How do you determine where you will fly? For me I will eitherA: Let's say I want to fly a Northwest A319, I will go to airliners.net and look at the Northwest A319 photos. On some of the photos there the photographer says where the plane came from or where it is going.B: I will go to the airlines web site and look at the route map and pick two places from the map.C: If Im flying something small (like a biz jet or smaller) I'll just pick a place where I feel like flying to that day.On Wednesday I was looking at the FedEx MD-11 photos on airliners.net. I saw one photo and it said the routing for the plane was VHHH, RKSI, PANC, KORD, KJFK. So on Wednesday I flew the IFDG MD-11 in FedEx colors from PANC to KORD, and tonight I flew the same plane from KORD to KJFK.

Its funny you should ask this question. I too almost use a system like yours. I only fly the PMDG 737 with the new UAL colors. When I fly in the US, first I check to see if there any "hot" spots where something is going on. Then I check the United.com site, for times that they fly there.Right now, I wanted to the fly the 737 to Sydney Australia. So I had to really plan a flight sequence that could get me there and back. I flew from KDEN (my home airport), to PANC, then on to RJAA (Tokyo), then ZSPD (Shanghai), then on to vTBD (Bangkok), then on to WIII (Jakarta), and then to YSSY (Sydney). I am on my way back to Denver via YPDN (Darwin) to RPLL (Manila), today. I will then fly to RCTP (Taipei), RJAA (Tokyo), PANC and then direct to Denver.I use FSBuild to plan these flights and I fly my planes in realtime. I have bookedmarked most of the Star Alliance airline web sites, so I get a pretty good idea of what times to fly.Doing these complex flights, keeps FS from ever getting boring. Flying to strange places and checking on the weather and stuff.CheersBob

I too have the PMDG 737 but feel very frustrated once I have decided where I want to fly to/from and then discovering up programming the FMS on the 737, that it doesn't have the airports I need, nor any SIDS or STARS. Its like ARGH!!! All that money for such a lack luster performance!Are there some updates anywhere that cover all airports and their SID/STAR's?

I listen and read the news. If a place name comes up I will just randomly decide to fly there from wherever I am, at whatever airport.I only fly 737 so have to work out fuel stops and nav.There are times I do not check what airport standard my destination is, so that I only fnd out on arrival in local area. Lading on a dirt track runway with 737 is not recommended!(lol)I will sometimes go to local international airport and then work out how to reach small airport in Beechcraft, Heli or whatever. However I always return to where the 737 is parked.I like the randomness of this way of route selection and you can often see scenery effects over unknown terrain. This evening I have just left Rome at twilight, as cloud was forming, so T/O was over Rome city and street lights through whispy cloud gave a surreal but delightful view.I use full ATC T/O and approaches, and try to stay within the envelope set for me.Just my way of doing things.

Some other things I do:When I fly the cargo planes sometimes I don't know the destinations they fly to and from, so then I will just go to airliners.net and look at photos and pick two of the destinations.Also I don't really like flying to the default airports that much so I TRY and fly to airports that have scenery. (That don't work out that well sometimes, cause like in the US I only have 15 airport sceneries so far)

mumbojumboThe lack of airport Data or SID/STARS is nothing to do with PMDG. Goto www.navdata.at and download the AIRAC cycle. Then download the SIDS/STARS from the site aswell.If the desired SID/STAR isnt there,print out the Chart and program it in yourself :)I fly for the best VA around,1000 active pilots,active Forums,real world flightplans and a great administrative team. Currently 952 hours and loving it! John http://homepage.eircom.net/~eamonnmca/images/logo_ba.JPGwww.bavirtual.co.uk Senior Captain Simflight.com Staff Reviewer

I like to fly short flights in smaller planes. I find some entertainer that is on tour and fly them to each destination. For example, if you go to britneyspears.com they show her current tour schedule. Fly her or her roadies and equiptment to each stop. Remember, you don't have to like the group, just the cities in which they are appearing. -Tom________http://www.reality-xp.com/community/nr/rsc/rxp-higher.jpg------------SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS------------ Dell Pentium 4 at 3.2GHz with 800MHz FSB 1GB Dual Channel DDR SDRAM at 400MHz 128MB DDR ATI RADEON 9800 Pro 21 inch P1130 FD Trinitron CRT Monitor 120GB Ultra ATA/100 Hard Drive Sound Blaster Audigy 2 with DVD Audio WindowsXP Home Edition with Microsoft Plus!

Hey Tom, I do something similar. I'll fly a NASCAR team from Concord, NC to wherever the Nextel Cup race is that particular week. I'll use a biz jet for longer flights and a turbo-prop for short hauls.Jim

Great question and great discussion!I've had a new computer since September--bought it, obviously, to flight sim, which I hadn't been able to do for a number of years b/c of poor equipment. I've spent what, 6 months now, trying to figure everything out, mainly which planes seem to fly the "best." There are so many possibilities, just deciding on a plane is complicated--as you 737 pilots above have obviously realized. My rule is to fly only the planes I've flown on as a passenger, then to narrow that down according to flight characteristics of the planes I download: my intuitive sense that a plane is performing reasonably correctly: stability, attitude, etc. And also, I have to go with the less-technical planes since learning all the procedures and carrying them out takes much of the limitied time I have for actual flyingMy favorites so far are the Jet City DC-9's and the SGA DC-10-30. I like the PMDG B-1900 but it sounds kind of odd + I've never flown in it. I also have the Aerosoft ATR package and the Phoenix (or is it Just Flight) Dash 8. They are nice, but difficult with the prop torque settings etc.I could go on and on...Anyway, my idea is, and this is of course, a fantasy, and perhaps an odd one, but it will keep me going to new places based on a hub and release me from Airline schedules etc. I imagine a world in a year or two when a cure and preventative for cancer is discovered and manufactured. It must be distributed by air (not sure why!). So, I plan to paint, or have painted, planes with UN logos, then have them fan out across the world. This gives me the opportunity to fly anywhere and ultimately, everywhere! Impossible, but fun to think about.In the meantime though, I spend all of my time shooting landings and dealing with the weaknesses and strengths of Ultimate Traffic, My Traffic, and soon, Traffic 2004...Bill

I use a couple of different ways:The first decision is what to fly? Commercial or GA? Maybe a chartered turboprop? Picking the aircraft first is the obvious first step.Next I think about what kind of weather I want to fly in. Do I want a nice clear day for a relaxing cruise? Maybe instead a difficult IFR approach near minimums with nasty winds? This decision usually has me starting off at weather.com with a current weather map of the US. If I see some conditions I want to fly in, I might pick that way. Sometimes, I just want to fly out of my home city (Buffalo) and find some better weather! Not a difficult task most days. Either way, weather plays a big role for me. Following that, if I am flying commercial, I will look for some real-world routes to fly. Many of the online travel websites can provide this information easily enough. Other than that, I will do what others have tried with following schedules. I am a hockey fan myself, and will sometimes just fly charter flights for teams.

<>From Buffalo?(lol)I sent to see Bills playing Miami (from Scotland) in 2002 and hired a Lincoln Continental that never got above 35mph for the four days I was in Niagra/Buffalo. "Let it snow" does not do justice to what I went through in December! You guys really have weather!

Ever play "Pin the tail on the donkey?" Replace the donkey with a map and there ya go.

It depends on whether I feel like flying a turboprop or turbojet. Once I decide, I'll just fly to where I haven't flown to in a while.

Hi,I pull out my collection of old timetables and find a flight that stops a lot (a "PuddleJumper" or a "String of Pearls" flight). Then I load the legs into my flight planner and have fun taking off and landing all day.Hope this helps,--Tom GibsonCal Classic Propliner Page: http://www.calclassic.comFreeflight Design Shop: http://www.freeflightdesign.comDrop by! ___x_x_(")_x_x___

For me it's trying to find airports (oddly enough!) with an interesting ILS approach.I did LIRN the other night, and I'm constantly on the hunt for exciting approaches, that can still be done on an ILS.CheersTim