Hello everyone!

I've been fascinated by aviation since very young, my mother would be (and still is) constantly travelling so since i was very very little i'd be hanging out at airports. Sometime 8 years ago i started "flying" a freeware sim called FlightGear, i didn't know how to fly anything actually, i'd just literally fly and talk to people.

2 years ago when i was 16 i decided that maybe i should try to learn to fly. So i went back to FlightGear and tried to learn, but it's a very limited sim so i went to FSX, that's where i first flew A320s and 737s (Aerosoft and iFly) but i didn't know how to fly, i simply used the default panel and used the ATC to vector myself hehe. Some time later i started watching CaptainJoe and researched deeper into the theories, that's when i started flying the A320 more seriously with FSCaptain, but still relying on ATC vectors and all. That was around the time i really wanted to become a pilot someday, it was my dream, that is, until i found out i'm at a certain risk of glaucoma and becoming a pilot would be an extremely risky move, even though i don't have glaucoma and i might never have, the chances are there. I guess that just that chance of never getting it would be enough for me but in my country other physical reasons would rule me out early. So i guess my dream would die there, were it not for flight sims.

In January 2018 i got a gaming PC and moved to Prepar3D, where i could fly the PMDG 737 and FSLA320, and obviously since they were more complex verions than Aerosoft's and iFly's i'd have to take things more seriously. I dived deep into the manuals and tutorials but only learned about PAPIs, VASIs, Approaches, Autolands, ILS and specially the FMC/FCDU in May-June 2018 and it was life-changing. I evolved really quickly, making the 737 my main aircraft but trying to learn the A320 as well, i flew mainly for Air Berlin and American because i really like them. By the end of 2018 i guess i'd consider myself decent, being able to fly the 737 and A320 without manuals and just needing to use checklists.

This year however i decided to really take things seriously, i tried learning the normal ops, using ground services, trying to understand the FMC as deeply as i could, reading charts, using ATC and expanding the number of aircrafts i fly.

Sometimes i take a break from flight sim to focus on other projects and it always makes me a bit rusty. When i'm learning a new aircraft i get used to its controls and i worry that can make me fly other aircraft less well. i.e the 77W controls are very hard and stiff whereas in the 788's are very fluid and smooth. What do you guys think? Did you get used to different controls quickly or do you always get a little bit rusty when you fly mainly an aircraft and then switch to another? There's still a long way to go for me and some tips would be very much appreciated, specially regarding what i should study.

What about you guys? How did you get into this world?

Edited December 5, 20196 yr by Gabriel Victor

Hello Gabriel,

Take a look at some of the books by Cpt. Mike Ray.  He is a retired United Airlines pilot that flew 737s and 747s mostly.  He has wrote a number of books that are outstanding with information and lots of fun to read. Here is a link:  Captain Mike Ray's Website

He has a lot of $1 articles that he wrote for magazines that he sells there also.

Cpt. Mike Ray was my foundation into flying the Airbus and Boeing simulations and understanding the FMS/CDU or MCDU and basic procedures.  I have all of his books.

The Boeing 737NGX (now with a "u") is my bedrock aircraft I always come back to, but I love switching.  Right now I'm hooked on the new CRJ Pro from Aerosoft, but I also love the TFDi Boeing 717, Maddog MD80, Dash8 Q400 by Majestic, PMDG Jetstream 41, PMDG MD11 (which PMDG is not activating), PMDG Boeing 747QOTSII, FSL A320, Flight Factor A320, ToLiss A319 and many more including GA aircraft.

For me, switching aircraft is half the fun and keeps things interesting. 

I will watch a JustPlanes video, that puts me in the mood to fly that aircraft.

I'm always learning.  I just found out about what is called a "Delayed Flap Approach"....mmmm...now I'll have to try it.

Because with aviation, you never stop learning, that applies also to flight simulation.  There is always more to learn and always more skills to hone.

You're young and may go on to become a commercial airline pilot, but if not, you'll still have a ton of fun with flight simulation.

 

Best regards,

Bob

 

My real transation is by got acopy of boeing 737's and 757's CBT, that's much easier to digest than FCOM for a 13 year old I was back then.

Only after that I was fascinated by the complexity of aircraft and go deep into the FCOM/FCTM and even FPPM, PET....

Edited December 5, 20196 yr by C2615

11 hours ago, signmanbob said:

Hello Gabriel,

Take a look at some of the books by Cpt. Mike Ray.  He is a retired United Airlines pilot that flew 737s and 747s mostly.  He has wrote a number of books that are outstanding with information and lots of fun to read. Here is a link:  Captain Mike Ray's Website

He has a lot of $1 articles that he wrote for magazines that he sells there also.

Cpt. Mike Ray was my foundation into flying the Airbus and Boeing simulations and understanding the FMS/CDU or MCDU and basic procedures.  I have all of his books.

The Boeing 737NGX (now with a "u") is my bedrock aircraft I always come back to, but I love switching.  Right now I'm hooked on the new CRJ Pro from Aerosoft, but I also love the TFDi Boeing 717, Maddog MD80, Dash8 Q400 by Majestic, PMDG Jetstream 41, PMDG MD11 (which PMDG is not activating), PMDG Boeing 747QOTSII, FSL A320, Flight Factor A320, ToLiss A319 and many more including GA aircraft.

For me, switching aircraft is half the fun and keeps things interesting. 

I will watch a JustPlanes video, that puts me in the mood to fly that aircraft.

I'm always learning.  I just found out about what is called a "Delayed Flap Approach"....mmmm...now I'll have to try it.

Because with aviation, you never stop learning, that applies also to flight simulation.  There is always more to learn and always more skills to hone.

You're young and may go on to become a commercial airline pilot, but if not, you'll still have a ton of fun with flight simulation.

 

Best regards,

Bob

 

I'll look into those books, i've been wanting to read something aviation related!

Sometimes i forget there are other manufacturers besides PMDG, Aerosoft and FSLabs, there are still some aircrafts i need to try. Currently i'm wishing to fly an A340, i tried the one from BlackBox but it's kind of buggy as always, at least Aerosoft should release their A330 sometime this month. Maybe X-Plane might prove useful with this, did they add dynamic cockpit lights already? It was a gamebreaker for me who mostly flies at night. 

I love learning new things but sometimes it's also about doing something you already do in a harder way. For some reason i usually let the autopilot line up during landing and only take control when i'm just a few nm away but recently i decided to do the approach myself, it was hard but word not allowed it's so rewarding.

On 12/5/2019 at 9:37 AM, Gabriel Victor said:

I'll look into those books, i've been wanting to read something aviation related!

Sometimes i forget there are other manufacturers besides PMDG, Aerosoft and FSLabs, there are still some aircrafts i need to try. Currently i'm wishing to fly an A340, i tried the one from BlackBox but it's kind of buggy as always, at least Aerosoft should release their A330 sometime this month. Maybe X-Plane might prove useful with this, did they add dynamic cockpit lights already? It was a gamebreaker for me who mostly flies at night. 

I love learning new things but sometimes it's also about doing something you already do in a harder way. For some reason i usually let the autopilot line up during landing and only take control when i'm just a few nm away but recently i decided to do the approach myself, it was hard but word not allowed it's so rewarding.

You'll like the Cpt. Mike Ray books. Although necessary, FCOMs can be dry reading, but Cpt. Ray makes learning these procedures a lot of fun.  He even writes several check ride manuals used by real pilots, to assist their preparation. These are great reading too and go very deep into the systems.

ToLiss will be releasing a brand new A321 for X-Plane very soon.  It is in late stage beta now.  I'll grab that real quick when it is released. I like their A319 a lot.

Blackbox is a real disappointment. Originally starting out as Phoenix Simulations, also known as "PSS", they used to put out some pretty good stuff for the time when FS9 and FSX was the choices. I thought that when they re-entered as Blackbox they would continue in the right direction after going tango-uniform, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

It took a long time to get a really good A320 available, and a lot of gross disappointments and lost money on my part. I've purchased three "in development" aircraft, two A320s and one MD80 (for X-Plane) that all fell flat on their faces, but I was so hungry for an A320. Finally Flightsim Labs hit a golden home run with their A320, then Flight Factor and ToLiss came through with pure gold too. Now we're blessed to have a great choice of Airbus aircraft in FSX, P3Dv4 and X-Plane 11. I'm also looking forward to a great A340 cream-puff too, although I'm more of a short haul computer pilot.  I like a lot of take offs and landings.  That's why I keep getting addicted to Aerosoft's CRJ Professional and Majestic's Dash8 Q400, even though it's the PMDG NGX and "u" that I feel most at home with.

I failed to mention that I also like XCraft's new EJets.  They are a very good short-haul aircraft that are complex enough to be very enjoyable.

The cockpit lighting seems pretty good on the high-end X-Plane aircraft simulations.  I'm not sure if they are "dynamic" or not, but they look good and most likely are. X-Plane has come a long way in the last few years.

Bob