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ErichB

Cost of flightsimming - per day of use - over 4 years.

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1 hour ago, tooting said:

We get charged £600 an hour for a full motion sim for opc/lpc etc etc etc

And I can guarantee you the people stuck in there are hating every single second of it!


787 captain.  

Previously 24 years on 747-400.Technical advisor on PMDG 747 legacy versions QOTS 1 , FS9 and Aerowinx PS1. 

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You can buy time in a BA 747 or 777 sim at Heathrow for about £500 a session. and I think you only get 30 mins flying time.

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On 6/13/2018 at 8:42 AM, blaird22 said:

Interesting.  I've always justified the costs as compared to going to a bar or something instead (I have a lot of bars/restaurants near me).  Spending $50-100 going out is no problem, especially if my girl is with me, so simming instead of going out actually seems fiscally responsible even considering the thousands I've already invested.  

Plus, "my hobby is flight sim" is far more rewarding and interesting than "I go to bars a lot" (I've certainly done both).  I really do feel that there are plenty of times that I would have gone and grabbed a few drinks if I didn't stay home and fly.  That's $50 a pop I save (adds up over the years)

I rarely go out to bars now (a little more when I travel but still not as often).  The only time I really do is the odd night out with friends or maybe a beer after a game or something.  Now I just enjoy a decent bottle of whatever at home with the wife and relax.  Plus, I can sim at the same time and the bottle costs way less than something at the bar.  😃

 

I definitely spend higher than I anticipated when I started, but once I got the basics purchased I've slowed way down and now buy things when they're on sale with a few exceptions.  Since most scenery will be on sale at some point and I have all of the hub airports that I fly to often, I have no issue waiting.  

Edited by sfgiants13

5800x3d Asus 4090 ROG Strix OC 2TB SSD 32GB Ram

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Maybe it's more expensive nowadays but we do buy a lot of sim slots. Constantly every day 


 
 
 
 
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  913456

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39 minutes ago, sfgiants13 said:

Now I just enjoy a decent bottle of whatever at home with the wife and relax.  Plus, I can sim at the same time and the bottle costs way less than something at the bar.  😃

 

 

There’s nothing better in an evening than soaring over the mountains in condor sim 2 while sipping on a glass of quality rum and ice... in fact it’s just about that time now, going to poor myself a glass and sort out an aerotow, cheers!

Edited by jon b

787 captain.  

Previously 24 years on 747-400.Technical advisor on PMDG 747 legacy versions QOTS 1 , FS9 and Aerowinx PS1. 

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Interesting. Given the exchange between Pounds and Canadian dollars, I probably spend a little less.

Here's another perspective on the cost of flight simming (helps immensely with justifying CPU upgrades, expensive add-on aircraft, high quality yokes, and the like to my wife): the cost of my flight simming is far, far, far less than what I would spend in Canada on real-life flying lessons, renting GA aircraft, etc. 🙂


Joel Murray @ CYVR (actually, somewhere about halfway between CYNJ and CZBB) 

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For me, the cost of flight simming isn't money, it's time.  Not that I have an endless supply of money, mind you, the point being that my time is in even shorter supply.  I can't bring myself to enjoy the hobby with the wife and kids around, so this means I only get to indulge when the Fam are away on holiday.  This doesn't happen as often as it used to, so I'm basically down to one month a year.  The rest of the year I spend in anticipation of the next opportunity, picking up add-ons here and there, drooling over 747 trip reports, but trying not to think about it too much.  Alas, as my recent avsim activity betrays, I am now a mere week away from the next sim season.  Can't wait to get back up there again.


Andrew Farmer

My flight sim blog: Fly, Farmer, Fly!

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Totally understand love simming but just time poor and family is always a higher priority,  i dream about having time to sim lol


Wayne such

Asus Hero Z690, Galax 3080 TI, I712700K, Kraken x72 CPU Cooled, 64 GIGS Corsair DDR5, 32 Inch 4K 

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I spend maybe €900 when I build a new PC (often, some components can be kept from the old one). Also, the PC is used for other things as well, like other games, labs and learning, DAWs etc.

Hardware peripherals - well, I used the CH Pro Pedals for over 10 years before switching to Thrustmaster T-Flight recently (the plastic rollers/tracks were just totally worn out on the CH pedals)...Currently on my third yoke (Saitek Cessna Yoke).

I do own most of OrbX's catalog, as well all the GA's from A2A, a whole bunch of Carenado/Alabeo and more. This is probably my biggest expense in terms of pure flightsim "investments".

Probably comes out at about €30 - 40 per month if you average it out.

Edited by AdvancedFollower
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Asus Prime X370 Pro / Ryzen 7 3800X / 32 GB DDR4 3600 MHz / Gainward Ghost RTX 3060 Ti
MSFS / XP

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Aside from replacing my FS Computer every few years, my only major expenses have been limited to yoke replacement. I've completely worn out two CH Pro Yokes, and have this time bought the Saitek Cessna Yoke hoping it will outlast me this time around! :laugh:

I wonder how long it will take me to get used to having the hat on the left instead of the right... :wacko:

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Fr. Bill    

AOPA Member: 07141481 AARP Member: 3209010556


     Avsim Board of Directors | Avsim Forums Moderator

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I've recorded all my expenditure in Microsoft Money since 1997. Not just for computer / flight sim stuff but for everything. I won't bore you with the other stuff but for hardware and software for FS and computing I've spent a total of £23,180 in 21 years which equates to £1159 per annum or £100 a month.

That's quite an eye-opener when you look at the overall total but for the enjoyment it's given me it's good value for money.

Some notable purchases include:-

  • STB Velocity 128 4Mb graphics card for £115 in Dec 1997
  • 128Mb RAM for £79 in July 1998
  • IBM Deskstar 30Gb HDD for £122 in March 2001
  • GeForce Ti4600 in May 2002 for £421.
  • LG 18.1" TFT monitor in April 2004 for £428
  • Dell 24" LCD monitor in Jan 2007 for £575

The cost of graphics cards and monitors seems outrageous given the specs but they were close to the best available at the time. Value for money seems much better now.

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Ray (Cheshire, England).
System: P3D v5.3HF2, Intel i9-13900K, MSI 4090 GAMING X TRIO 24G, Crucial T700 4Tb M.2 SSD, Asus ROG Maximus Z790 Hero, 32Gb Corsair Vengeance DDR5 6000Mhz RAM, Win 11 Pro 64-bit, BenQ PD3200U 32” UHD monitor, Fulcrum One yoke.
Cheadle Hulme Weather

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57 minutes ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

I've recorded all my expenditure in Microsoft Money since 1997. Not just for computer / flight sim stuff but for everything. I won't bore you with the other stuff but for hardware and software for FS and computing I've spent a total of £23,180 in 21 years which equates to £1159 per annum or £100 a month.

That's quite an eye-opener when you look at the overall total but for the enjoyment it's given me it's good value for money.

£100 isn't even a huge amount, although that does depend on what percentage of disposable income it represents. One good meal out for two with wine could use that up. Or at the kind of restaurants in my budget, a meal out for a family of four. :biggrin:


 

 

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@Holdit, you have to bear in mind that £100 now and £100 20 years ago are very different amounts. And it includes major purchases like new computers so expenditure in many months was just scenery and aircraft.


Ray (Cheshire, England).
System: P3D v5.3HF2, Intel i9-13900K, MSI 4090 GAMING X TRIO 24G, Crucial T700 4Tb M.2 SSD, Asus ROG Maximus Z790 Hero, 32Gb Corsair Vengeance DDR5 6000Mhz RAM, Win 11 Pro 64-bit, BenQ PD3200U 32” UHD monitor, Fulcrum One yoke.
Cheadle Hulme Weather

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I have no idea how much I have spent on flight simulation over the past thirty years, but it has just gone up another £29.34 today with my purchase of Fly Tampa Copenhagen :biggrin:

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Christopher Low

UK2000 Beta Tester

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2 hours ago, Christopher Low said:

I have no idea how much I have spent on flight simulation over the past thirty years, but it has just gone up another £29.34 today with my purchase of Fly Tampa Copenhagen :biggrin:

Ouch! The poor exchange rate is making all addons expensive. 🙁

The exception is UK2000 where all prices are in Pounds Sterling.


Ray (Cheshire, England).
System: P3D v5.3HF2, Intel i9-13900K, MSI 4090 GAMING X TRIO 24G, Crucial T700 4Tb M.2 SSD, Asus ROG Maximus Z790 Hero, 32Gb Corsair Vengeance DDR5 6000Mhz RAM, Win 11 Pro 64-bit, BenQ PD3200U 32” UHD monitor, Fulcrum One yoke.
Cheadle Hulme Weather

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