Posted: 12/6/2009 8:37:21 PM EDT
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I figure I'll probably get better answers here since I know a lot of aviation fans are into flightsim.. I've been playing FSX for about a year now and I think I'm decent enough to understand takeoff/landing/taxi procedures, but I don't really understand the point of using radio comms where you would manually dial in a freq. For sim purposes, I usually use the Tilde(~) key to bring up needed comm with ground/tower/ATIS... Is the radio stack used for actual pilots who would want to simulate that portion of the experience? Also, it seems like some aircraft..most recently the turboprop King Air, can't use reverse prop to "back up" from a gate when you first get into the game. I have no problem using Shift+P to get the pushback, but is there a trick to get it to move? Thanks.. |
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There is no ~ key in real life to communicate. I sometimes use the radio stack on the game, but since the ~ key is still required, to communicate, and the radio stack is usually well out of the way and difficult to tune, I don't use it often.
IMHO, taxiing aircraft on FSX is far from real. They don't handle nearly as well as the real ones do. F2 is the beta/ thrust reverser button, but you can't control power settings with it on. The vast majority of airliners dont back themselves up anymore, even though many of them are able to. Last week, I was with another mechanic taxiing an SF340B to a gate, and it started going backwards when the parking brake slipped. |
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Gingerbreadman pretty much covered it. You can bring the radio panel up and manually/realistically tune the frequency, however, in a few cases the sim won't allow you to execute the command you need. I don't recall those situations, but you might want to dial in clearance delivery to get your IFR plan instructions, but once you dial the correct frequency in, the choice in the menu to request IFR clearance isn't there. This situation might occur in other phases of flight as well. The only area I know that it works by manually tuning is ARTCC handoffs, whether IFR or VFR flight following. Certain other situations can work as well, such as a request for flight following whereby you're given a transponder code. You can press the menu key to confirm which will auto-tune the transponder code in your radio panel or dial in the squawk yourself manually. If you manually tune the squawk, ATC will recognize this and confirm your location on radar, but you will have to use the menu to confirm the radar contact, obviously.
For me, an amateur radio operator, the act of tuning a radio and dialing in numbers doesn't really add any realism to the sim. Let's face it, you can't talk to the sim with your voice and the sim doesn't work very well in the ATC/AI department anyhow, so I'm more concerned with the flying aspect. Sure, they have add ons that allow you to "communicate" with the sim's ATC, but it's kinda silly and not very real. The only alternative to "real" ATC with MSFS is VATSIM or IVAO. This is online or multiplayer. It requires some free software to connect to their servers (not MS multiplayer by the way!). VATSIM and IVAO are supposed to be realistic environments that simulate as much of the real world as possible. So, in some cases you might have a guy who can rattle off ATC comms like a real world controller and even some pilots who are able to do the same. I know some real world pilots who do sim online and so they bring realism to the table. I've heard some of the ATC controllers on there are real world, but I don't know and would find it hard to believe. Maybe someone who is new and looking for a place to "practice" perhaps. The problem with these online places is that you will have controllers and pilots who are young and/or know nothing about flying, comms, or other aspects of procedures that correlate to the real world, so it can be rather ridiculous at times. Some controllers are rude and others are just kids playing games. I've seen video of VATSIM where a heavy was on final into an airport and some clown in a jet pack took off from the runway threshold and darted right in the direction of the jet on final. Yeah, very realistic. Those are just some reasons why I've avoided VATSIM and online completely. Others swear by VATSIM because it can be realistic, you have real people to comm with, and you can fly proper routes with DPs, STARs, and IAPs the way they should be flown. Plus any vectoring will be great provided the controller is good. As to the issue of reverse thrust, betas, feathering, ground handling, and even prop/turboprop simulation, the sim does a poor job of displaying those characteristics. Props and turboprops will almost act as a speedbrake if you slow down too much in the air, but in the sim you just keep moving along. You slow as you glide, but nothing like real world. I don't think anyone has modeled feathering or beta properly. Reverse is also very crude. Ground handling and steering sucks as well. You just have to live with it and adapt. In some ways it can be a sim and great fun, but in others it's just a game with many faults. You're best bet is finding good 3rd party add ons that developers have made to overcome some of these problems, but not all can be. If you're using the default planes, then you might really want to consider looking at some better payware models out there. Some of the default planes are okay, but a lot of them are trash. Forget about the Boeing, Airbus, or similar planes. They are FUBAR. Even some of the small GAs have some errors in design. The King Air sucks. I was shocked at how poor that model was. |
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X-Plane does a pretty good job of making realistic flight models. Some of the stuff is scary accurate. The one thing I always forget in FSX is the steering during push-back. What are the keys used to maneuver the tail of the aircraft. Normal steering doesn't work. Mike F |
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Quoted:
X-Plane does a pretty good job of making realistic flight models. Some of the stuff is scary accurate. The one thing I always forget in FSX is the steering during push-back. What are the keys used to maneuver the tail of the aircraft. Normal steering doesn't work. Mike F I'm not lucky enough to fly in the real world, but everything I've heard about X-Plane having better FDEs is really a fallacy. Someone did a comparison of the two, MSFS and X-Plane, and their ability to do spins, slips and other real handling characteristics ending up being not much different. I'm sure if you look around you can find it. I've heard others say the same about X-Plane. They just say it has a different feel. FWIW, I personally don't even use the pushback the way they intend it. The key combo never works right even if you reassign it. I just push back straight to a certain point, then stop and use the thrust to move forward and turn. Some high-end add on Boeing aircraft have a pushback module built-in that work really well, but I still just do it my way. Who cares about the taxi or ground movement in the sim. I just care about the part from the takeoff to landing. |
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If you want to try realistic radio ops, give VATSIM a try. It's a multi-player environment with actual people using voice communications mimicking true radio procedures. Not precisely something you can tilde in. |