Flight simulators look amazing today — but making them run smoothly is another challenge entirely.
I’m an FAA instrument-rated private pilot, and on this channel I test the settings, hardware, and techniques that improve PC performance in flight simulators. Instead of chasing unrealistic FPS numbers, we focus on what really matters: stable frametimes, smooth motion, and realistic flying.
Videos include:
• Performance testing in MSFS, DCS, and X-Plane
• GPU driver tests and optimization
• DLSS, frame generation, and VR performance
• Real pilot insights applied to simulation
• Settings guides for smoother flying
My goal is simple:
Help simmers understand why flight sims stutter — and how to fix it.
Caribbean flying often featured, with Anguilla and nearby islands as frequent destinations.
Subscribe for flight sim performance deep dives and real-pilot perspective.
IslandSimPilot
Hey all, big VATSIM event going on in the Caribbean today, noon to 8 PM:
vatcar.net/division/event/244
San Juan, St. Maarten, Cuba, Bahamas, Trinidad, Jamaica, it's all there! Get out and have some fun, I will be there.
2 weeks ago (edited) | [YT] | 9
View 0 replies
IslandSimPilot
I’ve been helping a lot of people lately troubleshoot stutters, frametime issues, and overall sim performance—usually just through comments or messages, and I have had a few people ask if I would do individual setup meetings.
Every system is a little different—hardware, drivers, background processes—so the fix is rarely one-size-fits-all.
One thing I’ve realized over the past few months is that most sim performance issues aren’t actually about raw FPS—they’re about frametimes, system behavior, and how everything is interacting.
I’ve been helping people fix this behind the scenes, and in many cases it completely changes how the sim feels.
I’m considering offering 1-on-1 performance optimization sessions where I can look at your setup directly and help dial things in for your specific system.
Would that be something you’d be interested in?
1 month ago | [YT] | 45
View 17 replies
IslandSimPilot
Can anyone confirm if they have DLSS v310.6.0 available in the NVIDIA App if you opt into the beta?
1 month ago | [YT] | 3
View 8 replies
IslandSimPilot
3/29: Sorry, I can't do the group flight today, but next Sunday we will be back flying! Hope everyone has a great week!
1 month ago | [YT] | 13
View 1 reply
IslandSimPilot
What type of flying content would you like MORE of?
2 months ago | [YT] | 17
View 20 replies
IslandSimPilot
Hey everybody! I’m stuck because of the big storm hitting New York today, won’t be able to make it home for the group stream. Sorry about that!
2 months ago | [YT] | 23
View 5 replies
IslandSimPilot
Hey all, special deal on Rowsfire panels right now, 12% off until February 25! I've got the two Airbus panels in the video linked here, the A107 and A105, and use them every day in my Vatsim flying. They really help reduce the workload. The Airbus panels work on the Fenix, iniBuilds and FBW, A319/320/321. Simple to set up.
They also have a presale on their Boeing 737 overhead panel, which I'm REALLY looking forward to! Excellent quality panels and really helpful for flying these complex aircraft single pilot.
Go to rowsfire.com/ for more!
2 months ago | [YT] | 5
View 0 replies
IslandSimPilot
SIM UPDATE 4 is out! I will be doing a video on what I learned about installing and updating SU4 today, in the meantime this information from my Sim Update 3 Install video is all still relevant:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaJ0V...
Big points: make sure you delete your Nvidia shader caches, your rolling cache, and update DLSS with DLSS Swapper. It's all in the video above. Thanks!
5 months ago | [YT] | 13
View 5 replies
IslandSimPilot
Nvidia hotfix driver 581.94 out, for anyone running a 580 or newer driver. I've read about some impressive performance boosts in other games with this hotfix driver, including MSFS 2024. I personally saw about a 10% improvement with no FG or any time of performance boosters running. I was going to do some performance testing this morning and then saw that this driver had come out and updated. So I was able to compare it apples-to-apples to 581.80. Too lazy to do a video after doing 3 this week.
1. Download driver:
nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5750
Write down all of your NVCP and Nvidia App settings before doing the uninstall/install!
2. Go into Safe Mode:
www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=easie…
3. Uninstall old driver with DDU:
Download here:
www.guru3d.com/download/display-driver-uninstaller…
Instructions:
www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/1ccssm0/com…
4. Restart your PC. Go into Nvidia Control Panel, in Manage 3D Settings, set "Shader Cache size" to Disable. Restart PC again.
5. Clear all of your Nvidia shader caches:
C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\NVIDIA
Delete the CONTENTS of DXCache and GLCache folders. Then delete contents of this folder if you have it...
C:\Users\[username]\AppData\LocalLow\NVIDIA\DXCache
Then delete the contents of this folder if you have it...
C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\NVIDIA\ComputeCache
Then run "Disk Cleanup" and select "DirectX Shader Cache" and click OK to delete it.
6. Go back into NVCP and set your shader cache size back to whatever you had (I use 10GB).
7. Restart one last time (for good measure), then you are ready for happy simming.
5 months ago | [YT] | 75
View 20 replies
IslandSimPilot
What kind of airplanes interest you in terms of content? I realized that I'm sort of all over the place, I enjoy flying everything from the 152 to the 777. What do you want to see more of on the channel? A lot of channels focus on how to fly the larger aircraft, but very few focus on how to fly GA airplanes *WELL*. I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
6 months ago | [YT] | 51
View 38 replies
Load more