Any tips you could spare on using Condor for self learning ?

Moderators: Uros, Tom, OXO

PhilRees
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue May 05, 2020 9:57 pm

Re: Any tips you could spare on using Condor for self learning ?

Post by PhilRees » Fri Jun 18, 2021 8:30 pm

Hi Guys
All good stuff here but perhaps a few comments. In real life I soar for fun, fly the tug and instruct in light powered aircraft.
A common fault I see in early stage students with lots of sim hours is they spend too much time looking inside at the instruments. In real life mid air collision is perhaps the Biggest threat. Either use a head tracker or VR and practice looking out.
In CS I tend to fly the same task ( with different weather factors). This means I can generate ghosts to populate my skies if I’m not in a multiplayer game.
Please please please set speed by attitude.( bear in mind that flapped gliders will have a range of speeds for the same fuselage attitude depending on flap setting).
Always always fly in trim, especially important in mountains when the horizon is hidden.
Otherwise enjoy 😊

Lenticular
Posts: 140
Joined: Tue Aug 01, 2017 7:29 am

Re: Any tips you could spare on using Condor for self learning ?

Post by Lenticular » Sat Jun 19, 2021 5:03 am

Hi,

I find the real thing easier than the sim, so if you can handle the glider and fly accurately, the real thing is easier.

My biggest gripe is that sim rudder pedals just do not move anywhere close to far enough. I find it so bad, I'm currently designing sim pedals with 1:1 throw.

I love flying the Standard Cirrus in Condor. It flies really nicely and feels quite close to the gliders I fly IRL.

If you follow checklists, and approach the sim as you would IRL, you're not going to be far off what you'll need for RL flying.

Unlike powered flying, gliding has the extra dimension of REQUIRING the weather to cooperate. You can be the best pilot in the world, but if there's no lift, you're not going anywhere.

While Condor is a bit idealistic regarding thermals, ridge lift, and smoothness (another vote for Bruno Vassel's videos), it helps with skills such as aircraft handling, decision making, and flying skill. Centering thermals in Condor is harder than IRL. If you can nail it in Condor, RL will be much easier.

I find the "lookout" comments humorous. One of my instructors had a particular thing for look-out, and so I found it quite interesting that in videos of him flying his own glider over mountainous terrain how little he himself kept a lookout. ;)

Something I learned from a military pilot friend: always check to your outside after a turn. You are looking into the turn as you make it. You need to clear the other way after roll-out! Many mid-airs are because the turning aircraft had zero idea about the traffic they just turned in front of!

Don't get too paranoid about look-out. While the instructors I flew with went nuts because they often THOUGHT I wasn't looking, I actually was (self-preservation), and I'd call traffic they didn't even see...

You're asking the right questions and thinking, which already puts you in the right place.
G-ZULU /// LTN
Image

lordauriel
Posts: 58
Joined: Thu Jan 30, 2014 10:12 am

Re: Any tips you could spare on using Condor for self learning ?

Post by lordauriel » Mon Jun 21, 2021 4:03 pm

addendum from my side:

Since I just did 2 check rides with an examiner in the ASK21, I immediately noticed that flying in VR with 100% depth perception isn't quite what it looks like IRL. Not sure if that has to do with the "scuba gear" effect you get with the VR headset, or FOV, but when I set depth perception to 95% it's more like reality.

Which brings me to the most problematic thing in sim vs reality, for me personally.

Negative training of depth perception.

The actual flying itself is easier IRL. everyhting has more throw and provides more fine-control. Even my VKB gunfighter 3 stick has less fine-control than the real stick

Lenticular
Posts: 140
Joined: Tue Aug 01, 2017 7:29 am

Re: Any tips you could spare on using Condor for self learning ?

Post by Lenticular » Tue Jun 22, 2021 3:17 am

Negative training of depth perception.
This is why I do not use VR. Just the perspective in the sim is enough to cause me problems (MSFS is rubbish in this regard).
G-ZULU /// LTN
Image

lordauriel
Posts: 58
Joined: Thu Jan 30, 2014 10:12 am

Re: Any tips you could spare on using Condor for self learning ?

Post by lordauriel » Tue Jun 22, 2021 11:28 am

well with a monitor, there is no depth perception at all, and the FOV is all over the place. in VR, for me it was just the subtle switch from 100% to 95% to fix the slight depth perception error that had creeped in over time....
Which did not cause me problems. last IRL flight was august 2020 (only 2 flights that year), did fly condor in VR all winter with the 100% setting. Absolutely no "feeling slightly unwell" on 1st IRL flight, not feeling rusty at all actually. Just the realization about the perspective being a bit skewed, which did not impede the precision landing examn at all.
So maybe my statement sounded a bit exaggerated.

One last thing. Isnt it amazing how good the flight model is in condor compared to anything elkse on the market.

CondorSi
Posts: 25
Joined: Fri Apr 17, 2020 9:47 pm

Re: Any tips you could spare on using Condor for self learning ?

Post by CondorSi » Mon Jul 05, 2021 9:38 pm

Check out www.glidingschool.com for free pre-solo instruction. Lessons can be viewed online, and they can be downloaded alonng with exercises to be viewed and flown in Condor's Flight School.
Visit https://glidingschool.com for free gliding lessons, online and in Condor's Flight School

Lord_Archon
Posts: 21
Joined: Tue Feb 23, 2021 11:54 pm

Re: Any tips you could spare on using Condor for self learning ?

Post by Lord_Archon » Mon Jul 26, 2021 11:00 pm

Thanks guys
I find the real thing easier than the sim, so if you can handle the glider and fly accurately, the real thing is easier.
My biggest gripe is that sim rudder pedals just do not move anywhere close to far enough. I find it so bad, I'm currently designing sim pedals with 1:1 throw.
That's good to hear. I think flight controls in general are non-ergonomic for gliding, I'm looking into building a platform with fully custom controls using arduino/raspberry pi and then maybe converting it into a motion platform in the far future.
Negative training of depth perception.
It's possible this is purely your interpupilary distance being different to what you have set on the headset / what the headset is capable of. That's what depth slider is supposed to be fixing. I think if you use steamvr w/ revive you can even set the software ipd manually as well, by messing w/ configuration files.
The actual flying itself is easier IRL. everyhting has more throw and provides more fine-control. Even my VKB gunfighter 3 stick has less fine-control than the real stick
This can be slightly alleviated by playing with the stick controls in the options, giving more resolution towards the middle of the stick (with the trade-off being less resolution at the far end). Before I did this I literally couldn't thermal or tow properly at all. I'm sure a real stick is even better

Post Reply