The NIGHTFLYER's thread

[Skybird]

This is the NIGHTFLYER thread, and only NIGHTFLYERS exclusively are welcomed here! Which inlcudes
not only nights, but also very bad dark weather, sunset and dawn - every flying condition that
enables you to fly with a LIT COCKPIT and red, orange and green glooming instruments! The light
effects can really increase the atmosphere and immersion of a cockpit, and that's why I use to plan
my flight a lot that way. Also, the light effects at addon airports are often giving the impression
to move within a highly technological environment - more so than by day.
Post your night pictures here, no matter if of beauty or of illustrative content! It can also be
sunset, dan, and really dark weather.
I start with the three Boeings that I have in use, well, the 737 I sorted out, but the 767 and 747 I
fly regularly.

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My pics are 1280x1024, thus the thumbnails. they are all from the virtual cockpit exclusively.

First the Boeing 747 by PMDG, which is the second best in functionality, but certainly offers the best looking night cockpit.

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/4611/image6mj7.th.jpg (http://img101.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image6mj7.jpg)

http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/4452/image7db6.th.jpg (http://img510.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image7db6.jpg)

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/5179/image8ec4.th.jpg (http://img441.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image8ec4.jpg)

http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/8579/image9qh2.th.jpg (http://img510.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image9qh2.jpg)

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/2674/image10xa0.th.jpg (http://img101.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image10xa0.jpg)

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/4637/image13ar3.th.jpg (http://img101.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image13ar3.jpg)

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/607/image15ge0.th.jpg (http://img101.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image15ge0.jpg)

(http://img101.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image6mj7.jpg)

[Skybird]

Next is my airliner of choice, the boeing 767 by Level-D. This packages works so smooth and reliable, and the FMC and AP are steering the plane some gentle and without any mistakes, that this package, concerninf reliability, is second to none that I know, while complexity of system only compares with the best. In daylight, I like the Level-D panel better than that of the PMDG-747, but at night, the PMDG plane looks admittedly better.

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/8633/image17mt6.th.jpg (http://img101.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image17mt6.jpg)

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/236/image18ow0.th.jpg (http://img441.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image18ow0.jpg)

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/5849/image19rn6.th.jpg (http://img101.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image19rn6.jpg)

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/176/image20ut6.th.jpg (http://img441.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image20ut6.jpg)

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/9105/image21jx6.th.jpg (http://img441.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image21jx6.jpg)

[Skybird]

And now the Boeing 737NG 800/900 by PMDG. Unfortunetly i cannot say too muczh good about this plane, the FMC and AP produce shaky climb and descend paths, to put it midly, controls and inputs sometimes are not reliably recognized, AT often produced rollercoaster accelerations deceleration that sometimes destroy the plane in midair, and the installation is fragile it demanded me to deistall my old 747, before installing the 737, and then reinstall the 747. Havin reinstalled the 737 several times, I also must complain about the deinstaller which left over 2000 (!) entries in the registry. as the last two pictures show, the switching between day and night textures also works not reliable, giving the impression that some textures are mssing. They are there, but are not always reliably found, and need certain highly suspicious, at least unwanted wpokring steps in the panel's handling.

http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/9800/image22wg9.th.jpg (http://img510.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image22wg9.jpg)

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/7865/image23me1.th.jpg (http://img441.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image23me1.jpg)

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9215/image25wi0.th.jpg (http://img101.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image25wi0.jpg)

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/9536/image26yg9.th.jpg (http://img441.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image26yg9.jpg)

http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/161/image27zk7.th.jpg (http://img510.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image27zk7.jpg)

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/6145/image29gd6.th.jpg (http://img441.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image29gd6.jpg)

[Oberon]

Night/Adverse weather condition flights are very enjoyable. With just the light of the instruments and/or lightning outside to go by. I took an F-18 out in it once in EMCON status, flying through the mountain range. Was good fun until I glitched the map reading and met a mountain coming the other way....

[Linton]

When I retire I will simulate night flying like this:
1 Drive for an hour to a relatives house.
2 Sit on an uncomfortable chair under the stairs looking at the gas or electric meter.Ideally this should be done in a cupboard with a locked door.This should be done from sunset to sunrise.Also have a radio of static playing in the background and have a supply of poor un -nourishing food and a large bottle of water.Interior lighting should be very poor
Periodically write down the readings on the meter.Having sat there for 4-5 hours relieve yourself in a chemical toilet that has a very bad odour.To make the experience more realistic take a leg off the chair and cover the meters with cling film so that they are difficult to read.
3 Read yesterdays paper that has a half completed crossword.The interior lighting is poor so the paper will have to be constantly folded to illuminate the bit you are trying to read
4 Come out of the area under the stairs and refill your food.At this point you may also want to put some petrol in your car.Whilst doing this the cupboard is cleaned.Make sure that the cleaner has identification.
You may also find at this stage the home owner does not want to travel with you so strip your cupboard of all their belongings.
5 Repeat the whole process again
6 Sunrise and the key to the cupboard no longer works.Spend time attempting to leave the area.
7 You receive a message that your next night flight is in a different house to that which you are used to.
8 Drive home.Greet your neighbours going to work and scowl at anybody who may make a noise whilst you are trying to sleep.
9 Get up 8 hours later and do it all over again!
Happy flying!!
Note sunrise can be simulated by a 500000 candelera flashlight.

[Skybird]

It seems we got a frustrated nightflyer here who picked the wrong job! :D

[Chock]

Here are two screenshots from my forthcoming AVSIM review for shockwave's 3D Lights. These are both of the default FSX Airbus, quite pretty I thought. The sunset textures are not default ones by the way, they are from Real Sky Pro, which I also just recently reviewed.

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j105/AlanBradbury/Airbusatsunsetheadon.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j105/AlanBradbury/Airbusnicescreenshot.jpg

:D Chock

[Linton]

nice pictures chock but the real bus has lights on the outer flap tracks that extend.We call them illuminated air brakes!

[Chock]

Actually, that was one of the shots I took to illustrate the fact that occasionally the 3D Lights utility doesn't work as well as it should, which is why some of the lights aren't kicking in properly. But the thing with that utility, is that you can add them wherever you like on an aeroplane via the config file just like the normal lights in FS, as they are simply another light FX file in the program.

In any case, the lights on the default FSX Airbus are the least of its problems - when FSX first came out, I showed one of my friends who is a designer for Airbus Industrie the climb rate on that thing, and he was laughing his ass off at how inaccurate it was. It goes up like an F-104.

:D Chock