Cross Country III
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Aviator90 Episode 33
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{ 41 comments… read them below or add one }
Great Video , thanks Chris!
I rely did enjoy that 1, I was waiting for the use of VOR’s and I finally got to see it in action. Just a question, was that map you showed at different intervals in the video PLAN-G? I have Plan G but it does not quite show up like that, am I doing something wrong?
I did not know too much about VFR Flight Following so that’s something that I learned today! awesome =]
Very cool! There’s more to VFR flight following, as far as more radio calls in between. More than likely we would have switched frequencies a few times during the flight had it been real. ATC tells you who to switch to when they tell you to switch over.
Glad you enjoyed it!
That wasn’t PlanG. That is an actual VFR chart, just like on http://www.skyvector.com or http://www.runwayfinder.com.
Hope that helps!
Hey Chris,
Instead of playing the video there’s a message saying, “Sorry. The creator of this video has not given you permission to embed it on this domain. This is a vimeo plus feature.”
Now, I’ve got new firewall software, so this might be me, but I thought I’d let you know.
Cheers,
Mark
Not seeing anything wrong on this end, Mark. Seems to work fine. Maybe try it again?
I really love these cross country flights, nice work Chris. I also love when you’re putting real world procedures into it for realism (throttle power near hangars/cars etc).
When you departed and called for VFR flight following you told ATC you were 20 miles north of Newport. How did you know it was 20 miles?
I’m only 29 minutes in, so off to watch the rest. I just wanted to ask the question before I forgot.
Thanks
Andrew
Honestly, I just guessed. If I had a GPS I could go to the nearest airport page and do a position report that way, but I knew based on how long I had been flying that I was about 20nm north. I understand that could be a bit advanced, but you could learn to guestimate pretty accurately within 30nm over a short period of time. If you have a GPS to compare your position with, you can get pretty good at it.
Anyway, sorry for the bad answer/non answer/answer. Pretty confusing. Hope it helps a bit.
Yeah that kinda makes sense, although doesn’t seem like a precise art. I’m off to go flying – these episodes always get me in the mood to get off the ground. Usually I’m checking the instruments to make sure I’m at the right altitude and heading and I miss a lot of the scenery. Your videos remind me I can relax a bit and get my head out the cockpit.
Another great video, thank you Chris! But I have a question, maybe it already been here… What’s your computer configuration? FSX+ORBX+REX+Video recording… huh… it might be a NASA server… =)
P.S. Sorry about my english =/
Hey there,
And by the way, thanks for the retweet.
Is FuNjY your real name? If not, please use your real name in the future. Helps us get to know you, that’s all
I use just about what you mentioned, apart from a core2duo quad, a GTX280 video card and some good harddrives. The Core i7 is the stuff to get today. That, along with triple channel DDR3 ram, is the way to go.
Hey Chris,
The area looks spectacular!
Another great video mate. VOR navigation can be quite confusing to start with but I think that you explained the basics of it very well. I noticed as you were flying that the scenery was almost identical to the chart…..gotta luv PNW by OrbX don’t you. Kinda makes me want to go to the area and fly around for real
Anyway keep up the great work.
and you know what
It’s an amazing area to fly in for real, I’ll tell ya what! One of the best aspects about it is the weather. Very challenging but also very beautiful.
Hello Chris, that was a great x-country exercise. Can see you are progressively getting into more depth and detail – I like that! Good ATC advice too…took special note of your CTAF advice. Nice tip for the VOR 1 & 2 set-up…like a map. TO/FROM etc. Probably complete this flight next FS session. The Av90 program has encouraged me to hangar my ‘Heavies’ and back to some GA flying.
Keep it up! cheers Paul
Really great to see you here again, Paul.
Aviator90 has really changed my ‘hear’ as well. I just love flying low and slow and I think I really enjoy it for the first time in FSX. Because I get to do it in real life, I take it for granted. But with the advent of PNW and accompanied by many great aircraft, it’s been an absolute joy.
Excellent Chris,
The cross countries especially are great. I am learning a lot and find your presentation excellent. Time allocation good.
Regards,
Gordon Baker
Right on, Gordon! More of these to come in the coming days!
Hey Chris…
Fantastic episode…. just a few questions…
Why is it not a good idea to start the avionics (flip the switch) before starting the engine?
What is the difference in turning transponder to ALT vs. just ON?
Is that Brendan Farmer’s voice for the flight following ATC?
Ok… thanks man and keep up the great work!
Ralston
Hey man!
1. The power up of the aircraft electrical system can cause spikes that can fry radios. I’m not sure if this is an old pilots tale, but that’s what I was taught.
2. ALT mode has the transponder position reporting AND altitude reporting to ATC. ON will simply be position only.
3. Yes, that is Brendan
Throttle On!
Ralston,
Avionics ON/OFF? Avoid starting the engine with radios and other electrical equipment switched On. Large voltage fluctuations my occur when the starter is engaged and may damage sensitive electronic circuits. Turn On avionics radios etc, After you have checked that the alternator is charging the battery. For the same reasons, turn Off ancillary electrical equipment before shutting down the engine.
Transponder?
Off = Off
On = is the usual active setting for the transponder. It will operate on the code set in the selector window(s)
Alt = when set to Alt, there is an additional feature added to the transponder signal. ALT adds the aircraft’s altitude to the transponder signal….this capacity is referred to as mode ‘C’ and should be used when operating in a radar environment.
Important – when changing codes, always select SBY first and then reselect ALT after a new code is set. ie. when changing squawk codes. This is to avoid ATC receiving mixed or incorrect codes.
Hope this helps you out. cheers Paul.
Never heard of switching to standby, very smart idea especially if you’re on a code that starts with ’7′.
Yep yep…
many thanks! Now I know…
take care…
No Comment another great piece of insruction
I see your having trouble when selecting switches and nobs whilst using tracking gear
If your using Track IR zoom into your switch area and press F9 If using VRInsight hattrack press the End key This freezes the view then just press the key to get back to your tracking view
Mike, great advice for this visual tracking problem. The “Pause” HotKey works perfectly for this situation. I just zoom in on the required area and press F9, sit back and complete the task at hand – to be returned to whatever position I’m in after another press of F9. Meanwhile the plane keeps flying exactly. (not paused). There is also the Precision HotKey too.
Chris, have you tried this out? You need it in that rickety old C185.
BTW – completed my XCtry VOR Newport – Astoria in my Columbia 400 Turbo. Nice flight.
Where did you get a Columbia 400?…
Chris, produced by Eaglesoft Development Group. Here is the direct Link for the Columbia 400 Turbo. http://www.eaglesoftdg.com/Columbia400.htm
It’s my latest acquisition and currently flight testing it. Just like the RL Columbia 400 it’s a regular Rocket Ship ! There is an FSX + FS9 version. Excellent quality and flight dynamics. No major issues. Turbo best represented as possible within MSFS parameters. Avidyne R6 Vertical Panels…very very nice. S-Tec 55 etc. You need to read the manuals and Forums to get the best knowledge base. Check it all out.
cheers Paul.
Oh no! It’s the Avidyne!
This came out a while ago, didn’t it? Eaglesoft is a great little company. They’ve been really quiet lately… That’s a shame because they make great stuff.
Hi Paul I don’t know what the Precision Hot Key is You will have to help me out on this
The Precision HotKey enables Precision mode which temporarily makes the view steadier by increasing the amount of smoothing that is used, when Precision mode is disabled again the smoothing returns to the normal amount for the Profile. Commonly used in Combat Flight Sim when tracking targets in your sights to keep the view as stable as possible. Uses the F7 key by default. It has the effect of ‘dampening’ the axis(s) movements. I find the F9 Pause mode more appropriate for using fiddly Avionics though.
FMI: TrackIR4 Manual Section 5.5.6.4 (HotKeys)
Yet another great episode
Hope you didn’t get too wet in the rain when you went for your potty break
Bruce
The flight wasn’t that long so I didn’t wet my pants if that is what you’re getting at
Thanks for another great video Chris, I liked the cameo by Brenden Farmer as the controller and the flight following stuff has given me some much needed confidence to get up on vatsim.
He’s good, isn’t he? We’ll be addressing VATSIM stuff in AviatorPro.
Hi Chris
i would like to know how do you get the view where you see the nose of the airplane along with the basic instrument. Especially when you taxi it is a very helpfull view. Is it with EZdok? i already made the change in fsx.cfg (widevieasspect=true). that didn’t do it. i hope the hear it!
thank you in advance
Gilles
Hey Gilles,
It’s a mix of both EZDOK and TrackIR. I set TrackIR up so I could lift my head and look up over the dash and onto the cowling. The real Bonanza cowling sits quite high so this is a pretty realistic thing to have to do.
In EZDOK, you should be able to hit page up (or whatever your ‘elevation’ key is).
I was wondering, how do you make the camera zoom-in on certain parts of the cockpit (radio, ligths, etc.)?
It’s called EZDOK camera. It’s available at http://www.flight1.com
Chris, another question…. how are you removing the yoke in the videos?
Thanks
Ted
I think I can help you on that one. If you have the Carenado Cessna try clicking on the yoke
Thanks Bruce. And, here I thought it was something I was missing in FSX. Never thought it was a Carenado option.
Thanks again!
Looks like you found the answer!
Since lately I am unable to download or view any videos. I simply get a black screen with no activity.
Thanking for a solution, because can’t wait till I complete the downloading!
Yeah, a few more comments to go and I’m working on the actual download links.
Shouldn’t be long!