I've been so busy in the 'real world' that I hardly hit the power on switch as of late! I read Avsim posts daily (of course). A lot of add on's.. payware and freeware. Most of which, have never been installed!. And here I've gone and invested more money for a complete system rebuild, with new hardware. Go figure  :-)  But when I do fly as of late, it is usually late on a Friday night, when the work week is done, with a couple of toddies under my belt. Low and slow. I enjoy watching the scenery flying VFR.

I made my best ever manual landing in the PMDG 777 last night at EGNX East Midlands. In fact, I was so pleased with it that I fired up the FS Recorder Instant Replay with the intention of filming some footage of it. I started the replay when I was halfway through the turn to final from left downwind, and was enjoying watching "the beast" cruising above the photoscenery landscape when........the screen froze, and FSX had to restart due to a fatal error :angry: Damn it.

 

I really have to think well in advance with this aircraft when flying "low and slow" VFR in manual mode. No ILS guidance or anything else. Just 100% VFR like a small GA plane. Those turns really do have to be well coordinated, because the speed tends to increase quite a bit if the bank angle is too steep (unless I push and pull on the yoke, which is something I prefer to avoid). I like to control the plane during a circuit of the airport using the throttle only, which is no easy task with such a heavy aircraft. 

I am glad I started this chat to see how are my fellow simmers fly.

I keep a log of every flight I make with comments, impressions, aircraft used etc.

I have so many memorable flights across the globe: over the Alps, the Andes, over the Japanese Islands, brushing by the Himalayas or flying a polar route heading easterly.

One such route, I enacted ACA flight 15 (CYYZ-VHHH) after I acquired the PMDG777 and based on their Just Planes video. It was so much fun.

 

Also, from FlightAware I came to realize that a lot of airlines are not necessarily using the T7 for long haul flights (e.g. Emirates and Cathay). So I am enjoying The T7 that way flying in Asia and the Middle East.

I like flying the 737 around domestic routes in the United States, usually in Orbx scenery regions because you know, default scenery sucks.  I fly the 777 across country and to Hawaii, but I surprisingly haven't done an international 777 flight, although I have planned to on many occasions.  I like the long distance flight in the A2A Stratocruiser as well, although it discourages me with a 12-hour block of time where I can't use the computer for anything else.  Lately, I've been hopping back and forth across the Atlantic in the Concorde, mainly because its both an international transoceanic flight, and it only takes 3 hours 20 minutes.

I only fly for Virtual airlines im a member of BA, Fedex, Qantas, Emeriates and Virgin so plenty to keep me busy flying real world routes

Couple of rules I try to adhere to:

Must take off from an airport I've previously landed at. There are half a dozen that I haven't got back to that I left from before deciding on that. Apart from Dubai, they're all in Europe. The first is waiting on the T7 SP1 and the other waiting on the Orbx EU landclass.

 

Where possible, fly airliners on routes with the right type and the right airline. Departed Flights is my friend here, as well as FlightAware of course. I'm less fussy with that with feeder/short commuter types, or freighters.

 

Other than that, Cub onto a dirt strip or heavy into a world hub - matters not. My current goal is to reach 1,000 airports landed at. I still have a long way to go...

I follow the Westjet schedule and on time, plus any other airline with a codeshare arrangement with them, that can easily take me anywhere in the world. 

I fly strictly GA, but mix it up between US (Orbx) and the EU (Orbx). I have some NZ scenery but have not ventured down there yet.

 

Sometimes I fly a favorite route if the weather is clear. Today I flew the P-51 Civilian from KRHV to both KACV and KTVL (can hardly wait for the Lake Tahoe package!), and I can't tell you how many times I have departed from KTTD and flown to KAST, KOLM, or gone up the Columbia Gorge and just circled back. Pretty country, and flying VFR you need the eye-candy! 

 

However, my favorite type of flying is "planned" routes. I repeated a friend's summer drive, flying from one small airport to another following in his trail. His trip took 2 months, I repeated it in 3...   I flew between all US state capitals, and am in the middle of repeating same for the European country capitals. That is on-hold until the Orbx EU Landclass product arrives.

 

I find that flight planning is fun (I use Plan-G), and when I fly the legs of the trip I enter all the flight times in an Excel spreadsheet. Times, fuel consumption, and some notes, i.e., "really buggered that landing". Gives flying a purpose. But, then again, blasting up the Green River Canyon in the Christen Eagle is just as entertaining. 

 

I used to travel a lot for my job: that is why I think "heavies" don't appeal to me much. My &@($* gets too sore...  :lol:

 

Currently flying P3D V1.4, but waiting from some money to fall out of the sky for a GTX 780 ACX and move to P3D V2.

I stick with current & past routes of one airline which gives me a good pick of destinations & aircraft to use.

 

I will fly to & back from whatever destination i have chosen. Apart from getting some decent scenery for my destinations i'll usually have a look and see if there is any more AI traffic i can add which World of AI did not have. Editing parking spots in sceneries & adding AI traffic is almost half the fun

 

After that it's flight planning & together with Active Sky & Rex things come together very nicely.    

• Fly either NGX, Aerosoft Airbus X A320, MJC Dash 8-q400.   One at a time for about 1 week,

Real world airlines.  Real(ish) routes.

Plan route in rfinder.com

Make FP file in SimRoutes.com

Fly off-line with Opus weather (no interest in on-line flying), don't use ATC just 'clear myself'

Fly using checklists whereever possible.

Very occasionally I mess around in a GA plane at airfields back home in Sweden or in Norway or UK.