Any free programs for actual real flying physics?

Mecingo · Post by **Mecingo** » Sat Aug 20, 2011 12:44 am

I only had a few opportunities to practice actual flight in simulation, and even had G forces tested on my body. Is there any free programs or if I have to by one I will to learn things such as Arial Combat, In Air Refueling, And Weather Simulation?

It's my dream to become a pilot in general even if I don't get into the combat divisions.

Post by **Marvin** » Sat Aug 20, 2011 12:55 am

Do a search for Orbiter.

Post by **Vice** » Sat Aug 20, 2011 4:15 am

Have you checked out X-Plane? In terms of real-world pilot concepts and training, it's pretty high up on my list:

http://www.x-plane.com/

Mecingo · Post by **Mecingo** » Sat Aug 20, 2011 6:22 am

Thanks all, the X-Plane looks very professional

Post by **DaveK** » Sat Aug 20, 2011 11:00 am

good look with your career choice!

Accountant · Post by **Accountant** » Sat Aug 20, 2011 3:28 pm

X-Plane is awesome. It costs a bit of money, but it is completely worth it. The flight models are based on physics, not hard-coded numbers. And recent versions have substantially improved the eye candy.

Good luck on becoming a pilot! It is a truly fun and rewarding experience. Have you done any introductory flights yet? Most flight schools will take you up for a half hour or an hour and give you an introduction to flying.

Even if you do not become a professional pilot, flying for leisure is great fun. Start with a Private Pilot or Sport Pilot license and see what you want to do from there.

d3drocks · Post by **d3drocks** » Sat Aug 20, 2011 6:08 pm

From post: 113031, Topic: tid=7896, author=Accountant wrote:X-Plane is awesome. It costs a bit of money, but it is completely worth it. The flight models are based on physics, not hard-coded numbers. And recent versions have substantially improved the eye candy.

costs a bit of money? its the same price as evochron :p (at least for now).
its great fun, and better than microsoft flight simulator by far. I've been using it for a few months now, and its just awesome. the "fly on mars" feature and the space shuttle re-entry are very cool.

I do have to say tho, it performs much better in linux than it does on windows. I've tested it on the same machine with windows vista and ubuntu, and i can put the graphics settings substantially higher (and get good performance) on ubuntu than windows.

[Edited on 8-20-2011 by d3drocks]

Accountant · Post by **Accountant** » Sat Aug 20, 2011 6:40 pm

The current price for X-Plane is for version 9. Version 10 should be coming out soon, and historically new releases of X-Plane cost in the neighborhood of $45-$55.

But yeah, great fun with a lot of neat little features. I never spent much time on Mars; I always enjoyed flying the civil aircraft and pretending I followed my first dream of being an airline captain instead of my second dream of being a bean counter. I am eagerly awaiting the version 10 release, as it looks like some nice new features and visuals will be included.

Nigel_Strange · Post by **Nigel_Strange** » Sat Aug 20, 2011 7:51 pm

I got X plane 9 and was not really impressed with it. I think it needs more/better documentation. I am not a pilot, so I need to be introduced to the game. I need to learn what all the gauges do and so on, and X plane, though it has all that stuff, does not really give much guidance.

Now, maybe I just missed it somewhere.

The performance was somewhat better than MS Flight simulator, but I was really looking forward to learning and was not finding what I needed.

Also, with all of the scenery disks, it takes up a sizeable chunk of real estate. I only loaded two scenery disks.

Mecingo · Post by **Mecingo** » Sat Aug 20, 2011 10:36 pm

From post: 113063, Topic: tid=7896, author=Nigel_Strange wrote:I got X plane 9 and was not really impressed with it. I think it needs more/better documentation. I am not a pilot, so I need to be introduced to the game. I need to learn what all the gauges do and so on, and X plane, though it has all that stuff, does not really give much guidance.

Now, maybe I just missed it somewhere.

The performance was somewhat better than MS Flight simulator, but I was really looking forward to learning and was not finding what I needed.

Also, with all of the scenery disks, it takes up a sizeable chunk of real estate. I only loaded two scenery disks.

If it lacks guidance then that would be a problem, might be able to get around it but over all X plane looks good, just need to earn more green before I can buy it.

Post by **Marvin** » Sun Aug 21, 2011 6:33 am

From post: 112948, Topic: tid=7896, author=Mecingo wrote:Is there any free programs or if I have to by one I will to learn things such as Arial Combat, In Air Refueling, And Weather Simulation?

I doubt any PC sim can properly simulate air refueling ... if you find one, check that the stick gets a lot heavier (requiring constant adjustment of pitch trim) as you take on fuel. The aircraft should also become more sluggish and prone to over-correction. And practice your break-away procedures often.

Mecingo · Post by **Mecingo** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 2:29 am

Thanks for all your help, I'll be joining the local civil air patrol pretty soon. So that should help me as well.

Post by **Marvin** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 3:36 am

It should certainly help you with ATC (Air Traffic Control) ... those guys can really ruin a joyflight across Nevada.

d3drocks · Post by **d3drocks** » Wed Aug 24, 2011 4:07 pm

there is always the free and opensource Flight Gear as well

http://www.flightgear.org/

screenshot:

[Edited on 8-24-2011 by d3drocks]

49rTbird · Post by **49rTbird** » Wed Aug 24, 2011 4:34 pm

Cool d3, I will give this one a try.

Post by **Marvin** » Thu Aug 25, 2011 12:03 am

Wow.

Mecingo · Post by **Mecingo** » Thu Aug 25, 2011 12:46 am

Looks great

Maarschalk · Post by **Maarschalk** » Thu Aug 25, 2011 2:46 pm

Very cool...Flightgear that is....

Star King · Post by **Star King** » Fri Aug 26, 2011 2:35 pm

X Plane looks primitive.
Play EM with advanced technology not the primitive technology that uses wheels to land.

Maarschalk · Post by **Maarschalk** » Fri Aug 26, 2011 7:36 pm

LOL Star King!.......

:P:P:P:P:P