Posts by 4535jacks

Does AF2 have multiplayer so it can be used for VATSIM or PE?

I am not using the mobile version of AF2 anymore as my ipads are pretty old and so have low performance and my new tablet is a surface go and so is on windows 10 rather than ios or android.

I have done some instrument flying on the mobile app but found only one approach that could be done due to not being able to adjust VOR radial.

I also have a desktop with an 8700k at 5GHz and a GTX1080 that I use for VR so would be looking at the desktop version. Shame IPACS don't do a demo so I can compare to xplane.

To give some more info. All my approaches would be in the C172 (since the Robin DR400 is no longer in the sim) and programming an approach into an FMC is not important. Shame about no audio indents so I can't practice select, tune, identify and it is a shame the DME is not accurate. X-plane seems great for IFR practice but the poor VR performance is a deal breaker at the moment. I assume there is no demo version of AF2 to test performance and IFR complexity?

I am thinking of buying Aerofly FS 2 for PC to practice IFR procedures and including en route Nav (VOR/NDB), NBD and VOR holds and a multitude of approaches including NDB/DME and ILS/DME. Is this currently possible in AeroFly FS 2 and are all the navaids modelled and could I use real world plates and conduct a full hold and approach?

Also are the systems sufficiently modelled to allow this?

Is there a way to view plates in the cockpit in VR?

Jacks

Good news!

Any news on the stuttering issues experienced by some on newer devices (such as iPad mini with retina)?

Gary

Love that video! I would like to see more functionality included prop control, mixture control and filly selectable nav with working instruments!

Is this in a beta version? If so could be worth emailing the devs direct.

Although I am looking forward to this update, for the the priority should be updating the navigation system to allow proper flight planning as well as fully functional and selectable nav 1, nav 2, ADF and DME in every aircraft.

His would allow for better IFR flying high is this sim's strength.

Gary

The baron is the best equipped aircraft when it comes to rnav. You can use VOR 1 and VOR 2 (although the OBS is stuck to 90deg so you can only fly the 090 and 270 radials) and ADF AND DME!

I wrote a step by step guide to using the baron in IMC during a simple flight in the 'Challenge Added' thread.

The A320 and B737 do not show VOR2 or DME and it is impossible to see which ADF freq the B737 making flying using NDBs challenging.

Unfortunately the ILS goes lives at about 3.0nm DME and so I have developed my own standard approach procedure which invokes flying into an airport overhead using a NDB until the ILS goes live. I then fly overhead the airport and when I pass overhead (the vor needle swing indicates that you are overhead). I turn 210deg to the right or left and re-intercept the localiser at an angle of 30deg. I then fly the localiser outbound to a pre-determined point (usually taken from the SkyVector approach charts) and turn 210deg again and re-intercept the localiser at the altitude specified in the RW approach chart. Knowing when you at the turning point is difficult but can be done by using a local NBD or by timing the outbound leg (using speed over distance equations) using the clock on the instrument panel. All altitudes for all stages of the approach and the distances of turning points are taken from an approach chart. This procedure means that you load the ILS early in the approach and can still fly a full instrument approach from 10-20 nm out.

Using this method and using NDBs, I have flown a full IFR flight from Montery to Sacremento in the B737 without using the map once and including a standard instrument departure from Montery Regional. I have also done a similar flight from Montery to Livermore and recommend that as a route to practice rnav. Also salinas is a could airport to fly to using RNAV as it VOR 2 is permanently set to Salinas VOR and Rwy 32 has a NDB on the centreline at 12DME.

All of the airports I have mentioned have NBDs on the centreline to a runway and so are great for rnav. There are other airports with NDBs on runway centrelines. Overloaded posted a great thread detailing where all of the active NDBs are on the map.

Hope that helps!

Gary

What about an option to pan the view up, down, left and right as well as rotate it! You could set it up so if you use two fingers on the screen then the view pans rather than rotates.

Move your two fingers up the screen at the same time and the head position moves up, simple!

I fly for 20muns often but now and again like tondo longer flights of up to an hour. These longer flights are generally focused around navigating using navaids and conducting instrument approach. I for one would welcome tr ability to conduct a long real time flight (around 1 hour)

Gary

Sounds good to me. At what sort of frequency or distance do you intend to place these islands?

I would suggest 45-60mins flight time in an average commercial aircraft so around 400-500nm. This is the distance that most users would like to fly in one flight.

I like analogy of a web with series of smaller HD nodes (like orbx airport packs for FSX). I still think there is a requirement for a number of larger scenery packs with high quality scenery for those wishing to fly a spam can VFR and look out the window as they do. For that reason I think the larger sceneries such as Norcal and Switzerland should focus more on the smaller airports and grass strips and stunning scenery.

If the smaller nodes were to be fully supported with navaids and had a good level of detail then I sure people would be happy to part with cash for the 'nodes' they want and have enough memory space for. This would be a good source of income for the devs where as just increasing an already established area or simply adding more detail or airports probably wouldn't.

For me the current level of detail in perfectly adequate. I tend to fly around the ares of farmland to the north of the map between sacremento and Byron as I the scenery in this area seems more detailed than in the south. So I would opt for more detail globally.

Overloaded, I flew the b737 from Montery to Sacramento last night bouncing from NDB to NDB, as per your old post listing the NDBs,and then flew what has become my standard IFR circuit on AF2. I fly to the beacon on the centreline and track away toward the airfield remaining at 5000'+. i intercept the localiser at 3 miles out and continue towards the airport until I pass overhead (marked by the localiser needle swinging out). I then turn 200deg which mean I will intercept the localiser at 20deg. It then fly the reciprocal of the runway heading, maintaining the localiser and using the clock on the instrument panel to time my downwind leg to approx 12 miles. I also descend to 3000'. At approx 12 miles, I conduct another 200deg turn and intercept the localsier for the third and final time. The glideslope is then intercepted and the approach is flown.

The 737 is great for this kind of flying alhtough a lack of displayed ADF freq sometimes makes it challenging to know which NDB you are looking at without resorting to the map. I really hope the 737 is updated to show ADF freqs, DME and Nav 2. If it is then is will become the aircraft of choice for those wanting to fly commercial routes using 'proper navigation' and without an FMC.

Ipacs, have you considered creating small HD scenery packs centred on a major airport? This would mean that we could conduct long haul,or even short haul flights and have detailed scenery for the takeoff and landing phases and pass over low definite scenery during the cruise when we are too bothered by scenery. also when cruising at FL300+, even low definition scenery can appear adequate. If you manage to free up some space then why not create a scenery pack for either Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, Vancouver or Pheonix which only extends for 25nm around the airport? this would allow us to conduct flights of a reasonable distance (500-1000nm).

Overloaded, I would try that but I don't think I could spare the time! I am impressed that you received NDB signals that far from California. It is obvious that ipacs put time into the creating a sim that is ready for the future and additional areas. I hope that the VORs are also mapped and working. How many times did you adjust for changes in magnetic variation?

Tristan, there is a wealth of knowledge on here with ref to radio nav and navaids. Aerofly 2 is a good tool for learning the basics on how navigate using the the aircraft's on board navigational system and there are some great tutorial videos on YouTube. If you need help then just ask and I am sure that someone on here will answer.

Good luck!

Sounds like a good flight! Do you have any pics of the scenery (or lack of) at Galway. I didn't know that there were any working NDBs or ILSs outside of the SFO region. Why don't you fly to Zurich, at once overhead, switch to AF1 and complete the flight surrounded by the stunning Swiss scenery. You would have no rnav though.

Gary

I was playing around in the P38 Lightning (Yippee colours obviously) this evening when I though that it would be possible to simulate g forces by the following means:

1. When you suddenly pull g, the view pans very slightly in the direction of the g forces to simulate the head moving slightly due to the extra forces. This would also give you a visual reference that g was been experienced and the direction of 'g'.

2. When pulling g, the rate at which we can pan the view with our fingers in cockpi view is slowed. The higher the g pulled, the slower the rate of pan. This would simulate the difficulty that a pilot has looking around whilst experiencing high g forces as his head weighs several times than at 1g. Whether the rate of pan would be slowed in all directions or just the direction of the g force exerted I am undecided. I am tending towards the rate of pan being slowing in all directions. The rate at which the view can be zoomed would also be slowed to show the extra difficulty the pilot wood have moving his head forward or back whilst experiencing high sustained g forces.

Does anyone else think that this would be a good feature for the iOS version of AF FS and AF2?

Gary

There is an app that can repair you battery life slightly by performing special charging cycles which includes a trickle charge.

Sounds like a good idea. I personally would not fly long flights on a sim for that reason. The longest I would fly would be one hour which is still long enough to fly internationally in Europe. That's why I am keen to see more regional jets, turboprops or GA aircraft as they suit the sort flying I will do.