gridley's right, magazines can be of great assistance in feeding our worm. never occurred to me...i wonder what else people use for inspiration. some ideas from my own backyard:- news stories: accidents, natural disasters, go and investigate- vacation plans: people talk, do your own location scouting- trips down memory lane, places you dreamt of as a kid- other people's travel- role playing: student at your local airfield, historic flights- sample flights in faa manuals and online tutorials (a class of its own: http://www.navfltsm.addr.com/)let's share something we could all chew on for a while...:)vilk

I've duplicated some of the routes Ernie Gann wrote about in Fate is the Hunter. The DC3 is great for milk runs from Newark to Detroit.Also, in the March issue of Airways Magazine there is a detailed and entertaining account of a present day cargo run from Pontiac Michigan to Newark in a DC3. It's a great read and fun to copy in FS.I've also flown around areas that I know my Father did when he was training with the Royal Canadian Air Force, especially using the new Avro Anson that was released a few days ago, Harvard trainers and Bill and Lynn Lyon's Cessna Crane.But really, I don't need too much more inspiration than the opening screen of FS with its list of planes and airfields from anywhere in the world.BlairCYOW

cool. :)ps. damn, i forgot no. 1: recreating your own rl flights...

Thanks, vilk. One of my most memorable FS experiences was with FS2002. I live just a few miles east of Lebanon Municiple (KLEB), right under the approach to runway 25. On the morning of Christmas Eve in 1996, I was awaken by a Bell Huey making repeated sorties to the east and north east at low level. It was foggy - we were above freezing, but barely. There had been some snow the day before, but now it was low clouds, fog and drizzle. It turns out that a lear jet was making an approach to KLEB. On a first pass, the crew failed to pick up the runway 18 localizer, and then requested the VOR 25 approach. The plane never landed. The plane was not equipped with emergency locator beacons, and it's CDRs beepers were not activated, hence the Huey searching for wreckage. Three YEARS later, in Nov of 1999, the debris was found on a hillside. Of several errors, critically, the pilot had descended early and flew into part of Smart's mountain. It wasn't until I purchased FSGenesis' mesh for the appalachian's that I really appreciated the altitude and proximity of the high terrain to the east of KLEB. I have recreated that flight a number of times, and rarely fail to think of the dead crew of that jet when I'm virtually flying the runway 25 approach to KLEB - especially when visibility is low!http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=2...208X07226&key=1orhttp://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief2.asp?ev_id=...C97FA194&akey=1Best,sg

a way of paying homage to these people... i tried doing it, too, but i had to quit. i couldn't get past the setup phase of an accident that recently happened near my town. i guess i take this stuff too seriously. a couple of nights ago i crashed on the runway landing in a gusty crosswind. nothing serious, just bent the prop a wee bit, but i had to turn my box off, go make myself some tea, relax... sounds funny? maybe. but the guys who built this sim did a fantastic job in more than one way. and it doesn't take much to fool a silly vilk... who knows, maybe it's not about accurate flight models, mind-boggling cockpit details, maybe it's precisely this emotional link with life, this cup of tea in a shaking hand, that's so addictve...salute!vilk

>a couple of nights ago i crashed on the runway >landing in a gusty crosswind. nothing serious,>just bent the prop a wee bitIt wasn't the 150 was it!?;)

no, no more 150 for me! a gentleman from gforce made himself alive, thanks god, and said they're considering an official revamp for 2004. hurrah! all my efforts out the window... i'm waiting impatiently.:)besides i got a little tired of this toy-engined flying brick! when i try to model the loads realistically (checking in just under 260 lbs myself, not to mention girlfriends), i can afford about a teacup worth of fuel and it still flies like an axe.:-lol

>it still flies like an>axe.>:-lol"Sure, but how does it LAND, vilk?""thunk.""should have seen that coming - damn visibility bug."

flies like an axelands like an augerwoodchopper's dream crate!:-lol