Single session flights....

[Guest Virtual_Tao]

Just curious. How many people in this forum actually complete an flight, start to finish, in a single setting? I almost never do. It seems that with a 4 year old daughter, a pregnant wife and overtime at work, I barely have time to start the engine and take off. Of course, I always spend more time reading the forums at Avsim than anything. I can get 10 minutes here or there for flying, but its hard to find time for a complete flight. OK, I'm finished. Can anybody else relate ? Oh uh...time to take the blackened Lasagna out of the oven. Thanks :-lol GregOpps, I see my typos only after posting. I meant to say 'complete a flight in a single session..not setting.

[John_Cillis 2,406]

Over the weekend, with a lovely wife to gaze at, and an inquisitive 3 year old running around, I managed a flight from Vienna to JFK, real time.I actually find the shorter flights the hardest, since I usually fly those by hand from start to finish. While I was tuning my Microlight for release, I was doing many short hops.... I'd hop, tweak the .air file, hop, make some choc. milk for my daughter, hop, tweak the .cfg file, hop, talk with my wife about winning powerball (some day)....Sighhhhh.... I know what you mean! :)

[Guest Virtual_Tao]

John, I managed to upgrade from 98SE to Millenium this weekend but as far as flying, I was able to fly from the beginning of Rwy 160 to the end of Rwy 340. "Cessna Romeo Juliet, you are cleared for takeoff...please exit runway when possible". Whats that honey..OK..I'll go get some eggplant ice cream and a few green banannas. Take care...........Greg

[Guest Rockcliffe]

I always find it unsatisfying to split a flight up over two or more sessions. For me, the thrill is in the take off and climb and the approach and landing. The thought of loading FS and starting a flight in cruise at FL350 with an hour or more before beginning an approach leaves me a bit cold.My preference is to hop from field to field in my DF Archer with a leg of under 100 NM, or to fly a regional turboprop or commuter jet on short legs, Ottawa-Montreal, Vancouver-Victoria, etc. I also like flying the old routes: a Convair or HS748 from Newark to Chicago, stopping in places like Wilkes-Barre, Syracuse, Buffalo, etc.I work evenings and by the time I get home the family is in bed. Some people would watch TV for an hour or so. Me? I'm flying. Makes for tough mornings though.CheersBlairCYOW

[N562Z 4]

Fellow Daddies:I can really relate. I too enjoy completing a flight from start to finish, real time, real weather, but for all of those reasons you guys mention, my long-haul trans-oceanic flights are just about a thing of the past, sadly. The late night flying sessions on-line are also few and far between. But I still manage to get on-line for an ATC session about once a week, usually a short hop of one to two hours between major airports using established STARS, SIDS and approach plates. It helps to have these flights pre-programmed and stored in FS 2002 for instant loading into the GPS, so then I can usually find a familiar session / controller and off I go. I also have the flight plans printed out with notes on the approach, departure, local navaids, etc. All of this just helps me jump into the left seat and complete a flight in the most expedient way I can, because these days, with small children, work, wife, there is much less of me to go around. Still find time for the AVSIM forums though, at work late at night before bedtime or whenever....I'm too addicted!http://www.expedia.com/pubspec/images/airlines/smNW.gifAlex ChristoffN562ZMinneapolis, MN

[Guest SlimDady]

I have no kids or wife and I hardly Have time to finish a flight. For the most part I just get up in the air fly arounda bit and lan at another airport maybe 20min away, thats about all I have time for. Once and a while like maybe once a month a do a cross country flight say LA to toronto or somthing.

[Guest crashing_pilot]

well...not to be a pain in the bu** ... but i do... i'm married,no kids,and i fly an average 3 hours per day,mostly in Alaska,and sometimes the odd heavy in between...i'm suffering back problems,so i'm stuck to the house...before you say:"oh great!flying every day...you must have fun...wish i could"....i think that's the wrong idea...actually..i "flee" to my simulator,only because i have nothing else to do...but it's still fun...thank god!i manage to complete all my flights,i usually save at the airport i last flew to,and continue from there...so,in a way i'm lucky,in an other way i might not be ... but i'm sure having fun...if you don't count the crashes due to poor reaction time :-)

[Guest]

I always consider it a failure to have to terminate a session and come back to it later unless the aircraft is on the ground or the water, engine off, everything shut down. Doesn't always work out, but wherever possible I'll land rather than quit out.ChasW

[yellow5 0]

I am married with no kids... yet.... I do most of my flying late at night. It isn't much, but I will take what I can get. I look forward to the rainy weekends when there is no yard work to do, or house chores to be done, or places to see, people to visit... Although.... I find it annoying when you just take off and you hear those words,"... Hunny, could you come here for a minute...?" You go and see what needs to be done, and then finally you get back to your chair and turn off the pause and go about 10nm, then, " Hunny, guess what.....?" Finally, back to flight sim and you go another 10nm, then,"...Hunny...?"I have two loves. My wife and flight sim. They both complete me...

[Guest FS_freak]

I work from 7:30AM to 4:30PM, do homework with my kid until 6:00PM and fly from 6:00 to 9:00PM every day. Dinner's usually at FL250. That is when wifey doesn't show up with two hotdogs on a tray right when I'm on final on a 30 degree crab angle and about to cross the threshold. I end up in the middle of the wheat field and wifey's face smeared with ketchup and a sausage down her ... throat. Talk about macho BS.Maurice

[bobbyjoh 11]

Hi Guys,Well I have gone though what most you you young daddies are doing now. But on the other hand, I fly the heavy's PIC/POSKY 767, which I am doing on my main computer right now.I plan a flight to match a real UAL flight and fly it, with the attempt to get an ontime takeoff and landing. Once I am in the air, I set it on autopilot, as the flight crew does, and fly to my destination. I monitor the progress of the flight, but I get other things done, like all the household chores. When I get close to my destintion, then I stop everything else and get back to my simming.On long oceanic flights, I am either sleep as I cross, or I run errans during the day. I always complete the flight, I hate stopping that seems so unreal.What I have found, is that careful planning the flight time with my real life chores can always make the two compatible.Running two lives is so much fun (grin)CheersBob

[Guest nutmeat]

I try to get at least an hour or more flying in every day. I always start from a cold, dead cockpit and complete an approach (sometimes a touch & go) with full stop dead cockpit again. Often, this may be to the same airport that I departed(KRNO). However, I also often try to fly cross country to keep the nav skills current. I usually fly any of the current GA twins but also have the SF260 and the MAAM B-25 along with the many excellant, high-realism single engine A/C out there. Most of my sim flying is done in the high mountains of Nevada and California but I have also completed trips to many of the airports throughout the western US.It helps that I am retired with no kids at home and a mate that gives me plenty of "self-interest" alone time. Like someone else here said, she will bring me lunch on a tray at the simulator, usually while I'm on an instument final, 3-4 miles out! Can you imagine the difficulties of eating hot soup while maintaining the glideslope???I consider myself, and am thankful that, in this respect, I am probably better off than most; especially since I can no longer afford the cost of flying the real stuff.nutmeat