There used to be tons of them back in the FS9 and early FS10 days and now that we have better/realistic scenery we have very few. You would think that there would be plenty to choose from. 

Do you think it’s because of all the high fidelity jets/dash8 we have now?

any other comments?

I think that's part of it, the high fidelity addons pushing people towards airline style flying.

I think the more significant issue is that Virtual Airlines exist to provide structured flying, which generally revolves around schedules that you don't really get that with bush flying as it's more ad hoc.

The other thing is that VAs tends to limit you a certain area and operations, whereas I think the average sim bush pilot just wants to do as they please, potentially on different continents on different days! They're just looking for inspiration for routes and friends to fly with, which I think multiplayer groups serve the purpose better.

All true. There are some cool little bush flying airlines though that work on quite regular schedules (Coastal Aviation in Tanzania comes to mind) that would be great fun to fly for. Maybe a project for someone...?

Marcel Durieux

I actually don't think they are dead at all. Buffaloairwaysvirtual.com, Canadianxpress.ca, and Flywestwind.com are VAs that let you do as much bush flying as you want. Many virtual airlines concentrate on pax or cargo haul, but a good portion let you pick charter routes with small airplanes. There are also virtual flying clubs, which concentrate on GA.

There is also a nice selection of high-quality airplanes for bush flying, including the Aerosoft Twin Otter and all smaller A2A models. If you are OK with less in-depth systems, Carenado has also a nice selection of bush planes. And then there is the great C-47 (DC-3) by Manfred Jahn, which is even freeware.

Peter

I think that's a fair point, perhaps bush flying VAs are not at the fore of the communities' minds. However a lot of time VA bush flying operations feel like they're a tacked afterthought rather than a core operation.

I was thinking/looking into trying to come up with a VA that would be bush flying and that's it. Nothing but bush flying.

I may just do it as my own little thing. I "assign" my own flights. I don't pick them. I have a method that simulates a passenger choosing where to go based on the airports that we service, etc. Or that's the idea. This is all done manually through dice rolls, bringing in a little tabletop role-playing gaming. No dragons here, LOL.

Check out this place - http://return.mistymoorings.com/

Not a true VA but they are a great group of people that have created and organized a world for bush flying in the PNW, up to Alaska based on the Orbx regions plus some freeware that fits in with it all.  They've been around since FS9.  Very nice and helpful folks.

Wow, that's excellent! I'll have to try that.

Marcel Durieux

We are alive and kicking, delivering both bush as more civilized regions and aircraft.

www.andrasmeridian.com

 I'll have to try that.