Posts by Redtail

    I've watched a couple of XP11 VR "Hands" videos on YouTube and I'm still not sure about the use of the Touch controllers. Having to hold a separate controller to represent my hand means I can't be using that hand to interact with my real-world yoke, tpm, etc.

    I'm an early adopter of the Leap Motion sensor too and have had it stuck to the front of my Oculus since day one. This I can see potentially working very well as long as the tracking is consistent. I could let go of my physical yoke, reach "up and out" into the virtual space to touch virtual controls, etc. Could be good.

    Either way, I'm looking forward to what the IPACS team brings us. I'm certain it will rival if not better the competition...

    Although I've never tried Leap Motion, I agree that it sounds like the best option overall. Having to pick up a physical controller is a bit tedious.

    I also tested the VR support for X-Plane 11.

    I love X-Plane 11 but boy, they are miles away from what I get with AF2 in terms of visuals and performance in VR. AF2 is the king of VR simulation right now.

    Yes! Agreed.

    In fact, IMO there are only two things that XP has the upper hand on right now (VR wise).

    1. Helicopters!

    I've spent the past week checking out their "VR preview" and boy oh boy.........The Bell 407 and 412 (payware addons) are simply amazing in VR!!!

    2. Road traffic.

    There's something very rewarding and immersive about looking down at all of those cars and trains in VR. Even if they are a bit screwy sometimes with their behavior..... i.e. randomly disappearing/reappearing and following broken roads and train tracks, lol.

    I'm not sure that I had any of those products. Back then I was almost solely interested in single engine GA aircraft. I rarely flew anything big.

    I have no memory of those products either. Same here, I rarely touched anything bigger than a KingAir back then or now. With the exception of the Level-D 767 (which I fell in love with), the big iron never appealed to me much.

    Just for contrast to VR hands (which I do not wish to pursue at present) is Voice Activation - just ask Amazon's Alexa to set the Altitude on the MCP to 10,000 feet - or use the app Voice Attack or equivalent. The use of voice to control the world - in your car or in your home - seems a lot more like asking your First Officer to set things for you - plus you can get voice feedback to help get rid of the "loneliness" of VR. Example: "Set Flaps 15, Gear Down" - "Flaps at 15, Gear is down, Captain! Speed should be set to Vref+15 or 135 knots" Another plus of Voice Activation is the reduction in the need for more buttons on your joystick/throttle.

    Dave W.

    Yep, exactly how I have my setup. I use a voice attack profile that someone made (forgot his name at the moment), but I modified it slightly, so instead of saying "turn" right/left 30°, etc. I just say "left 30", "right 60", etc. No need to keep repeating unnecessary words like "turn" and "degrees".

    I mentioned that to the author and he agreed.

    However, being able to say "approach flaps", "flaps up/down", "gear up/down", "Altitude up 3000 feet", "Vertical speed mode", etc.... really adds to the immersion when flying in VR.

    Having spent the past week with XP native VR, this is what I've concluded as well. Flying the Bell 407 and 412 (two excellent payware aircraft) with my HOTAS and using a touch controller/hand to reach up, flip switches and turn knobs is incredible! This is how I'll use touch control in all of my sims. I did try out flying a few fixed wing aircraft using only the Oculus controllers. It was fun, but I prefer using my Warthog, Saitek yoke and pedals.

    I worked a paper route so I could save up the money for an Apple ][. I still have the floppy for SubLOGIC's flight sim. I also still have the floppy for the first Microsoft Flight Simulator when they bought out SubLOGIC. That video brings back a whole lot of memories. It's kind of like the radio serials my parents and grandparents would tell us about - you had to use your imagination to extend what you were given. Many hours spent keyboard flying and listening to that infernal buzzing that was to simulate the engine. So long ago.

    Imagination or no, I'll take the best possible VR any day over those old sims. Things are just so unbelievable now and only going to be getting better.

    What's a SubLogic? and who the heck is Bruce Artwick?

    Come on boeingcorp and Zed, you guys trying to make me feel old or something??? ^^

    Remember the days of big binders with instructions, charts, approach plates, etc.

    I was a teen when I bought this. I no longer have the floppy disk, but the rest is in great shape.

    For flight sims, VR is the best thing since sliced bread!

    Ok, I managed to upload the mod with the controls.tmd file to my webpage. We will update it in the forums shortly.

    I just spent a couple of hours with the mod and everything is working great.

    My 10 year niece is having a ball with it as well. She's visiting for a few days and wanted to try uncle's flight simulator, so I put her over Manhattan in the Cessna. After a few minutes, she was buzzing skyscrapers, flying under bridges and doing loops and rolls over Central Park, lol.

    She kept repeating how much fun she was having. I think IPACS has another fan and potential customer. :)

    On another note, it's interesting to see how much drag the open doors and windows produce! I tried to stay airborne with them open, but just couldn't.

    lego? That's an interesting perception, lol.

    Yeah they really are a blast to fly. I flew for years with doing no more than 45° steep turns during training and on flight reviews, but when I decided to go for the aerobatics coarse, it opened up a whole new world to me as an aviator. I didn't take enough lessons to master anything, but it sure was FUN!

    It was also my first experience flying an airplane with stick, tail wheel, as well as a constant speed prop.

    The toughest part for me was getting proficient enough at wheel landings. It took a few lessons for me to overcome bouncing and PIO. My first few attempts looked like a kangaroo dance:D

    You know what? I forgot to include the controls.tmd file :(

    For now you can use the default's c172 controls.tmd as a replacement. I'll try to get an upload for you as soon as I can. But without access to my server this is gonna be a bit tricky :D

    That's what I did, that resulted in no click spots. Prior to copying the default .tmd, none of the controls worked.

    None for doors either, so there may be more issues with the upload.

    No rush, take your time, enjoy your holiday. Next year is fine^^

    Thanks

    Yes, you are right Ray.

    Any taildragger in this simulator is fantastic to fly and I love them, they are more fun than others for me. But of course I have a passion for other little planes as well no matter what and the Long-Ez is one of them. If we get one with the same qualities of Afs2, could be very nice. Same with the SD-1 Minisport.

    Regards

    Frank

    Yep, they sure are! I got my tailwheel training and endorsement in a Super Decathlon and also learned basic aerobatics in it. Way more fun than anything else I've ever flown. Wheel landings are a blast once you get the hang of it.

    And talking about forward slips.....

    That thing taught me what a real slip is like! Slipping Cessnas and Pipers is somewhat anemic compared to the Super D. But that's due to the huge rudder, not the tail wheel.

    Other than a great helo (Bell 407, etc), I'd like to fly two things in particular in VR that I really liked in X-Plane 10. The V22 and the Space Shuttle.

    hey arne ...I had the same problem . I fixed it by installing the control tmd file from the 2nd last download in the up dated folder ...than it works cheers Eike

    Same here, except for me, it only "partially" fixed it. I can fly it, but there are no click spots for anything!

    I've never been much of a sim glider guy and never flew one IRL.

    Tried them in other sims and wasn't impressed, but I did buy Condor and thought it was great. Then after a short time it couldn't hold me anymore, due to the dated graphics. I love pretty scenery.

    That said, the moment I saw how beautiful AFS2 was, I had to try the gliders in VR. Man I fell in instant love!

    With winches, tow planes and better thermals, I could see myself doing a lot of soaring.

    I had it custom built by Digital Storm. I used to assemble my own from components, but I stopped doing that when liquid cooling came in. It intimidates me lol.

    Well for one thing they gave it to me for free for having bought Flight School, so I feel like I owe them a little loyalty. I also think they are headed in a decent direction, although they won't ever reach the level of graphics quality we already have. Plus I like Aimee.

    I still enjoy building them. Not sure how much I saved, but I do it for the joy of it.

    I was intimidated by liquid cooling as well, but it's nothing to worry about nowadays with the "closed loop", all-in-one systems offered by companies like Corsair, Thermaltake, etc.

    I built my new rig about six months ago for X-plane 11 and DCS World.

    i7-7700k (have it overclocked to 5GHz), Thermaltake 3.0 Riing cpu liquid cooler, 32gb DDR4, GTX 1080ti. Used the HDD, SSD and power supply from my old rig.

    Picked up the CV1 during the summer sale.

    Although I have P3D v3, I never installed it on this machine and I'm so glad I didn't bite v4. Also, after trying the FlyInside demo for XP, I wasn't happy at all. Hopefully their native VR support will be better, but for me, it's DCS and FS2 all the way. I'm looking forward to everything ORBX and others produce for it. I'll still use what I like in XP (Bell 407, and a few other addons) on my 2D monitor occasionally, but at this point I doubt I'll be buying anything else for it.

    Flight school/FSW, nah :)

    One small thing I forgot to mention about the JetSeat (actually the software). The AFS2 support is a bit limited at the moment, due to the beta state of his software (SimShaker Wings). So the effects are a bit weak right now, compared to the level of motion feedback you get from DCS and X-Plane. I believe he is working on improving this.

    Funny you mentioned this because I just downloaded the Intrepid a few hours ago, and the first thing I did was try landing on it in the Beucker. After two disaterous attempts, I gave up and went on to other things. Then after reading your post, I decided to give it a go in the Cessna using good old Short Field Landing techniques. Works like a charm:).

    Fly a base leg to the ship at 200 to 300 agl, 60kias, full flaps. Cut the throttle when the ship is made (third wire, lol). Upon touchdown, full aft stick and hard braking with a slight right turn to keep her on deck.

    Then turn around, raise flaps to 10°, hold brakes, full throttle. Release brakes, rotate at 55. Go out and do it again:S

    I bought the Gametrix JetSeat SE (flight Sim Edition mod) from Andre's shop, and it adds incredibly to the immersion factor, especially when flying in VR. It has 8 vibration motors and the custom mod has a joystick cutout which is perfect for my seat since I mounted my HOTAS Warthog to it. It comes in olive green and black.

    Although the green looks good, I decided to get the black since my gaming seat is black padding with blue fabric.

    Took few weeks to get here (NY) from Russia, but it was well worth it.

    I'd love a motion platform. Maybe soon.