Turbulent Air

[Aircanuck]

Noticed with MSFS2020 a typical flight in a GA aircraft ( as an example ) seems to encounter a lot of bumpy air which wasn't the case in FSX unless it was called for, is this typical for the sim ?

 

[tiger1962]

It is if you select Live weather, I think there's been some discussion about it on the official forums about whether it's realistic or overdone. I've been up in a couple of gliders and a C172 floatplane (from Key West to the Dry Tortugas - if you ever get the chance, do it!) and I'd say it's realistic.

 

[Bomber_12th]

Based on my limited real world experience, I've thought it to be quite realistic, as every time I've ever been up in a light plane (always in the summer) it has been very bumpy, even on a perfectly clear day. It may be my imagination, but in the sim, turbulent air even seems focused at times over forested areas, which of course is also very true to life.

 

[Aircanuck]

Bomber_12 , I agree with your comment 100% about turbulent air over a forested area. Once I position my flight over any body of water things do seem to settle down. Maybe FSX are the ones that have it wrong.

 

[YoYo]

Noticed with MSFS2020 a typical flight in a GA aircraft ( as an example ) seems to encounter a lot of bumpy air which wasn't the case in FSX unless it was called for, is this typical for the sim ?

Of course, this is a bug and the effect is simply exaggerated. The turbulences flying low over the trees are like driving over rubble, literally. Nothing like that happens in real life. We are talking about a wind speed of 5-15kts, what else can we talk about a relatively calm wind. Sometimes during the landing approach the bumps are so big that it is difficult to land. They have made every GA ultralight plane now (full agreement here, but not a 3-4 ton plane!), a massacre. I do not know who tests there and has such "great" ideas, but rather the concept of air circulation is negligible (Im writing about practical experience, not theoretical). The direction is good but the effect should be what is today no more than 15%. I fly only real weather and sometimes in anger I turn off this simulator, which sometimes becomes too funny.

 

[ak416]

Sim Update 12 will include a turbulence setting so you can tailor it to your liking. More info below.

 

[YoYo]

Sim Update 12 will include a turbulence setting so you can tailor it to your liking. More info below.

Ohhh VERY good news, thanks! The question remains what "realistic" means to them. We're not even halfway there at the moment, although the idea isn't bad.

 

[Bomber_12th]

Of course, this is a bug and the effect is simply exaggerated. The turbulences flying low over the trees are like driving over rubble, literally. Nothing like that happens in real life. We are talking about a wind speed of 5-15kts, what else can we talk about a relatively calm wind. Sometimes during the landing approach the bumps are so big that it is difficult to land. They have made every GA ultralight plane now (full agreement here, but not a 3-4 ton plane!), a massacre. I do not know who tests there and has such "great" ideas, but rather the concept of air circulation is negligible (Im writing about practical experience, not theoretical). The direction is good but the effect should be what is today no more than 15%. I fly only real weather and sometimes in anger I turn off this simulator, which sometimes becomes too funny.

I've been up in a Piper Warrior during clear, warm sunny days here in Minnesota, few clouds and little to no wind, flying over fields and wooded regions, and it has been bumpy as sh!t at 2,000 ft, with wind playing no factor - even once hitting my head on the ceiling. Of course that's not always the case, but it goes to show that you can experience some very bumpy flying even in otherwise beautiful weather. The fact that you can experience this in MSFS, I have thought, is very realistic, and a point of contention I had during testing of the sim when a few thought otherwise.

 

[YoYo]

Of course, some turbulences, especially in summer, are possible, even at 10k m, but notice that in MSFS they are mainly related to the wind, if it is always there, always and the stronger the wind the more the flight model behaves like rubber. That would be good but for ultralights only.

 

[Bomber_12th]

I think some flight models are tuned better than others to having a realistic response to the sim's dynamics. For instance, I've noticed with the recently-released IniBuilds Bf 108 that it is way more sensitive to wind and turbulence than most other flight models I've experienced in the sim. It's not fun. I can take up the default Extra 300, in the same weather conditions, and it feels noticeably more stable and smooth in the air than the IniBuilds '108 (it handles crosswinds better too).

 

[StormILM]

Turbulence? In the primary days, my friend and I used to fly Cessna 150's and 172's all over central US east coast and inland a couple hundred or more miles. We were the "Turbulence Brothers", we found every damn bump in the sky and then some! Yeah, FS2020 seems pretty realistic (home) to me.

 

[YoYo]

I think some flight models are tuned better than others to having a realistic response to the sim's dynamics. For instance, I've noticed with the recently-released IniBuilds Bf 108 that it is way more sensitive to wind and turbulence than most other flight models I've experienced in the sim. It's not fun. I can take up the default Extra 300, in the same weather conditions, and it feels noticeably more stable and smooth in the air than the IniBuilds '108 (it handles crosswinds better too).

Yes, now Im in the Taifun and sometimes his reactions are too strong. :/

 

[BananaBob]

This is funny because I decided to fly with real weather in Los Angeles yesterday because of all the bad weather they were having and it was one of the bumpiest flights ever in this sim. I finally got above the clouds and it cleared up, great ride though, LOL.

20230225103717_1 by Robert Rivera, on Flickr

 

[spatialpro]

I find it to be realistic-ish. I do believe it requires more work to refine it.

To me the magnitude of the turbulence is about right.

I like the way it changes over different land cover, but there are still improvements to be made in this respect.

For me the greatest issue is the amount of induced yaw movement (presumably resulting from lateral movement, presumably from gusting crosswinds). It doesn't seem to matter what you're flying, or at what speed (i.e. the heavier and/or faster the aircraft the greater its inertia and therefore the more resistant to movement it should be), the effect is the same. Conversely I perceive there isn't enough vertical movement (and perhaps pitch as a result)... certainly relative to yaw.

 

[YoYo]

Is this real?

Typhoon is just an example, this is how every GA behaves. Sheet of paper on the wind. Its a joke for me.

 

[spatialpro]

In a 17 knot wind, extremely low, over and around high-rise buildings...? Yes, that is what I'd expect IRL.

 

[LouP]

In small airplane you will move as the air moves. I think it's pretty accurate based on my rl experiences.

LouP

 

[ak416]

If you turn on the airflow visualization you can see just how much turbulence there is because of the buildings

 

[YoYo]

I'm not saying it's not there, but in MSFS the effect is exaggerated. Here is an example with 42kt wind even, part of the video is sped up. The Cessna 150 is a very light aircraft, almost 1/3-1/2 the weight of the Taifun which was the example above (my video was on 17kt).

In MSFS this effect is implemented and well, but the execution is grossly exaggerated. We drive over potholes even with much less wind.

 

[YoYo]

This option for turbulences works great in SU12!
Maybe LOW is too calm, but MEDIUM was good idea ale looks quite realistic, not like crazy air.

Btw. NOTICE that as default they did now as LOW. You have to turn in REALISTIC if you need it as it was.