I was just wondering if fellow airliner jockeys like me, tend to always try to fly real world airline routes, or whether most of you just pick two airports, pick a random livery and fly fictional flights?

 

I must admit I have always been a bit obsessed with flying real world routes, and with the real world equipment that would be used;   Eg.... I used to fly the NGX in Easyjet colours and routes a lot, but once EasyJet returned all their Boeings and went all-Airbus, I never ever again flew the NGX in EasyJet colours! ........ If I buy any airliner, I always research real airliners using it, and real origin and destination airports.

 

To try and counter this obsession, I am for the first time in a 15 year FS career, currently setting up a fictional airline; making some repaints (badly), choosing a hub, equipment and routes, making logos, route maps, etc ........... it's all completely fictional but it's great fun! ......... I am wondering why I have been so obsessed with 'real world' airliner use in FS for so long!

 

What approach do others take in this regard?

A lot more options with the completely unrealistic entirely fictitious approach.

 

A no-brainer(?!?) for me, Dave!   :rolleyes:

I feel like flying with a structured VA gives me a little more purpose to my flights. I like to keep it RW schedules but I will fly with whatever aircraft and whatever livery I'm feeling. Recently, I've been doing the SLC-SAN in a 777. Unrealistic to fly that aircraft on that route but the route itself is a RW one in the VA schedule and I'm still getting the feel for the new 777 in my fleet. I also fly the MD-11 on 2 hour legs.

 

I will once in a while request a "charter flight" with the VA to get approved for a non scheduled route between two airports but rarely. The other type of realistic flying I haven't gotten myself to do is when online to fly under the RW callsign for that leg instead of the VA given callsign. I like to keep it the same one callsign so the ARTCC controllers will know who the regular is.

I'm working my way around the world using rw routes. Since I'm rather partial to the Coolsky DC9 and QW 146 and current rw routes for them are rather hard to come by I just use them on the routes that modern equivalents of the same airline fly, eg 320s and 319s respectively. The livery is always route appropriate. Not entirely accurate, but close enough for this Kiwi.

 

But... if needs be, a charter freight run can be organised to reach somewhere directly.

 

Departed Flights is great for old(ish) school flying. Routes are sometimes a best guess. Just wish someone smarter than me could make SIA and Cathay 707 liveries... :-(

 

Mike

I do use "possible" flights, but I don't care whether an airline actually still uses that particular aircraft/livery, or if it is an actual scheduled flight. However, I do care about if the airline actually serves the part of the world where I fly, e.g. I do not use an Austrian or Niki livery when flying in the US, but I don't care whether one of those two actually fly LOWW-LOWI with the A32x or not!

Well, I could hardly be classed as an "airliner jockey". However, I really enjoy flying cicrcuits at lots of different UK airports in the 737NGX. I am really not interested in long haul, high altitude flights. All of the interesting stuff happens during taxi, take off and landing! The 737NGX is a beautiful aircraft to fly "low and slow". It is very stable and controllable, and I never get tired of hearing those thrust reversers after touchdown :smile:

 

So, I guess the answer to your question is......fictional.

The Va I fly with (VPA) are at the "extreme" level of realism working out UTC time, real schedules , Airlines and flight numbers, correct FL's = metric for china etc etc

There is also a button that needs punching every hour to prove your flying.

 

Initially didn't like it much at first but now thrive on it especially the feedback on flight reports. 

 

only as real as gets for me or I lose interest very quickly

I don't use rw routes but I use rw origins/destinations. I also only use plausible airlines/aircraft for those origins/destinations. I also pick a departure gate that is assigned to that airline.

I'll be the oddball here then!

 

I only fly airliners (whether it's the dash 8 or the 777). My goal lately has been to fly as much of the world, using as much of the payware scenery I have, with whatever plane I have. For example: mmmx to rio in a 777 in a UAL livery. OMDB to LEMD in a UAL 777.

 

The three biggest things I demand realism are procedures, weather and routing. Even the procedures and routes can be adjusted depending on what I'm flying and where (usually very minimally however).

Real aircraft used by relevant airlines (am gutted we still don't have a top notch 757 when it's already starting to drift out of real-world service)

Real destinations flown by airlines (as far as I can work it out)

Relying on either virtual airline or Vataware for best guide to real routes

Relying on Opus FSX for real weather

Relying on Topcat for reduced thrust take-offs etc  

Relying on FS2Crew for real procedures

Real gate numbers where I can find them out

 

Don't always fly real times of the day to match actual flight times - not enough free time to match schedules that closely

Don't use VATSIM or similar - can see the attraction but need the coverage where I want it to achieve the above and when I'm available to fly.

Very interesting approaches to airliner flying, thanks for those guys.  Keep 'em coming!

 

 

I don't use rw routes but I use rw origins/destinations. 

 

Yes, same for me.   I don't obsess on the actual flight plan route of flight, but I do obsess on the origin/destination airports, being real world flights.

 

It is strange for me flying a fictional airline, on fictional routes but it's also liberating and fun!

 

Here's my new airline, Nordic Express flying from Helsinki Vantaa, mainly on domestic flights to the Lapp area of Finland (Kittila and Roveniemi) and some flights to Norway, Sweden, and the Baltic States.         In December the airline is securing a further B738 to fly Helsinki > Yekaterinburg > Novosibirsk and back, daily.   :smile:

 

 

.........as you may be able to tell, this is an ex-Qantas aircraft! :lol:

I only fly to destinations I have good scenery of. That's why I do flights that are not so much used in RW. Like for LPMA and for 1 hour flight time I start from GCLP. Or for TNCM I start from SVMI. All these airports have good scenery, but in real life they are not so much connected.

My signature below should answer how I like to spend my time in FSX.  ^_^    VA all the way with real routes and I take it further by running the actual business using FSPassengersX so I have to maintain my fleet, pay my pilots and keep customers happy.   It gives a HUGE amount of purpose, in my opinion, to the simulator.  It feels empty and cold without these purposes in place.    WIth the way I am setup, I have goals to meet and to me that makes it so much more fun and realistic.

I, like Q_flyer, always research an aircraft I am about to buy. I see who operates it and on what routes. And my own personal thing is, I choose one airline to be the airline I "fly for" with a particular aircraft. Such as Delta for the 777-200LR. And the first official logged flight, I do the delivery flight from the manufacturer to the airlines home base, and from there I strictly operate real routes, use the same flight times (accounting for time zones), and no time compression.

But when I first get an aircraft and am learning, or just feel like doing a quick random flight. I'll usually just pick 2 destinations and usually an airline that at least operates to one of the airports. Those flights I let a little more freedom in terms of realistic ops

99.9% of the time I Fly with my VA only from RW schedule with the actual "Routing, FL, A/C & type Ex B737-600, 700 or 800", Cannot fly without a computerized flightplan, perf calculation (TLR) & no way without charts & ofcourse I've got the RW Checklist, Takeoff/Landing data Sheets as well as the QRH for the A/C am flying with.

 

I select my origin & destination from the airline schedule depending on my scenery availability.

 

I fly only in NA/Carraibes & thats how am able to get routing & FL filed for that specific flight.

 

Thats the way get my immersion & its different from one to another.