For the original poster, I bought a 737 DVD. Best 50 bucks I spent. Got me back into flying. See how it's really done.JimCYWG

Hi,Its quiete normal that after a certain time of simming one reaches a point of loosing interrest, due to been there done that.Just take a break, and DONT delete anything, you will regret this later.The break, I have had many, may be some months to up a year. Just take it, but keep following the forums now and then.You wil come back, once bitten by the bug..

DONT delete anything, you will regret this later

Very true. I did so some time ago only to find myself, about two weeks later, spending three days of reinstalling and tweaking back my belove sim. :(

Hi,Its quiete normal that after a certain time of simming one reaches a point of loosing interrest, due to been there done that. . .

It IS?? Oh my god -- it's true. I'm not normal --

It IS?? Oh my god -- it's true. I'm not normal --

Chuck - you mean someone actually did accuse you of being - gasp - normal? I hope you beat the c--p out of them. Or got that wonderful dog of yours to bite them where they usually sit down. Normal indeed! :( No flight simmer worth the name is "normal." Obsessed. Addicted. Occasionally deluded and definitely reality challenged. Strange, sometimes VERY very strange. But definitely not normal :(

>>Chuck - you mean someone actually did accuse you of being - gasp - normal?Well, they DID, but I never really BELIEVED them . . . :(

Oh cool, yea i won't delete anything. I get the urge sometimes after a few days break! If only vatsim was fully staffed in the whole world :(. Ill try keep it to a minimum, i want a PS3 so i can play and fly at the same time...and i'm also playing rise of nations too now . It is quite fun.Keep the responses coming though, love it!

Oh cool, yea i won't delete anything. I get the urge sometimes after a few days break! If only vatsim was fully staffed in the whole world :(. Ill try keep it to a minimum, i want a PS3 so i can play and fly at the same time...and i'm also playing rise of nations too now . It is quite fun.Keep the responses coming though, love it!

I've been doing this a long time and I also have times when I wonder "Why?" I was a real pilot and worked 30 years as an aeronautical engineer. Maybe you can benefit from my perspective. First I would not advise getting heavy on the hardware. That stuff gets old fast. But the concept of flying a plane you choose any place in the world has to be a little interesting. And ever wonder why planes do what they do? To a large extent with a well-done model you can use FS to explore the WHYS of aeronautics. See what happens if you do ...[something stupid]...! What do you do when the engine(s) quit?You don't have to always fly jet airliners though some seem to think so. Master the Learjet. If you have just one hour to spend, you can fly a Cessna 172 on a trip of 80 nm or a Mooney 114 nm or a Baron 160 nm or .... It is not how fast you go but what you experience along the way. Try Real Weather. When you fly out and then fly back, use Real Dynamic Weather so your weather has changed during the return flight.Fly like a pro. Get good at it. Don't settle for a sloppy landing.

One other thing you can try is to cut out all that boring high altitude cruising, if you want. Buy a copy of ProFlight Emulator ATC and use the warp-to feature to skip all those silly waypoints in between top of your sids and stars! Or fly them all by hand!I agree with Boeingsta's comment about the hardware. I invested big at one time in the goflight stuff and now I feel like putting most of it on ebay now.

While Captain Barfbag mentioned AFCAD and such, I find it sad that no one has specifically mentioned one way to avoid boredom - give back to the FS community. All I've seen so far are posts on how people have figured out new ways to take from it.I have found that creating planes, scenery, AI flight plans, and all the rest of the things that make up FS is far more satisfying than just downloading something and flying it (I do that too, of course).You can get started very simply by using AFCAD and Instant Scenery (or the new freeware ADE) to create a more accurate version of your local airport. Easy to get reference material (road trip!), gets you out of the house, and you can then release it to AVSIM and other places so other FS pilots may fly into a more accurate airport.Another simple way to give back is create a new livery of your favorite plane. You can download GIMP for free, or use another paint program you may already have. This can be as simple as modifying an existing livery (get permission first and give credit to the original painter!), or creating one from scratch. There are several tutorials on the web on how to do both of these things, and these forums can help with the rest.Why not try it?Hope this helps,

Update :(. Just had 2 flights after a few days break and it was pretty fun! I guess you can't "over do" simming otherwise it just becomes boring...Having breaks is the way to go!!!

While Captain Barfbag mentioned AFCAD and such, I find it sad that no one has specifically mentioned one way to avoid boredom - give back to the FS community. All I've seen so far are posts on how people have figured out new ways to take from it.I have found that creating planes, scenery, AI flight plans, and all the rest of the things that make up FS is far more satisfying than just downloading something and flying it (I do that too, of course).You can get started very simply by using AFCAD and Instant Scenery (or the new freeware ADE) to create a more accurate version of your local airport. Easy to get reference material (road trip!), gets you out of the house, and you can then release it to AVSIM and other places so other FS pilots may fly into a more accurate airport.Another simple way to give back is create a new livery of your favorite plane. You can download GIMP for free, or use another paint program you may already have. This can be as simple as modifying an existing livery (get permission first and give credit to the original painter!), or creating one from scratch. There are several tutorials on the web on how to do both of these things, and these forums can help with the rest.Why not try it?Hope this helps,

Good point! I have found that making repaints (not even specifically for my own purposes, but just fulfilling other's requests) is also a very nice way to be busy with FS.

Good point! I have found that making repaints (not even specifically for my own purposes, but just fulfilling other's requests) is also a very nice way to be busy with FS.

Let me ask a question: I used to use Photoshop Elements (version 5?) to do my repaints and was pretty proficient with it. Then Microsoft Adobe worked it's marketing magic and split their program into Photoshop Elements and Photoshop Premier, and now I'm just not sure how well I'd do with either of those. What else are you guys using?Gimp is a monster to learn -- closer to the full blown version of Photoshop -- and I could never get my hands around it. Does anybody use either or both of Elements and Premier? I know about the painters forum -- but I was looking for some opinions that might be a bit more remedial.

+1 on giving back to the community - enough can't be said for that - period. But quite honestly, what's wrong with quite simply - just quitting? I have not flown in more than a year, having been drawn away by other interests and responsibilities.Now, lately, I'm getting the bug again, feeling a longing for cockpit time. Lot of great suggestions here, but fs 'abstinence' is a valid option too.edit - I see the OP pretty much echoed this already :(

Let me ask a question: I used to use Photoshop Elements (version 5?) to do my repaints and was pretty proficient with it. Then Microsoft Adobe worked it's marketing magic and split their program into Photoshop Elements and Photoshop Premier, and now I'm just not sure how well I'd do with either of those. What else are you guys using?Gimp is a monster to learn -- closer to the full blown version of Photoshop -- and I could never get my hands around it. Does anybody use either or both of Elements and Premier? I know about the painters forum -- but I was looking for some opinions that might be a bit more remedial.

I use Photoshop CS5 Extended, so I'm not really able to help you, I'm afraid. All I can say is that Photoshop CS5 is a greta program. But I concur regarding Gimp. I installed it on Windows (I use Mac, except for playing games) for some more advanced editing (and I hate Paint), but I really hate its interface. For as far as I'm concerned, it is a good example of how a UI should not be made.