Bruce (a.k.a. brian747)
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Posts posted by Bruce (a.k.a. brian747)
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Hi Wayne!
> "....just want to be sure PFPX works with the 320 in P3Dv2..."
Two different questions, there. As far as P3D is concerned, I can't help from my own experience since I don't have it, but I understand that all that you do is specify the P3D base directory in the Export dialog instead of the standard FSX base -- just to make sure that the route gets exported to the right place.
Again, I'm not an Airbus person, but you'll find a section of PFPX called the Aircraft Editor.
If you take the option to add an aircraft from a template, there's a formidable list of aircraft you can use as a starting point:
You can either use the aircraft as-is or edit it to suit your own requirements.
Good luck! (I'd suggest checking out some of the videos and tutorials mentioned in my review to get a feel of things, before you start).
Cheers,
bruce
a.k.a. brian747
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( See also my post at http://forum.mutleyshangar.com/index.php/topic/18638-world-flight-2015/#entry144889 )
There is a 62-page 66,000 word Route Guidance Manual available, which covers all of the Simfest UK World Flight Trips and offers some specific guidance too, and is written by a former BA Training Captain. It's downloadable from the Simfest web site (from this page - http://www.simfest.co.uk/blog/ ) and is an unmissable read if you're into Airliner flying.
Peter has put an enormous amount of work into this, and the result is a document with many valuable insights, laced with a certain amount of astringent Captain's humour.
The download is free, although you are asked to consider making a donation to their chosen charity — when you've seen the manual, I'm sure you'll think it's worth it!). 
Cheers,
bruce
a.k.a. brian747
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The Simfest UK World Flight starts at 2300Z (tonight, Saturday) and arrives back at their starting point 1030Z next Saturday.
Breaking news: Britjet has completed his comprehensive Route Guidance Manual which is now available to download (from the same URL as given above). "The manual gives you information and tips for each of the 45 legs in a humorous yet in-depth manner. The guide is 62 pages long, over 66,000 words and has taken Peter well in excess of 500 hours to create, so you can have the benefit of the experience and knowledge of a real world Training Captain."
In other words, if you're into Airliners then you'd be crazy not to want to read it (and the manual also contains the schedule of all the Simfest flights, too). Those flights will all be streamed at http://www.twitch.tv/simfestuk as previously mentioned.
As an example of Britjet's subtle (?) BA Captain's humour, I leave you with an extract from the manual — Appendix 5.
Appendix 5 USA Operations(To all former colonials - please bear in mind that this is a slightly “tongue in cheek” guide by a Limey!).To fly successfully IFR in the USA – observe the following:-1) Talk fast on the R/T and do what you are told. If you can, try and sound really “laid back” at the same time. Stuff like “We’ll mosey on down to two-three-zero” is really cool.2) QNH is called “altimeter”.3) Transition Altitude is 18,000ft everywhere.4) It is normal practice on Clearance to just read back only Transponder code unless you have a question. If there is a specific change to your flight plan then you read it all back.5) Don’t expect a controller to use 1 word when 10 will do – it’s a legal requirement..6) Most US SIDS, if not RNAV, start off with “fly runway heading”, or similar. In this case just take-off in TOGA and engage the appropriate HDG SEL at 400ft.7) Departure frequency can sometimes be a bit of a mystery and this will not be helped when the Tower controller tells you to “Call Departures”. Do some homework or ask.8) By all means brief thoroughly beforehand at major airports for the most likely runway that is into wind, of a reasonable length, and has the shortest taxi distance to your gate. You won’t get it.9) If you accept a “visual approach” this means that ATC are no longer responsible for separation from aircraft ahead of you.10) Information about the latest ball game score is a really good idea. Particularly in the 4th quarter…11) Expect a clearance to land even though the approach ahead of you looks like something out of Star Wars.12) You can be “cleared” for a STAR or be told to “descend via”. The former means horizontal track only, while the latter means that you can descend to all the levels and altitudes without further clearance.13) Be sure to tell everyone what your “ride” is like.14) Descent clearances expect idle thrust.15) “Pilot Discretion” means you can decide when you want to descend eg “ Descend FL240, Pilot discretion”.16) Below 10,000ft you MUST observe the 250kt speed limit.17) A direct routing will be followed by the statement “Rest of route unchanged”. That means that the rest of the route is unchanged. 18) “Cleared as requested” or “ I have your request” are common phrases.19) “Taxi to gate” is a favourite. Good luck with that.Enjoy World Flight!
Cheers,brucea.k.a. brian747-
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I've just found this (apologies if it's been posted before) — footage of the Royal International Air Tattoo display 2015, but from INSIDE the Vulcan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kuE9A8bOzQ
Cheers,
B.
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Just two days to go....
B.
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Great PIREP, John! My word, though, you are accident-prone — but I'm happy that everything worked out OK for you in the end.
Loved the background stuff, too.
Cheers,
bruce
a.k.a. brian747
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Good luck, Wayne!
Sure there's a bit to learn, but you'll have lots of fun along the way.
Jess is our friendly local Airbus expert, as I'm sure you know.
Enjoy,
Cheers,
B.
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Yup, it's that time of year again, when simmers undertake many flights to circumnavigate the globe in support of their local charities.
In my case, I'll be supporting the Simfest group, who operate two home-built simulators here in the south-east of England: a 747 simulator which is a few miles away from me, and a 737 simulator in "North London". To quote their "Who are we?" page —
"We're a collection of friends who raise money for charity by building and flying full sized cockpit flight simulators. We arrange and partake in various events throughout the year which challenge the crew and broadcast the video live of the results for you to watch. We donate our time and simulators for free and don't ask for any payment or subscription to watch our feed but rather ask that if you enjoy what you see that you donate to our charity of the year.
We have raised over £27,000 for various charities including the London Air Ambulance, RNLI, Dreamflight, Cancer Research UK, Grace For Gulu and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.
Last year we raised £4,573 for the Thames Valley And Chiltern Air Ambulance Trust.
This year we will be raising money for The Cure Parkinson’s Trust."
So it's a great cause, and these guys take their flying very seriously, not least now they have been joined by Peter ("Britjet"), who is a recently-retired BA 747-400 Training Captain (and a fellow PSX enthusiast — flying an approach into Heathrow under his highly-critical eye in his own home cockpit was one of the most nerve-wracking experiences of my simming life!). Peter has already published his Route Guidance document for the first 25 legs of the flight, with more to come. It's a great read, with an experienced pilot's insights into the places along the route (Appendix 2 also discusses how to fly into the old Kai Tak, advice which is hard to find from someone who has done it many times in real life), and it's downloadable from the Simfest site which is here:
http://www.simfest.co.uk/blog/
The live feed is (or will be, once the flights begin) here:
http://www.twitch.tv/simfestuk
To quote the Simfest web site again (still on the topic of Peter's document):
"Britjet has spent hundreds of hours flying and re-flying each leg to make the guide as comprehensive as possible and therefore we ask you to consider donating to our charity of the year in way of recognition of your enjoyment reading and using his guide. Be sure to mention it's for his RGM in the message box as I am sure this will drive him to complete the last 20 legs ASAP."
I highly recommend it, as both informative and entertaining reading. Furthermore, as a bonus for PSX flyers, bundled with Peter's document you will also find all the PSX Situation files to be able to fly alongside the Simfest team during the event. (I only met one other PSX flyer at our stand at Cosford, but you never know, there may be others lurking...).
So do join in, and please support your World Flight team's chosen charity. The schedule for SimfestUK's first five days is as follows:
Sat 31st October 2015 SYDNEY
2300-0105 YSSY YPAD ADELAIDE
Sun 1st November 2105
0155-0505 YPAD YPPH PERTH
0555-0755 YPPH YPLM LEARMONTH
0845-1145 YPLM WIII JAKARTA
1235-1440 WIII WMKK KUALA LUMPUR
1530-1740 WMKK VTBS BANGKOK
1830-2215 VTBS VHHH (or VHHX) HONG KONG
2345-0155 VHHH (or VHHX) ZSPD SHANGHAI
Mon 2nd November 2015
0245-0455 ZSPD ZLLL LANZHOU
0545-1005 ZLLL UTTT TASHKENT
1055-1345 UTTT UWWW SAMARA
1435-1615 UWWW UUDD MOSCOW DOMDEDOVO
1705-1830 UUDD ULLI ST PETERSBURG
1920-2120 ULLI ENGM OSLO
2210-0005 ENGM EDDP LEIPZIG
Tuesday 3rd November 2015
0055-0255 EDDP LFPG PARIS CHARLES DE GAULLE
0425-0545 LFPG EGLL LONDON HEATHROW
0635-0845 EGLL LEMD MADRID BARAJAS
0935-1145 LEMD DTTA TUNIS
1235-1440 DTTA LGAV ATHENS
1530-1735 LGAV OLBA BEIRUT
1825-2040 OLBA OTHH DOHA
2340-0215 OTHH OYAA ADEN
Wednesday 4th November 2015
0305-0555 OYAA HKJK NAIROBI
0645-1045 HKJK FNLU LUANDA
1135-1555 FNLU FHAW ASCENSION
1645-2130 FHAW SBGL RIO DE JANEIRO
2220-0240 SBGL SPQU AREQUIPA
Have a great World Flight, everyone, whichever team you support!
Cheers,
bruce
a.k.a. brian747
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> "... I now want to learn something bigger..."
Congratulations! That sounds like a Plan, to me. Even if you are thinking Airbus rather than Boeing.
> "...then theres real life..."
Ah c'mon, Wayne. 'Real life' is just an illusion brought on by inadequate alcohol intake.
Simming is the reality! The other stuff is just what we do to be able to get back to simming.
(Yes, two of my pink pills please, nurse, and this time try not to slam the lid of the box).
Cheers,
bruce
a.k.a. brian747
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Great find, Steph — thank you.
A fascinating article! I have to wonder, though, how the M.o.D. would react if someone turned a Typhoon into a "flying pub". <sigh>
And no doubt Elf and Safety would have something to say, too....
Cheers,
bruce
a.k.a. brian747
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Well done, Steph, and huge congratulations on a humdinger of a first PIREP!
A great tale, well told, and with pics to match: thank you.
Cheers,
bruce
a.k.a. brian747
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Off to a flying start, then! (sorry, couldn't resist it).
Lovely retro aircraft — congratulations!
Cheers,
bruce
a.k.a. brian747
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No apologies needed, Wayne! I haven't even *bought* any version of P3D (yet), I'm just pressing my nose against the shop window, so to speak....
Cheers,
B.
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Although my understanding is that when v4 comes out most people would simply cancel their developer's license for v3 and take out one for v4?
(Of course I'm skipping over the fun part, like uninstalling all your add-ons and then reinstalling them in the new version, but then we all love doing that, that's why we're flight simmers, isn't it?).
Cheers,
B.
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@Phil
Hello, and welcome to the Hangar!
Regarding your hardware, first of all — it's a great spec, and there are just a few points that I would make. First of all, 16Gb should be enough for a 32 bit program like FSX / SE/ P3Dv3 together with all the add-ons that you will end up running at the same time. (Don't forget about the extras, they add up, believe me!). When a 64 bit sim arrives, that situation might change (who knows?), so make sure that you have room to upgrade (i.e. check your motherboard and ask your supplier how many free slots are left when 16Gb is provided). Be aware, though, that sometimes adding extra memory later on voids your overclock, notably if you change the number of sticks being used....
Then there's the SSD. 1000Gb of SSD may sound like a lot (in fact it is a lot, even at current prices), but TBH I'd seriously recommend getting something like a 2Tb HD as well, and then getting into the habit from the very beginning of using that to store all the static stuff that you don't want cluttering up your expensive SSD — some scenery updates, for example, are very easily into the Gb range when you download them. Then there's videos, photos, music — all that stuff ends up taking up a lot of space, and being used seldom doesn't need the performance of an SSD. I have Windows 7 and a very large FSX installation on my C: drive (which is a 512Gb SSD), and everything else on multiple Tb of HD (see my specs, below), but YMMV.
I assume that the 1050W PSU was predicated on the basis of two graphics cards? Otherwise it seems rather a lot (but adds comparatively little to the price, and certainly does no harm, especially if you start with one but might add another graphics card later).
As to the O/S, many would say that for FSX Windows 7 is still the best place to be, but for P3Dv3 Joe seems to be happily using Windows 10. (I'm still on W7, so can't comment).
Good luck, whatever your choice, and don't forget to let us know how you got on.
@Richard
There was a lot of recent discussion about P3D license types in this thread: http://forum.mutleyshangar.com/index.php/topic/18339-which-version-of-p3d-do-you-have-and-what-made-you-choose-it/?hl=academic#entry143144
Cheers,
bruce
a.k.a. brian747
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@Joe
> "...yes it's P3Dv3..."
OK, no surprises, then.
When I've finished my current project I had thought of giving it a go in my 744 (having seen pics of the truckies oops sorry Hercules drivers doing it), but with a significantly greater wingspan and momentum (not to mention rather less manoeuvrability with flaps down) perhaps it's not a terribly good idea.
Cheers,
bruce
a.k.a. brian747
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Great shots, Joe: looks like you had a blast!
Are you still in P3Dv3?
Cheers,
bruce
a.k.a. brian747
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Great site — thank you, Brett!
Cheers,
B.
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@Geoff
Sounds about right!
@Joe
AFAIK, I don't think that the route is fixed (flight planning is an important part of any Navex), or has ever been officially released into the wild (for reasons not hard to guess). But who knows.... (Adrian - what route did you fly?).
You can find various comments doing the rounds such as: "The Mach Loop (also known as the Machynlleth Loop) refers to a series of valleys in west-central Wales, notable for their use as low-level training areas for fast jet aircraft. The system of valleys lies 8 miles east of Barmouth and is nestled between the towns of Dolgellau to the north and Machynlleth to the south, the latter of which it takes its name from. The training area is within the Low Flying Area (LFA) LFA7, which covers most of Wales".
(I particularly like the use of the word "nestled", in that context).
But I'm out of my comfort zone with this one. JG??
Alternatively, you could always search the iPad (or Android) app store for "BAE Systems Typhoon Time".
Cheers,
bruce
a.k.a. brian747
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@Adrian
Quite honestly, and having spoken to a number of low flying complainers, I doubt very much whether they would notice (or be concerned by) the origin of the aircraft concerned.
We used to take turns at answering the calls in the Ops Room, and after one evening with a particularly tedious series of complaints my colleague finally lost it with one whinger at the other end of the phone. Leaping to his feet, he declaimed into the mouthpiece:
"Right, Madam, so which sort of noise would you prefer? THEIRS OR OURS?"
At which point he slammed down the phone and exited at high speed in the direction of a restorative G&T.
Cheers,
B.
P.S. FSrecorder is a free download. Start at http://www.fs-recorder.net/
You'll find lots of videos on YouTube about how to make videos of yourself, flying in formation with, er, yourself.
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Looks like a great flight, Adrian, well done!
I'll bet there's a few notorious complainers about low flying scratching their heads and wondering where to get Putin's phone number.
Cheers,
bruce
a.k.a. brian747
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Welcome back, Steve!
And congratulations on your bravery with the jump to P3Dv3 (I'm still musing and ruminating and gathering evidence, as you may have noticed).
I'm sure that I'm not the only one who'll be very interested to hear how it went for you.
Cheers,
bruce
a.k.a. brian747
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Ah but, you see, Joe, as an old techie from before the dawn of time I had taken the precaution of putting in place a dummy skeleton P3D installation (with appropriate registry entries) that fooled the other installers I tried, which duly offered me a P3Dv3 install option. So that's why I was a little puzzled when something as comparatively unimportant as HD trees seemingly couldn't cope.
Thank you for the suggestion,
but my puzzlement remains, nonetheless.It was probably something as mundane as an uncleared cache, or something. Either that or my skeleton was missing a vital vertebra.
And as time goes by, Orbx will, I'm sure, increasingly get its act together. As for me, the opposite is probably the case.
It was an interesting experiment, though, and the important components performed as advertised.
Cheers,
Brian
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Hi Wayne!
That's quaint, I redownloaded it too, this morning, twice (from two different Orbx sources), and neither of the downloads offered the option of installing to P3Dv3 (as screenshot).
I dunno....
Cheers,
B.
Simfest World Flight: Route Guidance Manual
in Commercial Airliners
Posted
Cheers, Joe!
They're about 15 minutes into it, as I type this.
Cheers,
B.