Hey all --I have been wondering, how do yall fly? Do you fly it like an ATP rated captain would, planning out the fuel, and such, to the lb, and the route as a real plane would? Or are you more relaxed?And, what tools do you use to fly? I am looking to improve the realness of my flying, so I wonder what flight planning tools you use, fuel planning, weather, and such :-)Thanks and clear skies all

I usually do some rough flight planning (route and alt), start up FSBoarding to let all the passengers start loading, run the fuel calculator, put all the waypoints in the FMC, and get going. All in all, I usually take 15-20 minutes to do everything. My roomate thinks I'm a quack for doing all this, but he doesn't understand everything involved in flying yet.

I think that's the joy in a product like PIC. The model is so accurate, it's fun to go through that whole pre-planning process and then see how close to the numbers you actually get.Anyway, I always run the charts, weight calcs, etc. before a flight. If I'm not in the mood for that - well, that's what the DreamFleet Cardinal is for ;-)JPS. My wife long wrote me off as nuts for all I do with this hobby.

I try to fly as real as I can. I use charts, SIDs, STARS. I should calculate my fuel, but I always forget to :-)Clear skies

If you do it often enough, you start to get a feel for how much fuel you'll need. I've gotten pretty good at eyeballing it these days. For instance, BOS-ATL needs about 40,000 and leaves about 17 in reserve with a cost index of 100 (which is a bit much, but PIC burns so much fuel at low altitudes, its better to have a little extra in the tank for the unexpected go around...plus she flies better at slow speeds when she's a little heavy). Comparable legs like ATL-MSP, or ORD-BOS require similar amounts.J

To tell you the truth, I am lazy, not that I want to be. I just wish some of the more experienced real world pilots who use our beloved PIC would take a little time to do a small flight tutorial from engine start to ramp. Capt BBall I bet could give us a real christmas gift with one "hint hint" Lol.I just downloaded "Weather Maker Personal" and let me say that the weather is ALIVE! Wow. Best Wishes,Randy J. Smith

Hey guys,Randy....I got your "hint"....LOL.Actually, funny you should mention this. I'm about 99% done with installment #1 for my 767 PIC review (just formatting the last of the screenshots I'll be using). Here's a snippet: "Here

Looking forward to the tutorial BBall. Thanks.Continuing this thread:FSBUILDFSNAVDP & ARR Chartshttp://www.simatc.com has hundreds of f/p's for North AmericaAlso, visiting the corresponding DEP & ARR VATSIM site proves invaluable. If I'm departing Heathrow to Madiera - I'll visit UK & Portugal ARTCC's for NOTAM's, HELP, and f/p's (occaisionally).DSCVA3339

BBall, shear volume should be changed to sheer volume. ;-)

>>PS. My wife long wrote me off as nuts for all I do with this >hobby. You gotta love it!My wife actually understands that I love flight simming - I've been doing it since we met in college back in 1977 and she still talks about how I would sneak into the computer center to "play the games". After taking a physics class, some friends and I actually developed a text-based ILS sim employing 'real physics' equations - totally on a whim - no authenticity in what we developed - but what fun we had!Now, when she calls home and she gets a hint of my being distracted, she says "So - where are you flying to now?" Then she follows up with "Once you get to cruise altitude and the seatbelt sign is turned off - please put the dishes in the dishwasher, start dinner and pour me a glass of wine!" ... Oh yeah - the original question: I like to fly with real weather (FSMeteo), plan the flight and manually develop the flight plan/enter it in the FMC. I also like to always pick up where I left off - no dead-heading! I never accelerate time - and I often get the garage cleaned out or car washed during those 3+ hr flights!!!-michael

I'll try and take a stab at my approach:I really enjoy flying my 767. I try most of the time to fly it as real world as a non pilot like myself can. I am blessed to have a complete set of charts for the world, Mike Ray's 767 book, access to some great real world flight plans, and anything else I can get my hands on to improve realism.1) Deciding WHERE I am going to fly is by far the hardest part for me. I ONLY fly online with VATSIM so having some ATC coverage and WHO is actually working the positions have some effect on my decision. Lately I have been trying to fly my bird out of wherever I last landed, and also trying to visit many airports all over the world that I have not visited in some time (or at all).2) I open up Servinfo to see if there are any "buddies" who I like to fly with online (like Rob, Daryl, Murf, or Mike). 3) I open my FS and place my aircraft at the gate and connect to VATSIM - making sure that the time is correct in my sim and start my FSMETEO.4) Find my route on an appropriate flight planner like SIMATC.COM. Type the route into FSNAV and then EXPORT it to FSMETEO to get the winds aloft and OAT.5) Calculate my fuel based on my ZFW of 245,000 lbs, the winds aloft, OAT, an appropriate alternate, 45 minutes of holding fuel, APU and Taxi fuel (based on the airport I am flying out of I can usually determine if this will take long or not - for example, I always pack extra APU/TAXI fuel when flying out of Chicago - I never do while flying out of LA).6) Fire up the power and get the APU online, check the weather, and get the IRS aligned.7) Call for IFR clearance, and get the correct amount of fuel on board.8) Program the FMC, by this time I should have my clearance and have everything set in the aircraft and be ready to go. At this point the lights come on, the signs go on, we call for the pushback, release the brakes and start the clock.9) Once we're back with engines started, flaps, and trim set we start our taxi - double checking the speed bugs, the MCP, my altimeter, and my route in the computer.10) When cleared to go we do a final check, flick the signs a few times, turn on the transponder, turn on the lights, enable the A/T and arm VNAV - lined up we accelerate and hit the N1 and follow standard takeoff.11) Once up we go retract the gear and then at acceleration altitude we bring the flaps up on schedule and use a combination of VNAV for thrust along with the FD to fly the departure. 12) Once we get near FL180 we go to CMD mode in HDG SEL, replot the FMC to the next waypoint and engage LNAV. Then the signs come off, we kick back and enjoy the flight usually talking with friends, looking at clouds and enjoying some in flight entertainment. We write down on our FP all of our fuel and times we reach major intersections and ToC - when I am done a flight my flight plan looks like it has been through a real battle.13) At some point enroute we start checking the weather for the destination and reviewing the Arrival and of course the necessary approaches. I personally like to mix it up so I will often look for something fun to fly be it a VOR, DMEARC, BC, LDA, and especially a published visual. I'll tweak my FMC to get the arrival just right.14) Near ToD I'll flick on the signs and check my fuel balance - often times needing some crossfeed to get them all balanced nicely.15) By the time I am at 10,000 I usually have the approach type coordinated with the approach controller, and usually am again in SPD mode using HDG SEL to supply the FD with inputs. 16) Once established on the approach I will almost always turn the A/T off and handfly. When an ILS is available I will always have it dialed in and the APP mode enabled in case I need to follow it. I always dial in the MISS information as soon as reach the FAF. I also fly most of my approaches OUT OF MAP MODE - yes it's true, I like the ROSE ILS/VOR modes (I'm not sure you can legally fly in MAP mode on the PF EHSI).17) Once we're down softly (hopefully) we use reverse (almost never use autobrakes) thrust until around 60 knots and then we apply the brakes. Once I exit the runway we retract the flaps, turn off the landing lights, FD, and get the APU back online - once clear of all runways we squawk standby.18) Once at the gate (we always try and dock.. but thank god those jetways move ) we turn off the lights, set the brakes, turn off the fuel flow, stop the clock, and turn off those signs so the PAX can begin rushing to their carry ons so they can wait around to get off the aircraft.19) If we are continuing on we will start the whole process again from powered on, if we are done for the night we will shut all systems down.20) Say thanks to ATC and good bye to friends - then off to read my favorite forum.Well that's my approach - for route planning and charts I always recommend people try out some of the great websites out there which contain routes, charts, weather, everything you ever need. I also HIGHLY recommend flying online with VATSIM - once you get the hang of it you will certainly never want to fly offline again (well that is MY opinion, to each his own).Ian Elchitz CYWGOakland ARTCC (VATSIM)

Hi,I usually start with a quick visit to navdata.at and download the sids/stars plus charts of where i'm going from/to.I plan the route, enter all the info into the fmc during the week and during the weekend, away we go. For fuel planning i'm a bit lazy; 5 tons plus 5 tons for each hour of flight. FSMeteo is well recommended too and i'll adjust the fuel if the weather is going to be very favourable or adverse.I can usually take off before the dog decides that it's 'biscuits biscuits and more biscuits' from the bar.Carl

Here's my story ... long as it is ... heheheI usually conjur up a flight plan while at work (sneeky huh?) and create from MSFS and print it. I have FS on my work PC only for creating flight plans. Sometimes I use FSBUILD as a check on the MS plan and sometimes I use FSBUILD to get the plan and then create it in MSFS. This is so I can use MSFS ATC, better than no ATC (waiting for RC 3.0)Next I check the route on the Hi-Alt maps and make changes I want to make so I can fly over somewhere I have never been. Most of the time I just stick to the plan.next I go to the NOAA weather site at http://aviationweather.gov/fltfldr/ and check the sigmets and wind/temps aloft for my route. Although in the real world, I think the winds are checked before routing to try and take advantage of tail winds, and avoid headwinds if possible ... the flight dispatch office sometimes does this from what I have seen.Next I use a fuel spreadsheet or program to calculate the fuel I am needing to load for the flight. Of course, in the real world, dispatch does this also, but the crew checks and signs off.I avoid CG and loading stuff (my own stupidity or not taking the time to understand all of that ... usually trim 4-6 up is fine.)Write all this stuff onto the flight planStart FS and create the flight in MSFS Flight Planner again, file the plan, reprint if I made changesStart wherever cold and darkStart FS_METEO and FDC, FSFLIGHTMAX maybedo the preflight following one of the many detailed procedure checklists. set up the FMC or MCDU and double check the route against the msfs GPS (if the FMC route and the MSFS flight plan route don;t match, then you get vectored all over, so I make a last check to see if the routes are in synch)run the FDC checklists, call for ATIS and clearances,use the neat little LAGO puchback thing for push and start,call for taxi, finish the checklists, and away we go ...hopefully for another excellent flightHaving watched many flight videos, I think this about matches what happens in the real world .. as far as you can in FS. Of course, you can't check for turbine blade damage, or break pin wear ... hahaha but these days, it seems you can almost have an "as real as it gets" for a few $$$$ or Euros.And my wife, before she left, ALWAYS thought I was nuts ... but never sure why I was nuts and hobies other people have are NOT nuts ... to each his own, I always thought.And when I am tired, I also hop into the CARDINAL and fly around French Polynesia from Moorea to Bora Bora and wherever ... and dream i was there.Since I am a process consultant in real life, I like the step by step stuff. But hey, that's me. There's no RIGHT or WRONG here!!!! Neat hobby I think ... so much to do, so many great pieces of software, scenery ... I am always amazed.Happy flying!

Just in response to Ian ...I always thought I was alone in figuring out where to fly!!! Such a big world, so many places, so difficult to decide where,I try to have a "theme" so I don't obsess about where ... By theme I mean Around the world following continental coastlines ... something like that ... something to last for 5 months .. hehehe ... over and over. Some day I will try vatsim and maybe a VA .. somedayCheers!!!!!

Paul,Come and join us on the dark side (VATSIM).You sound like a natural fit - will send you a private e-mail offering my assistance.Ian Elchitz CYWG