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MS Flight Sim 2020

Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2020 1:03 pm
by gtmize
Just acquired MSFS2020

Plan on using it to ..
a) Preview new airports .. apparently airport graphics are fairly accurate
b) Practice maneuvers
c) compare sim performance to mine ( sim has a DA40)

Due to time constraints I"m only able to get up a few times a month
So in my downtime I have the opportunity to do some fine tuning

Re: MS Flight Sim 2020

Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2020 1:24 pm
by Rick
I will be interested to hear how you think the DA40 in the sim compares to your real bird.

Re: MS Flight Sim 2020

Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2020 3:23 pm
by AndrewM
I believe the DA40 available is the NG. It does loops quite well!

Re: MS Flight Sim 2020

Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2020 8:04 pm
by dmloftus
I've been playing with this a bit. I have previously used FSX and X-Plane 10 and 11 to keep instrument skills sharp. FS2020 has very poor G1000 implementation in the initial release. If you know how to use X-Plane 11, you can do some decent work, ie loading and saving your own flight plans etc. I love the graphics in FS2020, by comparison it's way too much work and too much disk space to get anywhere near same realism in XP11. FS2020 is great for novices to be able to see their own cities/homes, and see a few exotic destinations. But the FS2020 avionics details have a long way to go to be useful for real pilots.

Re: MS Flight Sim 2020

Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2020 3:25 pm
by CFIDave
dmloftus wrote: Thu Oct 08, 2020 8:04 pmBut the FS2020 avionics details have a long way to go to be useful for real pilots.
Hopefully we'll soon see some 3rd-party G1000 add-ons for FS2020 to supply the missing functionality.

Re: MS Flight Sim 2020

Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2020 4:02 pm
by chili4way
CFIDave wrote: Fri Oct 09, 2020 3:25 pm Hopefully we'll soon see some 3rd-party G1000 add-ons for FS2020 to supply the missing functionality.
If I had a software magic wand, I'd wave it so the Garmin PC trainers for the G1000 (and the NavComs) could magically be integrated into both X-Plane, MS Flight Simulator 2020, and whatever drives the Redbird simulators.

Re: MS Flight Sim 2020

Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2020 4:35 pm
by dmloftus
If I had a software magic wand, I'd wave it so the Garmin PC trainers for the G1000 (and the NavComs) could magically be integrated into both X-Plane, MS Flight Simulator 2020, and whatever drives the Redbird simulators.
Wouldn't that be awesome! I'd be willing to pay a decent amount for that

Re: MS Flight Sim 2020

Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2020 5:09 pm
by Rich
chili4way wrote: Fri Oct 09, 2020 4:02 pm
CFIDave wrote: Fri Oct 09, 2020 3:25 pm Hopefully we'll soon see some 3rd-party G1000 add-ons for FS2020 to supply the missing functionality.
If I had a software magic wand, I'd wave it so the Garmin PC trainers for the G1000 (and the NavComs) could magically be integrated into both X-Plane, MS Flight Simulator 2020, and whatever drives the Redbird simulators.
Redbird has had G1000 simulation for years, though possibly not for the low-end ones. The different configurations are not pure software, but a hardware/software combination so you have actual buttons/dials/switches, not just screen icons. The software detects which configuration hardware you have mounted and adjusts to suit.

I have flown a few different simulators (including the Redbird FMX) and they have their place. But they also have limitations. I found that the RB, for example, did not accurately reflect real-world performance of the aircraft for which it was configured. Not a big deal if you're looking to just practice basic IFR operations. But to accurately simulate the total suite of operations, for me it would also have to support the Foreflight/GNS flight plan transfer, as one example.

Re: MS Flight Sim 2020

Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2020 6:08 pm
by chili4way
Redbird's home simulators, the TD and TD2, have versions that emulate the G1000. However, like the X-Plane and MS versions, they are emulations that vary in terms of what features they provide and how closely they match the actual Garmin system. I agree, for most IFR basic operations, they are good enough. You can meet currency and even do an IPC in a Redbird! However, when trying to understand more subtle differences (e.g. what happens to stepdown waypoints when you "activate vectors-to-final"), they can be lacking fidelity to what the G1000 system does (which in turn varies with the G1000 GDU software version). Also, none of them, including the brand-new MS 2020, emulate the G1000 NXI. This is why my wish would be for a way to easily integrate the Garmin PC Trainers, which have the best fidelity to what's in the airplane.

There's a whole separate discussion possible on 'realistic screens and knobs' (e.g. Simionic and Realsimgear) vs. 'mouse clicks'. ☺. Redbird has these, I just wish they'd used the same shapes as what Garmin uses.

My biggest disappointment with the MS 2020 simulator is that it lacks a 'replay' capability. I use this a lot in X-Plane to review what I did while flying the simulator. I understand MS is working to address this, and I appreciate it's just been released.

Re: MS Flight Sim 2020

Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2020 4:48 pm
by gtmize
My primary interest in Sims is the physics model which has been upgraded significantly? in 2020
i.e. does the sim plane respond / feel like the real thing for Stick & Rudder

And getting DA40 which is not currently avail but will be soon based upon all the 3rd parties jumping in
( there is a DA40NG in 2020 now which I've been using)

I'm already pretty solid with the G1000 - so that' s less important

I've seen enough to convince me to hang in with 2020 based upon all 3rd parties and major upcoming patch