<![CDATA[General Flight Simulation Discussion]]>https://simspotting.org/category/2RSS for NodeThu, 12 Mar 2026 14:48:43 GMTFri, 07 Oct 2022 23:00:57 GMT60<![CDATA[Recently read "Ferry Pilot: Nine Lives Over the North Atlantic" and now I want to fly across the ocean]]>I recently read Kerry McCauley's book "Ferry Pilot: Nine Lives Over the North Atlantic" in which Kerry joins the ranks of ferry pilots shuttling aircraft across the Atlantic. I found the book fun to read and now I want to experiment with a few across the ocean flights myself.

I plan to work up routes to test my fortitude to some of the closer places such as Narsarsuaq (BGBW). According to the book you need to fly to the NDB, turn outbound, fly that for 9 miles while descending to 4,200ft. Then make a standard rate left turn, descending to 3,600ft, then inbound descending to 1,800ft minimum descent altitude.

I guess the next thing I'll need to tackle is adjusting the fuel capacity of a Cessna 182 giving it the range it will need and also the weight load.

]]>https://simspotting.org/topic/106/recently-read-ferry-pilot-nine-lives-over-the-north-atlantic-and-now-i-want-to-fly-across-the-oceanhttps://simspotting.org/topic/106/recently-read-ferry-pilot-nine-lives-over-the-north-atlantic-and-now-i-want-to-fly-across-the-oceanFri, 07 Oct 2022 23:00:57 GMT<![CDATA[X-Plane 12 Early Release Releases September 6 1600 UTC]]>X-Plane.com's web site at the moment:

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]]>https://simspotting.org/topic/104/x-plane-12-early-release-releases-september-6-1600-utchttps://simspotting.org/topic/104/x-plane-12-early-release-releases-september-6-1600-utcMon, 05 Sep 2022 20:41:10 GMT<![CDATA[Little Navmap Aircraft Performance File Carenado Bonanza V35 with REP]]>I've created a Little Navmap aircraft performance file for the Carenado Bonanza V35 with the SimCoder's Reality Expansion Pack (REP) add-on.

You can download it from the File Hangar section.

]]>https://simspotting.org/topic/100/little-navmap-aircraft-performance-file-carenado-bonanza-v35-with-rephttps://simspotting.org/topic/100/little-navmap-aircraft-performance-file-carenado-bonanza-v35-with-repWed, 13 Jul 2022 21:12:58 GMT<![CDATA[Little Navmap Has Turned my Flight Routing Upside Down]]>For a long time I have been using Online Flight Planner, Flightaware and Flightaware Parser, RouteFinder, and others for my flight route planning but now I don't have to leave my own computer.

Adding to my arsenal is Little Navmap. IFR, VFR, high and low, departures and arrival procedures, custom waypoints, you name it and LNM probably has it. Best of all it includes exporting to X-Plane FMS format.

It connects to X-Plane as a moving map and includes a web server so you can manage the map from an iPad, phone, or other device.

Yes, I am excited about Little Navmap!

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]]>https://simspotting.org/topic/98/little-navmap-has-turned-my-flight-routing-upside-downhttps://simspotting.org/topic/98/little-navmap-has-turned-my-flight-routing-upside-downWed, 13 Jul 2022 01:03:42 GMT<![CDATA[Orbx TrueEarth Florida Scenery Looks Amazing]]>Orbx is working on a high definition Florida scenery add on for X-Plane. Who else is excited about this? I wonder how quickly this is going to melt my graphics card!

I am happy with the Ortho scenery I put together, a long time ago, for Florida with high detail around the airports I was very interested in at the time. Having the detail that this preview shows is wonderful and I am looking forward to trying this when it is released.

]]>https://simspotting.org/topic/95/orbx-trueearth-florida-scenery-looks-amazinghttps://simspotting.org/topic/95/orbx-trueearth-florida-scenery-looks-amazingSat, 29 Feb 2020 18:54:38 GMT<![CDATA[The 2019 Flightsim Community Survey]]>The results have been posted for the 2019 FlightSim Community Survey hosted by Navigraph.

Regardless of which simulator is most popular or the type of flying you do here at Simspotting we look forward to you sharing your enthusiasm of your hobby.

What are your thoughts on the survey and the results?

]]>https://simspotting.org/topic/93/the-2019-flightsim-community-surveyhttps://simspotting.org/topic/93/the-2019-flightsim-community-surveyWed, 05 Feb 2020 15:48:43 GMT<![CDATA[Honeycomb Alpha Flight Controls Yoke Sensitivity]]>I have been flying the (X-Plane 11 default) Baron 58 (G1000 with REP) with the Honeycomb Alpha yoke and am having trouble trimming the aircraft. I am not sure if this is just an issue with the plane or the combination of plane and yoke.

I am unable to get it trimmed so that it holds altitude without having to have constant hands on the yoke. It seems to always want to climb or descent ever so slightly. Is this normal behavior?

Has anyone else had this problem with their Alpha yoke?

]]>https://simspotting.org/topic/89/honeycomb-alpha-flight-controls-yoke-sensitivityhttps://simspotting.org/topic/89/honeycomb-alpha-flight-controls-yoke-sensitivitySat, 28 Dec 2019 21:11:31 GMT<![CDATA[So Many New Aircraft, Scenery, and Add-ons. What will you choose?]]>There are numerous talented designers who are putting out top-notch products for our sims. With the Christmas season just around the corner and the sales that may occur what are you hoping to acquire this year?

With the “reality” add-ones that enhanced so many aircraft flight performance getting such a good reception I feel other developers are now baking in better flight dynamics into their new products that the add-ons may not be as necessary moving forward. Are you looking to move away from some of the big name players to many of the smaller newer shops that are boasting the better dynamics as a feature of their new products?

I for one am looking at the new T310R from Milviz as well as the new Take Command! Hot Start TBM 900. Both would be great additions to my hangar.

]]>https://simspotting.org/topic/82/so-many-new-aircraft-scenery-and-add-ons-what-will-you-choosehttps://simspotting.org/topic/82/so-many-new-aircraft-scenery-and-add-ons-what-will-you-chooseTue, 13 Nov 2018 15:30:40 GMT<![CDATA[X-Plane 11.02 Beta 1: Impressive Performance Improvements]]>I grabbed the newly released X-Plane 11.02 Beta 1 update and was impressed by the performance improvements that it provided for my very old struggling setup. My computer consists of the following:
CPU Intel i7 920 OC 2.86Mhz (Circa 2009)
RAM 12GB
GPU nVidia 760GTX 4GB VRAM

It goes without saying how under powered the CPU is by today's comparison of what is available.

Previous X-Plane 11 betas ran very slowly. I had to lower rendering settings to get any sort of reasonable flight from them. With the most recent release I am able to fly with the default "out of the box" rendering settings and get 15 to 20fps. I understand that 15 to 20fps is not good. Not at all. Honestly though I am impressed with how the program has been tuned to get it to that level with aging hardware.

If you have a chance I recommend testing out this new beta thread.

Photos here: https://simspotting.org/topic/73/testing-x-plane-11-02beta1

]]>https://simspotting.org/topic/72/x-plane-11-02-beta-1-impressive-performance-improvementshttps://simspotting.org/topic/72/x-plane-11-02-beta-1-impressive-performance-improvementsThu, 25 May 2017 16:55:19 GMT<![CDATA[SimCoders Reality Expansion Pack 3.0]]>SimCoders has announced version 3.0 of their Reality Expansion Pack product. It offers integration with X-Plane 11 as well as continued integration with X-Plane 10, updated GUI, quick start option, and other enhancements.

Check it out:

https://www.simcoders.com/2017/05/12/20170510rep-3-0-new-user-interface/

]]>https://simspotting.org/topic/69/simcoders-reality-expansion-pack-3-0https://simspotting.org/topic/69/simcoders-reality-expansion-pack-3-0Fri, 12 May 2017 17:44:21 GMT<![CDATA[HeadShake Update Adds Ground Movement Look Ahead]]>A new release of Simcoder's HeadShake plugin for X-Plane incorporates a view change based on your taxi direction. Nice touch Simcoders.

https://www.simcoders.com/2017/03/07/20170307new-release-headshake-v1-6/

]]>https://simspotting.org/topic/63/headshake-update-adds-ground-movement-look-aheadhttps://simspotting.org/topic/63/headshake-update-adds-ground-movement-look-aheadTue, 07 Mar 2017 17:28:35 GMT<![CDATA[Piaggio P180 Avanti II Update]]>For those of you who enjoy @airfighter 's Piaggio P180 Avanti he posted an update on a future version of it. I for one can't wait for it so I must seriously now start working on a new computer that is optimized for X-Plane 11.

You can read more about it at:

]]>https://simspotting.org/topic/60/piaggio-p180-avanti-ii-updatehttps://simspotting.org/topic/60/piaggio-p180-avanti-ii-updateFri, 24 Feb 2017 04:28:16 GMT<![CDATA[Announced: Version 4 of SkyMaxx Pro]]>X-Aviation has announced version 4 of their popular SkyMaxx Pro plugin for X-Plane. You can read about it here:

]]>https://simspotting.org/topic/46/announced-version-4-of-skymaxx-prohttps://simspotting.org/topic/46/announced-version-4-of-skymaxx-proSat, 22 Oct 2016 14:23:30 GMT<![CDATA[New Utility: SkyMaxx Pro]]>I have added SkyMaxx Pro to my toolkit. A few experimentations with it:

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]]>https://simspotting.org/topic/45/new-utility-skymaxx-prohttps://simspotting.org/topic/45/new-utility-skymaxx-proFri, 21 Oct 2016 03:48:40 GMT<![CDATA[Ortho scenery: Experimenting with ZL16]]>I have been experimenting with different zoom levels for custom orthographic scenery, primarily a nice ZL for when I am en-route at cruise. I fly small GA planes so I would typically be around 13,000 ft. I am beginning to be pleased.

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]]>https://simspotting.org/topic/43/ortho-scenery-experimenting-with-zl16https://simspotting.org/topic/43/ortho-scenery-experimenting-with-zl16Thu, 13 Oct 2016 15:52:00 GMT<![CDATA[Interchangeable Yoke from ACE]]>I came across the ACE interchangeable yoke today. The concept sounds great. A yoke with interchangeable handlebars. It was a little difficult finding much information about this product but it seems the unit with one handlebar, possibly either for a 737 or a Cessna, costs $450. I do not know how much additional handlebars cost for it. I will be keeping an eye on them and would love to buy one at some point.

If you have any information about them post about it here!

I found a Facebook page for them https://www.facebook.com/ACE-1666488033601894/

And also a web site http://www.737yoke.com/

http://www.737yoke.com/

]]>https://simspotting.org/topic/34/interchangeable-yoke-from-acehttps://simspotting.org/topic/34/interchangeable-yoke-from-aceWed, 13 Jul 2016 16:15:26 GMT<![CDATA[P3D Screenshots]]>Thanks for sharing @FelixG and welcome aboard!

A Prepar3D category has been created, feel free to upload new shots to those categories as you see fit.

]]>https://simspotting.org/topic/26/p3d-screenshotshttps://simspotting.org/topic/26/p3d-screenshotsMon, 02 May 2016 16:58:18 GMT<![CDATA[Flightaware Reports Real-Time Tracking]]>Flightaware has changed their reporting time and no longer includes a five minute delay.

]]>https://simspotting.org/topic/25/flightaware-reports-real-time-trackinghttps://simspotting.org/topic/25/flightaware-reports-real-time-trackingFri, 08 Apr 2016 15:01:52 GMT<![CDATA[Orthophoto Scenery Work]]>I've been playing with Ortho4XP and finally seem to have gotten results!

This is KRAL (Riverside California). ZL17. About 6GB for +33-118. ZL14 looked horrendous. I will try ZL16 next to see if it is an adequate trade off between size and resolution.

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The location is:
33.953855 -117.451773 

]]>https://simspotting.org/topic/19/orthophoto-scenery-workhttps://simspotting.org/topic/19/orthophoto-scenery-workTue, 01 Mar 2016 05:07:45 GMT<![CDATA[ZonExecutive Flyers]]>It is nice to see a couple of ZonExecutive pilots here. Thanks for sharing your images. I too fly at ZE when I get the time. I have a 2 year old so hobby time is limited. Living through your screenshots is fun though.

]]>https://simspotting.org/topic/14/zonexecutive-flyershttps://simspotting.org/topic/14/zonexecutive-flyersWed, 10 Feb 2016 17:19:27 GMT