i finally figured out what type of flying i like and its flying airplanes that allow you to fly them, for example dc9, b727, and all little ga planes, you have to keep track of the vor to vor, etc but what behooves me is i see a lot people flying big jets that are fully automated.my question is what enjoyment do you all get from that? i find it unbeilievably boring and i tried to enjoy it and once im up and cruising and other than checking the instruments, etc man you just sit there. do you fly them because you need to do other stuff around the house? or what?tell me what i need to do to enjoy fmc/automated flight, etcthanksciao!Brian S

Flight Simulation often is about the suspension of disbelief, aiming to feel like a real pilot for some hours.Real AIRLINE pilots DO fly those automated jetliners, so people who want to feel like an AIRLINE pilot do the same and, *gasp* enjoy it.It is all a matter of taste, not a matter of "who is the better/harder pilot" or who does the "real flying", as this ages old debate always tries to insist.To enjoy automated flight you probably would have to change your taste, what you can't, and there is no reason why you should.Enjoy what you like. Easy as that. =)Regards,Robert

When flying airliners a good part of the enjoyment is the actual planning of the flight.Finding the route, required fuel, etc. and preflighting the aircraft.The flight itself is then indeed often somewhat boring, but there's things like inflight movies and talking with the passengers to pass the time.

Just to add my 2 Cents, I enjoy as much entering stuff into the FMS and programming the computers as much as I do the planning, or the flying.-------------Michael

I also enjoy the planning and preparation. I like to 'imagine' all the systems functioning as I fly. Also, I believe that in 'real' life, pilots have the liberty to fly the aircraft manually. I've heard stories where pilots manage the climb and lateral navigation themselves. If I can recall, it was Robert Randazzo of PMDG fame - and a commercial pilot - that stated that he flies the aircraft often without the autopilot at all - though I'm not sure what actual a/c he flies - but it's a large one. I'm sure there are some aircraft that 'require' that flight is fully automated. Anyway, who says you can't disconnect the autopilot, FMC and do it all yourself? I always land DF734 manually - just flying the Loc and GS.Thanks for listening, Adam

For me, the cruise phase of flight is always dull, regardless of whether I am using a fully functional FMC or just manually tuning localizers. The excitement comes in during both the takeoff and landings. I very rarely use the autoland function if available, as I feel landing is the most difficult and fun part of the flight. To add more fun to flightsim, I recently purchased Lago's FS Maintenance. For me, it sort of keeps me honest when I fly. You have to do proper fuel planning ahead of time since you cannot get into the fuel window once the flight starts. Also, if you bounce the landing a little too hard, you have to pay extra to maintain the plane. The goal with this program and with real aviation is to make the flight as boring as possible. If you really don't want to touch FMSs, try some classic planes such as Posky's 747-200. You can find a few excellent classic panels in the library here which use the old vor naviagation and no FMC.

I agree Craig. Departures and arrivals are the most fun.En route, I love navigating with a sectional chart so the A/P is handy when I'm tuning nav radios and getting fixes. (I try to avoid the GPS when I can and turn the aircraft symbol off on FSNav.And I must admit, if I've filed a flight plan then using the autopilot makes the ATC stop yelling at me ;)BlairCYOW

thanks all for the replies, they were very helpful.i use to fly the pic b763er back in the fs2000 days alot and enjoyed it then, so i dont know whats my problem, i guess i should give it another whirl.i to use FSMaintenance and that does help quit a lot because you never really know if its going to be smooth sailing w/o any problems.ciao!Brian S

I don't think you have a problem Brian. To each his own. Happy flying, automated or manual.CheersBlair

Hi!Will it work on FS2002 Professional Edition? I installed a Lago product once (freeware), and I had to disable it for FS2002 to run! Could that be Windows XP?>To add more fun to flightsim, I recently purchased Lago's FS >Maintenance. For me, it sort of keeps me honest when I fly. > You have to do proper fuel planning ahead of time since you >cannot get into the fuel window once the flight starts. >Also, if you bounce the landing a little too hard, you have >to pay extra to maintain the plane. The goal with this >program and with real aviation is to make the flight as >boring as possible. ----------Tom Joyce

agreed. That's what's great about this hobby -- so much varietyAs for me, I've been flying FS since the early days and have yet to figure out most of the IFR instruments. I haven't ever loaded any of the default big-iron jets in fs2002 and wouldn't know what to do with them if I did. For me, its VFR and ded-reckoning on 1930s - 1940s era instruments.- dcc

"Will it work on FS2002 Professional Edition? I installed a Lago product once (freeware), and I had to disable it for FS2002 to run! Could that be Windows XP?" I use FS Maint. with Win XP and FS2k2 Pro with no problems.I'm also running Active Sky WxRE, RC3, and My Traffic at the same time with no problems. As far as getting bored, I fly many different styles to mix it up.I like flying the Heavy Iron from time to time, and use the Auto Pilot for the cruise phase, but always hand fly the departures and approaches. I also fly GA aircraft quite often switching from Bush flying to Bahamas Hops. When both of those get boring, it's time to break out the Helos. I have about 30 hours in Helos now, and I tell you that you never get bored flying them. Also look for the most realistic panels you can get, try Oleksiy's Dash 8 (freeware), there's so much to do just getting the plane to start up, you'll never get bored.

When I fly PIC 767 I fly it as real as possible. From startup to shut down. Hell just starting the APU takes 10 min. Of course one could change this time but why? Upon reaching my enroute cruising altitude I monitor engine settings, winds etc. Mostly I am thinking about my descent and what runway ATC will assign me for landing. What's really neat about PIC's FMC is that you can do almost everything with it that the real bird can. Want to fly a route offset? No problem here. Enroute flight plan changes also on the FMC just like the real one. ATC says to hold at a certain waypoint, easy too. You can set the alt, speed and hold leg with this bird. So, no I don't ever get bored although I don't ever fly over the pond which could be a little boring but that goes for any aircraft. When I have flown on Vatsim, it is always very exciting. If you start to fly PIC once again, try my VFR panel, it will make your landings much more fun.Best Wishes,Randy J. [email protected]" A little learning is a dangerous thing"AMD XP 2100 |MUNCHKIN 512 DDR RAM |ECS[/b ] K7S5A MB |[b]GF3 64 MEG |WIN XP PRO |MITSUBISHI DIAMOND PLUS 91 19"

>Hell just starting the APU takes 10 min.Have you told Maintenance about this? ;-)Martin767 fetishistIt's a lot like life and that's what's appealing

>my question is what enjoyment do you all get from that? i >find it unbeilievably boring and i tried to enjoy it and >once im up and cruising and other than checking the >instruments, etc man you just sit there. do you fly them >because you need to do other stuff around the house? or >what? >I have just tried flying the 747-400 and I would say that evenwith the autopilot there is much to think about.Start and Landing must be hand flown. And this is much more difficultcompared to a Cessna 172.Entering the correct settings in the autopilot and at the right timeis not always that simple.Actually I have read a book about flying the real big jets and I learned that operating the autopilot is a very complex task far fromjust pushing some buttons. I wonder if FS2K2 truly depict this?Also with a big jet you can fly longer routes and faster.The small Cessna is so slow that you have to choose beteween airports not so far from each other