Lost motivation to fly

[Q_flyer 766]

Hi James,

 

I was exactly the same at the end of November - just bored.  It was an uncomfortable boredome because I didn't want to accept that I was bored with the hobby and I didn't feel I wanted a break from it.

 

But on 31st Nov I packed up my Yoke, Pedals, Throttles, etc and I did not touch FS for two months; Dec and Jan.  It was nice having a breaking; getting some perspective back (because FS is addictive), doing other stuff.

 

.....and by 1st Feb I was absolutely itching to get back in the saddle! ......... I have very little time to fly at the moment, due to domestic and University commitments but the windows of opportunity I do get, I am really enjoying again.

 

Bizarrely, because my break I was heavily absorbed into complex tubeliners, IFR and point to point 'operational' flying.    Now, I am doing 100% VFR flying in small GA singles (and the odd twin), based around short tours in Orbx land (maybe taking in 4 local fields in a 30 minute window), still using charts, ADFs, etc, where possible ......... and I'm LOVING it!........ I don't feel any inclination to get back into a jet and start plugging numbers into FMCs at the moment, although I'm sure that will change in the future.

 

So my advice is, make yourself take a break - even if it's just 2 weeks (but a month or two is better).

 

:smile:

[BrianG 12]

Dave,

I had to laugh when I read your post about the Wilco purchase. Perhaps that was the straw that broke the camels back with big tube liners?

Anyway, like you, I don't want to give this hobby up but  I'm so saturated on big jets and IFR procedural  flying ( see post #28). So getting started with VFR flying and keeping the budget to $200 to start, what would be the recommendation for good scenery and good GA AC? I live in San Francisco Bay Area so perhaps the new Orbx Northern California along with something else? Also, my system isn't really strong ( see post 28) so I have to keep that in mind as well.

 

Thanks-

Brian

[Q_flyer 766]

[...] what would be the recommendation for good scenery and good GA AC? I live in San Francisco Bay Area so perhaps the new Orbx Northern California along with something else? Also, my system isn't really strong ( see post 28) so I have to keep that in mind as well.

 

Thanks-

Brian

 

Hi Brian.

 

D'you know what, I've bought 4 "side by side" Orbx areas over the last few years;  Pacific North West, Central Rocky Mountains, Northern Rocky Mountains, and Pacific Fjords.       And in the last two weeks, I have realized just how little I have discovered in each of them yet.   I am currently flying solely within the PNW region.  I've always used the FTX Darrington (1S2) airport as a base in that area but lacked imagination and would often just keep flying up the valley to FTX Concrete (3W5) and back.      This time round, I've based myself at Hoquiam KHQM (Bowerman) a stunning freeware FTX airport that is better than some of their payware.   And I've been flying over the huge expanse of the PNW region that I've not yet touched on;   mainly, up the Washington Coast, to the north coast (Port Angeles etc), and along the north coast to "the islands" then along to familiar territory near Darrington.  It feels like I've bought a new region pack but in fact it's just that I'm using more imagination and exploring more of the areas that I already have in the PNW region.     ........ I haven't even crossed the water to Vancouver Island, Vancouver or the Canadian parts of this region yet................ and I've owned it for nearly 4 years!! :smile:

 

So you could easily get just PNW and do some serious touring.    But......... if I were in California I wouldn't be able to resist picking up the new NORCAL region! .... I will be getting it but I'm spent up (on mainly bad purchase decisions like the Wilco TBM) for this month.

 

For GA touring aircraft;  there are so many to choose from;   personally, I think the IRIS Jabiru J160 is unbeatable for low and slow touring at the moment.  But I also love Ant's Airplanes P92 Eaglet, and Tecnam Sierra.   I am also re-discovering some little used Carenado and Alabeo aircraft such as the Tomahawk and the 210, that I'm having a lot of fun in.

 

My system is getting a little old now too (i7 2600k, 7850 2GB HD), but I find that I can still fly in Orbx land, albeit with autogen settings not quite maxed out, in good GA aircraft and still get a solid 30 FPS (locked).

 

Have fun!

[BrianG 12]

Dave,

Thanks a million. I grew up in the PNW and I know Hoquiam, Olympic Peninsula , Seattle Area, and pretty much that whole region very well. So I think that would be fun.  I'll buy  ORBX PNW just to start just to see how my system reacts to it. Your post has been most helpful. I'll check out the GA you mentioned as well. I have the Uiver DC-2 which would be fun to take to outback airfields and landing strips throughout the PNW. The Real Air Duke V2 looks nice. Could give that a try.

Here's to a new lease on FSX. This gives me hope. Thanks again. I'll let you know what I wind up with.

 

Cheers,

Brian

[James Bennett 52]

Well guys I caved and bought ORBX England. It has a really nice rendition of my home region! Should make GA flights a damn sight better. Thanks for all your reccomendations and stories!

[Q_flyer 766]

Well guys I caved and bought ORBX England. It has a really nice rendition of my home region! Should make GA flights a damn sight better. Thanks for all your reccomendations and stories!

 

Although I much prefer flying in Orbx US and AU regions, there's nothing like some local flying at home sometimes.

 

Unfortunately, my part of England (the north) is very poorly and inaccurately rendered in Orbx ENG; in general everywhere north of Watford was neglected in favour of a focus on the south IMHO ...... but I'm getting political there, so I'll keep my mouth shut! :lol:

 

@ BrianG - You're welcome.  All of those aircraft you mentioned are great.  Also take a look at the Bay Tower Vans RV-7 and the Flight 1 T182 and Flight 1 C162, both are which are superb for low and slow GA touring ..... oh and the A2A C172..... so many choices!!

 

                                                                                            - one tip about Orbx PNW; the greater Portland, OR metropolitan area really drags the frames down in my experience.  Just worth mentioning because if you first load up in that area, you may be led to believe that the whole region is poor on frames.  In my experience It's a very frame rate friendly region overall, just a shame that for me, I have to avoid the Portland area as the frames really suffer.    Some people have said the same about the SeaTac area too, but my frames are absolutely fine around SeaTac;  it's just Portland that stings for me.  :wink:

[James Bennett 52]

Although I much prefer flying in Orbx US and AU regions, there's nothing like some local flying at home sometimes.

 

Unfortunately, my part of England (the north) is very poorly and inaccurately rendered in Orbx ENG; in general everywhere north of Watford was neglected in favour of a focus on the south IMHO ...... but I'm getting political there, so I'll keep my mouth shut! :lol:

 

@ BrianG - You're welcome.  All of those aircraft you mentioned are great.  Also take a look at the Bay Tower Vans RV-7 and the Flight 1 T182 and Flight 1 C162, both are which are superb for low and slow GA touring ..... oh and the A2A C172..... so many choices!!

 

                                                                                            - one tip about Orbx PNW; the greater Portland, OR metropolitan area really drags the frames down in my experience.  Just worth mentioning because if you first load up in that area, you may be led to believe that the whole region is poor on frames.  In my experience It's a very frame rate friendly region overall, just a shame that for me, I have to avoid the Portland area as the frames really suffer.    Some people have said the same about the SeaTac area too, but my frames are absolutely fine around SeaTac;  it's just Portland that stings for me.   :wink:

 

I live near Newcastle and the whole north east region appears to be pretty accurate, especially my hometown. Even the Angel of the North is there! The A1 also seems very accurate even down to sliproads round here.

[Guest JustanotherPilot]

Buy Airhauler - it gives you a purpose to fly. It usually takes me a year to start from scratch to build my  Airline, employ the Pilots and buy the bases as well as aircraft  I need to achieve my goal. You can invest in the Stock Market , which is another diversion and adds to the ups and downs of running an airline business . Airhauler2 is currently underway  which should offer more goodies. It's quite addictive!

[BrianG 12]

Dave,

Thanks for the heads up.  I'll look out for the Portland area. Funny thing about KSEA- the FSX default KSEA drags most people down, myself included. Glad to hear that area is not affected with Orbyx PNW, at least for you. I believe Orbyx has a demo version of PNW which would be the prudent thing to use to see how my system handles it before spending $$

At one point I lived about 20 miles for Hoquiam and spent much time in and around that area. I know Orbyx does a great KHQM so that will be fun to see..

And thanks everyone for the input. It's really helped. Airhauler sounds like a good idea and perhaps FScaptain as well for building goals to work toward. So here's a bunch of new ideas to change things up and keep it fresh.

 

Cheers,

Brian-

[Howellerman 104]

 

 

one tip about Orbx PNW; the greater Portland, OR metropolitan area really drags the frames down in my experience.  Just worth mentioning because if you first load up in that area, you may be led to believe that the whole region is poor on frames.  In my experience It's a very frame rate friendly region overall, just a shame that for me, I have to avoid the Portland area as the frames really suffer.    Some people have said the same about the SeaTac area too, but my frames are absolutely fine around SeaTac;  it's just Portland that stings for me.  

 

Heya Dave. Do you have the Orbx freeware Portland installed? It has been a while since I flew  around the city, and there is no doubt it impacts frames, but it is a very nice rendition of downtown, the bridges, etc. Who knows - might be easier on frames than default!

[Q_flyer 766]

Heya Dave. Do you have the Orbx freeware Portland installed? It has been a while since I flew  around the city, and there is no doubt it impacts frames, but it is a very nice rendition of downtown, the bridges, etc. Who knows - might be easier on frames than default!

 

Hey Howellerman, I've never tried that Orbx Portland Cityscape to be honest because I always assumed it'd be even heavier on the frames than the vanilla Orbx Portland.  Perhaps I should give it a try!

[ryanbatc 13,035]

I find GA more difficult. FMS, CDU 737 and 777 is easy. Managing the plane's systems and engines is easy; turbofans are easy, no fuss, automixture, nothing to monitor, reliable, easy to start. The IFR system in Vatsim is easy. In contrast you need to know a lot more about the VFR rules; where you can and can't fly, how high, etc. IFR is like highway driving with TomTom(and with someone to call and tell you where to turn). VFR is like back roads in the boonies with a map and no road signs. Follow your programmed waypoints, sid/star, alt restrictions, vnav calculated for you. In contrast, with a GA plane, yes you may have a gps to follow, but you have to manage and calculate your own climbs and descents. Tell me right now what is your climb speed, prop rpm, manifold pressure in a baron. Ok now your 737. Oh yeah it's all automated for you... No autothrottle, no automixture(lean or you're going to lose power), have to watch your speed(no FLCH here). And that's just with pistons. What about turboprops which REALLY require you to manage your engines(with the right addon). With the tubes, you can literally take off, hit AP at 400 feet, and come back hours later at top of descent. There is very little hand flying in the tubes. Yes you can hand fly as much as you want, but cmon now. We're mostly on AP. Even landing is easier in a jet. Slight flare and put her down. The smaller GA planes, especially with some wind, are a bear to land. Try the Realair Legacy in some gusty crosswinds. Take all that with GA, but now add one of A2A's accusimmed planes. Now you really have to manage the engine. And their warbirds are incredibly difficult to fly and land compared to your tube. The Merlin is a beast at takeoff. 40% N1, TOGA....yeah really difficult. Commercial aircraft and ATC is designed to be simple and easy. Modern aircraft are highly automated to ease pilot workload and make it easy and safe for the thousands of daily flights. Imagine if they had to dial vors all over the world. Wait they used to haha but that could not sustain the levels we're at now. Not attacking you just trying to make a point. We think we're so smart because we can get a route from flightaware or pfpx and program the cdu. But it's all really simple and automated. There's a false sense of complexity because its a big jet that flies really fast with a computer you have to program.

The OP needs to try Pilot Edge - fly a small prop VFR through/ in between SoCal's busy class B - without a GPS, while talking to live ATC. That's challenging... Not so bad if you read the charts though. www.skyvector.com

[galfed 3]

This is an interesting topic and I tried to follow it as good as possible. If not mentioned already I can suggest to head over to Chris Palmers Angle Of Attack and to go through the free Aviator90 course, which is pretty much a 45 episodes training like you would get when starting real world training.

 

Or grab some money and start real world training, if a normal private pilot license is to expensive, light sport or ultra light would do it just the same. Or for the price of some better addons and together with a friend sharing the cockpit experience one or two instructional flights would also be something adding to the passion for the flying experience. Sometime the getting bored feeling is just an indication for going the next step.

 

I am pretty shure, the moment you set your feet on the apron you will like the feeling... :wub:

 

 

Manfred

[Manny 1,293]

I can suggest to head over to Chris Palmers Angle Of Attack and to go through the free Aviator90 course, which is pretty much a 45 episodes training like you would get when starting real world training.

 

Hi Manfred

 

Does it have IFR training in that collecion?

[duckbilled 310]

Over the last few months, I have not been able to fly due to my schedule. Sure, I have my weekends free but with constant updates to software and real life issues, there always seems to be a roadblock. I would be flying right now but I need to install the QW757 SP3 update. On a friday at 8 PM, I have had a few too many Diabolicals to uninstall, reinstall, reinstall liveries, make panel.cfg changes... to get up in the air tonight. I have even less energy during the week to make these changes.

 

I love the Qw757 because I can get up in their quicky and the 757 applies is realistic for a lot of routes. I can start a 4 hour flight, get to cruise level, set AP, eat dinner with my wife and land after she falls asleep. Can I fly tonight without SP3? Of course not. Flying will have to wait until tomorrow after I have the SP properly installed. After that, there are more issues...

 

I always like to fly to/from airports where I have nice scenery. I also want interesting weather to show off ASN. I have all of my addon airports in a KML in Google Earth. I layer my add ons with weather and look for the optimum to/from pair to pick a good flight. If the skies are clear around my addon airports, which happens on a regular basis, I end up not flying. I have a ton of add on airports but you would be suprised how many of them have clear weather on a regular basis.

 

So, in short I am always looking for:

 

Updated airports and aircraft (QW757 preferable)

Interesting weather at origin/destination

Realistic airline/equipment options (not a lot of 757's flying around Asia for some reason)

Add on scenery at origin/destination

4 hour flights

Must be a Friday or Saturday night (and Saturday nights are regularly my "together time" with the wife.

 

As a result, it can be difficult to get flights in these days.