My experience ,,, Oh My !

[TeiscoDelRay]

I did buy it and after a few hours will say I am amazed...very amazed...
Ok,,,about 20 years ago my buddie managed a small grass strip airport called McBride field near Marion Iowa..on this field was a small old house we kept our large radio control planes in that we flew at this field..also there was a medium sized metal hangar next to it that my buddie Burt kept his Cessna and a couple other planes.


I flew RC off that field for years and also got to fly Burts Cessna including takeoff and landings so I know exactly how a Cessna behaves in the Iowa air.


Ok, so I thought I should try this new sim and see what is what and what is not. First I went to the Cedar Rapids airport and it was nice,,things were where they should be..so next I thought, but did not think they would include, McBride field.


O my,,,really shocked..I set up my Cessna outside the lone Hangar and started the sim....The hangar was correct and in place but more than that the little old house we used for storage was there,,in the correct place and looking almost exactly like that house; C ave was there and correct and the narrow grass/dirt road from C ave to the field was correct..


There were the trees at the end of the runway like real life,,the ones I was always concerned about when landing from that direction.


This was like I had taken photos of the field and opened them up in the sim.I just dont know how they did this,,really ?


Ok the Cessna,,,I flew real Cessnas so I took the Cessna off from the grass strip and I have to say thas was like reliving a memory...it flew like the one I flew..bouncing around in that Iowa sky, turing like real ( I can image hearing Burt yelling "More Rudder!" like the old days...


And now the bad....Major problem is you cannot add your favorite airplane. It is like Microsoft wants to keep this all to their selves,,,not good for us simmers, maybe ok for Xbox gamers..

Also download is a nightmare,,,loading times are "go read a book, come back later" And,,,setting up your controls,,,lol.


Screen shots included.

[Ganter]

Pretty good isn't!

My little local grass strip is there in 100% accurate detail too.

Now, has anyone got a wide-barrel grass mower. . .we sure need them.

[dvj]

After spending 10 years tuning FSX, adding sceneries and features, you'll find plenty that's missing from the new offering. It has an inexcapable feeling of freshness that pulls you in however. Some of the environmental landscapes are stunning. For fun, I've been going to all the places on my bucket list.

[Alan_A]

And now the bad....Major problem is you cannot add your favorite airplane. It is like Microsoft wants to keep this all to their selves,,,not good for us simmers, maybe ok for Xbox gamers..

Not sure I understand - there aren't any add-ons yet, because the SDK is still under development. But there are multiple add-on aircraft in the works, and they'll be available directly from developers, not just through Microsoft's marketplace.

Or were you referring to adding static aircraft to the scenery? Again, that'll probably follow.

Within a few months, the add-on market will start to resemble what we're used to with FSX/P3D or X-Plane.

I agree with your overall take - I'm really enjoying the sim in spite of its current limitations. Definitely more than the sum of its parts.

[Tom Clayton]

...loading times are "go read a book, come back later"

For me, it was purchase and initial install, then start the ~96GB d/l. I had read about the massive d/l already, so I started the process with the ethernet connected to my normally Wi-Fi laptop. Still, it was start d/l, take a shower, go get lunch, go have a beer at my favorite "club," come home and start exploring.