FSX-MS Jack of all Trades, Master of None!

[Capt Speirs 52]

Tonight was the final straw, I have to narrow down my fleet to only 3 planes in my opinion. I tried flying the PMDG J4100 tonight and failed miserably. :blush:  I just have had it with my glut of aircraft that I have acquired over the years and can't get good enough with even one to fly it properly. Maybe this is a handicap that I only suffer with, but for me it's good-bye and off to the scrap heap for most. I think I will try to only to fly 3 at first;

 

1. PMDG 777 (what else, right?)

 

2. PMDG 737NGX

 

3. Majestic Q400

 

It's going to kill me to scrap the PMDG Queen and MD-11, along with the J4100. I just bought the Airbus's and I am not even going to get involved in them. The LD767 and the Carenado's I just purchased are going also. In the future, the only one I may add back on is the PMDG 747 2.0 since I am so familiar with it already, it will be like coming home. I feel like a fool, blowing all that money thinking I could get the most out of those planes. Maybe at some point i can return to these birds when I have become proficient in the others. Oh darn, I forgot about the Twin Otter, now I'm gonna cry. :(  Maybe just 4 planes.  :blink:

[fullmetal02 23]

I've always wondered how folks had that much free time not just to fly but learn other aircraft and their various systems.

 

I can honestly say that if I put the NGX down for more than 3 weeks it will kick my tail. I'm thinking about removing the MD11, the Queen, and the Twin Otter.

[Don t moderate me this way 882]

You forgot to mention the QW BAe146/Avroliners!  

[Avocet 0]

It can seem like overload when you have so many addon aircraft to choose from, and they are all obtainable on a reasonable income.  You could have three of these aircraft for the price of a real lesson!  Personally I'm still flying the default aircraft due to computer limitations, and quite happy.  Mostly flying the A321 (modified) 737-800 and Baron 58.  To me it's about learning new things, new types of approaches, short runways, etc etc. It seems there is always something new to learn in the world of aviation.

[n4gix 4,947]

Rather than "removing" the aircraft entirely, do like I did and create a folder charmingly named ..\AircraftHanger in which to "hanger" your unneeded aircraft...

 

...then, just select and drag each one you want to "hanger" into that folder! B)

F:\DATA\FSX\SimObjects\AircraftHanger

[Capt Speirs 52]

 

Rather than "removing" the aircraft entirely, do like I did and create a folder charmingly named ..\AircraftHanger in which to "hanger" your unneeded aircraft...

 

...then, just select and drag each one you want to "hanger" into that folder! B)

F:\DATA\FSX\SimObjects\AircraftHanger

Dragging the Aircraft from the "SimObjects" folder to a new folder, doesn't mess up FSX as far as looking for the missing plane? Or does that only apply to Original Aircraft, or not at all?

[Ebs 114]

 

...then, just select and drag each one you want to "hanger" into that folder! B)

F:\DATA\FSX\SimObjects\AircraftHanger

 

Haha! Nice one, I really like that!

 

 

Dragging the Aircraft from the "SimObjects" folder to a new folder, doesn't mess up FSX as far as looking for the missing plane? Or does that only apply to Original Aircraft, or not at all?

 

 

No, it won't mess anything up. FSX is looking for the user aircraft in 'SimObjects/Airplanes' so moving any plane to 'SimObjects/AircraftHanger' is effectively removing it from the sim. (well, unless you add that new path in fsx.cfg, but why would you do that!? )

[pilottj 198]

I've trimmed down my active hangar quite a bit, focused more on the scenery.  Really tried to limit the hangar to a couple from each genre of flying that I enjoy, ie a couple of gliders, a small assortment of GA types to cover the numerous GA activities, a few warbirds, a few tubes, a couple of jet fighters...etc.

 

I try not to get caught in one type of flying activity for too long so I don't get burned out any particular one.  Following a magenta line for too long, be it from an FMS or GTN gets boring, it's a good to break that up with some old school 'seat of the pants' flying from a vintage GA, warbird, or glider to keep things fresh.  After the RTW trip in the Turbine Duke, I am taking a magenta line break and doing some gliders for a little bit.  Soaring around FTX's NZ scenery is quite enjoyable.

 

Cheers

TJ

[n4gix 4,947]

Dragging the Aircraft from the "SimObjects" folder to a new folder, doesn't mess up FSX as far as looking for the missing plane? Or does that only apply to Original Aircraft, or not at all?

To give you the precise technical answer, no it won't mess anything up.

 

The sim reads the aircraft.cfg files for each of the aircraft present in the ..\SimObjects\Airplane folder and uses that information to build it's list of available aircraft and variants.

 

Another technique some people use is to simply rename the ..\panel folder to something like ..\panel.parked. The sim will note the absence of the ..\panel folder and skip this aircraft when it builds the list of available aircraft and variants.

 

This requires quite a bit of manual editing however. Simply dragging the entire aircraft folder to another folder such as I've suggested is faster, and involves no further effort. As always in Windows, the actual files are never moved from their location on the hard drive, as only their "address" gets changed! :Big Grin:

[Capt Speirs 52]

To give you the precise technical answer, no it won't mess anything up.

 

The sim reads the aircraft.cfg files for each of the aircraft present in the ..\SimObjects\Airplane folder and uses that information to build it's list of available aircraft and variants.

 

Another technique some people use is to simply rename the ..\panel folder to something like ..\panel.parked. The sim will note the absence of the ..\panel folder and skip this aircraft when it builds the list of available aircraft and variants.

 

This requires quite a bit of manual editing however. Simply dragging the entire aircraft folder to another folder such as I've suggested is faster, and involves no further effort. As always in Windows, the actual files are never moved from their location on the hard drive, as only their "address" gets changed! :Big Grin:

Good to know, thanks, I did just that. Now I would like to move the "Default" aircraft or is that not a good idea?

[reecemj 144]

TJ are your gliders freeware or pay? And which one you like best?

[pilottj 198]

TJ are your gliders freeware or pay? And which one you like best?

 

Hey Reecemj, I just got Aerosoft's ASK-21, it is quite enjoyable, it feels a little more 'refined' compared to their Discus.    There are some nice freeware gliders around like Michal Puto's Pirat.

 

Cheers

TJ

 

ps I just posted some screenshots of the ASK here.

http://forum.avsim.net/topic/464309-soaring-from-martins-bay-to-quintin-lodge/#entry3196765

[BeechPapa 32]

Good to know, thanks, I did just that. Now I would like to move the "Default" aircraft or is that not a good idea?

 

Fairly sure deleting default planes will affect default traffic, but I could be wrong about that.  

 

Many a time I've felt the same way you do, especially in JS4100 which really can be a royal pain sometimes. I've discovered now why airlines like to monitor pilot proficiency over time and keep them limited to extremely similar types. Just a few weeks away and you can really feel like a beginner again in any airplane. On the other hand, with ability to fly so many types in FSX, good luck sticking to just a few. 

[Lewis B 14]

I see people have posted about how best to move aircraft and keep things clean etc, I'm going to pick up on something else you said in your post that I've also recently come to the realisation of, and its this;

 

 I just have had it with my glut of aircraft that I have acquired over the years and can't get good enough with even one to fly it properly.

 

If you treat the sim as you would the real world its a lot easier. The trouble many simmers have is they get a sim get a 737 etc and then start from there, often filling in big knowledge gaps with assumption or just leaving the gaps. Now if this was the real world, long before you get anywhere near a 737 you have to get your PPL, and start with the basics of flight and avionics etc. I fully recommend seeing if you can go this route in sim, I'm in the process myself at the early stages and I'm seeing my simming experience go up ten fold with immersion and fun.

 

Learn how to fly seat of pants in the sim, and work your way up just as you would in reality. Not only is it more realistic but you can go at any pace you want unlike the real world, theres little $$ to get in the way unlike the real world and as you work your way up you will be a hell of a better sim pilot + understand the aircraft you fly and not only understand but comprehend how and why things are done. The other bonus is that in sim land we can go from relaxed realism simulation to high fidelity with a re-load to a different aircraft, and that includes the use of the default aircraft.

 

Theres tons of resources out there to help simmers fly in this realistic manner, I mean like millions of web articles and pages and documents that can be used, and never underestimate youtube, the video tutorials and seeing things done there right before you so you can pause and rewind is golden! 

 

Also one of the most underrated aspects of MSFS, the learning center, itself filled chock block with information to digest.

 

The overall knock on effect is that when you do build up to one of the the advanced tubeliners such as those you mentioned you will already have a good grasp of the basics and beyond. Hopefully helping you be a better sim pilot and getting the most out of some pretty powerful high end simulations.

 

Anyway theres some random thoughts from me and how I'm going about solving the problem I picked out in your post as someone who is also suffering the same!

 

thanks,

Lewis

[Ron Attwood 3,464]

Nice post Lewis. You can now have a well deserved lie down. :smile: