Disclaimer:

1. If you don't own the Maule my 'tip' (Method B) will still work, but you won't be able to start from a parking spot or ramp from ANY airport. The next best option is to choose the Stearman where I say 'Maule'.

2. On my system a flight loads in a few seconds. If it takes minutes to load a flight on your PC, this tip will take longer than a minute on your PC... obviously...

3. Please don't be put off by the long story below: the method I use is very simple but I just talk too much...

 

Like many of you I don't like it that you can't pick a parking spot or ramp and start your free flight from there, cold and dark. Starting on the runway with the engines running sucks a little. Well, a lot, actually. I've got two solutions for you, one that is quite obvious but which I hardly ever use and one that might be less obvious (I think) but works like a charm for me.

 

I've tested the second option (Method B ) a few times using a chronometer and I can go from pressing Play to being in the VC in any plane, cold and dark, at a parking spot of any airport with the weather, date, season etc. of my choice within a minute. The keys Esc, M and Enter are your best friends here. Unfortunately the parking spot is random but it's better then starting at the runway with the engines running...

 

Method A

Rather obvious: at the end of your flight, park the plane cold and dark and quite Flight. The next time you start Flight you will be at the exact same spot. Obviously if you want to start at another airport, you are out of luck. However, you can use some steps from Method B to get where you want to anyway.

 

Since I usually don't end a flight where I want to start off the next time AND because Flight not always shows up with a cold and dark plane as I would expect (due to loading a mission or challenge in between), I am using Method B more and more:

 

Method B

Preparation (this step only has to be made once!): start a flight with the Maule, put it on the ground, set it up cold and dark and save the flight as 'Cold and dark'. Now the next time you start MS Flight:

1. Press Play and when you are at the map, load the flight you just created (Free Flight > Load Free Flight > Cold and dark)

2. As soon as the flight has been loaded, immediately press M.

3. Click on the airport you want to take off from, click on Job board, choose a random Job (no need to read anything, just doubleclick a random job) and start the mission by hitting Enter.

4. As soon as the mission has been loaded, press Esc and Exit the mission.

5. Set up your preferred conditions (plane, weather, time of day, season, etc.) and press M again.

 

That's it! It may seem a bit complicated but once you get the hang of it and specially when you own the Maule it's a matter of almost blindly hitting Esc, M and Enter a few times in a row and you will be at a (random) parking spot of any airport you want to, the plane will be cold and dark and everything is setup the way you want to. (The only thing to watch out for is that after step 4 you should not move your plane on the map anymore.)

 

Here is how it looks like without the explanations:

 

1. Click, click, click, enter

2. M

3. Click, click, double click, enter

4. Esc, click, enter

5. Set everything up to your liking, M

 

:P

 

If you do not own the Maule you won't be able to pick a job on every airport and hence you won't be able to take off from any airport you want to. Step 4 will take longer for you because you can't start a job from every airport and you may have to pick a specific plane.

 

Obviously you can save specific flights with specific weather themes PLUS the plane in cold and dark or whatever, but as I said, I tested Method B using a chronometer and I can now start a flight at ANY airport with ANY condition with ANY plane cold and dark within a minute.

 

Well, it's a long story (as usual with me) but give it a try and you will see you can set up everything 100% to your liking within a minute. The only drawback is that you have to look at the loading screen two times (step 1 and 3: it usually only takes a few seconds in step 5) but I don't mind because I like to start my flights cold and dark at a parking spot!

Thanks for the suggestions. Regrettably I need to get a far better system before it is worth trying plan B. :(

Hm, slow loading times, I presume...? How long does it usually take to load a flight?

This is really brilliant, Jeroen, Thanks for the tip.

Best regards.

Luis

This is really brilliant, Jeroen, Thanks for the tip.

Best regards.

Luis

 

This is a kind of post I really like... :P You're very welcome!

 

I said I was doing this more and more but right now I am doing it all the time! I don't like how the automatic save feature, which is a great idea, always surprises me when I get into the VC. Too often the engines are running or things are on or off where I want them off or on etc. This little method gets me where I want to everytime without surprises.

 

BTW When I said 'within a minute' I included step 5: however, step 5 is something you should do everytime anyhow, so I should have only counted step 1 to 4 and on MY pc that takes something like 30 to 40 seconds. So the extra steps you have to take before you can proceed with what you would have to do anyway is even a lot shorter then a minute.

Never mind, I made a new topic about this...