What do you do before you fly?

[Gridley 257]

Related to my other thread here, what do you do to get started for a flight?

Here's what I do:

1. Once I've decided where I'm going (see other thread), I choose if it's going to be a VR flight or not.  Short flights are usually VR, longer I use TrackIR.  This decides if I start oculus home or track IR software.

2. Then I start simbrief downloader and go to simbrief.com to generate a flight plan if needed.  I make sure any IFR flightplans are exported in all the relevant formats.

3. I usually fly P3Dv5 at the moment, so I start ASP3D which auto launches ASCA in full dynamics mode.

4. I start P3Dv5.

5. While P3D is starting, I start RealTraffic.

6. Once P3D starts, I open flight planner and load the plan exported from flightbrief, but using the default LH cub to start the flight.  I usually edit the plan in flightplanner to make sure I start at a realistic gate or ramp.

7. After the sim loads, I launch Lorby's Live Traffic app using realtraffic in AI mode.  I usually wait a few minutes for traffic to load in.

8. Then, I switch aircraft and then go through usual procedures for startup, etc.

 

Realistically, this takes about 10 to 15min just to get to the point where I can taxi!

What's your process?

Looking forward to hearing!

CVG

Edited June 16, 2020 by Gridley

[W2DR 1,859]

I just hop in the 172, start the engine, take off, and go wherever I feel like at the moment. I've flown enough in RL to just ignore the rest of the stuff. Been there...done that..........Doug

[vp49p3 216]

I confess to being an obsessive-compulsive plodder, who loves gadgets and always takes more time to get anything done than planned.  No different in P3dv4.5. 

First thing I do is flight planning.  I begin the flight at whatever airport I landed on my previous flight, using an A2A aircraft, and look on the ORBX freeware/payware map for any airport within 200 miles.  I use Pilot2ATC as the flight planner on a separate networked computer.  P2ATC selects SIDS, STARS, etc. automatically based on the weather, and I select the altitude based on the aircraft published ceiling.  Once the flight is planned, I export it to P3d.  Next I open AS4 and load the flight plan, open ASCA and select global weather.  I then open up the Brunner CLS software and load the profile of the aircraft selected and initialize the profile.  I then open up OPUS' buttkicker program.  I next run Air Manager on a third networked computer/ monitor and select the panel I use for the aircraft.  Finally I open up P3d, select the aircraft, load the flight plan and move the aircraft to the parking spot selected in P2ATC, select AS4 weather, connect the Brunner CLSE program, connect P2ATC, put on my headphones and mic, and turn on the receiver/speakers driving the P3d engine sounds.  I then check Ultimate Traffic's board and select the percentage of AI to use and connect the GoFlight modules and check their functionality.  Next I go through the A2A preflight, undock the Reality XP, mimic the P2ATC plan in the RXP, undock the A2A mini-controls and other panels and put them on a 4th monitor.  I'm finally now ready to contact ATC for clearance.  All of this usually takes 40-50 minutes.  I had to laugh today because I flew a 34 nm flight in the British Isles, and from start to finish it was 3 hours :)

[Gridley 257]

15 minutes ago, vp49p3 said:

I confess

That was a perfect story that resonated 100% with me. Thank you for sharing!

[Chock 17,769]

If I'm not carefully planning a flight then I'll just kick the tires and off I go. If I am carefully planning a flight, I'll make a cup of tea and then I'll kick the tires and off I go. 🤣

Doing a load of checks would be a bit too much like a busman's holiday because I do that stuff at work lol. In fairness though, I do make all the proper checks and stuff on sim aeroplanes when reviewing things.

Edited June 17, 2020 by Chock

[fppilot 4,339]

4 hours ago, Gridley said:

what do you do to get started for a flight?

Ha! Are you asking about flight and fuel planning?  Or asking about what we do with our systems and software sequences?  Reboots, closing auto-loading apps like system monitors, maleware filters, AV software, etc.  Sequence of loading simulator add-ons such as links to separate devices, device drivers, weather engines, and the like?

I have a two-tier flight prep.  Part is flight planning and implementation.  The other is management of system resources.

[The Flight Level 2,112]

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This will be a very different answer than most. For me, it is about recording the flight in combination with my love for video editing. I use my real world App (ForeFlight) and sometimes Google Earth to plan the course of the flight and research aspects of the geography, points of interest, history, aircraft specs, unique facts, sourcing background music,  etc etc that I hope will make the flight video entertaining and educational. So, in reality, I spend a lot of time researching the planned video content before I even open up the sim.

Edited June 17, 2020 by Doering

[birdguy 3,943]

I just hop in the airplane and go.  I have a number of different aircraft scenarios at different airports.  I don't normally plan flights.  

Back in the old days I'd plan a flight using a chart and marking landmarks and artifacts along my route.  It was called pilotage.  

Noel

[Christopher Low 5,331]

6 hours ago, vp49p3 said:

I confess to being an obsessive-compulsive plodder, who loves gadgets and always takes more time to get anything done than planned.  No different in P3dv4.5. 

First thing I do is flight planning.  I begin the flight at whatever airport I landed on my previous flight, using an A2A aircraft, and look on the ORBX freeware/payware map for any airport within 200 miles.  I use Pilot2ATC as the flight planner on a separate networked computer.  P2ATC selects SIDS, STARS, etc. automatically based on the weather, and I select the altitude based on the aircraft published ceiling.  Once the flight is planned, I export it to P3d.  Next I open AS4 and load the flight plan, open ASCA and select global weather.  I then open up the Brunner CLS software and load the profile of the aircraft selected and initialize the profile.  I then open up OPUS' buttkicker program.  I next run Air Manager on a third networked computer/ monitor and select the panel I use for the aircraft.  Finally I open up P3d, select the aircraft, load the flight plan and move the aircraft to the parking spot selected in P2ATC, select AS4 weather, connect the Brunner CLSE program, connect P2ATC, put on my headphones and mic, and turn on the receiver/speakers driving the P3d engine sounds.  I then check Ultimate Traffic's board and select the percentage of AI to use and connect the GoFlight modules and check their functionality.  Next I go through the A2A preflight, undock the Reality XP, mimic the P2ATC plan in the RXP, undock the A2A mini-controls and other panels and put them on a 4th monitor.  I'm finally now ready to contact ATC for clearance.  All of this usually takes 40-50 minutes.  I had to laugh today because I flew a 34 nm flight in the British Isles, and from start to finish it was 3 hours 🙂

.....and this is why Asobo/Microsoft will want to make sure that the new Microsoft Flight Simulator caters to the needs of the casual user. There are a lot of them, and 99.99% of them would take one look at that wall of text above, and run as far away as fast as possible!!

[SteveW 1,792]

I hit the Next Flight button on Ideal Flight.

Without any further intervention, that finds all the airports relevant to my aircraft that lie within the doughnut of preferred time, which is usually one to three hours, and from a subset of airports, that may be my addon airports or all airports depending on my preset criteria. Then from that list if chooses one airport at random and creates an airways plan for it depending on the aircraft, jet or victor. The GPS plan is automatically set into the GPS and also if needed is exported to the aircraft so that once sat in the cockpit I can load in the plan to my PMDG or whatever. The complete flight details including planned waypoints, airports and anything else is exported to an html file and also exported to the kneeboard in the simulator. The navigation is set up depending on my criteria ready for the flight.

The second thing I do is press the Fly! button which starts the simulator right into the cockpit, and I do the flight. Whether novice or experienced I can do more flying.

[W2DR 1,859]

One of the biggest problems doing all that pre-flight planning before actually flying the sim is that is takes away time that could otherwise be devoted to a longer flight.....and, therefore, being able to watch a longer in-flight movie............Doug

[Wildblue 244]

Mostly i'm saying my prayers before liftoff 😃

[HighBypass 2,339]

5 hours ago, birdguy said:

Back in the old days I'd plan a flight using a chart and marking landmarks and artifacts along my route.  It was called pilotage.

I watched a 3 part video recently on youtube of Kermit Weeks ferrying his newly purchased Waco back to Orlampa - he may have had a portable GPS with him ,but he flies using roads and railroads 😉. Don't know what you think of Kermit (I've never met him, but he seems to be a likeable guy), but the footage was great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrX-r2psuJI

Me? When I fly the sim, if I'm not just firing it up to test a newly obtained aircraft, I decide what aeroplane I'm taking from A to B - A and B are variable so I'll go looking for the airports to download (usually freeware) if i don't already have them in payware. Anything out there is usually better than stock FSX, especially for smaller, less-travelled destinations. If going VFR I'll probably just use the stock FSX planner to give me a magenta guide line if needs be. If it's IFR then onlineflightplanner.org or Flightplan database if onlineflight is not behaving itself (I really should take a look at simbrief). I usually start on the ramp or at the gate, cold & dark which might mean I just have to flick a couple of switches and make sure the fuel and payload are appropriate - I don't have many study level planes - A2A Connie and SWS Phantom II - other complex planes are waiting in the wings 😉.

[lambourne 211]

Depends. If I just want to fly for the fun of it I'll pick either GA or a war bird out of the hangar and either bash the circuit or climb to a suitable height and throw it around a bit.

If I'm going for a VFR flight:

- Start Littlenavmap, pick departure, destination and route according to whatever airspace I feel like transiting or avoiding, and what ground features I want to see en route. Stock P3Dv4 has little to see outside big cities or mountain regions. I'll also make sure my plog and navaid frequencies are ready to hand.

- Open Active Sky and P3D itself in that order, loading the aircraft on the right apron spot.

- Set the plane up for a cold n dark start. Typically just running the shutdown checklist.

If GA IFR I'll copy the LNM route into Navigraph Charts and load my departure, destination and alternate plates. Otherwise it's the same workflow.

 

Commercial IFR:

- Open Simbrief and pick departure and destination. Select aircraft, select route and alternate. Use aircraft's fuel calculator utility to fine tune the Simbrief fuel calculations (holding, alternate, finres) before generating the route.

- Export route via Simbrief downloader to aircraft and Active Sky formats.

- Open Active Sky and load route.

- Open P3D and load aircraft at departure gate.

- Set off pre departure flows in aircraft, enable the load sheet (fuel, pax, cargo). In one aircraft I can tweak the load for weight and balance purposes using its payload utility before exporting to the sim.

- Start cockpit prep and pre departure checklists: loading the route in the FMS and cross checking, loading the payload, starting the APU etc.

If I'm feeling dedicated I'll also complete the Simbrief flight plan (out/off/on/in, half hourly fuel checks, etc) but that's rare!

Flying on Vatsim also adds to the workload. You start to feel the limits of operating a dual crew aeroplane as single pilot after a while!

I enjoy it as a change from real life but I do find myself blocking out 30-40 minutes before I expect to leave the virtual gate.

[RLJR 14]

Take a leak.😁