Been a year now for me putzing around in Cessnas and what VFR. I have plenty of time this weekend so I thought I might start learning some of the more complex aircraft and IFR. Problem is when I read about all the bugs associated with these planes how would a noob know when he is doing something wrong or its bug with the plane itself.
You wouldn’t. But eg the TBM works reasonably well (I am not listing the bugs here, but these are probably not relevant for a noob). YouTube is also a great source. Watch the ones from real pilots (there is a thread in this forum where good YouTube channels are recommend. Eg GatComb. He is great). Also the FAA provides great learning material for real pilot on their website eg the Pilot Flying handbook.
Start small … take the C172 G1000 up and try it out, then take another of the smaller ones, and work your way up to the small business jets, once you have mastered those GPS systems, maybe move on to the airliners. PPL might say that going from a small light aircraft to a business jet with GPS is quite easy, but then I have been using GPS for many years and still get issues. Last week I went in a G26 Bonanza for the first time, and couldn’t even get it to fly along a rout for the first twenty minutes of my flight lol …
Right now is a really bad time to start with airliners. If – fingers crossed – the next hot fix makes airliners flyable again, I would recommend watching the forums to learn what bugs are still left and then fly the in-game tutorials and watch some YouTube (I recommend 320SimPilot). Also take a look at the in-game check-lists.
My recommendation is to start with the FlyByWire 320 as it usually has the fewest bugs (at least once they’ve had a few days to adapt to the newest update/hotfix). I haven’t tried the Boeing mods, maybe they’re great as well, but the Asobo airliners are quite frustrating after a while.
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In what sense are the unflyable now? The only issue I’m aware of is the live weather issue, but you can fly with presets.
Even with preset weather, both the A320NX and the stock A320 always start dropping out of the sky (slowly) after a while over FL300 for me. In my last attempt, I even got an overspeed bar that went down all the way to the VLS bar after returning from settings. The game has always been a bit wonky but never like this.
Also, ATC is more broken now than it ever was in FS2020 and ATC is a big part of the airliner feeling for me.
I have the Bravo TQ and have been able to set headings, alts, climbs etc with the AP in the C172G. I think I will just work on becoming more proficient at that for now. I had forgotten how bad the ATC was. At this point it would be a toss up between who it is that dos not know what there doing. Me or the ATC
Try the TBM 930, it’s a nice step up from the Cessna’s as it’s a much faster plane (so you will have some new challenges), a great plane that I love to fly!
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If you are looking for a smaller step, the G36 Bonanza with the NXi mod is in really good shape, while also adding new complexities like a constant speed prop and retractable landing gear to manage.
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untrue. i fly a32x newest dev and have 0 problems. no ctd , great fps. weather preset ofcourse - live has temp-tat problems. even done epkt-gcts 5:30h yesterday and test managed and selected mode, spped mode etc. its unbelieveble what progress FBW team achieve.
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I am a big airliner guy and I would hold off on those for right now. The FlyByWire A320NX and Aerosoft CRJ are awesome planes and you will get there! I remember when I got into the hobby 20+ years ago and went from simple props to more complex jets how overwhelmed I felt. As some of these other guys have said, transition up to the G36 Bonanza, then the TBM 930, then the Working Title CJ4. These are great stepping stones and will give you a good foundation when you are ready to plunge into the Boeing and Airbus aircraft.
The next logical step to learning IFR would be the Cessna 172, the one with steam gauges. Sadly it only comes in the premium ultra-deluxe version.
Another option would be the Just Flight Piper Arrow 3 or 4. I would keep away from any plane with GPS or Glass Cockpit, but that is just a personal preference.
Personally I’d start with the Working Title Citation CJ4. For me, it’s the most capable IFR plane in the sim right now. Has LNAV that works, VNAV that works, NAV to NAV transfer that works. Flies very close to the numbers (when the temperature isn’t +65 at 20000 feet).
The citation also has a relatively easy start procedure and the systems aren’t nearly as complex as the A320. Only thing with the CJ4 is that it is a whole lot faster than what you’ve been flying so things come at you fast.
Cessna Caravan is a good start. I fly that a lot when I’m sick of jets. It’s a good bush transporter.
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In the real world, you would probably move to doing your instrument rating in a similar, single-engine aircraft and move from there.
Simulators are, of course, awesome so you need do no such thing here! Personally, I learnt my (admittedly rudimentary) IFR skills by diving straight in on the FBW A320 and if you use the current dev version, it’s pretty stable with only a few (mostly well understood) issues to watch out for. It’s certainly good enough to get you from ground to ground more or less under full instrument control, and even under full autopilot control in the most recent iteration which added dual autopilot autoland!
Others recommended the CJ4 - this is also a good shout as they’ve implemented a bespoke flight plan manager to avoid a load of defects in the built-in one which FBW are still using on their A320 as of now. Speaking personally, I actually find the CJ4 a bit harder to fly that the A320, but either would be a great place to start learning more complicated aircraft systems.
If you’re interested in the FBW A320, shout here and I’ll do my uneducated best to guide you past the worst pitfalls. There are loads of people here (and on their discord) who would also be glad to help, I’m sure!
I can promise you it was true for me. Maybe I chose the wrong preset or flew at the wrong place at the wrong time (the temp thing is also being fixed server-side, according to Asobo) but I had to abandonn each of the six or seven airliner flights I have tried since SU5, mostly due to some version of the temperature bug.
My last try suddenly had the overspeed bar reach all the way down to 150 kts, right up the LSV and the PFD kept alternating “A.FLOOR” and “TOGA LK”. That was when I decided to wait for the next hotfix.
You have an issue somewhere with your set up, as i have never seen it slowly descend on its own since the first releases near a year ago.
Are you using VS all the time?
One perspective to offer is to focus on understanding aircraft systems. Although it isn’t super deep on something like a 172 which I fly real world, many of these same systems exist in larger aircraft. They just get a bit more complex and or redundant for safety as you move up the aircraft ladder.
Once you understand the major systems like electrics, fuel, hydraulic, air, navigation, etc, you can apply that basic learning to more complex aircraft as you’ll understand the relationship between these items and you can focus on learning the nuances between specific airplanes.
By the time you get to flying an airliner real world, you are expected to already have the flying skills. You’d probably have at least 1,500-2,000 hours flying trainers and twins. What you will study in depth with airliners are the systems and how they work. And what happens when they don’t work.
I feel very comfortable in the A320 because many years ago I received 2 binders of an airlines A320 FCOM from their chief pilot. I studied them and read lots of real world content on systems including the navigation and guidance systems. It helped me on my journey which I’ve continued learning to this day. Admittedly, I love Airbus but I’m just as comfortable in a Boeing as well due to the understanding of the systems.
Yes you can watch videos that will get you going quickly, which are great, but learning HOW and WHY things work as they do for your chosen aircraft will pay dividends in learning future complex aircraft.
What plane to try depends on what version of the sim you have. The Bonanza is a nice step up from the C172. If you have the higher end DLCs (Premium, Deluxe), the SR22 is also a nice step up.
If you just want to increase aircraft complexity, the DA62 is a nice step up and moves you into multi-engine. If you have the DLC, the Baron is also nice, and more complex in terms of systems than the DA62.
If you want to move to longer distance, higher altitude flights, the TMB is a nice option as well, particularly with mixMugz’ TBM Improvement Mod (hopefully it gets updated soon). You get an increase in complexitymoving to a turboprop as well as moving to the G3000. It will take some time to get familiarized, particularly if using the (highly recommended) WT mod. But if you’re already familiar with the G1000, you’ll find most of it makes good sense.
If you want to fly high and fast but don’t want to bury yourself in the complexity of an airliner, the CJ4 is a great choice, particularly with the WT mod. But this is a whole different can of worms over the Garmin-equipped planes.
And of course, there’s always the A320 if you feel like you want to go all out and jump in the deep end. I don’t fly airliners, so I can’t really give my opinion.
But the fun here is that this is a sim. You can try whatever you want and find what works for you. Try all the planes. See which ones you enjoy flying. As they say, variety is the spice of life.
I’d suggest learning IFR in IFR-rated/capable GA aircraft before going to complex airplanes. It’s how pilots usually learn IFR.
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