Microsoft Has Made it to the Majors
Written: Aug 28 '02 (Updated Sep 09 '02)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Great realism in all aspects, floatplane, ATC communication
Cons: Incompetent air traffic controllers, expensive.
The Bottom Line: This game is great! I will not need to upgrade to a new version for a long time.
|
|
|
| pete5668's Full Review: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 Professional for W... |
I have owned every version of Microsoft Flight Simulator from version 5.0 all the way to the latest version, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 Professional Edition, with the exception of Flight Simulator 95. This is a great commercial and general aviation flight simulator program. It has been exciting to watch this program develop and grow over the years.
There are several new aircraft available with this version, most notably an amphibious floatplane, the Cessna Caravan Amphibian, that takes off and lands on water or land. There is also a land-based version of the Caravan, a Mooney Bravo, a Beechcraft Baron and King Air 350, and a Boeing 747, in addition to the Boeing 777 and 737, the Cessna 172S, 182S, and 182RG, the Learjet, the Sopwith Camel, and the Extra 300S aerobatic airplane of the past.
Some of my favorite features of this program include the ability to download real weather data, the GPS, air traffic control from flight planning to parking at the destination gate, and scenery as detailed as I have ever seen. Being a Boston Red Sox baseball fan, I tried to land the Bell JetRanger helicopter on second base in Fenway Park. I haven't succeeded yet though. I keep crashing through the windows of the .406 Club above home plate. So, more often than not I just lurk behind the Green Monster waiting for a home run to come over and crash through my windshield. That hasn't happened yet either.
A typical flight for me is a "dinner flight." Once I have dinner ready, I eat at the computer. I file a flight plan for an airport that I can reach in an hour or two, choosing from any of the numerous airports around the world. Once I choose my aircraft, (most often the Learjet or the 737) and my departure and destinations, I click on Flight Planner, choose my cruising altitude, fictional airline name (Landmark) and flight number (12) and save the route to the hard drive. The best thing about this is that, for realism, when you choose your departure airport, you don't have to start on the active runway, which is the default. Almost every airport (except for the tiny cow town strips) has, at least, general aviation and commercial parking or gates of various sizes. Logan Airport even has Gate E as the large gate for the big international flights, which is accurate.
Anyway, back to the cockpit. Tonight's flight originates at Boston's Logan Airport at gate C. I tune the communication radio to Boston Clearance and just sit a while. I can tell I will have lots of company out on the taxiways tonight, as I hear several airplanes requesting clearance per their flight plans. I have my first officer call Boston Clearance Delivery and ask them to copy my IFR flight plan to LaGuardia. This is accomplished by choosing the proper option on the Control Tower interface pop-up box. They respond, clearing me to LaGuardia as filed, telling me to fly runway heading and climb to flight level 310 (31,000 feet), the cruising altitude that I selected. They hand me off to Ground for taxi instructions. You can have the computer automatically work the radios for you, changing the frequencies automatically, like you have a first officer sitting next to you in the right seat.
After switching to Ground, we request taxi to the active runway, which, according to the ATIS (Air Traffic Information Service), is 15R (one-five right). Since I don't really know just how they want me to get to 15R tonight, I request progressive taxi instructions, just so I don't go the wrong way. The larger commercial jets will push back from the gate by using Shift + P to push straight back, Shift + P + 1 to turn the tail left, Shift + P + 2 to push the tail back to the right. The "progressive taxi instructions" aren't verbal instructions at all. The controller just tells you to follow the line drawn on the taxiway.
All turned around, I'm off to runway 15R, joining a line of aircraft of various sizes, from little Cessnas all the way up to the 747 and 777, just like at a real airport. Now and again I hear something like, "Soar 432, hold position, caution the Learjet on the taxiway." One collision can ruin your whole day, and delay lots of other people. Now I know why flight delays are so frequent these days.
While taxiing there's not much else to do, so I set my autopilot's altitude to 31,000 feet and make sure the GPS is active.
Ah, here we are. Holding short of runway 15R at last. I call the tower and let them know that I am at the active runway and I am ready to go. They clear me for takeoff and I ease out onto the runway, set the brakes, and run the engines up. I go through the takeoff procedure on the kneeboard, and away I go.
As soon as the wheels leave the ground, the Tower calls me, telling me to contact Boston Departure on a certain frequency. I acknowledge their call by choosing the option "Acknowledge Handoff" from the pop-up box, and switch frequencies before contacting Departure. Departure then hands me off to the first of a string of Center controllers, Boston Center.
During this whole time, the autopilot is programmed to follow the GPS directly to LaGuardia. This GPS interface takes a while to warm up to, but once you understand it, it is one of the most useful instruments in the cockpit. The autopilot tracks the GPS perfectly.
Once I am about 90 nautical miles from LaGuardia Airport, the controller calls me and gives me a new altitude and heading, so he can vector me in for an approach to the active runway, runway 4. I set the autopilot to fly to the specific heading and descend to the assigned altitude. At this point in the flight, there are lots of heading and altitude changes, and the autopilot does a great job for the most part. The only problem is that the descent is never fast enough for the controller, so I usually set that at about 7000 feet per minute, and the plane seems to drop fast enough for the controller to stop bugging me. I would imagine that at that descent rate, the airsick bags would be in use back in the cabin!
When the plane is lined up on final, the controller automatically clears me to land, and says what number I am for landing (number 1, number 2, etc.).
Sometimes, especially when flying the bigger jets, such as the 747 and 777, the controller has you fly a very tight pattern better suited for a Cessna 172. By the time you line up on final, you are almost on top of the runway. Flying into Rome one time, I executed a missed approach twice before giving up and just landing on my own. The controller was not happy with me.
Anyway, back to LaGuardia. Once I land, the controller is really impatient, time and time again telling me to "exit runway when able," or "Turn next taxiway." It's hard to exit the runway when you are still doing 120 knots or so. As soon as I exit the runway, the Tower calls again to hand me off to LaGuardia Ground.
With LaGuardia Ground, I request to taxi to the gate. As with taxiing to the runway for takeoff back in Boston, I ask for progressive taxi instruction and I get the pink line that shows me where to go. I taxi in, and stop at the gate Another successful flight.
The above flight is one of the more realistic ways to use Flight Simulator. The realism of the Flight Simulator experience can be adjusted for all levels of user, from the first-timer to the professional. Many characteristics such as aircraft damage, random instrument failures, gyro drift, and fuel limited/unlimited can be changed to taste. You can choose whether you would like real weather or not. The interaction with air traffic control is totally optional. If you just want a quiet, peaceful flight over the mountains, you can opt not to use the air traffic control feature, and the world becomes your own. You can even fly over the beautifully rendered Las Vegas Strip, something that you might not be able to do in real life.
This game is lots more fun if you fly one or more of the lessons first, so that you don't crash as often. It's a great way to experience what so few people ever experience, whether it is flying an aerobatic airplane like the Extra 300S, the floatplane (great for a quick Nantucket weekend) or the World War 1-era Sopwith Camel.
So, fly a lesson or two, and soon you will be flying cross-country. This game is truly "as real as it gets."
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
pete5668
|
|
Reviews written: 12
Trusted by: 1 member
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.