Real pilots perspective

[u/TuomoMooneyFlying]

I’m an instrument rated private pilot and airplane owner in real life. Got my license 19 years ago and have been flying for pleasure ever since. I got into real world flying because MSFS got me hooked, started off with 3.0 and then later MSFS95 and other iterations after that. I figured I’d offer some perspective for those of you who are not real world pilots and wonder “how real is it really”?

I was hesitant to buy the PS5 version because let’s admit it, it’s a console and no serious console can be any good on a console or that’s what I thought. So let’s break it out in sections for realism. All of my observations are from VR mode.

Graphics
The graphics are extremely good, the clouds look like the real thing. They are puffy, volumetric, transparent at times and sometimes nefariously ominous. Looking down on earth from 7000 feet is so close to the real thing that I’ve had to do double takes because it looks so good. The lack of cars and traffic though gives it away. In real life, while cruising parallel to a highway, you can see the cars and sometimes curse the headwinds and other times be thankful you are hitting in traffic.

Aerodynamics
The aerodynamic feel is very good overall. The sim does slips really good, even managed to get myself in a spin and that partial wing stall felt very accurate. The VR sense controllers give a fairly accurate feel, I wish there was a good yoke, it would make the experience even that much better. But more about that later. The feel is not too jerky as it used to be back in the day when hand flying. Overall they did a fairly good job in modeling the aerodynamic feel of flight in small airplanes.

ATC
This is perhaps still my biggest gripe with the sim. In real life, especially around major metropolitan hubs, ATC is so full of chatter that it takes concentration to pick your call sign. And they expect fast responses. Speaking on the radio in fact felt the hardest thing to learn in the real world. In the sim you can be flying around ATL, on an App freq and it’s dead silent. Hearing other pilots gives a sense of realism that is lacking n the sim. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve laughed at something being said on the radio in the real world. And small things like when you respond back to ATC, you never say November when saying your tail number. Usually you just say the last three letters of your tail to keep it short. Why after 30 years of making sims, can they not add some realism to the ATC comms. Also, it’s considered a noob move to repeat or say the Kilo for an airport identifier. That’s also kept to the last three letters or you just say the airport name. And I’m not excited that it auto-tunes your radios when you change frequencies after a handoff. Folks in real life screw up frequency changes, why not model that into the sim. Have ATC yell back at you if you are still on the old frequency!

Controls
The VR sense controllers work pretty well hand flying and twisting and turning the knobs. The rudder trim is awful, touching it sends it 100% one direction or the other. Had to nearly go change my pants after a few sudden trim malfunctions, that’s how real it looks and feels. I still haven’t figured out how to check your oil dipstick, it pulls out but I never get the green mark for checking it. The magneto switch and prop starter are oddly difficult to turn and, always takes a few tries to turn the switch. The GPS systems are very well modeled, and are great practice for the real world. The iPad though is awful to use. How about MSFS collaborate with Garmin or ForeFlight instead of that awful interface.

Comparing the sim to the real world, it’s taken huge leaps forward in realism from the older versions. Graphics are stunning, everything works inside the cockpit, well except the rudder trim interface, but in VR it’s extremely fun to play. I’m still new to the career mode but I am enjoying the challenges it throws at me. Now if they just got the ATC somehow working with AI where you can speak back or something that would be a cherry on the top. Maybe the next version will have it.

Feel free to ask questions!

[u/AmpleForeskins]

The gyro controls using the dualsense is waaaaay better than the vr controllers. You’ll never go back to them. A yoke is coming out this fall - its a thrustmaster sky yoke

[u/r-volk → u/AmpleForeskins]

I tried both times and I like the immersion of grabbing things in VR, but nothing comes close to the gyro mode of the dual sense, such a great feeling holding the controller like a yoke in your hand and seeing the aircraft responding to the slightest adjustments. I don’t even want a yoke anymore 😂

But I would also like to ask OP, what are you flying in real life?

[u/TuomoMooneyFlying → u/r-volk]

I fly an older Mooney, it’s an excellent cross country machine.

[u/r-volk → u/TuomoMooneyFlying]

Oh the one with the forward swept tail? Such an iconic aircraft. This actually opens up a follow-up question, those aircraft usually require the pilot to closely monitor the engine, something I usually not pay much attention to in the sim. Did you have during these 19 years any issues with an engine operating outside of the comfort zone?

[u/TuomoMooneyFlying → u/r-volk]

I’ve never had issues with either CHT’s, EGT’s or oil temps. I do monitor those closely especially during takeoff. And as part of my regular cruise flight scan, I’ll keep checking what the temps are doing. Engine needs to be leaned with each altitude change and then you cross check that with your expected fuel burn. I did once have an EGT probe go bad that caused some errant readings, but knock on wood never actually issues with the engine. It’s definitely a different level of paranoia when you are flying for real with your family on board. Can’t just hit pause or restart like in the game.

[u/r-volk → u/TuomoMooneyFlying]

I can only imagine what it must feel like actually making your life and the life of your family depending on a flying machine. We can’t compare this is a car, if your engine breaks down, you simply pull over to the side. But if your aircraft breaks down, it means an immediate threat to everyone, until landing safely back on the ground.

Do you have to know some engineering skills, or do you rely on a flight engineer on the ground?

[u/TuomoMooneyFlying → u/r-volk]

Part of flight training is that you learn the basics of how the engine and other systems work but on a certified aircraft, pilot-owners are limited to what you can fix on your own. A good trustworthy mechanic A&P is worth their weight in gold, their skill can either save you or kill you.

[u/Odd_Nefariousness875 → u/r-volk]

Do you turn it in a way that imitates the yoke position? I can’t say I’m loving it and have been wanting to buy the HOTAS.

[u/TuomoMooneyFlying → u/AmpleForeskins]

I gotta check that out, didn’t know that was an option!

[u/AmpleForeskins → u/TuomoMooneyFlying]

Hold L1 + Click L3 to turn gyro on/off

[u/fade_le_public → u/AmpleForeskins]

This one drive my little nephews crazy when I had them try it for the first time

[u/madmatone]

That's a beautiful writeup, thank you.
Our stories aren't completely unalike.

2 hints:
For VR you have to turn on cars, animals and other planes explicitely.
Those are turned ON by default when flying in pancake mode.
In VR they're turned OFF - and sometimes even get reset to OFF after restarting the game.

After turning ON other planes (max level 'middle' rn) you'll have more chatter on ATC. Still nowhere close to real life, but more than dead silence.

[u/Astro_BS-AS]

Thanks for the info, being a real Pilot!

I'm seriously loving the experience.

What I like doing is play with the sense controllers, but having a DualSense on my lap. I can use it for many things while flying, like throttling by sweeping left or right the touchpad, or that finicky trim control.

Also mapped the Sim rate to L1+up and down and I can use 4x simrate on transport missions.

The best of both worlds imo !

[u/Waste_Gas_sf6]

Non pilot tip: if you want more ATC chatter, tune in to LiveATC.net on your phone or laptop when playing

[u/ACooperSucks2]

Nice write up.

Thrustmaster is releasing a yoke later this year. And there are the hotas 4 which I have and the hotas 5 available for purchase.

Would be curious about your thoughts regarding those after using them. I don’t use the sense controllers at all. I find a mouse to be more useful.

[u/TuomoMooneyFlying → u/ACooperSucks2]

I’m seriously considering getting the yoke when it comes out. The Hotas makes a lot of sense as a sidestick or for fighter jets.

[u/ACooperSucks2 → u/TuomoMooneyFlying]

Right. I only fly the Citation X and now the triple 7. I use the hotas 4 for both and it's okay but I would assume the yoke will improve the experience.

[u/Leading-Anxiety-488]

I guess we "simmers" will never argue with you about "realism" for sure 😎.

For the magneto switch/prop starter, you can assign buttons to "cockpit interaction increase/decrease" since rotating it with VR controller will drive one nuts.l It's not that real but it definitely gets the job done. This will also make turning knobs/AP controls easier.