Just a little clarification. As my storyteller series continues to unfold, I’m going to be taking a new job in APL with Virgin America. As Virgin America was acquired by Alaska Airlines and fully merged in 2018, for the sake of this continuing story line…I’m going to continue to fly for Alaska. But be based in San Francisco. APL will think of me employed by Virgin America…but I’ll follow the real world situation and consider myself still employed by Alaska. Confused? Hopefully not….
Present Day
Upon returning from the Las Vegas trip, I had a few days off and needed to give serious thought to my future plans. The way I saw it, I had three possible doors to open and walk through. Thankfully I knew what was behind each door. The hard part was deciding. Would it be door #1, door #2 or door #3? I also suppose there could have been a 4th option, but I just don’t have the brain power to think about that option right now.
Door #1 is basically stay with Alaska and stay in Seattle. I could continue flying mostly the same routes I’ve been flying.
Door #2 would have me accept the transfer down to San Francisco and operate the old Virgin America routes. Most likely I would stay in the Boeing 73x aircraft. But could certainly work through the process of getting type rated on the Airbus A320. This option would certainly better assist me down the road.
Door #3 is to look at the list of offers I have available. I really didn’t want to take a step back in pay and my ultimate goal is to eventually get hired on by a 5 star airline. As far as I’m concerned, this can wait until I reach the rank of captain. I’m really in no rush.
A part of me feels that Alaska needs/wants me to go to San Fran. After all, if they didn’t…they wouldn’t have offered it. So I must be doing something right. Again…decisions, decisions.
OK….
Done! We’re moving to the Bay Area. Might as well.
Flight Details
All my belongings are packed and being moved down to the San Francisco area. My car is also being shipped down and while I’m still in Seattle, I managed to get assigned to a flight down. Might as well earn some money and XP in the process right? Right!
Today I’ll be serving as Sr. First Officer on Alaska flight 1740 with non-stop service to San Francisco. Our flight today is in the Boeing 737-800 with a total block fuel of 17,141 lbs. and a take-off weight of 159,232 lbs. Our block time is 2 hours and 10 minutes and our cruising altitude is 35,000.
Route: HAROB6 FEPOT Q3 FOWND MLBEC BDEGA3
Time To Go
The feeling is somewhat bitter sweet. While I know this won’t be the last time I fly into Sea-Tac, I’ve truly enjoyed calling this airport home. I’ve enjoyed living in the Seattle area, but looking forward to finding out what life is like in San Fran. While I know this isn’t permanent, SFO will be my new home for the foreseeable future.
For my big send off, Alaska has matched me up with one of the old black/white liveries. She’s a classic for sure and I’m honored to have one last opportunity to fly this livery before they are all repainted. Obviously, Alaska has been most concerned with getting all the Virgin America Airbus aircraft updated first. After all, branding means everything.
We’re all buttoned up and ready to push back.
Push back the Boeing 737-900
Holding short runway 16L. We all bow to the Queen. A Boeing 747-400 landing 16L.
Once the Queen vacated the runway, it was our time to blast off for SFO. Bye Bye Sea-Tac. See you sometime soon.
Turning to join our departure course.
Climbing out above the clouds.
Descending into what will be my new home for a while. Alcatraz and the Bay Bridge just out of the Captains window.
Silicon Valley
Clear to land, runway 25L
Almost there….
Short final for 25L.
At the gate, SFO.
The sign above the door says it all. Or at least tells us we landed at the correct airport. This day and age, that fact is not always a given.
I’m here and a new adventure begins at SFO. We have a busy schedule of flights which start almost immediately. For me, A Pilot’s Life has really helped to give purpose to my virtual flying. APL makes you think, it makes you plan and it makes you work hard to gain both experience as well as money.
I truly hope you are enjoying this storyteller series and I hope you’ll tune back in for the next episode next week.
Thanks again and happy flying!
Jerry
Credits
If you are interested in experiencing your own “A Pilot’s Life”, I highly recommend the A Pilot’s Life, by SimBitWorld add-on for Prepar3D, FSX and X-Plane. You can learn more about the A Pilot’s Life by visiting the SimBitWorld website and/or purchase APL at SimMarket. Also, please read my full review of A Pilot’s LIfe here.
Flight Simulator: Prepar3D v4.5 (hotfix 1) Aircraft: PMDG 737-900 Airline: Alaska Airlines (ASA) ATC: VATSIM Airport Scenery: KSEA Drzewiecki Design, KSFO Flightbeam Terrain Scenery: Orbx Global Base, Orbx Vector, Orbx openLC North America, Orbx NA Pacific Northwest, Orbx Northern California, Orbx Southern California Sky/Cloud Textures: REX 5 SkyForce and REX 5 Environment Force Weather Generation: ActiveSky (ASP4) Flight Planning: SimBrief, Navigraph, FlightAware, FlightRadar24
Hello and welcome back to another installment of my “A Pilot’s Life Storyteller Series”. As you might recall when we were last together, we landed in Las Vegas (Alaska Flight 634) and were due to return back to Seattle that afternoon/evening. Let’s get right into the action.
Present Day
I’m still contemplating my options as it relates to my career with Alaska. I will admit that a change of scenery will do well for me. My contract with Alaska is up and in reviewing the job offers out there, I do have options.
As you can see below, Alaska has offered me the option to move to San Francisco and work in what was the old Virgin America division. The pay is a step forward as my current pay rate is $39.39 per hour and Alaska is offering me $39.55. The next best choice for me would be to leave Alaska and of that list, Southwest Airlines is the most attractive. Southwest has offered me a job before and each time they up the ante. So I’d rather keep moving up if at all possible. Decisions…decisions.
Flight Details
This is the return flight from Las Vegas back to Seattle, Alaska flight 635. Our planned fuel for this trip back to Seattle is 19,640 lbs and our TOW is 161,731. Our cruising altitude will be 34,000 with a total block time of 2 hours and 36 minutes.
Flight Plan: SHEAD1 OAL LOMIA LKV HAWKZ7
Are you Ready?
We’re running slightly late as we had a passenger who hadn’t boarded, so their bags had to be removed from the aircraft as standard procedure. The ground crew needs to move a cart out of the way and then bring the tug around. We’ll be pushing back in just a few minutes.
Push back underway and along with that is engine start.
Tug disconnected and we’re given the all clear.
Leaving Las Vegas
Climbing out on our departure SID.
A noticeable Washington landmark just above the clouds off the right wing. (Mount Rainer)
Typical cloudy afternoon as we make our way along the arrival route.
The view from my office window.
Almost home as we fly near downtown Seattle.
Hello Boeing…..
Safely back where we started about 6 hours earlier.
I’m not scheduled to fly for a few days and need to give Alaska Airlines my decision by end of the week if I want to consider the move to SFO. I’ll admit, I’m certainly leaning in that direction.
Credits
If you are interested in experiencing your own “A Pilot’s Life”, I highly recommend the A Pilot’s Life, by SimBitWorld add-on for Prepar3D, FSX and X-Plane. You can learn more about the A Pilot’s Life by visiting the SimBitWorld website and/or purchase APL at SimMarket. Also, please read my full review of A Pilot’s LIfe here.
Flight Simulator: Prepar3D v4.5 (hotfix 1) Aircraft: PMDG 737-900 Airline: Alaska Airlines (ASA) ATC: VATSIM Airport Scenery: KSEA Drzewiecki Design, KLAS FlyTampa Terrain Scenery: Orbx Global Base, Orbx Vector, Orbx openLC North America, Orbx NA Pacific Northwest, Orbx Northern California, Orbx Southern California Sky/Cloud Textures: REX 5 SkyForce and REX 5 Environment Force Weather Generation: ActiveSky (ASP4) Flight Planning: SimBrief, Navigraph, FlightAware, FlightRadar24
Good morning, good afternoon and/or good evening and thank you for returning to our 5th installment in this Storyteller series focusing on A Pilot’s Life. A few things to catch you up on. In the last installment, we traveled from Ketchikan back to Seattle. This was the last flight of the month as I completed it on 31 May. As I get paid monthly, I received a nice paycheck on 1 June and have already made a few strategic purchases which will assist me in gaining more XP per flight. As you can see from the screenshot below of the main APL program screen, my bank account has had a nice $2,253.60 in it.
After purchasing two items in the APL Shop which consisted of a mobile phone and a flight bag, I now only have $983.60. These two purchases will earn me an additional 15% XP per each flight and help me to gain my promotion to the rank of Captain just a little quicker.
While I could have purchased the headset instead of the mobile phone and gained a total of 20% XP, I’m trying to be somewhat practical with these purchases. After all, who doesn’t own a cell phone in this day and age. Next month I’ll make additional purchases.
Present Day
I’m hearing about an opportunity I may soon have to transfer down to San Francisco. As a Sr. First Officer who will soon be moving up and over to the left seat as Captain, I suppose Alaska is looking to ensure I stay both motivated as well keep from burning out by flying back and forth from Sea-Tac. I must admit that I do like the idea of a change of scenery. SFO was the main hub for Virgin America and after the merger, Alaska kept SFO as a hub. I’ll be sure and keep you informed if this move becomes reality.
Flight Details
Today we’re operating Alaska flight 634 with service from Seattle down to Las Vegas. Our flight departs at 10:30 AM. Our planned fuel for this trip is 31,335 lbs and our take off weight is 162,046 lbs. with a cruising altitude of 35,000 feet. Our block time is 2 hours and 38 minutes.
Flight Plan: SUMMA1 LKV RYANN J92 BTY SUNST4
Let’s Get Going
This will be a turnaround flight for me. While I enjoy the overnight stays in Vegas, my bank account can do without the possible gambling losses which might be incurred if I were to not have the best of luck. Let’s face it, my luck in Vegas the past few trips hasn’t been the best. I lost BIG TIME at the roulette table and ended up falling off the mechanical bull. But as they say….what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.
Today we’re flying the Boeing 737-900 with the special 100th year Boeing livery. ServAir is stocking up the aircraft galley.
Next of course comes the bags. We’re set for an on-time departure.
A little help from our friends…
Holding short at 16L
Blasting off and on the way to Vegas.
Just a little hazy this morning. We’re now above the clouds of the Seattle area. Nothing but clear skies to Vegas.
Ladies and gentlemen, if you direct your attention to the left side of the aircraft you’ll see the Vegas strip where I’m sure all of your hard earned money will be left. Welcome to Vegas Baby!
Typical Vegas weather has us landing on the 26’s.
Lake Mead in the background.
Easy does it. I personally love this photo. The sky, the shadows.
Some Southwest aircraft parked at LAS.
At our gate and shutting down. The ground crew needs to get us turned around in less than an hour.
That’s all for now. Tune back in next time for the flight back to Seattle.
Credits
If you are interested in experiencing your own “A Pilot’s Life”, I highly recommend the A Pilot’s Life, by SimBitWorld add-on for Prepar3D, FSX and X-Plane. You can learn more about the A Pilot’s Life by visiting the SimBitWorld website and/or purchase APL at SimMarket. Also, please read my full review of A Pilot’s LIfe here.
Flight Simulator: Prepar3D v4.5 (hotfix 1) Aircraft: PMDG 737-900 Airline: Alaska Airlines (ASA) ATC: VATSIM Airport Scenery: KSEA Drzewiecki Design, KLAS FlyTampa Terrain Scenery: Orbx Global Base, Orbx Vector, Orbx openLC North America, Orbx NA Pacific Northwest, Orbx Northern California, Orbx Southern California Sky/Cloud Textures: REX 5 SkyForce and REX 5 Environment Force Weather Generation: ActiveSky (ASP4) Flight Planning: SimBrief, Navigraph, FlightAware, FlightRadar24
My R&R break in Ketchikan has drawn to a close and it’s time for me to get back to work. Perhaps not as much as I want to, but truly need to. It’s quickly approaching the end of the month of May (as I’m writing this) and as we only get paid once per month, I need to rack up as many flight hours as possible. This flight back to Seattle will be the last flight of the month. As also mentioned on the S1, E2 update, this flight also completes my current schedule with Alaska. I will receive another schedule upon my return to Sea-Tac. I’m still thinking about my future and most likely will discuss that next time.
Present Day
I truly enjoyed the past few days I’ve spent in Ketchikan. But it’s time for me to return back to work. Once again we have beautiful weather here and this will be a late afternoon departure back to Seattle. While the Ketchikan area has many endearing qualities, I think the people are what I truly like about my visits here.
Flight Details
Today we’re operating Alaska flight 9248 with non-stop service from Ketchikan back to Seattle. This flight originated in Anchorage and many of our passengers were part of that flight. Our flight departs at 19:35. Our planned fuel for this trip is 15,743 lbs and our take-off weight is 149,457 lbs. with a cruising altitude of 35,000 feet. Block time is 2 hours.
Flight Plan: ANN YJQ YYJ MARNR7
Let’s get going…
We’re in our standard livery today for this B738. We’re ready to go and just waiting on the ground crew to disconnect ground services and get the tug connected. Time is money…
Cleared to start engines and engine #2 is spinning up.
As we taxi up the hill towards runway 11, the sun is setting.
We’re lined up and waiting for our take-off clearance. We had a departing Cessna in front of us. While we have no worries from his lack of wake turbulence, the last thing that pilot wants to see in his rear-view mirror is a Boeing 738. But he’s headed for Sitka, so he’ll be turning and proceeding NW soon.
With the departing Cessna out of the way, it’s wheels up for Alaska 9248.
Continuing our climb up to FL350.
Beautiful weather for flying.
That just about does it for the sun for this day.
And now for the wing view.
Of course the problem with flying at night is…..
Cleared to land runway 16L at Sea-Tac.
Just a few more seconds…..
There we go…a smooth touchdown. Yea…I suppose it’s also good to be back home.
Parked at the gate and beginning our shutdown checklist.
As previously stated, this flight marks the end of my schedule. We get 10 flights scheduled to us at one time. My new schedule set has me returning back to Las Vegas, Portland, San Francisco, Salt Lake City and finally back up to Juneau.
As I don’t want to commit to any decisions at this time, I most likely will take the Las Vegas flights out and back. I should then be close to the end of the 7 day waiting period on my Sr. First Officer contract and will look at all my options. The deciding factors will be hourly salary and routes. As you can tell from the image below, these are the flights I’ve completed with Sun Country (based in KMSP) and Alaska (based in Seattle). I’d also still love to get hired by a 5 star airline like American, United etc. Time will tell.
Thanks for reading. I’ll keep you posted on my decisions. Talk to you once again soon.
Credits
If you are interested in experiencing your own “A Pilot’s Life”, I highly recommend the A Pilot’s Life, by SimBitWorld add-on for Prepar3D, FSX and X-Plane. You can learn more about the A Pilot’s Life by visiting the SimBitWorld website and/or purchase APL at SimMarket. Also, please read my full review of A Pilot’s LIfe here.
Flight Simulator: Prepar3D v4.5 (hotfix 1) Aircraft: PMDG 737-800 Airline: Alaska Airlines (ASA) ATC: VATSIM Airport Scenery: KSEA Drzewiecki Design, Orbx Ketchikan Terrain Scenery: Orbx Global Base, Orbx Vector, Orbx openLC North America, Orbx NA Pacific Northwest, NA Pacific Fjords Sky/Cloud Textures: REX 5 SkyForce and REX 5 Environment Force Weather Generation: ActiveSky (ASP4) Flight Planning: SimBrief, Navigraph, FlightAware, FlightRadar24
While I’ve been thinking about this subject for a few weeks, I really was prompted to actually sit down at the computer and pour my thoughts into WordPress for you all to read. The subject of this writing has to do with add-on developers duplicating each others efforts. Understand, I’m not referring to stealing, copying or anything underhanded.
Earlier today the flight simulation community learned a brand new Las Vegas, KLAS airport scenery had been released by scenery developer FlyTampa. I’m familiar with FlyTampa and own two of their add-on airports including TNCM (St. Maarten) and KTPA (Tampa). On my wish list I have Amsterdam (EHAM), Chicago Midway (KMDW), Boston (KBOS) and with the word MAYBE beside it I now have Las Vegas (KLAS).
For the past 8+ years I’ve owned the add-on scenery for Las Vegas from FSDreamTeam. For the most part, I’ve been very pleased with their scenery. As a matter of fact, I’ve been so pleased with FSDreamTeam that I own a total of 16 of their add-on airport sceneries. The only developer which tops them in the number of products I own would be Orbx. Anyway…
Back to the Question at Hand
Generally speaking, as consumers, we see duplication of effort everywhere we look. Go to the grocery store and you’ll find multiple brands of products that essentially do the exact same thing. Out on the highway, you’ll see different types of automobiles which all do the exact same thing. Even in the very industry we simulate through flight simulation we have Boeing versus Airbus and American versus United. Let’s also not forget we have Prepar3D versus XPlane. I think the saying, “Variety is the Spice of Life” comes to mind here. Also, competition is always a good thing.
But is competition such a good thing in our hobby? I’d say YES and NO!
In the example of FSDreamTeam’s Las Vegas, it’s been out for about 10 years. Originally developed for both FSX and FS9 (Flight Simulator 2004) and made compatible for Prepar3D (including v4) it is starting to show its age. Having said that, much of the other FSDT scenery I own (with exception of KMEM and KSDF) were all purchased for FSX and FSDT has updated them for P3Dv4 at no out of pocket cost. Said in another way, the vast majority of the 16 products I own from FSDreamTeam were purchased 7-10 years ago and the developer has worked to make them compatible with P3Dv4 and I didn’t have to spend any money. This is one reason why FSDT has remained one of my favorite developers and why I try to support them every chance I get.
Back to the competition question and why I say it’s both a good thing and a bad thing. First let’s get the bad out of the way. When I hear of an add-on developer creating airport scenery for an airport which already exists via another developer, I think to myself just how many other airports in the world which we don’t have represented with accurately detailed add-on scenery? In other words, instead of recreating an airport that already exists by an established developer…why not select another airport?
As for the reasons why it can be a good thing, well in the case of FSDT’s KLAS which was developed for FS9/FSX, FlyTampa’s KLAS is 100% P3Dv4 including PBR textures which of course is the brand new buzz word around the P3D community. LOL No, PBR doesn’t stand for Pabst Blue Ribbon…it stands for Physical Based Rendering and in simple terms PBR offers lighting techniques that treats light the way it really behaves in the real world. When applied to an aircraft (as an example), the materials which make up the aircraft look more realistic.
As I said…
Competition is a good thing. Not only can it help to keep the cost to the consumer low, it also can assist in keeping everyone on their toes. But if you blink….then bad things can happen. In the case of FSDreamTeam and their KLAS scenery…THEY BLINKED and FlyTampa pounced.
Like any other piece of software, FlyTampa didn’t decide last week or last month to develop their version of KLAS. Most likely it’s been in the works for some time. As I’ve stated before in other writings, compared to other gaming communities…the flight simulation community is rather small. These 3rd party development teams are also small in size. The PMDG wiki page states there are 8 employees. So these things take time. But in the case of FSDT, I see no signs they were planning to make any major updates to KLAS and with the recent hype around FlyTampa’s version, I’m most certain FSDT won’t bother.
Bottom Line
There’s very little brand loyalty in the flight sim community. If my wife sends me into the store to purchase a cold soda, I better come out with a red can in my hand. In other words, she drinks coca-cola or she’ll go without and I’ll get one of those looks if I even think otherwise. You know the look I’m talking about. Right?
On a related note, FSDreamTeam has been in the process of developing a version 2 for Chicago O Hare KORD. I believe it’s been in the works for almost two years. As is the case with most projects like this, no release date is known at this time. FSDT’s KORD will be amazing and it’s badly needed. However, another relatively new developer called Skyline Sim announced they were working on their own KORD (and other airports as well). Time will only tell…
For now, I plan to pull the trigger on FlyTampa’s version of Las Vegas. I’ll uninstall FSDT’s version and continue moving forward.
Thank you for returning for another edition in the “A Pilot’s Life” Storyteller series. I’m still trying to work out the title format I’ll use. For now, I’m going with Series 1, Edition 2. In each of these updates, I’ll spend a little bit of time catching you up on flights I don’t cover in detail. This way you are somewhat aware of the progress I’m making as I continue my APL career.
After arriving at Sea-Tac from our flight from San Francisco (S1, E1), I had a trip out to Salt Lake City and back to Sea-Tac that same day. These two flights increased my APL XP up to 235.20. I have just over 414 XP points to accumulate until I’m eligible for my promotion to the rank of Captain. (See below)
In addition, this trip up to Ketchikan and back will complete this assigned schedule set. As I can’t consider options from other airlines at this time, I’ll need to accept at least one more schedule with Alaska. If you are new to APL or not familiar with how it works, once you accept a position at a new airline or you receive a promotion during your employment with an airline, you can’t accept a new offer until a period of 7 calendar days have passed. As I was promoted to Sr. First Officer on 26 May, I will not be eligible to accept or apply for any other jobs until 2 June.
As for my plan after 2 June, well…..I really don’t know. I first will take a look at the job offers I receive. If these are lucrative enough, I will certainly consider them. The challenge for me is with 3rd party add-on scenery. The add-on airport scenery I own is mostly concentrated in the USA. So accepting a job with any of the major US based carriers will certainly give me plenty of opportunities. However, accepting a job with a European (or any other region) will certainly give me some interesting route opportunities which obviously will lead to some interesting stories to tell. Again…time will tell.
Present Day
The day has come for my flight up to Ketchikan, Alaska. A number of years ago, I spent some time up in Ketchikan piloting small bush and float planes hauling paying customers to secluded hunting and fishing spots. While there isn’t much money to be made (certainly compared to a commercial airline pilot), I could certainly see myself returning back to the slower life which can be found in places like Ketchikan and Juneau at some point in the future. But of course, time will tell.
The flight today is an afternoon flight out of Sea-Tac in the Boeing 737-800. We’re in our special livery titled “Spirit of the Islands”. You can read more about this special livery here or watch the short video below. The livery honors the Aloha State.
The weather today in Seattle is in rare form. Today is one of those days where (while it’s a great day to fly) you are almost wishing you were flying so you can actually get outside and do something. But I need the work as I am still paying off the student loans. The great news is I have arranged for a few days R&R in Ketchikan. I am going to visit some friends for a few days and will catch a flight back to Seattle later in the week. Weather permitting, I might even rent a float plane and do some exploring.
Flight Details
Today we’re operating Alaska flight 179 with non-stop service between Seattle to Ketchikan, Alaska. Our flight is scheduled to depart at 16:30 from gate N13. Our planned fuel for this trip is 17, 111 lbs. and our take-off weight is 148,985 lbs. Our cruising altitude today is FL340 and we have a block time of two hours, three minutes.
Flight Plan: BANGR9 PANGL QQ PR/N0338F 160 V309 ANN
Walk Around
As the turnaround at Sea-Tac is a quick one today, I’m conducting the walk around while the bags are going in. But all looks good with our aircraft today.
Looks like that’s one heavy suitcase. I’d offer him a hand, but you know…union rules and all that. Remember, bend at the knees.
These guys are good. But of course with Sea-Tac being our main hub, you would expect nothing less. Catering, fueling and the last of the bags are going on. Time to get rolling.
It’s time to push back
It’s a busy day today at Sea-Tac. We have company traffic flying in and out, plus an American and Delta are also preparing to pushback.
We’ve been cleared for engine start. Starting Engine #2.
Good engine start on #2, starting engine #1
As we taxi out to 16L, a Virgin America (now of course Alaska Airlines) Airbus lands. I guess we haven’t got around to painting that aircraft just yet.
Alaska 179, Line up and Wait 16L
Positive Rate, Gear Up!
Beginning our right turn to join the SID.
Wing shot…..Oh Yea!
The view from the office.
Climbing out over Vancouver Island. The views are rather impressive this afternoon.
Beginning our descent. We’re about to cross over Annette Island and the Annette Island Airport (ANN) is visible through the clouds. ANN served as the major airport from the WWII era until the early 70’s.
Slowing our speed as we continue to descend. The appearance of the water is very calm.
The approach into Ketchikan for runway 11 brings us in almost parallel to the airport, then fly out approx. 25 nm. Then we do a easy 180 degree turn. Starting to make our turn now.
Looking forward to spending a few days flying around Ketchikan and exploring. The weather forecast is calling for excellent VFR flying conditions.
Completing our 180 degree turn. As we roll out the runway should be directly in front of us.
We’re cleared for the approach runway 11.
Cleared to land, runway 11
Clear of the active and beginning our downhill taxi.
Just as we roll in, a company 737-800 is about to pushback for Anchorage.
At the gate and shutting down. In just a few minutes I’ll begin my short vacation break in one of my favorite places in the world. I think before I head to the hotel, I’ll walk down and see if there are any aircraft to rent.
Well that just about does it for this edition. I certainly hope you are enjoying reading these as much as I’m enjoying flying and writing about my adventures. I hope you’ll check back next week for another adventure. It might just be a mini-adventure as I rent an airplane and fly around Ketchikan before heading back down to Seattle. Talk to you soon.
Credits
If you are interested in experiencing your own “A Pilot’s Life”, I highly recommend the A Pilot’s Life, by SimBitWorld add-on for Prepar3D, FSX and X-Plane. You can learn more about the A Pilot’s Life by visiting the SimBitWorld website and/or purchase APL at SimMarket. Also, please read my full review of A Pilot’s LIfe here.
Flight Simulator: Prepar3D v4.5 (hotfix 1)
Aircraft: PMDG 737-800
Airline: Alaska Airlines (ASA)
ATC: VATSIM
Airport Scenery: KSEA Drzewiecki Design, Orbx Ketchikan
Terrain Scenery: Orbx Global Base, Orbx Vector, Orbx openLC North America, Orbx NA Pacific Northwest, NA Pacific Fjords
Sky/Cloud Textures: REX 5 SkyForce and REX 5 Environment Force
Weather Generation: ActiveSky (ASP4)
Flight Planning: SimBrief, Navigraph, FlightAware, FlightRadar24
Hello Ladies, Gentlemen and Children of all ages… I truly appreciate all who take the time to read the content I publish in written format on my blog site. I realize the written word is so prehistoric in terms of all things new media. After all, we have podcasts, vlogs, livestreams etc. But the old blog site continues to received many thousands of visits each month and I very much enjoy writing and sharing…so thank you all for taking the time to read the ramblings of a middle aged man.
Pay special attention to the subject line and notice the use of the word “My”. This list hasn’t been compiled using some scientific method to include every single payware aircraft available for P3Dv4. It’s just my very own Top 10 list of my favorite payware aircraft for Prepar3D version 4. Yes, I own each of these and try to fly them on a regular basis. The operative word in that sentence is “try”. I’ll explain that later. Let’s get started with MY Top 10 Payware Aircraft for Prepar3D v4.
Honorable Mention – CaptainSim 757
I’ve opted to list an 11th listing which I’ve thrown into the honorable mention category and it somewhat pains me to do so. In my long history of flight sim and my nearly as long history of payware aircraft, I’ve had a somewhat contentious relationship with CaptainSim. But I so much adore the Boeing 757 that when no other options were available, I plopped down my hard earned money and purchased their rendition of the aircraft. While I had a terrible, terrible, terrible (did I say terrible) experience with their version of the 777 and I still believe their 777 flies like a brick, CaptainSim has come along way to improving the 757. While I don’t agree with their pricing strategy, CaptainSim (at this time) is the only option for a 757 in P3Dv4.
Note: In between the time I actually wrote this article and published it, QualityWings did release their Boeing 757 which was originally developed for FS9 and FSX. So technically there are now two B757’s for P3Dv4.
#10 – Carenado C208B Grand Caravan with Cargomaster Expansion Pack
While Carenado may not be known for developing truly study level aircraft, usually their attention to detail in producing both a beautiful aircraft and one that handles well in the air is good enough to give me several hours of fun. The Carenado C208B Grand Caravan with the Cargomaster expansion pack was perhaps my 2nd or 3rd purchase from Carenado and it remains one of my favorite aircraft to fly. I enjoy loading it up in the Fedex livery and doing some Caribbean island hopping. While I own a variety of Carenado aircraft and soon plan to add their latest release of the ATR 42-500 series aircraft. I think this one will also be a fun plane to fly around the Caribbean in.
#9 – Carenado Fokker 50
Just like I stated with the Carenado Grand Caravan, the Fokker 50 is beautifully detailed and flies well. This aircraft has made the list due in part to the fact that I’ve flown on this same aircraft so many times between London City Airport and Antwerp, Belgium. Unfortunately, when my wife and I were in Antwerp last summer (summer of 2018) the airline, VLM shut down operations just after we landed back in England. Talk about timing! So now we’ll most likely go by rail via the Eurostar which will be a brand new adventure I’m sure.
#8 – Majestic Bombardier Dash-8 Q400
I would suspect this aircraft would rank much, much higher on other’s lists (if they were to compile one). There are a few reasons why this aircraft ranks where it does on my list and it really has nothing to do with the aircraft itself. You’ve heard the saying…”It’s not you, it’s me” right?
So I was a bit late acquiring the Majestic Bombardier Dash-8 Q400. When I did purchase it, it was for P3D v3. Soon after purchase my life got busy (as it sometimes can do) and I never really got around to learning the aircraft. Then when P3D v4 came out, I tried to upgrade but that was during the time when the FlightSimStore was having their issues which I discussed here and again here. I finally managed to secure the upgraded version of the Q400 for P3D v4. I’ve just not dedicated the time required to learning this awesome aircraft. Perhaps if I can learn to fly this beauty properly, she would rank much higher on my list. But until then….here we are!
#7 – QualityWings Boeing 787 Dreamliner
This is one aircraft which in the real-world I’ve yet to have the opportunity to fly. The 787 ranks lower on my list simply due to the fact the other seven are more of a favorite than this one. While it took the team at QualityWings a mini-lifetime to bring this beautiful aircraft to Prepar3D v4, it was worth the wait. With the recent updates, the QW Dreamliner is truly a dream to fly and one I do enjoy flying every chance I get. Now before I leave the subject of QualityWings, I truly wish they would hurry up and bring their Boeing 757 to P3D v4. As soon as they do, I’ll purchase it and drop the CaptainSim in a heartbeat.
#6 – PMDG Boeing 747-400 v3 (Queen of the Skies II)
While it only took me a few minutes to jot down ten aircraft (11 if you count the honorable mention), it’s now getting down to the truly difficult part. Really from the Dreamliner all the way down to the #1, it really all boils down to just how frequently I fly these aircraft. As I truly love the immersion experience the flight simulation hobby gives to me, I also enjoy simulating real world flights. It’s just really, really hard to consider flying the magnificent Boeing 747-400 on a two hour flight. But then again…there’s always cargo operations.
The Boeing 747-400 will always be a very special aircraft for me. In my lifetime, I’ve flown on several. The first was on a United Airlines when I flew from San Francisco to Tokyo. I’ve since flown on a British Airways 747-400 another three times with a fourth coming up this summer when my wife and I will once again travel across the pond from Denver to London Heathrow on the British Airways 744. While she’s starting to get really long in the tooth, it’s still the most magnificent aircraft I’ve ever had the chance to fly on.
#5 – PMDG Boeing 777
I recently counted the number of trips across the pond (US to UK) which I’ve completed in my life. That number is eleven with my twelfth crossing coming up later this summer. The Boeing 777 holds a special place in my heart (and on this list) as it was in an American Airlines Boeing 777-200 that I made my first transatlantic crossing back in 2001. It was this trip which introduced me to my beautiful wife. Since that first trip, I’ve flown on British Airways 777 several times before they began using the 747-400 on the Denver to Heathrow route.
Of course, the 777 ranks here for much the same reason as the 747. But I do tend to fly a lot of domestic Fedex routes and they are always fun to fly. I truly love this aircraft.
#4 – FlightSimLabs Airbus A320/A319
Longtime and regular readers of my blog postings will certainly recall a time where I actually said I would never own the FlightSimLabs Airbus aircraft. A few months later I changed my mind and wrote about the reasons for changing my mind. I’m grouping the FlightSimLabs Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft together as they are very much the same aircraft, just slightly different variants. Both are awesome to fly and both get taken out of my virtual hangar from time to time for shorter routes when I want to simulate flying for American, British Airways etc. While I’ll always stand firm in the frustration felt with their earlier business practices, I firmly believe they have turned that corner and this team of developers are doing some really awesome things. I look forward to their A321 variant and will add it to my virtual hangar upon release.
#3 – Milviz DHC-2 Beaver
I absolutely love flying in the wilds of Alaska with this awesome looking and equally performing aircraft. An aircraft like this allows me to appreciate the shear beauty of the wonderful Alaskan scenery and with the float plane variant, there’s no place I can’t go. Just as it says on the Milviz website, the DHC-2 Beaver embodies the ‘can-do’ attitude that’s made this iconic bush plane a symbol of hard work for nearly 70 years.
#2 – A2A Cessna 172
The finest study level general aviation aircraft available for Prepar3D v4 (also for earlier versions and FSX) which you’ll find on the entire interwebz is the A2A Cessna 172. I’m really not sure you can call yourself a flight sim enthusiast unless you own this aircraft. While A2A also offers (and I own) the Cessna 182 and Piper Cherokee 180, the Cessna 172 is aircraft I truly love to fly. I will often load it up at Centennial Airport (KAPA) which is only a few miles from my home and office and fly around the Denver area.
#1 – PMDG Boeing 737
There’s a reason why both #1 and #2 on this list also appeared in my “Top 5, Must Have Add-ons for Prepar3D v4” article I wrote last fall. I must also admit that while I do very much enjoy flying low and slow in the above mentioned A2A Cessna 172, my main flight simulation passion is and has been for a very long time with jetliners/tubeliners. As it happens, the PMDG Boeing 737 happens to be my favorite, my go-to and my workhorse aircraft of choice and for many reasons.
First, versatility. This aircraft can practically go anywhere pending you account for fuel usage. As it’s popular with many different airlines, you’ll find a wide range of liveries available to simulate your favorite airline. It’s also a really easy and forgiving study level aircraft to start with. I can literally load up P3Dv4 with any variant of the PMDG 737 and within 10-15 minutes I can be taxing toward the active runway with everything running/programmed and ready for flight. Last, but certainly not least….the PMDG Boeing 737 is easy on frames which means you don’t need to have as powerful of a PC to still be able to enjoy a payware, study level aircraft.
Final Thoughts
Well, there you have it. My Top 10 plus an honorable mention just for the heck of it. Really with the exception of the #1 (PMDG 737) and #2 (A2A C172) the other listings could just about fall in any other order. Meaning, they all are top-notch payware aircraft and a whole lot of fun to fly. When asked, or even when I’m not asked…I always recommend both the A2A Cessna 172 and the PMDG Boeing 737 to those who are just starting out in flight simulation. As previously stated, both are truly awesome aircraft and both will give you that “As Real As It Gets” experience.
I think I’ll work on a “Top 10” Airport Add-on list next. Stay tuned…
Welcome to the first series and first edition of “A Pilot’s Life” Storyteller Series. For more context on what this storyteller series is about, please read Return of the Flight Sim Storyteller. This will bring you up to speed and set the stage for this first edition.
Commercial Break
LOL OK….I figure this is as good a place as any to plug my new Flight Sim Project, Flight Sim Helpers. Flight Sim Helpers is my way of giving back to the community which has been so good to me for over 35 years. The concept of Flight Sim Helpers, is to help those who are just starting out in the wonderful hobby of flight simulation. However, regardless if you are brand new or a seasoned veteran, all are welcome. I’m actually hoping to recruit others who are knowledgeable in FSX, P3D and X-Plane to serve as moderators and subject matter experts. If you are interested, please let me know. For now, please visit and join the Flight Sim Helpers Facebook Group and also check out the Flight Sim Helpers website. Thank you and I’ll now proceed with the story.
Present Day
Once again I had an overnight layover in the Bay Area. This time at SFO. I enjoyed a nice steak at the hotel in celebration of my new promotion. Looking at my schedule, I’m due to fly back to Seattle then out to Salt Lake City and then back up to Ketchikan, Alaska. Oh…my favorite. But I need to get through the next few days first.
The crew shuttle picks us up at our hotel at 4:30 AM sharp. It really feels like we only just arrived. But I had the rest required by the FAA and anxious to get back to sunny Seattle (NOT). It’s been raining all up and down the West Coast of the US the past several days. We have a great crew with us today, so we expect no issues. Of course I’m dreaming of my next promotion which will finally have me at the rank of Captain. But I’ve gotta grind it out from 212 XP up to 650 XP for this one. But XP points do come a little quicker with each promotion. As a comparison, at FO I earned just a little over 5.0 XP on KSEA to KOAK. However, with Sr. FO on the flight from KSEA to KSFO, I earned almost 8 XP. As soon as I get paid (end of the month), I’ll purchase a mobile phone which will earn me a 10% XP bonus each flight.
Flight Details
This morning my captain and I will be operating Alaska flight 1737, non-stop service from San Francisco to Seattle. Our flight is scheduled to depart at 6:00 AM from gate 52B. Our planned fuel for this morning is 16,720 lbs and our take-off weight is 148,143 lbs. Our cruising altitude will be FL360 and we have a block time of 2 hours, 9 minutes. We anticipate departing from runway 28L.
Flight Plan: TRUKN2 DEDHD DCT RBL DCT LML HAWKZ7
Walk Around
As Sr. First Officer, it’s my job today to conduct the walk around inspection of our Boeing 737-800. This is the first flight of the day for this aircraft and the bags and cargo haven’t arrived yet.
Almost done, checking all lights and this aircraft is looking good.
Here Comes the Bags
Obviously we can’t go anywhere without our passengers and all their bags.
Time for push-back
With our passengers, bags and a small amount of cargo loaded onto our Boeing 737-800, it’s time to close the doors and push back from the gate. The skies are looking a bit rough this morning, but we expect no departure delays this morning.
After a brief taxi, we have arrived at runway 28L.
ASA 1737 is wheels up and on our way to Sea-Tac.
Making our right turn and headed east towards OAK.
The obligatory wing shot.
Making our way along the SID or Standard Instrument Departure, just a slight chop as we continue our climb. We’ll keep the cabin crew in their seats a bit longer, but reports are smooth skies above FL200.
It’s complete cloud cover as we make our way through northern California and into Oregon.
At FL360, we can relax a few minutes before we need to start planning our descent and arrival into Seattle.
Monitoring a thunderstorm as we cruise above Portland.
As we begin our approach and descent into the Seattle area, a little drag is required to meet the speed restrictions of the STAR or Standard Terminal Arrival Route.
Runway 34C is in sight. No auto-land required today. The Sr. First Officer has control.
I think it’s going to be a beautiful day in Seattle today. This makes a nice change.
Clear 34C, Cross 34R and taxi to the gate. Note the other Alaska B738 which arrived just before us.
Parked at the Alaska terminal Sea-Tac.
I’m due to report to another aircraft and Captain for a rotation down to Salt Lake City and back in the Boeing 737-900. Since I only have default scenery for SLC, I will return with my “A Pilot’s Life” Storyteller Series in a few days for my trip to Ketchikan, Alaska. That’ll be fun.
Until then…
Happy Flying!
Jerry
Credits
If you are interested in experiencing your own “A Pilot’s Life”, I highly recommend the A Pilot’s Life, by SimBitWorld add-on for Prepar3D, FSX and X-Plane. You can learn more about the A Pilot’s Life by visiting the SimBitWorld website and/or purchase APL at SimMarket. Also, please read my full review of A Pilot’s LIfe here.
Flight Simulator: Prepar3D v4.5 (hotfix 1)
Aircraft: PMDG 737-800
Airline: Alaska Airlines (ASA)
ATC: VATSIM
Airport Scenery: KSFO FlightBeam, KSEA Drzewiecki Design
Terrain Scenery: Orbx Global Base, Orbx Vector, Orbx openLC North America, Orbx NA Pacific Northwest, NA Northern California
Sky/Cloud Textures: REX 5 SkyForce and REX 5 Environment Force
Weather Generation: ActiveSky (ASP4)
Flight Planning: SimBrief, Navigraph, FlightAware, FlightRadar24
TFDI Design released their brand new PACX or Passenger and Crew Experience add-on application for FSX, FSX SE Prepar3D (v1-v4) and X-Plane (10/11) on Friday, 31 May. I had been hearing about this add-on for a few months and in recent days (leading up to the release) the drums began beating louder and I must admit that I was intrigued and looking forward to adding this to my flight sim experience.
Before I start this product review. Please allow me to get the fine print out of the way.
The product I am reviewing was purchased by me and for my own personal use. I receive absolutely no compensation of any form (cash, credit, discounts, promises) for reviewing this product. I have not contacted, nor have I been contacted by the vendor to provide this product review. The opinions expressed (good or bad) are my own, your mileage may vary.
Within 15-20 minutes of the initial release of PACX, I had completed my purchase, downloaded the installer and started the installation process. I wish I could say that PACX installed error and trouble-free, but I’d be lying. It was anything but trouble-free.
Living On The Edge
As I discussed before, my greatest fear is having my entire Prepar3d setup literally destroyed by one developers poor application installation technique or design. I must admit that at one point during the PACX installation, I began sweating and I’m sure my wife thought I had hit my thumb with a hammer as my vocabulary dipped into the realm where generally you only find sailors. But in the end it all worked out. Well…mostly.
Lack of Documentation and Early Access
Unfortunately, in the early hours of the PACX release there was absolutely no documentation. Nothing…Zilch, Zero. The TFDI Design team has stated this was by design as they suspected there would be changes made to the application based on initial feedback. Sorry Charlie…this is no excuse!
PACX is super simple in its design and functionality. However, not every flight simmer is at the same level of experience when it comes to these things. The TFDI team should have included at the very least a one page “Quick Start Guide” just to fly over the specifics of the application. But they chose not to do this and I believe this to be very poor judgement on their part.
PACX has been released as an Early Access product. Which typically means it will change and evolve over time. This also means there will be many additional issues/bugs flushed out in the process. When developers release products in an early access release state, they depend on their customers to report and document issues to the best of their ability. Think of it as a partnership between customer and developer.
Installation Issues
This was my very first purchase from TFDI Design. While I’ve been eyeing their Boeing 717, I’ve been so busy flying other aircraft that I just didn’t feel it would get any use. So as I was noodling around their website searching for my download, I noticed they had something called the TFDI Design Add-On Manager. I’m a HUGE fan of add-on/download managers and have been working on an article which I hope to release at some point in the future. So I downloaded the TFDI Design Add-On Manager only to find that was a waste of my time. The PACX application is stand-alone (WHY???) and not managed via their add-on manager. Again I ask WHY????
Finally I found the PACX download and life was starting to look up. Briefly!
Like any other flight sim add-on, I kicked off the installer as admin. Normally it all goes smoothly. But as the installer began doing its thing, I began to experience issues. The first issue caused a Windows BSOD (blue screen of death) related to C++. Once I rebooted and kicked off the install again, it breezed through the C++ install but then attempted to install FSUIPC 5. Keep in mind I’m an FSUIPC Fan Boy and believe EVERYONE should not only use FSUIPC, but also OWN IT! FSUIPC is one of the oldest and longest supported add-ons for FSX/P3D out there and it does so much.
Anyway, as I already had it installed I would have desired that PACX recognize this fact and just skip attempting to install it. But oh well…can’t have everything. But then more drama. PACX then attempted to install FSUIPC 4. FSUIPC 4 is the 32 bit version of FSUIPC for P3D versions 3 (and older) and FSX. I absolutely, positively DO NOT have any of these simulators installed on my system and absolutely, positively DO NOT have a need for FSUIPC 4. But PACX still tried to ram it down my throat. Why???? The workaround is to just cancel out during the FSUIPC 4 install attempt. Otherwise you’ll receive errors as FSUIPC 4 will not detect a 32 bit version of any sim installed. Again, just cancel out and all will be fine.
Burning Through Activations and the first HotFix
Gotta love hotfixes! Unfortunately, the TFDI Design team only allows us 3 activations. Between the previous mostly unsuccessful attempts at installing PACX, I had burned though my three allowed activations. So when the TFDI Design team had released their first hotfix update, I was unable to apply it and had to open a ticket through the TFDI website and request my activation count be reset.
While I understand the reasoning behind limiting the number of activations, I’m really not sure why it’s necessary to require the license to be re-inserted when applying a patch. Most other add-ons don’t require this. So if this is going to be required each time, then TFDI needs to reset our activation account prior to the release of these patches. However, you can easily check the amount of activations you have left in the client area of the TFDI website.
Giving Credit where Credit is Due
The TFDI Design team had reset my activation count within 15 minutes of me submitting the ticket. So good for them as it appeared they were on the ball. In addition, the team was also very responsive in their support forums as well. Unfortunately, many of us all experienced the same issues but not all were able to get past them.
Did someone order a sunroof?
As I began to recover from the unsuccessful installation attempts and get things pointed in the right direction, I loaded up an Alaska Airlines PMDG 737-900 flight from KSEA to KLAS. I loaded up all my accompanying add-ons, started vPilot for VATSIM and then kicked off PACX. Much to my surprise, once the flight attendant began speaking a giant hole opened up in my PMDG 737 flight deck just above the captains seat.
Before – All normal. No Hole.
After – Boom! Did someone say sunroof?
The giant window to God didn’t prevent the PMDG 737 from functioning and while I had plenty of oxygen, I just couldn’t get over the fact my immersion was 1000% blown from this experience. So I posted this issue on the forums, went to bed. I’ll admit….I wasn’t very pleased with this purchase (at this time)…but was willing to allow a brand new day the opportunity to restore my faith in TFDI.
Hello Saturday
Managed to get a good nights sleep and woke up fairly early. I headed downstairs, fired up the gaming machine and with coffee in hand, grabbed my laptop and tuned into the TFDI Forums. I was hopeful I might find a solution to my sunroof problem.
While I didn’t find a solution (at least one that would permanently address the issue) another simmer had experienced the same and told me what he did to resolve. Basically the hole which appears has something to do with the HUD. After realizing this, it did make sense because the HUD is no longer there.
The workaround is to go into the PMDG 737 FMS, go to PMDG Setup > Aircraft > Equipment > Next Page until you see HGS Installed. Set it to NO, then back to YES. This will magically repair the hole and allow for maximum immersion to return.
Do you have to do this for every flight????? No, as of Sunday 2 June, the TFDI Design Team released another PACX patch (0.9.2.0) which has resolved this issue from occurring.
What the heck is PACX Anyway Jerry?
Yes, I realized I’ve been rambling on discussing all the struggles I had and really haven’t explained what this add-on is all about. PACX is Passenger and Crew Experience. Basically it’s an updated version of FSPassengers (if you are familiar with that older add-on). As the name implies, PACX simulates the overall flight experience of both your passengers as well as the crew. In addition, it allows for direct communication with passengers and dynamic, varied announcements. You can read more about all the features of PACX from the TFDI Design website.
General Use
As I stated before, PACX is a fairly simplistic in operation and actually quite rich in functionality. When the application is running, it will look like the image below. There are various settings you can customize by clicking the gear icon. For example, I had to increase the volume and also set it to never auto disappear. As I use multiple monitors in my sim setup, I just have it displayed on my third monitor where I have other applications such as A Pilot’s Life, ActiveSky, ProjectFly etc.
To get started with a flight click Start. This will bring up the “Start A Flight” dialog box. Enter in the departure ICAO, Arrival ICAO, Time to Departure, Flight Time, Cruise Altitude and Flight Number. Select the aircraft type from the drop down menu and customize the passenger account via the slider. If your aircraft is equipped with Wi-Fi you can tick that box. Not entirely sure what that does, but I love Wi-Fi access on a flight, so why not! But this would have been where a nice one-page quick start guide would have been handy.
Click OK to begin.
Depending on what other add-ons you might be running (GSX for example) you might need to tweak the time to departure slightly. GSX tends to load passengers and cargo really slow (in my opinion). I’m still trying to figure out the right time to use.
As you are flying along, you can click the Airplane icon for a current status. It will show your expected arrival time and passenger satisfaction. The expected arrival time will be determined by how accurate your time of departure and flight time entries were in the setup screen. I love happy passengers!
Upon landing at your destination, you’ll be presented with this report after you press END on PACX. Looks like one of my passengers was “quite thirsty”. You can also upload this report which will be stored on the TFDI Design website.
From the TFDI Design website, I can see my total stats and my uploaded flights.
Clicking on View for my first flight I can see all the details.
Final Thoughts
Despite the struggles I experienced in installing PACX and the issue with the 737 sunroof (now fully resolved), I’m actually impressed and excited about the future of PACX. I’m hopeful that the TFDI Design team will continue to develop PACX and enhance it beyond what it currently is. I’d love to see tighter integration with the aircraft where PACX will recognize the use of the PMDG seatbelt sign switch versus also having to toggle it from within PACX. Also, as PACX will also allow 3rd party application support, I’d love to see an integration between A Pilot’s Life and PACX.
Obviously, I’ve spent just a small amount of time with PACX and as of this writing, have only completed two flights. But I do see myself using PACX to add extra immersion to my flights. While these types of applications are not for all virtual pilots. I believe PACX to be worth the investment if you would like to add Passenger and Crew Experience to your flights. The TFDI Design team have proven to me they are a serious team of developers doing great things for the flight simulation hobby. I look forward to watching this small company grow and further develop awesome add-ons to further enhance our experiences.
Just a reminder,
The product I am reviewing was purchased by me and for my own personal use. I receive absolutely no compensation of any form (cash, credit, discounts, promises) for reviewing this product. I have not contacted, nor have I been contacted by the vendor to provide this product review. The opinions expressed (good or bad) are my own, your mileage may vary.
Thanks again for reading this review of the Passenger and Crew Experience (PACX) by TFDI Design. If you haven’t already, I would love your support in my efforts to grow a new flight simulation community called Flight Sim Helpers. Please visit and join the Flight Sim Helpers Facebook Group and bookmark the FSH website. Thank you!
Until next time….
Please sit down, buckle your seatbelt and enjoy the flight.
As most will already know, the new REX Environment Force add-on was released a few weeks ago. Over the course of this article I’m going to share some opinions, show some evidence and basically discuss how I moved from the Envtex/Envshade products to REX and what my overall impressions are. Spoiler: I’m happy as a pig in mud!
If anyone tries to tell you the industry built around and supporting the flight simulation hobby is dead, dying or even stagnant…..they are wrong. In addition, if anyone tries to tell you the industry supporting Prepar3D is dead, dying or stagnant….They too are WRONG! The level of creativity coming from our 3rd party developers is very much alive and kicking. The proof is certainly in the pudding and boy does this pudding taste good.
I’m Getting Old
I can’t remember much about the selection of add-ons available for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 (FS9) nor my direct involvement with them. When FS9 was the sim of choice, I was super busy traveling and had many irons in the fire. But I do know (at least for me) with Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX) and certainly through each of the iterations of Prepar3D I’ve owned (P3D 2.x, 3.x and 4.x) I’ve literally poured hundreds of dollars down the ole proverbial rat hole in an attempt to achieve maximum eye-candy. It’s truly a constant struggle and balancing act as I explained in a recent writing titled “Flight Simulation – The Struggle for Balance”.
Choices & Decisions
In the area of visual add-ons to help stimulate your visual senses, there’s a lot of choice out there. This is certainly the case for Prepar3d version 4.4/4.5, slightly less for earlier versions of P3D and FSX. But still a lot of choice in this category of visual enhancing add-ons.
There was a time (not too long ago) where I pretty much believed they all did just about the same thing. Of course, each camp will have their fanboys and each will have their haters. Remember, “haters gonna hate”, right?
I’ve honestly tried them all…well, most of them. For the record, as I pointed out in a recent article titled, “Shaders – What’s the big deal?”, I haven’t tried Tomatoshade. While there are plenty of Tomatoshade fanboys singing its praises…there are many others who are sitting in the corner crying because something catastrophic happened to the their sim. I discuss some of these pitfalls here. Yes, yes…ABSOLUTELY YES…I agree that most who are sitting in the corner crying either didn’t read the “destructions” or have/had some other issue going on which became a bigger issue when they attempted to implement a product they didn’t understand in the first place. Bottom line for me, I just don’t like Tomatoes LOL and I guess I’ve never taken the time to fully understand and embrace its use and full potential. Anyway….I digress.
Should I Stay or Should I Go…
You know how I like to intermix popular 80’s music lyrics into my writings…I had my own decisions to make and I spent about a week reading the accounts from others and literally drooling over the images I was seeing as a result of this new REX Environment Force add-on. However, I kept flying with my previous setup using Envtex/Envshade along with ASCA/ASP4 and closely comparing what I saw on my own screens versus what others were showing in their screenshots. The results/comparisons were almost night and day differences. I couldn’t resist and I shelled out my hard-earned money and purchased both the new REX Environment Force and also REX Sky Force 3D. These were on sale in a bundled deal direct from the REX store.
Out With The Old…
and in with the new. While REX Environment Force states it supports and will work along side all add-ons, there’s always a risk. I also truly wanted to see exactly what my sim would look like with only the REX products installed and without Envtex/Envshade etc. So the task I set out to accomplish was to remove Envtex/Envshade from my sim without blowing a hole in P3D as a result. I said a quick little prayer and got to work.
Step 1. Removing Envtex/Envshade
I had done my research and had read accounts from others who had done the same thing I wanted to accomplish. The first step was to restore the original P3D textures. This is easily done from the Envdir program by clicking the Restore button. This process re-installs your old textures from the backup made when you first installed/configured the Envdir/Envtex/Envshade programs.
Step 2. Delete P3D Shader Folder and start P3D
After restoring the P3D textures in the above step, I located my P3D shader folder (located under Users\YourUserName\AppData\Local\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D. Just delete the entire folder. Launch P3D and in the process P3D will add a new shader folder and will reset shaders.
Step 3. Install REX Products
I installed and activated both my new REX Sky Force 3D and Environment Force products. While REX Sky Force has a built in weather engine, I wanted to continue to use Active Sky. So once Sky Force was installed, I simply deactivated the real-time weather function in Sky Force.
Step 4. Reinstall ASCA
If you’re using ASCA (Active Sky Cloud Art) with Envdir, you’ll want to reinstall it as it will error when it can’t locate certain files related to Envdir.
Step 5. Read, Read and Read
Both the REX products have comprehensive documentation found in the .pdf files which accompany both products. If you’re anything like me, you want to get going as soon as possible. But I would encourage you just the same to do some reading about these products, their settings and how to use them. But hey…I get it.
Step 6. Launch REX products before P3D
I know there are various schools of thought on this. But it’s just a habit I’ve been doing for many years. I first launch REX Sky Force, then REX Environment Force, then ActiveSky (ASP4)/ASCA and then finally P3D v4.
Step 7. Fly and enjoy….
Obviously some configuration is required with the REX products. But the real beauty of REX Environment Force (EF) is these tweaks and changes can be made while P3D is running. So you can choose if you want to run EF in auto mode or in manual mode and tweak to your heart is content. I’ll be honest, I’ve done a bit of both and will play around more in the manual mode. But here’s a series of screenshots I captured on a recent flight from Miami down to St. Maarten.
Taxing out to the active runway (08R) while watching a company 738 land on runway 12.
Blasting out of Miami. The weather is perfect for testing the new REX products.
Beautiful clouds and water textures.
The PMDG Boeing 737-800 decked out in the American Airlines livery. This is my favorite add-on aircraft.
Getting ready to punch through the clouds.
One of my favorites.
Just another minute before we fly over Maho Beach and land safely at Princess Juliana International Airport. I love this approach and landing.
Well there you have it. I’m truly pleased with the experience I’m getting from the new REX Environment Force and REX Sky Force products. I’ve used REX products in the past. Specifically REX Soft Clouds and the older REX Texture Direct. While I moved away from these older products for something better, I believe the best at this time is these new REX products and I’m happy to be a REX Customer once again.
But he’s headed for Sitka, so he’ll be turning and proceeding NW soon.
