Couple of questions

[Guest N73GX]

When someone makes a post with the leading subject "Question" they are (90%) of the time looking for an answer to that question or questions. This post will be some what big with some questions I have. Mainly I have these questions because I am a causal flyer and don't get out much :).I am a "Stay at home Dad". that means I get to keep an eye on my 4 year old while my wife brings home the bacon. This does not mean I have the whole day to myself. and it surely doesn't mean that I get long hours of uninterruptible time to my self. It does how ever mean I get to spend a lot of time on the computer to do various things like fly, repaint aircraft (matrixlair.com/msfs) and build up my websites. This among other things. I am not a real pilot but I am and have been an AOPA member since 2003. I love the aviation world, and would like to get a little more serious time with my flight simulator. When I say "Serious" I am talking about things like Vatsim, FSeconomy, and other aspects of the sim that can be utilized, to make the sim more inviting than it is now.So, on with the questions.1. With the information from above, and the little research I have done on the FSeconomy program, would this be for me? These days I mainly fly the FSD 337H Skymaster. I have done several "Bush Flying Unlimited" jobs, and feel I have a good enough, proficiently, in flying a general aviation aircraft and some basic knowledge of IFR flying. I would like to be able to keep flying the Skymaster, but do not know if this program is going to be for me.Thoughts?2. I am a member of VATSim, but have never used it for flight sim. I'm not totally sure I would be able to commit that kind of time to one flight, that often. That isn't to say that I would not be able to commit time at all. Do you think Vatsim is for me?Thoughts?3. What program is this that does this to your screenshots?http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/5083/as...5oct10020bp.jpg the yellow text at the top and bottom. This is a neat feature if someone could point me in the right direction.4. Is there any other forums or forum sections you think I should place this post?I am not looking for people to hold my hand with any of this but a hand up. I just don't think VATSim will work out for me but would like to get some thoughts on it.FSeconomy seems like fun and interesting but there is just to little information on how to get started and the site is half broke right now. If I could help out on the FSeconomy site, I would in a heart beat, but I think there is more to it than just fixing this and that. It has to more to do with the hosting service and where the site is at..I would love to hear everyone's thoughts and ideas. I will be checking the forums (Like I usually do) regularly :)Thank youJason G.http://www.matrixlair.com/extra/main2.gifhttp://www.matrixlair.com

[Guest N73GX]

What... 35 biews and no one has any thoughts? or advice?I posted the same thing at flightsim.com and it has over 50 views and one response.

[Guest bonjourmoi44]

Hi Jason. I certainly can not answer all your questions. However, with regards to Vatsim it is not as intimidating as you think. Of course if you jump right in without reading any of the docs and you're on a runway when you sign in and a plane is about to land, then yes you have a problem. With that said, most pilots and controllers on Vatsim are very patient and willing to help. In fact there have been some posts lately with ideas on help to transition newbies into the flight environment. Since you have some ample time on your computer during the day I would go to the PRC (pilots resource center) and read over the documentation. Then just go to the forums and read the posts as many are centered around advice to pilots from controllers that will save some embarrassment. Really Vatsim is great and not to difficult to learn. I bet just a few days of good reading will bring you up to speed. Then it is all about learning from doing. Sign on during a non-busy time and go to a sector where there is not much traffic and the ATC will be more than happy to give some 1 on 1 attention. Once you get into Vatsim you'll be hooked! Good luck.

[Paul Kane 0]

Hi Jason,The name of the utility is called Snapper and you can find it here:http://www.ovosoft.nl/snapper/Please set your JPG quality to 98% or you will receive .jpg errors. You won't really notice any reduction in picture quality by setting the quality to 98%

[Guest lamont]

Hi Jason:After reading your post it sounds like you are basically interested in GA VFR/IFR flight. Going along with Cameron I would say VATSIM would be a benefit to you. However, because you are subject to life's little emergencies during the day (children) you may want to limit your online flights to VFR and of short duration.Another possibility is hooking up with other bush flyers in a multiplayer situation. As for FSEconomy I'm not familiar enough to give it a thumbs up or down as it applies to your situation.If you need a program that will give you information regarding your flights FSACARS does a nice job and it's freeware. Just do a google search and it should pop right up.Hope this helps,

[Guest N73GX]

Thanks for the thoughts everyone. I am reading over the the Pilots resouces again and printing some stuff out. I think the best thing I can do right now is to make a Check list before doing my preflight check list of what to turn on, what needs whats. and so on :)The Screen capture program is neat but isnt going to work for me. I use a 3 monitor set up and it takes screen shots at the size of 2560 X 2048Thats just to big and I only need one screen :)After some time of reading and getting things set up, You'll start seeing my on VATSim.Thanks again EveryoneJason G.http://www.matrixlair.com/extra/main2.gifhttp://www.matrixlair.com

[Guest Shalomar]

Donny AKA ShalomarFly 2 ROCKS!!!I too am interested but have not yet done a Vatsim flight.I remember from the PRC that if you put "may log off" in your flight plan if something does come up you can log off Vatsim than pause. Usually it is because a newbie on his first flight may be overwhelmed. So "Newbie, first flight, may log off" and you'll get TLC from a not-too busy controller.To pause without logging off is severely frowned on, but if you discuss it with a controller before you "just do it", it might be worked out. If not, log off, pause etc and you might be able to get back on especially if your flight goes thru airspace no controller is available for before getting to your destination.Best Regards, Donny:-wave

[Guest]

For me, nothing beats the AI. Sure you get to hear real people on vatsim, but the coverage is small. When I put in real traffic from projectai, the library here, mrai (RIP), and others, it fills up my virtual skies like no other. Now if RC4 comes out and has the different accents, that would be perfect. Vatsim might be fun once in a while, but offline you can pause whenever you want and you don't have to play pretend professional, you can fly whatever approach you want, wherever you want, etc. without listening to a controller on the other end