Flightsim platform

[EHM-2678 Yorkshire]

Hi all

I was wondering that with the advent of P3D ver2 less than 24 hours away, whether on our profile on the hub page, P3D might be added to the list of flightsim platforms we use. I think there is now sufficient divergence between FSX and P3D to warrant it as an alternative flight platform rather than it being subsumed within FSX. Just a thought - anyone else agree?

Regards

Yorkshire

[EHM-2387 Eric-Jan]

I"m afraid that as long as Lockheed Martin keep insisting that their product is not to be used for personal entertainment purposes, we will not start supporting P3D. We as EHM cannot endorse or promote it's illegal use.

It would also mean that we would have to purchase a developer license in order to provide you, our pilots, with a flightlogger. I'm not convinced anyone in the MT is prepared to spend that kind of money out of his own pocket, only to have another one next to the 4 platforms we already support, to maintain (fleet, tours, events, FL; they all need to be tested against all platforms before we can release a new item).

[EHM-2678 Yorkshire]

Thanks for your response - yes I can see the issue you/we have as a virtual airline

It seems the difficult word is ‘entertainment’. Most ppl pilots probably fly for ‘recreation’. They have no plans to fly professionally and in the process of gaining their license to fly, may use a flight simulator as a learning aid. I regard flight simming in the same way. I use a flightsim program as a simulation – allowed for in the P3D license and use it for ‘recreation’. I have never thought of myself as illegally using P3D ver 1.4 and the same will apply to ver 2. I can quite understand the line being taken by virtual airlines as a protection but at a personal level I don’t have a problem!

John

[EHM-2387 Eric-Jan]

LM sells (for a lot of money) the platform to FNPT buiders; that's where they intend to make their money. Probably a Microsoft requirement when they bought the rights to use the FSX intellectual property.
So they want to make a clear distinction between the "just for fun" sim flying, and the professional flight training sim flying. I think our pilots would fall into that first category. But regardless of what I think, as a V.A. (legal entity) we need to adhere to the law (that's why the basic fleet is composed of freeware planes), and some other requirements by, for example IVAO. IVAO states that V.A.s must be free of charge, and non-profit. There are costs involved for hosting the web site, and such, and for that we rely on donations, and our own pocket money. But the prices for P3D licenses are beyond what I am prepar3d to cough up; apart from there not being any freeware planes to fill the fleet with ...

So yes, I also see a future for P3D, but not as a supported platform with our V.A.
But since it is originally based on FSX technology, I would not be surprised if FL still would work OK, and see P3D as FSX.