A trick I learned is when I'm planning to do a really long flight, I turn off all other scenery in the addon scenery directory. No need to load the scenery as you fly over it at fl380. During normal flights (3-5hours) I leave everything on. It's way to much trouble.:-wave

I have circum navigated Australia all the way in a Beechcraft. Took me a whole week. Can't remember the hours though. Now I want try it out with a Bell 206 or another kind of helicopter. A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL !!!!!!!!!!!!

A CFS flight. We added tailhooks to B25s and landed them on the carrier Hornet. Then took off and flew the DoLittle raid on Japan (cutting travel time a little short on front end). Bombed Japan then flew to China, landing in the dark with fire barrels marking the fields. A number of planes didnt' make it. 8 hrs. Miller

>I have a question guys. When do you guys usually start your>descent and at what rate do you descend? Is descending at 700>ft/mi too little? I usually start descending from 39,000>about 400 nm away (I think that's too much)Too little in a heavy or any airliner. An average would be about -2500 fpm, but you it can drop to -3000' at higher altitude and faster speeds. Descend at about 290 knots to 300 knots. When you start to get around 11,000 feet bring the nose up and slow down so you can cross 10,000 and below at 250 knots or less. Below 10,000 feet descend at maybe -1500 fpm or whatever you like to stay at or below 250 knots. If you do it right, you can avoid spoilers completely. Unless you need to drop fast and stay slower than the plane wants too, then you can try the spoilers, but any real simulation of correct spoiler operation will verify the fact that in the real world, they're pretty useless.As far as when to descend, that depends on a lot of things. Using the rule shown below, you see an average of 105nm, but it might not allow for you to slow properly for 10,000 feet crossing and speed restrictions into the airspace and extending flaps, gear, and meeting final approach speed at the 5 mile mark from the runway. Using that method and adding to it will help, or you can follow the STARs and IAPs for the airport in question.

>My most recent long flights were just this weekend from>Vancouver to Boston, and then Boston to San Francisco for my>VA -- both flights were totally destroyed on final within>minutes of landing and after hours of perfect flying! >>The first was toasted when my dog jump up and hit my flaps and>autopilot buttons, extending my flaps full at FL350 290 kts>and somehow blowing out a hatch; the second time when my>stepson turned on the microwave and blanked power for a split>second, crashing my system, despite my emergency battery>backup being fully functional! >>No more for me -- 1 - 2 1/2 hours legs tops. I've decided any>longer that that are a complete waste of my time, since so>much can go wrong completely unrelated to my flying. Besides,>I get more takeoffs and landings in this way!>>Good topic!>>Chuck I can go around 4 tops, but most for me are 1 to 2 hours. I really only care about takeoff and landing, so long flights don't interest me.

I once flew YBBN (or was it YSSY?) to KLAX and made an extra hop to KATL, it was to celebrate the Virtual Airlines 1 year anniversary. That took about 18 hours... i slept for cruise..dan

I participated with Reggie and the others in the Mac-Roberts EGUN-YMEN recreation. I flew it in the Default Lockheed Vega and had a couple of legs that were 12 to 13 hours. It was a grind. No GPS, no shift-X of your position, just ADF and ded-reckoning. I was building a bunch of database tables for a Point of Sale project at the same time on my other computer, putting in 15 hour days. I don't think I could have done that work project without taking a break every so often to check my wind drift correction on the Vega.

LIRF to KPHL...with 180kt headwinds on NAT = 10.5hrs/105,000lbs of gasWilco Airbus 330-RR (no issues except the known Wilco Airbus bugs--e.g., incorrect EFOB, waypoint/ETAs etc).I fly on line (VATSIM) exclusively at 1X speed only.F15Driver

For me it has to be 1x only, otherwise what's the point. I you don't have the time, then do short flights. But that's just me

I simmed the Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer round the world trip in 06. 76 hours or so. It wasn't much of an experience, just sort of running in the background. I ended up a couple hours off from Fossett at the end. The hard part was managing fuel flow and altitude.scott s..