Truth be told, I haven't had a comprehensive experience with a desktop simulator since I was in high school which was over 15 years ago. That all changed when CigDangle Santa Claus'd me Microsoft Flight Simulator X: The Deluxe Edition. As is stated in my bio on this website, for the most part I have been several steps behind most of the gaming trends. However, through my work as a professional pilot I have flown either "the real McCoy" or the multi-million dollar full-motion simulator version of some of the aircraft featured in MSFS X. This latest version of the game provides something for everyone: Painstaking authenticity for certified pilots, an effective first-step learning tool for would be pilots, and just the right level of fun for the gamer.

From my perspective I want a desktop flight simulator to be realistic enough that a novice will be able to have fun with it and feel as though they learned something about flying. MSFS X does this very well. Upon installing the software you have 3 options: "I'm brand new", "I'm a flight sim veteran", and "I'm a pilot". Depending on your choice you get a specific amount of hand-holding from the program.

I chose Madison, WI (KMSN) as the first airport to fly out of since that's where I first learned to fly and I was very familiar with the topography. I used a Logitech Wingman Attack 2 joystick as my controller and the default settings provided by Microsoft worked well since I wasn't quite ready to spend a lot of time customizing the buttons. More on controllers later.

The forward looking view has several options in MSFS X: Virtual, 2-D Cockpit, a stripped down view, and no instruments at all. The 2-D Cockpit is the most functional if you are flying with a Stick-Mouse combination to manage the airplane. It also features a "quick look" effect when you bump the HAT switch, which is great for the traffic pattern when you have to look quickly to the side to check your position and get back to looking at the instrument panel. This view also has the quick-launch buttons located on the panel to see expanded views or windows of your kneeboard, GPS, Radio stack, and landing panel. The virtual cockpit view allows full 360 degree panning but you will not have the quick launch buttons. I found this view best for en-route flying once I had the airplane all "trimmed out".

Back to the flight. I lift off from runway 36 and trim the aircraft for a climb. Trimming in an airplane is all about relieving control pressures; however most joysticks and other controllers are spring loaded so the "feel" of the control pressures being relieved is not there. You have to trim in a more abstract manner, based on how the instruments look.

I bank to the left to head southwest over the city. The detail is incredible. Microsoft has used satellite photo mapping to recreate the terrain below. You can tell that it's an actual photo with the program raising every 5th house or building to a 3-D image. In addition, the program randomly generates buildings which may or may not accurately represent a building on that particular block. But at least they tried and it's a huge improvement over attempts at replicating terrain in past programs. If you look closely at the screenshots the smudges on the windows are actually reflections of items inside the aircraft. There are some shortcomings though. Madison is the capital of Wisconsin and I at least expected they would try to re-create the capitol building but it seems to be only a minor landmark in the eyes of the programmers. Even Mount Rushmore didn't qualify, however a brief flight over NYC showed many of the popular buildings including the Empire State Building, The UN, MetLife and Yankee Stadium.

I return to the airport and setup for a landing. I am impressed with the audio samples used for extending flaps, gear, and other aircraft noises. I flew the King Air 350 and the tortured whining that the gear makes during its cycle sounded just like the real airplane. While I think some progress has been made in simulating the landing depth perception problem, it's still hard to know when you touch down whether it was a "greaser" or a "thud".

Learning to Fly
While experienced pilots seek that tactile feel on the landing, this simulator or its previous versions were never intended to refine landing technique; they were intended to teach overall flying. That's where I feel this version truly hits its stride. In this game you can chose two ways to learn the basics of flying. The first is to go to the Learning Center section of the menu and take step-by-step lessons. They include lesson plans just like if you were to go to a flight school. Each lesson is taught by aviation humorist and longtime instructor Rod Machado who is very good at making learning to fly fun. In addition the online portion of the game allows you to hook up with a friend who can connect to your airplane and "virtually" sit in the right seat and give you lessons. At the learning center there are also many reference materials on all aspects of flying.

The second way to learn how to fly is a little more fun and is more for the gamer. The menu has a Missions page where it starts you with a basic mission of taking off and landing. They use an Air Creations Trike Ultralight and place you at Edwards Air Force base on same runway they use to land the Space Shuttle. Through step-by-step instructions you learn to take off and fly through big square gates in the sky. After completing that mission you move onto another one, this time you are flying a different airplane and it's to accomplish different tasks like dropping a flour bomb on a target, landing on a moving bus, flying a sailplane and learning about thermals, or taxing different types and sizes of aircraft. As you complete each mission you learn how to use the game and also how to fly. The last mission requires you to land a helicopter on a burning oil platform. I recommend you have rudder twist control or pedals before you try to fly any of the helicopters. This pilot "died" many times without it.

Other fun features include the ability to play online with other pilots. A cursory look found scores of servers out there that host airports which you can fly in and out of. It's a great way to learn the rules of the air by following directions from air traffic control.

The Techie Stuff
I played around with the resolution and graphics settings a bit and it all comes down to what your card and you can handle. I found that Microsoft's default graphics settings and 1280x768x32 full screen resolution worked well for my video card and gave me a nice look with minimal choppiness. You can fly MSFS X in full-screen or window mode or a combination of both. One cross country flight I flew in full screen but had the GPS in a floating window. Now if only I could do that in my real airplane! Microsoft's minimum and recommended hardware configurations can he found here.

Since MSFS X is so complex, I don't recommend trying to fly some of the higher-end aircraft with just the keyboard because you will make yourself crazy. After trying to fly the helicopter with a joystick without 3-D rudder twist and crashing many times I went to Best Buy and found the Saitek AV8R-01. What makes this one better than the Logitech Extreme Pro 3D (other than they are the same price) is that it has dual throttles for multi-engine flight, 4 toggle switches and a 3 position mode switch on the base. On the top of the stick you have a HAT button, trigger, and 3 buttons including a red-lighted rocket-launcher button with flip-guard. This last feature raises this joystick to an "8" on the "Bad Ass" scale. I programmed the toggle switches for trim and flaps, and the mode switch to change cockpit views. Now I only take my hand off the stick occasionally to use the mouse to flip a switch on the instrument panel. This controller is a nice intermediate step to a more expensive yoke and pedals set-up.

Blue side up kids!

 Additional links:
Download Add-on aircraft here
Download PDF of tweaks of MSFS X based on your hardware configuration here

TurboGoat earned his first license 17 years ago. He is certified to teach and has acquired many Certificates and ratings including Airline Transport, instrument, rotorcraft, seaplane, and multi-engine. He can teach in and fly a range of aircraft from small single-engine piston airplanes up to large corporate jet aircraft. He has over 4000 hours of flight time, including 1500 of instruction. Of the aircraft available in MSFS X, TurboGoat has flown: the Mooney Bravo, the Piper J3 Cub, the King Air 350, and the Cessna 172, of which he owns a 1971 model. Currently, he flies a Gulfstream II, an aircraft that is similar in size and performance to the CRJ 700 (available in MSFS X).

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