MarkRey

Tbh I expected something more akin to his portrayal in the movies - a man of action with the cool unusual ship. But then I just described the Mandolorian... Quite like the actor and greatly enjoy the stoic and laid back nature of his character as he establishes himself. As well as his backstory with the Tuskens. He's a good mix, rather than yet another cliche of an unassailable tough guy

Perhaps, but what's compelling for me is MCAS needing only 61 seconds to actively fly an otherwise airworthy aircraft into the ground. Even an incompetent FO on his worst day would likely not have. The need for suitable candidates properly trained can never be overstated and must be addressed. But this aircraft was grounded because it was fundamentally, massively flawed by a badly implemented system it didn't even need except to augment it's control feel. This in order to retain it's great grandfather's certification.

Short answer - money. Upgraded hardware/FS steadily fs4 till fs9, which got everything thrown at it $$$ plus a ton of back end work. Got so I was tweaking, learning, modding and painting more than flying - that hamster wheel Time FSX rolled around I was sort of burnt out, and as an almost exclusively airliner simmer couldn't bring myself to reinvest in rebuilding it all in FSX (and folks were tweaking more than EVER!). Plus other interests got my attention - this was key. Even if I wanted to, couldn't afford a more expensive than ever FS plus my other even more expensive interests. And, FS9 was going on stronger than any superseded sim before it. So just 'settled' with good enough till I just stopped entirely. Haven't flown in years, but FS2020...wow

Fs isn't designed to handle the kind of AI loads we throw at it. So helping it do so is a multifaceted science with tools covering everything from airport parking and runway useage to ai aircraft themselves. Regarding Ai traffic, here's a few things I remember: Here in the library, fs9 configurator 'fs9cfg16.zip' can be used to increase taxi speed as mentioned, while Ai Separation 'fsaisv1.1.zip' can be used to improve Ai traffic efficiency. Also Google 'AiSmooth', which often is used in conjunction with Ai Separation, or just by itself. It's still available all over the place.

Don't remember if ACA2005 has this among it's fault finding capabilities, but missing effects (.fx) files can cause this as well. WOAI is notorious for this, referencing non default .fx files in their aircraft.cfgs, like Nick's smoke, or even Shockwave light effects :blink: . Every time another AI aircraft wants that effect, cpu cycles are wasted hunting. Simplest fix is create a copy of an equivalent default .fx file and renaming it accordingly, Or if not too many aircraft.cfgs are involved, just edit them instead. But finding which ones requires a utility like Process Explorer (which is also just generally useful in finding issues which waste cpu cycles within fs generally.)

My very deepest condolences to Mr Allensworth's family and other loved ones. May time turn tears of sorrow into tears of fond remembrance. Rest well Tom - you earned it and then some.

Relevant aircraft.cfg would be in your Flight Simulator 9/Aircraft/PMDG737-700 (I don't know what PMDG named their old 737 folders but you get the idea)

I don't know you personally, but my heart too hit the floor. You exemplify the kind of guts I'd want to display in such a situation. Thank you sir for creating a place where I could go to relax all these years, a place of cordiality, discipline, camaraderie and learning. Your steady stewardship has meant more to me than I can ever begin to express. Godspeed Tom, wherever the road leads, strength to you and family in this challenging time.

"Prepar3D Proudly Welcomes Captain Sim" Guess LM likes candy too

Objectively, who says this isn't their 'A' game? Few have PMDG's multifaceted depth of talent and ability to reproduce every bulb, switch and pogo stick inside out. Clearly iFly does a lot of things very well - for instance that fs9 744 vc approaches fsx level in detail, they broke some poly barrier there it seems. Lighting and virtual ergonomics seem to be ongoing things with them, but they listen to and directly interact customers, and are still building their talent. If the 737 evolution was any indication, the 744 is just getting started. Sounds like an iFly defense, but it's not - just saying generally devs should do their individual best and let customers decide.

The model has a 'center' position at coordinates 0.0, 0.0, 0.0 - lights and such are positioned forward, aft, left, right, above and below this position. Forward, left and up are positive, aft, right and below are negative values. In your example 25.31 looks like forward distance along the fuselage, 6.67 and -6.67 are left and right (or right and left - not totally sure), and 1.70 is height. I'd guess for the longer 319 and shorter 321 you would need to experiment mostly with '25.31'. Just backup you aircraft.cfgs and go crazy - that's how you learn this stuff.

There was a pic of their 744 configurator showing some advanced options to help make long haul easier (time compression, automatic fuel config etc). Plus the internal 3d modeling especially is vastly updated compared to PMDG's old model, let alone their own freeware. Then you add all the features of their 737 and more - it's a new plane altogether. Can't say I'll bite however, just not in the market for a 744 :mellow: ..but we'll see.

It's one thing to be bored during a flight for lack of things to do. It's another thing altogether to be bored with virtual civilian flight itself. Could be wrong but the weariness I think the OP meant is the latter. Typically that person HAS done it all, and over an extended period - I know I have; from choppers to GA to commuters to tubeliners of all ranges. I envy you if you've never been there. Me? Heck just look at my join date.

Tbh when I was really into it I found longhaul LESS boring because of the fewer cycles, hence the the reduced frequency of the fun parts - takeoff/departures and approach/landings. Lh for me has it's own mystique in simming, it's a bigger challenge (with bigger reward) to plan properly depending on route, weather, aircraft etc etc etc. I planned such trips days in advance where applicable. Plus, despite the 'leash' I DID get a lot of other things done (or just slept) Eventually, it ALL become too much anyway, but we're all different.

Over the many years it's a recurring theme for some. The enthusiasm you had for putting together an IFR trip is just...gone, and just makes you shut the pc off. Personally I'm among those who find the only real cure is to just stop and do something else. In my case I found trucking to be a fun alternative to IFR heavy iron flight - same principle of hauling something big and heavy but much simpler to execute and interesting sights along the way. Eventually, hanging around the forums, YT etc, the itch comes back, and off you go into the blue again.