Newbie xplane user
Newbie xplane user
Hey all, just about to get xplane 10, would appreciate seasoned users advice on pay ware planes and scenery, I like to fly vfr low and slow ,looking for quality Cessna 172 etc , and good scenery for the socal area , thanks !
Re: Newbie xplane user
Carenado is ok from payware, i would also recommend freeware Cessna 170B (you can find it on x-plane.org).
Regarding scenery - no so clear, but at least try to check HD Mesh from http://alpilotx.net, there's also some photo scenery on simheaven (not full coverage of PE area), airports scenery - here's nice topic on this forum from Jeff with his creations and another one named "Free Scenery for PilotEdge users".
Be aware that PE plugin currently doesn't work with Steam version on Mac (have no other platforms to check), so for now it's better to stick to disk version of X-Plane.
Regarding scenery - no so clear, but at least try to check HD Mesh from http://alpilotx.net, there's also some photo scenery on simheaven (not full coverage of PE area), airports scenery - here's nice topic on this forum from Jeff with his creations and another one named "Free Scenery for PilotEdge users".
Be aware that PE plugin currently doesn't work with Steam version on Mac (have no other platforms to check), so for now it's better to stick to disk version of X-Plane.
Re: Newbie xplane user
Why pay when there are thousands of planes free. Yknow you can use planes all the way back to v8, just run the updater in plane-builder to bring them up to v10. Sometimes it breaks the instrument panel, but thats easy to rebuild. You can get tons of free scenery n planes at x-plane.org
I have over a hundred aircraft in my collection. You can even fly the mig37b ferret or an aircraft carrier.
To hell with paying.
I have over a hundred aircraft in my collection. You can even fly the mig37b ferret or an aircraft carrier.
To hell with paying.
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Keith Smith
- Posts: 9939
- Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2010 8:38 pm
- Location: Pompton Plains, NJ
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Re: Newbie xplane user
The effort that goes into paid aircraft, generally speaking, is considerably higher than that which goes into free aircraft for reasons that should be obvious. The results speak for themselves when you compare a high end payware aircraft against what is generally out there at no cost. If you're not picky about system fidelity, aircraft performance, or visual appearance then it's true, there are literally thousands of planes out there that can be had for free. If detail is important to you, though, you'll likely to be disappointed with free airplanes.
I'm very happy to part with a whopping $20-$40 for an airplane that will give me hundreds of hours of high fidelity use. If you have a $2000+ computer, an $80/mth internet connection, a power bill that runs hundreds of dollars per month, and a $20/mth PE habit, you're going to want to find the best planes that match your interest. If that plane has a one-time cost of $20-$40, I'd argue that it's well worth it to complete the picture.
I'll give you an example of an issue with freeware airplanes. There is a Baron available for X-Plane (it was released before the stock XP10 Baron came out, so it was during the XP9 era) on x-plane.org. It has great engine sounds and is mostly a pleasure to fly. However, the engines are too powerful for the make and model being simulated and more to the point, it uses variable pitch props, rather than constant speed props. Variable pitch props were the precursor to constant speed props and generally don't exist today. The attention to detail simply wasn't there. It was built by someone who really didn't know the difference. When it was brought to his attention, the point was ignored. Who cares? Well, anyone who has flown a constant speed prop and is expecting this to provide the same queues.
Most of the freeware planes, though, are not even in the same league as that Baron. It's really cool that there's a place where people can publish the planes, but the last post implies that there's no point in evaluating payware aircraft simply because a bunch of free planes exist, which in turn implies that there is no quality difference. I would have to disagree on that one. They're generally light years apart.
I'm very happy to part with a whopping $20-$40 for an airplane that will give me hundreds of hours of high fidelity use. If you have a $2000+ computer, an $80/mth internet connection, a power bill that runs hundreds of dollars per month, and a $20/mth PE habit, you're going to want to find the best planes that match your interest. If that plane has a one-time cost of $20-$40, I'd argue that it's well worth it to complete the picture.
I'll give you an example of an issue with freeware airplanes. There is a Baron available for X-Plane (it was released before the stock XP10 Baron came out, so it was during the XP9 era) on x-plane.org. It has great engine sounds and is mostly a pleasure to fly. However, the engines are too powerful for the make and model being simulated and more to the point, it uses variable pitch props, rather than constant speed props. Variable pitch props were the precursor to constant speed props and generally don't exist today. The attention to detail simply wasn't there. It was built by someone who really didn't know the difference. When it was brought to his attention, the point was ignored. Who cares? Well, anyone who has flown a constant speed prop and is expecting this to provide the same queues.
Most of the freeware planes, though, are not even in the same league as that Baron. It's really cool that there's a place where people can publish the planes, but the last post implies that there's no point in evaluating payware aircraft simply because a bunch of free planes exist, which in turn implies that there is no quality difference. I would have to disagree on that one. They're generally light years apart.
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theluckyone17
- Posts: 56
- Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2013 9:58 am
Re: Newbie xplane user
There's great freeware aircraft out there; the Aerobask.com Eclipse 550 is pretty spot on as an example, from what I hear. Of course, there's a lot of horrible freeware out there, too. The latter exceeds the former.
The same could be said for payware. I've got a thing for virtual cockpits (FreeTrack or TrackIR is a must, as far as I'm concerned), so I tend to stick with payware aircraft. There's a lot of freeware out there that does not include a 3D cockpit. Payware models can be hit or miss, too, depending on what criteria you want to judge by. Carenado aircraft tend to be rather gorgeous in the looks and special effects departments, but the performance numbers can be a bit off. Jason Chandler's Piper collection (air.c74.net) misses if you're looking for eye candy, but his performance numbers are spot on. Put the aircraft at a specific altitude with specific power settings, and you'll get the speed & fuel burn that you should.
The same could be said for payware. I've got a thing for virtual cockpits (FreeTrack or TrackIR is a must, as far as I'm concerned), so I tend to stick with payware aircraft. There's a lot of freeware out there that does not include a 3D cockpit. Payware models can be hit or miss, too, depending on what criteria you want to judge by. Carenado aircraft tend to be rather gorgeous in the looks and special effects departments, but the performance numbers can be a bit off. Jason Chandler's Piper collection (air.c74.net) misses if you're looking for eye candy, but his performance numbers are spot on. Put the aircraft at a specific altitude with specific power settings, and you'll get the speed & fuel burn that you should.
Re: Newbie xplane user
As far as scenery, don't bother with payware. There are tons and tons of very high quality freeware sceneries available on the Org.
Aircraft, I've yet to find a freeware that's anywhere close to a good payware from FlightFactor, FlyJSim, etc. You won't find the complexity and systems fidelity in freeware that you'll find in payware. If that doesn't matter to you, then yes there are lots of good freeware planes. If you like complex flying with systems modeling, FMC's, etc, then payware is your answer.
Aircraft, I've yet to find a freeware that's anywhere close to a good payware from FlightFactor, FlyJSim, etc. You won't find the complexity and systems fidelity in freeware that you'll find in payware. If that doesn't matter to you, then yes there are lots of good freeware planes. If you like complex flying with systems modeling, FMC's, etc, then payware is your answer.
Re: Newbie xplane user
The only payware scenery in the PE area is this well-done rendition of KTOA Torrance: http://store01.prostores.com/servlet/x- ... ail?no=316 As a local, I can vouch for its accuracy; very worth the mere $8.95. Only downsides are the lack of static aircraft on the ramp and some autogen trees sticking out of the tarmac. If you get it send me PM with proof of purchase (screen shot of order confirmation or something) and I can send you a fixed version of the file.
Other than that, like others have stated, just start collecting the free airports found in the pinned threads at the top of this subforum. I believe we have all towered airports covered now and tons of untowered too. More can be found at http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?app ... showcat=80 - search for ICAO codes or just "California" and see what pops up.
Make sure you remove the "global airports" folder from your X-Plane folder, or the stock airports will conflict with your add-ons.
One last thing. If you like photoscenery, go to www.simheaven.de and under "photo sceneries" click City Areas and search for Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
Once downloaded, you'll need to sort your scenery.ini file.
1) Put the simheaven file into your custom scenery folder, along with any other new scenery add-ons.
2) Start X-Plane and let it load, then quit the sim.
3) Go to your Custom Scenery folder, locate the "scenery.ini" file and open it in a text editor.
4) Make sure the order of the scenery items is sorted as follows: Scenery packages (airports, urban areas, etc) Object libraries (OpenSceneryX, etc) Photoscenery libraries (SimHeaven's photoscenery)
Other than that, like others have stated, just start collecting the free airports found in the pinned threads at the top of this subforum. I believe we have all towered airports covered now and tons of untowered too. More can be found at http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?app ... showcat=80 - search for ICAO codes or just "California" and see what pops up.
Make sure you remove the "global airports" folder from your X-Plane folder, or the stock airports will conflict with your add-ons.
One last thing. If you like photoscenery, go to www.simheaven.de and under "photo sceneries" click City Areas and search for Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
Once downloaded, you'll need to sort your scenery.ini file.
1) Put the simheaven file into your custom scenery folder, along with any other new scenery add-ons.
2) Start X-Plane and let it load, then quit the sim.
3) Go to your Custom Scenery folder, locate the "scenery.ini" file and open it in a text editor.
4) Make sure the order of the scenery items is sorted as follows: Scenery packages (airports, urban areas, etc) Object libraries (OpenSceneryX, etc) Photoscenery libraries (SimHeaven's photoscenery)