One way I relax, and get my mind off nearly everything is tooling around in the X-Plane Flight Simulator. I downloaded a new jet model some time ago that I haven’t had much time to try out. I’ve flown on this plane before, and chances are many of you have as well. The manufacturer is Embraer, and it’s one of the many signs that Brazil is aiming to be a major player in the world economy. It takes a certain amount of sophistication to be able to produce airplanes; even the Russians and Chinese haven’t really managed an airliner that you’d want to take your wife and kids on, but the Brazilians have, and Americans are flying on them in droves every day. Dan Klaue has created a fantastic X-Plane model of this Regional Jet, which my video doesn’t really do justice. Flight is from Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International (KATL) to Cleveland Hopkins (KCLE), near dusk:
As a 3D model this plane is tip top, though it still needs some work in the systems simulation category. Nonetheless, it’s a great platform, and is X-Plane 10 compatible whenever that ends up coming out. I’ve preserved all the sounds on my video, which are pretty true to what I can remember flying on Embraers. You can see in this video some of the deficiencies of the X-Plane 9 model, including having to bake lighting features on to scenery, with the rest being pitch dark and unrealistic looking at night. Twilight is spectacular though, which I’ve always thought X-Plane renders quite well. You can also notice the rather ad-hoc nature of building scenery when you get close to it in the X-Plane 9 model. X-Plane 10 will have global illumination, where even cars on the roads will have light sources in their headlights. It will also base its mapping data on Open Street Maps, and generate plausible communities based on that data. I’m really looking forward to X-Plane 10, and hope it’ll be out before the end of the year.
I do all my own piloting in these, which shows in the takeoff and landings being far less than you would expect from a professional. In particular I flared a little early on the landing, drifting a bit in the crosswind and putting the left rear wheel down on the runway before the right, and slamming the nose down a bit hard. Live and learn.
A fellow X-Planer! Small world. I’ve also done some ATC in X-Plane which adds a whole new level to the realism – I flew for CalAir for a while – but just don’t have the time to devote anymore.
I started flying back in Version 7.x and it has come a long way since then.
My comment, on entering a CRJ-700 for the first time:
“It’s like a baby 737! It’s so wee!”
I like how the ERJ-140 flies, but I haven’t heard a whole lot on how accurate the flight model is in X-Plane.
I’m not that sophisticated. I just use the flight simulator in Google Earth from time to time. I can fly around anywhere on the planet. Grand Canyon, Australia, Kingdom of Lesotho (Matekane – “world’s scariest runway” – 2000 ft. drop into the ravine at the end of the runway) , Mt. Everest. I like to fly around the hills at Area 51 and land on their runways.
Pic of Matekane. I’ve “crashed” there a lot.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matekane_Air_Strip