I own most products available for FS. Initially I thought that each new product brought me an extra step closer to reality in recreating the flights I have made in real life. Recently however I have realised that money spent on this pursuit is wasted money and better spent elsewhere because no matter how sophisticated add-ons become they will still never equal the thrill I get from a real flight. No matter how much money and time is spent upgrading computers and graphics cards and acquiring the latest software and hardware in the pursuit of recreating reality,the fact remains that flight simulators are just that-partial attempts at recreating reality.I am going to cut down all investments of time and money on this game.Before I get criticised let me say that I have had countless hours of enjoyment with FS but recently I seems to spend more time in the elusive search for new add-ons than I actually do flying.Thats just my personal opinion those of you who differ probably have good reasons.Am I alone in my thinking or are there others out there who think alike? Just curious to knowRegards allJK

I think it is quite clear that no sim. can ever really be 'as real as it gets', and no amount of money will ever change that. The sim is there for people like myself who are unlikely to ever get a PPL through lack or time and money - but who would love to know, to an extent, what we are missing out on.I see FS as a game, like any other, which you can enhance, and make more realistic, but never come close to true reality. As soon as you understand that, you can stop worrying about the sim, and start having fun doing things that you can't do otherwise.http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/36121.jpgAthlon 3000512Mb PC3200 DDR RAM (400MHz)256MB nVIDIA GeForce FX 5600seFS9, running fine :-)

Hi,Well it's a simulationsim

"Initially I thought that each new product brought me an extra step closer to reality in recreating the flights I have made in real life. Recently however I have realised that money spent on this pursuit is wasted money and better spent elsewhere"True! :) I don't understand the people who jump at every payware release! Flight Sim can only take you so far!

While the sim isn't reality it can be very useful for real world pilots to hone their skills as I've talked to many pilots, from GA up to commercial airline pilots and they have all said that MSFS does help a great deal and some packages, especially PIC767 has modelled the panel, systems and FDE to emulate the real aircraft. So yes while it's a game, it is a very useful program for various procedural training and people that have simmed for years and have decided to get their PPL have had much success as they are already well above the learning curve.Regards,Van LatendresseYeodesigns/AFG GroupPanel/FDE Designer

I think I know what you mean, JK. I have 767PIC and tons of other addons, but nowadays I am more into the fun element of the whole thing. Fs has become a toy for me. I have fun with it, but I never take it to seriously. I like to fly around and view the scenery in a Bill Lyons classic, or to taxi around a huge airport with lots of AI-traffic. Sure, I do the odd flight in 767PIC, with checklists and all, but I don't expect that flight to take me to the real world.- Oyvind

Some here on the forum actually enjoy both.

> and was suprised at how far removed FS>was from "real" flight, FS is good when it comes to procedural>training, but for "realism" thats as far as it goes.IMO, Sometimes.............. it can be "very much" like real life, and other times far removed. Much of it's, a transfer of real life experience to the sim, but at least the "mind transfer" works! :)L.Adamson

Congratulations on your paradigm shift - this IS a game, and those of us who probably have the most fun do so because we accept it as such.I recently added window/wing views to an A310 I've had for a while - and now have SO much fun pretending to be a window-loving passenger while having the unique joy of knowing that the guy in the cockpit is, well...ME!:)best regards,Mark

Some of us get air sick in the real things and enjoy keeping our feet safely on the ground, but really love planes and avaition. It is a game, but a great game and closest many of us may come to flying the real ones and the great variety of aricraft is wonderful. I say, If you don't have the imagination it takes and don't find it fun, why do it?!!! There are lots of other hobbies out there. This is just one that I really have a good time with and love.

I hope you don't think you just made a big discovery - most of us here have known all along there are serious limitations of flight simming.But if I were to "cut down" on my "investment" in this "game" I would not be much richer any it would not buy me many hours of real flight time. I am looking into the future when some savings and retirement might perhaps allow me to pursue 'real' flying more actively and getting even a fractional ownership in something like an SR-22. But even 1/4 ownership will cost me close to $90,000 plus monthly management fees close to $1000, plus $100 per every hour of flighht time, etc. All of a sudden we are talking REAL money. This simulation money of mine is just peanuts - not even worth talking about. I think I get good value for those 'peanuts'.Michael J.http://www.reality-xp.com/community/nr/rsc/rxp-higher.jpg

I recently started flying for real.. I have logged 20 hours am to go Solo in about a couple of weeks time..but it was MSim that got me interested in flying...I was spending so much time and effort trying to understand NAVAIDS(VOR, NDB) that I might as well do the real thing...Yes.. I am spending less time with Sims...but I have not abandoned it... 1. For VFRs (Visual Flight Rules For Private Pilot Certification) the FSim does not do any good at all. Using the Rudder in real life and its impact on flight is something else... The Feel and the tension (inb a good way) of real flight is unmatched.2. For IFR (Instrument Flying).. the FSim is awesome... It saves you money... You can get your understanding down pat...3. Even for VFRs..I use the FSim to do my "Armchair" flying... I find it hard to memorize all the procedures...So using the FSim..to repeat those steps of procedures is very useful.4. As for the Flight dynamics..in FSim.. I have not seen anything that even comes close.. So far. BTW.. I use the Skyhawk 172S.

I know for a fact that every version of fs has saved me quite a bit of money in what could have been wasted time in flight training.In my primary training years ago-I remember my first lesson on cross wind takeoffs and landings. I of course like most beginners would turn the yoke like a steering wheel for directional control.I came home with a total of 8 real take offs and landings and a few hours in my logbook-and spent several hours with fs4 using correct technique with my pc rudder/yoke setup-and logged several hundred takeoffs and landings on the sim. The coordination problem was solved the next lesson and my instructor was impressed with how "quickly" I seemed to "get" things. This rapidity translated to real pocket book savings.I remember setting different winds and practicing ground track maneuvers in fs4-getting the headwork down-and seeing the results in flight tracks on the sim.At this point-now with my instrument and commercial behind me-I have always used a sim (not just msfs) to reinforce and practice procedures for each rating-and not only has it saved its' cost many times but helps keep the cobwebs down. Doing my multi training now at a cost of about $200/hr. (plane and instructor)-the first thing I did is take a photo of the cockpit of the aircraft and do the panel for fs. On my second flight my instructor commented at how unusually rapidly I seemed to know my way around the plane (not surprising since I had got my scan down exactly to match the real aircraft)-and how fast I had got the procedures (practicing them down to using the real checklist with the sim). If using fs saves me even one hour at $200 bucks that is a pretty good deal. Right now the twin I am using for training is out of town for 2.5 weeks-an annoying interuption in my training. The first words on my instructors mouth were "make sure you use your sim and practice during the down time"! Right now-my Civil Air Patrol unit is using the sim to train for search grid searches. Fs2004 has enough landmarks in the scenery, and with the wonderful add on Reality Xp Gps (which is the same unit all CAP aircraft have and use)-we can practice doing search grid searches on the sim which is a lot cheaper than using the real aircraft. It certainly makes sense learning to use the gps on the ground than in the air. We can watch our fellow pilot's performance, learn from it, examine ground tracks after the flight....lots of money and time is saved there.I was talking to one of my instructor friends at the airport the other day. He told me he has an interesting student right now-the guy has long been ready for his private checkride but is killing time to get enough time to fullfil the Faa time requirements. He told me the guy is a "flightsim" buff and atributes his fast learning and skill directly to that. I wonder if he consider Fs a bargain and how much he saved?I can see walking away from the sim for other reasons-but the cost-I know of no other bargains in life like FS! http://mywebpages.comcast.net/geofa/pages/Geofdog2.jpg

I do not have the time or the money or the health to devote to flying for real. It will always be beyond my limitations. However I can at least have a taste of what it would be like. For me FS has added considerably to the quality of my life. Dennis Waggoner

Hi JK,I both fly and use sims, and I would agree with your thoughts. Simming is a bit akin to watching a sports game at home on TV- it's in a 2 dimensional aspect, but you get to see many views of the action that you normerly wouldn't; and it doesn't cost the same.But, you don't get the atmosphere and the true experience. In fact, it becomes tough to even compare.Bruce.