Reply #2: The 2nd link pooh poohs PC flight simulators [View All]

[BootinUp]

I must say he has no clue. There has been advanced FS software available for PC's for at least 10 years. Here is some info on the latest version of MS Flight simulator from a pilots perspective. People in the flight sim world take the software and associated hardware and accessories very seriously.


http://www.microsoft.com/games/flightsimulator/fs2004_pilotsguide.asp


Real-World Pilot's Guide to Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight celebrates the centennial of powered flight, but it also includes many features and capabilities that make it an ideal complement to formal flight training and real-world flying. With Flight Simulator, you can fly to almost any airport in the world using navaids and airways or GPS, fly precision and non-precision approaches, communicate with ATC, deal with real-world weather from takeoff to touchdown, and review your performance with flight.analysis.

The wide variety of aircraft in Flight Simulator-from single-engine personal machines to jet transports-provide a range of experiences and challenges and give you the opportunity to learn about and practice using many types of avionics and instrument displays.

Many aviation professionals already use Flight Simulator as part of their training programs. For example, US Navy has set up a Flight Simulator lab to help student pilots (for more information, see https://wwwcfs.cnet.navy.mil/microsimptt/ and http://www.microsoft.com/games/flightsimulator/fs2000_articles_usnavy1.asp).

FlightSafety International also incorporates a Microsoft Flight Simulator lab in its professional pilot training programs at the FlightSafety Academy in Vero Beach, FL.

Key Features for Pilots

* Jeppesen NavData database, including navaids (VOR, NDB, ILS), low- and high-altitude airways, intersections, approach lighting systems, etc. around the world.

* Nearly 24,000 airports worldwide. Airports include taxiway signs and markings, accurate lighting systems, beacons, etc.

* Interactive air traffic control (ATC), with traffic at most airports around the world (including non-towered airports), altitude changes en route, pop-up IFR clearances, precision and non-precision approaches to multiple runways, VFR flight-following, Class D transitions and Class B clearances.

* Dynamic weather system based on realistic atmospheric physics, with true three-dimensional clouds that form and dissipate, and automatic real-world weather updates (METARs and FDs) when you're connected to the Internet.

* Weather themes that generate a wide variety of stunning-and challenging-flying conditions with just a few clicks of a mouse.

* Interactive 3D "virtual" cockpits-tune radios and operate key aircraft controls and avionics by pointing and clicking in the virtual cockpit view.

* Garmin 500 and 295 series GPS with color moving maps and airport/facility information, GPS approaches, approach transitions, and more.

* Full-color map view with terrain display.

* Improved support for 3D graphics hardware acceleration in multiple windows and across multiple monitors.

* New and expanded lessons and ground school topics, including information from Rod Machado, John and Martha King, and Lane Wallace.

* Flight planner to create realistic VFR and IFR flight plans and navigation logs.

* Flight analysis to play back a flight on a moving map that shows ground track, key flight data, and a vertical profile.

* Instructor's station--link two PCs on a network or over the Internet so that an instructor can observe a Flight Simulator session, change weather, fail systems, and provide comments and help via a chat window.

* IFR training panels for selected aircraft that include all key instruments, avionics, and controls in one window for realistic IFR flights.

* Failures to test your ability to handle inoperative instruments, aircraft systems, avionics, and engines.

* Learning Center--a "Web site on the disc" available while the simulation is running that includes a Key Topics visual guide to the features in Microsoft Flight Simulator, direct links to flights and lessons, flight briefings, how-to procedures, aircraft handbooks, and more.

For a complete description of Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight, see our Product Information section.

Flight Simulator as a Training Aid

You can learn more about how to use Flight Simulator to complement your flying in Flight Simulator as a Training Aid and in the Learning Center in Flight Simulator 2004. (On the Key Topics tab in the Learning Center, scroll down to the last row; the link is at the far left).

For Pilots by Pilots

Microsoft Flight Simulator is made by pilots for pilots. The team currently includes five flight instructors (one of whom is also an aeronautical engineer), and a total of about 15 pilots with a wide range of experience, certificates, and ratings. We fly everything from basic trainers and piston twins to high-performance aerobatic machines, gliders, jump planes, floatplanes, and helicopters. One of our instructors is also former airline pilot.

Each group within the Flight Simulator team-program management, development, test, business development, art, documentation--is led by or includes pilots. For an inside look at how we create Flight Simulator, see The Making of Flight Simulator. You may also want to check out Flight Sim, a documentary about flight simulation that premiered on the Discovery Wings channel in July 2003.

Aviation Partners

To create the realistic, detailed simulation that pilots and enthusiasts demand, the Flight Simulator team works with leading experts in aviation and training, including:

* Rod Machado, one of the most respected (and entertaining) instructors in the aviation community, is also the in-cockpit instructor in the lessons included with Flight Simulator. He describes the value of Flight Simulator 2004 to pilots and instructors in his "License to Learn" column in the August 2003 issue of AOPA Pilot. If you're an AOPA member, you can read the column online.

* John and Martha King of King Schools, Inc., the world's leading producer of aviation training videos and computer software, created a series of short videos included in the Learning Center to help novices and experienced aviators alike understand and use key features in Flight Simulator.

* Patty Wagstaff, one of the top aerobatic/airshow pilots flying today lent her aerobatic expertise to the simulation of the Extra 300S and the aerobatic lessons.

* Jeppesen, the world's leading supplier of aviation charts, training materials, and aviation services, provides its NavData database and has created SIMCharts, a set of departure, arrival, approach, and airport charts available on CD that matches the data in Flight Simulator 2004.

* AOPA, the world's largest pilot organization and publisher of AOPA Pilot and AOPA Flight Training magazines, provides valuable content from its archives. AOPA also offers special information to Flight Simulator aviators.

* Garmin, the leading manufacturer of GPS-based avionics, helped us create a detailed simulation of its 500 and 295 series navigation equipment for Flight Simulator 2004.