I started remembering my first steps in FSX few years back,quite funny stuff I must admit.

 

After some simple GA flying with default Maule and C172, I decided to start flying some default jetliners, and later on some routes with my first ever purchase - Flight1 ATR 72.

 

These were some of my quirks:

 

- using reversers to start taxing from the gate, lol. Later on when I found about towing trucks and pushback, and I thought "what kind of stupid pushback thing is this? Reversers are better!".

 

- using VFR flight plans for all flights, even commercial flights with 737 and ATR! Left/right downwind with 737 is not a easy thing, I tell ya. So literally every descent and approach was full manual, at least I learned to fly in a hard way. Also, ATC is not willing to help when you are flying VFR flightplans, I calculated TOD's manually, and yeah, sometimes I was at 10 000ft at 20nm from the airport. Passengers didn't loved these rollercoaster rides.

 

- never used autopilot's GPS/LOC modes, means I was fiddling with HDG knob during whole flight to follow flightplan. :ph34r:

 

- never used ILS because I didn't knew about it at all! I remember one approach and landing on LOWW with 500m visibility, that was the most frightening experience in FSX ever. Missed the runway by far and crashed, oh well. I mean, how can you land the 737 or any other jetliner using default GPS panel and lining the airplane with the feather. Yeah, you read it well, I knew about the ILS feathers but didn't knew about ILS, amazing.

 

I'm sure there were more quirks, but can't remember them all.

 

I'm sure we would love to hear how you guys started your rookie days in FSX.

I used nothing but water planes cause landing is infinitely easier.

 

I used nothing but water planes cause landing is infinitely easier.

 

 

Hehe, you're probably right. But landing on the water is killing all the immersion for me. Never flew water planes only because of that.

Struggling to even hit the runway on landing with the default 737.  

 

Max fuel every time.

 

Trim? what is this?

There was a time back in the late 60s or early 70s when UAL used nothing but reverse thrust, on the 727s, to back away from the gate.

 

Bruce

There was a time back in the late 60s or early 70s when UAL used nothing but reverse thrust, on the 727s, to back away from the gate.

 

NWA did this till 2005.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powerback

When I started I didn't have rudder pedals, so was using autorudder. Then I started to use RW weather and trying to take off and land in crosswinds. On the takeoff roll the auto rudder control turns into aileron control and  I'd be scraping the wingtips on the runway trying to keep the plane going straight. LOL

 

There was AF 90 which crashed in part due to using reverse thrust for push back in a snowstorm: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Florida_Flight_90

Hehe, you're probably right. But landing on the water is killing all the immersion for me. Never flew water planes only because of that.

 

What do you mean killing the immersion? Not sure how Xplane or other sims are but FSX water landings and takeoff seem decently realistic but not perfect.

Every single flight plan used to be direct-to. Giant mountain in the way? Direct-to. Canyon approach? Direct-to.

 

It also took me alot of time to fully realize two facts: wind direction is from the heading it blows from, not to... And runway numbers correspond to the facing direction of the runway. One you realize those two things you can choose a runway fast. If you don't get that though, you can end up sitting there doing some really goofy math and still pick the wrong runway.

I thought tuning radios was a highly complex and difficult task. Then I got frustrated about some switches not working. Then I discovered programming....

I've been into gaming since there were pcs to game on, so the physical flying part never bothered me, it was more the what seemed like an infinite amount of stuff to twiddle with that I had no idea what it did that drove me nuts.

 

Nowadays it's the opposite.  A few months back, when the Star Citizen beta opened up to backers, I recall flying my 350i for the first time and thinking to myself, "This is a horrible VC... I can't even look around, and these gauges are static...".  My second thought was to lament the lack of FSUIPC for it...

Every single flight plan used to be direct-to. Giant mountain in the way? Direct-to. Canyon approach? Direct-to.

 

It also took me alot of time to fully realize two facts: wind direction is from the heading it blows from, not to... And runway numbers correspond to the facing direction of the runway. One you realize those two things you can choose a runway fast. If you don't get that though, you can end up sitting there doing some really goofy math and still pick the wrong runway.

 

Oh, I forgot about these two!

I used direct-to flightplans for all flights, they are shortest, no?

 

I'm struggling with wind direction still today, lol.

I for some reason thought the only way to turn was by banking the plane 90 degrees and then pulling hard on the elevator. Didn't matter if it was a 172 or the default 747. If I wanted to change my direction those passengers were gonna be looking at the ground!

Oh, I forgot about these two!

I used direct-to flightplans for all flights, they are shortest, no?

 

I'm struggling with wind direction still today, lol.

They are shortest, but I only used it because I didn't know any better. Navigation meant pushing "D->". And even then, I thought that was pretty neat. lol 

No idea when I started with FSX, when I did, I had as much knowledge then as I do now so not much was new.  I do remember getting my fist computer and playing my first flight sim on it when I was 10 years old, and this was it.....