XCSoar worth it for casual pilot?

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Kaibeth
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XCSoar worth it for casual pilot?

Post by Kaibeth » Sun Feb 26, 2023 8:19 pm

I have looked over XCSoar a bit on my machine, and I can see that it is an excellent tool for competitive soaring.

But, is it worth it for those of us who are more prone to sightseeing flights than racing? I ask especially because I fly only in VR, and getting it into VR and being able to control it in VR look to be a somewhat daunting task.

Thanks for any opinions.
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JShieck
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Re: XCSoar worth it for casual pilot?

Post by JShieck » Sun Feb 26, 2023 9:44 pm

In real life I use XC-Soar for almost every flight.
Beside the navigation and airspaces the infoboxes with estimated time of arrival and final glide calculator brings a huge benefit.
(And you can see your start and landing time when writing the logbook.)
In Condor I think it's a bit elaborate to connect it and transfer the tasks...
For most Condor competitions the navigation device in Condor is ok, even if it's not perfect.

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Kaibeth
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Re: XCSoar worth it for casual pilot?

Post by Kaibeth » Mon Feb 27, 2023 1:25 am

I was thinking it was a bit more than I need.
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Bre901
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Re: XCSoar worth it for casual pilot?

Post by Bre901 » Mon Feb 27, 2023 9:20 am

JShieck wrote:
Sun Feb 26, 2023 9:44 pm
In Condor I think it's a bit elaborate to connect it and transfer the tasks...
Connecting it is not that elaborate if you read the manual (https://www.condorsoaring.com/user-manuals/ APPENDIX 5)
Transferring the tasks is even easier if you use CoTaCo https://condorutill.fr/#CoTaCo
Kaibeth wrote:
Mon Feb 27, 2023 1:25 am
I was thinking it was a bit more than I need.
Keep working with the Condor PDA.
With time, you might feel its limitations, and then you might think it over
CN: MPT — CondorUTill webpage: https://condorutill.fr/

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Kaibeth
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Re: XCSoar worth it for casual pilot?

Post by Kaibeth » Mon Feb 27, 2023 11:38 am

Oh, I know the limitations of the PDA. I just am not sure if XCSoar isn't overkill.

I have started looking into how to control it via the joystick while in VR.
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Paul_UK
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Re: XCSoar worth it for casual pilot?

Post by Paul_UK » Tue Feb 28, 2023 7:45 am

For VS tasks XCSoar is of no use, but I'm sure you've already figured that.

For tasks where PDA is allowed it may prove to be of some use. From those I have spoken to the biggest benefit comes when flying an AAT style task. You can fly these with the default Condor PDA it's just a tad trickier to work out when to go onto final glide I assume. I find the default PDA more than adequate for flying final glides in a normal thermal task but then I haven't tried XCSoar in Condor yet so maybe there is something I don't know about which makes it better for this.

I keep meaning to get XCSoar setup myself as the big bonus for me will be learning how to use it so I can use it in RL flying (must get back in the cockpit again soon, last year was bad for me stick time wise).

As others have said you should be able to put in pretty decent times flying with the built in PDA. I fly with a 1920x1080 monitor, no XCSoar, no Cotasa and don't do too bad task time wise. Being able to centre thermals (You'll get there with practice!) and picking the best route will see your times improve more than using XCSoar will.
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Kaibeth
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Re: XCSoar worth it for casual pilot?

Post by Kaibeth » Thu Mar 02, 2023 8:01 am

I fly exclusively in VR, so a lot of tools aren't at my disposal. But, I've gone through the process of getting XCSoar into VR and able to be controlled by my stick. It's actually rather nice.
Postojna is no longer a pain in my empennage. :mrgreen:

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