Glad you had fun!  I went through a similar thing recently.  I went to college for aviation, and planned on flying for an airline.  That didn't pan out, so I haven't been up for quite a while.  My girlfriend got me an hour's worth of time in a C172, and we went flying on the 4th of July.  My last time up before that was 2007-ish.  Anyway, I was surprised at how much came back to me.  I was rusty for sure, but could probably get back up to speed if I kept at it.

Thing is, you have to keep flying on a somewhat regular basis to stay current and proficient, and the $$$ can add up.  MSFS is only a sim, but it does do a pretty good job with the Cessna.  I can't speak for the jets since I've never flown those in real life, but it's some seriously impressive software, and looks gorgeous, too.

1 hour ago, Jaxsimmer said:

I'm waiting for all you guys (and gals) to say VR works perfectly with no stutters or issues with XYZ hardware and then I'll jump in. Maybe that will compensate for the lack of kinetic effects in a fixed sim.

I personally do not use VR. I heard it's great but I haven't jumped the hoops to use it yet. At the moment I'm hoping to upgrade my computer to more like up to date good performance experience.

As far as lack of kinetic effect. I tried everything from FAA approved basic training devices  to level D sim and none of them would compare with real stick and rudder. LOL If I were you I wouldn't worry about it. Flight simulator world went far from 20-30 years ago! Right now it's hard to tell if photo is real or from the sim LOL

42 minutes ago, SpaceForceCapt said:

My girlfriend got me an hour's worth of time in a C172,

That sounds very familiar! I got the same birthday gift 23 years ago! I didn't end well according to my "yet to become significant other" at the time LOL According to her I have spent too much $$$ on flying lesson ! But hey look at use now -  we both co-own airplanes, and every time I fly I bring money home LOL Still love sims though! 

19 hours ago, fppilot said:

Great post! I rescinded my license in 1985 when I had two young kids and switched employers. The new employer, as had the previous employer, provided life insurance at 2X annual salary, which I will say was significant for the time.  But the underwriter for my new employer's coverage would not underwrite coverage for persons holding a pilots license or involved in skydiving.  It took me almost a year to recind my license and expunge the record of a license. It was an arduous process, as is most dealing with government agencies. 

I too turned to flight simulaton.  The "Paul Harvey's Rest of the Story" is that new employer was an automobile and powersports manufacturer, and I retired from that employer after 25 years from their motorcycle division.  During that 25 years I logged just under 90K miles of motorcycle riding, most as a part of company business.  Personal purchase of life insurace was similarily affected by motorcycling.  Go figure!

That employer is now a well recognized and leading aircraft manufacturer of light personal jets.  Despite the irony I have cheered on the development and certification of their aircraft models.

What we have in simulation is just what we have.  It has come a long long long way since the mid 1980's, as we have both found.

I reread this again and realized you said rescinded your cert. That is amazing they made you do that, vs. just promise not to fly while covered. That must have been tough, considering what we go through in dollars and sweat to earn that.

BT

Edited December 5, 20223 yr by Jaxsimmer

49 minutes ago, Jaxsimmer said:

I reread this again and realized you said rescinded your cert. That is amazing they made you do that, vs. just promise not to fly while covered. That must have been tough, considering what we go through in dollars and sweat to earn that.

BT

The only verification the insurance underwriter would accept is upon inquiring with the FAA confirmed that I was not/no longer in the database as a person holding a license.  It took almost a year to accomplish that.  Incredible bureaucracy at the time.  Likely still the same as I am despite no longer holding a license a member of AOPA, and read what goes on with medicals - clearing obstacles stemming from interpretations of physical exams.  Up until the pandemic shut so much down, for several years after I retired I occupied right seat during ride alongs with a couple of friends, one with a Cessna 310 and the other with a B55 Baron.  Both sold their airplanes in the last 18 months and moved to Florida, so I guess at least for now I am grounded.  Would like to find someone new here on the Maryland eastern shore, but have not actively pursued that.  Currently thrilled with flying my MSFS based FlightFX Hjet.

 

Edited December 5, 20223 yr by fppilot