Bruce (a.k.a. brian747)

Hi Wayne! <*cough*> Er.... Although I hesitate to disagree with m'learnéd friend Brett, AFAIK the current stable version of EZCA (a.k.a. EZDOK) to use with FSX is v1.15 plus the v1.17 update, in fact. You can download the v1.17 update here: http://www.ezdok-software.com/resources/files/EZCA-Update-1.17.zip Although it's certainly not the friendliest software around, EZCA is probably the most indispensable. So to mitigate that lack of friendliness, many people have produced videos to help the neophyte get to grips with the software. The original (and perhaps, still the best) vid

Well done, Kieran — wild horses couldn't drag me into the pilot's seat of that thing, so I can only add to the chorus of congratulation on your survival of the, er, experience! Special congratulations on getting John strapped into the back of a Herc and out of Oz. By the time the ringing in his ears subsides, with any luck he'll be far away from any immediate danger of incarceration, for once. All in all, a great result! Cheers, bruce a.k.a. brian747

Hmm, I think it's valid to have doubts about the *concept* sight unseen, though, Joe? That's not to opine that "...it has no place in the flight sim world...", just that It wouldn't necessarily fit in with everyone's way of zimming. Pretty colours notwithstanding. Cheers, B.

A warm welcome, Rory! Please don't hesitate to contribute - we're known as one of the friendliest sites around. Enjoy..... Cheers, bruce a.k.a. brian747

I totally agree, John. I too have always felt that having to use the keyboard is a huge "immersion-breaker" (there's no satisfactory expression for it) so I also do my best to arrange things in such a way that I don't have to. But for those who still vly FSX with no hardware or other add-ons, perhaps such a keyboard might have a role? It takes all sorts, I suppose.... Cheers, bruce a.k.a. brian747

My word, John, it certainly takes a shed hangar-load of military hardware to keep you out of trouble — but I'm delighted that it worked and you reached your destination safely! (Scherger, you say? Always thought that was a racehorse...). Congratulations on a fun flight and an entertaining PIREP, with great pics. Cheers, bruce a.k.a. brian747

Fair comment — but if we are moving on from the original question and opening the field to payware, then there are other simmer-oriented options, too. Notably, Aivlasoft Electronic Flight Bag will also provide you with information based upon the scenery you have installed (not to mention with providing you with a moving map display, checklists, weather information, and other goodies). Have a look at http://aivlasoft.ipbhost.com/ if you're interested — you can download a free trial from there that works for 30 days, too, to see whether you like it. Cheers, B.

Hi Carl! If I might suggest a possible reason for caution? I do have a slight concern about whether PFPX is automatically backwardly compatible with FS2002 on XP? But I'm afraid that I really don't know, one way or the other: I can only suggest that you check, prior to purchase. Cheers, bruce a.k.a. brian747

Downloadable from the usual page: http://www.flightsimsoft.com/downloads/ --------------------------------------------------------------- Professional Flight Planner X - http://flightsimsoft.com/pfpx---------------------------------------------------------------1.22 (10 JUL 2015)--------------------- FIXED ROUTE ISSUES CAUSED BY ERRONEOUS CACHE UPDATE- ADDED TURBULENCE GRAPH TO MAP WINDOW- ADDED 'FLIGHT DETAILS' DIALOG, REPLACING 'FLIGHT INFO' TAB- ADDED PREPAR3D EXPORT OPTION FOR MULTIPLE ADD-ONS- ADDED STEP CLIMB/DESCENT AND SPEED INFORMATION TO IVAO ATC FLIGHT PLAN- ADDED MULTIPL

James, Plan-G, Air Hauler, fine (not my scene, so I wouldn't know) but your original question related to ILS frequencies for UK airports. From this link - http://www.ais.org.uk/public/index.php%3Foption=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=6&Itemid=13.html - you can download the latest official charts (including ILS approaches) for all UK airports. Free. Cheers, bruce a.k.a. brian747

> "...both are Hybrids, whatever that means..." Usually that term indicates a hard drive with a significantly enhanced hardware buffer, so that you get performance improvements from the silicon memory even though the underlying capacity comes from a traditional hard drive. Cheers, B.

I have a feeling that he has. I agree with t'other Brian about the PSU: think of all the additional stuff you'll be adding, before long. See also the discussion here: http://forum.mutleyshangar.com/index.php/topic/17025-cooling/ Otherwise, a) Surely they can overclock a 4790k beyond 4 GHz? Or were you planning to do that yourself? With FSX, CPU speed is all-important.... b) I would seriously recommend adding half a Tb of SSD as your boot drive, which you can reserve for Windoze and FSX, and which would significantly reduce the startup times of both. As to speed (or stuttering) you hav

For me, "not at full stretch" is more about having sufficient headroom for contingencies than anything else. Let me explain what I mean.... The last thing you want is for the PSU to be struggling to meet the demand, especially in a high-performance machine with hefty graphics cards and other power-hungry components. There are lots of references on the 'net on this topic (for example, look at http://compreviews.about.com/od/cases/a/PSUWattage.htm). A good analogy is HiFi sound. Most of the time 10 watts per channel might be enough for an average home. But if you bought an amp rated at tha

Brilliant vid, Pete! If ever I had a yen to try a little puddle-jumper [OK, yeah, pause to allow the sarcastic comments to subside], it would definitely be that aircraft. Especially after watching your vid as well as https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qZFQxaNz56c and others..... Well done, and congratulations. Cheers, bruce a.k.a. brian747

i agree with much of what you said, John, but would contend that not *all* of it ends up as heat (and not all of the time); there is a small amount which actually does something useful. To take your light bulb example, some of the energy goes into producing electromagnetic radiation on a frequency which our eyes find helpful. So I would agree with your subsequent statement that "virtually all" of the energy ends up as heat, but not with your initial statement that all of it does. Similarly, although the wattage on the power supply represents a maximum figure which is hopefully seldom, if ever

One quick tip: it definitely helps if you open the case and blow the dust out of the cooling fans every few months, with special attention given to the cooling fan for your cpu and its fins. (You can buy cans of compressed air for doing this from Maplin &c. — these are *much* more effective than any amount of huffing and puffing). When you see the amount of dust that gets dislodged by the short sharp bursts of air you will understand why your machine then runs a bit cooler than it did.... If your case is fitted with filters, be sure to carry out the manufacturer's recommended cleaning

@Matt Great stuff: thank you - I look forward to the continuation of the travelogue! @Loic Your "Tour de France" sounds like great fun. Many years ago we had a similar idea running on the Precision Simulator (PS1, in those pre-PSX days) forum. Basically, we had lots of aircraft (OK, in our case they were all 744s, albeit in various different configurations of engines, airline configs, pax/freight etc., but there's no reason why a whole range of totally different aircraft wouldn't work just as well) that anyone could pick up from wherever they had been left previously and fly them to....

You'll find a lot of useful information about the recommended install sequence (and other things) in this official Orbx pdf (although you'll need a login on the Orbx forum to download it): http://www.orbxsystems.com/forum/index.php?app=core&module=attach§ion=attach&attach_id=19916 Cheers, bruce a.k.a. brian747

Well done, Chuck, that was most entertaining, and with very nice pics for us. Although, speaking as a traditionalist, I do have a sort of lurking doubt about the mental state of anyone who (a) chooses to fly an aircraft with wings that fold up; and even more (b) chooses to land the thing on an aircraft carrier. But hey, it takes all sorts.... Cheers, bruce a.k.a. brian747

Brilliant stuff, Matt! Of all the unwelcome pax, the ones related to senior management (and who keep reminding you about it) have got to be the worst — so huge congratulations for not jettisoning the woman at the first opportunity. Your beer was hard-earned (and I'll bet it felt long overdue). I enjoyed your PIREP, too, in case you hadn't gathered. Cheers, bruce a.k.a. brian747

@John > "...mostly can't pee when their pants are unzipped anyway." I seriously hesitate to speculate how you are privy to such information, John. X-) @Tony Sorry about that, Tony, it takes all sorts, and all that. But a hugely warm welcome, regardless! Cheers, bruce a.k.a. brian747

Looks fascinating, Joe! If I ever did develop an unexpected yen for little puddle-jumpers, this looks like a great one to start with. (High praise, from me). 88-) Cheers, B.

Great pics, Graeme! Looks very much as though you're having a blast -- well done. Cheers, bruce a.k.a. brian747

Great pics and a great PIREP, John! Funny: I don't think I've ever stayed in your Shann Kalay hotel, and yet your description of it seemed eerily familiar.... Perhaps it's part of a chain. 8) Cheers, bruce a.k.a. brian747

It certainly looks like an excellent destination: thank you, James! In retrospect (and as things have advanced), it seems as though Orbx could profitably spend some time on a revamp of their original Oz heartland..... Cheers, B.