Comparing Microsoft Flight Simulator to Real Life (Gliders)

How does flying gliders in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 (MSFS 2020) compare to the real world? Having flown gliders in real life, I've always wanted to compare the experience offered by MSFS2020 to real flying. This video shows my perspective as a real glider pilot.

Thanks for joining me!

Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:31 Winch launch
2:50 Glider physics
5:17 Cockpit and flight

My system specs:
RTX3070
32GB RAM
AMD Ryzen 9 3900
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020

[TouchingCloud]

HUGE thank you for this comparison review! This community project was made by impatient enthusiasts without any support by MSFS developers, so we faced hundreds of barriers here and there. Fact that it was chosen tells us we reached some success.

[antonioiozzi]

As a real life retired glider pilot I really appreciate your explanations, because I see too many simmers that have no idea how gliders pilots fly . Well done!

[MrBillUp]

You'll be pleased to know that in November this year, Gliders will be officially supported by MSFS in its 40th Anniverssary. You will get some highly detailed gliders, with a competely new flight model that has been closely developed with glider manufacturers and real world pilots alike. Really looking forward to it. As things stand, and at the making (uploading of this video) gliders were not supported, and were added by a 3rd party developer. They still did a pretty good job.

EDIT: And Ijust read the pinned comment 😊

[poolhallshark]

Great video! I am also a rl glider pilot (from Norway) and I have flown the DG 300 a lot. I love that glider. Extremely agile and great for aerobatics :-) I have subscribed :-)

[hjlp]

This is fantastic. Greetings from a fellow glider pilot! — And huge congratulations for the first 1k subscribers! 👍😎

[bikeguyNZ]

Landing with speed brake deployed is pretty standard practice in a most fighter jets as it enables the engine to be spooled up, which is where they are more responsive, while also flying slow enough to land

[SimonAmazingClarke]

I started gliding when I was 15 in the old Wood and Canvas gliders of the Air Cadets. I really like the gliding in FS-X, there were some good missions. I'm looking forward to seeing gliders in MSFS 2020 later on this year. Great beginners review.

[OrionToth]

dude, you could have just changed my life forever lol, I was affraid of gliders and now I'm absolutely not. And there's glider club nearby!

[pauldgardner]

We used to fly gliders in the late 1960’s and your video would have been so useful in our early days of learning. Great video. 👍👍

[ale]

Thank you for an absolutely outstanding video. I am going to start flying gliders and I have MSFS2020 so this was very useful.

[RacingSlow]

This is going to blow up. Congratz on 1k. I was here

[siemkespeedruns]

You make great videos! Also congrats on your 1k subscribers!

[pinethegangsta]

Congrats for 1k subs!! Very interesting video, didn't know that gliders could fly that long!

[TheOneTrueSpLiT]

I got to learn to fly in ASK-21s at West Malling when I was in the ATC in the '80s - it is an experience I would recommend anyone interested in flying. We would be winched into the air (often rather abruptly!) and immediately head towards Maidstone a short distance away and then up to the top of Blue Bell Hill not much more than 1nm away from Rochester Airport (EGTO). Once there we used the thermals coming off the huge car park of GEC-Avionics (now BAE SYSTEMS) and a few of us would spiral higher and higher, our gliders nearly pivoting on their wingtips and we would then proceed to other parts of Kent.

Who would have thought that less than ten years later I would be employed by GEC-Avionics where I wrote the software for HUDs (C-17, F-5, F-16, Eurofighter) and the fly-by-wire for 777. As for West Malling, well they bulldozed the base of Hurrican No. 32 Squadron in WWII and now it's a housing estate with a handful of roads named after our saviours of the sky during the Battle Of Britain.

I still try and get my gliding hours in as often as possible, albeit in MSFS (in the DG-808, Gotfriends Discus and the AS33, all free from flightsim.to) and X-Plane in VR - but I'll never forget the thrill and excitement that gliding gave me all those years ago.

[Liachu_]

This video just makes me want to buy a glider so bad !!
I think I'll actually buy one

[chorltondragon]

I had no idea there were gliders in MSFS 2020. It looks like a perfect way to enjoy some of the beautiful scenery - especially in VR. Makes a change from the A320! :)

[GlideYNRG]

Student pilot here and hopefully not far off solo. Been toying with the idea of spending up on a decent computer setup and going vr. This looks the goods.

[JayFX]

Loved this video, thanks for your thoughts on real world gliding and virtual. This is something that captured my imagination as I have no piloting experience whatsoever and I may very well look into purchasing MSFT FS or maybe even join a flying club (who knows). Cheers

[svensubunitnillson]

exacly what i was looking for, but ima use this for real world paragliding and identifying dynamics like rotor and valleywinds.

[gblawrence]

This is really interesting! I knew nothing about gliders before this. Will definitely be installing the addon. Thanks for the video!