What's the appeal(s) of Flying Heavy Airliners?

[Zatoichi 45]

No idea. I like VFR hops that I fly by hand the entire way.

[Anxu00 176]

11 hours ago, Rob Ainscough said:

I kinda wish I moved my life in this direction ... 

I believe Steveo is a "Corporate" pilot for a living.  Based in FL if I'm not mistaken.

Ain't life grand.  Yeah real airplane and aerobatic, with the sim your head is still up right even though your simcraft is not.  I missed the A2A Cub in P3Dv4!  And now I have some thinking to do.  I have not bought the new PMDG QOTSII (or is it V3?) yet.  That bird is massive....But it's do a hammer dive  

[Greggy_D 935]

On 12/16/2017 at 2:33 PM, tgcbraun said:

Best part is the wine during the long cruise.

Amen.  Thank God for autopilot! 

[edetroit 933]

On 12/16/2017 at 7:33 PM, tgcbraun said:

Best part is the wine during the long cruise.

I am another big fan of the wine during the cruise ...... often on the brandy by approach.

2 white and two red papi/vasi...or is that 4 white and four red? 

Real life flying is a very serious affair. This has got to be the best bit of fight sim.

[blaird22 35]

I vividly remember my first flight when I was around 8 years old.  I saw my plane, an AA DC-10 and I was STUNNED by the shear size.  Then I saw the cockpit.  It was just a feeling of "wow, this is extremely amazing".  Since then, I was enamored with commercial aircraft.  

Fast forward to FSX, I was able to learn these.  I stared with default and freeware aircraft and slowly started getting more and more "accurate" as far as procedures, weather, flight plans, etc.  Now, I'm trying to master the PMDG NGX.  It's a massive challenge that requires a lot of trial and error, time on this site, and YouTube videos.  But when you start 'cracking the code' and making thing more and more accurate and realistic, the satisfaction factor starts feeling really good.  So when I get to my current setup (P3Dv4, PMDG, real world flight plans, etc), I feel like I've learned a part of it but still have so many other steps ahead of me.  This is very gratifying 

TL:DR: Heavies are the biggest and fastest commercial machines man has made, and the sim gives me a unique opportunity to harness that.  There something about that.  Plus, there is always a "next step", which is an opportunity to learn and 'crack the code' if you will

[BillCusick 75]

I suspect that you all have lost the plot...

I try and not use the AP, so that I can learn all I can. You never know the day when your 'expert' knowledge may come in handy.

I may have to take over when both flight crew have had the fish....

('Flight Into Danger', Arthur Hailey, (1956)

Regards

Bill

..and a flight attendant's uniform for the missus...unworn

[Guest]

On 16-12-2017 at 4:00 PM, Anxu00 said:

However, these days I found them interesting as collector items and have not flown them that often.  Partly due to the long prep times required.

Well, there's your 'problem': you don't like to do the prep, you just want to fly! You will be able to enjoy airliners (but also GA, as stated above already) a lot more if you change your view on what you are doing. Do not see the prep as a hurdle you have to take before you can actually fly: see the prep as an enjoyable part of it all! 

I myself usually switch between flying GA and airliners: I tend to fly only ONE plane for months and months and when I am done with it I usually switch to something completely different, so often I go from GA to airliner and back again and the other way around. I noticed I got fed up with airliners sooner than with GA and that this had to do with the prep.

Recently however I bought the Majestic Q400: it is the best plane I ever had, not only because of it's deep simulation but also because it sort of sits between a GA and airliner. You have to do the prep but it's not over the top complicated: it has an overhead and an FMS but those are rather basic while still being extremely true to life. This means (for me) that I can learn EVERYTHING there is to learn about this plane and get it under total control and I like that: I never had that (or managed to do that) with the Airbus or a 737 and that was one of the reasons I didn't fly them too long. You also have to do a lot more things manually: there is no autoland but also no autothrottle so it keeps you quite (and nicely) busy. In short, it's the best of both worlds. 

Anyway, getting a plane like this under total control also made me appreciate the prep a LOT more. I finally managed to not look at the prep as a hurdle, doing things without really having a clue what I was doing, but as a part of the complete and realistic experience. And heck, I even bought GSX to make the prep (and parking) more entertaining and realistic! A few months back I regarded GSX as a totally useless addon... but not anymore!

So it's all a matter of perspective. And personal preference. I can fully understand it if someone doesn't like the prep of an airliner but if you look at it as a fun part of the entire experience and make it even more fun by adding GSX and actually learning what you are doing during a prep (instead of just pushing the correct buttons as told by a checklist) thing become a lot more satisfying. In fact, as it is now I'd be very quickly bored if I just load a plane and take off right away and just look outside... yawn. 

I am sure that in time I will get a bit bored with the Q400 again and I'll go back to for instance the A2A Comanche and fly using VOR only... or using GPS only... in the end the great thing about this hobby is that you can do whatever you please. No one forces you to do anything you don't want to do! 

Final tip: if you really don't like the prep: almost all addon airliners come with a ready for taxi or ready for take off state: don't feel ashamed to use it! 

[bic 44]

I used to fly JFK to Cairo leaving around 8 pm and with it being a 10 hour flight, I could go to sleep and force myself to getup on Saturday morning around 6 a.m. and land. So, sleep deprivation was a fun thing (really?).  Now I have sleep deprivation every day, so it's no longer "fun".  It's been a couple years since I flew those flights.  

[John_Cillis 2,406]

On 12/16/2017 at 8:00 AM, Anxu00 said:

All,

May be you all can help me appreciate the various PMDG planes that I have: NGX, 777, MD-11, 747.  I am always an enthusiastic guy when in comes to these birds, however, these are highly procedural sims, and the pilot fly the systems rather than the planes, so aside from getting the planes air born and land, with some very long cruise time in between, what's the real interests?  I "flew" these birds a few time, and admire the developer work going into them.  However, these days I found them interesting as collector items and have not flown them that often.  Partly due to the long prep times required.  So what is it that you heavy fliers out there like about this type of sim?

Thanks

I am late to this thread yet I'd like to have a brief reply.  I did not like flying heavies until I acquired Xplane11.  I fell in love with its 747, even though I am sure there are more immersive ones out there, like PMDG.  I liked it simply because of the feel, and because you have to think and plan a bit when working the controls and setting up for takeoff, cruise climb, cruise, etc....  I always used to love just staring at the wing, after all in May and June I flew British Airways roundtrip from Phoenix to London and back on a trip I took to Europe this spring and early summer.  I stared outside for the 20+ hours or so of the 747-400's flight.  The Xplane11 747-400 lets me be the PIC or First Officer of that type of flight. 

John

[Anxu00 176]

2 hours ago, J van E said:

Final tip: if you really don't like the prep: almost all addon airliners come with a ready for taxi or ready for take off state: don't feel ashamed to use it! 

Oh but I do make use of it  and I have no shame whatsoever.  I see many good points about your posts, and that's the reason why I asked folks in my original post, to know why people use a complex airliner sim, so thanks for the insight.   Your description is what I gather from watching YouTube video and by browsing forum.  Call it the bug or whatever, but I did not seem to have been bitten yet by the airliner bug and to motivate to do the things you described.  To me aviation represents freedom, to fly wherever I like, and in sim I can be in many places where I won't ever be in real life.  Hence lies to roots of why I have not been bitten by the bug yet, as flying an airliner seem quite restrictive and feel as it should be: a serious job, carried out by airliner pilot.  This thread gives me many perspectives, which I will mull over for a while.  After all, I need to know what to do with these hundred dollar worth of add-ons that I bought, not using them to the fullest is a shame.

[Camsdad13 64]

I like flying long haul Jetliners because of the simulation of making $200 per hour flying long haul to support my simulated 4 ex wives, 2 simulated mortgages, 3  simulated kids in college then the payment for the simulated mid life crisis car so I can get simulated wife number 5.

The life of a long haul pilot :)

Merry Christmas.

[Greggy_D 935]

16 minutes ago, Camsdad13 said:

to support my simulated 4 ex wives, 2 simulated mortgages, 3  simulated kids in college

You forgot your 3 future ex-wives.  

[biloo 20]

On 12/16/2017 at 10:00 AM, Anxu00 said:

All,

May be you all can help me appreciate the various PMDG planes that I have: NGX, 777, MD-11, 747.  I am always an enthusiastic guy when in comes to these birds, however, these are highly procedural sims, and the pilot fly the systems rather than the planes, so aside from getting the planes air born and land, with some very long cruise time in between, what's the real interests?  I "flew" these birds a few time, and admire the developer work going into them.  However, these days I found them interesting as collector items and have not flown them that often.  Partly due to the long prep times required.  So what is it that you heavy fliers out there like about this type of sim?

Thanks

Since I was a child I would pretend myself flying for commercial airlines. I had a large collection of diecast model planes at young age and I would pretend the footboard of my bed to be airport terminal where jets would be parked against imaginary jetways. Then the long hallway would be assumed as my runway where jets would fly off and I would pretend taking planes to different cities comparing against world map that was hanging in one of our kitchen wall. Even back then I would estimate the time it would take flying from point A to point B.

So I guess the point is I always enjoyed flying commercial and sticking to schedules and following procedures and really travelling around the virtual world.

Even though its virtual, it still fascinates me how round (circular) the world is and that is another reason why I love flying heavies.

And finally also another reason why I love heavies is because that is relevant and known to me.

Don't get me wrong, its fun to fly GA as well and as Rob has mentioned it is very challenging to plan and fly GA's.

I guess maybe in the future I would adopt more and more flying GA's - who knows :),  never say never !

[Guest]

I doubt there would be any aircraft I wouldn't want to fly, virtual or real.  If there were an Aircraft Anonymous, I'd be their #1 member living it one day at a time.

Cheers, Rob.

[Ted Striker 338]

On 12/20/2017 at 3:58 AM, J van E said:

Final tip: if you really don't like the prep: almost all addon airliners come with a ready for taxi or ready for take off state: don't feel ashamed to use it! 

I do that with every new plane I install! I try to extinguish as many warning lights as I can then I grab a handful of throttle and go!  Its usually accompanied with all kinds of bells and clangers! After this exercise I settle back with the wine and read the manuals front to back. I can't wait to install the Condcorde-X and try this with no passengers and an hour worth of fuel!

The challenge and interest to me of the airlines, or any complex aircraft for that matter, is just learning and successfully using the systems. I also usually stick with one plane for a long time because of this. I've got so many planes that I've purchased but not installed yet, if all the 3rd party developers stopped producing I could still be flying new equipment for 2 or 3 years. The Q400 and Concorde-X are two of them.

The one that keeps drawing me back though is the Citation X. That was the most difficult to learn of any I have attempted. I kept getting lockups, freezes, weird behavior, you name it. After what seemed like 2 years I finally began to understand and get comfortable with it and now no longer have any problems. It is quick to setup but is still a challenge to fly as it has no autothrottle. I can't wait for the next version of this one.

I also like jumping in GA aircraft and exploring ORBX territory low and relatively slow in the Lancair Legacy or slower. In this scenario I usually just turn on real weather, pick a spot and plane, grab a sectional, and hope for the best.

If all the developers stopped producing I'd be content with what I have for years to come......as long as Active Sky kept the weather feeds coming!

Ted