Hi all,I know "Flight" has received a lot of flak but I just wanted to put my two cents in. I downloaded this within the first few minutes of it being available and purchased the hawaii expansion pack as well as the Maule M7. I am currently 33 and fly an Airbus 320 for a major airline here in the US. I my point is..... I haven't had this much FUN playing a flight sim since I was 12 years old and had a new copy of MS Flight sim on my fathers computer. I remember those days....flying around boxed default scenery at Miegs (SP?) field in Chicago. My mother would always scream at me when she came home from work "Stop wasting your time!!!", "All you do is sit at that computer and play that stupid game!". I distinctly remember saying back one day...."Hey Mom!...One day I'm going to do this for real!!!". Of course at the age of 12 to 14, those words fell on deaf ears. But here I am, years later, and in fact.... I need to get to bed. I'll have 150 passengers behind me on what I'm sure will be a packed flight to Denver Colorado tomorrow morning. I have spent countless hours on MS Flight sims, purchasing the newest copy each time it came out.....only to learn like many of you that it would take years to upgrade my computer to be able to run it. But they always sat on my shelve waiting for that hardware upgrade, and were always the first program on any new machine I purchased.As far as "Flight" goes, I haven't had this much fun and nostalgia since I began flight training at the local FBO 15 years ago. The graphics are superb and after an hour or so with my baseline logitech joystick I opted to commit a major sin in the flight sim world.....I switched to the mouse....I've flown with yokes....ram's horn's and even a sidestick on the airbus for the last five years and I'm absolutely loving the mouse controls. The rudder is a bit different..having to tap it continuously to provide the needed pressure for those crosswind landings but the cross controls in this sim are the best I've experienced so far. You can't do a full slip in the Maule M7 due to a bit of auto rudder in the sim but you can get pretty close. Other things I love.... The terrain and the density altitude complicating those high mountain takeoffs...especially with the cargo on those cargo missions. Turbulence is also modeled quite well on the moderate weather conditions. And of course...clouds near mountains...quite dangerous and modeled very well. Ok enough rant. I just thought I would put my two cents in. I honestly wish I was off tomorrow to play more of flight and enjoy the scenery. Flying the airbus is great and so is the career, but you never forget those student pilot days and that excitement. I've felt that again with flight. I'm sure someone will pick this up just as I did 15 years ago. For those of you new to the flight simming community....welcome!!! ...and enjoy it!!!Fly safe everyone,MJ_ERIC

Edited March 3, 201214 yr by MJ_ERIC

Welcome Eric,I hope you have great time as a member of AVSIM. Many of us have found it to be an online home where we learn and expand knowledge of our hobby!Kind regards,

Thanks Stephen...i've downloaded airplanes here for at least ten years but that was my first post. Even if your not into making it a career, the sim is great. And for those who have progressed...its a great way to feel that first excitement all over again.MJ_ERIC

I honestly wish I was off tomorrow to play more of flight and enjoy the scenery.

That's awesome Eric! And welcome. I'm at the absolute other end of the piloting spectrum. 48 years old and just got my Sport Pilot license last summer and fly a Cessna SkyCatcher, which weighs in at 834 dry. A little different than that Airbus. :P Like you, totalling enjoying Flight.

Nice post Eric and hope to see more from you in the future, always fun to have real pilots here who come and discuss and have points of views on things as well. When you are working, do you try and spread the word about flightsimming etc to your colleagues?Cheers.Craig

Nice post Eric and hope to see more from you in the future, always fun to have real pilots here who come and discuss and have points of views on things as well. When you are working, do you try and spread the word about flightsimming etc to your colleagues?Cheers.Craig

Ckuk every single time me and some of my coworkers from Southwest and previews airlines i had work for get together for our sundays BBQ . the only subject that makes us stay talking for ever till 4 am or later its flight simulation . Imagine a HOT topic here at Avsim but in real life with a few drinks on us in a mature and friendly way .

Edited March 3, 201214 yr by rtodepart

really hope we'll get a boeing or airbus very very soon....

Ckuk every single time me and some of my coworkers from Southwest and previews airlines i had work for get together for our sundays BBQ . the only subject that makes us stay talking for ever till 4 am or later its flight simulation . Imagine a HOT topic here at Avsim but in real life with a few drinks on us in a mature and friendly way .

Thats nice, reminds me of the times I used to go with a friend of mine on crew layovers and we would sit in the bar with captains and copilots and hear their experiences. Flightsim was not mentioned but that was mainly because I was engrossed in their real life stories knowing that I would probably not meet these people again.Craig

Edited March 3, 201214 yr by ckukmale

That's awesome Eric! And welcome. I'm at the absolute other end of the piloting spectrum. 48 years old and just got my Sport Pilot license last summer and fly a Cessna SkyCatcher, which weighs in at 834 dry. A little different than that Airbus. :P Like you, totalling enjoying Flight.

How do you like your SkyCatcher? That was coming out about the same time my civilian flying (due to lack of funds) came to a stop...looked really interesting though. I had a 1963 Cessna 150 that I loved, imagine yours might be based along the same lines?Also flew for military (flight engineer) for 17 years. There were a few of the pilots that were great to fly with - long hops (and having a beer or two afterward) were great for BSing about sims!

How do you like your SkyCatcher?

I love it! I've flown a few other LSA's, and they're all fun. Because I trained in the 162 (Skycatcher) and have the most time in it, I've come to really like the plane. Flies very well, responsive, great avionics for xC, cruises 110 kts, docile...what's not to like. I will say there are others that are a bit more comfortable, but that's just a small nitpick. Going out to the airport in an hour to do some patterns and breakfast. :)

I love it! I've flown a few other LSA's, and they're all fun. Because I trained in the 162 (Skycatcher) and have the most time in it, I've come to really like the plane. Flies very well, responsive, great avionics for xC, cruises 110 kts, docile...what's not to like. I will say there are others that are a bit more comfortable, but that's just a small nitpick. Going out to the airport in an hour to do some patterns and breakfast. :)

yep - just like my 150 - with 40 years of improvement! that's great Nismo - my brother also flies out of South Cal, and I used to fly into Norton, March, and Travis - it's a great place to be airborne!

Thank you, Eric, it is very nice to read your comments. Many of us feel the same as you.Best regards.Luis