Feature request
 

Really enjoying Aerofly 5. I have a few feature requests for the next version.

Save flight state: As I posted before, it would be nice to be able to save a state, with the plane in a particular position and velocity. For example, one could save the state early in an approach for practicing landings, or save the state in straight-level flight for practicing an aerobatic maneuver. I believe that RealFlight has this, and it was very useful.

Landing/Crash report: It would be nice to know how well I did on a landing or a maneuver. For landing, I'd like to know what was my forward and vertical speed at the moment of touchdown.

Parameter graphs: For landings or maneuvers, a graph of forward and vertical speed (and height) for the last 15 or 30 seconds of flight would be a great way to see how smooth the approach and landing were, or how straight and level a roll was.

Orientation training: As a relatively new flyer, I have trouble with orientation. I've got the basic ailerion reversal when the plane is coming toward me. But learning more complex transformations is difficult. For example, when the plane is coming toward you inverted, the rudder acts differently from when the plane is not inverted, and it reverses again when going away, etc. One learns this by simply flying inverted a lot, but I wonder if additional training tools would make the learning quicker.

For example, I think it would be useful to have a window that does repeated orientation drills. In this mode, Aerofly would pop up a picture of the plane centered in the window in a random orientation in space. It would not be flying, just stationary. The user would then use the sticks to adjust pitch, yaw and roll to right the plane (or rotate it into whatever orientation he/she wanted to learn). I think this would greatly speed the learning curve for orientation. Bonus feature: A report of how LONG it took you to right the plane from the time the image appeared in the window so you could track your improvements.

I've already been exploring writing a little program to do this myself, since it is easy to read the stick settings from the Ikarus interface. But how great it would be if Aerofly did it, since the graphics and 3D rotation is not trivial.

A pause button: This might be there already, but something to halt the action when the phone rings.

Thanks,

David

RE: Feature request
 

Hi David, thank you for your interesting inputs and suggestions! I will forward them to IPACS for their consideration.

RE: Feature request
 

Oh, and one more thing. How do I clear off all the broken bits of balsa and landing gear that accumulate at the end of the runway? I keep having to change scenery...

RE: Feature request
 

If you have crashed, the plane and scenery should restart and reset itself, without having to change scenery. I am not sure what you mean by "accumulating" bits. Perhaps you could post a screenshot? Also let me know which model and scenery you're using, and also some details of your computer and graphics card.

RE: Feature request
 

I should have put a smiley face, Mike. Everything resets properly. I was only making a joke about my poor flying skills.

RE: Feature request
 

OK, you got me there [8D]

I started off with Aerofly Pro as a beginner many years ago, and that was one of the best investment I ever made. Master the basics well in the flight sim, then translate that to actual flying skills at your field. You'll find that your learning curve is faster than those not using a flight sim. If you're having difficulties with your landings, I could send you an old article which I found useful.