Guys, I have started using my PSVR2 headset in MSFS, which is totally awesome.
What I am capable of doing, is running my headset in 4020x4100, and 200% sharpness and Medium graphics in MSFS settings. Which gives me 30ips, and is good enough for me. But I don’t want less.
Now, when flying in GA arriving at uncontrolled airports (which is almost all my flying these days), when I arrive overhead the airport, I observe the wind sock to determine which runway to use.
Problem is, I don’t see the wind socks. Legally, I can do my arrivals at anything above 1000ft above terrain level, so I arrive at 1100ft (IRL I do it at 1500ft to give a little more separation with the aircraft in the circuit), but even so low I don’t see the wind socks. I’m not sure what the problem is. I would have thought at this resolution I should be able to see them, but I don’t see clear enough to determine the direction.
Is there anything “obvious” that could help me here ?
Interresting question.
Did you already try to fligh around the same airport without VR?
Since I don’t have a VR headset I can’t repiclate it myself.
Can you give me the code of that uncontrolled airport?
I will then go there and check.
Another option is check little navmap.
There’s an option in it that allows to project the wind direction.
Happy
I’ve always had the issue, even up till yesterday and I don’t use VR (32inch Odyssey G7). If I’m at 1,500 AGL and I am directly on top of the sock it will often become visible. But I have to know exactly where it is and checking it properly is way more haphazard than it should be.
I seriously detracts from the GA experience for me.
As for checking the sock out at circuit altitude. I never did that in real life, I’m always 500 above. Even if I know where the sock is. To me, circuit altitude is just of circuits, and I like to keep things simple. But as long as you’re legal, and sure it’s safe…
@GONEFLYING1234 Thank you for the suggestion. I am not familiar with littlemap so just having a look. It seems you suggest I use the wind at what they call “ground level” which is 260ft. In this case, I don’t need littlemap as another app I’m using on my iPad (SDVFR) displays it. Let me try this see if that’s reliable enough. If yes, this will be helpful.
Airport is LFHF (but I have an addon scenery for it, not sure if this will change something for you). But it doesn’t matter, I have this problem at every airport.
My monitor is a 32 inches in 4K and with it, I have no problem seeing the wind socks.
@Yuudai5178 yes as I said in my first post, IRL I am arriving at 1500ft too (unless I have a good reason not too). In the sim I’m trying 1100ft solely because I am hoping to be able to see the wind sock. But even that low, I can’t see it so there doesn’t seem to be a point arriving so low. More importantly: it seems I’m not the only one arghh.
Ah, that makes sense…
It’s now clear to me that your issue is related to VR resolution/settings.
Since I’m not flying in VR I can’t help you with this challenge.
I will fire up the sim and check LFHF myself.
Stay tuned
Just spawned into the LFHF airfield and… no wind sock at all.
Will now download the add on from flightsim.to.
Stay tuned.
@GONEFLYING1234 Just tried again now, on my monitor. So it’s in 4K.
The wind sock is small, as it would be IRL, but I can see in which direction it is pointing with no problem.
Thank you for the suggestion.
It was at 100. I increased to 200 and I think it didn’t improve much if at all.
But in the process of doing this testing, I noticed a bigger problem: the wind sock appears suddenly (and still, in poor resolution) only when I am very close to it, as in right above it (at 1500ft above ground). From a distance, it doesn’t show at all. Meaning that the window of opportunity for me to see it is very narrow. True, IRL it isn’t possible to see it clearly for very long as well, but still, in my case it’s like 1 second or 2. Not long enough.
Is there a way to increase the distance from which it appears ? I tried to play around a bit with the settings but couldn’t find what might improve this.
I haven’t seen an uncontrolled airport where it is visible properly. Can you give us one where it is?
I usually fly around YADG. But I admit I haven’t visited many other airports for some time, so maybe the few I visit are still broken but most are ok? Though I’m pretty sure they all use the same stock asset so I wouldn’t have thought they would be different. I could be wrong though?
Out of curiosity, when using your monitor to fly and spotting the windsock at that height, as per your photo, are you zooming it at all when checking the windsock?
I’m only asking because in VR, what you get is the perspective of what the eye likely sees in real life (i.e., without being able to zoom in/out). Beyond that, then yes, sim resolution and VR headset resolution along with other factors may come in to play.
Additionally, if the windsock isn’t appearing at all in VR as you say, until the last moment, that may be a separate issue.
I currently use a Quest 2 and only fly in VR. I’ll check the airport you mentioned and report back.
At LFHF I can’t see any windsock, period.
I chose another nearby airport, LFHO, and there I can see a windsock in VR.
I was able to make out the windsock (and direction) up to an altitude of about 2000 feet in VR using my Quest 2. Similar experience at other airports, however, I had to know specifically where I was looking.
I also noticed at altitudes ~1000 feet and above the windsock appears/disappears frequently, depending on the direction I am flying.
Increasing the OLOD and TLOD made no difference to my experience.
@DeltaFlyer44 Thank you for the testing, appreciate it.
May I know if the altitudes you mention are AGL or AMSL ? (it matters for LFHO which is at an altitude of almost 1000ft).
I have noticed, same as you, that at certain altitudes, the windsock may “flicker”.
One thing that I would like to mention. Apologies if you fly IRL too and therefore know that already: the fact that you have “to know specically where to look” is acceptable to me. IRL, from a practical point of view, unless I am familiar with the airport and already know where the windsock is, I will always look at my VAC to check the exact location of the windsock before arriving, so that I know where to look. Otherwise, it can sometimes be a bit hard to see if I have to search them actively during my vertical and have no idea where to look. As in, knowing where to look prior to arrival is realistic to me. What I’m trying to get at, is that the windsocks shouldn’t be “too obvious” to see. But looks like we don’t have that problem here anyway !
Re your earlier message: when flying with my monitor, I think you’re right, I zoom like what I did on the screenshot, so this wouldn’t be strictly comparable with the view from the PSVR2. You’re right.
Again, the bigger issue I have now, is that the windsocks tend to “magically” pop up suddenly when in a range that is too short to be usable like IRL. That’s the first problem for me to solve. Once solved, then I can work on what to do to increase resolution to see in which direction it is actually pointing.
I flew to YMTG and overflew another stock airport and the windsocks were very visible. I was at 3000+ at the overfly and I could see the windsock surrounds but not the sock itself. I zoomed in only a little and it popped into view.
So, it looks like it had improved a lot and I just didn’t notice because for some time I operated out of the same airfields. I think the ones that still have an issue are free/payware. Maybe there is something they should update?
Now that I’m doing a cross-country tour, it looks like the stock airports windsocks are a lot better.
Those altitudes were AGL, and yes, I noticed LFHO as I was about to take off so I reset the altimeter.
I don’t fly as a pilot IRL, just a passenger and someone who enjoys aviation. Thanks for clarifying RE: checking the VAC for the windsock location, glad to hear. Without knowing location the windsock would be quite difficult to find otherwise in MSFS at that altitude.
I too noticed the windsock disappearing depending on the direction I was flying. In some instances I almost had to be directly overhead to see it.
I wonder if it’s a VR related issue. I recall a similar but unrelated VR issue with navigation lights on other planes whilst in flight only appearing in one eye which made depth perception quite challenging. I don’t remember if that was ever solved in MSFS 2020.
Over the next few days, I might try to replicate the flights I mentioned above, but this time do them in 2D/monitor instead, just to see if my observations RE: windsocks line up with the VR experience I outlined above.
