I can't help but be slightly amused by the upload today in the library of a "Be There" gauge, which can apparently be programmed to stop the sim at, say, top of descent if you have left your aircraft flying by FMC/GPS while you wander off and brush your teeth, play poker, have a few hours sleep, whatever. I mean no disrespect to the author whatsoever, and I am sure that people will use this; but I am curious to know how many simmers DO wander off and leave their hobby for hours at a time when flying long haul. This certainly isn't 'as real as it gets' anyway, of course, but I do understand that people do this.So do you? ;)I would have thought that, even if you leave the actual flying entirely to a computer onboard, you should KNOW when to come back to the computer, surely? Otherwise, what is the point?MarkMark "Dark Moment" BeaumontVP Fleet, DC-3 AirwaysTeam Member, MAAM-SIM[a href=http://www.swiremariners.com/cx.html" target="_blank]http://www.paxship.com/avsimlogo.jpg[/a]

Hi"what is the point"None as far as I`m concerned but there are folks that do take liberties.;)The FT 373 has this same thing incorporated into their config panel.For the record I don`t fly unless I have the time and I never come out of realtimeAlso it bothers me to be on vatsim and seeing folks blow by on 4x and acting like vatsim was made just for them.Pete

I have seen numerous threads about simmers setting the AP and going to bed, going out or watching a movie, seems to happen quite often. I agree though, I don't see the point.Regards, MichaelKDFW

Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe nForce4 SLI-x16 / AMD

I may be shocked, but I'll never be surprised at how some folks choose to "fly". Just too many different viewpoints in the world.More power to them, but I can save the disk space.

On the other hand, I'm amazed when I see people posting that they get the "out of memory" message after FS has been running for eight hours!Me? I like those short hops -- 40 minutes or less -- although I do confess I did a Vancouver to Sydney flight in real time, just to see what happens. During that "flight" I manage to have a night's sleep and do a morning grocery shopping trip!Remember, however, that during those long haul trips, the captain doesn't spend the entire time strapped into his seat either.BlairCYOW

I'm not sure it's for "wander off and brush your teeth, play poker, have a few hours sleep, whatever". Remember this option is also in the PMDG 747-400. In a real Jetliner you have a copilot to help you with things like setting up the approach, running the checklist etc. In FS most are by there lonesome! This I think is just a tool to help you catch up on what needs to be done to plan your approach. I personally choose not to use it, but I understand it's purpose. Sometimes it's difficult to program the FMC for approach while at the same time trying to keep ATC happy. This gives you the chance to do the things the copilot would be doing for you and still keep up with the aircraft and ATC, at least on the complex models like LDS and PMDG. I'm not sure if it's really necessary though on the average FS aircraft, but at least you have the option if you want it.

As real as it gets is staring on a monitor looking at a blue surface supposed to be an ocean for hours? Cmon that's like looking at a wall. When flying LDS 767 long or medium haul I fire up a simlar tool *and* run the sim on 8x.Some people have a job and don't want to waste their time like that. Takeoff climb and landing - that's the interesting part.Alex

>>For the record I don`t fly unless I have the time and I never>come out of realtime>Also it bothers me to be on vatsim and seeing folks blow by on>4x and acting like vatsim was made just for them.>I don't get why this bothers you.If some guy blows by you at 4x, it doesn't affect your flight, youstill arrive at the same time, so what is the problem ?Regards.Ernie.

Yes, I agree Mark. I don't understand the purpose either as I simply hit the "P" (Pause) key if I have to be away from my computer for any length of time (like get a soda and some cookies - no flight attendants on-board). And I only do that if I'm flying IFR and ATC wants me to do something and I'm not there. Oh well. Looks like over 200 people are going to install it anyway. Best regards,Jim

>Yes, I agree Mark. I don't understand the purpose either as>I simply hit the "P" (Pause) key if I have to be away from my>computer for any length of time (like get a soda and some>cookies - no flight attendants on-board). And I only do that>if I'm flying IFR and ATC wants me to do something and I'm not>there. Oh well. Looks like over 200 people are going to>install it anyway. >>Best regards,>JimIt makes sense to me.If you put it on an overnight flight and go to sleep you don't want it to go past the TOD if you happen to get up late or your plans in the morning change.With this if it works as advertised it would just stop at the TOD and wait for you to continue it.I'd think that'd be usefull for people to fly that way.Regards.Ernie.

Yup - if you fly long haul props, particularly in the Pacific, flights can take 10 hours or so... watching the water go by is really dull. Last time I did it was back in FS5.1 - flew a Boeing 377 from Seattle to Tokyo and had act as my own inertial nav system... went to bed and got up in time to land her. This auto-pause would have been a nice tool to have.DJ