Hi all.

I asked this question years ago in a truck sim forum and am interested in what flight simmers think.

With the recent 4.2, airbus etc updates I found a lot of people impatient for the latest patch/update to their favourite plane/scenery.  So I thought its not the flight sim platform some are interested in its just the need to have the latest updates the most expensive plane and not actually flying!

For me, it is both.  Been flight siming for 25+ years and am comfortable with a stable version with no CTD etc but with a study plane in good scenery.

Allan Thomson

Hey Allan,

I think you'll find a good mix of all types here.  And some that have switched back and forth as the years roll by.  There is a certain excitement about any new release, and some relish the thought of tweaking the heck outt'a it to be on the bleeding edge, if only to report here they've managed to to it.   Others on the other hand (pun intended), absolutely dread an update and what it may mean in terms of diving back into modifiying/reinstalling/tweaking a now fine-turned system they enjoy flying in.

I've been back and forth in my flightsim tenure (right there with ya at 25+ years, Sublogic ATP yellow 767 senior captain here, still have the brown ATP manual somewhere in a box), but mostly opt for a stable system that I enjoy flying with today. 

For example, I have not even downloaded the the 4.2 update nor the latest FSL bus.  To busy with a rock-stable 4.1 release and all the planes/scenery I need installed/tweaked/working beautifully.  In my flightsim youth, I'd be 1st in line to grab that update and hit the ini  or dos batch loading files for a major tweaking session (way back when we used such files)...anyone remember the himem.sys file? LOL

 

I find something strangely soothing about spending time installing custom AI traffic...I think it’s the thought of how immersive the sim will be when I eventually get around to flying in it 

For the first week or so after a fresh install, it’s option 2. After that, it’s option 1. I guess that means both!

A few years ago I would spend weeks tinkering with AI and other projects. I flew here and there, but most of my time was spend tweaking things.

We had a baby last summer, and now my weekends are almost completely filled with other stuff - Costco runs, building furniture and toys... It hasn't helped that since he is in daycare, everyone in this house has been sick for the past 7 weeks. If I get a chance to focus on FS, I will fly. Even when I do, I'm only going to get enough time to fly to cruise alt and kick on the ap. I return when it is time to land. I'm still on 4.0, and everything seems to be working OK. I'll probably do an update once a must-have add on is released that requires the update - something like the release of the QW787 would be an example.

I prefer to fly... And of course this I guess is the main reason for buying a flight SIM in the first place.

I’ve been simming since the dawn of flight sim software. I remember booking a 30min slot during lunch breaks on my high schools latest apple computer. Back then only business and schools had such an expensive device. 

Sadly I admit it, I now spend a lot of time fiddling, updating and experimenting with many new products. I enjoy this too but it does get in the way of actually loading up a flight and flying.

As humans we seek the ultimate experience and I’m guilty of wanting what’s new and improved. I’m constantly updating hoping for the best, I sometimes work hours upon hours on something minor just because the newest update broke something.

But it’s the developers fault... 

We have so many talented people in this flight sim community large and small and giving us more everyday.  You got to admit it.. it maybe worth buying, trying and flying. Some quickly get deleted others stay and later get replaced by something better.

What amazes me, I can spend hours and hours in the cockpit of my own real world life as an airline pilot then come home fire up the computer and take to the sky’s again in an aircraft that I know I will never fly in real life. Like the PMDG DC6 or the A2A Texan the list can go on and on, but I thoroughly enjoy it. 

So I guess the answer is both, but I’d rather be fly’n.

 

 Ice