Long Flights

[simpson2]

Hi guys. I have this burning question to ask you. (BTW the reason this topic is in FSX is because I use FSX.)

On long flights say 12 or so hours do you really sit in front of the screen the whole time? And especially in VA's or VATSIM and IVAO where they don't allow "sandbagging"

what do you guys do?

[z06z33]

I take off hand fly to cruise then set the autopilot go to bed but set an alarm every two hours to check the flight. When morning comes get ready for landing. I do the same thing in the day but insted of sleeping I mow the lawn or detail one of my cars

[maple-syrup]

I'm with z06z33 on this, haha! I normally do it over night and sleep for about 4 hours... Check every 4 hours atleast... Then land in the morning. If I can't do it then I will set up a few holding patterns along the way!

[jongreen]

Guys I'm all for dedication but are you seriously telling me that you interrupt your night's sleep to check on a long haul simulated flight??!!

 

A wind-up surely?

[simpson2]

Oh, so you guys just basically go along your day. I see, thanks for the responses.

Oh one more thing, would you do that while on VATSIM or such or do you generally do long flights offline?

[pilottj]

With the MD-11F, I take off at night before bed, get to cruise alt, go to sleep, wake up usually with around 1000nm to go, approach land.  If I want to use the Auto-step feature, I turn off winds aloft while sleeping too so FS windshear won't goof it up.  I will fly the 777F the same way.

 

 

Cheers

TJ

[mosteen]

In BAV we have a position report to send every hour, on overnighters I sometimes sleep but only for 55 minutes at a time

[Gavin]

In BAV we have a position report to send every hour, on overnighters I sometimes sleep but only for 55 minutes at a time

 

Wow, that's dedication. Impressed, I'd never do that ;-)

[LeeL]

Oh, so you guys just basically go along your day. I see, thanks for the responses.

 

Oh one more thing, would you do that while on VATSIM or such or do you generally do long flights offline?

I take off, work around the house, chores, school work etc. maybe some work on the computer, I just check the flight every 30-45 mins if I'm not being controller per vatsim rules. If I have to leave the house I disconnect from vatsim.

 

 

[jcomm]

I thought FSX couldn't support such long flights before going OOM ?

[E6BAV8R]

In BAV we have a position report to send every hour, on overnighters I sometimes sleep but only for 55 minutes at a time

 

The "position reports every hour" is why I did not join BAV, as I really wanted to.  There is simply no purpose for it and it isn't realistic, either.  It kills peoples ability to do long-hauls.

[tombeckett2285]

The "position reports every hour" is why I did not join BAV, as I really wanted to. There is simply no purpose for it and it isn't realistic, either. It kills peoples ability to do long-hauls.

There is a purpose to it; to stop this frankly ridiculous business of taking off, going to bed and landing in the morning. That in a virtual airline setting is a recipe for people to treat it as an hour building exercise when that is the exact opposite of what it should be - it should be about trying to become a better virtual pilot, and gain experience. While sleeping you can't monitor the systems, learn about the aircraft or do anything remotely useful. Why not just use 8x acceleration, or take a day off work if you really want to fly from DFW to HND?? I don't speak for BAV, only as a member, but I'm glad their policy keeps 'simmers' (I use the term loosely) who think this is a good idea from joining. I have a young family and work 55 hours a week; so my longest flights are around 3 hours. That's no problem to me. I have done an overnight from LHR-HKG; and I slept for only 45mins. It was a tough challenge, but it is a 1000% more valid as a sim experience than takeoff-sleep-land.

 

 

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[simpson2]

So why do long haul flights then? Who would sit in front of the monitor for half a day or more?

[LeeL]

I thought FSX couldn't support such long flights before going OOM ?

That's never happened to me

[E6BAV8R]

There is a purpose to it; to stop this frankly ridiculous business of taking off, going to bed and landing in the morning. That in a virtual airline setting is a recipe for people to treat it as an hour building exercise when that is the exact opposite of what it should be - it should be about trying to become a better virtual pilot, and gain experience. While sleeping you can't monitor the systems, learn about the aircraft or do anything remotely useful. Why not just use 8x acceleration, or take a day off work if you really want to fly from DFW to HND?? I don't speak for BAV, only as a member, but I'm glad their policy keeps 'simmers' (I use the term loosely) who think this is a good idea from joining. I have a young family and work 55 hours a week; so my longest flights are around 3 hours. That's no problem to me. I have done an overnight from LHR-HKG; and I slept for only 45mins. It was a tough challenge, but it is a 1000% more valid as a sim experience than takeoff-sleep-land.

 

 

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I disagree that people join Virtual Airlines simply to build hours, as building hours is irrelevant to anything else.  What's the point of building hours for nothing?  People join Virtual Airlines because they are already avid aviation enthusiasts and want to resemble their favorite destinations and aircraft that the airline provides, whilst being amongst other people that share those same attributes.  You don't learn more about an airplane by sitting and staring at it in cruise flight.  You learn by interacting with it.  Forcing someone to come and type a code every 55 minutes for a "position report", just to walk back away from the PC, isn't interaction nor experience anymore than going to sleep during the cruise portion is.  Which, as evidenced by some members in this thread (including yourself), are still going to sleep during cruise; just in 45 minute segments.  Additionally, real world pilots don't sit in the cockpit for the entirety of long haul flights, either.

 

Just like you we all have busy lives.  It doesn't sound fun to sleep in 45 minute segments at night, feeling like crap and dog tired the next day because you got only a few hours of sleep, just so you can say you flew a 10 hour long haul flight for a virtual airline.  To each their own, I suppose.