career of a commercial airline pilot. Don’t let the reference of “Chapter 2” lead you to wondering about chapter 1. Essentially chapter 2 is just the second version of this wonderful career mode simulator. A Pilot’s Life – Chapter 2 is available for approx. $32.00 USD. What I like about this career simulator is it starts you off as a Jr. First Officer and provides you enough starting cash ($2,000) to get you started. Once you install the application you will need to apply for a job at one of many available airlines. The starting cash will allow you to purchase the required aircraft equipment license which will be needed to fly that particular aircraft type. For example, I initially purchased a license for the Boeing 737 family of aircraft, then sought out airlines that mostly operated that equipment type. Unfortunately, it’s almost impossible to be hired by one of the BIG airlines like American, United, British Airways etc. as your first starting job. You’ll need to find one of the lower ranking airlines to fly for and then earn your XP points to better qualify for the bigger airlines. After a period of time and as you build up your XP and rank up, you can apply for larger airlines. A Pilot’s Life – Chapter 2 has an extensive manual which will help explain all the details you’ll need to know. You can preview it here. A Pilot’s Life – Chapter 2 is compatible with MSFS, P3D, XPlane and FSX. A Pilot’s Life – Chapter 2 is not available for the XBox platform.
The Skypark
The Skypark by //42 is another payware career simulator option which I often use. The Skypark is available for $30.00 and while it’s still classified as an early access product, it’s robust in the features it offers and is being constantly developed. The Skypark differs from the previously mentioned A Pilot’s Life – Chapter 2 in the sense that you are a freelance, contract pilot and pickup various jobs to fly. The Skypark gives you the freedom to fly what you want, to almost anywhere you might want to fly. The Skypark combines characters, contract jobs, tours and adventures for pilots to use their custom aircraft and scenery collections to reignite their passion for flight. The Skypark is exclusively available for Microsoft Flight Simulator including both PC and XBox platforms.
Air Hauler 2
Air Hauler 2 is unique as it is geared more towards operating your own freight and/or passenger airline company. Air Hauler 2 is more expensive than the previously mentioned add-ons at $50.00 USD and in my opinion doesn’t offer as many bells and whistles as other career simulation add-ons. The user interface is more of a spreadsheet on steroids than a fancy, highly polished UI that others may have. But I’ve used Air Hauler 2 and enjoyed my time while doing so. With Air Hauler 2, I really only use it in the role of an airline manager and don’t fly any of the routes myself. Over time I’ve built up a fairly substantial freight operation and at the present have over 50 pilots operating about 25 aircraft flying routes around the world. I started out leasing aircraft, but have generated enough revenue to purchase the majority outright. While Air Hauler 2 is available for all flight sim platforms, each platform will require it’s own version to be purchased separately.
NeoFly
NeoFly is the new kid on the block in terms to the previously mentioned add-ons. NeoFly is also 100% freeware, but does have payware options that can be added to enhance your experience. It functions similar to Air Hauler 2, in the sense that you can play it as a single pilot or you can build an airline company as you build XP. The user interface is very polished and detailed as you would expect from a modern application. Unlike The Skypark, NeoFly does force you to start off small and work your way up building XP and rank. In the career mode option you are limited to flying only the specific aircraft you purchase or lease. I’m running a small company of just one additional pilot and myself. My hired pilot flies the Cessna 152 and I’m flying the Carenado Mooney. My company is based out of the Centennial Airport KAPA very near my real world house.
Well that’s about all I know about the subject of Career Mode Add-ons for MSFS. Depending on your style of flying, I’m sure one or more will meet all your needs.
Until next time…
Happy Flying!!!
Jerry
July 30, 2024 / admin / 1 Comment
Hello to all my wonderful readers. As we say goodbye to Spring and a reluctant hello to Summer, I’ve made the conscience decision to cease purchasing add-ons for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020. Of course, this excludes the PMDG Boeing 777, PMDG Boeing 737 Max and probably also excludes any other 3rd party aircraft that might take my fancy. Pending of course we believe that those aircraft add-ons will be made available for MSFS 2024. In addition, I’m also excluding any 3rd party airport scenery as there are some good ones which should be released very soon such as Flightbeam’s San Francisco (SFO). So having said all this, what am I choosing to stop spending money on?
That’s a good question! As I study and ponder more on all the “What If’s” about Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, I’m wanting to take a wait and see approach before investing in some add-ons that I had planned to purchase in MSFS 2020. For one example, I’ve made the decision against purchasing ActiveSky’s weather add-on. While I’ve followed some of the progress made in recent weeks, I still don’t see a major, noticeable difference from default weather. There’s every chance that MSFS 2024 will have a better weather engine on release and for that reason I don’t see the need to waste money on that product.
Another example is the new immersion packages being released by //42. I truly love the work these guys do and I’ve owned these types of add-ons for aircraft in P3D. I had been looking closely at their SimFX product but some of this functionality appears to be default in MSFS 2024. Of course one of features I’m speaking about is the Aurora Borealis. Of course I realize this is just one of the many features included in the SimFX add-on. I tend to look at it as I’ve been flying without these features for a long time and I can just wait and see what MSFS 2024 brings later this year.
Of course, I’m still purchasing add-on airport sceneries and aircraft. Just in the past week or so I’ve added about a half-dozen new European airports to my sim and of course purchased the PMDG 777. Likewise, should any other aircraft release from Fenix, PMDG etc. that I enjoy flying I will most likely still purchase as we there should be no reason for the developer to charge full price to move them to MSFS 2024.
Have you taken a similar approach to add-ons in MSFS 2020? Let me know.
Until next time…
Happy Flying!!!
Jerry
July 23, 2024 / admin / 0 Comments
I recently received an interesting and somewhat concerning email from one of our new readers to my blog site. Here’s the email….
Hello Jerry! I’ve been reading your blog postings for a few months now and they have really helped me. I’m relatively new to flight sim. Have been flying MSFS and the PMDG 737 and Fenix A320 for about two years now. I love the immersion of flying on VATSIM and have already accumulated a few hundred hours on the network. I still consider myself somewhat of a novice and tend to avoid any large VATSIM events. However, a few evenings ago I was flying into XYZ airport. I received some late vectors from the approach controller and needless to say I didn’t feel comfortable with the stability of my aircraft and ended up having to go around. When I informed ATC of my go-around intentions they seemed a little upset and suggested I learn how to fly my aircraft before getting on the network. I really don’t believe I’m at fault, I thought it was OK to conduct a go-around procedure if the situation warranted it. Please share your thoughts on this. I’d really like to be a better virtual pilot. Thank you for all you do for the flight sim community and I look forward to your feedback. Tim
Well Tim, and anyone else who have found them in a similar situation. You did nothing wrong! Let me repeat that, YOU DID NOTHING WRONG! For the sake of transparency, I did edit Tim’s message and removed the airport identifier. But needless to say, the airport is a major US airport on the west coast. I’ve been flying on VATSIM before it was VATSIM and have thousands of hours. Even I have had some challenges with some controllers at this particular airport. But I digress….
There is absolutely nothing wrong, nor does it make you, or should cause anyone else to think of you, as a bad pilot if you feel you need to execute a go-around procedure. In the real world, pilots execute go-around procedures for any number of reasons and some of those reasons are exactly what Tim described.
I’m really not sure why Tim would have received a negative experience from the VATSIM controller. It’s possible the controller was tired or had a bad day. It’s also possible the controller had a few knuckleheads which had been causing him issues just before and felt Tim was just another problematic pilot which he just didn’t have the patience to deal with and thus made a snide remark.
I personally have executed dozens of go-around procedures while on VATSIM and under ATC control and have never been met with any negative comments towards my piloting abilities. Bottom line and as I previously stated, Tim did nothing wrong and shouldn’t have been subjected to any abuse.
In the future, if this happens again to Tim or anyone else, I recommend leaving feedback on the particular controller in question with their ATC Division website. In the US, the VATUSA website is the place where one can leave feedback regarding their overall ATC experience. I often utilize this feature. Just visit VATUSA and under the drop down menu titled Facilities, select the particular ARTCC region and that will direct you to that site and from there look for the feedback link where you can provide your feedback. While it is perfectly acceptable to leave feedback of a negative experience, always provide a constructive form of feedback when doing so. Unloading your own snide comments won’t help you. Also, I encourage everyone to also leave feedback when you’ve had a positive experience on the network. Remember, those who volunteer to provide ATC services on VATSIM are doing it in their own spare time and without ATC coverage, our experience as pilots wouldn’t be the same.
Until next time….
Happy Flying!!!
Jerry
July 15, 2024 / admin / 0 Comments
You might remember I first mentioned my interest in the new Winwing Airbus FCU back in May when I posted about my brand new purchase of the Thrustmaster Airbus Captains Pack. Well I had placed my order for the Winwing FCU way back on 23 April and had all but lost hope that I would ever receive it. Roll forward 2.5 months and I finally have it in my hands.
The Winwing Airbus FCU arrived nicely packaged to my address via Fedex. The package shipped directly from China and spent nearly a week in Japan, before finally making it to Memphis and then on to Denver. The box you see below had an outer layer of white plastic protecting the box and where the labels were attached.
Upon opening the box, everything inside was protected in styrofoam.
Removing the top layer revealed the included USB cable and hardware to mount the included plastic stands.
and finally the well packaged and protected FCU
Installation and Setup
Unfortunately, the package contains no documentation. I was already expecting this as I had watched several YouTube videos showcasing the unboxing and setup of the WinWing FCU prior to receiving my unit. I realize we’re all trying our best to reduce the amount of paper waste, but WinWing hasn’t even bothered to put together an online user guide that I could locate on their website. But like I said, there are a few YouTube videos which will help walk you through the steps of what needs to be done. The best video to watch is by Easyjetsimpilot and the link to that video is is here.
While I followed step-by-step-by every excruciating step of the above mentioned video, I ran into issues which I struggled to get around. My hardware setup is fairly massive, but certainly not unique. I have over a dozen USB peripherals which I use just for flight sim. These include of course my newish Thrustmaster Captain’s Edition stick, throttles and other side devices, my rudder pedals, my yoke and multiple GoFlight hardware modules I use when flying the PMDG aircraft. I also have a Razr keypad I use for controlling my views along with many other devices. Some are directly connected to the PC and others are plugged into powered USB hubs.
While it is true some of these devices aren’t all used on every flight. Example, I don’t use my yoke when I fly an Airbus and I don’t use the majority of the GoFlight hardware in the same scenario, the thought of having to disconnect and reconnect these devices just to keep the Winwing FCU happy was frustrating. After stepping away from my system for a few hours, I finally figured out that somehow there is a conflict between the Winwing FCU and my Logitech Racing Wheel. OK, I can live with not having the racing wheel connected when running flight sim. So to keep the Winwing happy and allow me to enjoy some Fenix Airbus A320 flying, it’s disconnected.
Overall Opinions on the product
Other than the frustrations I mentioned above, I am mostly pleased with the Winwing FCU. Having it, along with the Thrustmaster Captain’s Pack has greatly reduced the amount of use needed from the mouse and keyboard and I’m very excited about that. Flying the Fenix A320 is just as enjoyable and immersive as flying the PMDG 737-800. For that reason, I’m very happy with the product. The FCU appears to be well made. I have it installed just under my monitor and while this is working for now, I want to do something a little different, but haven’t quite figured out what that will be just yet. Most likely this will be pushed out as I plan to have a much different setup once we move and can live with the way it is for now.
I must admit that I was shocked to learn that upon initial connection with the FCU and their SimAppPro software that a firmware update was required. I could certainly understand if my FCU had been sitting on a shelf in some obscure warehouse for months prior to be ordering it, but I assume with the 2.5 month wait I experienced that my FCU was “hot off the presses” and should have arrived to me ready to go.
But I also think what is seriously lacking with my Winwing FCU experience is their SimApp Pro software. In my opinion it seems to be very clunky in use. But it is what it is and I will live with it.
Final Thoughts
After learning about their future plans during FSExpo to release more hardware devices for the sim, I was excited. But this excitement (at least for now) has been taken back a few notches. But we’ll see what happens over time. If a new product were to be announced (example their EFIS panel) I most likely would wait before ordering it. Especially if the wait for that product is going to be 2-3 months as we’re most likely moving to Texas later this year (read more about this here) and wouldn’t want to place an order while I’m still in Colorado.
So far I’ve flown about 3 flights with the Winwing FCU and as previously stated, I’m really loving the added immersion of not needing to use my mouse to control the functions contained within the FCU hardware. As I have no experience with the other available FCU hardware options, I honestly can say that I’m 100% happy with the Winwing FCU.
Until next time…
Happy Flying!!!
Jerry
July 8, 2024 / admin / 0 Comments
While I was traveling last week, I was trying to stay in touch with all the related Flight Sim news breaking both from the FSExpo and elsewhere. In my American VA, one of our members posted some information about a newish application that has been released called Lossless Scaling. In all honesty, I really didn’t pay much attention to it. I was fortunate enough that when I built my current gaming machine last summer, I added the Nvidia 4090Ti GPU. The details from what I could find regarding this Lossless Scaling application mentioned how it helped non 4000 series GPU’s gain a few more FPS. But I figured for a mere $7 I would try it and see what it could do with my 4090. While I didn’t gain much in the FPS category, I did gain enough to say it was worth the small investment.
If you’re interested in trying out the Lossless Scaling App, it’s only available on the Steam Store. So you’ll need a Steam account both to purchase and also to run it. Launching the Lossless Scaling App will launch the Steam client each time, but like I said many have found the benefit from using it both in MSFS as well as other games. So it’s worth the effort.
As for the settings, well I’m still tinkering but have left most settings at default for now. But I’ll show you what I have set and you can use that as your own benchmark to start.
So if you have a few dollars burning a hole in your pocket and you want to see if you can squeak out a few extra FPS, then give the Lossless Scaling App a try.
Until next time…
Happy Flying!!!
Jerry
