Crj50 started a thread about losing his passion for flight simming (http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=121&topic_id=153566&mesg_id=153566&page=2). I must confess I'm on the very edge of losing the passion too. However, our causes are not exactly the same. For most who are not familiar with IT, the complexities of the platforms (XP, 2000, 98, 95...) and associated issues (video cards, joy sticks etc) has taken the joy out of this hobby, not to mention the increasing sophiscation of the simulation itself (autogen, XML, VC etc). Most people finding themselves fixing things than enjoying the game.For me being familiar with IT, it is not the technicalities that frustrate me, but finding new ways to enjoy the game. I'm tired of tired of flying the big iron from A to B. Most of it is boring except the landing. So, I want to know whow do you enjoy the game?- flight planning to excruciating level of details?- VFR and dead reckoning?- long range?Michael TanCanberra

Well heres how I enjoy Flightsimming.As some of you may know I hate the sterility of the Big iron to boring for me so im GA and some light turboprops like the PC-12 or the superotter.I fly now almost all the time the Commander 115TC from FSD the first thing I do to a plane is personlise it useully its VH-BEN or some veriation close to that :)Then I fly around from place to place for instance the adventures ithat are in FS9 instead of just starting up the adventure I fly to the place where it starts and then do it if its a adventure with a single I usually pick the stinson or the Cub from Bill lyons.But most importantly I fly to that place with real time a weather with my trusty c115tc :).Next thing I do so I dont run out of things to do is i keep a eye on the screenshot forum and this forum and write down all the cool places I see people talk about and fly to them to visit it I figure I have at least a years worth of flying to do :) Iv also got the flight adventures that people upload to Avsim (havent got around to unpacking them because im still doing the above) :).Its all daylight VFR for me long and short range I find it really great to rack up engine hours on the 115tc.Well thats my 2c hope that gives you some ideas :)out

I think you have to mix it up a bit. If you fly the larger jets, take a break and fly GA aircraft. Try setting up a multiple monitor system. Adds a whole new dimension to the sim. You could also try your hand at plane or scenery design. At the moment, I am involved in taking an extensive tour of the United States. I fly in one state for about a week (10-15 hours typically in a week) but as I am involved in a state, I do some research online about the airport, the cities, the culture, the terrain, and other aspects. This adds a complete new dimension to the experience.Of course there are other flight sim titles, IL2 and the upcoming LOMAC. There are also racing titles and other pc games. It may, however, be a time to take a break from this hobby and spend time doing something else, hopefully you are not neglecting the things in life that are important. Hope that helps.

Hi Micheal,I agree about mixing it up with aircraft. Each one in MSFS behave a little differently, has different panels, ect. I fly jets, then GA, and helicopters once in a while. There's a lot to learn about using various instruments like the RealityXP Garmin 530, and the FMC on the PMDG 737NG for instance. For a while I have been using a free program called 'Flight Creator' available in the Avsim library by Jon Masterson(flight_creator_02.zip) to give me a sense of purpose and places to go. I have also spent some time creating a database for this program that I will release when Jon releases his upcoming v0.3 of Flight Creator. My database is for 50 airports in the state of Colorado.The biggest thing I do though is fly online at www.westcoastatc.com for some real action. Realistic ATC controllers do their thing while we all have a good time. :D And then they also have PROPS racing. White knuckle racing around courses in a P-51D Mustang. A lot of this endeavour is about the camaraderie involved with getting to know and flying with other pilots besides just getting a purpose and/or competitive challenge in the sim.And lastly, I too spend a lot of time on the forum here and in downloading the latest stuff for MSFS! There is quite a variety of stuff available, and, as they say, variety is the spice of life. ;)Cheers,Jim

I agree with you Jim. I am a big iron type of guy for the most part but do find a nice flight around Emma Field in a GA like the Sai Marchetti refreshing. But there is more, I think these Avsim forums take up a good amount of my free time, it's something I really enjoy. Flight simming is so much more than just being *in sim*. I like to develope things and be creative, think of new way to do things, make new friends. It's not such a rewarding hobby if you cannot share your joy, get together with other that have some of the same interests as you. Form a club, write a manual or review, there is so many things to keep one's interest sparked. And most of all have fun![h4]Best Wishes,Randy J. Smithhttp://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-5/196432/winglets_lg.jpg

I agree. Many people are goal oriented and in FS9 there is no goal! Unfortunately, the goal we often create is to achieve the best possible FPS. This can be frustrating and costly. I think the addition of a career mode or some type of airline (or charter) management would put this simulation over the top, without a significantly impact on FPS. Something like a combination of FS9 and that "Airline" program that is often advertised. Seems like a good idea to me.

Dont over kill onflying per week so it stays fresh and fun. Keep flights short. Try flying small GA planes and using charts, and all kinds of navagational skills. Instead of using the flight planner get a E6B computer and do it yourself. Fly with FSFailure enabled so theres a chance that your a/c wont allow a perfect flight which will make for a more real flight. Finally try following a sports team or something and be there personal plane and fly them to there next town based on real life.I currently and going across the US in the 172 and doing some of the historical flights along the way. Below is a crude flight plan. I only fly using sectionals and in VFR but as of 2002 amd IFR rated. If I do fly IFR will use the Jeppensen sim charts for the apporaches. This flight plan are just check points but what I do plan to fly for about an hour and look at small fields to land at along the way then take off. *Salt Lake City, UT KSLCYellowstone*Helena, MT KHLN*Boise, ID KBOI*Seattle/Tacoma, WA KSEA (H)Take the Private pilot Check RideTake the Insturment Check RideTake the Commercial Check RideTake the ATP Check RidePortland, OR KPDX*Salem, OR KSLEReno, NV KRNO*Carlson City, NV KCXP*Sacramento, CA KSMFSan Fran, CA KSFO (H)Los Angeles, CA KLAX (H)Vega trip to Mexico CityLear back to KLAXCatalina, CA KAVXSan Diego, CA KSANRyan to NYCBoeing 747 from NYC to LAXLas Vegas, NV (H)Bryce Cayon, UT KBCE*Phoenix, AZ KPHXTucson, AZ KTUSAlbuquerque, N.M. KABQ*Santa RE, N.M. KSAFEl Paso, TX KELPSan Antonio, TX*Austin, TX KAUSDallas/ Fort Worth KDFW (H) KDALHouston, TX KIAH KHOU*Baton Rouge, LA KBTR(Up the Mississippi River)*Jackson, MS KJAN*Montgomery, AL KMGM*Atlanta, GA KATL (H)*Tallahassee, FL KTLHOcala, FL KOCFOrlando, FL KMCOTampa, FL KTPASarasota, FL KSRQFort Meyers, FL KRSWKey West, FL KEYWMiami, FL KMIAFort Lauderdale, KFLLWest Palm Beach, FL KPBI (at night hopefully)Vero Beach, FL KVRBMelbourne, FL KMLBCape Canaveral, FL KXMRDaytona, FL KDABJenny to FindleyLear Back to KDABJacksonville, FL KCRGSavannah, GA KSAV*Columbia, S.C. KCAE*Raleigh, N.C. KRDUKitty HawkWashington, D.C. KDCAWashington, D.C. KIADJenny to NYCJenny from NYC to BellfonteMooney back to KIAD*Baltimore, MD KBWI*Dover, DE KDOVAtlantic City, N.J. KAIYPhilly, PA KPHL*Trenton, N.J. KTTNNewark, N.J. KEWRNew York, N.Y. KJFK (H)/ KLGAPiper Cub to KLAXBoeing 777 Back to NYC*Harrisburg, PA KMDTPittsburg, PA KPIT*Columbus, OH KCMHFord Tri-Motor to LAXFord Tri-Motor from LAX to KSANKing Air back to KCHM*Charleston, W.V. KCRW*Lexington, KY KLEXLouisville, KY KSDFCincinnati, OH KCVGIndianapolis, IN KIND*Lansing, MI KLANDetroit, MI KDTWCleveland, OH KCLENiagra Falls, N.Y. KIAGRochester, N.Y. KROCSyracuse, N.Y. KSYR*Albany, N.Y. KALB*Hartford, CT KHFD*Providence, R.I. KPVDMartha

this is a great timely subject, cause i too am getting burned out on flt simming. however i have tried the jet thing and man i get bored with that and i allways come down to doing bush flying and charter type flights - i like the fsd porter for bush, nothing beats that and i like the baron 58 for my charter flights. occasionally i like flying the premiere 1 from Eaglsoft for business charters but not to often - i also like servicing the payware airports put out by lago, great vfr/bush stuff. The way i work my charter flights is to make a list of your favorite airports and get a deck of cards - dont make a lot just oh say 12 to start with - keep it small otherwise it will seem overwhelming and that at least to me burns me out right there, then write down the icao code on one playing card (yes you will sacrifice the card) then make up a small deck of cards, also in the deck put in say 2 cards that have written "return flight". now pick 2 cards, the first is where you go to pick the pax up and the second is the airport in which you'll drop them off - this is realistic in that real charter flights dont know where there going until they go and it also adds a bit up excitement cause you never know where youre going to go next. if you choose the return flight card then (keep track of where your passengers are and where they came from) go back to the first charter flight and return the pax home. if you want to even make it more realistic what i do is look up each airport on airnav and based on the activity there i might assign the airport maybe 2-4 cards, that way you'll end up going there more often which if its an airport that does a lot of business then you probably would in real life anyway.i also fly my flights as realistically as i know how, with real wx and in real time (another beauty of charters is that since there not scheduled, flying them in real time is again realistic) and with charts, another thing i found and that is tune the radios manually this adds to the immersion factor - dont cheat and use the numbers on the atc menu.lets see what else,fly it like your life depends on it - allways look and check where you would ditch if you you would have touse some sort of failure program set to barely trigger - i use FS reliablity factor - hardly anything happens (like in real life again) but one time i was hauling cargo in the caravan and lost my vacuum - needless to say that made things very interesting very quicklyput in all the peoples weights in the loadout section - we have this finally now, without having to mess with the .cfg file so use it. once i determine how many pax i have then i go to here http://www.randomizer.org/form.htm and then i usally enter 50-300 range and thats will simulate anything from a young child to an overweight personfly for a va - I fly for Eagle Express found here http://www.eagleexpressva.com/ this is great because it allows you the pilot to find your own "work" and the "company" furnishes the planes - in other words it allows you to do charter and bush type ops as well as the "normal" flyingthats enough for nowoops forgot to also say, do other things as well, take a break from flt simming and then you'll enjoy it again.my other hobbies are:playing the bongo drums and the jembe drum - jamming to some good latin jazz or some salsai fly quad line stunt kitesi fly r/c paraplanesi do miniature wargamming and board wargammingand hang out on avsim a lotciao!Brian S:-bigangel

Hi!I have been simming since 1986/87 and have always used several different sims.Not in the early days though with only FS3 available.....but for the last years I have a combination of different sims on my PC.You may call me a simoholic....For regular simming I use fs2004 and Fly2,and for a little action I use CFS and IL2.So to your question....How do I enjoy my simmingTo fly the heavies from A-B gives me nothing...The biggest airplane I use is the PMDG737NG.Usually I fly the GA's.I usually does short flights +-an hour or so.And always use realweather and time.I plan my flights carefully,and enjoy to navigate.To get the most out of it for VFR flights I have installed Mesh and new textures that suits my contry(Norway).Since this country is so special with all the fjords,high mountains,glaciers etc it's very hard to make it getiing bored.It's always something new to see and routes to fly.So I think the clue is variation!Johnny"I'LL BE BACK"[div align=center]http://www.avsim.com/hangar/fly/josve/zone.jpg ][/div

Michael-If the thrill has gone(or faded just a little) from "ordinary" flying ,I suggest you try deck landings/catapult takeoffs on Aircraft carriers.This is garaunteed to get the adrenalin going.You can get really nice ArrCab Carriers and the catapult/arrestor wire software(it is nowadays Payware but well worth it).You then get several carriers scattered around the world for you to fly to and from.Believe me- it isn't easy landing on successfully(and tidilly) without quite a lot of practice- and,perhaps more important,you need to keep your hand in by doing a few captures(traps) from time to time.Approaching a landing area about the size of a couple of tennis courts,at 100 knots+, will surely make you concentrate.I find the most satisfying aircraft is the Grumman Greyhound but if you prefer something faster there are plenty of F-14s FA18s,F-4s etc available as well as a lot of the older types.Failing that - try helicopters/oil rigs- another scenario that is likely to keep you very alert when flying and something I still haven't completely mastered.Dave

I ended up learning to fly "for real" after many years of simming. I find that I now enjoy sim-flying much more than I did before, because I know a lot more about how various things really work - ATC, IFR flying, etc. It has also raised my appreciation for what an awesome piece of work Flight Simulator really is, despite the stuff that we b*tch and moan about all the time.You don't necessarily have to go the whole route like I did - you could go take a "ground school" or two (I'm not sure how this is termed outside of the US). For instance, my instrument ground school was about 12 weeks long, one 3-hour session at night per week. It cost about $190 but I know there is a lot of variation on ground school costs (for instance I was in Hawaii recently and one of the local schools there was going to give a primary ground school class *for free*). After the instrument ground school you'll probably have a much better understanding about how IFR flight (which is all the airlines do of course) "works" - e.g. the various phases (departure, enroute, etc.) and the various kinds of instrument approaches.Of course you can learn all this stuff from books but I think it's more beneficial to go over it in a classroom environment.Dave Blevins

I still have a whole planet to explore.Plus theres a lot of fx files that we havent unlocked yet. I.e. shuttle launch etc.http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/44715.gif

Hi Fellow SimmersI have been flying the Flight sims since the early 80's and still enjoy the thrill of being able to depart one airport and arrive safely at another.I am not into setting up flight plans using plates etc, but use Radar Contact and now with FS2004 using the Flight Planner more.Since purchasing the FSD Seneca I enjoy the short flights usually about an hour or less.When I first purchased FS2004 I was somewhat disappointed due to the fact I could not change the surface winds to 01 knots as I was in FS2002 using FSUIPC version 2.97.I have since upgraded to FSMeteo 6.3 and I can set the winds to whatever I want, which makes it far easier to land, and gives me more enjoyment in using this program.One last comment on FPS hit, I avoid major airports like KORD like the plaque.Happy Flying to all you Simmers.Kenny G.

For me is the joy or recreating flights that I have taken or flying planes that I may never get the chance to actually fly in. FS is more than just flying form point A to B. For me it is about the cool aircraft and my high interest in aviation. From flying pax or cargo in a heavy, to taking little excursions in a light single engine, to flying into an airport with a grass strip and no longer than 1000ft, to putting on my own personal airshow in aerobatic and military aircraft. FS gets better and better as the years go on. This game definatly takes some imagination to dream up what you are going to do next.

No question about it - join an Virtual Airline.I did, DC-3 Airways. It has been superbly constructed around flights in New England with the vererable DC-3, of course. (Shades of Ernst Gahn and "Fate Is The Hunter".)I am up to flight #25 and have had nearly every flying challenge imaginable thrown at me. It has given me new understanding and comprehension of the nuts and bolts of IFR flying along with everyday challenges of VFR flying. Completely unlike the "heavies" VAs currently in operation. I flew with a VA that naturally flew all jets. Nice, but in the end, boring. As DC-3 Airways puts it; ". . .there's more to flying than presetting a Flight Management Computer, twiddling an Autopilot, or entering way-points into a GPS." This VA is populated with some very talented, interesting and genuinely nice people. Many are real world pilots.There are all sorts of events going on at one time or another including, but not limited to on-line flying. (VatSim)I guess if you're not interested in prop planes, (The DC-3) then this VA is not for you, but it sure turns my crank.Regards,DonaldS