This is an expensive hobby

[PIC007 82]

I dont see any mesh in your list, I would suggest either FSGlobal or FSGenesis, mesh makes a world of difference (pun intended:-)

[Bert Pieke 7,584]

Yes, but there's no comparison.

 

Sadly.....

 

For those of us who never got our PPL, it is the next best thing!

[Paul J 349]

For those of us who never got our PPL, it is the next best thing!

 

Yah! :lol: but Bert - it's $5000 for a ppl plus an hour in a 172 - or $2500 in hardware plus $2500 in software! - and our hobby lasts and lasts and lasts!

[Anthony1968 19]

In Ireland the PPL is over €10,000. Mine is on hold at the moment because of the VERY high cost. It works out at approx €200 per hour plus landing fees. My school is based at a commercial airport so you could easily waste €50-€60 on the ground waiting for clearance or in a holding pattern while commercial traffic gets preference. You could buy a lot of add-ons for the cost of a single lesson.

[ryanbatc 12,816]

Yes, but there's no comparison.

 

Sadly.....

 

I wouldn't say that... obviously real flying is much more satisfying. It will give you a real sense of accomplishment. However flight simming has its benefits too (mostly for IFR procedures) but it can be nice to pre fly routes for VFR trips, do all your trip/W+B planning before, plus E6B calculations while flying in FSX. Most importantly, it costs much much less than flying for real.

[sgreen91 182]

I just started last week working on my PPL. Spent $600 in two day for books and headset plus rental and instruction. Personally it was worth every penny so far. Katana DA-20 is a blast in real life; use Aerosoft 4X for home practice.

 

I found out quickly how FSX really cannot simulate the joy and feel of real flying. Still love my FSX but something now when I fly on it is missing; wish I would have never started on my PPL :).

 

Only 38 more hours to go until my solo!

 

Sean

[oldbear 33]

I wouldn't say that... obviously real flying is much more satisfying. It will give you a real sense of accomplishment. However flight simming has its benefits too (mostly for IFR procedures) but it can be nice to pre fly routes for VFR trips, do all your trip/W+B planning before, plus E6B calculations while flying in FSX. Most importantly, it costs much much less than flying for real.

 

Oh, you're right Ryan. But of course it's the visceral, scary experience of real flight that can't be captured by a computer simulation. At least not an amateur desktop one. I had a go in a Level-D 747-200 at LHR, including a night landing at KSFO, and that WAS an incredible experience, because the illusion of flight was almost complete - something I personally can't hope to feel sitting at a desk in a bedroom.

 

Like Sean, my real GA flying made FS seem very, very tame. Maybe that's why I tend to stick to airliner sims these days. The more 'computerised' the plane, the better!

 

And for what it's worth I never finished my PPL either as I just couldn't afford to continue - not at £160 an hour.

 

I get my kicks on the bike these days...

 

Ian

[High Plains Flyer 35]

I started this "hobby" less than a year ago. Yes, it can be expensive. But it does not have to be. The base default game from Microsoft gives you a pretty good start. The yoke and pedals probably are the most important, and most expensive add ons. But you already have those.

 

Since it seems you are doing mostly VFR flying with GA aircraft at the moment, GEX and UTX will probably add the most to your game. Since you are confining yourself to the U.S., you really only need the North American versions.

 

You really don't need any of the major airport sceneries until you start flying the commercial jets. The big airports are for the bigger stuff. For smaller GA aircraft, smaller airports are where you will spend your time. There are a lot of pretty nice freeware addons for these airports, so it need not cost an arm and a leg.

 

As far as aircraft, the default aircraft are not all that bad. Some are better than others. As far as addons, I really like the Aerosoft Beaver, which is more fun than the default Beaver. But then, when I am not doing the big jets, I tend to prefer bush pilot flying in Alaska. I have a bias here because I lived in Alaska for a decade, and most of the places have real meaning to me. Alaska itself has two basic types of terrain: mountains and swamps. This is due to heavy glaciacian. Still, flying over numerous mountains, braided rivers, and fjords makes for an interesting flying experience.

 

But I actually practiced my flight basics outside of Indianapolis.

 

If you decide to start playing with jets, I would suggest you start small. I started with the default Learjet. and it worked just fine. You really don't need a lot of the fancy stuff one gets with the addons. For example, the default 737 works just fine, has hundreds of free liveries, and it can be gussied up with things like the Friendly Panels FMC. It still tends to my jetliner of choice, especially when I don't want to futz around with something more complicated.

 

The one mistake I made was spending too much on add ons. It's quite tempting to purchase the latest and greatest new scenery, or download the latest aircraft model. You can really have a good time and a great experience without spending thousands of dollars however.

[High Plains Flyer 35]

Another couple suggestions. You really should have a good computer. I got and HP with and I7 processor for under $800. A fast processor will probably do more for you than many of the acceleration products, including an expensive graphics card. Plus, a good computer can be used for many other purposes. For twice the price of an X-Box you get something with ten times the functionality.

 

Another nice piece of hardware is a big screen television. I can plug my HP computer right into my 46 inch bigscreen. Again the big screen television is another great multi-tasker, and it makes flight simulation look so much more real.

[Bobu 0]

Wow, thanks for all the suggestions guys. I really appreciate the help! I have everything setup the way I want it to start this journey. Here is what I have done to start:

 

Hardware:

 

CH Pro Pedals

CH Yoke

TrackIR

i7 875K 4.0 GHz

ASUS 5850

24" 1920x1200 Display

 

Software:

 

Windows 7 x64

RealAir Duke Turbine

Active Sky Evolution

Ultimate Terrain X

FSGenesis

Sim Savvy Scenery

GEX

REX

Fly Tampa and FSDT Airports

Plan-G

VATSIM (for later)

 

So for shorter flights around the USA I think I have everything. I am playing around with the photo scenery vs. UTX/FSGenesis, so I will see how things look and run.

 

But overall FSX is a fantastic simulation platform, and I am looking forward to learning a lot about flying.

 

Thanks guys for all the help!

[Anthony1968 19]

Wow, thanks for all the suggestions guys. I really appreciate the help! I have everything setup the way I want it to start this journey. Here is what I have done to start:

 

You mentioned Orbx scenery in your initial post. Whenever you do get to purchase Orbx scenery I guarantee you won't regret it. It is superb, especially for low/slow/vfr flying.

 

Only 38 more hours to go until my solo!

 

I hope you get to go solo in less than 38 hrs. Did you mean only 38 hrs to your license????

[Bobu 0]

You mentioned Orbx scenery in your initial post. Whenever you do get to purchase Orbx scenery I guarantee you won't regret it. It is superb, especially for low/slow/vfr flying.

 

It is definitely on my list.

[lateagain 45]

Well as an ex-PPL (can't afford it anymore) and a latecomer to FSX (used to be into train simming because those you CAN'T hire) I'd make the following observations.

 

1) You'll need a computer that's as near as possible to "State of the Art" ....err and that's always because the developers push the envelope all the time.

 

2) You'll need to decide how many hours of your life you're prepared to sacrifice to this "addiction" ...oh it's not? ...is that right? ...so you can stop just anytime?!

 

3) Having recognised the addiction you'll need to choose your poison. Poison? Well will it be fast and high or Low and Slow? Either will burn up hours of your life.

 

4) Are you a "systems" man? Like procedure? Then it's PMDG and it's fast and high.

 

5) Wanna be a bush pilot? Well forget the jets because your "dealer" will have more goodies than you dreamt of for bush pilots.

 

6) Soon the add-ons you've bought will lose their "edge". You'll need something harder. .....just try a little demo PNW ..WHAMMO you're hooked and you'll be draining your account with scenery and airport add-ons.

 

7) Then there's the significant other ..well, more to the point, there's the significant other's patience ..even your friends patience?

 

8) ....you're saying "don't be silly it'll not be like that for me........."

 

9) ..."AH ha....... if you say so......................" B)

 

 

Geoff

[Anthony1968 19]

There's a common thread here and that's the amount of people that are "ex PPL" due to the cost factor. I agree that FSX cannot replace the absolute thrill of flying for real. But having flown for real myself (and simming for nearly twenty yrs) I am amazed at the quality of add-ons for FSX in 2012. If it was't for this realism I would be very upset at being forced to park my quest for a PPL. One of my major quibbles is the cost of life insurance for GA pilots. All of my existing policies excluded cover for accidental death whilst flying unless as a commercial passenger. Having tried to upgrade these policies I was quoted ridiculous prices............one expense too much as far I am concerned.

 

Apologies for thread drift.

[lateagain 45]

There's a common thread here and that's the amount of people that are "ex PPL" due to the cost factor. I agree that FSX cannot replace the absolute thrill of flying for real. But having flown for real myself (and simming for nearly twenty yrs) I am amazed at the quality of add-ons for FSX in 2012. If it was't for this realism I would be very upset at being forced to park my quest for a PPL. One of my major quibbles is the cost of life insurance for GA pilots. All of my existing policies excluded cover for accidental death whilst flying unless as a commercial passenger. Having tried to upgrade these policies I was quoted ridiculous prices............one expense too much as far I am concerned.

 

Apologies for thread drift.

The only time I nearly came a cropper flying was driving to the airfield! They don't count driving as dangerous and yet it kills 100 fold more folk than flying :mad: ...and actually sitting on my duff at this computer is even more dangerous to my health than flying ever was. The one thing about getting older is that the policies mature, you spend the money (on a decent computer :lol: ) and remind yourself "You can't take it with you..."

 

Geoff