I know I’ll get a response like “Why not learn the startup procedure?” or “Flightsuimming is a learning experience. Why take a shortcut” but here goes…
This is about the Airliners in MSFS2020 (and 2024 I assume). They all have to be started with a realistic, complicated and long startup procedure if you want a realistic experience from gate to takeoff. Yes, you can start from the runway and have all systems going but I am talking about something in between. I understand that diehard simmers (and I actually put myself in that category to an extent) want as much realism as possible but some of us want something in the middle. In other words, we want an accurate autopilot, accurate flight dynamics, working ATC (which, compared to FSX, sucks in 2020) and realistic scenery/airports (which excels in 2020) BUT we don’t want to have to read a big manual and go through a long checklist every time we do a flight. For that matter, we don’t want to learn the inner workings of an FMC every time we do an IFR flight.
I don’t understand why MS/Asobo, who obviously want to reach the general simming community, would not give us a choice. I’m talking about an autostart for airliners. Maybe an “auto-checklist”, where a copilot reads out the checklist and the pilot/sim flips the switches. That would provide realism AND be a learning experience for the simmer.
Same thing with the FMC. After setting up a flightplan using the map/flightplan menus, it should calculate all the rest and enter it into the FMC. Maybe do it a step at a time so we can watch and learn, like the auto-checklist.
Hey, in this world of AI, how could these features be so hard to incorporate?
I am not ruling out the possibility of learning how to actually start a 747 in the future but I, and other simmers I talk to, would like a shortcut without it being just boom- you’re at the runway with all systems going, ready for takeoff.
I would like a step by step autostart at the gate for any complex aircraft. Then we could spend the remaining time doing all the taks involved in completing a flight, landing, etc.
So, a Happy Medium betwween default FSX and study level realism. It could only help sales, in my opinion, and would be a great feature.
I wasn’t aware that Ctl E, which worked on any aircrqaft in past MS sims, worked on airliners in FS2020. Does it??
Plus, what I’m suggesting is more realism than that, watching/learning as the sim executes the actual steps.
Same thing with FMC. Make it close to real but more accessuible.
It doesn’t take away from those who want to do it themselves. Let there be an option.
I started a wishlist on this. Please vote if you agree.
This risks turning the sim into “game” simmers don’t want that speaking for myself. Besides you can just spawn on the rwy up and running now and fly a 747 by seat of your pants with xbox controller.
I think many, many appreciate the fidelity that vanilla MSFS brings thanks to Working Title that really didn’t exist in past versions of MSFS. This will continue into MSFS 2024.
The sim shouldn’t become just a game- I don’t want that either. I’m talking about an option to either have it do this or not. I don’t want to have to start a flight from the runway. I want more realism than that.
However, after I posted this (bear in mind I haven’t used FS2020 in a while because of thuings like horrendous ATC and others…) I discovered that there is an assisted checklist option. So I guess it can read you the checklists and perform each step. Has asnyone used thi wi an airliner?
If this works then my post is obsolete.
The Just Flight Bae146 range has the option of selecting cold and dark, turnaround, or take off mode directly from the EFB. If you select take off mode it starts each engine in turn, with the cockpit switches operating as they should. I can thoroughly recommend it.
In past versions of MS FS, you could press 1, 2, … before Ctrl-E to start a specific engine, and thus it worked even on airliners all the way back to FS3 and perhaps earlier.
These days the number prefixes don’t work, I think, but Ctrl-E should start all engines in sequence, and should still work for airliners.
Of course. I think they teach you that immediately. At least I’ve been using it since Day 1 near as I recall and wouldn’t have remembered it from FS2004 which was the last time I played much.
How is it not accessible? Just follow a youtube video and you learn it in a few minutes. I’m not sure what they could do to make it easier other than just entering it all in when you load up… but that sounds like something you don’t want done.
I use Control E from way back. I use it to start aircraft I have not learned yet but want to fly. Like previously posted it is the first thing you learn. I think the command gose way way back.
Some of the built-in checklists are good while others are missing or incomplete. For me personally the best feature of the built-in checklists are the highlight focus for each step. Because I fly many different airliners, I don’t remember where a certain button or switch is located. Without the highlight, if I can’t find the item I just skip it. The most frustrating are items that skip from overhead to center console to pedestal back to overhead.
