Flight Sim 'freaks' are steering clear of it as it's apparently a dumbing-down of what FSX came to be.

I'll install it.....as I have 'one or two' other Flight Sims.... but if there's little or no opportunity to develop/mod aircraft for it it'll end up just a 'game' and not a 'sim' at all...

Well, if you are in development or mod, a not so bad flight sims who is open source can be found at http://www.flightgear.org/ ...

Did you know...?

Microsoft Airplane 8 has two different and very specialized user interfaces. Pilot, in order to perform certain tasks, can smoothly switch between them with easy to learn mouse or hand gestures. For instance pitch can be controlled in the first UI (fun fact: it's called Subway) and roll in the second. (Some headstrong pilots still try to find a way to control yaw. Actually it's being controlled by Cloud Autopilot, placed in Redmond, Washington, USA.) Speedometer, altimeter and variometer are highly readable thanks to full-screen-only mode. Microsoft Airplane 8 is a very stable and reliable machine. It's a huge step forward.

Could be the reason "sim" was left out of the name.

Ick.

It's a toy for children.

It ain't just DUMBED DOWN it's asinine.

Anyone over 13 need not bother....

If you want hardcore flight sims the DCS group has that.

http://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/

Its so darn complex that its takes minutes to get things going if you set it to expert mode, even after getting the free manual and watching vids I STILL can't get the Ka-50 off the ground without switching to "game mode"

You will want to get DCS Blackshark 2 and DCS A-10c Warthog if you want super complex.

This is the sort of thing that makes FSX a REAL simulator.

The F105 stick is a photo of a real stick ...that's real sweat/grime from a real Thud throttle....I coded that 'drift angle' gauge [amongst others] ....the one to the right of the Ribbon Altimeter ....from a photo of a real Thud's gauge.  Every gauge and switch 'functions' the radars work ....even the reflected gauges in the canopy screens function [in mirror]....the map poked into the side comes from a REAL map of North Vietnam.

This whole pit is home-grown....and as accurate as I can get without getting down and physical with a real Thud....that's for the next trip to the US....

Note....the Hud is an anachronism....poetic license...

Flight dynamics as about as good as you can get....bitch to land....likes to fall out of the sky....very high wingload.

Even after strict culling my FSX install is well over 200 gig..... simply because it's so bloody good..... whether you hook into real-life aircraft traffic....or real life and real time weather conditions.....it's all there.

Frustrating thing is...even a GTX590  doesn't get you pushing every slider to the right.....

Well, it seem that for realistic fly sim, you need to have plenty of money for the cute hardware who is out there...

500$ for a joystick !!!

What I'm using...

Maxed the settings to the buggery...still looks bland....ticking over at 50 fps ... [even with FSX still 'on' and minimized] .... until fraps gets upset with conflicting function keys...

It's a safe bet I won't be spending on adding to it [Flight]....I'll stick with a real sim....where I can fly over my house.....cos it's there...

Flight is much like where it all came from....Flight Unlimited .... except with an arcade front-end....

I've got FSX as well. While I'm not into it as much as you are, I do enjoy it.

After spending some time with it, I'm definitly disappointed in the direction MS took this version although I kinda like it for something quick and easy.

Also, I'm surprised that it looks bland to you...it looks pretty nice cranked up to the max with my ATI video card.

Did you even look at the sims I gave you Its like the same thing, almost every little button is functional

Try DCS series. They are awesome sims.

http://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/

Yes....I even have the Ka-50 for FSX.

When it comes to 'accuracy'....that's YMML I'm flying over [Melbourne Airport - Tullamarine] ... if you pan in you can see the Yellow taxis [they all are in Vic] are Fords, not Holdens.

REX has me flying in atmospheric/weather conditions I can see today if I look out the window [I'm about 10 miles from YMML]....

Difference about the 'every little button is functional'....what you see there in that screenie is made by me.....from the 'folding' of a REAL map to the animation of an opening cockpit canopy...the 'functional' mirrors...the flight refuel probe [not extended there]...the animation of the throttle and stick....

Here's what the original Thud pit looked like.  Virtually everything is new or altered.

Biggest issue other than non-widescreen is most of the gauges are in the wrong place ....and it's all a bit 'plastic' and unreal....

But that's what skinners are into....

FSX isn't a Fighting Sim as such...but just about anything is possible ....here's an A320 that got 'in my way'.  He won't be making it to Sydney.  [it's a screencap used as a wall]...

Love the Blind JAFO WinAmp skin.  Can't fathom why you don't invest in a bigger monitor, though.

Here's a Kamov Ka50 'Black Shark' .... in FSX ... Flying over the Qantas Cargo terminal at YMML [Melbourne International] ...the Int terminal is to the left....the thing in the middle is a carpark...those yellow cars just 'below' the chopper are Ford Taxis....the cloud cover is ACTUAL .... today's [Monday]....we're looking approx NorthEast....

Only 'dramas' with flying a twin rotor like this one is simply that of making sure your control stick/s is configured [centered] correctly.... 

I like that chopper. Here's a question. Whatever happened to the NOTAR. I remember seeing a demo of it but not much else after.

I think it's still being played with..... but really the twin rotor is a more noble solution to the problem of 'wayward' tail rotors just there to counter torque yaw...

Yeah, that would make for a more stable platform.