Hello Captains and welcome back. We have another reader question which I would like to share with you. The question comes from Doug.
Hello Jerry, I recently discovered your blog site and see that you frequently help answer questions from the community. I’d like to get your opinion please. Many years ago I was a frequent user of Microsoft FSX. However, various work and family commitments caused me to set it aside. I’m retired now and according to my wife I have just too much time on my hands and have been thinking about getting back into the hobby. My question to you, again if you don’t mind sharing is regarding your opinions for how one can re-enter the hobby after such a long hiatus and which direction is the best to go with the choice of flight simulators on the market today. Thank you for taking the time to answer my question. Doug
The question Doug asks is not an easy one for me to answer since it involves opinions and money, not my money….but Doug’s hard earned money. But I’ll do my best.
Hardware
First and foremost, regardless of which simulator Doug decides to purchase a more modern PC will be required. What ever PC he once used with FSX will be extremely outdated. When looking at purchasing a new PC I always recommend spending/investing as much as you possibly can to meet or even exceed the recommended hardware requirements. While both MSFS 2024 and X-Plane 12 will list out their minimum PC requirements, this guidance really should be avoided when spending money on a new PC. It’s always best to use the “Recommended Specs” and buy/build up to that spec, if not even beyond if the budget allows. This way you won’t be disappointed.
Simulator Choices
While I own both MSFS 2020 and MSFS 2024, the choice today really boils down to MSFS 2024 versus X-Plane 12. While I own both, I have rarely used X-Plane 12. I think I have less than 50 hours with XP. For me personally, I would need add a lot of add-ons to XP to make it look like MSFS out of the box and that’s just something I’m not interested in doing. One can go to YouTube and search out side-by-side comparison videos between MSFS and XP. I recently watched one released just a few days ago and visually, MSFS 2024 outshined XP. But you’ll also find differing opinions in the community.
Of course, there are many who will say that the flight dynamics of X-Plane 12 far exceed that of MSFS. This may be a true statement, but as I’m not a real world pilot this really isn’t something I’m that concerned with. I believe what 3rd party developers such as Fenix and A2A have done with their add-ons compensate for this fact and again as I’m not a real world pilot I really don’t know the difference and neither will anyone else for that matter with no real world piloting experience.
Controller Choices
While Microsoft Flight Simulator has always made it possible to only use a keyboard and mouse to fly within the sim, the enjoyment factor with this setup just simply will not be enough in my opinion. After all, if you truly want an “As Real As It Gets” flight simulator experience then invest in at the very least a joystick. While an XBox style controller will work, a joystick will be much better. You can pickup an inexpensive joystick controller such as the Logitech Extreme 3D controller (which is an older model). Which ever controller you choose to use and especially if you plan only to use a joystick, make sure it includes a twisting axis controller for precision rudder control. Of course, I have multiple controllers including a flight yoke for most GA aircraft and Boeing planes and use the Thrustmaster Airbus hardware when I fly Airbus aircraft. I also have rudder pedals as well. But you can certainly start out with a joystick like I mentioned and add to that setup over time.
ROI
I won’t lie to you, the flight simulation hobby can become very expensive if you want it be. The return on investment you get from flight sim will be equal or even greater to what you put into it. Just like other hobbies such as golf, billiards etc. there will always be things you can spend money on to enhance the experience. But I’ll tell you this, as an older person quickly approaching is senior years (I guess I might already be there at 59), but I get so much satisfaction from flight sim and I believe in retirement it is helping to keep my mind sharp and more importantly it keeps me out of my wife’s hair. LOL
I hope this information helps Doug and anyone else stopping by to read this blog post.
Until next time…
Happy Flying!!!
Jerry