pilot edge training

[falopz]

Hi new to PE want some advice to follow PE.

i fly fsax no scenery, mostly pmdg, but that wont work for PE.

any suggestions about prepar aiplane x will suit P EDGE, wich scenery for california?

stock scenery from fsx wont work i have trouble getting visual references for airposrts.....

thanks LUIS

[Cyrus]

Hi Luis,

I use FSX default scenery and do just fine. I did run BlueSky free photo scenery for SoCal for a while, but after moving to new computer I never bothered to reapply it and don't really miss it. I think a lot of people use MegaScenery SoCal on here too.

After using X-Plane 10 for a while (and loving it, but realizing I needed a faster computer), I really came to appreciate the default scenery in FSX.

What do you think is missing in FSX default? There's a tendency to expect the ground to look like it does from... the ground... in the air, but in reality it's not like that. You might need to really hunt for a golf course or even a stadium in real world flying. Flying VFR, you can usually rely on major highways and bodies of water - and you'll find 99% of those in FSX default.

Of course, I'm flying a lot of IFR these days, so I'm moistly concerned about airport scenery (taxiways/signage, etc.) - which, again, is fine for me in FSX. I would rather have higher detail at airports, even if it means I have to turn off pretty water effects or something else that I really don't care about.

Having said all that, I did buy this the other day (when it was on sale!) and am very happy with it. Although my frame rate takes a hit whenever I fly in, out of, or near "America's Finest City" now.

Finally, what do you mean by: "i fly fsax no scenery, mostly pmdg, but that wont work for PE." ? I thought that PMDG produced aircraft...? (of which, any/all should work on PE)

[falopz]

ill tell you i run crapy pc, new one will be installed tomorrow i va very low processor and just 1g video card, so i really have hard time looking for airpots, maybe with the new pc i would see things better,,,,,

i was talking about scenerys just to see better airports from distance, im not into see dogs cars and motorbikes, ...

thanks for the help

i was watching xplane and prepar so i was wondering if it worth to putaside fsx.....for now, fsx works great for me,

im not from northamerica so i really dont know socal area good scenery help to get familiarized with the area....

thanks

[Cyrus]

ill tell you i run crapy pc, new one will be installed tomorrow i va very low processor and just 1g video card, so i really have hard time looking for airpots, maybe with the new pc i would see things better

Luis, I would not try to run X-Plane 10 on the slow PC. Forget it. You'll be very disappointed with performance. X-Plane 9 might be ok (there are free demos available, so give it a test drive if you like). I don't have any experience with Prepar3d, so I can't comment there. If you do decide on X-Plane, there are a couple of good threads about free scenery here and here.

i was talking about scenerys just to see better airports from distance, im not into see dogs cars and motorbikes, ...

Lol. What's the spec on the new PC? Hopefully you can turn the detail sliders up in default FSX and get more ground/airport detail.

If you're really interested in using the ATC services from PilotEdge, then my best advice for you right now would be to pick a simulator that you are comfortable with (one that gives you *at least* 15 to 20 frames per second on your computer with reasonable amounts of detail) and then just get to know the ZLA airspace.

It sounds like you're interested in VFR to start with, so study this chart and get to know the Class B, C and D airports on it.

I also highly recommend the PilotEdge workshops. They are free for everyone and have a very rich amount of detail in them. Start at the bottom of the list ("All About VFR") and, as long as you learn at least a few things, then keep on going! You'll get a great understanding of the charts and it will also really help to get to know the SoCal airspace as well. The next three Workshop videos address VFR flight planning and are also very useful and informative (and when you're ready, move on to the excellent IFR Workshops).

If you're really worried about the lack of detail on the ground, I would encourage you to watch the "PilotEdge First Flight" video and the "V-2: SNA to ONT" video (the first in in FSX and second is in X-Plane). Both of these are great examples of flying VFR on PilotEdge in SoCal, and having minimal/default scenery to work with. I haven't seen them in a while, but I do recall both pilots referring to "that patch of brown over there in the distance" as the destination airport. Only when you get close to the field are you able to make out more detail.

Another great way to keep yourself challenged is the PilotEdge training program. There are currently 3 VFR training "ratings" and then a whole bunch of IFR ones. The first one is simple closed traffic pattern work at KSNA (John Wayne in sunny Orange County). There are a lot of visual references, like the Pacific Ocean a few miles to the southwest, a small mountain range to the northeast, lots of big roads at useful intersections (including the infamous I-405 freeway on the north side of the field) and the easy-to-see "blimp hangars" about 3 miles northeast of the field and clearly visible even in default FSX.

Most of Los Angeles County sits in a "basin", surrounded by mountains to the north, east, and south. This is a great area for student pilots, because there is so much variety of airspace (see "Why Not Cover The Whole Country" here).

im not from northamerica so i really dont know socal area good scenery help to get familiarized with the area....

Again, just start flying in SoCal and you'll quickly get to know the approximate airport locations, their runway orientation, etc.

You'll hopefully be happy to invest a little time in learning the basic geography of Southern California (and San Francisco), because flying with PilotEdge in an area that you are not totally familiar with is still a thousand times more rewarding and fun than flying in an area that you know well (but without PilotEdge).

This forum is a great resource, full of people passionate about simming/flying and PilotEdge, and are usually very happy to help.....

[falopz]

my new specs will be 17 4770k and gtx t780 so xplane 10 will run ok.....no pc limits thism time....

[falopz]

i forgot to thank you for all that work


ive watched avideo ok mike where he has a network with an ipad, with moving map etc thats eems very helpfull but i know there is also plan g and navigraph,ive used aiviasoft efb and also fscommander.

but i just think ill concentrate for now in pedge...uve flown a lot in vatsim with 737 pmdg and this is another thing...


vatsmi topwer voice normally es unclear ive listened to pE and i understand mostly all, i understand they speak at school voice,,,,but its good to start.


thanks again

[Cyrus]

No worries. I'm glad to help (and I know it might help others new to PilotEdge too).

Where you go from here really depends on what you want out of your sim experience. Some people like to fly heavy metal around with moving map, FMS, autopilot, etc. and then add the PE ATC on as a bonus. Personally, I like being able to take slow, short VFR flights in my Cessna 172, or longer IFR flights in the Baron Twin 58, and then even greater distances and higher altitudes in the Learjet. I find the skills, concentration required and workload for each type of flight/aircraft are very different. It just depends on my mood and how much thinking/interaction I am looking for in that session.

Because the environment on Vatsim is not consistent (your departure airport, enroute Center, destination airspace or arrival airport may not be controlled), it is very temping to cut corners on Vatsim. I have seen lots of videos made by knowledgeable people flying around in their 737 NGX's with pretty scenery, lovely clouds, amazing frame rates, etc. Some have good ATC skills, some do not. I'm not judging them at all. But there is usually quite a shock when they come to PilotEdge (especially those that weren't using voice before). Suddenly, anything over 120kts in a single engine piston makes for too much workload.

I'm not a hardware expert (I'm not an anything expert, come to think of it - except for writing long forum posts), but your new spec sounds very nice. But don't get taken in by the temptation to make it all about the sim (this advice was given to me a while ago, and I have come to fully agree with it). The dynamic interaction that you'll get out of this consistent two-way voice-controlled environment is so much more rewarding than anything you could ever hope for elsewhere. PilotEdge is truly unique in that sense. You'll quickly forget about having this or that scenery loaded or which simulator you're flying in.

The sooner you just get onto the PE network and try out the ATC services, the sooner you'll appreciate what I'm saying. If you're already comfortable with using voice on Vatsim, then why not take a short VFR flight with Flight Following (e.g. the V-2) or even a basic IFR flight (assuming that you're already comfortable with IFR concepts).

Happy flying!

[djrisc]

I actually added a ton of scenery to FSX and then decided that most of it is just eye candy and not really necessary. I ended up removing it all to gain back framerate. I think the only scenery I have in place other than stock at this point is to correct runway signage at KVNY.

To be perfectly honest, the stock scenery in FSX is not that bad at all. I live in the area and the landmarks really aren't that far off.

When flying IFR scenery basically just become eye candy anyway. However, I have now taken a few steps back and decided to focus purely on VFR flying on PE now as I want to get my license this year. I really haven't had any trouble looking out the window and navigating. (But maybe I do have an advantage as I am from the area so know it based on geography to a certain extent.)

[falopz]

please watch this video and see th scenery froogle talks about following the river inmy stock fsx scenery i can barely see a line that looks like a river -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ii2hArgV ... 4-overview

i made the flight with a money and there is big difference.....wo de gps i cant point nothing from disctance, maybe its my video card,

[Cyrus]

Can you post a screenshot of your FSX texture/ground detail settings...?